(BREAK)
The group that had met in Hogsmeade had thus far been successful
in holding their meetings undisturbed. Simple proximity and silencing
wards coupled with Fred and George placing time delayed fireworks
throughout the castle on the evenings they met had so far assured
them a window of opportunity for practice. They made a point of
changing the location each time and thanks to Hermione's ingenuity
with some charmed Galleons, the time and date could be given to all
discreetly.
They had so far worked on some of the spells required to complete
their OWL in defence and a few extracurricular ones for all round
self-defence. Hermione would research the spells before the
meetings and the group would work on casting them together after
she explained the theory. The older students in attendance would
help the younger ones with the OWL level work and then the group
would work collectively on the other magic they wanted to practice.
Tonight was the fourth meeting the group had scheduled and they
were currently gathered in an unused classroom on the 6th floor
waiting for the meeting to begin.
Hermione had been tirelessly researching spells that would help in a
fight but focused more on spells that would allow them to escape. It
seemed that the library at Hogwarts was quite a good source for
extra spells, particularly on basic duelling magic.
So far the group had worked on stunning, disarming and binding
spells and today she was hoping to teach them the impediment jinx
that Harry had discovered last year and had used during the
tournament.
Hermione found her position rather odd. She had never been the
centre of attention or even really listened to until she met Ron and
Harry but things had really changed with start of these meetings.
People listened to her and even sought further advice from her which
she happily provided where she could. Despite this however, she
was not entirely comfortable leading this group and mostly felt out of
sorts being in this position. She knew Harry would complete the
teaching part of the group better than she ever could and he wouldn't
make mistakes when casting spells as she did occasionally. But she
knew that there really was no other who could take the reigns in the
circumstances so she persevered and did what she could.
Having worked through the entirety of the OWL level magic in
defence, she watched as the rest of the group practiced and waited
her turn to demonstrate the spell. After a few more minutes the group
seemed content with the academic portion of the meeting so she
stepped forward to address them when she saw they were waiting
for her to begin.
"Okay I think today we will work on the impediment jinx" she
announced.
"What does it do?" Neville asked, clearly never having heard of it
before.
"It slows down your opponent and buys you a little time to either
escape or attack with something that takes a little longer to produce"
Hermione explained. "But it does have its drawbacks and isn't
completely reliable" she added.
"What do you mean?" Lee Jordan inquired.
"Well if you cast it against a powerful wizard or creature it may have
little to no affect" she began in her usual lecture mode. "The duration
of the spell depends on how powerful you cast it and the power of
your opponent, so casting it on someone like Dumbledore or You-
Know-who probably isn't a good idea but it is useful to know" she
finished.
"Okay that sounds good" Hannah Abbott said. "What would you
follow up with though if you're not as strong as your opponent?" she
questioned.
Hermione considered the question for a moment before she
answered.
"Well if you were looking to escape then a banishing charm would be
good to give you more space" She suggested thoughtfully. "They are
usually easy to block but quick to cast so if you cast it straight after
then there's a good chance it will hit if your first jinx lands" she
concluded nodding at her own logic.
"What's the incantation and wand movement?" Astoria Greengrass
asked, keen to begin practicing.
"The wand movement is a semi-circle from left to right followed by a
flick towards the opponent and the incantation is impedimenta" She
explained.
With that the group moved off in pairs to begin. Hermione as usual
worked with Ron as most others were reluctant to. He was still very
irritated by the presence of the Slytherins and was convinced they
would get them caught, something he was still very vocal about.
Most of the group ignored his outbursts as they had become the
norm and no matter how often Fred and George would tell him to
shut up, he wouldn't listen.
Hermione had hoped that with a war brewing and Harry no longer
here to overshadow him that Ron would actually commit himself to
schoolwork and his own development. If anything however, he had
become even more lazy and his work was worse than it had ever
been. He continually made excuses to not complete his homework
and Hermione knew had it not been for her helping him, he would be
failing miserably. At best he was still only just achieving a passing
grade in all subjects and she knew he was going to perform poorly in
his OWLS with or without the toad being here. She was sure he was
sore about not receiving the prefect position which for some reason
he felt he was a shoe in for with the absence of their wayward friend.
He was continuously surly, even in the meetings he made little effort
with the spell work and would clearly rather be reading his quidditch
magazines or playing chess. No matter how much Hermione tried to
help him it made no difference to his attitude. He was rebelling in the
face of what he felt was unfair treatment to himself by the fact he had
not been given the prefect position. Secretly, Hermione thought that
he didn't deserve it. He was simply too lazy and immature to be a
good role model to the younger years in their house.
