Chapter 20 Poor Sirius

Harry's POV

Harry made it back to the castle just as the bell rang to let out the last class of the day. He hurried to the Entrance Hall, stood on a windowsill, and waited for his friends to show. They should be coming for study time. He watched the crowd, and internally groaned at the attention he was getting. 'I can't wait for someone to break up with someone, then all this attention would be off me,' he thought unpleasantly. Yeah, it wasn't a nice thought, but really didn't these people better things to than to stare at him?

The student body was still debating on this new Harry; some said he was an arsehole, others stated he was a rebel. So there was still a lot of gossip about him, complete with finger pointing and whispers. There were the occasional snide remarks, which he promptly ignored or flipped off the offenders. He did nicely acknowledge those who waved to him and called his name, wishing that he remembered theirs, so he could hail them back. But, they seemed okay with a nod of the head, and a wink to the females.

Many of those girls giggled and ran away, when he smiled and winked at them. He wondered what that was all about, as he perused their fleeing figures. He noticed that even though there wasn't much in the way of physical exercise around here, barring all those damn stairs, most of the girls were trim and slender. And very sexy, if anyone wanted his opinion. He had to wonder if it was the use of magic that burned off the fat and calories. Given what they had been served so far, more people should be pudgy like Neville. Maybe the shy boy didn't use as much magic, and with his low self-confidence it was possible. Then again, Sirius said he'd get fat and lazy if he didn't walk now and again. He'd have to do some research, but he felt he was on to something.

'Mr. Spock, add that to the databank,' Picard ordered in his head. Harry now knew he wouldn't forget.

"Harry," came the exasperated voice of Hermione, breaking him from his thoughts. "Where were you at lunch? We were so worried." She stood in front of him with her hands on her hips, looking like she was going to start yelling if he didn't give her a good answer.

"I was with an adult," he told her in a firm tone that said 'drop it'. She didn't need to know what he did with his day. The answer he had given her should appease her enough that she shouldn't ask more. He was wrong.

"Oh? Who?" she asked with a tilt of her head. She was sure he had snuck out and gone to London, but did one of the professors take him? Surly the new Harry wouldn't want that. He really didn't like the staff that he had met so far. But, perhaps it was one of the teachers he hadn't met, like Professor Flitwick or Professor Sprout. She didn't think he'd be rude to those overly nice people. It was hard to tell with this new personality. She did miss the old Harry, but was getting to like this new one. Still, it was hard to reconcile the two in her mind.

"Honestly, Hermione, that's all you need to know," our hero stated with a glare. 'Did everyone have a friend that argued with them all the time?' he wondered to himself. He would really have to hate to dump her. She was actually a nice person, when she wasn't being bossy. That and she was one of his dates to whatever function the staff had dreamed up for this year. Which was another reason he would stick around for a while. He didn't want to disappoint the ladies.

"As you can see, Harry is just fine," Luna's voice cut in, stopping the argument before it started. "Did you have fun with your dogfather?" she asked dreamily as she sidled up to his side. He jumped from the windowsill and put his arm around her, making her sigh happily.

Hermione opened her mouth to start haranguing, until Neville elbowed her to stop. He agreed with Harry, she didn't need to know. Moreover, here was not the place. She turned her glare to him, and was met with a matching stare. She cringed a bit at the look he was sending her way. He never did that before, and he looked like he could put her in her place without blinking. Yeah, a lot had changed since Harry came back.

"Yeah, we had a great time, and I got some books that'll help with that little project you set me up with," Harry answered Luna with a wink and a smile. He really liked this slip of a girl. She kept him calm with her airy questions and statements. Her whole aura just oozed tranquility, which he immersed in whenever he could. He still didn't know if they could have more, but he'd bask in the friendship, until he figured it out.

"What project?" the know-it-all asked, bouncing on her toes, which once again caused the two male teens to look down. 'Maybe if I quit nagging, he'll tell me,' she thought, then blushed and stopped bouncing when she noted where those eyes were. 'Perverts.'

"Just something that me and Luna are experimenting with," he said with a wave of his hand as he returned his gaze to her face. "However, you're more than welcome to read the books, after I'm done with them." She was a smart girl; perhaps, she would suss it out on her own. It wasn't his fault that she doubted Luna.

"Fine," the bushy-haired witch harrumphed, seeing she wasn't going to get better answers. "Although, you really should be paying more attention to your school studies," she scolded, only to be met with a bland look. She turned and marched into the Great Hall and took a seat at her normal spot. She then pulled out her books and started to read, grumbling all the while.

