Harry sat in complete silence contemplating his options. Thanks to his mom, he was able to learn a lot about this Alastor Moody… From the information he acquired from his mom, neither Magical nor Muggle traps would work against the man as he would see right through them with the help of his Magical Eye.
Direct confrontation was also out of option… According to his mom, Alastor Moody was the strongest combatant of the Order, only to be beaten by Albus Dumbledore, so the man would wipe the floor with him with extreme ease. Additionally, the man wasn't alone, his companion would also spring into action if a fight broke out.
He could always try something underhanded to get an edge, but there was only a small chance that it would work… Alastor Moody wasn't a rookie and he wouldn't make a rookie mistake. If he was alone then Harry could have at least tried something, but the same trick won't work a second time.
He could have tried to use guns to get an advantage, but once again he wasn't sure if guns would work or not… After all, there was always a chance that Moody knew about guns and how to defend himself against guns. Moody is an extremely paranoid person, so there was a high chance that he already knew about guns since they were a threat to his life.
According to his mom, Moody was probably sent by Dumbledore and it would be foolish if he revealed all of his cards in front of Moody, who will surely be reporting back to Dumbledore. Running away wasn't an option from the start since he needed answers and while he could always inform the Aurors, it came along with its own set of problems.
Harry realized that he was out of options… There was nothing he could do to get rid of them without burning any bridges…
"Norton" Harry called out as he arrived inside the kitchen. The feeling of being watched disappeared. "I want you to grab the Ward Stone and place it inside one of the expandable trunks along with all the new books I bought and some clothes" Harry explained and the house elf nodded solemnly.
The Ward Stone was probably the most important artifact he owned… He needed to take the Ward Stone with him at any cost as without the Ward Stone, he would lose Norton and it would be a huge blow if he lost Norton. Norton was not only one of his best friends, but he was also one of his most important assets.
If it was up to Harry then he would have long ago bound Norton to himself, but if he wanted to bind Norton to himself then he would need to break his current bond and only the Potter Family Head could break the existing bond between Norton and the Ward Stone. Even handing over clothes to Norton wouldn't work.
So, he needed to wait until he could pick the mantle of Lord Potter himself if he wanted to bind Norton to himself. Until then, he needed to drag the Ward Stone along with him if he didn't want to lose Norton.
"I also need you to gather the rest of the trunks and keep them hidden since the fake-eyed man might be able to see through walls" Harry added as he didn't want to leave the rest of the books from the Potter library. His apartment was small, so almost the whole Potter library was still stored inside the trunks.
"I may also need your help to escape in case they tried to kidnap me" Harry added after thinking for a bit and Norton nodded his head in understanding.
"Of course, Master Hadrian. Norton won't be disappointing, Master Hadrian" Norton said while bobbing his head with a determined look on his face.
"Oh… Don't call me Hadrian in front of them. Call me Harry" Harry added before walking out of the kitchen. Norton simply nodded his head while staring at Harry's back before he left to carry out the tasks…
Harry was lying on his bed, trying to fall asleep, but no matter how much he tried, sleep refused to come to him, especially since he was still being watched. It was already long past midnight and Harry was starting to wonder if he should take a Dreamless Sleep Potion to fall asleep.
I was wondering if you should inform Jacklyn or Brittany| Lily wondered aloud as her voice rang out inside Harry's mind.
No, I don't want her to drag either of them into this mess. It's better if they don't get involved| Harry quickly dismissed the idea. Brittany wasn't even fourteen yet, it would be better if she never got involved in this mess, and involving Jacklyn so soon might reveal his hand and Harry couldn't have that.
Albus Dumbledore and his sycophants were expecting to meet a boy who was about to start his fourth year of Wizarding Education and Harry wasn't planning to disappoint them. Then there was also the fact he didn't have any information about the whole situation.
Then all of a sudden Harry's eyes snapped open when the feeling of being watched disappeared… |Did they finally decide to leave? But, why now?| Harry asked himself.
Maybe they decided to take a break? It's long past midnight| Lily pointed out even though she didn't believe her own words. Harry quickly shook his head.
No. I don't think that's the case| Harry shook his head as he started to ponder if he should get up or not. Moments later, he felt a tingle in the Wards and he immediately shot up from the bed. They were here… They were probably probing the Wards. He quickly climbed off the bed and started to get dressed and as soon as he was dressed, he opened the Wards for them.
There wasn't anything else he could have done since he was planning to meet them in the place… |Don't worry, Hadrian. I am going to be here with you| Lily tried to comfort her son and Harry simply nodded his head with a grateful look on his face. Moments later, someone knocked on the door, and instead of manually opening the door, he jabbed his Wand at the door to open it.
The door swung open, only to reveal two people standing on the other side of the door. The man standing at the front looked like his face was roughly carved from wood. His face was riddled with scars and a small chunk of his nose was also missing. On top of his head, there was a mop of dirty blonde grizzled hair, but his eyes were probably the most shocking part of his whole visage.
One of his eyes was small and dark while the other one was a vivid, electric blue Magical eye, which was moving around independently. Harry would have to admit, Alastor Moody looked extremely creepy, especially with that fake eye of his…
Behind the man, a young Witch with a pale heart-shaped face was standing looking curious, but also tired at the same time… The woman was staring at him with her pale yellow eyes, which were shining with curiosity while her bubblegum pink short hair was resting on her shoulders. Harry would have to admit, the young Witch was probably the most eccentric Witch he ever laid his eyes upon, but he didn't linger on it.
That's Alastor Moody and I don't know anything about the girl, but she seems really young. I will place her somewhere around Jacklyn's age| Lily confirmed the man's identity before she tried to identify the young Witch, but nothing came to her mind.
"You knew we were coming!" Alastor stated gruffly as his Magical eye continued to spin around. "But you didn't prepare an ambush!" Alastor shook his head in disappointment.
"Come on, Mad-eye, cut him some slack! He is yet to start his fourth year, you can't expect him to be paranoid like you. He is probably scared out of his mind thinking that we are probably robbers or some sort of creeps!" The Witch complained as she frantically waved her hands in the air.
Harry felt that the Witch was probably not that bright, but he decided not to assume anything as she might be acting to make him lower his guard… Alastor's face twitched as he glanced at his protege, wondering if he made a mistake by choosing such an airhead as his protege… Then he realized that it was probably his fault. He never told her about the murders…
"W-Who are you guys and what do you want from me?" Harry stuttered out with a lot of difficulty as he raised his Wand in their direction with shaking hands. Since the Witch already pointed out that he was yet to start his fourth year, he decided to play the part, but he quickly realized that playing the part of a scared fourth year student was extremely hard.
"Cut the act, kid. You aren't going to fool me… I already know that you recognized me even though I don't know how you did that" Alastor barked as he stomped inside the apartment, making Harry step back, but his hands were no longer shaking. He didn't even realize that his hands stopped shaking. "I simply stepped forward and your hands are no longer shaking" Alstor pointed out with a scoff.
"Really, Mady-eye? He is simply scared stiff. Are you planning to scare him to death?" The young Witch asked with a scowl and once again Alastor's face started to twitch in annoyance.
Harry realized that he was right… The Witch wasn't that bright. Alastor finally decided to give up the jig as it might also give them an upper hand in the upcoming meeting. "Don't be fooled by his young age, lassie. He is already a killer" Alastor snarked, making Harry freeze and the Witch snap her head toward Alastor in complete shock.
"Isn't that right, boy? I know all about the Dursleys…" Alastor said smoothly with a triumphant look on his face…
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