Fox's Den

The Bandit Killer Strikes Back!

 

Chapter Four: Insight! Aftermath of Escape

 

When Remus and Sirius landed with their three passengers everyone was disoriented. Harry disliked Apparation already, it was almost as bad as a portkey and Floo travel. While Remus and Sirius helped his Aunt and cousin get over their disorientation he looked around the room they had landed in. The place was extremely opulent, not something Harry would have expected from Remus or Sirius, even though he knew his godfather was from an affluent family like his father. He spun in a slow circle taking in the hardwood floor, the rich wood walls, the murals of unknown creatures, and the beautiful furniture.

 

“Sirius, where are we?” Harry asked, turning to his godfather.

 

“Sayrune Palace, a place your mum purchased as a safe haven, your parents had actually planned to bring you here when they found out that they and you were being targeted by You-Know-Who.” Sirius told him.

 

“Yes, she got the place for quite the bargain, if I remember correctly. The realtor said that the place had been on the market for so long, long before he had even been born. There were rumours that everyone who had ever taken a tour of the place immediately decided not to buy it, even he wouldn’t enter this place. Your mum set a precedence in actually purchased it. The realtor first tried to swindle her but she was a very smart woman and did not fall for it.” Remus commented from his position next to Sirius.

 

Harry nodded as he took in more of the room before going to sit next to his aunt and cousin on the couch.

 

“I remember Lily mentioning something about this place.” Petunia said as she too looked around from her seated position.

 

“Really? What was it Aunt Petunia?”

 

“She said something about it belonging to the family. Our family. She mentioned something about this place being where it all started.”

 

“Where it all…” Harry trailed off as a thought struck him. “Seyrune… Oh! You mean Seillune!” Harry exclaimed, his ‘r’ sounding more like a cross between an ‘r’ and an ‘l’.

 

“Harry?” Remus queried.

 

“Seillune Palace was the home to the Seillune Royal Family and is part of the family lineage, on mum’s side.” Harry said, excited at the prospects of exploring this place.

 

Remus and Sirius looked at him with curiosity. He could tell they all thought he was nutters.

 

“I’m going to go explore.” He told them before jumping off the couch and running out of the room.

 

As he left the room he had been in with his family he realized he had no idea on how to get ahold of Remus and Sirius if he got lost. He turned around and walked back into the room sheepishly.

 

“Finally realize that you could get lost pup?” his godfather asked with a chuckle.

 

“Yeah.” He nodded and sat down, this time next to Sirius.

 

“Mum, what’s going on?” Dudley asked, finally having gotten his bearings.

 

“Dudley…” Petunia began, only to pause unsure as to how to continue.

 

“I’m Remus Lupin, Harry’s former Professor, this is my mate Sirius Black…oh don’t be scared, the news makes him out to be crazier than he really is. We’re friends of your mum’s and were good friends with your Aunt Lily and Uncle James. Though your father refused to accept you calling them that.” Remus said to get things started.

 

“Mum, what’s going on? Where’s Dad?” Dudley asked, confused.

 

“Dudley, your father isn’t a good man. He’s the worst sort to be honest and the only reason I stayed with him as long as I did was because I was unsure as to how to leave him and care for you and Harry on my own.” Petunia explained, figuring she needed to quit coddling her son and start teaching him right from wrong to try and correct all of the lies that Vernon had filled her son’s head with.

 

Dudley looked at his mother slightly confused before his face showed a modicum of understanding. Contrary to what most people though he could remember thinking that someone should be told about how his dad treated his cousin. He had decided to ignore it though because of hero worship. That and there was a new boy at Smelting’s for the duration of the final semester after the Winter Holidays. He had seen how most of the other kids that attended treated the kid, who was younger than him and he hadn’t liked what he’d seen. Some of his and Piers old gang had even beaten the kid up. Him and Piers had taken the kid under their wings and protected him from bullies like they had been. It was because of that boy that he learned some more of what his cousin dealt with. The boy’s older sister went to Hogwarts and he learned there was a deadly tournament there. It had also allowed him to be honest with Piers as he found out that Piers had a Great Uncle who had gone to Hogwarts many years ago.*

 

“Oh.” He said before turning to Harry, “You really famous?”

 

“Yes, unfortunately. It wasn’t even my doing it was my mum’s.” Harry said, laughing in shock.

 

“Dudley!” Petunia exclaimed, shocked. “Who told you he was famous?”

 

“Remember that new kid? He’s got an older sister at Harry’s school and he told me. Piers also had a Great Uncle who went there.” Dudley informed her now that he knew he could do so without getting Harry into trouble.

 

Remus, Sirius and Harry looked on at the odd turn of events before Harry yawned, suddenly extremely tired. He was followed by Dudley and Petunia, whose yawn was less dainty than Harry would have expected. Sirius yawned shortly after prompting a chuckle from Remus.