"Don't worry, Harry," Neville said, clapping him on the back. "She'll either learn to accept that she doesn't need know everything, or die disappointed." He didn't care what Harry studied, as long as he kept his promise to help him learn to be a great wizard. He had flipped through that book the other boy had lent him, and was impressed with the fact that it was written by Merlin. He was especially glad that the translation spell was still on it. He now had a start on what his friend was going to teach him, and he couldn't wait.

"Well, that's a bit morbid but accurate," the dark-haired wizard agreed as he made it to the seat across from his angry friend, Luna sitting next to him and Neville by Hermione. He dropped his arm and pulled the Wiccan books from his TARDIS pocket and started to read.

They studied for a little while with Harry getting strange looks over his reading material. The bright colored covers and the non-moving pictures of scantly clothed women praising the moon drew a lot of attention. Most wizards and witches didn't know what Wicca was, so they had no clue that they were passing up a different type of magic. 'Their loss,' he thought as he caught a whisper.

Harry learned that the religion was all about keeping your cool and not hurting anyone, while attempting to do magic. 'And harm it none, do what you will' was their motto. Well, there was a longer creed, but it was mostly boiled down to that one sentence. They used ritual spells to help others, or improve their own lives. Some of those ceremonies were bizarre. Really, dancing naked in the moonlight, chanting to dead deities and the elements was a bit much. 'Still naked women,' he thought as his mind wandered.

Our hero shook his head and disregarded those titillating thoughts, for now. They were something he might research later, since they truly believed that is where they got their powers from. He wanted to learn to meditate using new approaches that could improve his mindscape and let him feel the ambient magic in the air. The book he was reading right now was on aura reading. It was telling him how to get in touch with the magic around people and feel their aura. He closed his eyes for a moment did that with Luna, and once again felt the tranquility he felt earlier. This might not be as hard as the author was suggesting.

There were two suggested meditations in this book. The mirror technique seemed like it could trap you, if you weren't careful, so he put that away for now. The candle one seemed like a good start. He'd have to do it in a non-flammable area, just in case his magic made the flame flare. He was still learning how to harness it, given how the whole skunk fiasco played out.

Speaking of Ron, he subtly glanced at the redhead and noted that there was only a small space around him, so the stink must be mostly gone. He did see that the black and white hues were still there, albeit washed-out. He was glad that the jinx was fading. He really felt bad for the boys that had to bunk with him. He chuckled under his breath, and turned back to his studying.

He put the aura book away and pulled out a ritual book. After a few minutes, he was really getting into it. Perhaps, he could convince a few girls to dance in the moonlight, sans clothes. For a spell, of course. Shaking his head from those thoughts, which he had to say were very distracting, he read more.

Sirius' POV

Meanwhile, Sirius was walking down the streets of Hogsmeade, relishing the freedom of not being recognized. He looked everywhere, as if he were a third year and in the village for the first time. He was just about to go into the clothing store, which advertised a new line of clothes with Harry's name on it, when he realized he had no money. Cursing to himself, he turned to The Three Broomsticks, and after waving to the always lovely Rosmerta, who gave him a queer look, he used the Floo to the Leaky Cauldron.

Using his stolen wand to get into Diagon Alley, he made his way to Gringotts, once more basking in being able to walk down a busy sunlit street unmolested. He spotted an Auror, who was probably there to catch him, and didn't even blink. The guy looked right past him, which made him break out into a huge smile. This was quite a prank on the DMLE. He'd have to tell Harry all about it.

The two goblins in front of the bank bowed and opened the door. He nodded back, as was proper, and made his way to the nearest empty teller and glanced at the nameplate. "Hello, Steelblade, I'd like to see Shockhorn if I could," he said, when the goblin acknowledged him.

"Shockhorn is the Black Family Account Manager. Judging from your hair and eyes, you are not a Black," Steelblade growled. "Or you are under a disguise, which we greatly frown upon," he added, narrowing his beady black eyes at the fact that the wards didn't warn him.

"I have little recourse except to come as I am," Sirius said, hoping the goblin realized who he was by that vague statement. In the past it was always night when he came, without a disguise, and to a mostly empty bank. One more shady looking character, whose hood was up, was always disregarded by the night dwellers.

"We shall see. Snarlfist!" the teller shouted.

"You bellowed?" the little being asked from Sirius' elbow, making the young looking man jerk.

