The atmosphere changed as soon as the rest of the children left, all sources of Levity also leaving with their exit.
"A hundred and fifteen spells—that's how many were cast to track your whereabouts. They were never accurate, frequently landing in India, Tibet, and even some parts of Egypt. But that all changed two years ago, Harry. I made it a habit to locate you every month. Then, suddenly, the spell stopped working altogether."
Lily, puzzled, inquired, "What does that mean, Albus?"
"Care to enlighten us about where you were during those few years, Harry?"
Harry smirked, his gaze fixed on Dumbledore, "Crafty old man, aren't you? Impress me."
"I was called in by the ICW to investigate, you see. I have a talent for tracing magic, one of my many specialities, you could say. While the cave appeared spick and span on the surface, I sensed something hollow about it. Upon closer inspection, we found sediment exposed to very high temperatures. Whoever cleaned it up did a commendable job; a less skilled person would have missed those tracks."
Confused, James demanded, "Albus, where are you going with this?" Elizabeth looked at Harry suspiciously, having married Sirius three years after he disappeared, she held no bias, so she could almost anticipate the next words.
"The magic signature was foreign and hard to procure. I had never felt it, and it didn't match any ICW database. Well, until I found a matching one this morning on a letter addressed to one Harry James Potter. Care to answer, Harry?"
"Albus, this is preposterous! We've always known there's something peculiar about magic and Harry. You must have made a mistake," Lily exclaimed incredulously.
Protests echoed around the room as Sirius and James vehemently supported Lily's statement.
"Come on, Professor, it's just not possible. He's just a child!"
"Albus, if this is some kind of joke, it's really getting out of hand!"
Amid the escalating objections, Harry burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, I didn't expect you to uncover my little secret so soon, Dumbledore. I suppose the Confundus Charm on those ruffians might have given me away. Although, in my defense, I did provide them with food and shelter."
Dumbledore sighed, "That was the final nail in the coffin."
Lily, perplexed, turned to Harry, demanding an explanation, "Harry, what exactly does he mean?"
"Harry's eyes lost their vibrancy, the color faded, and the facade crumbled. 'He means exactly what he means; this is not my first time interacting with magic.' Ignoring the stillness that settled over the rest of the occupants, Harry locked eyes with Albus. 'Tell me, Dumbledore, how much do you know?'"
"Several ICW operatives and countless muggle children were killed, primary suspects were the Elthurians, but my findings are to the contrary, Elthurians are ill-suited to fire, which was the main perpetrator for casualties present, it became clear that a more sinister force may be at play and that force contains your magical signature." Said Dumbledore grimly.
Harry clenched his hands till they bled, Furious, he looked at Dumbledore," your accusations infuriate me."
The air underwent a transformation, growing hostile and charged. It heated up noticeably as Harry directed a burning glare at Dumbledore, his eyes ablaze with fury. Uncertainty gripped the room. Dumbledore's accusations lingered heavily in the air, leaving Lily, James, and Sirius still reeling from shock. Tension intensified, reaching an almost unbearable level, and just as the atmosphere grew denser, an unexpected voice pierced through.
"Enough," Elizabeth commanded, her irritation evident as she glared at Albus. "You're not omnipotent; stop jumping to conclusions." Softening her expression, she turned to Harry. "Tell us what happened that day."
Harry slowly unclenched his hands, taking a calming breath as he began to speak. "The orphanage I was in was called Saint Cadillacs. Nothing unusual about it, just plain unlucky. The ICW hired a cult, and their job was to perform a ritual on the Elthurian Princess. The kids were unfortunate victims; they could have picked any orphanage, but fate chose Saint Cadillacs. The cult, too, was unfortunate, why? —I was there."
Dumbledore seemed to age, weariness settling into the lines of all his one-hundred and fifteen years. "It appears I have been deceived, and other forces are in motion. Tell me, Harry, do you happen to know the name of the cult?"
Harry took a few steps, his eyes drawn to the window, savoring the tranquillity that Hogwarts offered. "The Cult of Cosmos," he uttered softly. The atmosphere shifted, growing heavier, as Dumbledore's magic permeated the air.
