FicWad

Sorry for taking so long. I haven't had access to my computer for a while, and was not motivated to write when I was. Well, it's out now, finally. Hope you enjoy. Remember to review; I like to hear about what you think. They help me write and often make me remember something that I had not addressed. Anyway, on with the story

-Omnis Potens

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Chapter 11: True Colours and Dummies



Brightness, a major contrast to the foggy night time he had woke up to before. Again there were voices, but they were hushed, quiet. Soft, encouraging voices. 'Sounds like Remus actually... Or it could be Tonks...'

"Mr. Potter, the scan says that your core has now almost fully regenerated. I have half a mind to tie you to the bed, just to make sure you stay in it. Scarcely even into the summer and I am patching you up again, though you are doing must of the work." 'Madame Pomfrey?' The land of nod swallowed him again.

"Harry, you need to wake up soon. You have a lot of explaining to do." 'Well, that can't be good... Definitely sounds like Remus.'

"I want to know that interesting curse you used on your cousin." That got his attention. Fast. He groaned and attempted to role over until strong hands prevented it and he opened his eyes.

"'Lo Remus, and how are you?" He asked groggily. He was in an unfamiliar bed, and by the window to the side of him, it was now night. The Hogwarts infirmary did not have beds like this, it was actually comfortable. The area was dark, but it gave the room a nearly cozy atmosphere.

"Not bad. Better now that you are awake though. We need to talk. Tonks is here too, she was with me when we found you. You can trust her." Remus said.

"Oh, I know that. 'Fear not the pink and furry one.' And what do you mean when you say you found me." Seraph asked. Ignoring the odd looks that Tonks was giving him. She did indeed have pink hair today.

"Tonks and I left halfway through an Order meeting last Saturday. A most peculiar thing happened. It seems that a new Head of Black was chosen. The new Head reclaimed Tonks, her mother, and her father through marriage to the Black family. This was not told to them through Gringotts however, they were told by blood and magic."

"It alerts family members to a change with the family, to those who are concerned anyway. I am not sure if anyone has active control over it, though you may be able to." Tonks cut in.

"So we wondered why a new Head would reclaim them. Or why there would be a new Head at all. Only a blood Heir can take over the Head of Family, and if Sirius did not have a son or daughter, he would have dissolved the family and liquidated his assets and give what was made from it to people in his will. But as far as we knew, Sirius never had any children. And once he was imprisoned, he never had the chance. This left us with few options as to who the new Head was, since he would not have left it to Draco, Bellatrix, or Narcissa. Then I remembered overhearing James mentioning something that had happened to him during an attack back in our seventh year to Sirius one day. I did not hear what the whole conversation was about but I gathered that it was possible for James to not be able to have children. Once you were born though, the thought never crossed my mind again, till just that moment. I assumed that if you were actually Sirius's son, he had his reasons for not telling you, or me, or anybody for that matter, and that you would have had to have left your home to go to Gringotts in order to claim what was yours. Dumbledore said during the Order meeting that if you were to leave the house within the first couple of weeks that the wards would fall, so Tonks and I left to come and bring you back here, to Grimmauld." Remus said while beginning to pace in front of the bed that Seraph was sitting on.

Seraph took all this in while watching Remus move back and forth. Remus had discerned all that from any of the possibilities that would have been presented to him. It made him wonder who else knew or could figure out who he was. He still was not sure about how he was going to handle the situation, but he could feel out the people around him and come to a decision. He did not plan to stay at what was now his ancestral home.

"Yeah, we found you in the kitchen, covered in blood, with your cousin plastered all over the place. Remus thinks he knows why it happened but I want to hear it from you." Tonks said, while getting up and forcing Remus to sit in a seat and stay there by sitting in his lap. Seraph just raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

"Alright, well I came 'home' early from my trip to the Alley, it was getting late and I kept getting these bad feelings, anyway, I come home to find my Uncle pissed out of his mind and my cousin had set up a little surprise for me." Seraph said his voice frigid. "He cut her wing off. He cut her fucking wing off. Came up behind me like a heard of buffalo and said 'Nice, aint it?' I should have killed him right there. His face, he was damn proud of himself too. Told me that he wasn't done yet and punched me before throwing a lighter into a pan that was sitting on the table. Flames went up, and my stomach dropped. I went over to see why he did that to find Hedwig dying, being burned alive. I was shocked for a moment, the I told him 'an eye for an eye' and cut his arm off. Set his feet on fire, let him burn until he was nearly dead and threw a destruction curse at him." Seraph gave a humorless grin that was all feral, but dropped it only a second later.

"I went to pick her up, you know? To hold her one last time. She turned to ash, and I lost it. I don't really remember what happened after that, except for hearing phoenix song and seeing Hedwig's spirit rushing into me." Seraph said, glad that he had been able to say good bye to her after his choice.

"Well Remus, I guess you were right then. Hold on, so are you the Head of Black?" Tonks asked.

"Yeah. Seraph Orion Black, Head of the Noble and Most Ancient house of Black. Pleasure to meet you." Seraph said with a grin, this time it contained at least some mirth. He did not expect Tonks go wide-eyed. She looked at him blankly for a moment before squeaking and suddenly going very meek, like a small child in front of a great elder. A meek Tonks looked ridiculous compared to her usual character, and Seraph had to suppress a laugh at the sudden personality change.

"Tonks, stop that. I would think that you would know that I don't want you to think of me any differently, whether I am the head of the Family or not. I reclaimed your family because I know that you are good people. I also disowned Bellatrix and Narcissa which cuts Draco out of the family also."

"So you are Sirius's son. How?" Remus asked

"James was sterile; he could not have any children like you thought. My mum, brilliant witch that she was, created a ritual that would mix Sirius' blood and magic with James' magic, then somehow got mum pregnant with it. I think that she based the ritual off of an extremely ancient one that I heard about recently. Did my mum ever read any of the Black Family books somehow?" Seraph asked him.

"Yeah, I think she may have. Before Sirius left, he took a number of family books just to spite his parents. I think he kept them in the Potter home, that's where he ran to after leaving here. That is where she would have had access to them, why?"

