9. Gaunt

Harry stared at the mirror in his hand.

Supposedly, if he called the name of the other owner, it will show his face and his on the other pair of the mirror, as two-way mirror should work because of magic connection, you know.

Harry wouldn't, he didn't have much experience with magic artefact. He only heard of Neville's rememberall and didn't even get the chance to have a close look of the founders' heirlooms. And maybe exploding snap and wizard's chess could be see as but Harry thought them more of board game with a touch of magic.

Anyway, he got the mirror the week-end after meeting the Blacks and the dog, grim some would say, that was indeed Sirius Black. The letter accompanying the artefact explained the function and told him to contact his godfather on paper whenever he wanted for easy contact. Concerning their plan, of course.

At first, Harry was really reluctant to use it and contact the adult who could have raised him if things went as they should, after being rude before him too, but after two weeks and having found who Voldemort was possessing he didn't have much choice.

Sighing, he whispered behind the closed curtains of his four poster. "Sirius Black."

The mirror's surface vibrated and immediately his reflection changed into another. Looked like the man was waiting for his news.

"I just won my first Quidditch match against the Hufflepuff team," he blurted out as greeting.

Sirius looked surprised, as if surprised Harry would even wanted to tell him about his day. Not quite wrong. "Congratulation-"

"That's not why I called. There was an incident during the match, someone jinxed my broom. The last comet, which enraged Pr. Flitwick because he was the one who purchased it for his beloved Ravenclaw students. But, yeah, someone in the crowd jinxed the broom I was on, making me lose control and almost fall from thirty meters high, which was the way Voldemort was hoping killing me, like an accident. But my Obscurus manifested itself because I didn't want to die so stupidly. Like, my broom lurched and I didn't manage to control it? I'm the seeker and have bloody reflexes, please. I had to threaten them to keep on the match or I obliviate everyone so we could resume like nothing happened. I had to admit I found their distress quite pleasing, maybe my Obscurial status makes me a bully because I enjoyed seeing people quiver under my power."

"Harry, what-"

"Oops, got sidetrack. Anyway, my friend Kevin who was in the stand saw two people staring at me unblinkingly, as it's need to jinx something, and we narrowed it down to professor Quirrel and Snape."

"It's Snape," Sirius didn't even hesitate about it.

"And I think it's Quirrell. I mean, wait, what, nevermind, listen to me. Students said he took a year-long sabbatical before being hired at the dada teacher and that he didn't wear a turban before as muggle studies teacher. Maybe he's hiding a scar and Voldemort's possessing it like me."

Sirius stubbornly argued against him. "Pretty sure it's Snape, he was a death eater during the war. And nevermind he was always the potion professor, he could chose to act under his dark lord only now, just by the time you made your appearance in the magical world."

"You're not wrong, but only the heads, including professor Snape of Slytherin house, knew I'm an Obscurial, Quirrell does not. And despise how much you loath the potion master, he's smarter than trying to kill me while knowing my parasistical magic could save me."

A moment passed and Sirius looked having swallowed a lemon by his grimace.

"You're probably... right."

"Okay, I did my part, how about on your side?"

"Well, we're all reunited at Andy's because it was best to stay together and be prepared for when the ritual's ready, because of course she will be participating having Black's blood, whatever that meant. The research for the body had us asking for that cockroach of Skeeter because Merlin does she knew a lot. We had to threaten her to published her unregistered animagus status to keep her quiet, which yeah, could come out quite ironic from me. Anyway, she gave us a list of young wizards with great achievements, we're still picking which to sacrifice for our noble cause. It's good to talk to you," he added.

Harry didn't know what to say to that, but got saved when Cassiopeia's face appeared by shoving Sirius' out of her way.

"Because you're just in time, young man! It's a matter of minutes before we seal the deal, so you find a way to lure your suspect to Little Hangleton and we'll do the ritual. By evening, you'll be back at Hogwarts with an unpossessed professor."