He wondered where this one came from. 'Sneaky little critters, these goblins,' he thought.

"Here is another one for a blood test," Steelblade growled, pointing his gnarled finger at the twitching man. "Find out who he is, and how he got past our sensor wards. If he is who I think he is, and swears an oath, then take him so Shockhorn. If he is not, kill him," he snarled, making Sirius very glad he wasn't lying.

"Follow me, human," Snarlfist deadpanned as he turned to the same door Harry went through to take his test.

Sirius fretted. He was worried that Harry's glamor might be a little too complete. He really didn't trust his magic to get him out of trouble. The spells he had used since he stole the wand were weak. This made him more determined to learn his godson's brand of magic. He hated that this whole thing was making him feel emasculated; he used to be stronger than this.

Damn the bloody Ministry and the fucking Dementors for making him feel pathetic. He made a vow to himself to become the man he used to be. He squared his shoulders, like the Gryffindor he was, and followed the goblin to the room, grabbed the knife with a firm hand, and took the test, making sure to wipe the blood on his robes. When the numbers of his four vaults appeared, he silently sighed in relief. A bit too soon.

"Come with me, Black," the goblin said and went to another room.

The glamored man followed the tiny creature. When he got to the door, he felt magic wash over him, but he remained the same.

In the room was a small table with four wooden chairs. There were swords and axes along the wall and stuffed heads of magical creatures. 'Was that a werewolf?' the dogman thought, hoping it really wasn't. It takes a skilled hunter to kill a one of those in that form. There was the same warning that was written on the entrance on the back wall. The fugitive knew that if they could get away with it, there would be human heads decorating those walls. Goblins really didn't like thieves.

"Tell me, Black, how did you defeat the Thief's Downfall?" Snarlfist asked as he pulled a wicked looking blade from his belt. He started to clean his long black fingernails and glared menacingly at the man.

"I didn't do it, someone else did," Sirius quickly defended himself, holding up his hands in surrender. Then he felt the tug of the promise he had made, and lied, "I can't tell you more, I'm under oath." He worried that he might have to break his promise. He was sure Harry would understand if it was to save his life.

Snarlfist snarled and slammed his knife on the table, disappointed that he wouldn't get torture anyone− today. Trying to get information for someone under a vow was pointless. They usually died before telling anything. He sat on one side of the table, and then waved his spindly hand to the chair opposite. "Tell me what you can, and we will see about seeing Shockhorn. I want an oath that you will not use this new magic to rob Gringotts." His toothy grin didn't make Sirius feel any more comfortable, though he didn't show it.

"I can't tell much, but from what I understand, they actually turned me into my younger self, and changed my hair and eyes. This is not a glamor as much as it is a transfiguration or morphing," he said as he sat, making sure to not mention Harry's name.

"Hmmm, do you mind if I study it? We don't want people to be able to come into the bank in such a disguise," the tiny being asked, rubbing his pointed beard in thought. It was imperative that this magic be known to the goblin nation. The Downfall was supposed to be foolproof; being able to trick it was bad for business.

Black thought about it for a second as his eyes roamed the heads on the walls. He firmly nodded his consent, thinking it would do no harm.

The goblin waved his hand in front of the human's body to try and get a feel for the magic. His brow furrowed as he concentrated on what he was seeing. There was a great deal of raw magic involved in this 'glamor', but he couldn't see an actual spell used. He narrowed his eyes as something clicked in his head. The other person wasn't using spells, he was doing intent magic. Much like his own people did. There was little that could be done to reverse it, only the caster could. However, it can be detected by wards, if they were retuned to human intent magic. He had enough to give to the warders.

He nodded and stopped the spell. "Your oath," he said, picking up the knife once more and twirling it in his hands. There would be an oath, or this man would not leave this room alive.

"I, Sirius Orion Black, do solemnly swear that I am not here to rob Gringotts, and will not in the future. Furthermore, I will never tell anyone outside of Gringotts about this magic, unless they take a similar vow," the dogman recited firmly, making sure to add that loophole, and holding up his stolen wand. A dim light flared and sunk into his body, binding him to that oath and the promise he had made Harry.

"I will take you to Shockhorn now," Snarlfist stated, getting up from his chair and replacing his blade on his belt.

Sirius subtly wiped his brow; that was close. He had no idea what they did with thieves, and he never wanted to find out. His eyes went to the head of the werewolf once again, and he shuddered.

They made their way to another set of doors that led to a long hall lined with more doors, which the disguised man had walked many times before. They came to a stop in front of a door that had the Black crest on it.

