"I think I might know who could have made this ward schematic."
"Who was it?" Mrs. Tonks asked in mild curiosity.
"Lily, of course," Sirius answered with a smile, "she was always into archaic and abstruse stuff. It would be so like her to have created this ward so that she could protect Harry beyond the grave. Dumbledore must have twisted it somehow," Sirius growled out as his anger towards that old man kept on building up with every action of his.
"What was the other thing you wanted to mention?" Sirius asked, as he put thoughts of the old man in the back of his mind. He will deal with that meddling old fool one day but now wasn't the time, his godson came first.
"This scar of his," Mrs. Tonks said as she pointed to the lightning bolt on Harry's forehead. "As you might know already cousin, this isn't a normal scar at all. Right now I am getting a lot of malicious and dark intent from it, too much really to brush it off as some regular curse. My theory is that where ever those intents are coming from it is most likely has to do with what happened that dreadful night."
"Is it of immediate concern?" Sirius questioned, right now it was looking like those old wounds he had, the poison, and all the stuff Dumbledore did to him was of immediate concern.
"Yes," the mediwitch replied gravely, "like I said before the scar is malevolent in nature and it isn't hostile to just everyone, but little Harry too. I have no idea how his psyche is still intact but he is under constant assault each waking moment."
"Could you remove it?" Sirius inquired, as he was much more attentive now.
"Sadly I can't," she answered with a shake of her head and a slow slump of her shoulder "This is truly out of my expertise."
"Do you have anything more I could go on, cousin?" Sirius asked, as he gazed down at the lightning bolt on Harry's forehead.
"No," the older witch replied.
"Mhm," Sirius said as he mulled over some thoughts.
"Do you know something?" Andromeda asked as she caught on to Sirius's ponderings.
"Yes, but it is some quite damning," Sirius replied as he willed his eyes wanting all these troubles to go away.
"What is it?" Andromeda asked, "If this can help Sirius you should tell me and before you start worrying yourself I strictly keep to my patient confidentiality, even more so for my nephew."
Sighing out loud, Sirius softly spoke as if he did not want anyone to hear what he had to say, "The reason why I brought Harry with me was because he told me that he had a dream in which he saw Voldermort."
Andromeda's eyes widened in shock as she heard what Sirius said, "He is still alive!"
"Yes," Sirius replied with a slow shake of his head, "he is very much alive and well."
"But how..." the older witch stuttered out, "and how could Harry have a vision of him? That can only happen when there is a familial bond or a deep one of husband and wife, parent and child."
"Like I said, damning in all cases," Sirius said with a weary sigh.
"So is that why you came here, to find some answers?"
"Yep," he answered with a nod, "this is one of the largest repositories of magical knowledge in all of magical Britain. So if not here where else would I find the answers I seek."
"Good," Andromeda said as her tone slightly increased in optimism, "You go down there and get started on that right now and I will begin with little Harry's treatment."
Nodding his head, Sirius agreed, "That sounds like a deal!"
-----------------------------
Coming to, Harry slowly cracked open his eyes and finally stirred awake. He did not know how long he was out but this was the most restful sleep he ever had in his life. He really must ask Mrs. Tonks what she used on him because it worked like magic.
Gazing up at the kitchen ceiling, Harry just laid back on the table as he slowly let his muscles wake up.
"I see you are up dearie," the voice of a witch called out.
Turning to face the speaker, Harry came eye to eye with Mrs. Tonks, "Oh, hello," Harry said as he sat up on his elbows and knees. "So how was my diagnostic?" Harry asked.
At that question from Harry, a look of pain crossed through the woman's face but it was quickly gone before Harry could make anything about it or even recognize it was there. "It wasn't too bad, though now I need to administer your shots."
"Oh, okay," Harry said with a nod thinking nothing of that time he was under and what Mrs. Tonks was up to.
"The first one is going to be the Dragon Pox, then I will do the Black Cat Flu, after a quick break we will do the..."
As the mediwitch droned on about all the vaccination Harry would have to take he sort of lost her and his gaze started to drift until his eyes landed on a mirror right above the counter.
The individual that was staring back at him was one that looked similar to him but was of different frame, stature, and looks that it couldn't be him. However when he touched his face the person in the mirror also touched their face.
As Harry's suspicions mounted, he touched his head, then his chest, legs, ears, and even down below. The person mirrored all his acts perfectly until Harry came to a sudden realization, that the person in the mirror wasn't someone else, but HIM!
"Mrs. Tonks what happened to me?" Harry asked in a tone close to the edge.
"Ahh," the older witch said, no answer forthcoming at all since just made up a false excuse moments ago.
Seeing no response coming from the witch Harry asked, "Where is Sirius?" Giving no time at all for the woman to reply, Harry quickly got up from the table and slowly backed up from the room. "I think I will just go find Sirius," he uttered as he turned around and at full sprint ran down the hallways.
Right now his mind was brimming with a thousand thoughts, did his face get stolen? Did Mrs. Tonks do some sort of magical experiment on him? All dark thoughts overflowed to the top and the only thing that was of hope to him was finding Sirius and getting answers from him.
