Harry
missed the card between Luna’s fingers but he didn’t miss the way that Padfoot
stiffened suddenly, nor could he look away as Padfoot went through a rather
weird and painful looking transformation from four legged furry friend to the
man Harry had seen on the posters of Sirius Black.
Before
Sirius finished his transformation back to human form Harry had blacked out.
Luna
glanced at Harry as the Bracer glowed and Harry’s black hair took on a browner
tone, his eyes going amber.
“This
one is yours, Powel.” Luna said, curtsying and gesturing to Sirius who had been
frozen in place with a glower and a wave of the Bracer spirit’s hand. “But I
want a word with you afterwards.”
“I
understand Helga.” Powel nodded.
The
spirit of the Serpent Comb blinked at him, surprised and then smiled at him and
waved towards Sirius again.
“What’s
going on here?” Sirius demanded.
“That’s
what I should be asking you.” Powel glowered, “Pretending to be my host’s pet.
I’m guessing that ‘Grey’ character was you too.”
“Your
host?” Sirius’s eyes widened, “Who are you and what have you done to my
Godson!?”
“Your
Godson?” Powel demanded, “I think you gave up the right to call him that when
you tried to kill him.”
“If
you’ll remember I stopped that Death Eater from getting a second shot in.”
Sirius shot back.
“Why
would you stop one of your own allies fro...?”
“Me?”
Allies with that!” Sirius looked severely offended, “How dare you?”
“You’re
a Death Eater.” Powel pointed out, “A mass murderer who apparently wants my
host dead. Why would I suspect otherwise.”
“I
was never a Death Eater!” Sirius snarled at him, “Nor was I the one who killed
all those Muggles! And Pettigrew is still alive!”
“Who?”
“The
scum who betrayed Harry’s parents to Voldemort. He’s alive.”
“Where?”
“You
think I went after that rat because I was bored?” Sirius demanded. “That was
Pettigrew. He’s an Animagus. Like me. And he’s probably fled by now!”
Powel
paused, grimaced and ran a hand down his face. “Scabbers? Is Pettigrew?”
Helga
frowned slightly as she wondered why Powel suddenly looked like he wanted to
throttle someone.
“That’s
what I’m telling you.” Sirius snapped back.
“Damn
it.” Powel growled.
“Who
are you?” Sirius demanded of Powel, “And why are you possessing my Godson?”
“My
name is Powel Redgrave. I’m a Master of Transfiguration and a Teacher at
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” Powel replied, standing straighter
as he spoke, “And I’m possessing your Godson because he’s wearing my item and
I’m stuck in it.” Powel paused, “Oh don’t worry. He’s unharmed. If he takes my
Bracer off, I can’t possess him.” He saw an idea forming in Sirius’s head, “Try
and take it from Harry without his permission and I’ll Shadow Game you.”
Sirius
had been active during the last war, he knew the horror stories, and though he
glowered at the spirit in control of Harry’s body, he wasn’t stupid enough to
risk doing more than that.
Powel
considered the man in front of him, then let out an irritable noise that was
somewhere between a sigh and a growl, releasing the spell he had petrifying the
man.
It
took Sirius a moment to realise that he could move again and when he did, he
sat down on one of the chairs. “So what are you going to do now?”
“What
do you mean?”
“You
can’t keep possessing my Godson. You could kill him.” Sirius pointed out.
“Wrong,
actually.” Helga spoke up, interfering in the conversation for the first time,
“What kills the host is the suppression of their soul when a second one moves
into the body. We don’t live in their bodies, we live in our items and when we
need to take control, it’s the True Self who enters the item. There’s never two
of us in the body at the same time.”
Sirius
blinked at her, “So this,” He gestured towards the pair of them, “Is harmless?”
“Relatively.”
Helga looked less than concerned, “I’ve been doing this for over a thousand
years and the only harm that’s ever come to a host due to my actions is when I
ran into someone else’s Shadow Game while trying to talk some sense into them.”
Sirius
didn’t look completely reassured. In his situation neither spirit could imagine
that they’d be much better.
“You
need to speak to my host, but I would suggest that you spend most of your time
in canine form.” Powel told Sirius. “There are Aurors all over Diagon looking
for you and I doubt you want to be taken back to Azkaban.”
“You’re
on my side?” Sirius looked surprised.
“Too
much of what you said makes sense.” Powel scowled, “But if you try anything
that harms my host and you will regret it.”
