Choices And Changes
Dumbledore shot quickly to his feet as the burst of white light vanished, his wand out and ready.
The Dementors on the Quidditch pitch had been driven back slightly by the Patronus like spell that Harry seemed to have cast, but they were still on the field.
Dumbledore quickly cast the Patronus charm and as his Patronus headed on to the field, it was quickly joined by others as every teacher who could cast the spell did so. Then remembering what Lupin had told him about the last time Harry had unconsciously cast this Patronus like spell, Dumbledore scanned the darkened sky, looking for the boy. His heart nearly stopped beating as he saw the boy's limp body slide off his broom.
Pointing his wand at the falling body and putting all the force behind it he could, Dumbledore shouted, "Winguardium Levosia!"
Harry's body stopped its downward plunge and Dumbledore gently guided the unconscious boy's body to the spot Professor McGonagall was clearing in front of him.
As Madame Hooch's magically magnified voice ordered all of the players to the ground, Dumbledore told McGonagall, "Professor McGonagall, please take Mr. Potter to the Hospital wing. I think he has managed to magically exhaust himself again."
Once the pair vanished, Dumbledore turned to the remaining teachers, "Please insure that all the students make it safely back to the school because there may still be some Dementors lurking about, while I go make sure the Dementors understand this behaviour will not be repeated in the future."
########
The teachers as well as those few seventh years who had mastered the Patronus spell quickly took up positions on the outer edges of the group of students as the fifth and sixth year prefects led them back to the castle.
Lupin who was walking near the rear of the group with his wand out and ready, noticed that Harry's friends Ron and Hermione were walking a short distance in front of him and seemed to be talking in low voices as if they didn't want to be overheard. It was a pity that they didn't know that someone with sharper than average hearing, even though it wasn't the full moon yet, was walking right behind them and could hear every word.
"How bad is it?" Hermione asked worriedly.
"Not sure," Ron shrugged then pointed out, "It would've been a lot worse, if Dumbledore hadn't caught him before he hit the ground. One thing's for sure, I've never seen the Headmaster that angry before."
Lupin had to agree with that sentiment. The Dementors who'd come on to the field, were very lucky that looks couldn't' kill otherwise they wouldn't have had to worry about the Patroni that had been sent their way. He couldn't recall ever seeing the headmaster that angry before either, not even when Padfoot set Snape up to be attacked by him during the full moon. That had been a source of pain for the Marauders for a long time until they had managed to work through it, but he should've seen it for what it was, an early indicator that Sirius could betray anyone's trust, given he'd betrayed Lupin's.
"...that makes four times," Hermione's voice pulled Remus' thoughts back to the present. "It has to be damaging his magical core. We have to find some way to stop it from happening again."
"Well there's only one way I can see, Hermione, and that's to keep the Dementors away from him." Ron tried to hide his own worry because he knew she was right. Harry couldn't keep draining his magical core like this. "Every time they get near him, he has another burst of overcharged accidental magic, trying to drive them off."
Hermione was silent for several minutes before she countered with, "or maybe he just needs to be shown a different way to drive them off that won't drain his magical core. The professors cast some kind of spell that drove them off completely and we just need to find out what it was."
"Hermione, while that sounds like a good idea, that particular spell, might be one that can only be done once you reach magical maturity and even then not everyone may be able to cast it. I noticed that only a few of the teachers and a few of the seventh years were able to cast it and some of them only produced silvery mist, like Harry did, though not on quite the same scale." Ron reminded her.
"We have to try and find out what that spell was, Ron," Hermione persisted. "Because the next time the Dementors get near Harry they could kill him."
Remus had to smile at the determination in Miss Granger's voice. She was a lot like Lily when she decided on a course of action she wasn't going to let anything stand in her way. She also did have a valid point about the Dementors and Harry's reaction to them being dangerous. It would be best if he were taught the Patronus spell before something bad happened. Remus had no doubt that Harry would be able to master the spell, given the Patronus like light he seemed to produce through accidental magic whenever Dementors were around. He made a mental note to speak to Harry after the next full moon to see if he wanted to learn the spell.
#######
Harry woke to an uplifting trilling sound and as he became aware of his surrounding, he realised he was sleeping on something that felt like a rough blanket, which didn't make sense if he was in the Hospital wing. That was where he'd expected to wake up after that encounter with the Dementors. When he opened his eyes and could see his surroundings clearly, he realised he was in a dreamscape world again and it looked like Daniel's home on Abydos.
What truly startled him was when he located the source of the trilling. Fawkes was sitting in the open window of the stone wall of the house singing.
"Fawkes! How did you get here?" Harry wanted to know.
"I'm kind of curious to hear the answer to that myself." Daniel commented from the opposite side of the room. "I especially want to know if that nosey old man you are bonded to can use the same method to get in."
No Dumbledore can not get in the way I did. He is not a phoenix, not even in his animagus form. Fawkes was quick to assure them. It is only because you heard and accepted my song that allowed me entrance into this safe haven you have created, White Lord.
"Well, you certainly make the most interesting alarm clock, I’ve ever seen, Fawkes." Daniel commented. "Definitely one of the few I wouldn't hit the snooze button on."
There was a gurgling sound from the phoenix that both Harry and Daniel took for laughter.
"Not that I am not happy to see you Fawkes," Harry spoke up, "but why are you here?"
I wanted to make sure that neither of you had taken any harm, since you were not awakening and Poppy was beginning to get worried because of that. You have been unconscious for over a day now. Fawkes told them. Last time you encountered the Dementors, you were not out this long.