As Harry cut through a corner, he came face to face with the old, testy house elf, "Kreacher," Harry shouted as he came to a pause, "Where is Sirius?"
"Oh, the brat is now speaking to Kreacher as he stands there as bold as brass."
Losing patient with the creature, Harry barked out, "I do not have time for your games Kreacher. Tell me where Sirius is right NOW!"
As Harry shouted that command, the house elf flew 2 meters into the air then slammed against the wooden wall with a bang. It stood there in mid-air as it wiggled and wrangled, clawing at its neck. Harry realized it was chocking and he hurriedly ran over to it to give some assistance. However, as soon as his anger disappeared, the house elf slumped to the ground wheezing and coughing.
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Harry looked down at his hands then around the hallway and that was when he connected the dots and realized he did that. He wondered to himself when did he become some sort of Darth Vader doing the force choke?!
Shaking his thoughts away, Harry bent down to help the House elf but as soon as he went over to touch it, it recoiled in fear. Thinking better of offering some assistance Harry stepped back and let the creature get up onto its own two feet.
Once the House elf was able to collect itself, it perfunctorily answered Harry's question, "You may find Master Black in the family's library, Lord Potter."
"Where is that?" Harry asked, taking note of the 180 degree flip the house elf completed.
"Down this hallway to your left and take a right at the bend, Sir."
"Thank you," Harry said with a nod as he ran off into the distance. This unexpected display of magic kept on adding to the mystery, he really had to find Sirius before he somehow brought the house down on all of them.
Coming to a stop at a dark elegant mahogany wooden door with a symbol of an open book and a wand acting as a bookmark, Harry swung the door open and entered the library. Immediately the first thing that struck him was how dang big the place was, rows upon rows of books littered the room which was three grand floors. Harry looked over the landing, he was on the second floor looking for Sirius but it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack since the place was so large.
Climbing down the stairwell that led to the first floor, Harry walked down the rows upon rows of bookshelves keeping his eyes out for his godfather. Coming to a clearing with a large tome set on a pedestal, Harry found Sirius combing through the humongous tome.
"Sirius" Harry called out as he ran up to the man.
The older wizard turned his gaze away from the large tome and spun around on his feet until he came face to face with Harry.
"Sirius," Harry called out again as he came to a stop in front of the man, "You won't believe what happened to me!"
"It seems like I am already looking at it" Sirius uttered as he pointed towards Harry's face.
-----------------------------------------
"Could I get a mirror?" Harry asked. Right now he and his godfather sat together at one of the tables strewn about the large family's library.
Sirius nodded his head then took out his wand which he waved it around a bit and muttered a few words under his breath. Before them appeared a large beautiful golden mirror which Sirius grabbed by the handle from the middle of the air and passed it to Harry.
Harry still couldn't believe the metamorphosis he went through, now he stood at 6 feet 2 inches tall with plenty of room to grow in the future-- a far fetch of his previous 5 feet 6 inches. His scrawny frame of the past was long gone as he was now sturdy and well built. His features seemed sharper and more aristocratic almost mirroring someone he didn't like thinking of, or those old wounds would open up.
And for the first time, he looked well over his age of 17 instead of that weak little boy he always looked like. Harry had also been wondering when his growth spurt would hit as his classmates were well into their growing aches, but he stayed always the same, which was very unusual.
The old wounds and bruises that covered his body were missing as his skin was unblemished except for the basilisk bit on his arm he got during his second year and the scar he got on that faithful night.
His features which used to be above average seemed to be heightened up to the max as he had full red lips, high cheekbones, long eyelashes, luscious hair, and glowing eyes.
All in all, he looked like a Malfoy, a pureblooded pretty boy.
The process was really thorough that he even now noticed that his eyesight have been miraculously fixed when he took off his glasses.
Still, there was something nagging at the back of his mind, all this stuff reminded him of someone, he just couldn't put a name to it.
"So why didn't Mrs. Tonks tell me all about it?" Harry asked, whenever he thought about all the things that Dumbledore did to him, his rage is at the near bursting point.
Before Sirius could explain the older witch's intentions, a voice he realized quite well now cut in, "I only wanted what was best for you dear and so that you can lead a carefree life."
Turning around to face the older witch who was walking down the alleyway towards them, Harry uttered, "Well it is already too late for that. I have a mad man who wants to kill me and a meddling old fool with a mysterious agenda."
"I see that now," the witch said with a nod.
Breaking into the conversation, Sirius expressed towards his young ward, "Harry, Andromeda only wanted what was best for you, she was looking out for you not trying to leave you in the dark."
"I know," Harry said as he rubbed at his eyes, "I am sorry Mrs. Tonks for losing my temper towards you."
"It is alright dear," the older witch said as she rubbed at Harry's head. "I see that your magic is still working overtime to fix all your nits and picks. I must say, you have the largest magic reserves I ever have seen on a budding young wizard like you."
"So I guess that is what happened when you removed all the blockage and restriction?"