Snarlfist knocked, and then entered. "Mr. Black is here to see you. Be warned, he is under a disguise, but he passed the blood test."

"The Thief's Downfall?" the old goblin behind the desk asked, tapping his knotty finger on the desk and wondering how a glamored human made it this far into the bank alive. The medium sized room looked like any other business office. The walls were lined with books and scrolls, and a large metal and wooden desk sat against the back wall with two matching, red cushioned chairs set in front of it.

"This is a new form of magic, and it fooled the Downfall," Snarlfist said blandly. "I have studied it, and it will soon be incorporated into the wards," he assured the older goblin.

"Very well, show him in."

Snarlfist waved the young looking man in, and Sirius took a seat on one of the chairs in front of the large desk. "Shockhorn," he greeted with more confidence, at least he knew this goblin.

"Black," the goblin returned as he waved his hand to see this new magic. He too was impressed. "I have to say that is a fine bit of magic. Tell me how you accomplished such a feat." He leaned forward on his desk, his hands folded over some important looking documents.

"All I can tell you is that it was someone else, and they are the only person who can break it. I've already given an oath that I will not rob Gringotts— ever. All I wanted was some money to play with," the poor man whinged, really put out that his glamor would cause so much trouble.

"Oh, Mr. Black, you have much more to do, now that you can come freely to the bank," Shockhorn said with faux sweetness as he got up and went to one of the bookshelves. He pulled down a tome that was almost as large as him, and carried it to the desk. He thumped it down in front of the fugitive and smiled a toothy smile and said, "Let's get your accounts in order, shall we?"

Sirius, who just wanted to get his leg over, groaned and banged his head on the very large book. "Shite." He wasn't going to be picking up any women today.

Harry's POV

The kids had been studying for about an hour, when Harry remembered something. "Hermione, tell me why the word 'Polyjuice' jiggles my memories," he said questioningly.

She looked up from her DADA book, and got a thoughtful look on her face. "Oh, well, you see, we sort of used it in our second year. It's a potion that lets you mimic someone else, if you add their… essence. Like hair or fingernails," she quickly reiterated at the disgusted look on our hero's face. "Bad choice of words, sorry. Anyway, it takes forever to brew. You and Ron were convinced that Malfoy was the Heir of Slytherin, and wanted to catch him talking about it. You boys took the potion, I think you were Crabbe, and the two of you snuck into their common room," she hedged in a whisper, making Harry lean over the table to hear her. She didn't want to tell that she had been stuck as a hybrid cat person for two weeks. "You did find out that he didn't know anything," she added.

"Ewww, really, I drank that shite?" he inquired with grimace on his face as he did a full body shudder. He still didn't remember, but if he was getting nudges there was hope.

"Well, the whole school was sure it was you that was petrifying people, even though you were friends with me. They were shunning you and running away in the halls. You just wanted to get the attention off of yourself," she explained, not even reprimanding his language. See she could learn.

"What were the teachers doing about it?" he asked blandly, pretty much sure of the answer.

"Well, nothing really," she stuttered, not wanting to give him more reason to hate and distrust the staff, but she didn't want to lie to him either. "However, I think they were unsure as to if it was you or not," she finished, hoping that would ward off his anger.

Harry scoffed, "Typical," and went back to his reading. One more nail in that coffin. They were quiet after that and soon it as time for dinner. So they all put their books away and settled to talk of non-important things.

Harry looked to the Staff Table and brought up his map to cover his right lens. He read the names of the teachers and wondered why Bartemius Crouch Jr. was teaching, and what he taught. He was also confused as to why the man looked older than his father. He remembered Senior telling him he had to compete in the stupid tournament. With the discussion he just had, there was a chance that this guy was an imposter, but he didn't want to accuse anyone of anything without proof. He was just about to ask a few questions, when his proximity ward went into Yellow Alert. There was an adult coming.

Sirius' POV

Hours later, Sirius finally stumbled from the bank to a mostly empty Alley. He cursed the goblins with every fiber of his being. He rubbed his aching right hand, and wandered down the street to the Leaky Cauldron. He went to the alley behind it, and Apparated to the outskirts of the Shrieking Shack. He was far too tired to pick up a bird. He somehow made it to the bed he was using, and waved off Winky when she asked if he wanted dinner. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow. He dreamed of goblins coming after him with rubber hoses, and beating Harry's name out of him. No, poor Sirius had not had a good day.