Search:

SIYE Time:6:23 on 29th March 2024
SIYE Login: no


Harry Potter And The Marauders Of The Phoenix
By The Englanderish

- Text Size +

Category: Alternate Universe
Characters:Albus Dumbledore, Draco Malfoy, Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Minerva McGonagall, Neville Longbottom, Nymphadora Tonks, Other, Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley, Severus Snape, Sirius Black
Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Fluff, Humor, Romance
Warnings: Death, Extreme Language, Mild Language, Violence, Violence/Physical Abuse
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 15
Summary: 'AU. Sirius Black has his name cleared and raises Harry (with help from Remus) in the Potters' ancestral home. One day a year, Harry must return to the Dursleys for a full day to keep his Mother's protection spell. He meets and befriends several characters early. On his eleventh birthday, Harry is given a diary and keeps it secret. Ginny finds out about it and they both write in the diary together secretly. They are taken slightly aback when it writes back at first but quickly get used to their new friend, Tom.

After all, it's not as if it could be dangerous, right?'
Hitcount: Story Total: 22010; Chapter Total: 2545





Author's Notes:
I'm currently fleshing out how the next couple chapters are going to play out, so now seems like a good time to talk about a few addendum points. A combination of trivia and 'behind the scenes', as it were.

Firstly: The duel with the Death Eaters.
I wanted a good reason why the Potter family grounds never came up in the books. By having this Death Eater incursion, I provide the answer: quite simply the home (and probably Mabel) were casualties in Bellatrix and co.'s rampage. We never got an exact time frame for how long they were able to evade the ministry and how far their quest extended, so it was logically straightforward to insert them here. Add in the fact that we're not going to see a duel for some time, it allows me to put in a duel and introduce Mabel. Which brings us to my next point.

Secondly: Mabel Baines
Even with magic, the idea of a substantial manor not requiring at least someone to ensure it's continued upkeep felt a bit too much of a stretch. Hogwarts, for example, has an entire corps of house elves. I considered having a house elf or two; I liked the idea of a full estate manager better. I'm trying to create the sense that the Potters were not the Malfoys. An important point to make is that Mabel is not a maid or a cleaner. She is the estate manager. Her job is to manage the entire house - book balancing, supplies, gardening, maintenance, logistics, etc. - she keeps the whole place running. When James and Lily went into hiding, her duties diminished to little more than inspecting once a fortnight. When Sirius returned with Harry she once again took a more active role in management of the place. Her word is law in regards to the estate. She does not take shit, be it from five-year-olds or middle aged manchildren. She takes her job very seriously and has become rather attached to the Potters and those close to them. She isn't really a duelist, but she is extremely pragmatic if she has to fight - as was seen with her throwing a snake at Rabastan Lestrange. Anyone looking to threaten the estate or those who dwell within have to go through her - and she fights dirty.

Thirdly: This fic is something of a spiritual successor.
There is a fanfic called 'A Different Beginning', which can be found on both FFNet and here on SIYE. The premise of that fic is that James Potter survives and raises Harry etc. etc. It's worth a read, although I did have my gripes with it. For example the author didn't seem to quite appreciate the full scale of the island of Great Britain at times and later on it had the annoying habit of getting very-close-but-not-quite-to an unnecessary sex scene with increasing frequency. These are rather subjective criticisms, so you may disagree on these being detractions. It was also written before the final book came out, so obviously it won't get everything right. My fic is following on a similar take on the concept, but with it's own spin (and a very different late-game).

Fourthly: The manor's/estate's name
The name 'Cwpan Tân' is obviously Welsh. I asked around on SV if anyone knew any Welsh and could make a punny Welsh name. I am informed that 'Cwpan Tân' translates roughly as 'Fire Goblet'.