She stood opposite him and gestured for him to try the spell. When
he did nothing happened and he was immediately angry. She could
see that his wand movement was only done half-heartedly so she
pointed it out to him.
"You have to mean it Ron" she explained. "It is an intent based spell
and won't work unless you want it to and your wand movement
wasn't fluid enough" she pointed out.
The boy remained red-faced in his anger and growled before trying it
again.
" Impedimenta" he intoned through gritted teeth which resulted in
nothingness once again. " Impedimenta" He shouted in frustration
causing a yellow smoke to leak from his wand instead of a jet of light
the same colour.
"Getting angry won't help" Hermione tried to explain but the redhead
was already shaking in rage and turning a deeper shade of crimson.
"It's a stupid spell anyway" Ron spat as he walked away and sat at
the edge of the room and pulled a magazine from within his robes.
"Just ignore him Hermione" Fred said from behind her, shaking his
head. "He's just being a miserable git because of the Slytherins
being here" he added.
Hermione looked at her friend and simply shook her head at him.
There was only so much she could do to help him and if he was
unwilling to try then her efforts would be fruitless.
She began scanning the room to check the progress of the rest of
the group. She could see they were all doing quite well with the spell
and were all working well together in their pairs. It was then that she
checked her watch and saw that it was time to end the meeting.
"That's all we have time for today guys" She called to the room.
"Good work everybody" She finished appraisingly.
"Granger" Daphne Greengrass called to gain her attention as
everyone was preparing to leave.
"Yes Daphne?" Hermione sighed at being addressed by her last
name.
"Didn't You-know-who use lots of creatures like werewolves and
giants last time?" She asked. "Shouldn't we be working on fighting
them?" she questioned further causing many in the room to nod at
her observation.
"Well werewolves are very fast and very powerful and notoriously
difficult to beat" she said, her expression darkening. "I saw Professor
Lupin transform in third year so I would recommend that you run and
get away as quickly as you can. They are very feral in wolf form and
not so intelligent and it is easier to escape from them than try to fight
them" she continued. "A simple scent masking charm and silencing
charms on your feet will help when you get out of sight of one. If you
do have to fight then you need to have a silver blade handy or be
able to conjure weapons to banish at them, you don't want to get
close at all" She explained firmly, remembering the advice she had
gotten from her third year book.
"We don't start conjuration until seventh year" Neville interjected.
"Yeah and it is very tiring" George added knowingly.
"We should practice the Disillusionment charm then" Angelina
Johnson broke in.
Seeing the blank expressions on most of the faces in the room she
elaborated.
"It makes you near invisible, that with the scent masking charm and
silencing charms should be enough" She shrugged.
"That's a good idea" Hermione praised, annoyed with herself that
she hadn't thought of it.
"What about giants?" Michael Corner asked looking apprehensive at
the thought.
"They are pretty much immune to magic" Hermione explained. "You
have to be more than exceptionally powerful and accurate to bring
one down. You have to use solid objects and they need to be heavy
and deadly enough to stop one. The amount of magic you would
need use to do it would be exhausting" she concluded shaking her
head.
"But it can be done?" Katie Bell asked curiously.
"Yes but very few can do it and most die trying. The last person to kill
a giant single handed was someone Potter in the 1940's when they
fought for Grindelwald" she said frowning at the effort to remember
the information she had read so long ago.
"Potter?" Fred asked. "A relative of our little Harrikins?".
"I think so" She answered uncertainly. "I tried to research his family
but have found nothing" She admitted sheepishly.
"And you won't" Daphne interrupted. "The Potters are known for their
privacy and secrecy, they always have been and with the death of
Potter's parents everything became more obscure. I think
Dumbledore had some laws passed to protect his family secrets until
he comes of age and can do it himself" She finished.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.
"Well when a prominent family is expecting a child they announce it
to the public" Daphne explained gaining murmurs of agreements
from those who were aware. "Well the Potters never have" she
added. "A Potter child just seem to materialise when they come of
school age they always have done and the child's parentage isn't
always clear. The Potter family use to be huge but many died fighting
wars and the family eventually dwindled down to what remained
when You-know-who came along. I very much doubt any of us would
have been aware of Potter until he came to school, if that Halloween
night didn't happen" She concluded confidently.
