15

Chapter 14

Harry and his Hounds portkeyed into bedlam. The children were wailing for Mama Andrews, Marcel was focused on healing Greg - who was in a more precarious position than he had indicated to the teen's family, Daniel was sitting in shock, still covered in his brother's blood, and Captain was pacing wildly and swearing all sorts of vengeance and retribution that should never be overheard by little ears.

Harry looked around, and sighed. Catching Connor's eye, he noted that his protégé was the calmest of all the children, and had a sobbing Elise settled in his lap. Offering a small smile, he nodded in approval. Returning his attention to the room at large, he quickly assessed what needed to be done.

"Sergei, take Captain into another room and give him a stiff drink. Alex, take the children into the media room and set them up with a light hearted movie, then arrange them snacks and hot chocolate with extra marshmallows. Lace it with a Calming Draft." He glanced at his watch. "Give them warm drinks after dinner as well, but lace that with Dreamless Sleep. I don't want any disturbances tonight if we can avoid it."

He waited until his men had done their jobs, then snapped his fingers to summon his personal elf. Looking down at the little creature, he smiled faintly at how much better he appeared.

All the elves had been terrified and filthy when Alex had bought them, but Harry refused to let that stand. His first order to all of them was to wash themselves thoroughly, and don a proper protective uniform. They now all wore jackets and pants or skirt depending on gender, and sturdy protective shoes. The breast of each jacket was marked with Harry's house crest, done in carefully detailed embroidery - something that each elf had reverently stitched themselves by hand. They had decided on their own to add variations in the uniform to denote their assignments. Those at The Nest wore slate grey uniforms, the elves for The Haunt wore an ash grey shot with shimmering threads that gave them a faintly ghost-like appearance, and his personal elf wore all black - without an emblem, given Harry's many alias's. The elf had even deciding to add black gloves to his ensemble, and seemed to enjoy how intimidating his outfit looked compared to the other elves.

"Master?" The little elf stood in a military at ease position, clearly copied from Alex and Captain.

"Jinky, I need you to clean the blood from this room as quickly as possible, and if you can do it without being seen, any blood you find coming up the front path as well. The elves here are busy drugging my wards and cooking for everyone." Harry's words were kind, if somewhat brisk, his mind already on how to track down the bastard that dared to touch one of his.

"Jinky can, Master." The little elf practically vibrated with excitement at being able to do something for Harry, the creature's workload being fairly light. He disappeared with a soft pop.

Harry strode to the infirmary, coming to stop next to the blood soaked and blankly staring Daniel.

"Marcel?" He questioned softly, not wanting to disturb the Healer if he was in the middle of something delicate.

The Healer hummed in acknowledgement, finishing up his current spell with a rather pretty twirl that settled a lilac coloured glow over Greg's prone form. Finished, he turned to his young employer, and only then seemed to realise that Daniel was still in the room. "Oh dear. He's gone into shock." Wrapping a warm blanket around the boy, he cast a warming charm as well, followed by a switching spell to get him into a set of stripy pyjamas. The blood soaked clothes were put into a bag and sealed, since he suspected that Vahan had every intention of utilizing one of the forensic experts he had on Vahan's payroll to go over them, just in case. He poured a half dose of Calming Draught into a cup, and topped it off with Dreamless Sleep, tipping it unceremoniously down the boy's throat.

Harry cast him a mildly irritated look, but said nothing.

"Don't look at me like that. He wasn't going to be able to tell you anything in this state anyway. He needs to sleep, and you can pick his brains all you like in the morning."

Working together, they put the now unconscious boy into an infirmary cot, tucking him in securely and adding extra warming charms.

"What's the prognosis for Greg?" Harry asked quietly, standing next to the still softly glowing teen.

Marcel heaved a sigh. "Honestly, if he makes it through tonight, he'll be fine."

Harry scowled. "If."