ChapterPrinter
StoryPrinter


“Careful, Harry,” said Lucius kindly, “You wouldn't want to hurt yourself. If you're not careful you could run into something painful...”​

Sirius glared at Lucius, “Do you have to stay? Can't you pick up Draco later?”​

“And miss the festivities? Certainly not,” retorted Lucius.​

“Harry!” called Draco from between his parents, “I swear it's been forever since I've seen you!”​

Harry's face lit up.​

“Draco! I gotta show you what Sirius got me!”​

With that, he dragged the blond-haired boy off to show him.​

When they were both out of earshot, Sirius stepped close to Lucius.​

“Fine. You can stay, but let's get one thing clear. No matter what Remus says, I still don't trust you.”​

“Well, that's hardly sporting,” replied Lucius coolly, “Even after all this time?”​

“Especially after all this time. I don't care how many old friends you rat out; if you really were a double agent, I'll eat my pocket watch,” then Sirius' face brightened, “Of course, if you are staying, I'm sure you'll have delightful conversation with Molly and Arthur.”​

Lucius' mouth curved into a small smile, “Oh, I look forward to it. Arthur always says the most quaintly entertaining things.”​

Suddenly, Mabel's voice issued from the direction of the Ballroom, “Are you all planning to keep obstructing the fireplace? Keep standing there and it's only a matter of time until someone takes someone else's feet to their shins!”​

“I suppose we should take this elsewhere,” put in Narcissa, who was now eyeing the grate warily.​

“How about you take it to next week?” called Mabel again, “Today is not the day for this.”​

Sirius and the Malfoys joined Harry and Draco in the Drawing Room, where Harry was busy showing Draco the magnificent snowy owl Sirius had got him.​

The owl tentatively hopped out of her cage and onto Harry's arm. She darted her head around at each of them before spreading her wings wide — nearly hitting Draco in the face. Harry and Draco looked at each other, then at the owl, then at each other again.​

“TEST FLIGHT!” they shouted simultaneously.​

“Not inside,” came Mabel's voice.​

“Awwww.”​

“So what are you going to call her?” asked Sirius, hoping to steer the children away from the idea of animals flying through a stately home.​

“Hmm,” said Harry, “I dunno.”​

“You can decide later,” said Draco, “Time for my present!”​

He handed Harry an elegantly wrapped box in green and silver. Harry gave it a slight rattle, then began to carefully peel away the paper — before suddenly ripping it off to reveal an Appleby Arrows handmade quaffle — signed by every player no less. Harry cackled his head off.​

“RIGHT! GAME ON!”​

“Not inside,” came Mabel's voice again. Harry deflated somewhat.​

“Tell you what,” said Sirius, “When the others get here, we can all have a friendly game. Fair?”​

Harry's face lit up again.​

“Okay, deal. But now — Draco! I challenge you to chess! Gryffindor v Slytherin!”​

Draco plastered a cunning smile across his face.​

------------------------ ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ----

About half an hour later, Harry seemed to have the upper hand.​

“And so, the mighty, courageous lion corners the cowardly snake!” smirked Harry as his bishop slid into place, menacing Draco's king.​

Draco only smiled.​

“Knight to H3.”​

Draco's knight moved.​

“Queen to H3!”​

Harry's queen pounced upon the terrified knight, inflicting untold brutality before throwing it overhead — horse and all — off the side of the board.​

“Indeed,” said Draco, “So the reckless lion FALLS INTO THE SNAKE'S CUNNING TRAP!”​

Out of nowhere, Draco's bishop streaked across the board to put Harry's king into check. Not only check, but check-mate.​

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!” Harry stared in horror as the bishop clouted his king over the head and dragged him off the board.​

Draco fell back laughing.​

“VICTORY! I HAVE ACHIEVED MY ULTIMATE TRIUMPH!”​

Sirius clapped mutedly while Narcissa smirked. Lucius patted Draco on the shoulder while Harry picked himself up.​

“One of these days, Draco...,” he grumbled in fake outrage.​

Their theatrics were interrupted by Remus entering the room.​

“Harry! Good to see you,” he handed Harry a small case with a golden bow attached. Inside the case were a pair of round glasses.​

“I already have glasses,” said Harry, confusedly.​

“These are a rather special pair,” said Remus, “Drop them.”​

“Huh?”​

“Drop them.”​

Harry dropped them. ​

They shattered on the floor.​

Then suddenly, the shards lifted up and fitted themselves back into their frame, fusing back together.​

They were fully repaired.​

“Wow! Thanks Remus!” started Harry.​

“Well, you always kept dropping your glasses so I felt I would save you some time,” replied Remus.​

“Harry, could you come and tell me if you like these drapes?” came Mabel's voice.​

“Sure!” Harry called back and got up, dashing into the hall. Suddenly green flames sprang up in the grate. Before he could react, Harry found his shins knocked out from under him. He collapsed to the floor in a tangle with the new arrival. After a kerfuffle, Harry managed to extricate himself from the pile. He sat up and looked to his right. Lying rather dazed on the ground and beginning to pull herself up was the red-headed, freckled form of Ginny Weasley.