"And since we are in my home on Abydos we are still unconscious," Daniel concluded.
"That's just as well, since we need to talk before you return to the real world." An older voice spoke from the doorway that let out on to the street.
"Merlin!", “Mryddin!” Harry and Daniel greeted the older Ancient in surprise.
Merlin! Fawkes fell from the window sill, giving the phoenix equivalent of a surprised yelp as he tried to catch a glimpse of the Mage even phoenix elders spoke of with awe.
Merlin’s eyes widened slightly in surprise when Fawkes Landed on Daniel’s shoulder and proceeded to look him over curiously. “Where did the phoenix come from?”
“This is Fawkes, the Headmaster’s familiar.” Harry told Merlin. “He got worried about us cause we were still unconscious after our most recent encounter with Dementors.”
“He means the Sai’ki’eth.” Daniel put in helpfully.
“And you destroyed them with another burst of power which is what the Others detected.” Merlin concluded. “Those abominations need to be dealt with.”
Daniel shook his head. “I tried, but the distance was too great. I collapsed shortly after the energy burst.”
He did drive them back, Great One. Fawkes sang.
“Great One!” Merlin was surprised by the title.
You Merlin are revered by all phoenix kind for saving the great Mother and her eggs from a Basilisk. Fawkes told Merlin.
“You fought a Basilisk?” Harry couldn’t help being surprised at the thought that he and Merlin might have something in common besides Daniel.
“Not exactly,” Merlin stepped into the main room of Daniel’s dreamscape home and conjured a comfortable chair to sit in. “I came upon a basilisk who was after a phoenix and her eggs. I didn’t want to kill the basilisk, but I couldn’t let it kill the Phoenix. She was the first of her kind I had seen on Earth. Fertile, nesting phoenixes are even rarer than Goa’uld Queens. I knew the phoenix was intelligent enough to figure out she needed to move her nest and would if given enough time, so I gave her that time.”
“How big was it?” Harry wanted to know. “How did you by the phoenix time without killing the basilisk?”
Merlin shrugged. “It was a young basilisk, about thirty feet long and I distracted it. I pinned the back half by pulling the earth over it and then created a phoenix of contained elemental fire, since the earth wouldn’t keep it imprisoned for long. I used my firebird to distract the basilisk. I set it to encircle the serpent’s head so it couldn’t risk lowering it to get at the mother phoenix. Elemental fire will harm even a dragon, but you have to have superb magical control to keep it from getting out of control and then being able to disperse it.”
“What would’ve happened if you had lost control?” Daniel wanted to know.
“You are familiar with wildfires?” Merlin asked. At Daniel’s nod, he told them. “If the caster loses control of an elemental fire creation, it would be worse that a hundred wildfires, burning everything in it’s path until there was nothing left to burn and nothing would have been able to put it out.”
“Sounds as uncontrollable as a naquadria bomb.” Daniel commented.
“It can be.” Merlin agreed, “Which is why the wizarding world calls it FiendFyre.”
That is why the Great Mother and all Phoenixes revere you, because you risked so much to protect her and her young. Fawkes sang. She knew that if you lost control of the Fiendfyre, then all in that area, including you would die.
Merlin bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement of Fawkes’ praise, “Thank you Fawkes for the honour you’ve done me in remembering me, and while I would love to speak with you some more, I really do need to speak privately with Daniel and Harry and we don’t have much time since Harry’s body wants to wake up.”
Fawkes trilled his farewell before vanishing, reassured that young Harry would soon be back among his friends.
########
“He’s lucky he was so close to the ground when he fell off his broom.” Harry heard a voice that sounded like Ron’s say.
“And that Dumbledore was quick with his wand.” He heard Hermione’s voice add.
Harry opened his eyes, fairly certain that he was back in the hospital wing given how softly his friends were talking.
/With our luck that’s a given not a guess./ Daniel observed.
Harry saw a few members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team were standing nearby and when Hermione called, “Harry! Your finally awake!” they moved in closer as she slipped out of the group to let Madame Pompfrey know.
“Harry, how are you feeling?” Harry didn’t know which of the twins had asked that, but he could see that both of them looked very worried.
“We were beginning to get worried.” Ron put in before Harry could respond. “You’ve been out for more than a day.”
“What happened?” Harry finally managed to get out after several attempts to make his mouth work.
“You fell off your broom, after that bright burst of light you gave off trying to drive the Dementors back.” Fred told him. “You were about twenty feet off the ground when you fell and Dumbledore kept you from hitting the ground too fast.”
“There was a rumour going around school that you were dead.” Alicia put in. “At least there was until the Headmaster told them at dinner you were in the hospital wing suffering from magical exhaustion and exposure to the Dementors.”
“What happened at the match after I fell?” Harry asked.
“They declared it a draw because of the Dementors’ interference. We will have a rematch later in the year.” George told him.
“At least we didn’t lose.” Harry sighed.
“Is that all you can think about, Harry.” Hermione chastised him having heard his comment as she returned. “You could’ve died if Dumbledore hadn’t been so quick with his wand, or at the very least broken every bone in your body when you hit the ground. Not to mention you managed to magically exhaust yourself again.”
“Well if the Dementors had stayed away, none of it would’ve happened.” Harry pointed out. “Does anyone know why they came on the field?”
The five Gryffindors around his bed shook their heads.
“Dumbledore was furious with them though.” Hermione put in. “He really let them have it. We overheard part of it. They’ve been positioned at the very edges of the school grounds and I think if they come in again without his permission, he will have them sent away.”