"I'm not sure how to convince this murderous man possessed by my parents' murder to follow me, but as Sirius said, it's for the noble cause. And do you perhaps have a way for us to get out of the school other than the Hogwarts Express, who will only brought me to London."

Suddenly, Sirius' face was back in the frame.

"Listen, Harry. Thanks to me hanging around with your father during our time at Hogwarts, we knew every inches of the magic school and all the passageways that could lead you to outside. There's beneath the one-eyed witch statue by the dada classroom, behind the mirror on fourth floor, behind the statue of Gregory the Swarmy, the West and Hyeroglyphic Hall and the one under the Whomping Willow, though the latter is quite dangerous if you did not know how to handle the branches. They all lead to Hogsmeade village, which's not any closer than the meeting place, but out of Hogwarts' wards, so you could ask Quirrell to apparate you two."

"You keep spouting all those terms as if I'm supposed to understand. Do you really think I roamed all around the castle or what?"

"You did not?! Were you not amazed by the secrets the place hold?!"

"Well, it's truly amazing but I was more interested to know how it came to be that amazing by self-learning all the existing spells, if my advancement on the syllabus wasn't clear enough. And what does apparating means?"

Sirius looked so offended Harry thought he was going to hear a lecture about how to live like a kid when Cassiopeia reappeared in the frame by shoving away the animagus once again.

"It's a way for wizard to transport instantly. I advice you against learning it by yourself, we still need you alive and preferably in one piece in two days time. Besides, Sirius was being difficult for nothing, there's a better way to get out of Hogwarts without those passageways. Just use the vanishing cabinet on the first floor. It'll bring your to Knockturn Alley and you could use a floo network of the Leaky Cauldron to the Gaunt shack. A floo network is another magical transportation that use fireplace and floo powder that's purchasable with mere sickles so remember to bring some with you. You have to pronounce clearly your destination to not make a mistake."

"What the hell? Since when did Hogwarts had vanishing cabinet and how did I not know of this?"

"It's not much of secret if you have business at Borgin and Burkes."

Sirius made a strangle noise. "It's connected to there?"

"And what is a vanishing cabinet?"

"It works the same way as a two-way mirror, but instead it brings you to where the other pair is, and you don't have to state a name to go there."

"And I just tell Quirrel to cross the cabinet and he will do so willingly?"

"Well, that is for you to figure out how and we to expect you to succeed."

Right, he had not idea how crossing the cabinet and bringing him nocturnally would help anything in getting to a floo network, but he learned since long that wizards liked night and dark more, so whatever.

"You could just stun him and hover him, but maybe use the invisibilty cloak to be discreet."

"That's twice, Sirius, twice you're saying things like we're sharing a secret. Where do I get myself an Invisibility cloak?"

"You don't have the Potter heirloom?! Oh, that's it, that senile old man is going down! It cannot belong to anyone but you! I'm giving him a piece of my mind and you'll get your cloak in no time!"

Once Sirius gone, Cassiopeia exchanged a look with someone outside of frame with narrowed eyes and Harry felt like adding his own piece of mind.

"An invibility cloak that's passed down through generation without being wore out, from what I read? Could it be the Cloak of Invisibility from the Peverell brothers' tale by Beedle the Bard? It's a Potter family heirloom? Wasn't the first owner a Peverell? You said Voldemort also had Peverell's blood, does that mean we're actually related?"

"You only shared a far away ancestor, the Peverell brothers' parents. As you know, Ignotus was the owner of the cloak and, well, Arcturus' saying Cadmus' descendants're the ones that produce this terrorist. Still according to my dear cousin, the Gaunt family's heirloom, the ring, is actually the ressurection stone."

"Wow, so I'm related to the killer of my parents. The world's small. That's probably why I can speak to snakes like Salasar Slytherin."

"We just told you you're not related to him in this way. And you cannot be a parseltongue because you're not related to Slytherin!"

The mirror's passed to Lucretia Prewett, who was frowning at him. "Father said you're a parseltongue thanks to Tom's soul in your scar, since he's the descendant of Slytherin, which you have nothing to do with."