Suddenly they were both hoist to their feet by the scruffs of their necks. Harry looked up into Mabel's irritated face.​

“Potter, how many times have I told you to steer clear of the fireplace?”​

“Uh.. um.. well...”​

“The correct answer is entirely too many.”​

“Uh- yes ma'am!”​

Mabel's nostrils flared, “'Ma'am'? How old do you think I am?”​

“Er.. you see...”​

“Certainly not that old. 'Ma'am'.. honestly!”​

Her tirade was interrupted by flames bursting into the grate again. She pulled Harry and Ginny aside as the gangly figure of Ron Weasley ploughed into the hall. Dusting himself off, he looked around the entryway before spotting Harry.​

“Hey!”​

He dashed across the hall, arms outstretched... and ran right past Harry to hug a pot plant on a side table. Harry, Mabel and Ginny stared. Then Ron turned round and laughed at them.​

“Haha! Got you; you should have seen the look on your faces!”​

Harry blinked, then his face broke into a grin.​

He was prevented from saying anything however by more green flames in the fireplace, this time expelling Arthur Weasley, Ron and Ginny's father.​

“Hello Mabel, Harry,” he said, inclining his head at each of them in turn, “I am afraid Molly and the twins may be a while yet; she discovered them secretly training gnomes to steal from the sweet supply. Percy should be any moment now, however.”​

Mabel's eyebrow raised while the children laughed their heads off.​

“I see. In that case, once Percy arrives we should move this into the drawing room.”​

As if on cue, floo powder flames once more erupted in the fireplace and the straight-backed Percy Weasley strode out.​

“As difficult as it was pulling myself away from my dear brothers being torn into, good to see you all again,” he said to Harry and Mabel.​

“Hi,” said Harry again, “Did you get to be a prefect?”​

“We don't know yet; our owls haven't come,” said Arthur, “Are the others in the drawing room?”​

“Yes, but I need Harry for the moment — I need him to approve the decorations. One word of warning; the Malfoys are here.”​

With that, she dragged Harry in the direction of the ballroom. Harry suddenly realised he hadn't greeted Ginny. He resigned himself to waving at her as Mabel escorted him away.​

Then he and Mabel entered the ballroom and Harry did a double-take. The 'drapes' were more than just that. The long curtains, tied back at every window, were now in alternating colours — red, blue, green and yellow for each Hogwarts school house; banners of each house's crest hung from the balcony that ran around the room; the crystal chandelier now sported a plethora of gems in each house colour; a large buffet at the end of the room was being attended to by Kreacher; elegant sofas had been placed in the middle of the room (Mabel had almost had a fit over the idea before Sirius talked her down); garlands and bunting decked every railing and window; to top it all off, the morning sun cast a warm gaze into the room. When he recovered, Harry jumped up and hugged Mabel as tightly as he could.​

“I love it!”​

“Alright, alright!” Mabel grunted as she tugged Harry off of her.​

Harry relinquished her, then turned and eyed Kreacher maniacally. Kreacher noticed and ran. Harry dashed after him.​

“I will get you into my baby clothes!” he called as the earlier chase resumed.​

“Harry, guests,” said Mabel.​

“Oh, right.”​

Then there was the sound of floo powder flames from the hall and seconds later voices once more issued from the hall.​

“Longbottoms ho!” came the voice of an elderly lady.​

Then seconds later there was a sound of pain and thudding.​

“For goodness sake, Neville, I told you to get away from the fireplace as soon as you arrived!”​