"No reason, really. I just wanted to know if my hunch was correct. She was brilliant even think about using that ritual and then modifying it to work for her needs. Of course it was also possible that it could have killed her or me..." He said the last part to himself. Remus gave him an odd look but chose not to ask about 'rituals', he could find out later.

"So you are a Black, but you have the Potter magic? Does that suggest that you are the Black and Potter Heir?" He asked.

'Oh, I am Heir to a lot more then that, but that's beside the point' he thought, but answered in the affirmative.

"I see something happened while I was out though." Seraph said, changing the subject and laughing at Tonks blushing face and Remus' happy smile. "Maybe more then something. Remus, am I going to have to give you 'The Talk'?" Seraph asked, completely straight faced. Tonks fell off Remus' lap in giggles and Remus looked indignant for a moment before mumbling something about 'like father, like son.'

"Harry, er, Seraph, Dumbledore is going to come and interrogate you once he learns that you are awake. We made up a story and Dumbledore supplied his own thoughts on what happened so now they believe that your relatives were put under the Imperious and they let four Death Eaters in the house. You dueled with three of them while the fourth went to kill your relatives. You downed the two of them and were in the middle of the third when Tonks showed up. You were exhausted by that time, fighting three at the same time. The fourth showed up and knocked Tonks into you. They left shortly thereafter and you passed out. Got it? Oh, and don't look into his eyes when you talk to him, he is a strong Legilimens." Remus finished.

"Yeah, got it. But I won't be staying here long. I have things that I need to do. Dumbledore's orchestrated my whole life, from where I was to live, to who I knew in the wizarding world. Hell, did you know that if it wasn't for Hagrid telling me that Voldemort was from Slytherin and that every witch and wizard that went there was dark, I would have been there? I have to go to Gringotts again soon. I was only there long enough to have the private will read, get emancipated, and see my vault. I did not look over my past finances, but I bet you I would find discrepancies there."

"He also put wards on the Dursley's home to keep Hedwig out and has had Ron and Hermione spying on you since at least last year. It could have been longer though, we just found out that they have been in the Order for a year." Tonks said.

"What did you say?" Seraph asked, his eyes gaining a slight fiery glow, the bit of silver that had been trying to show through surfacing a little. "How long have you two known that?" His eyes had died down a bit but the power had gone to his voice, frightening Tonks a little.

"Since last week, Ha-Seraph." Remus supplied, watching his friend's son deflate in anger a small amount.

"Bloody fantastic. The two people I should be able to trust the most have been spying on me. Fuckin' lovely. What about Ginny?"

"Not sure, but it is possible that while she may not have been brought into it. Dumbledore seems very keen on keeping tabs on you though, even more so then last year from what he said at the meeting. He may be able to get her to go along with it. We think that your 'friends' were bribed into spying on you, so it may just be a matter of finding what she wants." Tonks said.

"Do you know what they got out of this?"

"Ron made prefect and a spot on the Quidditch team. That much we know from Molly's mumbling while cooking." Remus said.

"And I saw Hermione talking to her mirror, practicing her 'Head Girl' speech." Tonks supplied. Seraph just shook his head, trying to comprehend how little his 'mates' thought of their friendship.

"Does Bumbledore know about their being a new Head of Black?" Seraph asked.

"No, otherwise he would be trying to find out who they are and rope them in to joining the Order to be able to use the house. Unless he can hid it from them too." Tonks said.

"Well, at least that is something good. I just hope it takes longer for him to figure out who it is then Remus did. I suppose I could invent some relative... Or I could make the house dormant... Or I could let him think that the new Head doesn't know where the house is...bah. I'll figure something out, or the Goblins will. Where is the good Madam? And Mad-eye? I need my clothes and I want to get this conversation out of the way." Tonks said that she would go and get her and see if she couldn't find Moody too. Remus pointed to the foot of the bed, showing Seraph where his trunk and items that had been rescued from the house were. Seraph stood up and began stretching his ill worked muscles. He was slightly wobbly after staying in a bed for a week but managed to stay solid by the time Tonks returned with Pomfrey, Mad-eye was out on assignment and he would have to talk to him later. The nurse shoed him back into bed before running a diagnostics spell on him.

"Well you seem to be in perfect health, Mr. Potter. Your core has fully regenerated, though it has gone through some changes. Care to explain?" The matron asked.

"Yeah, I think Hedwig's soul going into me did that. I was told that she had given me the affinity of fire. I don't really know how to use it, but I think it will come in handy."

"And would you care to explain why you no longer look like your self? Or how you can keep such changes up while not consciously doing so? And who was it that told you that you were given the fire affinity?"

Seraph had to remind himself of what Meissa had said about Pomfrey and Moody.

"Those all have very simple answers, though I doubt you will be satisfied with them. I no longer look like myself because the charm that my mother placed on me when I was a child began to wear off. I don't know much about metamorphmagus', except that Tonks is one, so I can not tell you why I can keep the changes. That is something I wanted to ask Tonks about, actually. And I was told by the sire of my line that Hedwig had given me the gift." Seraph told her.

"Mr. Potter, apart from your lack of knowledge concerning metamorphmagi, please explain further."

"Well, they both tie into each other. I recently had my coming of age while in the coma and everything was integrated into my core during that time. I met some ancestors who gifted me with some of their abilities. Nice people apart form one, but he got over himself quickly. My ancestor told me both directly and indirectly who were my allies, and who were not. He said something about having 'less and more on your side then you know'. From what Remus and Tonks told me, I have fewer friends then I realized, and I may have people in my corner who I had not considered at first."

Madam Pomfrey pointed out that the Potter's did not have anything that resembled a coming of age until their magical maturation, which, while different for everyone, was still a couple years away for him, until it clicked for her. She then demanded to know who the father was, and was told, with the explanation of James' sterility given first. Now somewhat satisfied, the matron showed him to his clothes inside a small trunk, telling him that she did not want to know how he came upon such garments. It was about this time that there came a nock on the door, and Professor Dumbledore, as well as a few others were admitted into the room.