"How's gramp doing?"

Lucretia turned to question to indulge him. "He said it's not because you keep calling him that he will accept you among us." Well, worth a try. "And he's holding it, but really weak. That's why he's staying at Andromeda, to pass the remaining time with Regulus."

Harry nodded as if he understand. Somehow, he did, just not sure of who were those people as Draco didn't talk about the disinherited Black family members (or maybe he was just not aware) and he wouldn't dare to point it out to her, because it wasn't Sirius so he could not snap so easily as she did not owe him anything.

"Alright, so I just have to wait for the cloak and your famous wizard's name so I could go to you at Little Hangleton?"

"That's how it seemed."

"Before hanging up, what if I say I can speak French?" At Lucretia's furrowing brows, Harry clarified: "You said the Black came from France long ago. So you're Francophones."

Lucretia's lips curled up one side. "Most of pureblood families are French speaker, you're not special. But nice try, it's not an easy language."

"Had to impress my muggle family by showing them I'm worthy enough."

He felt unseasy at Lucretia's pitying gaze.

"I'm sure you'll find the people you belong to."

And the contact's cut.

Two days later, by monday morning, Harry woke up with a silky cloth on his bedside table and he knew it was the Cloak of Invisibilty, the Potter family heirloom that he heavily suspected was kept by the headmaster for some reason ("the senile old man").

Now, he had to find a way to corner Quirinus Quirrell. And quick because he just received an uncorporal patronus (in privacy, fortunately) that told him the candidate was chosen.

The chance only presented by the end of the week, after flight class, again.

Before that, he felt compelled to warn professor Snape of few things.

"The dark lord will be back. If your dark mark react, do not answer the call or anything. Don't worry, everything will be fine if we go according to the plan."

By the time the man raised his wand, Harry had his pointed on him and they both watched each other in a dead silence.

"Potter, what?"

Harry had to admit to be impressed of how a quiet voice could sound so distressful, menacing and shocked all in the same time. 

"I know, I felt it in my scar."

And he left it at that. But before actually going, he checked Lucretia Prewett's words and, indeed, most heir from pure-blood family, excluding Crabbe and Goyle, were well-round in French language. Shucks.

So, right after flight class, Kevin and him went to hunt for the dada professor. Not that Kevin knew anything, but he went along after Harry said that he should punish the man that wanted to kill him. So he distracted the man so Harry could stun him from behind then hover the body and hide it under a cloth that turned the whole thing invisible. And though bewilded, he listened to Harry and entered into the cabinet, joking if they were going for Narnia like the saga wrote by C.S.Lewis. Harry only told him that he should stun anyone on the other side, confirming they would come out to another universe. Albeit the truth was less pleasant.

Thankfully, the people on the other side were busy arguing how much should the human bones cost. So Harry ushered his friend to ran to the door and hold it for him while he's still hovering the invisible body, so not actually using magic outside of school as it was a spell cast in progress.

"Okay, so now, we're...in Knockturn Alley, of course. Anyway, it said we could reach the Leaky Cauldron, you know the pub we came in to enter Diagon Alley, from there, so...There! The sign said Diagon Alley centre!"

"Hang on a minute, Harry! Are we outside of Hogwarts?!"

"Yup, so you better not use your wand or the school and the ministry will be noticed."

"And the Ministry of Magic is close by! What were you thinking?!"

"I'll explain later, we're actually tight on time, let's get along. Diagon Alley, then the Cauldron, and act normal when you approach the fireplace."

"You want to use the floo network to go back? You know that all those connected to Hogwarts are sealed."

To avoid answering, Harry made his way through the busy alley while making sure the invisible body was high enough to not touch anyone. Before getting into the pub, he instructed Kevin to buy a handful of floo powder while he waited outside with the body. Finally, they arrived in the pub and shared the powder while trying to act inconscupiuously under the patrons and the owner's eyes.