Silence lingered as Dumbledore absorbed Harry's revelation. Sirius, feeling the weight of both magical and metaphorical tension, couldn't bear it any longer. He gulped and interjected, "Albus, can you rein in your magic? And what exactly is this cult?"
Albus sighed, his magic subsiding. "The Cult of Cosmos is more than a mere legend. The first mention appears in the memoir of the great warlock, Alexios. The image he painted is truly terrifying. They reached into every corner of the world—from rulers in Sparta to head priests of ancient temples and warlord merchants in Greece, it is even rumored one of the Kings of Sparta was part of the cult, and if they have survived to this day then truly the situation is perilous."
"We don't expect them to make a move anytime soon. However, when they do, they won't be caught off guard again. Last time, it was just some low-level operatives—more than enough to handle defenseless children and a weakened Elthurian Princess, next time, and there will be a next, won't be so easy, there is one exception though."
Dumbledore, brows rose slightly, "It's you isn't it, they want you!" taking his silence as confirmation.
Lily, absorbing everything, gazed at Harry with confusion. "Harry, where exactly do you fit into all of this? I mean, aren't you just eleven? How are you at the heart of this?"
Harry maintained silence; his gaze fixed on the scenery beyond the window. Finally, he broke the quietude with a question that hung heavy in the air. "Well, Dumbledore, any idea who exactly I am?"
"I heard rumors of an outsider. It was all but confirmed to me that someone not of Elthurian descent was in close contact with the royal family. Defeating five Elthurian nobles really does not scream discretion. But never in my wildest dreams could I have fathomed that the Princess's executioner, queller of the rebellion, would be you, Harry."
Silence and bafflement permeated the air as all four adults turned to Harry. Their minds raced, grappling with the revelation that, upon finding Harry, they had discovered he was some kind of soldier, and not just any soldier, but one of such high standing, that their son or godson was a murderer.
James was consumed by anguish, his distress reflected on Lily's face as they both stared at the small figure. Harry's back seemed to carry a weight far beyond his years as he continued to gaze out the window, silently acknowledging the truth in the headmaster's words.
"Harry, is it true, did you kill all those people, I mean it's probably just a misunderstanding, how could you have killed with that many people, you're just barely 12!"
Harry finally turned around, regarding them with a dispassionate gaze. Cocking his head to the side, he spoke, "No, it's all true, down to the last word." He then moved to sit down, ignoring the Sirius and James tensing as he sat down, cocking his head he looked towards his blood relations mockingly "I'm curious what does this mean, am I too dangerous to keep around the precious Boy-who-lived?"
Silence reigned for a moment before Lily straightened; her gaze unwavering. "This changes nothing."
Yet, it was evident that Sirius and James were not on the same page.
"Lily, he murdered over two hundred people!"
"Lils, I mean, Sirius is right, you know!"
Sirius seemed thoroughly disenchanted, while James appeared conflicted. The air grew tense as they grappled with the reality of the danger posed by Harry.
Lily's fury erupted as she turned around, her voice laced with frustration and guilt. "It's our fault, James! He wasn't born a killer. We let him disappear, we let him suffer in an orphanage, we let him be kidnapped. We are the reason he's a killer. We are at fault. We couldn't find him, we could have looked harder. He was in a bloody orphanage in London, for Merlin's sake!" The scent of regret hung heavy in the air as her words echoed through the room.
Elizabeth wasn't entirely sure what to make of the enigma in front of her. He seemed innocent and cute, yet he had taken the lives of hundreds without a hint of remorse. Involuntarily, she shivered. The air around him distorted, and she could almost picture him in the midst of battle, emotionless bodies falling as he moved through the battlefield, Yet, paradoxically, she also sensed a kindness and generosity. Elizabeth had never been a fighter, but she was a talented healer during the last war, that had resulted in her becoming adept at reading people. It was in their lowest moments that their true selves were revealed.
James wavered before accepting defeat, "You're right, like always." He looked over at Harry with guilty eyes, "I'm sorry, Harry, for even considering anything else."