What about my broom?” Harry wanted to know.
From the quick glances they gave each other, Harry had a feeling he wasn’t going to like the answer.
“Did someone manage to catch my Nimbus?” Harry asked again.
“Well…” Hermione began hesitantly when none of the others spoke up. “It got blown away… and we were concentrating on you…”
“What happened to it?” Harry asked.
“It hit the Whomping Willow.” Ron finally said bluntly. “You know how that Willow reacts to being hit. It ripped your broom to shreds.”
“Professor Flitwick was able to rescue most of it, once the Willow calmed down.” Hermione put a bag she had picked up off the floor on the bed and opened it.
Harry looked inside and felt slightly sick at the sight of the remnants of his Nimbus 2000.
Madame Pomfrey came over and hustled them all out as Harry closed the bag over what remained of his faithful broom.
#####
On the first day of classes following Gryffindor/Hufflepuff match, the students were still talking about how the Dementors had interrupted the game and the strange burst of light Potter had given off before falling off his broom. It was as everyone was finishing up breakfast, that a lone owl entered the Great Hall. The mail for the day had already been delivered so the arrival of one owl surprised everyone so they watched it wanting to know who the owl was here for. Silence fell over the Great Hall as for the first time anyone could remember the Headmaster publically received a letter. None of the teachers or older students could ever remember seeing the Headmaster receive mail in the Great Hall before. The teachers had decided long ago that since Dumbledore had control of the wards, he either had all his mail rerouted to his office or else had assigned a house elf to the task of collecting it and delivering it to him later.
Dumbledore removed what looked like a rolled up envelope from the small grey owl’s leg and it took off as soon as he had done so. He looked at it for a moment and then set it down on the table beside him.
McGonagall was surprised when the Headmaster simply set it off to one side and resumed eating his breakfast. Given that the letter had not been delivered the usual way she was fairly certain it had to be something important, otherwise the wards would not have let the owl deviate from the normal routine. “Headmaster, are you sure that letter shouldn’t be read right away? Given that it wasn’t delivered in the usual way, it might be quite urgent and need a quick response.”
“I sincerely doubt that Professor McGonagall, or the person sending it would have identified him or herself.” Dumbledore handed her the letter, so she could see what he meant.
The letter was addressed simply:
Albus Dumbledore
Hogwarts
Having taught most of the people who might have had a reason to write the Headmaster, McGonagall was surprised to find that she didn’t recognize the handwriting. She was also surprised at the neat and clean script, so unusual for someone who uses a quill daily. There were no ink splatters, or even the smallest smears of ink that usually marred any correspondence written by quill. If she hadn’t known better, she would’ve thought that a Muggle had written it, but she knew that was impossible since the parents of the muggleborn students sent any official correspondence to the school to a special mailbox and it was forwarded on to her, not the Headmaster.
“Besides,” Dumbledore reminded her, “for important matters, most people use the Floo, it is much quicker than owl post and not as easy to intercept. I am going to have to check the wards to see how this got through, given all my correspondence is routed to my office.”
McGonagall didn’t know what to say to counter that, because he was right, the letter shouldn’t have been able to be delivered to him in the Great Hall. The wards prevented even Howlers from being delivered to the Headmaster here.
Dumbledore left the head table a few minutes later the strange letter in his hand still unopened, which he knew annoyed Minerva no end. Cats were curious creatures after all, and cat animagi seemed to be even more so.
########
Fawkes trilled a greeting as Dumbledore came into his office and then spotting the envelope in his hand the trill ended on a questioning note.
“An owl managed to get past the wards to deliver this letter to the Great Hall.” Dumbledore told the phoenix.
Fawkes sang again sounding slightly concerned.
“No, I don’t think it’s anything harmful,” Dumbledore assured him. “It appears to be a muggle envelope and no one who wants to harm me would stoop to using anything muggle.”
Taking a seat at his desk, Dumbledore slit open the envelope and pulled the single sheet of paper out of it. The letter appeared to be rather short, with only half the page covered in small script. Curious to know who would be sending him a letter written on muggle stationary and probably written with a muggle pen, Dumbledore looked for the signature. Dr. Daniel Jackson.
It took the Headmaster a few moments to place the name… The man who was claiming to be Harry Potter’s American cousin.
Fawkes trilled a questioning note.
“It’s from Daniel Jackson. The American who is claiming that he is Harry Potter’s cousin.” Dumbledore told the phoenix. “I wrote to him a few weeks ago to arrange a meeting with him.”
That information produced the most unusual reaction Dumbledore had ever seen from the phoenix. He left his perch and settled on the back of Dumbledore’s chair. Then as the Headmaster watched, the phoenix peered intently at the sheet in his hand as if he were reading the letter. A moment later, his familiar looked at him and trilled in a way that Dumbledore over the years had interpreted as phoenix laughter.
Dumbledore glared at the phoenix. “I know I am considered a little senile by a number of people, but there is no way you can make me believe you read that letter.”
Fawkes gave him a knowing look and laughed again before pulling his head back so that his companion could read the letter sent by the white lord.