"Okay, now you use the powder and say Gaunt's shack clearly and just say you're with me once on the other side. Do you want to go first or after me and, you know?"

Considering the fact he had to uncover the body and that would fall loudly once the charm is dispelled, it will attract quite the attention and not sure Kevin would have the time to use the network. So, despise still not knowing what was his friend's plan, he went first by throwing the powder, stepping into the fireplace and prononcing the destination's name clearly. When it was Harry's turn, he stepped into the fireplace, finally let go of his wand and letting the body thud besides him before putting his wand in his inner pocket. He took back the cloak and wrapped it around him, then, one hand clutching the body against him and the other letting go of the handful of powder, prononced: "Gont shack"

Everything twirled and soot swirled around him. He closed belately his eyes and mouth, but still coughed his lungs out once it settled. But him and the possessed professor ended elsewhere than the place planned. And the owner was as shocked as him when he came to check on the ruckus that his coughs were doing.

Now, covered in soot with an unmoving body next to him, Harry wouldn't be surprised if the owner of the place would think of him as burglar and had a disagreement with his accomplice and decked him as result so had to consequently hex him to stop him. And he couldn't stop him because the wizarding world will know he sneak out of Hogwarts, but then that also meant messing up the long prepared plan of the Black and if they didn't want to adopt him, this failure will assuredly made them cut ties with him.

"Harry?"

But he was certainly not expecting that. The man, scarred with worn and patched clothes, was looking at him as if he saw a ghost, but a beloved one, from the unshed tears Harry could see. His own face was streaked of tears thanks to the soot, but the scene looked awkwardly like a reunion and only one reason came to him.

"Let me guess, you know my parents, the Potters?"

The man nodded slowly and swallowed his tears. "Remus Lupin, I was sorted in the same house. You father was really good with me, Harry, and your mother an even better friend."

Harry let the man help him up and dust his cloak that still made part of his body invisible despite his disheveled state. He forgot about Quirrel by his foot, still stunned though, as he repeated what mister Lupin said about his parents.

"Yet, you weren't close enough for you to take care of me."

The man froze, hands still around Harry's.

"I-"

"Maybe the friendship was one-sided like with Pettigrew? Where were you when he betrayed them by slipping their position to Voldemort and Sirius Black recklessly went after the rat and stupidly got framed? If not then, what about after I was dropped at my aunt's doorstep? Or during those ten years before my entrance in the magical world? Were you too grief striken to even think about dropping by for a small talk just to reassure me that my parents weren't freaks or that they didn't die because they were?"

"Harry, did- did Petunia said that? Used these words?"

"What do you think?"

"I- I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were left to your aunt, she may be your last blood relative, she's the last person to raise a wizard child, herself is..."

"Too normal to be a freak? She tried to make me as normal as her. Joke's on her, I ended up so abnormal that even the magical world didn't even want me. Yeah, I'm an Obscurial, I don't have long to live."

That's not true, thanks to the extra soul in the corpse next to them, but Harry was a kid with abandonment issue and he wanted to hurt those people who could have been his guardians if they didn't mess it up somehow.

"Oh, Harry, I'm sorry, I really am. I wanted to see you, even raise you, but professor Dumbledore, my savior, said that with my condition, it could be an issue and he assured me that you'll be staying to a safe place to keep up on the protection Lily put on you."

"Supposedly the blood protection that was her love that also saved my life. Well, congratulation, my magic's messed up, so I won't be useful when Voldemort'll back. What were your condition, anyway?"

"I- I'm a werewolf, Harry. So even if I wanted to, I couldn't take care of you every three days of the month because of the full moon, and I'm not even sure I could financially support you because the magical world is quite harsh against our kind and wouldn't suit our schedule. But it was no reason for not showing at least once, you're right. James helped me so much financially after Hogwarts and I couldn't dropped by to tell you about them. I deeply apologize."

Oh, well, now he felt bad for antagonizing the poor man.