"Surely there would be a public record" Hermione stated feeling a
little shocked at this new information about her friend's family.
"Sealed and can only be accessed by a Potter, blood magic I
imagine" Daphne explained.
"But that's dark magic" Hermione exclaimed, shocked further. "How
do you know this?" she asked with a frown marring her face.
"My mum works in the department of familial records and she told
me" Daphne explained.
"Well from what I know the Potters aren't exactly a light family"
Neville interjected looking embarrassed.
"Of course they are" Ron broke in angrily. "You-know-who went after
them" he added with a sharp nod.
"I didn't mean they were dark" Neville replied quietly.
"What did you mean Neville?" Hermione asked, biting her lip
worriedly.
Neville sighed, feeling unsure on how to answer the question without
revealing too much of his own life, particularly the fate of his parents.
"My parents and Harrys' parents were really close friends" he began.
"I didn't know until a couple of years ago when I asked my Gran who
all the people were in the photos I have of them" he added knowing
Hermione was going to question him as to why he had never told
Harry.
"What has that got to do with anything?" Tracey Davis questioned
impatiently.
Neville just sighed again before he replied.
"Well I asked my Gran about Harrys' family, knowing that his parents
were dead, I wondered where he was raised because I found out my
mum was his godmother and his mum was mine" he finished sadly.
It was clear that the entirety of the room was quite shocked by that
statement. It was Hermione that composed herself and manage to
question him first.
"Why did you never tell Harry?" she asked softly.
Neville shrugged.
"It was pointless" he said dejectedly. "Me and Harry aren't close
friends and it wouldn't make any difference, neither of our parents
could fulfil the duty any way" he explained quietly.
Ginny was about to ask a question but was cut off by an even more
irritable Tracey Davis.
"And how does that not make the Potter's light?" she asked, clearly
frustrated.
Neville shook himself from his reverie before he answered.
"Oh, er… well I asked my Gran about the rest of his family and she
told me about his Grandfather, I think she said his name was Charlus
and he was a Baron. She said she went to school with him" he
finished.
"That's it!" Hermione exclaimed. "He was the last one to kill a giant"
she explained triumphantly.
" A Baron?" Lee Jordan asked. "I've heard of Lord's but not a Baron"
he added looking confused.
"Barons are really rare" Daphne cut in. "You have to earn the title in
battle and be a very good fighter, it means you become a protector of
the land and people" she explained to those who were unaware.
"Is it that rare?" Hermione asked, not having come across the title in
regards to the wizarding world.
"Yes, you get one or two every few centuries at the most, there was
two from the last war so one of them must have been Potter's
grandfather" Daphne explained.
"None of this still explains why they are not light" a now irate Tracey
Davis interrupted.
It was Neville that finally answered after a moment of remembering
what his Gran had told him.
"My Gran told me she saw him duel a guy once and he burnt him to
a crisp before he castrated him, She said he used dark magic in the
fight" he said frowning. "She said he was very powerful and ruthless
and even Dumbledore wouldn't have wanted to fight him" he
finished.
"But he fought against Grindelwald" George pointed out.
"Yes and to survive that he would have had to kill" Hermione said in
just above a whisper. "Are you sure that's what she said? She asked
Neville.
"Yes" he answered vehemently. "That's why I said I don't think the
Potter's are a light family, they fight in wars and always have
meaning they use spells and magic that is lethal" he concluded with
a shrug.
"But they fight against dark wizards" Fred stated looking confused.
"Yes but that doesn't mean they are light just because they fight for
the light side" Hermione replied. "There has to be some willing on
the light side to kill for the light side to win" She pointed out. "Look at
Mad-eye Moody" she added, using the ex-auror as an example.
"He openly admits to using dark magic" Fred pointed out. "But he
fights for the light side" he added.
"So Harrys' family are like Moody?" Ron asked disbelievingly.
"They must be" Hermione replied. "Did your Gran mention anything
about his Gran?" She asked Neville who shook his head.
"All she said was that she was a healer and died not long after Harry
was born" He answered.
"My mum said the same" Daphne added.
"Can't you just go to where they are buried and see?" Tracey asked.
"No" Daphne answered. "The graves were charmed to stop Youknow-
who's followers from desecrating them, only Potter and people
he take with him can see them" she explained knowingly.
"They really do like to keep their secrets don't they" Tracey mock
sulked.
The group laughed at her antics before Hermione reminded them
that they should be leaving. They were again halted by a question,
this time by Katie Bell.