Then another, slightly sore voice, of a man.​

“Er... the Boneses have arrived... ow.”​

Harry and Mabel returned to the hall while Kreacher returned to his work, grumbling. In the hall were five people. The first was rather vulture-like old woman with a green crocodile-skin handbag, a fox-fur scarf and a hat with what appeared to be a whole stuffed vulture perched atop; this was Augusta Longbottom. Her dark-haired son, Neville, looking rather ruffled and about Harry's age stood behind her. Standing warily away from the fireplaces were three others; Susan Bones, a pale red-headed girl, as well as her parents. Sirius, Remus, the Weasleys and the Malfoys joined them from the drawing room. Greetings were greeted and hellos were hello'd.​

“So is the ballroom ready?” asked Sirius.​

“Nearly,” replied Mabel, “just waiting on Kreacher finishing up.”​

Again, as if on cue, there was a crack and Kreacher appeared in the middle of the room.​

“The ballroom is ready, masters and guests,” he said grumpily, then Disapparated before Harry could resume his campaign of terror on him.​

------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---

“Right, now we have a test flight,” said Harry as he stepped onto the lawn, birdcage in hand.​

The back lawn sprawled out in front of the ballroom, it's borders marked with a perimeter hedge that had gaps leading to the rest of the estate grounds. Harry waited until he was sure everyone was watching before opening the cage. The snowy owl hopped to the hatch, stretched it's wings for a moment, then took off into the sky. Harry stood there transfixed, watching as she dived and spiralled and rose and fluttered about the sky. He was reminded of a book he'd read on magical history — specifically about a witch called Hedwig the Wind-dancer. She was known for inventing a spell that allowed one to fly — the spell had been largely lost to time, rarely being rediscovered before vanishing again into the unknown. Eventually, the owl returned to land on Harry's arm.​

“So, what will you call her?” asked Sirius.​

Harry gazed at the bird as it nipped playfully at his teasing fingers.​

“Hedwig.”​

- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------

The party was in full swing in the Ballroom. Fred and George had finally arrived with their mother, as had several others. Molly had showered adulation on Harry, but had now taken to watching the twins like a hawk. Harry had discreetly extricated himself from everyone and now surveyed them all from above as he stood on the landing above the ballroom. ​

Then he noticed a few drops of liquid drip onto the head of Narcissa Malfoy from above. ​

That was odd. ​

He looked up. ​

He couldn't see anyone. ​

He looked down at the ballroom again, only to see another few drops hit Mr. Bones.​

Harry looked up again, waiting this time. ​

After a moment, he saw movement.​

There, perched on the wooden chandelier frame was the crouching figure of Ginny clutching what looked like a pitcher of pumpkin juice. ​

In but a moment she had retreated into the depths of the ornate construct.​

Quietly, Harry left the ballroom into the east wing and then crept up the carpeted staircase to the third floor. From there he took the wooden attic steps up into the east loft. He crept along until he reached an open hatch that led into the ballroom rafters. Harry crept along the thick beam before him, taking care not to look over the side, until he reached the end in front of the chandelier frame. The frame itself was there to ease maintenance and as such included a platform on top of the chandelier. Ginny was preparing to venture out and drip again when she spotted Harry in front of her. Around her, on the platform, was a hoard of assorted sweets and treats.​

“Up here again?” he said grinning.​

She smiled back, “Yep. Hop on- er actually, don't hop, this thing will sway if you do that.”​

Harry carefully stepped across the gap to join her and hunkered down, spying possible targets. He grabbed a chocolate frog, pulled it out of it's packaging and rammed the unfortunate critter mercilessly into his mouth. Ginny meanwhile had 'dripped' Draco. ​

“So you're gonna go off to Hogwarts then?” asked Ginny.​

“Sure am,” he replied, “Sirius, three o'clock.”​

Ginny edged to the side and tipped the pitcher ever so slightly, depositing her payload onto Sirius' head below. She crept back to the middle and handed Harry the pitcher.​

“I wish I could go,” she muttered mournfully. She savagely tore the head off another frog with her teeth.​

“You'll be coming next year, right?” he asked.​

“Yeah, but I want to go now.”​

Harry spied a target. He dripped a stream of juice onto Kingsley Shacklebolt's shiny baldness with ruthless efficiency.​

“It'll be your turn soon, you won't even notice.”​

“I guess...,” she pouted.​

“Harry?” came the somewhat muted voice of Lucius Malfoy, “Are you up here?”​

Harry and Ginny stared at each other, horror struck.​

“Wait here,” he said and quickly scrambled back onto the beam, scampering back to the hatch. He was creeping back through the loft when Lucius suddenly appeared in front of him.​

