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batsutousaiTitle: Déguiser
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
batsutousai
Beta:magickmaker17
Rating: PG-13 for now
Pairings: Intended - HP/LV, Possible - HP/DM, Possible - NL/HG, SB/RL
Warnings: AU, an attempt to not copy the book, bloody OOC-ness
Summary: When Albus Dumbledore leaves Harry Potter on the doorstep of the Dursleys, the last thing he expected was for an unknown relative to disappear with the boy for ten years. Enter Thomas Potter, a man who intends to change the past, the present, and the future.
A/N: Happy birthday, Harry.
I have this urge to make this chapter as short as possible, just to keep last chapter from happening again. *stare*
I wonder...
-~/\~-
Chapter Six - Dragons and Stones
-~\/~-
By the Sunday following Christmas, Augusta had decided that keeping Neville at home with nothing to do besides go through every book in the house was detrimental to her health on account of dust and small, falling objects and Floo'd over to Leland Manor with him. He immediately disappeared into the library with his friends and Sirius while Thomas led Augusta into the sitting room for tea. By the time she left for dinner at her house with Neville, she'd come to like Remus, Elizabeth and John, and could almost bear to be in the same room as Lucius and Narcissa without glaring at them every moment. Harry later told his Uncle that Neville had told him that Thomas had made an impressive second impression on his grandmother. Harry added that Thomas really needed to stop making such wonderful friends with the guardians of his friends, lest Harry start to think his uncle was keeping tabs on him or something.
Thomas thought the whole thing was too funny.
The new year passed with another large dinner party at Leland Manor – Lucius didn't even try arguing for having it at Malfoy Manor – and almost hourly confessions of love by Sirius to Snape. When the hour struck, Thomas gleefully cast a spell to make the two kiss and was immediately chased through the house by a gaggle of children who declared that he was scarring them on purpose, Thomas laughing the whole way. Augusta, who had come with her grandson, commented later that it was nice to see old hatred turning into love. When Sirius threatened to prank Thomas back, Kaz got it across quite effectively without Thomas' help that there would be hell to pay if the Animagus touched his human.
As it was, it was an impressively large group that saw the four students off to Hogwarts for the new term. As Thomas, Elizabeth and John had done at the beginning of the year, they suggested going out for ice cream and, surprisingly, even Augusta and the Malfoys joined them, making quite the sensation in Diagon Alley and making front page news in the Prophet the next morning. The most entertaining part of the article, as far as Thomas was concerned, was that since no one but his group of – dare he call them – friends, Harry's friends and Harry's professors actually knew who he was, the Prophet had decided he was a Muggle like the Grangers.
When Lucius tried to send a letter to the Daily Prophet office, correcting them on their mistake, Thomas stopped him with a laugh and said, "Let it be, Lucius. It'll be far more satisfying to watch them learn their mistake at a later time." Lucius had grumbled about his image a little, but let it go with a snort.
Harry and Thomas' letters back and forth were mostly routine with comments about Snape's continued silence, a few pranks played by Harry and the Weasley twins, Ron's continued good behaviour, McGonagall's "wicked awesomeness", Dumbledore leaving Harry alone and the occasional dinner party with the Grangers and the Malfoys. The only oddities until the end of April included the appearance of a cloak that supposedly belonged to James – which Remus and Sirius verified – and the first school Quidditch game that Harry got to participate in, which Sirius, Remus, Thomas, Elizabeth and John all came to see.
When Harry's broom had started acting up in the air, Thomas had quietly sent a nasty itching hex towards the turbaned professor and the broom had calmed. Since Harry was the only one who had actually realized that something was wrong, he was the only one who asked Thomas about the whole thing and Thomas played innocent, much to his nephew's irritation.
Come the twenty-third of April, though, a surprisingly early letter showed up from Harry, written completely in Parselwriting, which the two Potters usually only used if it was a secret or meant for one of the snakes.
-~/^\~-
'Hagrid has a dragon egg. He got it at the pub. Nothing we say is going to make him get rid of it and if anyone finds out he'll be kicked out. We need your help.
'Harry'
-~/^\~-
'I understand. I'll see what I can do. For now, keep trying with Hagrid and keep this quiet. Ask the other to not tell their parents. If Lucius finds out, he'll have to report it and only Augusta might have a way to help, but I'm not sure she would.
'Love, Thomas'
-~/^\~-
Thomas made his excuses to his friends and left the country early Friday evening. While he couldn't do much in the way of getting the half-giant to get rid of the one thing he'd always wanted the most, Thomas had someone he knew from his days travelling Europe who was both legally capable of raising a baby dragon and would happily grant him a favour in return for an update on his life. He went to the dragon reserve up in Northern Norway, cloaked heavily for the chilled temperatures.
According to the reserve's rules, he Apparated to the gate and stepped up to the guard shack. In accented Norwegian, Thomas said, "My name is Thomas Leland and I'm here to see Ansfrida Norville."
"She expecting you?" the man inside grumbled, even as he cast the spell that would alert the main lodge that there was a guest.
"Nei."
The answering spell came back and the man nodded. "Straight down this path. She'll be waiting for you at the door of the lodge."
"Takk," Thomas replied with a bow, then slipped through the gate and hurried up the path. From previous visits, Thomas knew that the lodge was a large, log-cabin sort of building that had been build in a 'T' shape with the top of the 'T' facing the gate. The main reserve office was to the right of the entrance while the cafeteria was to the left. The rooms of the reservation workers were along the bottom of the building and they had to verify their magical signature to get down there. Guests weren't allowed in workers' rooms.
"Thomas!" a woman called as Thomas stepped into the building.
"Ansy!" Thomas hugged the woman as she came over to him. She was a little taller than Thomas and had light blonde hair and bright blue eyes. "How have you been?" he asked in English once they'd pulled apart.
Ansy smiled at him and also switched to his favoured language. "Very well. How have you been?"
"Well enough."
Ansy nodded and led him to a couch in the corner, away from the normal traffic-ways. "Now, what can I do for you? You've never been one for idle visits."
"Ah, you know me too well." Thomas sighed and sat back. "I told you I've been raising my nephew?"
"Yes. If I recall correctly what you said in your last letter nine years ago, he should be school age now."
"He his. He's attending Hogwarts and he's made a friend on the staff who, unfortunately, has recently acquired a dragon's egg."
Ansy's eyes went wide. "In a school? But, he could be imprisoned for that!"
"Exactly. He's always wanted a dragon, but he has neither the resources to take care of it, nor the paperwork. Would it be possible for you to take it?"
Ansy frowned at him. "Under the table, Thomas?"
Thomas sighed and rubbed at his chin. "No. I'll sign for it. I don't want to cause any more trouble for Hagrid and I, at least, can bear the political upheaval. But there's no guarantee I'll be able to get the baby out here without any trouble."
Ansy nodded in understanding. "If you can get it to your home, I can pick it up there. Is this Hagrid willing to give it to you?"
"No. At least, not last I heard. My nephew and his school friends are trying to talk him into letting the dragon go, but I'm not sure how effective it will be without adult intervention."
Ansy nodded again. "I see. Well, why don't you fill out what you can of the information here and then I'll come with you to your home. I can take the time off that it will require you to talk this Hagrid into giving you the dragon."
Thomas let out a sigh of relief and hugged Ansy, much to her amusement. "Ansy, love, you're a life saver."
Ansy laughed. "Do I get to meet your precious nephew?"
Thomas winced. "Promise not to spread it around?"
Ansy smirked. "Oh, this must be good. I promise."
"It's Harry Potter."
Ansy blinked a few times, then said dryly, "You're pulling my leg."
Thomas shook his head. "I'm completely serious. I told you I was illegitimate, right?"
"Yes! But you never said you were a Potter."
"Well, forgive me for not spreading around what my father didn't want anyone to know," Thomas said bitterly.
Ansy sighed and shook her head. "No, it doesn't matter. Come on, let's get that paperwork."
Thomas nodded and stood with her. Just before they entered the office, he touched her shoulder and said, "Thank you."
Ansy smiled and nodded. "Of course."
-~/^\~-
'I've got a friend who works at a dragon reserve who's willing to take the dragon if Hagrid's willing. If not, I'll come up there myself and make him see reason.
'Love, Thomas'
-~/^\~-
'Draco pointed out that Hagrid's cabin will burn down in minutes and won't hold the thing for long anyway. Neville pointed out he could end up in Azkaban for having a dragon. I told him you're willing to take the baby to an actual dragon reservation. Come by whenever.
'Harry'
-~/^\~-
'I'm coming Wednesday night, while you're in class. Tell Hagrid.
'Love, Thomas'
-~/^\~-
It was a nice, but chilled night and Thomas didn't envy the first years up in the Astronomy Tower. He, on the other hand, was about to collect his own little furnace without Kaz, who had decided the safest place would be in Thomas' room. Even without warning, Thomas remembered as he made his way across the school grounds, Sirius was pleased with another person staying in the house. The fact that Ansy was a woman had only made it better. The fact that Ansy ignored every one of Sirius' advances didn't seem to deter the man and Thomas didn't have the heart – or, at least, he thought it would be less amusing – to simply tell Sirius that Ansy was a lesbian who hated men like Sirius with a passion. Ansy, used to Thomas' sense of humour, hadn't attempted to kill him when she found out he hadn't warned Sirius away on purpose.
As Thomas approached the small hut, he shook the amusing memories of his two house guests from his mind and turned, instead, to the task at hand. Ansy had taught him, years ago, how to handle baby dragons so as to not get hurt and had also given him a refresher when she got to his home. Despite the knowledge, it had been years since Thomas had been close to a dragon and he wasn't quite sure he still had the same touch he'd had when he was younger.
He knocked on the door with a touch of nerves and smiled when Hagrid opened the door. Hagrid smiled back. "Yeh mus' be Thomas Potter."
"That I am. It's a pleasure, Mr Hagrid," Thomas replied with far more calm than he felt.
"Jest 'Hagrid' is good," Hagrid stepped back in invitation and Thomas stepped in. He looked around the small hut as Hagrid shut the door and almost immediately spotted the small Norwegian Ridgeback. He set his wand on the table while the baby was watching him, then walked over with his hands in plain sight. He'd once watched a man get eaten alive on the reserve for not listening to one of the other workers when they said that the worst thing you can do is approach a dragon with an obvious weapon. Best to put your wand to one side or keep it in your pocket then hold it in one hand.
The baby huffed some smoke at him when he got within arm's reach, then turned to Hagrid with a questioning chirp.
Hagrid smiled, but it was sad. "Norbert, this is Thomas Potter. 'E's here ta take yeh to a place where yeh can be raised with other dragons. And I'm sure ye'll like it there."
Thomas nodded. "The reservation is a beautiful place, if a bit cold. It's in Norway, which is where your breed originated, so you'll be right at home."
Norbert huffed again.
Thomas turned to Hagrid. "My friend who's taking him back with her asked me to make sure you know that you can visit Norbert if you want, but I'll have to go up with you, since mine is the name on the paperwork. Not to mention, I don't believe you were ever licensed to Apparate?"
Hagrid shook his head. "No, I wasn't. But, yeh said I might visit him?"