Harry quirked an eyebrow, finding the unexpected apology intriguing. "I won't magically change because you guys accept my past actions. I am who I am. Aren't you afraid I could be a danger to you?"
Sirius grinned; his confidence unwavering. "No Godson of mine can ever be a danger to me. Try the great Sirius Black, and he'll show you why he was called the Black Hurricane. No fighter lasted longer than a minute!"
Harry grinned for the first time. "Longer than he lasts in bed, huh?" The room burst into laughter, momentarily alleviating the tension.
Elizabeth found the most hilarity in the joke, ignoring Sirius's betrayed look at the one person who could have saved him. The laughter echoed in the room, providing a brief respite from the heavy atmosphere.
Even Lily couldn't help but crack a small smile, though her concerns lingered beneath the surface
Lily, was feeling a mix of worry and determination, she felt something was up in the air, something sinister.
Albus stilled, turning the atmosphere thick with tension. Lily's keen eyes caught it immediately. "What's wrong, Albus?"
The ageing wizard seemed to grapple with something heavy. "The ICW's here. They came for Harry."
Elizabeth's concern deepened. "How did they know he was here?"
James redirected the conversation to a more urgent matter. "That's the least of our concerns. If you guys were right about the cult infiltrating the ICW, it means it's not safe. We can't hand Harry over to them."
"They're the ICW; we can't fight them, even here at Hogwarts. Harry, it's best you escape," Sirius analyzed.
Harry, however, was the calmest in the room. He stood up, stretching and popping a few muscles before speaking, "It's your caretaker, old man. He sent a missive to the ICW that I was in that orphanage."
"Filch. But how did he know you were part of the orphanage, and how do you know he's the one who sent the missive, Harry?" questioned Lily.
Harry shot Dumbledore a devious smile, "We have our own little mole."
Dumbledore frowned, "That's impossible; no Elthurian has managed to infiltrate the ICW since wards were made to repel them two hundred years ago."
"Who said it was Elthurians?" Harry shot back, grinning.
Before Dumbledore could question Harry, the ICW representatives made their presence known, led by Filch, who left them at the door. Dumbledore, maintaining his composed demeanor, acknowledged their arrival. Harry, however, observed them with a relaxed demeanor as he ignored them outright, calling for a House Elf.
"Mipsy," he called as the air cracked, and a House Elf emerged.
"Yes, Masters Potter?"
The ICW wizards puffed up in annoyance at the disregard. Harry, however, seemed oblivious, "Can I have a croissant with some jam and strawberry milk? Anyone want anything? Maybe our esteemed guests of the evening want to try a croissant. It tastes divine with jam.
Erwin Nott's stern expression seemed to crack at the mockery. Ignoring it, he looked at Dumbledore, "Supreme Mugwump, we demand you hand over Harry Potter to us. We must question him as to what occurred two years and thirteen days ago exactly."
Elizabeth, not one to back down, challenged, "What right do you have to kidnap the Heir of House Potter?"
Nott, maintaining his stoic facade, simply replied, "He has been absent for all the rites of House Potter. The next rite is on the eve of the Winter Solstice. He does not qualify as Heir Potter nor a Vassal of House Potter."
Harry some how had procured a notebook in a pen, "Dumbledore, what are the coordinates for your fire place?"
A puzzled Dumbledore gave him the coordinate, "Latitude: 56.4907° N
Longitude: -4.2026° W.
subsequently, Dumbledore's fireplace flashed green, signalling someone wanted to come through. "Let her in, Dumbledore; she doesn't like to wait," chimed an amused Harry.
Dumbledore, bemused, walked over, letting the incoming party in.
The ICW representatives gasped as one. In walked one of the most influential heirs in the world. Before they could say anything, she ran towards Harry and tightly wrapped him in a hug.
Harry hugged her back, much to the astonishment of everyone in the room, puzzled by the ensuing development.
They finally broke their embrace to look at each other.
"I'm here, Harry," grinned the exuberant Heir, delighted to be in Harry's arms.
"Never doubted you, Ilya," grinned back Harry.
If you enjoyed the chapter consider supporting me by voting with powerstones, it's free and a great motivator!