"Hello, Harry. I am very relieved to see you awake. You gave us quite a scare my boy. As I am sure Nymphrodora and Remus have told you, we found you after the attack on your home. I am very sorry to tell you that all of your family has been killed by Death Eaters. I understand that this may be hard for you, but I need to know, and first hand information is always the best, Harry. Can you tell me what happened during the attack?" Dumbledore asked, face grim, sporting an uncharacteristic black robe and hat. 'He really goes all out, doesn't he?' Seraph thought to himself. Dumbledore bringing up the death of his only living relatives gave him the perfect excuse to not look the man in the eye. Schooling his face and looking at his hands in his lap, he quickly thought about what he knew of wards, which was little, and remembered of Death Eater tactics, which were fresh in his mind.

"I was in my room, looking over some of my books and thinking about what my O.W.L. results would be when I heard my Uncle pull into the drive way. He and my Aunt Petunia had left earlier, I'm not sure why. A few seconds later I heard a screeching type sound. I went and looked out of my window and saw the air almost rippling before I heard something like someone apparating loudly and glass breaking. I knew that something had to be wrong, but I had not felt anything in my scar, so I did not think that it was Voldemort himself. I grabbed my wand and ran downstairs. There were four of them. One told Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia to go upstairs and followed them. The other three had already found Dudley in the kitchen. I knocked one out as soon as I got into the kitchen, and began to duel the other two. I was able to take down another one after a few minutes but I was having trouble with the last one. I knew that I could not take him down, as well as the other one, but I thought that if I set up a strong shield that I could hold out until help arrived. So I tried the 'Tutela Munimentum' shield. I had read about it before the end of term but I had not tried it out yet. I was able to cast it successfully, but it took out a lot more then I thought it would. I was starting to lose it when Tonks showed up. I assume that she was able to take out the others because I felt like I had nothing left to put into my shield and lost it, and I don't remember anything after that except waking up just a few minutes ago." Seraph finished, the same sad look on his face mixed with a small amount of fear that the old man did not buy it. To the others around him he looked like he was about to cry and Dumbledore ate it up apparently and put his hand on Seraph's shoulder.

'Omitting the fact that he cannot be kept at his relatives' house any longer, I could not have orchestrated the effect that the death of his relatives is having on him better my self. While he is distraught, he can be molded so much easier, even though he may be more volatile. Caution must be used while handling him, I expect. Though he may not have cared much for his family, I suppose losing the rest of his blood kin has hit harder then he anticipated... So much the better.' Dumbledore thought, as he placed a comforting hand on the young boy's shoulder.

"Then it is as we thought. The sounds that you heard were the falling of the wards. Had you waited longer, you may have seen them crash, a most despairing and amazing sight. The 'Tutela Munimentum', that is truly amazing that one so young should be able to cast it successfully, let alone sustain it for a prolonged period of time. You are becoming a very powerful wizard, Harry. Sadly, with the death of your relatives, you have lost the greatest protection that you had."

"So then I will be staying here then?" Seraph asked, already knowing the answer already. "I mean, I did not really want to be here, so soon after Sirius' passing, but I think that I would like to stay with my f-friends." He said, nearly choking on the word 'friends'.

"No, Harry my boy. I am sorry to say that you cannot stay here. Even with its protections, this house is not safe enough for you. I have a property in my possession that I set up in the case that for whatever reason you were no longer able to stay with your family. It has vast protections on it and is about the size of a large flat. It features a large bedroom, self-filling kitchen, a cozy common, and a few magic windows that show a view of the Forbidden Forest, a nice place, all in all. There is also a large library there, many texts on Defense against the Dark Arts that you enjoy so much, as well as a few on other school subjects. I may even be able to get your required books for the coming year early so that you can take a peak at them before school begins. You will have to stay there of course, until your birthday. I think that you can stay here with your friends for that day and perhaps the next without much risk, but you will have to go back for the rest of the summer." Dumbledore said with a sad smile, taking his hand of Seraph's shoulder and standing up.

"Professor..."

"Yes, Harry?"

"What makes this place that you want to take me so much safer then here? I mean, this place is under the Fidelius, with you as the secret keeper. Just knowing that, I think, would make this one of the most secure places in Britain. And why did I not get anything from the ministry about my use of underage magic?" The last was asked to see what the man would come up with. If Dumbledore believed that he did not know why he had not received anything, then he may be less likely to suspect him.

"Well, Harry, you did not receive anything from the ministry because I have taken care of it. There were wards set up that had covered up any focused magic in place since your third year over the house, but they were tied into the blood wards and also fell. There was a second ward that was set up over your block that did the same, though it was much weaker, that filtered out some of the trackers that the ministry uses. They were notified of a large amount of magic at your late residence, but I convinced them to mark it off as accidental magic. I believe that the Minister would be very sore to know that an opportunity to further prosecute you had slipped through his fingers, and I doubt that him knowing that you lost your home and guardians by a team of rogue Death Eaters could be good for you. He would most likely attempt to become you magical guardian or make you a ward of some prominent pureblood family. The Malfoy's, most likely, if Lucius had anything to say about it. The Dursley's have been seen to and your house has been incinerated to destroy any remnants of wards. Sadly, Harry, we could not find your wand. We will have to take you to Ollivander's before the end of the summer to see if he has any wands that will choose you. Perhaps Hagrid can take you through the Forbidden Forest to see if you come across any foci material that will work with you. It is not standard practice anymore, but will see what I can do. We will be leaving by Portkey at noon tomorrow. There is something that we should speak about before you go to bed tonight. I will leave you to your rest now." Dumbledore smiled as he left, taking the unnamed Order members and an apologetic Remus and Tonks with him.

Seraph stayed in his depressed looking state for a few more seconds before getting out of bed to pace. 'Old man thinks that I don't know he did not answer the question. Probably does not have an answer, or did not think that I would question him. If he was telling the truth about those wards, then I could have been doing magic inside that house for the past two years. Damn him! What the hell does he want with me later? We're supposed to leave at noon, so I have until then to get out and come up with something to get them off my back...' It was at this moment that the door was once again opened, admitting three people. Two of which he had to restrain himself from whipping out his wand and hexing, and the other he had decided to save judgment for a later time. Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Ginny Weasley had just walked through the door to his room.