Mr. Dumbledore,
I must say I was quite surprised to receive a letter from you, given we have never met or corresponded before. I was especially surprised to learn that you wished to see me as well as your reason for wanting to meet with me. Due to my busy schedule as a negotiator for the United States government on both magical and normal diplomatic issues I find that I do not have time to meet with you to discuss the conditions under which you will allow me to meet a member of my family. Believe me when I say, I fully understand the responsibility you must feel regarding the safety of the children under your care and can assure you that I intend no harm to my cousin. I would no more harm him than I would harm myself. That is why I asked him to meet with me Hogsmeade. In a public place like Hogsmeade, between the watchful eyes of the teachers and older students that I am certain that you as a contentious headmaster make sure are always on hand to insure the safety of all students, and the watchful eyes of the good citizens of Hogsmeade itself, I am sure nothing is going to happen to my cousin while he meets with me.
Furthermore, while I know that you hold the positions of the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot of Britain and of Supreme Mugwump the ICW, in addition to your duties as Headmaster of Hogwarts, I also know that the authority of those offices does not extend to interfering into what is private family business, unless you can prove I am a threat to my cousin. I think you will find that a bit hard to do. You should also know sir, that prior to meeting with my cousin, Petunia Evans Dursley, I had my government contacts check the records to find out who is listed in both the magical and normal communities as the guardian of record for Harry Potter, given I did want to meet him along with the rest of my family. You, sir, were not listed as his guardian of record on any paperwork that my sources were able to locate, so you can not refuse me the right to visit my kin. My cousin Petunia Dursley is listed as her nephew’s sole guardian in both the magical and normal communities and as such she is the only one who could say yes or no to my visit with Harry. She has given her approval for me to meet with him.
In addition, Mrs. Petunia Evans Dursley has requested that I act as her agent for any business dealing with our family in the magical world given that she wishes to have as little contact with the magical world as is humanly possible. I will be filing her signed declaration that I act as her agent with the Ministry of Magic as soon as possible, so if there are any school issues that need to be discussed such as Harry’s education or disciplinary issues, please contact me and I will try and schedule some time for you.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Daniel Jackson,
Doctor of Linguistics, Archaeology, and Anthropology
The letter that Dumbledore held in his tightly clenched fist caught fire as he glared at it and he dropped it into the metal wastebasket by his desk in surprise. It had been some time since he had been angry enough to have an outburst of wandless wordless magic, not since he faced his former friend Grindelwald in fact. The outburst then had been bigger and had been what had enabled him to get the upper hand on Gellert and win the duel.
How dare that American interfere with all his carefully laid plans? How dare Petunia allow him to speak for her in the wizarding world? He had no doubt the American had been the one to suggest it to her because it wouldn’t have occurred to the vengeful woman that she could appoint someone to speak for her within the wizarding community. She wouldn’t have been aware of it otherwise. He knew the woman took great pride in ignoring anything that didn’t fit her definition of normal… unless she had no choice.
The last thing he wanted was for the status quo he had set up and carefully maintained over the years to change. He had told the wizarding world of how Harry’s mother’s sacrifice had protected Harry and that he had to be raised by his mother’s blood kin to keep that protection. It had been the only thing stopping a large number of magical families from trying to petition for guardianship. They weren’t related to Lily Potter by blood, so they couldn’t protect the boy while gaining status as his guardians. This American could undo all of that, once it became known he was blood kin to Lily.
Given the arrogance the American had shown in his letter, Dumbledore had no doubt the man would try to petition the magical courts for custody once Harry told him about his home life. And it would be granted through the magical courts since they always preferred a magical relative raise a child whenever possible, which would open a large container of flobberworms for him, because they would find out from the sealed records that he had been appointed Harry’s magical guardian.
No wizard or witch knew that he was Harry Potter’s magical guardian and he wanted to keep it that way. Not even Lockhart who he’d blackmailed into doing the oblivations on the member’s of the Wizengamot knew who had been appointed Potter’s Guardian. In a way he was kind of glad the man had been a victim of the only type of magic he had ever been good at – memory wipes because it insured that the man could never reveal to anyone that he had prevented anyone from ever finding out who Harry Potter’s magical guardian was or even that there was one.
Dumbledore made a mental note to go see Petunia this weekend. He needed to make sure she didn’t sign away custody of Harry to that American.
Fawkes wept in sorrow, though his tears went unnoticed by his bonded because he was so deeply involved in his scheming. They wouldn’t have been useful in a healing potion anyway, given that they were tears of anguish. He quietly closed off their bond because his bonded was out of the Light and until he came back into it if he ever did Fawkes would not communicate with him. The White Lord would have to be informed of what Albus was planning for this weekend and then Fawkes would go away for a while. Maybe some time without him would remind his bonded of what his actions could and would cost him, if he continued down this path, not only the loss of his familiar but also in terms of the wizarding world’s respect.
######
Harry and Daniel sat quietly listening to the other students complain about the two rolls of parchment that Snape assigned them on werewolves, their minds on other things, like trying to find a place for Merlin to teach them how use Daniel’s ascended powers within the limits of Harry’s very human body. The problem was finding a safe place to do so that wouldn’t be detected by Dumbledore, or destroying parts of Hogwarts.
As Harry listened to the lecture on Hinkypunks, Daniel was privately considering some of the things he had read in order to prepare the report Snape had assigned to the class the previous week. That man did nothing without a reason and there was a reason he wanted them to know about werewolves. Given the antipathy that the Potions Master had shown to Lupin and the way Lupin felt a little like an animagi, Daniel was willing to bet the Stargate that the Defence teacher was a werewolf. He would confirm it for sure next month. If Lupin wasn’t available for classes or to talk to during the time of the full month or was reported to be ill, he would have his answer.
If he was a werewolf, then Dumbledore had to know. There was no way he couldn’t know, so why was Lupin here, beyond doing a good job as far as Daniel could tell in teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts?