Especially after hearing that he was as alienated by headmaster Dumbledore than Harry was by the Dursley. He hold firmly the man's shaking and scarred hands and realized how he must have suffered all those years alone, thinking about losing two of his friends by the hands of the third before realizing it was the fourth one that betrayed them all by selling one and framing the other. While the poor soul was told by the professor he trusted so much that he was inept to raise a kid because of his health.

"Well, don't worry, I can cast the homorphus charm on you in your next full moons."

"That's...that's a really advanced spell."

"Yeah, I'm quite advanced on my syllabus. Unfortunately, I know it's only a temporary solution, but I guess Sirius could transform into the grim to keep you company as was his reason to be an animagus, right?"

Remus was too emotional to answer verbally and nodded stiffly, letting his tears flow.

Harry helped him wipe the tears away. "Come on, dry those tears, if you want to atone for not being here for me, help me get rid of Voldemort for real."

Remus blinked before looking at the body on his floor that Harry was pointing before turning back to Harry, confused. Harry, because he developped a pleasure to distress people recently, smiled widely like the imp he will be known to be.

"So I don't have any proof, but I'm pretty sure that Voldemort possessed the dada teach. It must be a scar like mine under this turban and- aargh! Well, I was right about the turban, but the truth is actually worse."

"Merlin! Is that a face behind this stunned man's head?"

"So we both see that. Anyway, help me use the floo network, we had to get to the Gaunt Shack in Little Hangleton because the ritual team's waiting for me as I accidentally ended here instead."

"What kind of ritual are you guys doing? And where did you meet them for you to be out of school in the middle of the term?"

"Less talking, more working. I'll explain everything once we're in the shack, where are you floo powder? Ah, here, so I throw them and you said our destination while gripping tightly at us, alright? Good."

And it was better with other people but Harry, weird. By the time they're finally arrived, the Blacks and Kevin were arguing about his lateness.

"I can't believe this place used to be so bewitched no one could accessed it. To say it was Mundungus Fletcher of all people who broke all the spells."

"Well, the petty criminal was part of the Order of Phoenix and though I'm not really keen on defending Dumbledore, sometimes his decision are made through some consideration."

"Those are mighty words, Sirius."

Sirius' gasped. "Remus! And Harry, finally!"

"Yeah, sorry, looked like I made a mistake and the floo network took me to another shack instead of the Gaunt."

"How? I told you to prononce it correctly."

"Well, you try managing a corpse and throw the powder and prononce your destination at the same time!"

"Just say your Obscurial status made you inept."

"Gramps! I'm hurt!"

"Good, you made lose us so much time. Now, you and all those not doing the ritual, out. There's still the negociation to go through if he woke up fast."

Though not understanding much, Remus followed the two students outside after Harry went to take the wand of Quirrell, in case of urgency and he had to defend against the dementor who was also outside with a pink clothed witch that had a cat patronus to keep the dark creature under her control.

"Anyway, who was the super blond wizard? He was quite handsome, even unconscious," Harry commented. Or lifeless, not that he will tell them that.

Both Kevin and Remus looked dazzly at him, probably still waiting for the explanation he promised. Kevin, not one to disappoint, shook off the distraught and told him what he glean from Sirius while the brunette that Harry didn't know, Andy or Andromeda Tonks, was calming the others three Blacks who were hostile to muggleborn.

"He's Gilderoy Lockhart, a famous globetrotter author with amazing feats. But it was apparently scam, he stole the experiences of the actuals achievers and wipe their memories to take all the glory. And he's a half-blood, it looked pretty important for those people."

"For what?" Remus whispered so the frog-looking witch won't pay them any mind.

"For you-know-who's new body."

Both Kevin and Remus looked at him as if a second head spout out of his shoulder. Harry checked, just to be sure.

"Well, he was possessing Quirrell and wrongly, just to find the Philosopher's stone to acquire the elixir of life hidden in the castle, meaning to prolonge his life. But Lockhart is young, he is, right?"

