The third year of the Adventures of Harry Black series is at hand!
There is also an important question at the bottom of the page, and I ask that you read and answer it.
I don't own Harry Potter. I own Emma Granger, Lizzie & Michael Black, Whizzie the house elf and Blaise's femininity. The rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.
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Chapter 1 - Meetings
Somewhere in England, a man by the name of Barty Crouch Jr. was wandering through the city streets. Dressed in a white shirt, red blazer and jeans, along with enough facial additions to make him unrecognizable, he walked down the streets without fear of being discovered.
"`Scuse me," Crouch muttered absently as he bumped into a man passing by. As he moved on, Crouch smirked to himself as he slid the other man's wallet into his pocket. Thinking about how Muggles were easier to rob than wizards, Crouch walked into a grocery store, purchasing several sandwiches, bags of crisps and bottles of water with his newly stolen cash. His supplies purchased, Crouch walked back to the filthy flat that he and his fellow fugitives lived in. Crouch wrinkled his nose in disgust at the Muggle flat. In an effort to conserve his limited budget, he rented the cheapest flat he could find, and it showed. Despite his prejudices towards the filthy Muggles, they were good for hiding from the law, while still giving such basic luxuries as shelter, a decent meal and a somewhat comfortable bed.
With a sour face, Crouch climbed the stairs to his flat number, and opened the door to let himself in.
"I'm back," he said unenthusiastically, setting his meager groceries on the kitchen counter. Immediately a small, round man that seemed to be part rat and a thin woman with wild hair and an insane glint in her eyes came rushing into the kitchen, grabbing their sandwiches and water bottles.
"I don't see why you always have to go," the small man whined as he opened a bag of crisps.
"Because, Wormtail, I am one only one of us who looks normal enough to walk through Muggle England without being noticed," Crouch snapped as he peeled off the fake facial hair from his face, his tongue flicking out instinctively. Looking at his two companions, he added dryly, "Although with the company I keep, that wouldn't be too difficult."
"I'm bored," Bellatrix Lestrange complained as she up crumpled the plastic that her sandwich was wrapped in. "Why can't we just torture a couple of Muggles? It's not like they'd be missed here." Crouch growled in frustration, chewing his sandwich with more force than necessary.
"Because both the Muggle and magical aurors are out looking for us. Even if a couple of Muggle scum were to disappear, it would alert the aurors where we are, and we might as well send a beacon telling them to come collect us. I don't know about you two cretins, but I don't fancy acquainting myself with the dementors for a third time," he explained through clenched teeth. Of all the prisoners in Azkaban, why did I have to be stuck with these two idiots, Crouch thought grumpily as he took a gulp of water.
"Can one of us at least get the bed tonight?" Pettigrew asked hopefully. Crouch growled angrily, crushing his water bottle in his hand.
"No, Wormtail, you may not," Crouch said in a forced calm. "I'm the one paying the rent for this dump; therefor, I get the bed." Crouch gathered his garbage and threw it into the dustbin angrily.
"So, what are we going to do about Potter and his bratty little friends?" Bellatrix asked, crunching on her crisps.
"I'll think of something," Crouch said through clenched teeth. "Eventually."
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Sirius tapped his fingers on the table nervously. It had been three days since Blaise had owled them the newspaper announcing the Azkaban breakout, and everyone was on a high state of alert. The door swung open to show Hermione and Emma guiding two people that seemed to be their parents through the normally Muggle-protected property of the Leaky Cauldron. The elder Grangers seemed to be dazed for a moment, before looking around in confusion.
Harry and Michael waved them over, and Hermione ran over, engulfing Harry in a bone-crushing hug. After holding Harry for several seconds, she let go and hugged Michael, although it was noticeably less intense. Sirius and Lizzie stood up as Hermione's parents walked up to them.
"Hi there, we're Harry and Michael's parents," Sirius said as he shook their hands. "I'm Sirius and this is my wife Elizabeth," he continued, gesturing to Lizzie.
"Call me Lizzie," she said as she shook their hands.
"Pleasure to meet you," Hermione's mother said. "I'm Jane, and this is my husband-" she began, but was interrupted by her husband.
"Ron," he said quickly as he shook Lizzie's hand.