Lupin had been a friend of Harry’s parents and so it was a fairly safe bet that he must have known Sirius Black as well. Had Dumbledore brought Lupin in to try and stop Black if he got into the castle? Or was he there as another means of control on Harry because he had known Harry’s parents and could tell the boy things about them that no one else could… or would? If Harry and Daniel hadn’t been suspicious of Dumbledore’s motives, it might have made the boy feel even more grateful to the Headmaster for bringing him into contact with someone who could tell him about his family and his family’s history.
Daniel’s attention was brought back to the present as Harry got to his feet putting his things away.
They were almost to the door when Lupin called. “Harry, would you please wait, I would like to speak with you.”
Harry nodded to his friends and they headed out of the classroom.
As Lupin put the cover on the Hinkypunk’s box, he said, “I heard about what happened at the Quidditch match. Is the damage to your broom repairable?”
“The Whomping Williow tore it to shreds.” Harry looked a little sad over losing what had given him his first real taste of freedom, because when he was on a broom he was the only one to control what happened to him, no one else. Then he hesitantly asked as part of his and Daniel’s plan to find out if there were a way to protect themselves without winding up magically exhausted. “Professor, do you know why the Dementors invaded the game? And why they seem to be attracted to me?”
“Invaded?” Lupin looked surprised at his choice of words. “Yes, I guess you could say they invaded, but I don’t think they were only after you. They are getting hungry. They feed off the positive emotions that we humans generate and their normal source of food isn’t as readily available here because Dumbledore will not allow them on to the grounds. You know I can’t recall ever seeing Dumbledore as angry as he was when they appeared on the Quidditch pitch. From what I heard we were lucky that none of the students or faculty were attacked, though a number of the first and second years had to be checked out by Madame Pomfrey.”
“Did anyone else react as badly to them as I did?” Harry wanted to know.
Lupin hesitated then said, “While no one else passed out, several second years from various houses wound up spending the night in the Hospital wing because of bad reactions to the effect that Dementors have on people. The Dementors got a little too close to the section of the stands where the first and second years were sitting in before they were driven off. In a way it’s a good thing it happened, because Madame Pompfrey was able to find out about a case of abuse and arrange to have it taken care of.”
Harry drew in a sharp breath. “Who?”
“I can’t tell you.” Lupin shook his head. “The situation is being handled confidentially. Apparently the child’s muggle mother had a problem with her child being magical that she hid from those who should have seen it. The muggle police have been contacted so they can take care of it.”
“But no one else passed out,” ‘other than me’ was the unheard part of that statement.
“No one else managed to try and cast the Patronus charm without a wand… It’s a spell that even Dumbledore can’t do without a wand and that most… full grown wizards can’t do even with a wand.” Lupin countered. “You are somehow unconsciously trying to cast the spell that will drive the Dementors away, though how you know about it is anyone’s guess.”
Daniel felt relieved that there was a way to control the horrible creatures, or at least drive them off since there was no real way to control them long term. /I knew they had to have found or created a spell to control the Sai’Ki’eth. Otherwise those damned things would’ve swept over the earth like a plague./
“Can you teach me this Patronus charm?” Harry wanted to know.
“I think I will have to.” Lupin told him. “The Dementors are going to be here until Sirius Black is captured and so the chances are pretty good you will encounter them again. It’s going to have to wait until after the winter break though, because we have a lot to get through and I picked a very poor time to fall ill. Not to mention I have to figure out a way to replicate the effects of a Dementor without bringing one into the school or taking you out to them.”
Harry left the classroom pleased that he would be able to learn the spell that would help keep the Dementors away. Now he and Daniel wouldn’t have to worry about being knocked out every time they were trying to drive the Dementors off.
Daniel made a mental note to himself to see if the library had any information on this Patronus charm.
#####
After dinner that evening in the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall stopped by the Gryffindor table before Harry and his friends could head for their common room. “Mr. Potter, the Headmaster would like to speak with you in his office, if you would come with me please.”
“We’ll see you in the common room, ok, Harry?” Hermione told him as she and Ron started to follow the rest of the Gryffindors out of the Great Hall.
Harry nodded as he and Daniel followed Professor McGonagall up to the Headmaster’s office.
She came to a stop in front of the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore’s office and said “Milky Way Midnight.”
When the gargoyle slid out of the way, she told Harry, “Go on up, the Headmaster is waiting.”
The door at the top of the stairs was open.
“Come in Harry.” The Headmaster called to the teen standing in the doorway. “Have a seat.”
Harry/Daniel moved into the room wondering why they were here. There hadn’t been an announcement yet of a Hogsmeade weekend and neither of them had expected to be brought into Dumbledore’s office until the next one was announced. Daniel was fairly sure that Dumbledore and McGonagall would try and keep Harry out of Hogsmeade again and wondered if they would go so far as to try detention to keep him from going to Hogsmeade since Harry had told them both he had plenty of copies of the permission note from his aunt, so they couldn’t claim to have lost it this time.
“Why did you want to see me sir?” Harry took a seat at the furthest edge of Dumbledore’s desk.
Fawkes once again surprised Dumbledore by flying over to land in Harry’s lap with a trill. The Phonenix had been silent toward him ever since that letter arrived from Harry’s American cousin, going so far as to close off the bond between them for the first time in a very long time. His familiar just didn’t understand that some times things that were not pleasant had to happen for the greater good of all. Harry had a destiny here in Britain, not in America.