"What about the Dementors?" she asked nervously. "They sided with
him last time".
Hermione saw the nervous expressions of the people gathered and
knew they were not going to be pleased with her answer, but she
would not lie to them. She let out a deep breath before she replied.
"Obviously the Patronus Charm is the best way to deal with them,
but I can't do it" she explained clearly disappointed in herself. "I'm
not powerful enough and I don't think I ever will be" she continued
sadly.
"You're only 16" Angelina Johnson pointed out.
"Yes but less than 1% of the entire population of wizards and witches
are capable of producing one. You need a hell of a lot of power and
concentration and be able to maintain both at the same time to do it"
she explained further. "I have the concentration but not the power
and the chances of even one of us in here being able to do it is
almost impossible" she concluded.
"How long have you been trying?" Ginny asked.
"Since the end of third year" Hermione answered dejectedly. "I can
feel the pull on my magic but nothing happens and it drains me
completely, I feel very weak afterwards and can't even light my wand
for a few hours" she explained. "That should tell you how powerful
Harry is knowing he could produce and maintain a corporeal one at
just thirteen" she concluded.
The members of the group looked at each other feeling defeated.
They knew that Granger was easily one of the most powerful in the
room and if it had that effect on her then none of them had a realistic
chance at doing any better.
There was only one person in the room who begged to differ and
promised themselves they would master it. They remembered the
affect the Dementors had when they boarded the train in search of
Sirius Black and they were not willing to experience that again
without the ability to fight back.
With that the somewhat sombre teens exited the room and made
their way back to their common rooms in silence, each lost in
thoughts of what was coming and what they would do. Many of them
hoped that what they had heard about the Potter family was true and
that Harry would come through for them if he was in fact alive.
Most of them knew they were not born fighters nor destined for
greatness on the battlefield but they would learn as much as they
could to defend themselves when and if the situation called for it.
Inside they knew they would need a saviour, someone who was
willing to end the fight and someone who would do what was
necessary for that to happen.
(BREAK)
Narcissa Malfoy was stressed and had been since she had left that
meeting at Gringotts. When she reflected back on said meeting she
would get shiver travel down her spine and through her very core at
the memory. Learning that her Grandfather was alive had of course
shocked her, but that shock was nothing compared to seeing that
Potter was alive and what he had become. She hated to admit it to
herself but she was terrified of the teen in the same way she feared
the Dark Lord, there was just something highly unusual about the
pair of them that made her uncomfortable.
Lucius had barely paid any attention to as he had been continuously
busy of behalf of his master attempting to manipulate things in his
favour so he had not become aware of her tense and nervous
disposition. She knew he was spending much time abroad
attempting to gain allies for the cause so he had barely been present
to notice much anyway. She had tried to find a way around the vow
she had given but even the thought of breaking it caused her magic
to react very painfully and thus, she found herself in quite the
quandary. Her husband continued to strut around like a prized
peacock completely ignorant of the developments that she was
aware of. He was a capable wizard himself but she knew just from
what she saw that he was no match for the Potter boy.
She had written to Draco as Potter had suggested and begged him
to keep his head down and not get involved in the coming conflict but
had received no reply and assumed that he had already made up his
mind. Her stress levels had reached a point where it was quickly
becoming unbearable. She knew if Lucius became aware that she
had withheld important information like this, regardless of the vow
she had given, he would be very displeased and her life would
become very miserable, if he allowed her to live that is.
She had discreetly begun moving funds into a private account if the
need to flee arose. This was of course a last resort. She loved her
son and husband but her self-preservation had caused her to take
steps to ensure her safety. She knew that either way the war was
going to be a painful experience for her. She was either going to lose
what was left of her blood relatives or she was going to lose the
family she had married and created. She resigned herself to the fact
that the coming days were going to be dark for her regardless of the
outcome of the brewing war.
(BREAK)
The Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had
barely been seen since he learned of the death of his long-time
friend. Dumbledore felt as though a part of him had died along with
Rubeus. He had known the man since he was a child and had grown
to love him as any man would their own son. Not being that way
inclined towards the opposite sex he had never fathered children of
his own but he had found the closest thing possible in Rubeus. He
carried a lot of guilt where the half-giant was concerned. Not only
had he failed to have him reinstated as a student after he had been
expelled as a boy, he had been killed while carrying out a task for
him and that had pushed him to a grief he hadn't felt since the death
of his younger sister. Yes, Dumbledore was miserable and his
thoughts of guilt and misery had led him to reflect on other aspects
of his life.