Thomas smiled. "Of course. You can send me an owl anytime and I can take you at my first available opportunity."
Hagrid looked like he might cry as he grabbed Thomas in a bear hug. "Thank yeh, Thomas!"
Thomas patted the larger man's back awkwardly. "Of course."
Norbert huffed yet again and let out a faint screech, which startled both wizards out of their embrace.
Hagrid wiped at his eyes. "I suppose I should be letting yeh get on yer way, then."
Thomas shrugged, feeling uncomfortable, then turned to Norbert. "Norbert, I'm going to have to cover you up so no one sees you while I leave the property, or Hagrid could end up in some serious trouble, right? So, you know, don't burn up my cloak or anything."
Norbert waved his head in the air in a seemingly thoughtless pattern, but Thomas really hopped it meant that the dragon baby understood and promised to not destroy his cloak. He'd brought an old cloak just in case, of course, but still.
Hagrid leaned over and said a very loud, very tearful good-bye to the dragon while Thomas picked up his wand and put it away, then allowed Thomas to pick Norbert up and cover him with the cloak. Almost as soon as the cloak was secured, there was a knock on the door. Hagrid and Thomas turned to look at one another for a moment, then Hagrid opened the door a crack. "Who's there?"
"It's us, Hagrid," came Harry's voice. "Is my uncle still there?"
"Aye." Hagrid let in the pile of four first years while Thomas set Norbert down and pulled the cloak back so the dragon could see what was going on.
Thomas turned on the children with a scowl. "And why are you four out of bed?"
"Class just ended," Draco reported. "And they wanted to say good-bye to the monster." He stuck his nose up in the air.
Thomas walked over quickly and smacked the boy upside the head. "Draco Lucius Malfoy, that was highly unnecessary," he informed the boy, frowning at the hurt look Draco shot him. "Norbert can understand you, you know. You're lucky he hasn't taken your hand off by now." He twitched faintly as a sudden need to hurry overcame him.
"Told you," Hermione commented with a superior look.
"But–" Draco started.
Thomas sighed and shook his head, trying to ignore the urgings that weren't his own. "I know Lucius seems to think that, as a pureblood, he's the most important thing in the world and is entitled to look down on non-humans, but that doesn't mean you have to be just as much of a self-centred prat. Our lore tells us that the dragons, as well as some of the other non-humans, were here before even we were and welcomed us fondly. Most of our first spells, according to the Merlin Scrolls, came from the dragons themselves, back when they still spoke to us." Thomas frowned at the disbelieving looks Draco and Hermione were shooting at him. "What?"
"I've never heard of these scrolls before," Hermione stated at the same time as Draco said, "Dragons can't talk, Thomas."
"Hermione, I'll lend you my copies this summer if I remember. Draco, it's no wonder they no longer talk, having to put up with wizards like you all the time." Thomas spun and stalked back over to where Norbert was watching the proceedings with interest and urgency, ignoring the stares on his back at his cold rebuttal. "May I?" he asked Norbert.
Norbert huffed and pulled the cloak back over his head himself.
Thomas picked the baby dragon back up and turned back to the children. "All of you need to go back to your dorms and to sleep." When no one moved, Thomas added a touch of magic to his voice – a trick he'd learned from an older wizard he'd once known – and ordered, "Now."
The group of children ducked back under the cloak and left, each shooting him a hurt look.
Hagrid shook his head and saw Thomas to the door. "Yeh shouldn't have been so harsh with them, Thomas."
Thomas shrugged. "Call it a premonition, but I wanted to leave before you had any unexpected guests. Good night, Hagrid." He hurried towards the shadowy overhang of the Forbidden Forest and turned back to watch as a group of figures exited the school building. He recognized Minister Fudge's bowler hat and Dumbledore's tall wizarding hat even at that distance and moved quickly away from the hut, where the group seemed to be headed. "Thank you, my friend," he whispered to the bundle in his arms as he turned towards the gates of the school.
Norbert huffed again and snuggled deeper in the warm cloak.
-~/^\~-
Thomas saw Norbert and Ansy off that night with a promise to visit the reserve more often, especially when his nephew was home that summer. Once rid of the two, he retired to the kitchen and made himself a cup of tea to think over. Sirius found him there around ten o'clock the next morning, a worried Kaz on his shoulders.
"You weren't down here all night, were you?" Sirius demanded as he set Kaz on the floor.
Thomas turned darkened eyes on the Animagus. "I'm waiting for the horde of letters from Harry and his friends' parents telling me to sod off," he said with a bitter seriousness.
Sirius sat down quickly and shook his head. "Okay, what happened?"
Thomas, too tired to care that he was having a sane conversation with the thorn in his side, told Sirius what had happened the previous night in an even voice.
Sirius sighed and rubbed at his face. "So, let me get this straight. The dragon was making you hurry so no one got in trouble?" Thomas nodded. "Well, what's the problem, then? You weren't being sharp with them without a good reason."
Thomas shook his head. "Sirius, you don't understand. I was completely out of line. Especially with Draco. It doesn't matter that a dragon was urging me to hurry it up, I still shouldn't have been so cruel. I basically told him he was the reason behind the hatred between humans and non-humans."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "But isn't he? At least part of it? Personally, I think the dragon should have bit him long ago."
"Sirius, you're not helping," Thomas grumbled, tugging at his hair.
"Look, Thomas..." Sirius rubbed his nose and gave Thomas an irritated look. "You said you had a werewolf friend during the war. And a vampire one too, right?"
Thomas nodded warily. "Yeah. What about them?"
"And it's clear you like dragons and snakes, right?"
"Where's this going, Sirius?"
Sirius waved his question off. "And you said you hate the Ministry's stand on non-humans, right?"
"Sirius..."
"And the way Malfoy Jr was acting is exactly like how the Ministry acts. If I'd been there, I'd probably have done more than call him names, and I only know one werewolf. Never mind that you had a dragon telling you to move it," Sirius silenced the comeback on Thomas' tongue before he could do more than open his mouth with a sharp look. "No, hear me out for once, would you." Thomas sighed, but closed his mouth again. "Look, I know you pride yourself on always seeming to keep your cool and never really losing your temper, but we all have something that touches us wrong, that 'pushes our buttons'. Maybe your buttons just happen to be non-human rights. Mine is my family." Sirius licked his lips. "Look, what I'm trying to say is, you were in the right, and the sooner Malfoy Jr realizes that, the sooner I'll call him by his name–" Thomas snorted and Sirius smiled at him. "And I don't care what Lucius says or how much he decides he hates you now, his spawn was being stupid."
Thomas sighed. "Things could only be so simple."
Sirius blinked. "Huh?"
"Lucius has more power in our world than I could ever hope to gain, Sirius," Thomas pointed out. "If he's angry enough, he can royally screw me over quite nicely."
"You've got Harry on your side," Sirius replied, frowning.
"Not if he's mad at me," Thomas replied, then let out a shout as a pair of fangs buried themselves into his neck.
Kaz pulled away from the twin bite-marks and rose himself up to glare at his human. :Thomas, you're being stupid. I've known Harry for only a short time and even I know he'll always be on your side, no matter how mad he is with you. He loves you, you moron!:
Thomas turned away from the burning stare. "We shall see."
Kaz let out a hiss of pure irritation and looked like he wanted to bite Thomas again, even if it didn't do anything to the man.
Rowan, the owl Harry'd taken to school with him, chose that moment to come flying in the room and landed in front of Thomas, leg extended. Everyone stared at her in surprise. She hooted. Thomas reached out and carefully took the letter. It read:
'On our way back to the castle, we saw the Headmaster and a bunch of official-looking people coming out of the castle. Lucius was among them and he looked kind of, I don't know, displeased, almost. They went to Hagrid's hut. Hagrid told us this morning that they were looking for an illegal dragon that they'd been told he was keeping. And he said that you seemed to know and that's why you told us to leave like you did. So, thanks. For protecting all of us. And Hagrid too.
'Also, Draco's kinda gotten over his shocked indignation from last night and wanted to say something, so...
'Thomas, I'd like to apologize. I owled my father last night, complaining about the whole mess and his return owl came early this morning, before breakfast. He told me off for being involved in the first place, then said you were right. That I should show more respect to dragons. That they DID teach us our first spells. And that, really, I need to stop being a stupid child and listen to you because, as he's said many times in the past, you generally know what you're talking about and, even when you don't, you're not far off the mark. So, I'm sorry. I was being stupid last night.
'So, we're all sorry we broke curfew last night just to see you off and ended up almost getting in trouble. Hermione's been going back and forth between yelling at one of us, and looking like she's yelling at herself. I'm sure it would be funny if we weren't all doing the same thing. I mean, if you hadn't gotten us all out of there, Hagrid and you would both be in Azkaban and we'd all probably be expelled – Hermione looked it up when we first found out.
'Forgive me?
'Love, Harry'
As Thomas finished, Lucius' owl flew through the window, so Thomas handed Harry's letter to a curious Sirius and took Lucius' letter with shaking hands. It read:
'Thomas,
'While I'm sure that Draco has already owled you, I would like to apologise myself for his behaviour last night. It seems I was lax in teaching him much of the lore, not to mention proper respect to non-humans. He startled me, in his letter, by commenting that you were using fairytales like the Merlin Scrolls to back up your ridiculous claims. For all this, I apologize.
'After Draco's letter, I must also admit myself to be curious about this dragon that my fellows in the Ministry and among the Governors believe to be a flight of fantasy of Miss Parkinson's. Most of them are of the opinion that Rubeus Hagrid is too stupid to get rid of a dragon without a trace the night we were supposed to come make a surprise check. I count myself among them, admittedly, but it appears that he managed it. Of course, with your help, I shouldn't be surprised. As an acquaintance, and not an aide of the Minister, I ask what happened to the dragon? Surely you didn't keep it – you're not that foolish – but I'm not aware of anything else you might do with it, from what I know of your current life. Pray, indulge me.
'Humbly,
'Lucius'
Thomas stared at the letter with no small amount of shock. Lucius had sided with him? Lucius?! The Death Eater who was Voldemort's right-hand man and head of one of the most self-serving Houses of Wizarding Culture?
Sirius snatched the letter from his numb fingers and read it over as well, then gave Thomas a smug smile. "See?"
Thomas shook his head and mumbled, "This is all a dream and I'm going to wake up any moment now."
Sirius rolled his eyes and pointed at Lucius' letter, seeming to know what was going through Thomas' mind. "Look, I know you weren't brought up with the old ways like Lucius and I were, but everyone learns about the Scrolls. They're legendary. We're always taught that dragons are respected. Parents don't always teach that all non-humans are to be respected – mine certainly didn't – but dragons are. I don't know why Lucius didn't teach Draco that – other than the fact that, at that time, he was probably trying to prove he didn't belong in Azkaban – but he should have. I can't tell you, either, why Draco doesn't believe in the Merlin Scrolls, but he doesn't. Didn't. He does now, but he wasn't taught before."
Thomas sighed and fingered the edge of the letter from Harry and Draco. "Still."
Sirius rolled his eyes again. "Thomas, what do you want? Merlin himself to show up and tell you that you were right? Stop beating yourself up over stupid shit. You're forgiven. No one holds your actions against you, and that's without knowing about the bloody dragon. So sit up, make me breakfast, write them back, and go to bed."