§White Lord, I will be seeing you later. I have important news for you.§ Fawkes had trilled as he landed in Harry’s lap.
/Harry and I will make sure the silencing and notice me not wards are up./ Daniel told him.
The phoenix settled down into Harry/Daniel’s lap and nudged his hand.
As the silence in the room continued with Dumbledore staring at his familiar with worried eyes, Harry had finally had enough of it and repeated his earlier question. “Why did you want to see me, sir?”
“I wanted to make sure you were ok after what happened at the Quidditch match.” Dumbledore told him.
“I’m sure Madame Pompfrey kept you well aware of my condition sir.” Harry countered dryly. “I don’t remember hearing about a parade of second years being brought up here, because you wanted to check on them after their exposure to the Dementors. What makes me so special?”
“There was no need to worry about them,” Dumbledore pointed out calmly. “They didn’t try and cast wandlessly… not to mention silently a spell I wouldn’t even attempt without a wand. Expending that much energy in an undirected spell can have serious consequences.”
“Oh you mean the Patronus Charm.” Harry concluded. “I wouldn’t worry about it. Professor Lupin promised to teach me how to cast it properly.”
Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, staring at the boy seated on the other side of the desk from him, wondering why Lupin had made the offer. “I am pleased that he offered to help you, otherwise I would’ve had to ask him to teach you how to cast the spell properly.”
Harry shrugged, “Oh he didn’t offer. I asked him to teach it to me once he told me what the spell was and what it was supposed to do. I figured it was better to know how to cast the charm properly, rather than risk my life every time I have to drive the Dementors off since they seem to be attracted to me… though no one will tell me why.”
Dumbledore looked vaguely apologetic. “I do not think you were their main target. The Dementors feed on emotions and those around the school have been rather limited in what they can feed on and those are only the ambient emotions that manage to make it beyond the castle walls. Dementors use their ability to pull to the surface painful memories to freeze their prey in place because they become trapped in the misery generated by those memories. With you trapped in your worst memories, they are free to feed on good emotions you have within you. The closer they can get the more they are able to get a hold on you. Prolonged exposure leaves one as little more than a husk trapped in a world of misery. That’s part of the reason they are the guards at Azkaban, They feed on the prisoners and we know where they are and that they are not causing harm elsewhere.”
Having felt the effects of the Dementors himself, Harry couldn’t resist saying. “It would be better to kill them.”
Dumbledore chose to deliberately misunderstand what Harry has said, because he was certain the boy was talking about his desire to kill Black because he was responsible for Harry’s parent’s deaths. “There is no way to kill the Dementors that we are aware of. The best we have ever been able to do is restrain or drive them off with the Patrouns charm.”
“I was talking about those imprisoned at Azkaban.” Harry told him. “I think Voldemort is the only one I would wish the Dementors on.”
“Ah, the reasoning of the young,” Dumbledore sighed. “It’s a pity most things in life are not that simple.”
Harry shrugged. “Maybe you’re right, because if they were killed, then Sirius Black would be dead and I would never know why he betrayed my parents, or even if he really did it,” /given we still have that animagus hiding in our dorm./ Harry put in as a mental aside to Daniel. “Have you located the records for his trial yet, Headmaster, or should I ask my cousin to see if he can get hold of a copy?”
“I still have people looking. There were a lot of trials during that time so there are a lot of stored records to go through. They will let me know as soon as they locate the records.” Dumbledore assured him and then sounding casual as if he were discussing the weather, he asked. “When was the last time you heard from your cousin?”
Harry shrugged. “I got a letter from him recently. Were the Dementors all you wished to discuss, sir?”
Given he had no real reason to press on the matter of Jackson and he had at least confirmed that young harry was writing to the other man, Dumbledore nodded. He would have to take steps to have Harry’s mail screened even more closely. He couldn’t stop everything Jackson sent from getting through, but he could slow down their communication and make Harry think the man was too busy to spend time with him.
Harry nudged the phoenix off his lap and got to his feet. The bird gave him a reproachful look before returning to his perch.
####
Fawkes flamed in as quietly as possible. He knew that the White Lord would put up wards to prevent the others in the dorm room from noticing his arrival, but it was still better to avoid attracting the attention of curious younglings. He didn’t want the other third year Gryffindors to comment on the fact he was visiting Harry Potter late at night. The boy already had enough attention focused on him as it was.
Daniel Jackson was sitting there waiting for him while young Harry slept.
Staring back and forth between the two, Fawkes trilled, §How can you appear separate from him unless on the dream plane?§
Daniel gestured to the ring on the sleeping boy’s right hand before saying softly. “A gift from Myrddin. He made that so we could appear as separate entities when needed, though not for long. Harry needed his sleep, so we set it up so that I was here to wait for you. Now what was it you needed to tell us?"
§I thought you should know that he got your letter today and because of it he is planning on visiting Harry’s aunt this weekend. He wants to make sure she doesn’t give you custody.§ Fawkes trilled softly so that he wouldn’t risk waking up the other boys in the dormitory.
“He’s moving a little sooner than I’d planned, but as Jack says no plan survives its first encounter with the enemy, so you have to stay on your toes and be flexible.” Then Daniel could resist commenting. “You do realize you sound like a wizard who is talking about Voldemort, when you mention Dumbledore that way, don’t you?”
§I will not use his name because I no longer respect him.§ If it were possible for a phoenix to look ashamed, Fawkes managed it. §He has slipped away from the Light and until he comes back to it, I no longer consider him my bonded.§
“So what are you going to do?” Daniel wondered.