"Hey mate! How're you doin'?" Ron asked, far too loud for some reason. Seraph looked down and donned his 'sad' face again.

"Ron! He just woke up from a coma, and lost his last remaining relatives, how do you think he is feeling? No consideration at all, honestly. I am very sorry for your loss, Harry. How are you faring?" Hermione asked, a little too sweetly. To Seraph's ears, it was reminiscent to Umbridge, and just as infuriating. Seraph wondered if the two had always acted like this, or if they were just trying too hard to act 'normal'. Ginny gave them an odd look before sitting down in Remus' vacated seat, face slightly flushed, and sending looks Seraph's way every so often.

"I'm okay, I guess. I mean, it's not like I loved them or anything, but it's just hard, you know? Anyway, I'm here now. Dumbledore says that he's going to take me somewhere 'safer' tomorrow though. Wish I knew where. I mean this is under the bloody Fidelius, what's safer then that?" Seraph asked.

"Language, Harry, and I don't know. But if the Headmaster says that it will be safer then here, then it is safer then here. I don't see why you should question it, he's never lead you astray before. He has your best interest at heart, Harry. Trust that. You should feel honored that he cares so much about you. And you can come for your birthday, right? That should be fun." Hermione said.

"Yeah, we can throw you a party and everything Harry. Mum even showed me how to make her cakes. I can make them for you." Ginny put in, blushing furiously and turning away after her comment. Seraph just nodded, not really listening, nor seeing that Ginny too was acting 'odd'. The other three went on, discussing what had happened since the end of term, which wasn't much. Hermione worried about her OWLs, Ron talked about the Cannon's with little to no prompting and Ginny stayed mostly silent, offering a bit here and there. Seraph nodded, gave a sad smile, or made the appropriate noise when needed, but otherwise contemplated his situation.

"Do you guys know what's going on with Voldemort? Any attacks?" Seraph asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Ron said, "Oh, yeah we heard-" But he was cut off by Hermione with a not too subtle elbow to the gut, which had him bending over and wheezing. Seraph watched them a little more intently and their auras came into view. Ron's was unsurprisingly a gaudy shade of orange, but his outline was a muddy red color. Seraph got the impression from it that Ron wanted to hit her back, which surprised him. Hermione's aura, a light spotted yellow and white, with her outline proclaiming her to be worried. Probably thinking that she had not stopped Ron soon enough, which she hadn't.

"Oh! Sorry Ron, my elbow slipped. Come on; let's see if Madam Pomfrey can give you something for your stomach." She said, dragging him by his hand. Her aura outline suddenly took on the exact same shade of orange that Ron's aura was made of before they made it out of the door and Seraph blinked. "No, this way 'Mine. You can fix what you did..." Was heard from the hallway, Hermione's agreement could be heard until they had made it too far away. 'That is odd...' But his musings were cut short when Ginny suddenly took a seat in his lap and proceeded to kiss him, rubbing herself along his leg and moaning. Seraph was about to reciprocate when the whole wrongness of the situation made itself to his brain, and he pushed her to the floor.

"What the hell?" He said, standing up.

"Why-" Ginny began, but stopped suddenly. Her face showed confusion but her scarlet and silver aura was projecting a number of emotions that Seraph could barely identify before they changed. A fiery red of passion gave way to hurt, to anger, then confusion, before turning to understanding and sickly yellow shade of queasiness. Her face flushed completely and she ran out of the room. 'Fucking nut house, this is! I've got to get out of here, soon.' He thought as yet another being made their presence known.

"Seraph! Seraph, Seraph, Seraph!" Came the excited and worried yelp from underneath the bed. Some scratching could be heard before Cheleb's head made its way out. "I was so worried when you didn't come. I tried to find you, but your scent ended at this empty place. It smelled horrible, actually. So I tried to see if you left a scent through the shadows, and it lead me here. I thought that there were some people here who may have wanted to cause you harm, so I hid under the bed." Cheleb said, obviously proud of himself.

"What are 'the shadows', how did you get through the Fidelius on the house, and have you been under the bed the whole time?" Seraph asked, worried that something could get through the charm, and that Cheleb had not eaten in over a week. 'I haven't either, for that matter' He thought as his stomach made a loud rumbling sound.

"The shadows... are the shadows. I don't know how to explain it better then that. That's how we travel so fast. Grims live in both places, I guess you would say. There are other things that live their too, like uhm, the cold ones, and the smotherers. There are other things too, but I wasn't told too much more. Even if you did not leave a scent in the light, you leave one in the other. The wizards leave them all the time when they move from place to place, you can almost see the trail. And I don't know what a 'Fidelius' is, I just followed the trail. And I was under there, or with the Vulcan man to eat. He is worried about you too." Cheleb told him.

"Cold ones, Dementors? And the other one must be Lethifolds. That's not surprising. Gives me more to think about. Meissa could blend into the shadows, he must have been tapping into this. Maybe he wrote something about it... I'm glad that you found me. Thank you. The bad smelling place was my home. Dumbledore destroyed it after my cousin killed Hedwig, my owl. I think you two would have gotten along well. Anyway, to make a long story short, my relatives are dead, my owl is dead, and I am staying in a crazy house at the moment. Were going to leave, very soon. I have a couple of things to take care of, and then we make our escape. Keep hidden, but stay close." Seraph said, deciding on writing a letter to Remus, stating that he had to get out and where he might get in contact with him. He pulled out a piece of hair and put it into the envelope, hoping that Remus would smell it once he left, and placed a sticking charm to it, sticking it to the inside curtain of the bed. He had just finished when he heard Mrs. Weasley shouting for dinner.

He made his way down to the kitchen to see Ginny, whose face was a crimson red, speaking to Dumbledore, who looked a bit irritated, before nodding. Ginny ran out of the room, and Dumbledore made his way over to him.