“Why
are you so protective of him?” Sirius wanted to know, “Is it just because you
need his body?”
“Yes
and no. The Serpent Bracer was mine, I got myself killed and sealed within it.”
There was embarrassment there, and frustration, “Now it belongs to your Godson.
I’d rather the same didn’t happen to him. It’s not a good way to spend a
thousand years.”
“What
happened during that battle?” Helga asked, watching Powel with concern, “You
should have been able to handle that mob easily.”
“I
don’t remember.” Powel admitted heavily, “The last thing I remember is talking
with Salazar before we parted ways and then,” He sighed, “Nothing. I have no
memory of how I was sealed, nor do I remember what happened during the fight.”
Helga frowned slightly but Powel looked at Sirius. “I will answer any questions
you may have at another time, but now, if you don’t mind, I have an old friend
to catch up with.”
Sirius
just nodded, trying to process exactly what he’d been told as the former
Transfiguration professor turned to one of the women who had been his boss when
he’d been alive.
“Madam
Hufflepuff, please excuse my earlier failure to follow protocol.” Powel bowed to
the woman currently in control of Luna’s body, “It is good to see another of
our time.”
“I
would say the same except that you have been foolish, Redgrave.” Helga scolded
him, “I understand the need to protect your host. I have looked after many
before my current holder inherited my Item. But you are more idiotic than I
realised if you believe that you can keep using the Penalties you have.”
“I
cannot lift the Penalties I’ve set,” Powel scowled at her, having not expected
the lecture for what was, in his opinion, a fully justified challenge and
Penalty, “Nor would I do so if I could. Vernon and Dudley Dursley...”
“I
understand. I was thinking about doing something about his situation myself.”
Helga held up a hand as she spoke, “But this time is not like our own. If it
gets out that you are possessing him, they will send him through Rowena’s Veil.”
With
that the spirit in control of Harry’s body froze, a look of disgust and anger
on his features. “They would not...”
“You
know the dangers of the Shadow Realm, Powel. Just as I do. Do you really want
to risk your host’s life?”
“But
he’s a child.” Powel’s growl mollified Sirius’s concerns about if Powel was
really protective of Harry because he was worried about the boy, or just
because he needed a body, but only slightly.
“That
won’t matter to them. People without Items don’t survive possession, so to the
Ministry they’re already classed as dead and... well... you know what walking
through Rowena’s Veil is like...”
Indeed
Powel did. The Veil had been designed by Ravenclaw as an easy method of getting
back out of the Shadow Realm. A permanent gate that had taken the powers of all
five Serpent Items to create and fix so nothing could escape. After a scare
where they’d nearly lost Helga because she’d drained herself too heavily and
not had the power left to escape the grasp the Shadows had had on her, it had
seemed like a good idea. The Items were drawn to the Gate and, in the Shadows,
the reverse was true.
That
the Ministry for Magic was using it to feed the Shadows with souls whenever
they discovered someone who was possessed was worrying.
“You
need to stop and think about what you’re doing.” Helga spoke again when she saw
that her words had almost sunk in, “I have waited over a decade for someone
other than Slytherin to emerge.” Powel frowned slightly when Helga said
Slytherin, catching the combination of hurt, anger and shame, “It would be nice
for you to be around longer than a few days.”
Powel
scowled but nodded. “I’ll be a little more careful.”
“Good.”
Helga looked pleased, then suddenly it wasn’t Helga anymore, it was Luna who
grinned at Powel and settled on the bed.
“Can
Harry come out to play now?” She asked, giving Powel a sweet and innocent look.
Powel
just snorted, amused by Luna’s complete lack of concern, and closed his eyes.
Sirius watched in shock as Harry’s hair returned to its normal raven black
colour and, when Harry opened his eyes and looked around, panicked, until he
saw Luna unharmed and waving happily at him, the dog animagus saw that Harry’s
eyes were green again.
“It’s
an illusion.” Luna explained, “They do it subconsciously. Helga trained herself
not to though so she normally only does it if she’s cross or trying to make a
point.”
Harry
just blinked at her, then turned to face Black, his eyes widening for a moment
as he went for his wand, then confusion crossing his face as he realised
something.
“You’re
not in a coma.”
“No.”
Sirius replied, looking amused at the total confusion on Harry’s face, “I don’t
appear to be.”
“You’re
not insane either.”
“No
more than usual.”
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