Thomas blinked and glanced at the clock. "The store!" he cried, halfway out of his seat.
"SIT!" Sirius roared, grey eyes glittering with temper.
Thomas sat.
Sirius scowled at him for a long moment, then spoke. "I called Remus earlier when I hadn't heard you up and about yet and told him you'd gone out last night and wouldn't be in 'cause I said so. He's fine opening by himself and business is always slow weekday mornings. Mark will be in before the lunch rush starts and they'll be fine. You are going to make food, eat it, write these two back and go to bed." Sirius paused. "The writing back can wait until after you've slept, by the way."
Thomas blinked a few times in surprise, then got up and moved slowly to make something easy for breakfast. While he was waiting for the microwave to finish with the first bowl of oatmeal, he looked back at Sirius and asked, "Why can't you always act this mature?"
Sirius laughed.
-~/^\~-
'Harry and Draco,
'I heard from Lucius as well. It's fine. I also apologise, though Sirius says I shouldn't, for being so rude to you, Draco, and hitting you. That was out of line.
'Tell Hermione it's fine. I understand that you all wanted to make sure everything had gone well. I don't blame you – I would have done the same at your age.
'I must also pass on your thanks to another, I'm afraid. Norbert was actually the one who sensed the danger and urged me to get everyone out of the hut.
'Love, Thomas'
-~/^\~-
'Lucius,
'I had not, actually, been aware of much of how the Houses bring up their children, so I didn't find it odd that Draco hadn't known about the Scrolls. I, myself, didn't know anything about them until I ran across them for sale in America almost three decades ago.
'Me picking Norbert up yesterday was, actually, by chance. He's currently living happily – I hope – in the Norwegian Dragon Reserve.
'Don't presume – there's a lot about me no one in England knows.
'Sincerely,
'Thomas'
-~/^\~-
Another three weeks of letters with Harry and some amusing Lucius-baiting found Thomas, Lucius, Sirius and Remus at the gate of the reservation. Once they'd been let through the gate, the four hurried up to the lodge, where they were met by a grinning Ansy. The other three wizards had already gushed their amazement at Thomas' Norwegian, as shitty as it was, and were currently in the process of looking around the lodge.
Thomas smiled and shared a hug with Ansy, then spoke in Norwegian to annoy his English-speaking fellows. "I assume things are well here?"
"As well as ever," Ansy replied. "Did you have to bring that one?" she added, nodding at Sirius.
"Ahhh... He wouldn't let me alone. So I brought his best friend, too. Might I introduce you?"
"Please."
Thomas turned to his fellows and said, "Lucius, Remus, this is Ansfrida Norville. Ansy, these gentlemen are Remus Lupin and Lucius Malfoy."
"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Ansy said with a slight bow.
Lucius and Remus both inclined their head while Sirius said, "And me, Ansy?" with a winning smile.
"You should have stayed at home," Ansy replied bitingly, then smiled and said, "Shall we go out and see Norbert? He's adapting well."
"That's wonderful," Thomas said as Ansy led the way to the door in the back of the cafeteria seating area. "I had been a little worried..."
Ansy laughed. "Thomas, you know the dragons like you! They smelled you on him, I think, and welcomed him right in."
"Wait, dragons like you?" Lucius cut in, then bowed apologetically when Thomas blinked at him and Ansy frowned. "Forgive me. Thomas is rather secretive about many things."
"You have no idea," Ansy replied knowingly and Thomas groaned. "I didn't know he was a Potter until he came by a few weeks ago, asking if I could take a dragon for him."
"That's our Tommy," Sirius proclaimed, laying his arms across Thomas' shoulders cheerfully.
Thomas considered hexing the man, but instead answered Lucius' earlier question, "Yes, Lucius, dragons like me. Don't ask me why."
"They don't just like him," Ansy added quietly. "It's like they revere him or something."
"You're making shit up," Thomas said quickly, glad that the slight chill covered his blush.
Ansy narrowed her eyes at him. "I can prove it."
"They don't revere me, Ansy. It's more like, I dunno, we understand each other," Thomas tried.
"I have worked with dragons for thirty-seven years and never once have I managed to 'understand' these dragons the way you did after you were with them for two minutes," Ansy snapped back.
Thomas sighed.
They reached one of the doors to a magical enclosure and Ansy stopped to look at all of them, her eyes hard. "Ground rules: Put your wand away and leave it away. Don't taunt them. If they attack you without provocation, move out of the way, but don't attack them. If they attack with provocation, stand where you are because you deserve it. Act like an adult while you're in there, not a five-year-old; this isn't a zoo. And you," she added, turning on Sirius, "if you even consider flirting with me in there, I'll feed you to them. Understood?" Everyone nodded. "Good." She unlocked the door with a key that she pulled from a pocket and led them in.
As the group entered, all ten dragons in the enclosure turned to look at each person, as if weighing how much of a threat each would be. They looked right over Ansy, since they knew her, and didn't seem to care about Remus, Sirius or Lucius, but they seemed absolutely enthralled with Thomas. He grimaced and bowed to them slightly. A couple bowed their heads back, then they all looked away and little Norbert half-flew, half-ran over to them.
Norbert got to Thomas first and huffed at him before demanding to be pet like only a dragon or a very self-centred cat could manage. Thomas smiled and petted Norbert as he introduced the other three wizards. Norbert immediately liked Lucius, much to everyone's surprise, and barely tolerated Sirius, who ended up pouting next to the door with a laughing Remus while Lucius and Thomas visited with the baby and Ansy watched all four wizards.
After a few minutes of showering affection on the dragon – Lucius was absolutely in love with the baby, though he tried to pretend he wasn't – Thomas glanced up at one of the eldest dragons in the enclosure for a long moment, then shrugged and walked over to it, heedless of the startled cries of Ansy, Lucius, Sirius and Remus.
When he got to the dragon, Thomas got the urge to climb on the dragon's lower back and he did – you did what dragons wanted you to do, or else. There, he found a half-torn scale that had wounded the dragon a while ago, if the lack of fresh blood or scabs were anything to go by. Thomas touched the spot where the dragon's scale disappeared into it's skin and said softly, "What do you think I can do about this, friend? This is much too old for human magic."
The dragon flapped its wings in a warning to the other humans who were approaching, then mentally, without words, directed Thomas to close his eyes and place his hands on the old wound and concentrate. Thomas sighed and did as the dragon wanted. He gasped when he felt his magic being drawn out of him and the scale moving under his hands. When the dragon signalled that he could open his eyes and look, Thomas found that the wound had been healed and the scale was as good as new.
In awe, Thomas whispered, "I did that?" The dragon confirmed it. "But–" Thomas shook his head. "That shouldn't have been possible. Human magic isn't supposed to affect dragons."
The dragon seemed to say; It does when it serves us.
Thomas shivered. "I– Um, okay..."
The dragon urged him to climb up its back and neck to its head and Thomas did so carefully, ignoring his fellows who were watching him from below in concern. A few of the other reservation workers had joined his four friends near the gate and were watching in both awe and fear. Everyone on the ground seemed to be waiting for the dragon to turn around and bite him for being annoying.
Thomas settled himself on top of the dragon's head and absently scratched above the eyelid that was closest to him, which Norbert had seemed to like. He was startled when the old dragon started making an interesting noise that was something like a thrum. It reverberated throughout the dragon's body and Thomas got the distinct feeling that the dragon was pleased. Amused with the reaction, Thomas reached out to the other eyelid and started scratching just above it as well. The thrumming got louder and Thomas couldn't help but chuckle.
After a few more minutes of pleasing the old dragon in a way that no human probably had for too long, in Thomas' opinion, Thomas got the feeling he should stop distracting the old dragon and pay attention. So he did.
The dragon directed him to its ear, where he found a pearly-white stone that danced in the false light around them and was as large as Thomas' hand. When directed to, Thomas took out his wand and cast a Shatter Hex at it. Two stones the size of his thumbnail came off, leaving the rest of the stone intact, much to his amazement. He put the larger stone back in the dragon's ear – an uncomfortable place to have a stone, in his opinion – and picked up the two little pieces.
"What are these for?" he asked the dragon, looking them over curiously. They had dimmed to a dull grey once they'd fallen off the larger stone and Thomas was at a loss for what to do with them, now that they weren't as beautiful.
Oddly enough, the dragon again communicated in his mind with actual words, only, this time, Thomas was sure it was actually speaking; Use those to find your mate and you will each wear one on a chain around your necks.
Thomas looked at the stones again and, sure enough, there was a little hole in the top of each stone, just the right size for a very fine chain necklace to fit through. He glanced back down at the dragon. "I don't need a mate, friend," he commented with a bitter smile of lost love.
The dragon let out a rumble of displeasure at that and said; You do. All living things need mates. Your Dogs are mates. The Dark one you brought has a mate he lives with. Your Keeper friend has a mate here. Your hatchling has a mate, even, and they already know each other. You have a mate, but you have not met him here. Not yet. You will.
Thomas shuddered at that. "Say I do meet this mate of mine, how will I know?"
And the dragon said; The stones will glow again. You will meet him and you will give him one.
Thomas sighed. "Okay, but, what's to say he'll want to be my mate too?"
The dragon said; He will know. And it will eat at him until he accepts you, just as it will eat at you until you accept him.
"Well, that sounds ominous."
And the dragon said; The future is ominous, Traveller.
Thomas jerked at the title, then glanced back down at the two stones he still held, feeling ill. "You know me, then."
And the dragon said; All dragons know Travellers, though they are rare. We See what others cannot. Time clings to you, Traveller. We see that.
Thomas blinked, then asked, "What else do you see?"
The dragon's mind-voice was grave as it said; We See Death and pain and sorrow. Guilt and burdens that you needn't bear. We See Peace and love. And, most of all, we See your need to help others, your compassion. We See the six hatchlings you once risked your life for and we are grateful. We See all the life you have given your own for, that you do not even know you have. We are grateful.
Thomas shivered. "I treasure your thanks," he whispered.
And the dragon said; As we treasure you, Traveller. You should return to your Dogs and the Dark one and the Keeper. They worry.
Thomas nodded and put the stones into a pocket before climbing oh so carefully down the dragon's neck and back. Once he'd reached the ground, he walked around to the front of the dragon and bowed to it. It bowed back and he turned to walk back over to where Ansy, Sirius, Remus and Lucius all waited, a line of other workers behind them.
Ansy reacted first. She ran up to him and pulled him into a hug, then started speaking in rapid Norwegian. After trying, and failing, to catch what she was saying, he shook his head. "Ansy, Ansy. Jeg forstår ikke. Kan du snakke langsommere."
Ansy blushed and switched to English. "I'm so sorry, Thomas. You know how I get when I'm worried." She rung her hands together.
Thomas smiled. "I'm fine. The dragon had a scale that had broken years ago and stuck in its hide. It wanted me to fix it, then it wanted to thank me."
"You shouldn't have wandered off without telling me what you were up to!" Ansy said, looking like she might hyperventilate.
Thomas settled a hand on each of her shoulders. "I didn't know what it wanted, I just went to it when it called. You know how dragons are. You don't make them wait."