"He's five years younger than us, your parents, Sirius and me, and sorted into Ravenclaw."

"Ok, so around 25. Young, we shall all agree. You-know-who is around 70, from what I got, so once we give him a new young body, his goal of immortality is sort of sorted. About his goal of purity of wizardkind, it has to change, because himself is a half-blood, but we've decided to let him govern if he accepted the terms we gave him."

"You want him to overthrow the actual minister?!" Remus whisper-yelled with incredulity.

Kevin widened his eyes, clearly lost by all this political plan.

"Well, I heard Cornelius Fudge is a joke, and you-know-who happened to have been a bright Slytherin student with great achievement and Gaunt blood, whatever that meant. With some luck, the Blacks managed to make him reflect on his unfulfillable dream of subjuguing the world to be ruled by magic and let him rule the wizarding world thanks to his new charm and look and changed the world in a more effective way."

"What about this lady?"

"I have not a single idea, I was late, remember?"

"What about professor Quirrell?"

"Well, he shall keep teaching dada since you-know-who will lift the jinx he put on the position, right?"

"You're asking me?"

"Quirrell will resign by the end of the school year," a nice tenor voice rumbled with authority from the door of the shack.

Gilderoy Lockhart's body stepped out and looked at each of them with arrogance that fit well on his features. He then lift his wand, probably the one belonging to the body, and cast a wordless spell on the witch who was looking at him with amazement that morphed to shock before she went completely wimp.

"Did you just cast an imperius curse on her?" Came Sirius' voice.

No one paid attention to him as both Remus and Harry pointed their wand on the dementor who was now free of nice memories torment. It glided toward them, and Kevin crumbled down in whimper while a wolf patronus tried to chase out the creature. Harry's uncorporal patronus did almost nothing so Harry bodily disarmed (because he didn't know the magical way yet) the subjugated witch and force-gave the wand to Kevin so he could at least try too before summoning all the pleasant thoughts. The students gaping look during Halloween's feast, their shock at the Quidditch match upon seeing his Obscurus, MacGonagall's consecutives gasps, Remus' distraught look (that he kind of regret now) and the Black's incredulity to most of his answers.

A huge snake patronus ejected out of the wand he borrowed from Quirrell and assaulted the dementor. It snaked around it and although both looked pretty intangibles, the snake was crushing the death-looking creature with his whirlwind of power. Remus' wolf was as much an observant as its master.

"Admirable, I have to say, Potter."

"Why, thank you, Tom Riddle, sir. Bet you could not do that."

Tom Riddle in Gilderoy Lockhart's body hissed menacingly. It wasn't in parseltongue, though. "Marvolo Gaunt," he snapped viciously before flashing his eyes red.

And so in this day, a week before December, Tom Riddle a.k.a Voldemort reborn in the soulless body of one Gilderoy Lockhart in the name of Marvolo Gaunt like his grandfather.

Harry glanced at the dementor, still clutched by his snake like a rat, before looking through "Marvolo Gaunt" the second to Sirius. The named Andromeda was the only one next to him, with all the heirloom in her hands.

"Sure, whatever you say, mr Riddle. So, do we have a deal?"

"If you call me that once again, I will tear you down. Otherwise, we have a deal once I make this malicious woman to Azkaban."

"Without wand? I mean except this one who does fit you, and your soul because that how it works, since the one I'm using isn't really the best. But anyway, what did this witch do for you, of all people to send her to Azkaban?"

"Dolores Umbridge?" Andromeda Tonks finally spoke up. "She was a nasty Slytherin in Regulus' year. I never actually met or interact with her and thankfully, but Narcissa told me bits about a dumb woman like her. She climbed her way through the ministry by discarding her father and pretending to be pureblood by having no relation with him. And passing cruel laws against half-breed and all the others creatures. Though, it pains me to agree with this new person, she should be send to Azkaban, or better yet be kissed, and that's probably why they chose her to do their bidding while promising her that bringing you back will assure her great future but she can cast the patronus charm."