 

“Come on, bedrooms are this way, it’s been a long day for all of us and there’s also a time difference to account for.” He said as he led them down the hall, up a set of stairs and into another long hallway lined with doors.

 

“We’ll go exploring tomorrow. Goodnight Pet, Dudley, cub. C’mon Siri.”

 

%%Dream Sequence%%

 

Harry could see Lina standing on a balcony looking down at something only she could see.

“Lina! I’m over here!” Harry watched as she whipped her head around and smiled before using levitation and slowly coming down from the balcony into the courtyard where Harry was standing.

 

“Hello, Harry. Is everything alright?”

 

“It’s great! Moony and Padfoot came and got us. I kind of feel bad for Vernon though. Death Eater’s showed up just as he got home and we were leaving. Guess where we are now?”

 

“Don’t worry about the walrus. Where?”

 

“Seillune Palace! Mum found it and bought it years ago, before…”

 

“Before that billy goat destroyed your family.” Lina interpreted, a smirk on her face.

 

“Billy Goat! I like that one! Padfoot and Moony will too. We’re all gonna go exploring tomorrow! Did you hide anything interesting in the palace?” he laughed as he thought of all the fun he could have at Dumbledore’s expense.

 

“There are plenty of hidden passageways and rooms in the Palace. Maybe you’ll find ones that even I didn’t.” She smiled at his excitement.

 

“Lina?”

 

“Hmmm?”

 

“Do you think I’ll be strong enough to defeat Riddle?”

 

“Of course you will be. You’re related to me! You might need to use more powerful spells though because of the fact that the natural magicks in the land have been stagnating unused for a very long time. Just remember there is no such thing as overkill.” She winked at him as a scene of her fighting the black dragon played like a movie behind her.

 

“Will I even be able to call upon those magicks?”

 

“Yes. You’ve got the blood of a Chimera and Mazoku in you as well as mine and Gourry’s. Your Aunt and cousin may even be able to do simple magic because of the same reason.” She explained.

 

“Lina? Can I ask you something?”

 

“You just did. Ask away.” She laughed at his pout of frustration.

 

“Does this mean mum wasn’t a muggleborn?”

 

“Yes and no. Yes because she can trace her ancestry back even farther than the founders of your school’s time. No because the magic lay dormant inside of the family line for so long that it would take an inheritance test to prove it and claim what rightfully belongs to you.” She pulled Harry into a one armed hug before flopping down on the ground of the courtyard.

 

“Are you going to teach me more spells?”

 

“Yes, but first I want to go over the ones you’ve already learned.”

 

Nodding they got to work going over the spells that Harry had already learned from the various magic specialties, most centered on the Black Magic ones. Once they had finished reviewing the spells he’d learned Lina started him on some new spells; Blast Ash, Dark Claw, Hell Blast, Ferrous Bleed(which he was having trouble remembering the incantation), Laguna Blast even though Hellmaster Phibriizo was dead, and the Ruby-Eye Blade, which she never used as she preferred the Dragon Slave.

 

“Sit down Harry. You need a break. I want you to try and memorize the incantation for Ferrous Bleed without actually channeling your magic.” Lina said as she noted the frustration evident on her descendant’s face.

 

“I can’t Auntie Lina! How am I supposed to defeat the Darkest Wizard of my time if I can’t remember a few words?!?!” Harry flopped down on the ground exhausted.

 

Lina shook her head at him and his nickname for her. It brought back her own memories of a little old Lady she called Auntie Aqua.

 

“Harry, did I ever tell you about the time we found a Holy place where there were stone tablets with the Claire Bible Manuscript on them and their caretaker?”

 

“No.”

 

“Well, it goes something like this. We were on a hunt for the Claire Bible Manuscript. Hellmaster Phibriizo was after us and we came across this place said to have a copy of the manuscript. We didn’t know it at the time but it was actually thousands of stone tablets housed in what we later learned was a sort of alternate dimension. Their caretaker was a little old lady and no-one thought anything of her except that she was quirky. Do you know what we called her? She asked us to call her Auntie Aqua. It wasn’t until later that we learned that she was actually the manifestation of the last remnants of the Water Dragon Lord’s powers. When Gaav came for us she protected us allowing us to escape, even if it was only for a short reprieve.” Lina smiled at him as she noticed how much attention he paid in her lessons, whether they were historical or magical in nature.

 

“So what happened to her?”

 

“Well, we never did find out if she died or if she was just incapacitated until she could re-manifest some of her powers.”

 

“Oh. Do you mind that I call you Auntie Lina?”

 

She shook her head and watched as he stretched before standing again.

 

“I’m gonna get this spell down Auntie.” He began to take a stance, bracing himself for the influx of power that summoning all those animals to him would cause.

 

Star which passes through heavens' night skies,

heed the ancient coven and the Earth,

I pledge my life that he may be called forth!