"Still..."
"Ansy, you're the one who's always telling me they revere me," Thomas pointed out.
"I just don't want them to get angry with you for climbing all over them! Even a king can be overthrown if he oversteps his bounds, Thomas!"
"I know my bounds, Ansy," Thomas said softly. "I know them and I respect them. Anyway, only idiots climb dragons without their express permission and I'm not an idiot."
Lucius cleared his throat. "Thomas, really, most people don't get permission from dragons to climb them. They tend to like their personal space."
Thomas shrugged. "They also like being scratched right above their eyelids."
His group of friends and the one other worker who, apparently, understood English were all staring at him like he'd lost his mind.
Ansy shook her head and took his hands in hers. "Whatever, Thomas. I think we need to get you out of the chill."
"It's not that cold, you know," Thomas replied, but allowed himself to be led from the enclosure.
On their way back, Remus said, "Forgive the half-blood his question but, Thomas, why were you calling that dragon an 'it'?"
Thomas waved the question towards Ansy, since dragons were her field. Ansy rolled her eyes at him, then smiled at Remus. "Once they reach a certain age, dragons stop having a specific sex in the way we think of males and females. They fully bond with their mate somewhere between eighty and one hundred years of age and the two dragons end up sharing one body until it dies. So it's kind of like they are both sexes at once and we tend to refer to them as an 'it' in the languages that use pronouns."
"Except for the rare dragons who mate with the same sex. Then they call them 'it' for the sake of sticking with a theme," Thomas offered nonchalantly.
"Well, I'm sorry if not all of us can tell if a fully bonded dragon was originally a male and a female or both the same gender. Merlin, Thomas," Ansy replied with a scowl.
Thomas shrugged. "Can I help it if I can just tell?"
Ansy rolled her eyes and led them back into the building. As she led the way over to some chairs, Sirius elbowed Thomas. "Well?"
"Well what?" Thomas asked back.
"Well, what's it like sitting on a dragon's head and chatting with it?" Sirius asked, then flopped down on one of the seats.
Thomas settled in next to the Animagus and found himself to be the centre of attention in his small group of friends. "Like sitting on a rock on top of a mountain and talking to a voice in your head that's about a million times smarter than you," he replied, then made a face. "And who knows all your secrets."
"They know all your secrets?" Remus asked, then shuddered.
Thomas nodded. "They can See things, like some humans See the future and some See auras, they can see what we've done. They can see our past. It said things cling to us, so I guess it's a form of aura Seeing."
Ansy was staring at him like he'd grown a second head. "Thomas, are you saying it actually spoke to you? Like, with words and not just feelings and the occasional image?"
Thomas blinked and thought about it. Did he want to tell his friends that the dragon had, in fact, spoken to him?
As if from a great distance, the dragon's voice reached his mind; You keep many secrets, Traveller. Perhaps you should let some of them go.
Thomas shook his head. "Uhm, well," he said aloud, trying to gather the thoughts that the dragon had sent scattering. "Well, yes?"
"Was that a yes, or a no?" Remus asked, frowning.
Thomas sighed. "Yes. Yes, it spoke to me. In words." He forced a smiled and looked at Ansy. "It called you the 'Keeper'."
Ansy shook her head. "First they revere you, now they speak to you? What next, Thomas?"
Thomas shrugged uncomfortably. "Maybe they'll just leave me alone."
"Somehow, mate," Sirius said, his whole being serious, "I don't think that'll happen."
Thomas sighed and touched the stones in his pocket. "I was afraid of that."
-~/^\~-
As exams and the end of the school year approached, Harry's letters thinned until there was nothing in them but a simple, 'I'm doing fine. You? Harry' and Thomas felt himself get more and more antsy as the end of the year approached. Finally, on the second day of exams, he owled a letter which merely said, 'Tell me if you do something stupid, like try and protect something that you think needs to be protected but probably doesn't. Love, Thomas' and hoped that would be enough.
Two days later, an owl flew through the open window of the sitting room where Thomas and Sirius sat together, reading silently. Thomas quickly took the letter from the leg of the school owl and sent it upstairs to their small owlery in the attic for some water and treats. The letter said, 'Gone to protect Flamel's secret, whether you want me to or not. Dumbledore left for the Ministry. We have to do something. Harry'.
Thomas stood and put his book away as calmly as he could, calculating the time it would take the owl to reach the house from Hogwarts as he did so and coming up with an hour. Assuming they went down immediately after he posted the owl, the timing should be about right if he were to Apparate to Hogsmeade in ten minutes? Maybe he should just head now. That would be what any normal parent would do when they got a letter such as the one Thomas held in his hands. But he didn't want to accidentally run into Voldemort.
"Thomas?" Sirius asked softly.
Thomas jumped, then turned to look at Sirius, his heart racing. "Yeah?"
Sirius frowned. "What's wrong?"
Thomas handed him the letter, guessing that it wouldn't explain much. He was right.
"Alright, now, would you care to explain what this means?"
Thomas tugged on the front of his shirt. "The Philosopher's Stone, Sirius. Voldemort is after the Stone and Harry and his friends think they can stop him from getting it, or at least deter him until Dumbledore gets there. And I knew they were going to. I could have stopped them, but I didn't. Ooooh..." He bit his lower lip and shuffled around the room a bit, feeling ill. Should he go now, or wait a little longer?
Sirius stood, eyes blazing. "Are you saying Harry might be facing Voldemort as we speak?!"
Thomas nodded, eyes wide. Go now, or wait?
Sirius dropped the parchment and grabbed Thomas' arm. "What are we waiting for, then? We're going to Hogwarts!"
Thomas let Sirius lead him from the room and put on his robe when the man handed it to him, glad that the decision had been made for him. "We'll have to Apparate to Hogsmeade," he said mechanically.
Sirius grabbed him by his upper arms and shook him, looking him in the eyes. "Thomas, pull it together!" Thomas blinked at him dumbly, still not all there.
Kaz let out a hiss and bit Thomas' neck. :Wake up, idiot! Harry might be dead and here you are, zoning out!:
Hazel eyes widened, then focused on worried grey. "Let's go," he whispered, then Apparated himself before Sirius could agree.
Thomas started running towards the school as soon as he appeared in Hogsmeade, thoughtless of anyone or anything in his way. He vaguely heard Sirius calling his name behind him but all he could think of was getting to Harry. What if something went wrong? What if Voldemort actually killed him? What if–?
A large black dog fell into stride with Thomas, watching him worriedly. Honestly, Sirius had to admit, Thomas could run pretty fast, despite how old and weak his greying hair made him look. Sirius could never catch him as a human and even as a dog, he wouldn't be able to keep this speed up for longer than it took to get to Hogwarts.
As he hit the main entrance, Thomas slowed down to a half-run, of sorts. He dashed through the hallways with surprising accuracy and came to a stop outside the hospital wing. He was about to slip in when the doors opened and Dumbledore stepped out. The two men looked quite surprised to see one another.
Sirius returned to his human form. "Sir, we got an owl from Harry that said he was going to go and try to protect the Stone," he said quickly.
"Ah. That does explain your presence. Well, I can assure you that Mr Potter is well, if exhausted and is currently sleeping in the hospital wing," Dumbledore told them.
"May we go in and see him?" Sirius half-begged.
"Of course," Dumbledore agreed, then moved past the two.
"Headmaster, will you destroy the Stone?" Thomas asked, turning to look at the elder wizard with blank eyes.
Dumbledore smiled. "I believe that's for Nicholas to decide, don't you, Thomas?"
Thomas blinked. "Tell him that he should. Some things weren't meant for human beings, and that's one of them." Then he turned and slipped into the hospital wing, leaving Sirius and Dumbledore to stare after him.
Thomas moved easily through the hospital wing to where the curtains were drawn around a bed. He slipped in and stopped, content to simply watch as Harry's chest rose and fell. Rose and fell.
"Thomas?" Sirius whispered as he came in behind the other.
Thomas moved to take the seat next to Harry's bed. Harry's hand was on top of the covers on the side of the bed Thomas was sitting on, so he took it in his own hands and simply sat there, Harry's hand between his, his eyes on the boy's chest.
-~/^\~-
When Harry awoke sometime in the afternoon of his third day in the hospital wing, Thomas' exhausted figure was the first thing he saw. Sirius was laying on a bed nearby, sleeping, but Thomas hadn't been able to sleep, even with the sleeping potion Madam Pomfrey had made him take, so he'd stayed next to Harry's bedside for three days, not letting the boy's hand go and only drinking water when someone forced it down his throat.
Harry blinked. "Uncle Thomas?"
Thomas tried to smile, then said, "You scared the fucking soul out of me, Harry. If I thought you'd listen, I'd tell you to never do it again. But you won't, so I'll have to ask you to just be really, really careful next time."
Harry stared at his uncle, the full weight of how much he'd scared his uncle settling in as the man spoke in a voice that sounded every bit as bad as he looked. "Uncle Thomas, have you slept?"
Thomas shook his head. "Couldn't."
Harry frowned. "You can climb in bed with me."
"Don't want to hurt you."
Harry stared at his uncle again, then clutched the man's hand that was holding his and tugged. "Well, you won't. Come on. If you don't get some sleep, you'll start to worry me."
Thomas nodded and crawled into bed with the boy. As his uncle dozed off, Harry had the sudden and rather uncomfortable feeling that he was the adult and his uncle the child. Looking down at the man who had worried himself past exhaustion, Harry considered that he probably was the more adult of the two of them at the moment. Desperately, helplessly, Harry closed his eyes and prayed to a god that he didn't believe in that his uncle was never again forced to sit at Harry's bedside, worrying over his health.
And, in the same breath, Harry swore to do his damnest to keep himself out of trouble so his uncle didn't have any reason to sit at his bedside in fear again. Next time he found out there was some magical trinket kept in the bowels of the school that Voldemort wanted his hands on, he could have it. Harry never wanted to see his uncle look like that again.
-
-
A/N: Not sure I like that ending. REALLY don't like how Gary-Stu-ish Thomas turned out in this. 'Specially with the dragons. Damn.
Oh well. That's what I get for writing this at all hours of the night and with constant bathroom breaks to appease my upset stomach – 'cause you all TOTALLY wanted to know that... (I hope that, when I post this, my stomach's better than it is now. Bleh.)
I plan on chapter seven being about the summer. Visits to the dragons, attempts to keep the diary from popping up next year, lots of friendly get-togethers and a trip to Diagon Alley that teaches the Daily Prophet to get their facts straight all planned for next chapter! Now, I wonder what I'll actually get in there...
I plan on having chapter eight be the beginning of second year. I REALLY want to breeze past second and third year, since stuff isn't really planned to start happening until fourth.
Norwegian:
Nei - No
Takk - Thank you
Jeg forstår ikke. - I don't understand
Kan du snakke langsommere. - Please speak more slowly
Bed for me,
~Bats
Chapters:
Pro - To Face the Unknown / 1 - Two Potters
2 - Diagon Alley ||| 3 - Summer's End and Letters ||| 4 - The Trial
5 - Letters and Christmas |||6 - Dragons and Stones ||| 7 - The First Summer
8 - The Second Year ||| 9 - The Third Year ||| 10 - Fight For What You Believe In
11 - Thomas Potter ||| 12 - Plots and Plans ||| 13 - The Children's Hand
14 - ???