"Harry, I need to speak to you immediately. Meet me in the library; it is the first door on the third floor. I will be up there shortly. I am sure that your food will still be warm by the time that we are done." He said, before walking off through a door Seraph had not noticed before. Seraph tried to see Dumbledore's outline, but he made it through the door before he could. He made his way up the stairs, softly warning Cheleb to be on his guard. At the landing for the third floor, a large moving ornate door could be seen. A beautiful mahogany wood door depicting a wizard attempting a spell he had just learned from a book on a pedestal in front of him. Every so often the wizard would turn a page and attempt another, sometimes exchanging a book for one of the many behind him. Seraph shook his head and entered, slightly amazed that he had never seen moving wood before, with all the animated objects he had seen. He was browsing through the books, waiting for Dumbledore when he heard a small 'crack' behind him. One word ran through his mind. Kreacher.

The damnable little creature apparently had not seen him or was as usual, ignoring anybody who happened to be in the vicinity. The thing was mumbling about the disgrace that ran through the hall of his masters like a plague, when Seraph felt something. It was like a tingling, burning sensation under his skin, both warm and cold. Unknown to Seraph, the mark that Hedwig had left had turned into the rune of fire, silver in color, outlined in black, and slowly made its way towards the palm of his left hand. The sensation increased and ended in his hand as Seraph stepped forward.

"Kreacher..." Seraph growled, freezing the poor excuse for a house elf in his tracks. While Kreacher could not understand Grimtongue, the fact that the one before him could speak told him all that he needed to know.

"M-m-master! M-master is the P-pott-ter boy? Filthy half-bread, disgrace to the name of Black. B-bu-but how is, is it poss-" But he was cut off by Seraph grabbing him by the neck and lifting him up until he was level to his shoulders.

"You, Kreacher, have shamed yourself by betraying your master. You lied when questioned about his whereabouts, and told his secrets to the enemy. Through your betrayal your late master died. As head of the Black family, and master of its servants, I reserve the right to execution. Any last words?" Seraph asked, his voice carrying a powerful undertone that made Kreacher's hairs stand up.

"Kind M-master put Kreacher's head with his s-sires." It said.

"Put your head along the wall with your ancestors? Not likely, vermin. That would be an honor. No, your life and treachery end here and now." Seraph said, gripping the things throat until its eyes nearly popped out and it was blue in the face, feeling that burning, tingly feeling again. His palm began to glow, and Kreacher gasped in agony, stopping after a moment because he no longer had any breath. The glow turned into a dark flame that covered his palm and spread over the struggling elf. Seraph suddenly pushed the sensation through his hand and Kreacher was blasted across the room, a trail of fire following him. The elf slammed against a wall, covered in black and silver flames. The body stopped struggling after a moment and the flames consumed it, leaving no trace behind. It lasted only half a minute to totally incinerate the elf. Seraph sat down at one of the desks that were littered around the room, studying his palm and trying to remember the feeling again until he heard a light growl from Cheleb and looked towards the door.

"Harry, my boy. I am sorry for having kept you waiting. Now, the reason I have asked you here is to explain Ms. Weasley's behavior. I understand that the two of you had an awkward moment, earlier today, yes? I must apologize for her. She wished for me to be a matchmaker of sorts, and assumed that I had already spoken to you about it, impulsive thing that she is. And before I forget, Madam Pomfrey gave me a nutrient potion for you." Dumbledore said, conjuring some pumpkin juice and pulling out a medium sized potions container. Seraph could practically feel Cheleb's unease and tried to see Dumbledore's outline to feel his intentions, but was not able to. He was able to see the potion though. It glowed the same colour that made up Ginny's aura, outlined in a broken grey that made Seraph think of chains... or bindings. A potion that binds to a specific aura... his mind kept pushing the events of earlier in the day before his mind's eye. Hermione's odd aura, Ron's intentions towards her, Ginny's behavior. She was shocked that he did not automatically return her affections. And somehow Dumbledore was behind all this, she would not have run off to him if it was otherwise, and Dumbledore had said as much. Then it clicked.

'That is what Ginny wants. Me. If I am somehow bound to her, and Bumbles controls her, he could get me to do what ever he wanted. To make sure that I stay under his control. Matchmaker my ass, more like a slave trader. Hermione must be bound to Ron then. I guess Weasley wanted more then just a spot on the quidditch team. Maybe there is an antidote. I'll look if I have the time, but those two deserve each other." Seraph thought as Dumbledore finished mixing the potion and juice, and handed it to Seraph.

"I think that I should eat first. I may not know much about potions, but nutrient potions on an empty stomach have side effects I'd rather not deal with." He said, about to put the goblet down.

"No, Harry. This won't take long. Just finish the potion and I will explain a few things to you." Dumbledore said, pushing the goblet back into Seraph's hand, perhaps a bit more firmly then he needed to. Obviously the man did not want to deal with this right now.

"Sir, why didn't Madam Pomfrey give me the potion when she was checking me over-"

"Drink the potion, and you may go. What I need to say is very important."

"What is this sir, really?" Seraph asked, catching Dumbledore off guard, positioning himself best to run from his seat.

"A nutrition potion that Mada-"

"Bollocks." Seraph said, throwing the goblet at the old man's face and bolting out of the library. He slammed the doors shut and pushed that burning feeling through his hand and melted the handles and locks together. Brilliant wizard that the old man was, locking a door outside of magical means would probably not occur to him for a minute. He made it to his room and grabbed the small trunk that held the clothes that he was found in and quickly put them on. He put on his cloak, muttering 'conceal', as he put the hood up, and got into his school trunk and grabbed his photo album and cloak, and the Marauder's map, but left everything else. He wouldn't need any of the rest. Besides, he wanted it to look like he made a badly planned and hasty escape and too many things gone would be suspicious. His album would probably be forgotten by anybody searching through his trunk, as he did not leave it out or let anybody look through it, and his cloak might raise a few questions, but he needed it. He donned his invisibility cloak before re-shrinking his trunk and placing it on his finger and stepping out of the room. It was at that moment that a tremendous boom shook the house and splintered pieces of wood rained down the steps to the second floor.

"Shit. Cheleb, were leaving, now. Can you carry me through the shadows?" Seraph asked. If he couldn't, then he was going to have to hope that he could make it through the floo damn fast.

"I think so. I'd probably move slower, but I think I could."

"Good. As soon as we make it out of the door, I want you to take us to Vulcan, got it?"