The Healer nodded sadly. "His attacker was a pro. Slipped the knife between his ribs, damaging the spleen and nicking his stomach. Poor Greg nearly bled out from the damage to his spleen before I had a chance to patch him up. I almost had to remove it. The stomach wound was much more mild, but a small amount of stomach acid leaked, so there is a high chance of infection. I've stabilized him for now, but it's going to be a bit touch and go for the next twelve hours."

"He's tough. He'll pull through." Harry stated with quiet confidence, gently brushing a lock of hair off the boy's forehead.

Marcel grunted in agreement, stretching and popping his back. "So what's the plan?"

"Are you able to leave him for the moment?" Harry sighed, walking towards the door to marshal his troops.

Marcel cast a quick monitoring charm on both boys, and then followed Harry into the study, where the other three men were waiting.

"Alright, what do we know?" Harry settled himself behind his desk, green eyes glittering.

Sergei shifted. "Tammy, Greg, and Daniel were out shopping for Christmas presents for the kids. A man approached them when they were near the emergency exit, and injected Tammy with something that knocked her out. Daniel was knocked out when he tried to attack the man, and Greg was knifed attempting the same. The guy definitely knew what he was doing. Clear entry, contact, and exit plan."

"And we got all this from?"

"I called in a favour. A buddy of mine hacked the store's security camera."

"So we have a picture?"

Sergei nodded. "It's being sent to the drop point, along with a copy of the film and anything else he was able to dig up. I'll be collecting it when he notifies me it's there."

"Good. Any ideas who might be behind this?" Harry's face was hard, for all that his voice was deceptively mild.

"There are a few possibilities. A few of the gangs we haven't assimilated yet have been rumbling about taking you down a peg, but none that have access to a pro like this, and there was nothing solid enough to send up alarm bells. I think we should be looking for a rival about your level or higher, trying to send a message."

"Ok. You know what to do to hunt this dead man down, you don't need me to walk you through it. Just bring me the results. I want both of you on this for as long as it takes. Captain, I know you want to run with the Hounds, but I need you here for the moment. Daniel and Greg are both going to need your support, and I need someone on security. I'll look after the kids and run their lessons, trying to keep as close to their usual schedule as possible. Check back with each piece of information, and keep an eye out. I don't want to risk losing anyone else, especially not now."

Everyone nodded and stood, making their way out.

"Marcel," Harry called, stopping the exhausted healer before he could escape. "How's Bradshaw doing?"

Scrubbing his hands over his face, Marcel sat back down in the chair facing the desk. "He'll wake up any time now. His injuries are all fully healed, and he doesn't seem to have any neurological damage, but it's hard to tell until he's surfaced."

"Does Connor know?" Harry tilted his head inquisitively.

"I haven't said anything, though I do encourage him to talk to Marcus whenever he visits. I'm hoping it will encourage him to fight his way back to us."

"Alright. I know it's early, but get something to eat and get some rest. This has all the markers of a messy situation, and I'm going to need you in top form and the infirmary overstocked, just in case."

It was only after he'd left that Harry realised that it was only four days until Christmas.

She sat back from the monitor, pensive. This could very well be her in, but it wasn't without a large degree of risk, and it was only too likely that she would be blamed for it occurring in the first place if she approached now.

Chewing her lip thoughtfully, she took a swig of her cola, and glanced around her tiny bedsit, eyes skimming over the shabby furnishings and absurd amount of paper and computer parts littering the room. It wasn't like she'd miss the place, and it was time to move on anyway; people were starting to recognise her as a local.

It had taken an unusually long time for her to put together the pieces, almost a whole two months - by far the longest project she'd undertaken - and if it hadn't been for the cops getting their hands on a picture of 'Tiny' and linking him with Vahan, she might have been faced with her first ever failure. The kid was fucking good, no doubt. As it was, she had solved the puzzle and found exactly what she needed.

Now, she just needed to figure out the best way to get close to him.