“I thought it was you I spotted; what are you doing up here?”​

“Er, well...”​

“Tell you what. I have another present for you, but I suspect Sirius and Ms. Baines wouldn't let you keep it — you may have noticed they don't seem to like me much. So, if you can keep quiet about it, I'll keep quiet about whatever you were doing up here. Deal?”​

Harry nodded readily. Lucius drew out a small book-sized present, wrapped in gold with a red ribbon. He handed it to Harry.​

“Thanks, Mr. Malfoy!”​

“You're quite welcome. Best not to tell anyone, now that I think about it — wouldn't want anyone accidentally telling Sirius or Ms. Baines would we?”​

Harry nodded again, before unwrapping the present. ​

It was indeed a book; a diary for that matter. Black and largely nondescript, something seemed comforting about it.​

“Well, we had best get back to the party. It is, after all, your party.”​

There was a clattering sound behind Harry and he turned to see a reddening Ginny and several fallen over boxes. Lucius raised an eyebrow.​

“Ah. I see. Oh to be young again... well, I shall take my leave.”​

It was Harry's turn to turn red.​

“Uh- no, Mr. Malfoy, you don't und-”​

But he had already gone.​

------------------------ ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ----

“Hmm,” said Harry as he and Ginny sat in their alcove on the chandelier, “How to start?”​

“The date I guess?” shrugged Ginny.​

Harry shrugged back, then dipped his quill into his inkwell and began to write. No sooner had he begun writing however, than the ink faded away. They both stared. Harry dropped a drop of ink onto the page. It vanished.​

Then, suddenly, written words began to fade into view on the page.​

'Is someone there?'​

Harry and Ginny glanced at each other, then Harry responded.​

'Yes. Who is this?'​

'My name is Tom Riddle; may I ask who you are?'​


Harry and Ginny glanced at each other again.

“So... should we?” asked Ginny.

“It is just a book...,” responded Harry hesitantly, “right?”

“I dunno; Dad's told me some nasty things about enchanted books. There was one that burned your eyes out.”

“Well... if there was going to be anything bad happening... wouldn't it already have happened?" said Harry tentatively.

“You're right; I'm just being silly,” Ginny replied, chuckling. Harry put quill to paper once more.

'Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley.'​

'Two of you? How enchanting. It has been some time since I have had anyone to talk to. Well, write to.'​


“So... is this some kind of long distance communication?” asked Harry.

“You've got the quill - ask him.”

'Are you talking to us from somewhere?'​

'Oh no. I am this diary; a memory preserved for- well I don't really know how long. What is the date?'​

'31st July 1991'​

'My goodness, how the time has passed. That means I am nearly fifty years old! May I ask how old you are?'​


“Should we?” asked Ginny, “Mum's always warned about strange old people.”

“Does a book count?”

'I'm eleven. Oh sorry, I'm Harry. And Ginny is ten. Neither of us have ever spoken to a book before.'​

'Yes, I understand it is not usual. You both seem nice — it would be ever so nice to be your friend.'​

'We've never been friends with a book before.'​

'Well, you have to start somewhere.'​


Harry looked up at Ginny. Could this be a mistake? Was it weird to be friends with a book?

They gazed into each other's eyes.

Minutes passed.

Eventually, they both nodded in tandem.

'Alright then.'​

'Could you tell me about yourselves?'
Reviews 15
ChapterPrinter
StoryPrinter




../back
‘! Go To Top ‘!

Sink Into Your Eyes is hosted by Grey Media Internet Services. HARRY POTTER, characters, names and related characters are trademarks of Warner Bros. TM & © 2001-2006. Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions on this site are those made by the owners. All stories(fanfiction) are owned by the author and are subject to copyright law under transformative use. Authors on this site take no compensation for their works. This site © 2003-2006 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Special thanks to: Aredhel, Kaz, Michelle, and Jeco for all the hard work on SIYE 1.0 and to Marta for the wonderful artwork.
Featured Artwork © 2003-2006 by Yethro.
Design and code © 2006 by SteveD3(AdminQ)
Additional coding © 2008 by melkior and Bear