"Yes, sir!" Cheleb said in his sarcastic military like salute. They had to make it through the front door first, otherwise Dumbles might think that he had an alternate mode of transportation, and the more aces he had up his sleeve, the better.

"Harry Potter! Come back here this instant!" Dumbledore commanded the power in his voice nearly visible, actually sending ripples through the air around him. He might have obeyed, if he was Harry Potter and if he had been close enough, but Seraph had already gone out the door, having blasted it off its hinges in a burst of accidental magic stronger then he had had in ages, leaving a mutilated door frame and a screaming portrait in his wake. Cheleb practically dove into a shadow just passed the steps to the house, Seraph barely hanging on by the scruff of the Grim's neck. The 'shadows' was not just shadows. It was like a whole other realm. Colors were only seen in a grayscale and people were hard to discern, though buildings, lights and darkness, even magical residue was easy to see, especially just before Diagon Alley and the magical districts. Though, at the speed that they were moving, separating anything was a bit of a challenge. It was odd though, like traveling through water, the atmoshphere was denser, but did not hinder movements. And there was less pull to keep him on the ground, allowing Cheleb to make great bounding leaps and sometimes simply glide. In fact, it was as if the 'shadows' knew how and which way you wanted to move and pushed you along. Seraph understood now how Grims could move so fast, while being such large animals, though it did not explain why Dementors did not move quickly. He did remember that they were able to nearly fly around the quidditch pitch during his third year. It was not long before they stopped in Vulcan's shop, Seraph feeling like he fell into a pool, only backwards. He had to hold himself up by a table for a moment to get used to regular movement again, and looked at Cheleb.

"I have got to learn how to do that." He told his companion, a true grin making its way to his face.

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"Professor, what's wrong? Where is Harry?" Hermione asked as Dumbledore made his way back into the kitchen after having silenced the portrait and fixed the door. 'He is getting strong indeed; the front door was utterly destroyed. He could not have known what the potion was, he is terrible at them! Perhaps he was warned before hand? No, no one besides the youngest Weasley's know about it, and they would not tell him. I am glad that I had turned my head when he tossed it at me, otherwise I may have been bound to Ms. Weasley. Why would he not trust me though? He may have resented me from keeping the prophecy from him, but he should not have reacted so. I think I came on too strongly, but the idiot girl forced my hand. If they were not so useful I believe that I would toss the lot of them out. When he is found, I will have to bind his will to mine; he has become too untrusting, too independent, perhaps. A weapon cannot think for itself, now can it?' Dumbledore thought, before answering.

"Mr. Potter and I had a discussion just now, and like last summer, he reacted badly. He has just run out the door, no thought to the dangers. He must be found, and quickly. Remus, begin searching the area; he could not have gone far on foot. Molly, Arthur, check the Knight Bus and see if they have picked up or dropped off anyone disguised or possibly invisible. Tonks, go to the Leaky Cauldron and wait there, he may have tried to get to Diagon Alley through muggle means. Mr. and Mr. Weasley, accompany Remus and Tonks. Ronald, Hermione, clean up the debriefing room. Report anything via the 'Phoenix links'. I'll see if I can bring any body else in on the search and tell you if we have found him. I must stress the importance of finding him soon; I don't believe that he was in a rational state of mind."

Arthur and Molly Weasley immediately shot up out of their seats, intent on calling the Knight Bus as soon as possible. They were quickly followed by Remus and George, and Tonks and Fred. Once outside, the twins hung back for a moment, a silent conversation taking place. Nodding, they grabbed their partners by the shoulder to stop them.

"Were not helping." They said in unison.

"Well we weren't planning on doing much either, just go through the motions. But why do you not want to follow Dumbledore's orders?" Remus asked, relaxing slightly. The twins were unpredictable, but strong in what they felt for certain matters. Had Dumbledore gotten them to follow him blindly, he and Tonks may have been in some trouble.

"We have our reasons to be loyal to Harry,-" George said.

"And despite what Snape and our Mother may think, we are not stupid." Fred finished.

"We see what is going on,"

"How Ron, Hermione, and even Ginny act-"

"Around Harry. Always trying to get him to run to Dumbledore for every little thing,"

"When the man ignores him for the whole year. And getting things that they don't deserve."

"Who the hell decided that Ron was 'prefect' material anyway?"

"But back to the matter at hand. We don't like the way that people treat and talk about him. What Dumbledore says is law, and no one will stand against it. And when they do, he ignores them. Like when Tonks tried to keep Harry here, he just went on like no one said anything. We would have spoken up we thought we could be of more use if our loyalty was not in question." Fred said, speaking for his brother who was nodding along.

"That's a good idea Fred, George. I have a feeling that Dumbledore will keep us out of the loop if we keep speaking out against him, or put us on out of the way missions. You two will have to learn Occlumency if you haven't already. Dumbledore is a powerful Legilimens and likes to keep insights into people's minds. Till then, avoid eye contact. We knew that he would leave soon, but I did not think this soon. He must have seen an opportunity and seized it. Keep us posted on anything that we don't know and we will try and keep him posted. He has secrets that Dumbledore can not find out, and I would feel better if he were to tell you himself." Remus said.

"I agree. I hope that he is okay. He never said if he had anywhere else to go. Come on Fred, let's get to the Cauldron and have a cuppa. If we see him, we can give him a heads up." Tonks said before she left with a 'Pop', which Fred soon followed.

"Come on George, we'll walk around and see if he is hiding out around here. Why don't you tell me some of your exploits from your school days?" Remus said, as they began walking down the street.

"Why would you want to know about our pranks? You were a teacher."

"You could say I have a vested interest in the business. Though I have not been active for some years, my associates and I, well you could say that we made quite a reputation for ourselves. Mr. Moony, at your service."

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It was after midnight when everyone was called back to headquarters. Dumbledore had set up a little debriefing room for smaller meetings, and this is where they had assembled. Ron, and Hermione looked slightly put out, having had to clean instead of something more. Molly and Arthur looked disappointed that they did not have good news to report. Well, Arthur looked a bit disappointed. Molly looked livid, making strangling motions with a dish towel that she carried with her and mumbling things about 'stupid impulsive boys' and hoping this had not ruined her hopes of marrying her daughter into the Potter family. Tonks was once again sitting in Remus' lap, while Remus tried not to laugh at the looks of awe that the twins were giving him.