"Oberon," Jane corrected, grinning smugly as her husband cringed at his name. "Hermione has said nothing but good things about your children," she continued, turning back to Lizzie.
"That's good," Lizzie said. "I would hope so, seeing as how they've been friends for almost three years now." The Floo flared up, and Blaise stumbled out, followed by a man wearing expensive, dark green robes. While Blaise ran up to greet her friends, Sirius and Blaise's father stared at each other.
"Zachary," Sirius said stiffly, his face tightened.
"Sirius," Zachary Zabini said, his features unreadable. Without another word between the two men, everybody sat down at the table.
"So this...Animagus thing, what exactly does it involve?" Jane Granger asked.
"First off, the children have to drink a potion to find out what exactly they turn into, and then they spend a year or so meditating to try and actually turn into that animal," Sirius explained. "The only side effects of the potion is a headache and a bad aftertaste...a very bad aftertaste, actually," he added absently.
"I trust that there will be a certified Healer nearby to reverse any...accidents," Zachary said.
"Yes, I will be supervising," Lizzie said flatly. For several seconds, Zachary said nothing, then bowed his head.
"Then I approve of this training," he said. Sirius and Lizzie turned to the elder Grangers, who were whispering to each other. After several more seconds, they turned back to the assembly.
"I guess we'll allow it," Oberon said. After standing up and shaking hands again, Sirius and Lizzie walked back to Grimmauld, five children following them.
"Your Dad doesn't seem to like his name very much," Blaise pointed out as they walked up the streets of London.
"Yeah, every time someone brings it up, he complains about how his brother got the good name," Emma said, grinning.
"Why, what's his brother's name?" Michael asked curiously.
"Macbeth," Emma and Hermione said simultaneously. Frowning, Michael turned to Harry.
"Did we ever do that, the both talking at once thing?" Michael asked softly.
"I don't think so," Harry said, shrugging before turning to Sirius. "So if becoming an Animagus is so easy, why did it take you and my father five years to do it?" he asked, intentionally neglecting to mention Wormtail.
"Because unlike you, we didn't have anyone around to help us," Sirius said, not turning to look at them. "Took us two years just to find the damn potion," he added, causing Lizzie to slap him on the shoulder.
"Sirius, language!" she snapped sharply. Sirius wisely elected to remain silent for the rest of the walk. After Lizzie told Blaise and the Granger sisters the location of 12 Grimmauld Place, they walked inside the silent house. "Must be sleeping," Lizzie muttered to herself as they walked into the sitting room, where a large pot was simmering over a fire. Lizzie lifted the lid and stirred the bubbling potion contained within with a ladle, lifting some out and pouring it back into the pot. "Okay, it's done," she said. "Sirius, could you get us some glasses?" Sirius knew better than to question his wife, so he ran into the kitchen and returned with tray and five coffee mugs. After Lizzie filled them with the potion, Sirius pulled out several toothpicks from his pocket and transfigured them into pink paper umbrellas, which caused Lizzie to raise her eyebrow.
"What? It's not like anything else in this potion is good," Sirius said as he dropped the umbrellas into the potion and served them to the children, who took them reluctantly. "Want my advice? Don't stare at it, don't sniff it and don't sip it. Just close your eyes and chug." Looking at the viscous liquid in his mug nervously, Harry closed his eyes and nose before gulping down foul-tasting potion in several swallows before dropping the mug back onto the tray that Sirius was holding, followed by the others'. For a moment, all Harry experienced was a taste in mouth that tasted like boiled cabbage mixed with something bitter tasting, but his head suddenly felt faint, and his world went dark.
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Man, that's one potion I definitely wouldn't drink. Their Animagus forms will be revealed next chapter.
I think that this is the first time that Hermione's Shakespearean name comes from her father's side. Usually, it's from the mother, or just pops up out of nowhere.
Now, for that important question: In one of my older fics, Light's Hope, Death's Hunters, one of the main complaints I received when I finished was that too much was left unrevealed, particularly what Harry and Hermione did while they were gone. Lately, I've been thinking about deleting it and reposting it, with new content to fill in these gaps. My question is should I do this, or just leave it as it is? I would really appreciate it if you answered this question. Thanks.
Don't forget to read and review!
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