Incomplete
Author:
batsutousaiBeta:
magickmaker17Rating: PG-13 for now
Pairings: Intended - HP/LV, Possible - HP/DM, Possible - NL/HG, SB/RL
Warnings: AU, an attempt to not copy the book, bloody OOC-ness
Summary: When Albus Dumbledore leaves Harry Potter on the doorstep of the Dursleys, the last thing he expected was for an unknown relative to disappear with the boy for ten years. Enter Thomas Potter, a man who intends to change the past, the present, and the future.
A/N: Happy birthday, Harry.
I have this urge to make this chapter as short as possible, just to keep last chapter from happening again. *stare*
I wonder...
Chapter Six - Dragons and Stones
-~\/~-
By the Sunday following Christmas, Augusta had decided that keeping Neville at home with nothing to do besides go through every book in the house was detrimental to her health on account of dust and small, falling objects and Floo'd over to Leland Manor with him. He immediately disappeared into the library with his friends and Sirius while Thomas led Augusta into the sitting room for tea. By the time she left for dinner at her house with Neville, she'd come to like Remus, Elizabeth and John, and could almost bear to be in the same room as Lucius and Narcissa without glaring at them every moment. Harry later told his Uncle that Neville had told him that Thomas had made an impressive second impression on his grandmother. Harry added that Thomas really needed to stop making such wonderful friends with the guardians of his friends, lest Harry start to think his uncle was keeping tabs on him or something.
Thomas thought the whole thing was too funny.
The new year passed with another large dinner party at Leland Manor – Lucius didn't even try arguing for having it at Malfoy Manor – and almost hourly confessions of love by Sirius to Snape. When the hour struck, Thomas gleefully cast a spell to make the two kiss and was immediately chased through the house by a gaggle of children who declared that he was scarring them on purpose, Thomas laughing the whole way. Augusta, who had come with her grandson, commented later that it was nice to see old hatred turning into love. When Sirius threatened to prank Thomas back, Kaz got it across quite effectively without Thomas' help that there would be hell to pay if the Animagus touched his human.
As it was, it was an impressively large group that saw the four students off to Hogwarts for the new term. As Thomas, Elizabeth and John had done at the beginning of the year, they suggested going out for ice cream and, surprisingly, even Augusta and the Malfoys joined them, making quite the sensation in Diagon Alley and making front page news in the Prophet the next morning. The most entertaining part of the article, as far as Thomas was concerned, was that since no one but his group of – dare he call them – friends, Harry's friends and Harry's professors actually knew who he was, the Prophet had decided he was a Muggle like the Grangers.
When Lucius tried to send a letter to the Daily Prophet office, correcting them on their mistake, Thomas stopped him with a laugh and said, "Let it be, Lucius. It'll be far more satisfying to watch them learn their mistake at a later time." Lucius had grumbled about his image a little, but let it go with a snort.
Harry and Thomas' letters back and forth were mostly routine with comments about Snape's continued silence, a few pranks played by Harry and the Weasley twins, Ron's continued good behaviour, McGonagall's "wicked awesomeness", Dumbledore leaving Harry alone and the occasional dinner party with the Grangers and the Malfoys. The only oddities until the end of April included the appearance of a cloak that supposedly belonged to James – which Remus and Sirius verified – and the first school Quidditch game that Harry got to participate in, which Sirius, Remus, Thomas, Elizabeth and John all came to see.
When Harry's broom had started acting up in the air, Thomas had quietly sent a nasty itching hex towards the turbaned professor and the broom had calmed. Since Harry was the only one who had actually realized that something was wrong, he was the only one who asked Thomas about the whole thing and Thomas played innocent, much to his nephew's irritation.
Come the twenty-third of April, though, a surprisingly early letter showed up from Harry, written completely in Parselwriting, which the two Potters usually only used if it was a secret or meant for one of the snakes.
'Hagrid has a dragon egg. He got it at the pub. Nothing we say is going to make him get rid of it and if anyone finds out he'll be kicked out. We need your help.
'Harry'
'I understand. I'll see what I can do. For now, keep trying with Hagrid and keep this quiet. Ask the other to not tell their parents. If Lucius finds out, he'll have to report it and only Augusta might have a way to help, but I'm not sure she would.
'Love, Thomas'
Thomas made his excuses to his friends and left the country early Friday evening. While he couldn't do much in the way of getting the half-giant to get rid of the one thing he'd always wanted the most, Thomas had someone he knew from his days travelling Europe who was both legally capable of raising a baby dragon and would happily grant him a favour in return for an update on his life. He went to the dragon reserve up in Northern Norway, cloaked heavily for the chilled temperatures.
According to the reserve's rules, he Apparated to the gate and stepped up to the guard shack. In accented Norwegian, Thomas said, "My name is Thomas Leland and I'm here to see Ansfrida Norville."
"She expecting you?" the man inside grumbled, even as he cast the spell that would alert the main lodge that there was a guest.
"Nei."
The answering spell came back and the man nodded. "Straight down this path. She'll be waiting for you at the door of the lodge."
"Takk," Thomas replied with a bow, then slipped through the gate and hurried up the path. From previous visits, Thomas knew that the lodge was a large, log-cabin sort of building that had been build in a 'T' shape with the top of the 'T' facing the gate. The main reserve office was to the right of the entrance while the cafeteria was to the left. The rooms of the reservation workers were along the bottom of the building and they had to verify their magical signature to get down there. Guests weren't allowed in workers' rooms.
"Thomas!" a woman called as Thomas stepped into the building.
"Ansy!" Thomas hugged the woman as she came over to him. She was a little taller than Thomas and had light blonde hair and bright blue eyes. "How have you been?" he asked in English once they'd pulled apart.
Ansy smiled at him and also switched to his favoured language. "Very well. How have you been?"
"Well enough."
Ansy nodded and led him to a couch in the corner, away from the normal traffic-ways. "Now, what can I do for you? You've never been one for idle visits."
"Ah, you know me too well." Thomas sighed and sat back. "I told you I've been raising my nephew?"
"Yes. If I recall correctly what you said in your last letter nine years ago, he should be school age now."
"He his. He's attending Hogwarts and he's made a friend on the staff who, unfortunately, has recently acquired a dragon's egg."
Ansy's eyes went wide. "In a school? But, he could be imprisoned for that!"
"Exactly. He's always wanted a dragon, but he has neither the resources to take care of it, nor the paperwork. Would it be possible for you to take it?"
Ansy frowned at him. "Under the table, Thomas?"
Thomas sighed and rubbed at his chin. "No. I'll sign for it. I don't want to cause any more trouble for Hagrid and I, at least, can bear the political upheaval. But there's no guarantee I'll be able to get the baby out here without any trouble."
Ansy nodded in understanding. "If you can get it to your home, I can pick it up there. Is this Hagrid willing to give it to you?"
"No. At least, not last I heard. My nephew and his school friends are trying to talk him into letting the dragon go, but I'm not sure how effective it will be without adult intervention."
Ansy nodded again. "I see. Well, why don't you fill out what you can of the information here and then I'll come with you to your home. I can take the time off that it will require you to talk this Hagrid into giving you the dragon."
Thomas let out a sigh of relief and hugged Ansy, much to her amusement. "Ansy, love, you're a life saver."
Ansy laughed. "Do I get to meet your precious nephew?"
Thomas winced. "Promise not to spread it around?"
Ansy smirked. "Oh, this must be good. I promise."
"It's Harry Potter."
Ansy blinked a few times, then said dryly, "You're pulling my leg."
Thomas shook his head. "I'm completely serious. I told you I was illegitimate, right?"
"Yes! But you never said you were a Potter."
"Well, forgive me for not spreading around what my father didn't want anyone to know," Thomas said bitterly.
Ansy sighed and shook her head. "No, it doesn't matter. Come on, let's get that paperwork."
Thomas nodded and stood with her. Just before they entered the office, he touched her shoulder and said, "Thank you."
Ansy smiled and nodded. "Of course."
'I've got a friend who works at a dragon reserve who's willing to take the dragon if Hagrid's willing. If not, I'll come up there myself and make him see reason.
'Love, Thomas'
'Draco pointed out that Hagrid's cabin will burn down in minutes and won't hold the thing for long anyway. Neville pointed out he could end up in Azkaban for having a dragon. I told him you're willing to take the baby to an actual dragon reservation. Come by whenever.
'Harry'
'I'm coming Wednesday night, while you're in class. Tell Hagrid.
'Love, Thomas'
It was a nice, but chilled night and Thomas didn't envy the first years up in the Astronomy Tower. He, on the other hand, was about to collect his own little furnace without Kaz, who had decided the safest place would be in Thomas' room. Even without warning, Thomas remembered as he made his way across the school grounds, Sirius was pleased with another person staying in the house. The fact that Ansy was a woman had only made it better. The fact that Ansy ignored every one of Sirius' advances didn't seem to deter the man and Thomas didn't have the heart – or, at least, he thought it would be less amusing – to simply tell Sirius that Ansy was a lesbian who hated men like Sirius with a passion. Ansy, used to Thomas' sense of humour, hadn't attempted to kill him when she found out he hadn't warned Sirius away on purpose.
As Thomas approached the small hut, he shook the amusing memories of his two house guests from his mind and turned, instead, to the task at hand. Ansy had taught him, years ago, how to handle baby dragons so as to not get hurt and had also given him a refresher when she got to his home. Despite the knowledge, it had been years since Thomas had been close to a dragon and he wasn't quite sure he still had the same touch he'd had when he was younger.
He knocked on the door with a touch of nerves and smiled when Hagrid opened the door. Hagrid smiled back. "Yeh mus' be Thomas Potter."
"That I am. It's a pleasure, Mr Hagrid," Thomas replied with far more calm than he felt.
"Jest 'Hagrid' is good," Hagrid stepped back in invitation and Thomas stepped in. He looked around the small hut as Hagrid shut the door and almost immediately spotted the small Norwegian Ridgeback. He set his wand on the table while the baby was watching him, then walked over with his hands in plain sight. He'd once watched a man get eaten alive on the reserve for not listening to one of the other workers when they said that the worst thing you can do is approach a dragon with an obvious weapon. Best to put your wand to one side or keep it in your pocket then hold it in one hand.
The baby huffed some smoke at him when he got within arm's reach, then turned to Hagrid with a questioning chirp.
Hagrid smiled, but it was sad. "Norbert, this is Thomas Potter. 'E's here ta take yeh to a place where yeh can be raised with other dragons. And I'm sure ye'll like it there."
Thomas nodded. "The reservation is a beautiful place, if a bit cold. It's in Norway, which is where your breed originated, so you'll be right at home."
Norbert huffed again.
Thomas turned to Hagrid. "My friend who's taking him back with her asked me to make sure you know that you can visit Norbert if you want, but I'll have to go up with you, since mine is the name on the paperwork. Not to mention, I don't believe you were ever licensed to Apparate?"
Hagrid shook his head. "No, I wasn't. But, yeh said I might visit him?"