§Leave.§ Fawkes told him sadly. §I have to. For a phoenix a bond is like marriage and for Him to fall from the Light is like finding out you married an adulterer, or a potential child molester. While may not yet have actually assaulted a child yet, it may take very little for him to take that final step.§
“Can he compel you to stay?” Daniel wanted to know.
§I don’t know. He is a powerful wizard and he knows I am not happy with him.§ Fawkes ruffled his feathers. §If he did so though, it would be the final step, he would become irretrievably Dark, because that is one of the greatest crimes that can be committed on a Light creature like myself or a Unicorn. §
Daniel was silent for a moment. “Maybe you should hold off on leaving until the weekend, when Dumbledore is out of the castle trying to Find Petunia, because I will make sure she is not on Privet drive this weekend. That should give you several hours at least to get out so that he can’t bring you back.”
§You're probably right,§ Fawkes bobbed his head in agreement. §But it will be hard, everything about me says to leave as soon as possible.§
“Whatever you decide, I will help you as much as I can, and I know Harry will too.” Daniel promised the phoenix
#########
Petunia heard the mail slot in the door clink and knew that Thursday’s mail had finally been delivered. The mew mailman was beginning to be a bit annoying. The mail was getting delivered later and later in the day. When she had called to complain, the manager of main branch for Little Whinging post office had simply told her that the postman’s route had gotten larger with the new block of flats that had been built on the other side of the park and that had added a couple of hours to his delivery time since the route he was required to take was to start with the locations furthest out and work his way in.
As Petunia bent to pick up the mail, she noticed an envelope sitting off to one side. When she picked it up, the first thing she noticed was that the stamp was foreign. Looking for a return address she found it in the upper left corner of the envelope.
Dr. Daniel Jackson
205 Currie Road,
Slippery Rock, PA 16057 USA
Petunia stared at the letter in amazement for several minutes. She didn’t think witches or wizards ever did anything as normal send something by mail. Not even her sister had done so when she attended that dratted school, not that she had written Petunia all that much. She might actually begin to like this distant cousin… a little… if only because he appeared to care that she really didn’t want any sort of magical contact and had sent her a regular letter, clearly written with a pen and not a quill, by normal mail.
Putting the other mail down on the hall table, Petunia opened the letter, hoping that Jackson wasn’t writing to tell her that he had changed his mind about taking the brat off her hands, or that the brat had been stupid enough to decline the offer.
Petunia,
While this is short notice, I realize, I will be in London on Saturday November 13, 1993 from about noon to 6pm before I have to catch a flight to Bulgaria to deal with a diplomatic situation there. I was hoping we could meet that day to take care of that business we spoke about.
I have spoken with Harry and he is agreeable to the change. However in his last letter to me he reported that the Headmaster… Dumbledore seems to be taking an unusual interest in this matter, so I think it would be a good idea if we conclude the paperwork as soon as we possibly can.
If you are not able to meet with me because this is short notice, I will understand, but I do need to make you aware that I have learned from several unimpeachable sources that Dumbledore intends to pay you a visit this weekend to try and convince you not to change the custody arrangements, so if you are not going to be able to meet with me, you and your husband might want to plan a long trip until around Christmas time so he can’t locate you. Because the next time I will even have a chance to get near England is going to be the 2nd or 3rd weekend in December when I am to pass through London on my way to an archeological conference in Egypt.
If you will be able to meet with me, then please come to the Food Hall at Harrods anytime between 2 and 4pm.
Sincerely,
Daniel Jackson
Petunia was not pleased to read that Dumbledore intended to interfere. For that past twelve years that man had been ruining their lives, well no more. He had made it clear that Lily’s child had to live with maternal kin for them all to be safe, well Jackson was kin and the fact that he was American didn’t seem to matter to anyone but Dumbledore. Apparently that man had no intention of giving up his hold on her family. Well she was going to put a stop to that starting today. It was time to take her family back. First she needed to check a few things out and then have a long talk with Vernon tonight, because once those papers were signed, she was going to make sure they disappeared... though if things worked out the way she hoped it would be a long time before that meddlesome old goat knew they were gone. It was time things went right for the Dursley family.
#######
At precisely 2 pm on Saturday Petunia Dursley strode into Harrods followed by her husband.
Vernon couldn’t help feeling nervous at the idea of meeting a wizard. All their previous meetings with adult wizards hadn’t gone that well, but his wife had assured him that this one would take Potter off their hands forever and the prospect of that was something he was actually looking forward to. He just hoped this one had at least dressed like normal people should.
They went up and down the isles of the Food Hall, with Petunia looking everyone over.
“I thought you said you would know him when you saw him, Pet.” Vernon hissed as his wife garnered another strange look from a nearby shopper.
“I will Vernon.” Petunia told him. “There are just a lot more people here than I expected.”
They wandered into the bakery section, and Petunia and Vernon spent several minutes looking at the works of art that were in the glass cases.
“Cousin Petunia,” A gentle male voice called. “I’m glad you were able to meet me.”
Vernon turned and found himself looking at a slender young man who he guessed was in his thirties with golden brown hair and dressed in a conservative brown suit. He had to admit at least to himself that this man definitely didn’t fit his conception of a wizard.
“Cousin Daniel, this is my husband Vernon,” Petunia gestured to the man standing beside her.
“Pleased to meet you Vernon,” Daniel extended his hand. “I’m Dr. Daniel Jackson.”
Vernon took it with barely concealed reluctance and shook his hand but didn’t return the greeting.