"Not at the moment. But I don't care about her misdeed or her dreams, for that matter. I only want her to exchange place with someone there. Bellatrix."

"This sicko? She literally cruciod with three other people the Longbottoms to insanity to interrogate them about you-"

Tom, no, Marvolo Gaunt cackled, cutting Sirius down. "Exactly. She's the only one loyal to me. Besides lord Black said I should be thinking of my heritage and prosper the Gaunt bloodline. And better to do it with someone of the Black family, a reknown pureblood family."

"And also a lot of inbreeding."

And what the hell about the Longbottoms? No wonder the Slytherin adviced him to not talk to Neville about his parents, they're no able to speak at all, less to him.

"Wouldn't it be quickly discovered, though? She does not look like Bella," Andromeda pointed out.

"Who cares. She will bring the dementor back to Azkaban where she stole it, exchange place with Bella and be kissed for all I care. Oh, but after she grilled Wormtail of the emplacement of my wand. Once I ascended as minister, I'll just bury the case."

Remus eventually spoke up after being shocked for too long since the dark mage now in a new body explain his plan. "And you think you will be elected?"

"Why, of course. I have the support of the lord Black, the Crouch as I understand that Barty jnr actually got freed by his loving father and kept under imperius, and all my former followers who all hold a place in the wizengamot."

Harry's really glad to have warn Severus Snape beforehand.

"Alright, good for you, but I can't let Bellatrix, the sicko as Sirius called, be free without consequence. She ruined the life of a woman who could have been a good mother like you did to mine. And since mrs Longbottom's still alive and Bellatrix will be free and supposedly sane, she have to give up on her mind and exchange it with Neville's mother."

He was a little ashamed to not know her name, but covered it up quite good by his fair condition.

"And how do you intend to do it?"

"Well, I thought there could be a ritual for that too. And lord Black would agree, right? Neville's mother's a pureblood and a better option than Bellatrix."

"Yes, Alice was a Fawley. And I guess it would be one healed patient for Ted."

Sirius squeezed his cousin's shoulder and both thought about this Ted.

"Ah, Fawley, good fellow, though those who followed me didn't survive, I heard. Well, I guess that feasible, it would be annoying to entertain a pregnant woman, if she's mindless, it'd be easier to discard her once she put the child in the world."

"But wouldn't it impact on the newborn baby? I mean, the lack of lucidity." Or brain cell.

"Who cares, it's only for my next receptacle, preferably a boy."

"Oh wow, merciless. But I have another condition and a question. You said, Quirrell will resign as dada professor at the end of the year, why?"

"He'll have to assume the role of Gilderoy Lockhart, of course. He will keep globetrotting under this very name but doing so with his own volition."

"So, you're not interested in the position anymore?"

"None whatsoever."

"Then, the position won't be jinxed. And anyone could be hired and assure the role for a long time. Good, good. How about once you became minister, you change the history professor? Having an apathetic ghost for teacher is unsupportive. And having a change in the syllabus and teach about ministry and st. mungo right from first year? And for muggle studies' syllabus, how about inviting squib and include them more?"

"Why do you care about these all?"

"For Neville who thought he was a squib, for the Black squib. But mostly for Filch, I guess, man's pitiful."

"Fine. I do enjoyed my time at Hogwarts, even considering it my true home, hence my purpose to apply for dada teacher, as dark arts were my second favorite thing." Wow, the total opposite of Harry, who thought Hogwarts as the place that took out the one place he could have seen as house. "And anything else?"

"In fact, one last thing, would it be possible to take out one's magic?"

Suddenly, everything tensed, even Kevin who was struggling to breath and eat the chocolate Remus was giving him as it will help. Both Sirius and Andromeda blanched, while already pale by nature. Only Vold- Marvolo remained impassible, and his slave, too, and raised an intrigued brow.

"No, that's not possible other than to kill the wizard."

And considering the fact he had another of Voldemort' horcrux in his scar that slow his Obscurial terminal's condition, it won't be any time soon.