Thomas smiled. "Of course. You can send me an owl anytime and I can take you at my first available opportunity."
Hagrid looked like he might cry as he grabbed Thomas in a bear hug. "Thank yeh, Thomas!"
Thomas patted the larger man's back awkwardly. "Of course."
Norbert huffed yet again and let out a faint screech, which startled both wizards out of their embrace.
Hagrid wiped at his eyes. "I suppose I should be letting yeh get on yer way, then."
Thomas shrugged, feeling uncomfortable, then turned to Norbert. "Norbert, I'm going to have to cover you up so no one sees you while I leave the property, or Hagrid could end up in some serious trouble, right? So, you know, don't burn up my cloak or anything."
Norbert waved his head in the air in a seemingly thoughtless pattern, but Thomas really hopped it meant that the dragon baby understood and promised to not destroy his cloak. He'd brought an old cloak just in case, of course, but still.
Hagrid leaned over and said a very loud, very tearful good-bye to the dragon while Thomas picked up his wand and put it away, then allowed Thomas to pick Norbert up and cover him with the cloak. Almost as soon as the cloak was secured, there was a knock on the door. Hagrid and Thomas turned to look at one another for a moment, then Hagrid opened the door a crack. "Who's there?"
"It's us, Hagrid," came Harry's voice. "Is my uncle still there?"
"Aye." Hagrid let in the pile of four first years while Thomas set Norbert down and pulled the cloak back so the dragon could see what was going on.
Thomas turned on the children with a scowl. "And why are you four out of bed?"
"Class just ended," Draco reported. "And they wanted to say good-bye to the monster." He stuck his nose up in the air.
Thomas walked over quickly and smacked the boy upside the head. "Draco Lucius Malfoy, that was highly unnecessary," he informed the boy, frowning at the hurt look Draco shot him. "Norbert can understand you, you know. You're lucky he hasn't taken your hand off by now." He twitched faintly as a sudden need to hurry overcame him.
"Told you," Hermione commented with a superior look.
"But–" Draco started.
Thomas sighed and shook his head, trying to ignore the urgings that weren't his own. "I know Lucius seems to think that, as a pureblood, he's the most important thing in the world and is entitled to look down on non-humans, but that doesn't mean you have to be just as much of a self-centred prat. Our lore tells us that the dragons, as well as some of the other non-humans, were here before even we were and welcomed us fondly. Most of our first spells, according to the Merlin Scrolls, came from the dragons themselves, back when they still spoke to us." Thomas frowned at the disbelieving looks Draco and Hermione were shooting at him. "What?"
"I've never heard of these scrolls before," Hermione stated at the same time as Draco said, "Dragons can't talk, Thomas."
"Hermione, I'll lend you my copies this summer if I remember. Draco, it's no wonder they no longer talk, having to put up with wizards like you all the time." Thomas spun and stalked back over to where Norbert was watching the proceedings with interest and urgency, ignoring the stares on his back at his cold rebuttal. "May I?" he asked Norbert.
Norbert huffed and pulled the cloak back over his head himself.
Thomas picked the baby dragon back up and turned back to the children. "All of you need to go back to your dorms and to sleep." When no one moved, Thomas added a touch of magic to his voice – a trick he'd learned from an older wizard he'd once known – and ordered, "Now."
The group of children ducked back under the cloak and left, each shooting him a hurt look.
Hagrid shook his head and saw Thomas to the door. "Yeh shouldn't have been so harsh with them, Thomas."
Thomas shrugged. "Call it a premonition, but I wanted to leave before you had any unexpected guests. Good night, Hagrid." He hurried towards the shadowy overhang of the Forbidden Forest and turned back to watch as a group of figures exited the school building. He recognized Minister Fudge's bowler hat and Dumbledore's tall wizarding hat even at that distance and moved quickly away from the hut, where the group seemed to be headed. "Thank you, my friend," he whispered to the bundle in his arms as he turned towards the gates of the school.
Norbert huffed again and snuggled deeper in the warm cloak.
Thomas saw Norbert and Ansy off that night with a promise to visit the reserve more often, especially when his nephew was home that summer. Once rid of the two, he retired to the kitchen and made himself a cup of tea to think over. Sirius found him there around ten o'clock the next morning, a worried Kaz on his shoulders.
"You weren't down here all night, were you?" Sirius demanded as he set Kaz on the floor.
Thomas turned darkened eyes on the Animagus. "I'm waiting for the horde of letters from Harry and his friends' parents telling me to sod off," he said with a bitter seriousness.
Sirius sat down quickly and shook his head. "Okay, what happened?"
Thomas, too tired to care that he was having a sane conversation with the thorn in his side, told Sirius what had happened the previous night in an even voice.
Sirius sighed and rubbed at his face. "So, let me get this straight. The dragon was making you hurry so no one got in trouble?" Thomas nodded. "Well, what's the problem, then? You weren't being sharp with them without a good reason."
Thomas shook his head. "Sirius, you don't understand. I was completely out of line. Especially with Draco. It doesn't matter that a dragon was urging me to hurry it up, I still shouldn't have been so cruel. I basically told him he was the reason behind the hatred between humans and non-humans."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "But isn't he? At least part of it? Personally, I think the dragon should have bit him long ago."
"Sirius, you're not helping," Thomas grumbled, tugging at his hair.
"Look, Thomas..." Sirius rubbed his nose and gave Thomas an irritated look. "You said you had a werewolf friend during the war. And a vampire one too, right?"
Thomas nodded warily. "Yeah. What about them?"
"And it's clear you like dragons and snakes, right?"
"Where's this going, Sirius?"
Sirius waved his question off. "And you said you hate the Ministry's stand on non-humans, right?"
"Sirius..."
"And the way Malfoy Jr was acting is exactly like how the Ministry acts. If I'd been there, I'd probably have done more than call him names, and I only know one werewolf. Never mind that you had a dragon telling you to move it," Sirius silenced the comeback on Thomas' tongue before he could do more than open his mouth with a sharp look. "No, hear me out for once, would you." Thomas sighed, but closed his mouth again. "Look, I know you pride yourself on always seeming to keep your cool and never really losing your temper, but we all have something that touches us wrong, that 'pushes our buttons'. Maybe your buttons just happen to be non-human rights. Mine is my family." Sirius licked his lips. "Look, what I'm trying to say is, you were in the right, and the sooner Malfoy Jr realizes that, the sooner I'll call him by his name–" Thomas snorted and Sirius smiled at him. "And I don't care what Lucius says or how much he decides he hates you now, his spawn was being stupid."
Thomas sighed. "Things could only be so simple."
Sirius blinked. "Huh?"
"Lucius has more power in our world than I could ever hope to gain, Sirius," Thomas pointed out. "If he's angry enough, he can royally screw me over quite nicely."
"You've got Harry on your side," Sirius replied, frowning.
"Not if he's mad at me," Thomas replied, then let out a shout as a pair of fangs buried themselves into his neck.
Kaz pulled away from the twin bite-marks and rose himself up to glare at his human. :Thomas, you're being stupid. I've known Harry for only a short time and even I know he'll always be on your side, no matter how mad he is with you. He loves you, you moron!:
Thomas turned away from the burning stare. "We shall see."
Kaz let out a hiss of pure irritation and looked like he wanted to bite Thomas again, even if it didn't do anything to the man.
Rowan, the owl Harry'd taken to school with him, chose that moment to come flying in the room and landed in front of Thomas, leg extended. Everyone stared at her in surprise. She hooted. Thomas reached out and carefully took the letter. It read:
'On our way back to the castle, we saw the Headmaster and a bunch of official-looking people coming out of the castle. Lucius was among them and he looked kind of, I don't know, displeased, almost. They went to Hagrid's hut. Hagrid told us this morning that they were looking for an illegal dragon that they'd been told he was keeping. And he said that you seemed to know and that's why you told us to leave like you did. So, thanks. For protecting all of us. And Hagrid too.
'Also, Draco's kinda gotten over his shocked indignation from last night and wanted to say something, so...
'Thomas, I'd like to apologize. I owled my father last night, complaining about the whole mess and his return owl came early this morning, before breakfast. He told me off for being involved in the first place, then said you were right. That I should show more respect to dragons. That they DID teach us our first spells. And that, really, I need to stop being a stupid child and listen to you because, as he's said many times in the past, you generally know what you're talking about and, even when you don't, you're not far off the mark. So, I'm sorry. I was being stupid last night.
'So, we're all sorry we broke curfew last night just to see you off and ended up almost getting in trouble. Hermione's been going back and forth between yelling at one of us, and looking like she's yelling at herself. I'm sure it would be funny if we weren't all doing the same thing. I mean, if you hadn't gotten us all out of there, Hagrid and you would both be in Azkaban and we'd all probably be expelled – Hermione looked it up when we first found out.
'Forgive me?
'Love, Harry'
As Thomas finished, Lucius' owl flew through the window, so Thomas handed Harry's letter to a curious Sirius and took Lucius' letter with shaking hands. It read:
'Thomas,
'While I'm sure that Draco has already owled you, I would like to apologise myself for his behaviour last night. It seems I was lax in teaching him much of the lore, not to mention proper respect to non-humans. He startled me, in his letter, by commenting that you were using fairytales like the Merlin Scrolls to back up your ridiculous claims. For all this, I apologize.
'After Draco's letter, I must also admit myself to be curious about this dragon that my fellows in the Ministry and among the Governors believe to be a flight of fantasy of Miss Parkinson's. Most of them are of the opinion that Rubeus Hagrid is too stupid to get rid of a dragon without a trace the night we were supposed to come make a surprise check. I count myself among them, admittedly, but it appears that he managed it. Of course, with your help, I shouldn't be surprised. As an acquaintance, and not an aide of the Minister, I ask what happened to the dragon? Surely you didn't keep it – you're not that foolish – but I'm not aware of anything else you might do with it, from what I know of your current life. Pray, indulge me.
'Humbly,
'Lucius'
Thomas stared at the letter with no small amount of shock. Lucius had sided with him? Lucius?! The Death Eater who was Voldemort's right-hand man and head of one of the most self-serving Houses of Wizarding Culture?
Sirius snatched the letter from his numb fingers and read it over as well, then gave Thomas a smug smile. "See?"
Thomas shook his head and mumbled, "This is all a dream and I'm going to wake up any moment now."
Sirius rolled his eyes and pointed at Lucius' letter, seeming to know what was going through Thomas' mind. "Look, I know you weren't brought up with the old ways like Lucius and I were, but everyone learns about the Scrolls. They're legendary. We're always taught that dragons are respected. Parents don't always teach that all non-humans are to be respected – mine certainly didn't – but dragons are. I don't know why Lucius didn't teach Draco that – other than the fact that, at that time, he was probably trying to prove he didn't belong in Azkaban – but he should have. I can't tell you, either, why Draco doesn't believe in the Merlin Scrolls, but he doesn't. Didn't. He does now, but he wasn't taught before."
Thomas sighed and fingered the edge of the letter from Harry and Draco. "Still."
Sirius rolled his eyes again. "Thomas, what do you want? Merlin himself to show up and tell you that you were right? Stop beating yourself up over stupid shit. You're forgiven. No one holds your actions against you, and that's without knowing about the bloody dragon. So sit up, make me breakfast, write them back, and go to bed."