As if Daniel sensed his reluctance, he nodded, “Let’s get down to business, shall we?”
He led them over to a table in the nearby ice cream shop that Harrods had put there so people could take a break from shopping if they wanted to. Opening the leather document case he had brought with him Daniel pulled out a sheaf of papers.
“I had these drawn up by a lawyer who specialises in both normal and magical law.” Daniel even though he kept his voice so other’s wouldn’t hear this discussion, couldn’t help noticing Vernon’s wince at the word magic. “Mr Dursley, I gather from the way your reacted to me that you do not like thinking about anything outside what you view as normal, but sir even in science there are things that happen that do not fit the current view of what the world considers normal. If it helps you any, think of your nephew and I as being on a slightly different evolutionary path than you.”
“My wife and son aren’t part of this so called evolutionary path are they?” Vernon hissed. “They are normal. The way everyone should be.”
Daniel looked at Petunia and it was fairly clear from the blank expression on her face, that she hadn’t told Vernon about the possibility of his grandchildren being magical. ”No they are not but not everyone is. Robert Heinlein a famous author in one of his books wrote and I am paraphrasing here: ‘There is no such thing as normal. Everyone has one quirk, one fetish, one fear that keeps them from fitting the definition of normal.’ Some people are divinely blessed by a higher power with gifts or abilities that no one else has in things like music or the sciences, and they are considered prodigies. And still others are blessed by that same higher power with the rare ability of being able to heal with the touch of their hands. If it helps you understand those blessed with my ability any better, think of Harry’s and my gift as being like a prodigy.”
“There is no way that can be considered as a gift.” Vernon hissed. “It serves no useful purpose.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way, Mr. Dursley. I’m also sorry that you will miss out on a lot of the wonder in the universe because of your narrow view of the world and the purpose of our creator.” Daniel shook his head sadly and then took a deep cleansing breath. “You are a lot like a Senator I know. His world view is rather rigid and unyielding. He is firmly convinced that his way is the only way things should be done… for the greater good of course.”
“Vernon!” Petunia hissed grabbing his arm and shaking it. She didn’t want Jackson backing out at the last moment because of how they felt about his freakish ways.
“He’s not doing this out of the goodness of his heart and because of him we are going to have to make major changes in our life.” Vernon hissed back.
“Actually, Mr. Dursley I am and I am going to have to make a great many changes in my life too to have Harry in it, because I am single and my work among other things will be affected, but I have been where Harry is as an orphan and no one should have to grow up where they are not wanted.” Daniel countered firmly. “And what changes are you talking about? The only change I can see for you once these papers are signed and finalised in a month or so is that you will no longer have custody of your nephew Harry Potter.”
There were several minutes of silence as the Dursleys stared at each other and then Petunia finally spoke. “When I read that section of your letter about Dumbledore, I realised that he was never going to relinquish his control and would always be trying to force us to take the boy back.”
“Ah,” Daniel nodded in understanding “Say no more. We in America have noticed that habit of his, which is why our representative at the ICW wears a charm to protect him from compulsion spells no matter how minor. Dumbledore’s habit of trying to subtly or not to impose his will on others, saying it is for the ‘greater good’. Which is a fine thing if you as an individual are deciding to make some sort of sacrifice that involves giving up all or part of your life for the good of others, like his decision to face Grindelwald which helped shorten WW II, because that removed one of Hilter’s main areas of support so that the Normandy invasion remained a secret. However when someone is are making a decision for another, then that makes that person, a dictator, especially when it becomes clear the situation as it is cannot be maintained. Do you need help relocating?”
“Thank you but no.” Petunia declined his offer of help.
Daniel nodded. “Then let’s make this part as quick and painless for you both as I can.” Daniel handed the sheaf of papers to Petunia and her husband to look over. “I asked the solicitor to draw up documents for an uncontested change of custody, that way neither you or I have to appear in court to explain why it is being done. Once they are signed by your wife as Harry’s Guardian of record and properly filed by my solicitor here in the UK, then you and your wife will no longer have custody of her nephew Harry Potter.”
“How long do you think it will take?” Petunia wanted to know.
“For it to be finalised?” Daniel asked.
“Yes,” Petunia took each page from Vernon after he finished reading it and signed where he indicated.
“That I was told will depend on the levels of bureaucracy these documents have to go through on the non-magical side,” Daniel told her. “Once they have been finalised on your side of the court system the record on my side will immediately be updated with the new information and no one will ever see it, unless they ask to see the records. And even then they will have to fill out a ton of paperwork to get access.”
Signing the final page and handing it back to Daniel, Petunia Dursley smiled at the thought of that meddling fool Dumbledore being buried under a mountain of paperwork as he tried to find out who now had custody of Lily’s brat.
########
Dumbledore had left Hogwarts for the day, telling his Deputy Headmistress he had some personal business to take care of. It was a pity he was not in his office around 3pm because he would have undoubtedly panicked when one of the devices on his desk that he had keyed to the wards on Privet Drive started wailing.
Fawkes had been about to make his departure when the monitoring device had gone off. Before he could do anything, a girl with long dark hair and dressed in a style that hadn’t been seen since the time of the Founders appeared in office. She waved her hand at the portraits of the previous headmasters that decorated the walls and they suddenly went to sleep then she stepped over to the desk and placed her hand firmly on the screeching silver orb.
It went silent.
“Hello Fawkes,” the girl greeted him.
§Hogwarts!§ Fawkes fell off his perch.
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