"Our efforts have not born us any fruit, I am afraid. Molly and Arthur's queries have not turned up anything. The Knight Bus records do not show anyone, disguise or no, getting on in the local area tonight. Remus and George tell me that apart from a wild crup in the area, they did not see anything. Tonks and Fred were able to see a few known Death Eaters did not see Mr. Potter at any time." Dumbledore told them, nodding to each when he spoke of them, the twins looking over his shoulders or at his chin.

"The rest of the Order will be brought in tomorrow. We will search all of Britain if need be, but he must be found. His safety is paramount. As are all my students. Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger, you have an assignment." The two perked up at this.

"You two will be monitoring signs of Mr. Potter in Diagon Alley. Look around, buy a few things, ask some questions. If he is there, someone is bound to see him. You will be given an allowance each day, spread it around. Do not spend it all at the Quality Quidditch Supply store," He said looking at Ron. "Or Flourish and Blott's." He finished, looking at Hermione. "I want you there an hour before the stores open until about five in the afternoon, when you will be replaced by another pair. I will draw up a map and assign the rest of you and the other members of the Order members sectors which you will be responsible for. I believe that we all should get some rest, we have a long day ahead of us." Dumbledore finished. The assembled part stood up and stretched; intent on going to bed. Remus was on his way to his room when he decided to check Sirius' room, the room that Seraph had been staying in only to find the room torn apart, and the contents of Seraph's school trunk strewn all over the floor.

"Must have already been through here." Remus mumbled to himself. "You'd think he would be less messy." He was about to leave, having found nothing more significant then Dumbledore had when he caught the scent of Seraph, though it was faint. He pulled out his wand and followed it to the inside of the curtain on the four poster bed. Stuck in one of the folds was a letter. A quick 'Finite' later, he had it opened and pulled out a letter and a lock of hair.

"Clever, Seraph. Now let's see what you had to write..."

To he who smells the letter,

This letter is to inform you that by the time you read this, I will have left. Hopefully in a more subtle way then blasting out the front door, but I have no plan and I'll do what I must. Once I make it to my destination, I will be safe, though the journey through may be less then amicable. I have an old friend who runs a fiery shop in the night alley, should you need a contact. I'll try and stay in touch. Once I figure out how to keep the flash fried chickens off my back, I can keep you up to date.

Till then,

Orion

Remus smiled at the letter. It was a bit vague, but easy to understand. He supposed he signed it 'Orion' should anyone but he find the letter. He decided he would show Tonks the letter in the morning, and maybe the twins also. But now, he needed sleep.

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"So you are the famous 'Harry Potter'. That is surprising." Vulcan said. "Do you know why you had your choice early?" Vulcan asked over the dinner table. He had only changed his appearance back to how he should look when Vulcan walked in to his back room and had been about to pull his wand on him. Once Seraph had made his presence known, Clotho had insisted that he eat immediately, and cooked a heavy meal despite the lat hour. 'He needed his protein after sleeping for a week and a half, after all'.

"It may have been the way that I was conceived, or for convenience sake. I mean, I was out for a week, with my core nearly empty. I could see them using that to get it over with." Seraph said, throwing a large piece of chicken on the floor for Cheleb, who was lying under the table, head rested on Seraph's knees.

"Perhaps. You were given many passive abilities that can be used actively. 'Language' is useful if you are out of your native land, or if you were lazy with things like runes. I myself have mastered 'Mechanics' and my wife has nearly mastered it. It is how we run our shops, makes us better at our craft. I can teach you a bit, it you're interested. Custom weapons are always the best, though I don't think that you will find a better pair of blades anywhere. And once you connect your mind to your magic, your mind gains a natural defense. It's not strong, just enough keep out a novice Legilimens. But at least you know that you will never be tainted or distorted by using the Dark Arts." Vulcan said thoughtfully.

"I thought that my mind and magic would already be connected. And what has that to do with being tainted?" Seraph asked.

"They didn't explain anything to you, did they? Nope, don't expect they would. You were given certain abilities. These abilities are still locked to a point. Which means that you have to actively unlock them to use them. You did not receive 'A greater connection of mind to magic'; you received the ability to connect the two. You would not have to worry about the Dark Arts tainting you because your magic would protect your mind from their influence. It is not so much a rare ability as it is a mostly forgotten one. Those who do not have strong wills or are weak -and use the Dark Arts- are ensnared by them. Others are attracted to some of its power and become addicted to it." Vulcan explained to him.

"The Lestrange woman is highly addicted, I believe. As is Narcissas' husband. Or perhaps simply too power hungry." Clotho commented.

"If Lucius Malfoy is 'too power hungry', I wonder what that makes Voldermort." Seraph said, idly poking at the rest of the meal he was given. You'd think the woman was trying to stuff a turkey or something. Luckily Cheleb was only too happy to help out.

"A monster? Anyway, what do you plan on doing now, young master?" Vulcan asked.

"Go to Black Alley and train. I have books, a couple portraits, and a few ideas. I think I can do well."

"Books can only get you so far, you need first hand experience. I have training dummies here, if you want to use them, and I know a few people who are masters of their craft. They might be willing to 'help out', should they be sufficiently motivated. And what do you plan on doing to keep Dumbledore's men off of you?" Here, Seraph gave him what he had long ago dubbed the 'Black Grin'. There were varying degrees of the grin, ranging from mirth with a hint of feral, to vengeance with a hint of feral. Right now, it promised nothing good to anyone but him.

"I have an idea. I may need your help though, how good are you at body transfiguration and how real can you make your dummies?" Seraph asked, the perfect solution playing in his head.

"Not bad, I was pretty bored and irritated after the Crusades -stupid, needless war- so I took it upon myself to teach a few people a lesson. I learned how to transfigure a person to look like another race, and made them live like that for the rest of their lives. Many became Muslim priests if you would believe it. And the dummies are generally as life like as possible, down to the intestines, veins, and blood. It doesn't help to train on a 'doll' if you don't know how it will affect the human body, does it? What do you have in mind?"