Two days later, Harry was frustrated at still being stuck looking after the kids. It wasn't that he disliked them, or didn't find their company passably entertaining, it was that their oppressive worry about Mama Andrews had manifested into constant whinging and fights about the smallest things, and their fractious behaviour was getting on his last nerve.

The fact that he wasn't able to get any work done didn't help in the slightest.

"Lewis, you fucking twat, give that back!" The shout rang out, giving Harry enough time to dodge out of the way of the two ten year olds who went pelting past.

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose, trying desperately to find one last shred of patience.

"Na uh, dick face! Mine now!" Lewis yelled back, running into the playroom and leaping over the couch to avoid Mark's tackle.

Harry couldn't even see what Lewis had taken, but from their direction, Harry assumed it had been something from Mark's room. The children currently had a room each, though they all understood that they may get a roommate at any moment, and were expected to make the newcomers feel welcome and safe.

Harry turned to make a quick visit to the kitchens, only to hear a loud crash followed by a scream from Elise. Dashing into the room, he stopped briefly to assess the situation, before running to the little girl, carefully cradling her bleeding head.

"Mister Harry, sir, it was an accident!" Lewis looked at Harry in terror as their tiny leader crouched in the debris of the cupboard that had crashed down on top of the little girl. He could see she was hurt, and he was trembling in anticipation of what would happen. His Mister was always so patient and kind, and Elise was such a sweet little thing, he felt absolutely terrible.

"We will discuss this later. For now, I want you and Mark to go to your rooms and stay there until I come and get you." Harry stood, lifting the screaming girl in his arms and making for the infirmary. He noted that both boys disappeared into their rooms without argument, Lewis only stopping long enough to give back whatever it was he took from Mark.

It only took him a few minutes to get Elise settled on a cot and dosed with her custom sedative so Marcel could patch her up, and Harry only lingered long enough to ascertain that she wasn't badly hurt and would sleep for a few hours.

Collecting both boys, he led them silently to his office, and settled himself behind his desk. He didn't offer either boy a chair, leaving them standing awkwardly as they faced him.

He levelled his stony green gaze on the boys, and remained silent.

It was interesting, he mused as he let the silence stretch uncomfortably, that both boys were slightly older than him and yet they both instinctively looked up to him. Alex had explained it once, saying that Harry wore an 'aura of leashed power', something that had only amplified with the addition of his wand. Apparently this combined with his above average maturity and intelligence just let people think of him as a very short and baby faced adult, rather than the child he really was. Harry didn't really have an opinion about it one way or the other, he just accepted it and used it to his advantage.

Several minutes passed as the boys squirmed, before Lewis finally broke. "Is Elise ok?" He whispered, his voice hitching slightly on the last word.

Harry leaned back in his chair and tilted his head slightly, his expression unchanged. "Do you really care? Or are you too busy taking Mark's things?"

Lewis shrunk down, miserable. "I care. I do. I didn't mean to hurt her, it was an accident!"

Harry's eyes softened very slightly, though he didn't relent. "Oh, I don't doubt that. But that isn't the issue we're addressing right now." He sighed slightly when both boys started to blubber in remorse. "Sit down, both of you." He shoved a box of tissues towards them, and waited for them to compose themselves a little. "I know things have been hard lately, don't think for a second that I don't understand. But your behaviour today put Elise in the infirmary. It she had been sitting in any other place than where she was, she could have been killed. Do you understand?"

Both boys sniffled and nodded miserably.

"That said, Elise will be fine. She's asleep right now, and will stay that way for a few hours while Marcel patches her up. All going well, she won't even have a bruise." Harry knew perfectly well she wouldn't, since Marcel would magically heal her, but that wasn't the point. Neither boy was magical, they couldn't know about why Marcel's "Magical Cures" were so effective. They'd just told them that Marcel was very good at his job, and the medicines tasted so bad to prove they were good for them. After all, everyone knows that the worse it tastes, the better it is for you.