Thomas blinked and glanced at the clock. "The store!" he cried, halfway out of his seat.
"SIT!" Sirius roared, grey eyes glittering with temper.
Thomas sat.
Sirius scowled at him for a long moment, then spoke. "I called Remus earlier when I hadn't heard you up and about yet and told him you'd gone out last night and wouldn't be in 'cause I said so. He's fine opening by himself and business is always slow weekday mornings. Mark will be in before the lunch rush starts and they'll be fine. You are going to make food, eat it, write these two back and go to bed." Sirius paused. "The writing back can wait until after you've slept, by the way."
Thomas blinked a few times in surprise, then got up and moved slowly to make something easy for breakfast. While he was waiting for the microwave to finish with the first bowl of oatmeal, he looked back at Sirius and asked, "Why can't you always act this mature?"
Sirius laughed.
'Harry and Draco,
'I heard from Lucius as well. It's fine. I also apologise, though Sirius says I shouldn't, for being so rude to you, Draco, and hitting you. That was out of line.
'Tell Hermione it's fine. I understand that you all wanted to make sure everything had gone well. I don't blame you – I would have done the same at your age.
'I must also pass on your thanks to another, I'm afraid. Norbert was actually the one who sensed the danger and urged me to get everyone out of the hut.
'Love, Thomas'
'Lucius,
'I had not, actually, been aware of much of how the Houses bring up their children, so I didn't find it odd that Draco hadn't known about the Scrolls. I, myself, didn't know anything about them until I ran across them for sale in America almost three decades ago.
'Me picking Norbert up yesterday was, actually, by chance. He's currently living happily – I hope – in the Norwegian Dragon Reserve.
'Don't presume – there's a lot about me no one in England knows.
'Sincerely,
'Thomas'
Another three weeks of letters with Harry and some amusing Lucius-baiting found Thomas, Lucius, Sirius and Remus at the gate of the reservation. Once they'd been let through the gate, the four hurried up to the lodge, where they were met by a grinning Ansy. The other three wizards had already gushed their amazement at Thomas' Norwegian, as shitty as it was, and were currently in the process of looking around the lodge.
Thomas smiled and shared a hug with Ansy, then spoke in Norwegian to annoy his English-speaking fellows. "I assume things are well here?"
"As well as ever," Ansy replied. "Did you have to bring that one?" she added, nodding at Sirius.
"Ahhh... He wouldn't let me alone. So I brought his best friend, too. Might I introduce you?"
"Please."
Thomas turned to his fellows and said, "Lucius, Remus, this is Ansfrida Norville. Ansy, these gentlemen are Remus Lupin and Lucius Malfoy."
"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Ansy said with a slight bow.
Lucius and Remus both inclined their head while Sirius said, "And me, Ansy?" with a winning smile.
"You should have stayed at home," Ansy replied bitingly, then smiled and said, "Shall we go out and see Norbert? He's adapting well."
"That's wonderful," Thomas said as Ansy led the way to the door in the back of the cafeteria seating area. "I had been a little worried..."
Ansy laughed. "Thomas, you know the dragons like you! They smelled you on him, I think, and welcomed him right in."
"Wait, dragons like you?" Lucius cut in, then bowed apologetically when Thomas blinked at him and Ansy frowned. "Forgive me. Thomas is rather secretive about many things."
"You have no idea," Ansy replied knowingly and Thomas groaned. "I didn't know he was a Potter until he came by a few weeks ago, asking if I could take a dragon for him."
"That's our Tommy," Sirius proclaimed, laying his arms across Thomas' shoulders cheerfully.
Thomas considered hexing the man, but instead answered Lucius' earlier question, "Yes, Lucius, dragons like me. Don't ask me why."
"They don't just like him," Ansy added quietly. "It's like they revere him or something."
"You're making shit up," Thomas said quickly, glad that the slight chill covered his blush.
Ansy narrowed her eyes at him. "I can prove it."
"They don't revere me, Ansy. It's more like, I dunno, we understand each other," Thomas tried.
"I have worked with dragons for thirty-seven years and never once have I managed to 'understand' these dragons the way you did after you were with them for two minutes," Ansy snapped back.
Thomas sighed.
They reached one of the doors to a magical enclosure and Ansy stopped to look at all of them, her eyes hard. "Ground rules: Put your wand away and leave it away. Don't taunt them. If they attack you without provocation, move out of the way, but don't attack them. If they attack with provocation, stand where you are because you deserve it. Act like an adult while you're in there, not a five-year-old; this isn't a zoo. And you," she added, turning on Sirius, "if you even consider flirting with me in there, I'll feed you to them. Understood?" Everyone nodded. "Good." She unlocked the door with a key that she pulled from a pocket and led them in.
As the group entered, all ten dragons in the enclosure turned to look at each person, as if weighing how much of a threat each would be. They looked right over Ansy, since they knew her, and didn't seem to care about Remus, Sirius or Lucius, but they seemed absolutely enthralled with Thomas. He grimaced and bowed to them slightly. A couple bowed their heads back, then they all looked away and little Norbert half-flew, half-ran over to them.
Norbert got to Thomas first and huffed at him before demanding to be pet like only a dragon or a very self-centred cat could manage. Thomas smiled and petted Norbert as he introduced the other three wizards. Norbert immediately liked Lucius, much to everyone's surprise, and barely tolerated Sirius, who ended up pouting next to the door with a laughing Remus while Lucius and Thomas visited with the baby and Ansy watched all four wizards.
After a few minutes of showering affection on the dragon – Lucius was absolutely in love with the baby, though he tried to pretend he wasn't – Thomas glanced up at one of the eldest dragons in the enclosure for a long moment, then shrugged and walked over to it, heedless of the startled cries of Ansy, Lucius, Sirius and Remus.
When he got to the dragon, Thomas got the urge to climb on the dragon's lower back and he did – you did what dragons wanted you to do, or else. There, he found a half-torn scale that had wounded the dragon a while ago, if the lack of fresh blood or scabs were anything to go by. Thomas touched the spot where the dragon's scale disappeared into it's skin and said softly, "What do you think I can do about this, friend? This is much too old for human magic."
The dragon flapped its wings in a warning to the other humans who were approaching, then mentally, without words, directed Thomas to close his eyes and place his hands on the old wound and concentrate. Thomas sighed and did as the dragon wanted. He gasped when he felt his magic being drawn out of him and the scale moving under his hands. When the dragon signalled that he could open his eyes and look, Thomas found that the wound had been healed and the scale was as good as new.
In awe, Thomas whispered, "I did that?" The dragon confirmed it. "But–" Thomas shook his head. "That shouldn't have been possible. Human magic isn't supposed to affect dragons."
The dragon seemed to say; It does when it serves us.
Thomas shivered. "I– Um, okay..."
The dragon urged him to climb up its back and neck to its head and Thomas did so carefully, ignoring his fellows who were watching him from below in concern. A few of the other reservation workers had joined his four friends near the gate and were watching in both awe and fear. Everyone on the ground seemed to be waiting for the dragon to turn around and bite him for being annoying.
Thomas settled himself on top of the dragon's head and absently scratched above the eyelid that was closest to him, which Norbert had seemed to like. He was startled when the old dragon started making an interesting noise that was something like a thrum. It reverberated throughout the dragon's body and Thomas got the distinct feeling that the dragon was pleased. Amused with the reaction, Thomas reached out to the other eyelid and started scratching just above it as well. The thrumming got louder and Thomas couldn't help but chuckle.
After a few more minutes of pleasing the old dragon in a way that no human probably had for too long, in Thomas' opinion, Thomas got the feeling he should stop distracting the old dragon and pay attention. So he did.
The dragon directed him to its ear, where he found a pearly-white stone that danced in the false light around them and was as large as Thomas' hand. When directed to, Thomas took out his wand and cast a Shatter Hex at it. Two stones the size of his thumbnail came off, leaving the rest of the stone intact, much to his amazement. He put the larger stone back in the dragon's ear – an uncomfortable place to have a stone, in his opinion – and picked up the two little pieces.
"What are these for?" he asked the dragon, looking them over curiously. They had dimmed to a dull grey once they'd fallen off the larger stone and Thomas was at a loss for what to do with them, now that they weren't as beautiful.
Oddly enough, the dragon again communicated in his mind with actual words, only, this time, Thomas was sure it was actually speaking; Use those to find your mate and you will each wear one on a chain around your necks.
Thomas looked at the stones again and, sure enough, there was a little hole in the top of each stone, just the right size for a very fine chain necklace to fit through. He glanced back down at the dragon. "I don't need a mate, friend," he commented with a bitter smile of lost love.
The dragon let out a rumble of displeasure at that and said; You do. All living things need mates. Your Dogs are mates. The Dark one you brought has a mate he lives with. Your Keeper friend has a mate here. Your hatchling has a mate, even, and they already know each other. You have a mate, but you have not met him here. Not yet. You will.
Thomas shuddered at that. "Say I do meet this mate of mine, how will I know?"
And the dragon said; The stones will glow again. You will meet him and you will give him one.
Thomas sighed. "Okay, but, what's to say he'll want to be my mate too?"
The dragon said; He will know. And it will eat at him until he accepts you, just as it will eat at you until you accept him.
"Well, that sounds ominous."
And the dragon said; The future is ominous, Traveller.
Thomas jerked at the title, then glanced back down at the two stones he still held, feeling ill. "You know me, then."
And the dragon said; All dragons know Travellers, though they are rare. We See what others cannot. Time clings to you, Traveller. We see that.
Thomas blinked, then asked, "What else do you see?"
The dragon's mind-voice was grave as it said; We See Death and pain and sorrow. Guilt and burdens that you needn't bear. We See Peace and love. And, most of all, we See your need to help others, your compassion. We See the six hatchlings you once risked your life for and we are grateful. We See all the life you have given your own for, that you do not even know you have. We are grateful.
Thomas shivered. "I treasure your thanks," he whispered.
And the dragon said; As we treasure you, Traveller. You should return to your Dogs and the Dark one and the Keeper. They worry.
Thomas nodded and put the stones into a pocket before climbing oh so carefully down the dragon's neck and back. Once he'd reached the ground, he walked around to the front of the dragon and bowed to it. It bowed back and he turned to walk back over to where Ansy, Sirius, Remus and Lucius all waited, a line of other workers behind them.
Ansy reacted first. She ran up to him and pulled him into a hug, then started speaking in rapid Norwegian. After trying, and failing, to catch what she was saying, he shook his head. "Ansy, Ansy. Jeg forstår ikke. Kan du snakke langsommere."
Ansy blushed and switched to English. "I'm so sorry, Thomas. You know how I get when I'm worried." She rung her hands together.
Thomas smiled. "I'm fine. The dragon had a scale that had broken years ago and stuck in its hide. It wanted me to fix it, then it wanted to thank me."
"You shouldn't have wandered off without telling me what you were up to!" Ansy said, looking like she might hyperventilate.
Thomas settled a hand on each of her shoulders. "I didn't know what it wanted, I just went to it when it called. You know how dragons are. You don't make them wait."
"Still..."