"I am going to get the Order and the Death Eaters off my trail in one swift move. Show me the dummies and I'll explain on the way."


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It was two days later that Seraph got the opportunity he was looking for. Actually a day later. It had taken a day for Seraph to program the dummy after he learned how, and it took Vulcan about an hour to transfigure it too look like an exact replica of Harry Potter, down to the unruly hair and scar. The dummy was currently the size of an action figure, resting comfortably in one of his pockets. He had followed them from 'Madam Malkin's' to the Leaky Cauldron. Someone gave them some money, apparently, as Ron was sporting a new cloak and Hermione a large bag of some sort.

"I don't see why we should be out here looking for Potter. I mean, he was the one stupid enough to run out of the house." Ron grumbled to Hermione as she paid for a couple of butterbeers.

"Now Ron, he may be impulsive and stupid at times, but he has his uses." Hermione replied, taking a long sip.

"Yeah, name one." He spat.

"You're wearing one, you arse. And he calls Potter stupid." She mumbled to her self.

"Well I say we let him go and get himself killed, he doesn't even have a wand anymore! Dumb bastard, probably dead already." Ron mused. "You think he left a will?" He asked thoughtfully.

"Black's will has not even been read yet. And if Potter dies, then the Black fortune goes to Malfoy or Lestrange, not something we want. Of course, I'm sure that the Headmaster can keep it away from them, should he die. And even if the Headmaster won't tell us what it is, Potter is very important to the war. And remember, if the Black fortune goes to anyone besides Potter, we won't get anything, even if the Headmaster can keep it away from them."

"Why's that?" Ron asked with a frown.

"Because it won't go to Potter's vault. If it doesn't go to his vault, it cannot be transferred to ours. I must have explained this too you five times in the last day." She said, exasperated.

Seraph decided to make his move now, changing his appearance to that of Harry Potter in one of the corners of the room.

"So this is how I'm talked about behind my back?!" He shouted, causing almost all of the occupants to look at him.

"Harry! There you are. We have been looking for you all over the place. You have had us worried sick. Come on, Dumbledore gave me a portkey if we found you." Hermione said, reaching for his hand.

"No. I left, I'm not going back. And answer the damn question. You were friend with me just to get my money? Please tell me there was more to it then that." Knowing full well that for Ron, there hadn't been, but not sure if Hermione had ever really been his friend.

"Yeah, there was more. I got to be prefect, and Dumbledore said that I can be the captain next year! I don't get you, Potter. Money, fame, power, you have it all. And you don't use a damn bit of it. You could have any girl you wanted. You could wake up with a different one every morning. You cou-"

"How long." Seraph interrupted.

"Before first year for Ron, and after being petrified for me. How the hell could we be friends with a walking time bomb? You attract death and destruction like a rampaging Iron-belly! But the Headmaster convinced us to stay close to you, keep tabs on you. And we did, for a price. We were both promised to become Prefects, Ron got on the team, and I got privileges to the restricted section and the time-turner. When it was reopened, we became members of the Order of the Phoenix, unlike you who can't seem to hold a conversation without screaming at someone. I regret my decision though sometimes...I think I could have gotten more for having to deal with you." Now people were mumbling, asking themselves how anyone could betray their friends like that. They could not hear all of the conversation, but the bits that were shouted filled them in.

"That's my girl!" Ron said. "You're going to be obliviated by Dumbledore anyway, so this is my chance." He let go of Hermione and put his fists up. "Come on, Potter. Let's see how man you are!" Was the cry as the pureblood attempted to fight Seraph, muggle style.

The fist came high, nearly connecting with Seraph's forehead. The second came for his face, or would have. The offending fist seemed to slow down, as did the sound and breathing around him, until it was nearly stopped just in front of him, and Seraph dodged, and grabbed Ron's arm, applying more pressure then necessary to the elbow, and pushed him down. Ron got back up quickly and charged at Seraph. Time slowed again and Seraph ducked down a bit and jumped up right as Ron's chest was above him, vaulting him up into the air and coming down with a very satisfying crunch over a table and it's chairs. Seraph was contemplating beating the pulp out of Ron or continuing with his plan when he was slapped, hard. The surprise hit actually sent him reeling, even though the hit was not sufficient to do so. A slight tremor ran through Seraph as he looked at Ron, who had managed to get himself up. There were lines, and a couple of dots here and there that covered him now, and he knew that if he hit him in those places hard enough, Ron would go down in extreme pain or be incapacitated for a time. He smirked as he got into a balanced position.

"Come on Weasley, that the best you got? Malfoy puts up a better fight!" He taunted, and it worked. He the next fist slowed down again and he caught it, twisting it to the right, enough to cause some pain and the elbow to be pointing up. Said elbow was immediately broken as he punched it with his palm, continuing after the first bit of resistance. The lines that covered Ron's arm turned a bluish color and he screamed. Seraph decided to make his escape now, and ran out of the Leaky Cauldron, dodging spells sent from Hermione, changing his appearance as soon as he hit the door. He quickly enlarged the dummy and activated it. Now all he had to do was watch his plan in action.

Hermione and Ron ran out of the Leaky Cauldron, searching for Seraph a moment later. Actually, Ron was doing more whimpering then running, but he was still looking.

"Where the bloody hell is he?"

"There, just in front of that bu-" But she stopped as a loud horn could be heard followed by screeching tires and a dull 'thump'. They ran over to the front of the bus to see a body that was covered in blood, the bottom half stuck underneath the front tires. Dull, lifeless emerald eyes stared up to the sky, as if silently asking why. The matted hair was parted just enough to show a scar in the shape of a bolt of lightening.

"I'll contact Dumbledore." Ron said, cursing the idiot for getting hit by a bus. Hermione just nodded, not quite sure how to feel.

A man a few paces behind smirked and walked away, happy that it actually worked.

'Now I can get down to business.' He thought, idly wondering if Vulcan had put too much blood into the dummy.


(O)

End chapter

So what did you think? Hope you enjoyed it.