The boys looked up, relieved.

"I have things to do today, so I'd like to make this brief. Lewis, I don't care if it was a joke or not, do not liberate any item belonging to anyone else in this house. I may be teaching you to pick pockets and break and enter, but this house is a safe place, and its residents are your family for however long you or they remain here. We look after each other here, because nobody else cares about the street rats like us. We are all we have, and if we can't trust our Nest mates, then we can't trust anyone. So; no unauthorized burglaries, and never pickpocket anyone outside your assigned zone. I know you haven't been given one yet, but it won't be too much longer before you are. Also, never steal from a Nest mate, even for a lark. These rules are in place to keep us all safe and this location uncompromised. If you break them again, I will assign you to Captain for an attitude adjustment. If it happens again after that, Mr Petrikov. Third time, and the results will be…" He levelled an icy look at the quivering boys, and smirked faintly. "Permanent." Seeing that they understood, he climbed to his feet, noting with amusement that the boys scrambled to do the same. "This is your only warning. For punishment, you will be assigned to Marcel to help him in the infirmary, and when Elise is released, you will be covering her lessons in writing and math for the next week." He smirked widely at their groans, Elise's hatred for those two subjects a well-known fact in the house. "In the meantime, come with me. We are going to the park for a while so you can burn off some energy."

It was around midnight when Harry was woken by Marcel, who excitedly announced that Bradshaw was awake, and asking for him.

Entering the private room that had been set up for the comatose lawyer, Harry smiled at the prone man. "Well, hello Sleeping Beauty!" Harry teased lightly, sitting in the chair next to the bed.

Bradshaw grinned weakly. "Marcel has filled me in on the basics of what happened since the accident. I can't thank you enough for looking after Connor." His eyes glistened wetly, and he turned his head away for a moment. "His mother-" he choked. "I can't - I don't think that I'm the right one to look after him at the moment. I know it's been a while for you, but the accident only just happened for me. I only really found out everything about an hour ago. She was my everything, and now she's gone…" His brow furrowed and he took a moment to breathe heavily, getting himself back under control. "When I'm up and about again, I was hoping that Connor could keep staying with you. I'd like to see him regularly, but…" He drifted off, uncharacteristically biting his lip.

Harry nodded solemnly. "I'm not sure if you're aware, but when you named me guardian of him, because we are magical and you are not, even if you recover enough to take him back, I legally remain his primary guardian."

Bradshaw nodded slightly. "Of course I knew. I couldn't imagine anyone better positioned to look after him."

Scrubbing his face lightly, Harry sighed. "I think it would be better if he remained with me regardless. There has been a lot of upset in his life lately, and I'm disinclined to remove him from his friends. He's taken up a leadership role amongst them, and they are all relying on each other, especially now."

Bradshaw nodded. "I don't know when I'll be able to take him back. It may not be until after he has left for Hogwarts, and by then I suspect he'd rather stay with you anyway."

Harry shrugged. "We don't need to decide right now. That's years away yet, and you're going to need to recover first. Once you're up, you've got a lot of work to do, so for the moment, just rest, and spend time with your son. We can handle everything else later."

Bradshaw nodded, and lay back, closing his eyes and drifting off into a normal sleep. He'd see his boy in the morning.

Harry needed a rest. It was Christmas Eve, and he was being driven up the wall by hyper children, stroppy Captains, a restless teen, and a frustrated Healer. Everyone wanted his attention, all the time, and he'd had enough. The only saving grace had been that Sergei and Alex knew better than to bother him without need, and had in fact barely been home since Mama Andrews was taken. They'd taken to working in shifts, one of them home and resting while the other was out hunting down leads.

Harry finally snarled, and decided that if he didn't get out of the damn Nest for a few hours, he was going to end up killing someone.

He glanced at the clock to see who would be home at this time. "Alex?"