His sister had died in an accident involving himself, his brother and
Gellert and Dumbledore felt her blood on his hands every passing
day. This was the first incident he would never be able to forgive
himself for and knew his brother never would either. He could only
help that wherever his sister was that she did forgive him for his
mistake.
The second instant that came to mind was the death of Gellert
during their duel that concluded the second war. He had only
intended to subdue him and bring him in but it was not to be. Had he
been able to travel with him as planned Albus knew that his friend
would not have become what he did as he was always able to rein in
his more darker and violent tendencies. Without Albus' guidance he
had succumbed to the darkness and become the monster he did and
again Dumbledore felt the blood on his hands of all of those that fell
to his maniacal cause.
Then there was the most recent victim of his interferences; Harry
Potter. The death of Rubeus had made Albus realise that he had the
same paternal instincts towards the boy and loved him as though he
were his grandson. But again all he could see was the way he had
failed the boy. He knew the Dursleys' were not pleasant people but
never dreamed they could treat the boy the way they had, that was
mistake number one, placing the boy with them.
His school years had barely been any better and each year he only
made further mistakes in regards to Harry who continuously
surprised the older man with his resilience and abilities. When he
discovered the Horcrux within the boy at the end of his third year he
retired to his office and wept at what he thought the boys' fate would
have to be. He vowed he would dedicate the rest of his life if
necessary to find a way to save the boy and he did just that. He had
to go against his own morals and venture into some very dark and
obscure magic to find the solution but he found it. It was not ideal in
any sense but he knew it would have to be done. When he
discovered that the abomination had been removed by other means
he once again retired to his office and wept for the boy, this time in
joy.
Reflecting back on all the mistakes he had made he concluded that
he did not deserve the forgiveness of either Harry or Rubeus, but he
would do all he could to atone for his mistakes. He knew he would
have to have a long and painful conversation with the young man in
the future and he would face the consequences when they came. He
simply wanted to help Harry as much as he could while he could and
would do all he could to do so. He vowed that he would hold nothing
back and be completely open and honest with him, if anyone
deserved it, it was Harry Potter.
In honour of his fallen friend he had already personally erected a
monument in the forbidden forest with the help of many of the
creatures who lived there. They all knew, respected and even loved
the man who had cared for them when they had needed it. The
Acromantula, Aragog, had been inconsolable at the loss of his friend
and vowed that his kind would never side with Riddle and would
protect the forest from him and his ilk.
Even the centaurs had paid their respects with their own warrior
salute that they only gave to their own kind after they had fallen in
battle. Dumbledore had been particularly touched by this sentiment
knowing that it was very unusual for this honour to be bestowed on a
different creature.
The creatures of the forest, upon learning of the death, came from
far and wide to add their own touch to the monument. What stood
now was a life-sized wooden Norwegian Ridgeback adorned with
many gifts from various creatures. There was a unicorn horn, a bow
and arrow from the centaurs, an abundance of very rare and
valuable Acromantula silk given by Aragog himself, various types of
fangs, antlers and feathers, thestral hair and even what Dumbledore
suspected was Nundu fur and a chimera claw, he really did not want
to know where they had come from.
Albus was certain that Rubeus would love the tribute and only
wished he could do more. He knew it was not wise to announce the
death publically as yet and knew that even if he did there would be
little compassion from the public thanks to the article that Skeeter
had published the previous year in regards to his parentage.
Despite his best efforts the depression he felt remained and he was
certain it would not shift any time soon. He knew he would have to
speak to Harry in the near future but in the mean-time he would do
all he could to make his final task at least possible.
(BREAK)
Sirius Black was experiencing mixed emotions. He was happy that
he had received a letter from Harry this morning requesting a
meeting, it was simple note that read;
Same Place, Same Time
H
He was excited to see his godson again but he was very worried
about Remus. He had left two months ago to gage the mood of the
werewolf clans on the continent and had heard no word from the
man since his departure which was very unusual, especially
considering that he had written to him shortly after he returned from
Gringotts. He knew there was little he could do however as he was
stuck he at his hated home.