"Yes," the witch answered back, "And you now have a striking resemblance to your father in his younger days if I recall well enough."
"Mhm," Sirius said as he nodded his head at Andromeda's assessment. "Now that I do have a closer look at you, pup, Andromeda is right. You are an exact replica of your father back when he was in Hogwarts."
"Yes, I could see the similarity," Harry said a bit downcast when Mrs. Tonks and Sirius pointed it. It was the thing he was avoiding trying to mention.
Sirius noticed his mood, and patted him on the back, "Your old man would have been happy to have a little look alike running about!"
Mrs. Tonks shook her head and changed the topic, "I have a question for you dearie?"
"Yea what is it?" Harry asked, turning to face the older woman.
"We have a general idea of what happened to you mostly, but I am curious about the poison in your veins and the counteragent. What is that all about?"
"Oh, that," Harry said, "Yea, I got bitten by a giant basilisk a thousand year old then Fawkes came to the rescue and healed me."
"You got what?" Mrs. Tonks shouted.
"I got bitten by a basilisk which I think belonged to Salazar Slytherin," Harry repeated with a shrug.
"How are you not dead?" the mediwitch whispered in a shocked tone.
Cutting off the older witch, Sirius asked in a deadly calm tone, "Harry could you tell me all that happened while you were at Hogwarts?"
"Sure" Harry replied slowly as he saw that everyone was sober now. Telling his tale, Harry made sure to leave no part left as he spoke about what happened all three years at Hogwarts.
"Now that is a lot to digest," Sirius said once Harry was finished telling his story.
"A lot to digest," Mrs. Tonks sneered, "It is clear that Dumbledore was putting little Harry in danger at every turn!"
"Yea, but the question is why" Sirius stated.
"So what are we going to do now?" Harry asked, getting back to the topic at hand.
"Well first of all we need to make sure that all you know stays a secret," Sirius said as he got up from his chair then headed off into the stacks. Harry stared at Mrs. Tonks and asked with a shrug where he headed off into. However before long, the man was back and in his hands were some books.
Sliding the books towards Harry, Sirius uttered, "You will need to learn this; if you want to keep secrets to yourself."
Picking up the first book, Harry read the title; [In-depth Guide to Occlumency: The Mind Arts]
Skimming over the first couple pages a certain passage captured his attention which said it all about this sort of magic. 'The magical defense of the mind against external penetration. An obscure branch of magic, but a highly useful one.'
"So I will be basically putting up some sort of Mental Shields, right?"
"Yes," Sirius said with an iffy-iffy wave, "Though Occlumency is a lot more than that."
"Sure, to-may-to to-mah-to," Harry said with a shrug as he picked up the second book. However, before Harry could read the second tome, Mrs. Tonks took it right out of his hands.
"Hey!" Harry shouted in a bit of indignation, but the older witch was ignoring him and was staring down at his Godfather.
"You can't be serious Sirius."
Barking out in laughter at the witch's choice phrase, Harry tried to hide his amusement but Sirius, on the other hand, slapped his thigh in knee-jerk response as he laughed.
Shaking her head in disappointment, Mrs. Tonks uttered, "I do not have time for this Sirius. Now stop acting like a child."
"Okay, okay, cousin," Sirius said as he wiped at the tears at the corner of his eyes. "You know I just lose it when somebody says my name and serious in the same sentence. You just can't demand something to be a no laughing matter when it comes out to be priceless."
"I hate," the witch snapped out, "And I curse who ever gave you that name."
"So do I," Sirius concurred with a cheerful nod and wave. "Anyways, I know what you are trying to say, Dromeda, but can you expect Harry to fight effectively against something he barely knows?" he asked in a rhetorical manner.
"It is a useful expertise to have in your skill set" Sirius added, nonchalantly.
"Yes, but it is not proper in the hands of a child!"
"Come, Dromeda," Sirius droned as he waved off the witch's concerns. "Everyone misuses it from time to time. I will be the first to admit, I used it plenty of times to get a feel for a woman's mood."
Looking quite indignant, Mrs. Tonks shouted, "The nerves of you, Sirius, how could you speak that out loud in the face of a child."
"Come on, Mrs. Tonks I am not a child," Harry added from the side however the older woman kept on ignoring him like he shouldn't be butting into the conversation of adults.
"And you want to look after, young Harry with that sort of immortal behavior."
"Hey, I am being honest, here," Sirius said as he held up both hands. "Don't tell me you never used the ability to surface Ted's thoughts!"
"The very thought of it... How dare you, Sirius Orion Arcturus Black," the older witch uttered as a slight blush passed through her face.
Handing the book back to Harry that Mrs. Tonks took in the first place, she dragged the young wizard to his feet and spoke out loud. "Come on Harry, we still need to finish up with your vaccines and the follow-up potions. I do not want to deal with your Godfather any longer today."
"Okay, Mrs. Tonks," Harry said as he fell into step behind the older witch, turning to look back at his godfather, Sirius gave him a thumbs up and a wink to which Harry shook his head.