FERROUS BLEED!

 

He stood waiting and finally, finally he saw the first trickle of animals being called towards him. She smiled, summoning spells were useful as distractions depending on what it was that a person was summoning.

 

“You did it, Harry.” She smiled at his incandescent grin, the beginnings of a pair of sharp canines just peeking through.

 

He would definitely take after the smarter sides of the family, hopefully he would be just as good with swords as her Gourry had been.

 

“…ntie Lina.”

 

“Hmmm?”

 

“You weren’t paying any attention were you?”

 

“Nope. Reminiscing, kiddo.”

 

“I said I think I smell food, Auntie.”

 

“Well, go eat, make sure to practice too. Have fun exploring!” she called as she began to fade.

“I will!”

 

%%End Dream Sequence%%

 

He awoke to the smell of sausage, bacon, eggs, ham, pancakes, waffles, and toast. Tossing the covers from his body he headed for the bathroom to get ready before following his nose to the kitchen where he found his Aunt cooking. Sitting down next to Sirius he grabbed plenty of food and began to eat. He was starving! It wasn’t until five minutes later that he noticed he was being stared at. Swallowing he looked up.

 

“What?”

 

“When did you start eating so much food cub? And why is your hair longer?”

 

“Huh?” he reached up and realized that his hair had indeed grown in his sleep, it was now a little past his shoulders.

 

“Dunno. Magical Growth Spurt maybe?” he looked at Sirius and Remus for an explanation.

 

“Probably.” Remus said, shrugging and going back to eating.

 

Just then an owl flew in carrying the Daily Prophet. Remus paid for the paper before unrolling it and groaning in dismay.

 

“What is it Remus?” Sirius asked, receiving the paper in lieu of an answer.

 

“Bloody Hell!” Sirius cursed before reading.

 

Death Eaters Attack Muggle Town

 

Death eaters were spotted outside of Little Whinging, Surrey late yesterday afternoon. One muggle was killed and several injured while at least three are missing. The muggle, Vernon Dursley, was tortured before being killed. It was later learned that the muggle is one Harry Potter’s uncle whom he lived with along with an Aunt on his mother’s side and his cousin. All three are Missing and presumed dead by Muggle Authorities.

 

This author wonders why the boy-who-lived was not under better protection if Death Eaters were able to get into the home. Dumbledore has refused comment but has said that Harry is safe at an undisclosed location. It begs the question as to why the uncle was left if the man knew about the attempt to attack Potter beforehand and where his aunt and cousin are.

 

Amidst the boy’s reports that You-Know Who was revived during the Final Task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament the ministry has stated that the boy was just stressed because of the loss of fellow Hogwarts Champion and Classmate, Cedric Diggory(See Tournament pg. 6) and whether or not there is any truth to these outrageous claims.

 

Minister Fudge was unavailable for comment. Dumbledore, who led the last war refused to comment any further, maintaining that the boy was safe and sound. This reporter wonders what else lies in store for our boy-hero if he is indeed not safe.

 

Rita Skeeter

 

Harry growled as he heard the reporter’s name. He looked around at his Aunt, cousin and his parents’ best friends as an idea came to him.

 

“Dumbledore has no idea where I am, he needs to be brought down slowly. Rita may be a pain in the arse but she owes me for not revealing her dirty little secret. We can use this opportunity to slowly start to diminish Dumbledore’s popularity with the public.”

 

“How, pup?” Sirius questioned.

 

“Have Aunt Petunia contact Rita Skeeter for an exclusive interview. I’ll change my looks enough that she won’t recognize me and I can check her work before it’s published. First we need to visit Gringott’s and get an inheritance test, have mum and dad’s wills read, and get control of my vaults back.” He said looking at each of them in turn.

 

“It could work.” Remus said as Sirius thought about getting revenge and being cleared.

 

“We’ll start planning now so that way we have back-up plans in case something goes wrong.” Sirius said as his Auror training began to kick in and they finished their meals.

 

TBC…

 

AN: This chapter has been a long time coming. I;m not completely happy with it but I’ve re-written it multiple times already, adding and removing things and the such. If anyone has any ideas for Daily Prophet Articles either for this chapter and ones in the future please send them! All credit will be given to those whose ideas I use(which knowing me will be everyone who send Articles and Article Titles in) as I need all the help I can get on writing articles. I’m not happy with this article but it’ll do for now. Reviews, Comments and Constructive Criticism are greatly appreciated. Flames and Flamers are not.

 

*I needed a way to have Dudley be more understanding of Harry without the Dementors happening and the idea popped into my head and I felt it would be interesting for one of his friends to have a relative who was a witch or wizard. We don’t rightfully know whether or not there was a possibility of there being magical relatives for any of Dudley’s friends let alone if Lily really was the first one to have magic in her line as JKR never went into any sort of proper background on the “minor” characters and even the “major” characters.