He knew Harry was trying to locate the traitor rat and only hoped he
had good news on that front to give him that very night. He had
continued his training in much better spirits and with more
determination after witnessing first-hand the development of his
godson. He now knew he was more than capable of handling himself
in a fight and was pleased with the progress. It was now seldom he
wallowed in the guilt he felt in regards to his failing of many years
passed. Yes, the pain was still raw but he had been given the chance
to redeem himself and he fully intended on doing so as soon as he
was a free man, something he was confident would happen with
Harry personally seeing to it. All he had to do now was while away
the final hours before he would see Harry again and find out what
progress, if any, the teen had made.
(BREAK)
Harry Potter had experienced a very mixed six weeks. He had
immediately begun his search for the rat and had even attained the
help of Dobby. What became clear quickly was that the traitor was
hiding and hiding well.
From Arcturus he had learnt that things were beginning to move
behind the scenes. A few people of note had gone missing and he
had heard of attempts of extortion and intimidation taking place in
several establishments. Of course none of this had been reported in
the prophet and Harry guessed that this was the work of the idiotic
minister.
He had spent time in disguise frequenting Knockturn Alley and many
other unsavoury locations until he at last had come across his first
lead on Pettigrew which he planned on following the next day.
It had been 3 days ago that he found himself in a rundown pub in the
aforementioned alley when he overheard a conversation at the table
next to his where two people who were not familiar to him were
talking in hushed voices.
"So he sent the rat to Toulouse to represent him?" a very grubby and
unkempt man asked his companion disbelievingly.
"Shh, keep it down" his equally unclean acquaintance replied
shooting a furtive glance around the room.
Harry pretended to mind his own business and feigned drinking from
his filthy glass of firewhisky which he was gradually wandlessly
vanishing instead of consuming.
"Yes" the man continued when he was sure they were not being
eavesdropped on. "Don't ask me why but he seems to trust him" he
added shaking his head.
"I wouldn't trust that piss-ant to parley with flobberworms" the first
man declared defiantly.
"Then be grateful it isn't up to you" his friend retorted.
Having gained what he came for Harry placed a single galleon on
the bar and nodded at the barman before exiting and making his way
home.
When he arrived and informed Arcturus of his development the older
man looked pleased with the progress.
"Good work Potter" he praised. "Now you can relax for a couple of
days before you go, you have been a surly git since we got back
from the family meeting" he proclaimed with a hint of annoyance in
his voice.
"I'm sorry" Harry intoned sincerely. "It's just that this is important to
me" he finished.
"I know, so why don't you go and see the idiot before you go and tell
him" Arcturus suggested. "And don't forget what we talked about
after the meeting" he added firmly.
Harry could hardly forget the conversation the two had had when
they returned from Gringotts.
He had apparated into the drawing room and was making his way to
his room when he was called back by Arcturus.
"Potter" the older man called upon his arrival. "We aren't finished yet,
you and I need to have a discussion" he requested firmly.
"Yes sir" Harry replied taking a seat in front of the desk where the
older man had situated himself.
"You can't fight this war yourself" Arcturus stated simply. "You need
allies, someone to stand beside you in battle, someone you would
trust with your life, understand?" he asked, not wanting the boy to
truly answer.
Harry thought for a moment on what the older man had said and
nodded in agreement. As much as he would like to end this war by
himself he knew it was not possible.
"Is there anyone you trust that much?" Arcturus asked.
Again, Harry thought about what he had been asked and found that
there was only one person who had not wronged him and had been
honest with him from the start.
"Only you sir" Harry replied sincerely.
The older man had not expected that answer but found that he was
somewhat touched by the sentiment. Despite this he still shook his
head ruefully.
"It can't be me" he answered. He raised his hands to silence the
young man when he saw that he was going to interrupt. "Let me
explain" he requested.
"I, like Dumbledore, have had my war, I am too old to be that person"
he stated simply. "Even in my prime I struggled to keep up with
Charlus and now I would stand no chance in that position" he
explained. "Believe me when the time comes I will fight with
everything I have but I cannot be trusted with your life nor can I
expect you to carry me as you no doubt would have to" he
concluded.
"Then there is no one I can trust that much" Harry replied shrugging.
"Although it pains me to admit it I think there is one person you could
rely on, if he learns to curb his foolishness" Arcturus responded.
"Sirius?" Harry questioned.
The older man nodded his concurrence.
"Yes, despite his tendency for stupidity and immaturity he is a very
gifted and capable wizard and he seems to be taking this war
seriously" the older man explained his reasoning. "And beyond that
he cares for you as though you were spawned from his own pathetic
loins" he elaborated.
Harry agreed.