"Well, I guess we did the tour, we can part there! Remus, could you get professor Quirrell, we had to go back to Knocturn Alley. Where are the Black family?"

"They had to go first, uncle Arcturus wasn't feeling well after the ritual."

Well, not ominous at all.

So Marvolo ordered a controlled Umbitch to cast her patronus to keep the dementor distracted by her cat (with Kevin giving back the wand) and disapparated with the Gaunt ring including the resurrection stone. Andromeda handed the three founders' heirloom to Harry who showed them to Kevin by saying how's he's going to abuse the power of the diadem and read all the books in the library and even the restricted section by bullying Snape to give permission of access while both Sirius and Remus had a secretive reunion in retriving a teacher's body. Eventually, Andromeda left them all, having to go back to her family and prepare dinner while Remus used the floo network with Kevin and Harry who also took the diary (for future reference) to the Cauldron with the little powder left for them and will be joining Sirius who apparated Quirrell to Knockturn Alley.

Days passed and the news of this last member of Gaunt family apparing from Albania spread, supposedly Morfin Gaunt's secret love affair with an Albanian pureblood.

Needless to say, Albus Dumbledore was appaled and even more so when, through general vote, the man became the new minister due the ministry being too worried of the dispearance of the Senior undersecretary to do his work, which position got taken by Alecto Carrow. It became even more worrisome when all those who voted pro were suspects for being death eaters, plus lord Black. Anyway, both Fudge and Crouch snr. got overthrown and sent to Azkaban for life sentence, because the latter actually freed his death eater son by exchanging his wife's corpse to pass it for his son and used an unforgivable curse to keep him in check, making the public believe his death eater son passed while in Azkaban (like Morfin Gaunt). So now, Crouch jnr. was working in the ministry as a remplacement for his father!

Harry wished he could have taken his title already so it could have counted lord Potter's vote too, just to shake the manipulative old man even more.

Or even have seen him when Severus Snape showed him the darken dark mark, proof of the dark lord's return and having summoned a reunion he ignored. Except, the dark lord did not return as dark wizard but as civilian with a high position that not even the order of merlin and chief warlock big mugwump could do anything against if it's legal and fair! 

Then, before winter's holiday, Neville Longbottom received the miraculous news of his mother regaining lucidity, though being lost as if thown into the future. Needless to say, he went home for Christmas to build a relationship with dear Alice Longbottom.

Of course, Harry spent the holidays with the Entwhistle, discovering they're really satanic for their son's sake, though he went out quite a lot to purchase potion ingredients so both him and Kevin could get advanced in curriculum too. Especially the wolfsbane potion as he met Sirius and Remus a lot as both are living together at Sirius' temporary place, somewhere in grim and old place, in London. 

He rejected their offer to adopt him because while he wanted to belong, he wasn't ready to forgive them yet for abandonning him for ten years. And if he was adopted by either of them, he still wouldn't be a Black as Sirius was disinherited. To be completly honest, he wanted a house to go back, even to people that didn't want him as the Blacks made it loud and clear, what he wanted was a home and a family that accepted him wholly and not raising him by duty nor did he want to bother those who didn't have the mind of ability to accept him.

Aunt Petunia did it for her late sister's sake. The Entwhistle were muggles, the Weasley could not afford despite Ron's words that he repeated from his mom (he suspected it's to expiate for sheltering the traitor Pettigrew). And serisouly (no pun intended), Serius just got out of the worst wizard prison that existed (never mind his claim of being fine because he was an animagus) and Remus was a werewolf as he stated and they still had to mend their relationship as they each suspected the other ten years ago (meaning their relationship wasn't that close to come to that, hopefully living together from now would change it) and Sirius had to take care of someone named Regulus on top of it all.

He latched onto the Blacks because they were load, old and already crazy enough to not judge him. He didn't need two dysfunctional adults who saw him the copy of his late parents because he's his own and alone.

So, no, Harry still didn't have a home to go back for the summer.