"Ansy, you're the one who's always telling me they revere me," Thomas pointed out.
"I just don't want them to get angry with you for climbing all over them! Even a king can be overthrown if he oversteps his bounds, Thomas!"
"I know my bounds, Ansy," Thomas said softly. "I know them and I respect them. Anyway, only idiots climb dragons without their express permission and I'm not an idiot."
Lucius cleared his throat. "Thomas, really, most people don't get permission from dragons to climb them. They tend to like their personal space."
Thomas shrugged. "They also like being scratched right above their eyelids."
His group of friends and the one other worker who, apparently, understood English were all staring at him like he'd lost his mind.
Ansy shook her head and took his hands in hers. "Whatever, Thomas. I think we need to get you out of the chill."
"It's not that cold, you know," Thomas replied, but allowed himself to be led from the enclosure.
On their way back, Remus said, "Forgive the half-blood his question but, Thomas, why were you calling that dragon an 'it'?"
Thomas waved the question towards Ansy, since dragons were her field. Ansy rolled her eyes at him, then smiled at Remus. "Once they reach a certain age, dragons stop having a specific sex in the way we think of males and females. They fully bond with their mate somewhere between eighty and one hundred years of age and the two dragons end up sharing one body until it dies. So it's kind of like they are both sexes at once and we tend to refer to them as an 'it' in the languages that use pronouns."
"Except for the rare dragons who mate with the same sex. Then they call them 'it' for the sake of sticking with a theme," Thomas offered nonchalantly.
"Well, I'm sorry if not all of us can tell if a fully bonded dragon was originally a male and a female or both the same gender. Merlin, Thomas," Ansy replied with a scowl.
Thomas shrugged. "Can I help it if I can just tell?"
Ansy rolled her eyes and led them back into the building. As she led the way over to some chairs, Sirius elbowed Thomas. "Well?"
"Well what?" Thomas asked back.
"Well, what's it like sitting on a dragon's head and chatting with it?" Sirius asked, then flopped down on one of the seats.
Thomas settled in next to the Animagus and found himself to be the centre of attention in his small group of friends. "Like sitting on a rock on top of a mountain and talking to a voice in your head that's about a million times smarter than you," he replied, then made a face. "And who knows all your secrets."
"They know all your secrets?" Remus asked, then shuddered.
Thomas nodded. "They can See things, like some humans See the future and some See auras, they can see what we've done. They can see our past. It said things cling to us, so I guess it's a form of aura Seeing."
Ansy was staring at him like he'd grown a second head. "Thomas, are you saying it actually spoke to you? Like, with words and not just feelings and the occasional image?"
Thomas blinked and thought about it. Did he want to tell his friends that the dragon had, in fact, spoken to him?
As if from a great distance, the dragon's voice reached his mind; You keep many secrets, Traveller. Perhaps you should let some of them go.
Thomas shook his head. "Uhm, well," he said aloud, trying to gather the thoughts that the dragon had sent scattering. "Well, yes?"
"Was that a yes, or a no?" Remus asked, frowning.
Thomas sighed. "Yes. Yes, it spoke to me. In words." He forced a smiled and looked at Ansy. "It called you the 'Keeper'."
Ansy shook her head. "First they revere you, now they speak to you? What next, Thomas?"
Thomas shrugged uncomfortably. "Maybe they'll just leave me alone."
"Somehow, mate," Sirius said, his whole being serious, "I don't think that'll happen."
Thomas sighed and touched the stones in his pocket. "I was afraid of that."
As exams and the end of the school year approached, Harry's letters thinned until there was nothing in them but a simple, 'I'm doing fine. You? Harry' and Thomas felt himself get more and more antsy as the end of the year approached. Finally, on the second day of exams, he owled a letter which merely said, 'Tell me if you do something stupid, like try and protect something that you think needs to be protected but probably doesn't. Love, Thomas' and hoped that would be enough.
Two days later, an owl flew through the open window of the sitting room where Thomas and Sirius sat together, reading silently. Thomas quickly took the letter from the leg of the school owl and sent it upstairs to their small owlery in the attic for some water and treats. The letter said, 'Gone to protect Flamel's secret, whether you want me to or not. Dumbledore left for the Ministry. We have to do something. Harry'.
Thomas stood and put his book away as calmly as he could, calculating the time it would take the owl to reach the house from Hogwarts as he did so and coming up with an hour. Assuming they went down immediately after he posted the owl, the timing should be about right if he were to Apparate to Hogsmeade in ten minutes? Maybe he should just head now. That would be what any normal parent would do when they got a letter such as the one Thomas held in his hands. But he didn't want to accidentally run into Voldemort.
"Thomas?" Sirius asked softly.
Thomas jumped, then turned to look at Sirius, his heart racing. "Yeah?"
Sirius frowned. "What's wrong?"
Thomas handed him the letter, guessing that it wouldn't explain much. He was right.
"Alright, now, would you care to explain what this means?"
Thomas tugged on the front of his shirt. "The Philosopher's Stone, Sirius. Voldemort is after the Stone and Harry and his friends think they can stop him from getting it, or at least deter him until Dumbledore gets there. And I knew they were going to. I could have stopped them, but I didn't. Ooooh..." He bit his lower lip and shuffled around the room a bit, feeling ill. Should he go now, or wait a little longer?
Sirius stood, eyes blazing. "Are you saying Harry might be facing Voldemort as we speak?!"
Thomas nodded, eyes wide. Go now, or wait?
Sirius dropped the parchment and grabbed Thomas' arm. "What are we waiting for, then? We're going to Hogwarts!"
Thomas let Sirius lead him from the room and put on his robe when the man handed it to him, glad that the decision had been made for him. "We'll have to Apparate to Hogsmeade," he said mechanically.
Sirius grabbed him by his upper arms and shook him, looking him in the eyes. "Thomas, pull it together!" Thomas blinked at him dumbly, still not all there.
Kaz let out a hiss and bit Thomas' neck. :Wake up, idiot! Harry might be dead and here you are, zoning out!:
Hazel eyes widened, then focused on worried grey. "Let's go," he whispered, then Apparated himself before Sirius could agree.
Thomas started running towards the school as soon as he appeared in Hogsmeade, thoughtless of anyone or anything in his way. He vaguely heard Sirius calling his name behind him but all he could think of was getting to Harry. What if something went wrong? What if Voldemort actually killed him? What if–?
A large black dog fell into stride with Thomas, watching him worriedly. Honestly, Sirius had to admit, Thomas could run pretty fast, despite how old and weak his greying hair made him look. Sirius could never catch him as a human and even as a dog, he wouldn't be able to keep this speed up for longer than it took to get to Hogwarts.
As he hit the main entrance, Thomas slowed down to a half-run, of sorts. He dashed through the hallways with surprising accuracy and came to a stop outside the hospital wing. He was about to slip in when the doors opened and Dumbledore stepped out. The two men looked quite surprised to see one another.
Sirius returned to his human form. "Sir, we got an owl from Harry that said he was going to go and try to protect the Stone," he said quickly.
"Ah. That does explain your presence. Well, I can assure you that Mr Potter is well, if exhausted and is currently sleeping in the hospital wing," Dumbledore told them.
"May we go in and see him?" Sirius half-begged.
"Of course," Dumbledore agreed, then moved past the two.
"Headmaster, will you destroy the Stone?" Thomas asked, turning to look at the elder wizard with blank eyes.
Dumbledore smiled. "I believe that's for Nicholas to decide, don't you, Thomas?"
Thomas blinked. "Tell him that he should. Some things weren't meant for human beings, and that's one of them." Then he turned and slipped into the hospital wing, leaving Sirius and Dumbledore to stare after him.
Thomas moved easily through the hospital wing to where the curtains were drawn around a bed. He slipped in and stopped, content to simply watch as Harry's chest rose and fell. Rose and fell.
"Thomas?" Sirius whispered as he came in behind the other.
Thomas moved to take the seat next to Harry's bed. Harry's hand was on top of the covers on the side of the bed Thomas was sitting on, so he took it in his own hands and simply sat there, Harry's hand between his, his eyes on the boy's chest.
When Harry awoke sometime in the afternoon of his third day in the hospital wing, Thomas' exhausted figure was the first thing he saw. Sirius was laying on a bed nearby, sleeping, but Thomas hadn't been able to sleep, even with the sleeping potion Madam Pomfrey had made him take, so he'd stayed next to Harry's bedside for three days, not letting the boy's hand go and only drinking water when someone forced it down his throat.
Harry blinked. "Uncle Thomas?"
Thomas tried to smile, then said, "You scared the fucking soul out of me, Harry. If I thought you'd listen, I'd tell you to never do it again. But you won't, so I'll have to ask you to just be really, really careful next time."
Harry stared at his uncle, the full weight of how much he'd scared his uncle settling in as the man spoke in a voice that sounded every bit as bad as he looked. "Uncle Thomas, have you slept?"
Thomas shook his head. "Couldn't."
Harry frowned. "You can climb in bed with me."
"Don't want to hurt you."
Harry stared at his uncle again, then clutched the man's hand that was holding his and tugged. "Well, you won't. Come on. If you don't get some sleep, you'll start to worry me."
Thomas nodded and crawled into bed with the boy. As his uncle dozed off, Harry had the sudden and rather uncomfortable feeling that he was the adult and his uncle the child. Looking down at the man who had worried himself past exhaustion, Harry considered that he probably was the more adult of the two of them at the moment. Desperately, helplessly, Harry closed his eyes and prayed to a god that he didn't believe in that his uncle was never again forced to sit at Harry's bedside, worrying over his health.
And, in the same breath, Harry swore to do his damnest to keep himself out of trouble so his uncle didn't have any reason to sit at his bedside in fear again. Next time he found out there was some magical trinket kept in the bowels of the school that Voldemort wanted his hands on, he could have it. Harry never wanted to see his uncle look like that again.
-
A/N: Not sure I like that ending. REALLY don't like how Gary-Stu-ish Thomas turned out in this. 'Specially with the dragons. Damn.
Oh well. That's what I get for writing this at all hours of the night and with constant bathroom breaks to appease my upset stomach – 'cause you all TOTALLY wanted to know that... (I hope that, when I post this, my stomach's better than it is now. Bleh.)
I plan on chapter seven being about the summer. Visits to the dragons, attempts to keep the diary from popping up next year, lots of friendly get-togethers and a trip to Diagon Alley that teaches the Daily Prophet to get their facts straight all planned for next chapter! Now, I wonder what I'll actually get in there...
I plan on having chapter eight be the beginning of second year. I REALLY want to breeze past second and third year, since stuff isn't really planned to start happening until fourth.
Norwegian:
Nei - No
Takk - Thank you
Jeg forstår ikke. - I don't understand
Kan du snakke langsommere. - Please speak more slowly
Bed for me,
~Bats
Pro - To Face the Unknown / 1 - Two Potters
2 - Diagon Alley ||| 3 - Summer's End and Letters ||| 4 - The Trial
5 - Letters and Christmas |||
8 - The Second Year ||| 9 - The Third Year ||| 10 - Fight For What You Believe In
11 - Thomas Potter ||| 12 - Plots and Plans ||| 13 - The Children's Hand
14 - ???
Incomplete
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