The man in question stuck his head into the room, looking slightly more ruffled than usual. "Yes, Sir?"

"Are you sufficiently rested for a trip out for a couple of hours? I need some space, and I still have to check out Potter Manor."

Alex nodded. "Thought you might. I'll let everyone else know we've gone out for a while, and let Sergei know where we'll be. Ready in ten minutes?"

Harry nodded and stood, brushing the creases out of his Armani trousers and straightening his silk shirt. He'd taken to a more formal mode of dress, even just around the house; finding that after years of being forced into second hand rags by the Dursley's, the idea of having brand new and smart looking clothing comforted him. The only exception to this was when he needed to hit the streets as Tiny, in which case he grudgingly donned less noticeable clothing; though not without distaste.

Ten minutes and a portkey later, Harry could barely restrain himself from gaping. The Entry Foyer to Potter Manor was enough to put Malfoy Manor to shame. Black marble with gold veining covered the floor and the decorative pillars lining the walls, wooden panelling was highlighted to perfection with various paintings, sculptures, and floral arrangements in what were undoubtedly hideously expensive and probably antique vases, and the ceiling - nearly three stories overhead - had been painted with enough detail to put the Sistine Chapel to shame. Dragons, Griffins, Phoenixes, Unicorns, and countless other creatures of legend decorated the ceiling, each animated and interacting like old friends, no matter how odd the combinations. Harry thought he saw a Mermaid getting disturbingly cosy with a Minotaur, but he couldn't be sure, since he'd been distracted by a Chimera playing chess with Pixie and had started analysing their game to predict their next moves.

A small pop in front of him drew his attention away from the mind bending scenes above him. The House Elf that had appeared was positively ancient, but wore a neat burgundy uniform marked with the Potter crest. Its ears flapped against the floor as it bowed low.

"Master Harry has returned at last. What can Brix be doing for Master?" The creature peered up hopefully, his rheumy eyes locked onto Harry's face with a fanaticism that the boy honestly found mildly disturbing.

"Brix, was it?" Harry asked. "Firstly, you may call me Master or Sir. I dislike my name being used, since I have a lot of enemies, and a lot of aliases. I'd rather not have to tell you what name I'll be using from moment to moment. Do you understand?"

The wizened elf cracked a grin. "Oh yes, Master. Brix be understanding. Brix will remember and will tell the other elves."

Harry pasted on Affectionate Smile Number Three, gently resting a hand on the creature's shoulder. "Thank you. Now, perhaps a tour? I don't have long this trip, so if we could keep it to the most important areas for now I'd appreciate it. I'll be coming and going a fair bit, so I'll have plenty of time to learn the less important things later."

Brix nodded, and let them through an abridged tour of the tasteful but utterly decadent residence, chattering about various details of the house, or trivia about former family members and honoured guests. He led them through the library, master bedroom suite, training room, dining room, main sitting room, conservatory, observatory, and finally, up to the owlery - though Brix firmly referred to it as a rookery.

"Why rookery?" Harry asked, puzzled.

Brix shrugged nonchalantly, having relaxed once he realised that his new Master didn't care about formalities when nobody else was around. Apparently the mostly silent guard with him didn't count. "After Master James and Mistress Lily died, and you didn't come home, the owls disappeared one by one. It happens sometimes, if the head of the family dies and the mantle isn't assumed quickly enough. The magic binding them to the family just dissipates over time and they move on. But we had a few additions turn up once the tower was empty. Five ravens moved in and decided to stay. They seem to be waiting for someone or something in particular." Opening the door, he stepped in, half turning as he waited for Harry to follow him through.

Harry looked up, noting that there was room for close to thirty birds in the tower, perches and comfortable nesting boxes of various types and sizes littering the walls all over. He could feel a faint tingle along the floor, and assumed it was a self-cleaning charm to deal with the birds leavings. The stone room was well protected from the elements while allowing the birds the freedom to come and go at will, and was well maintained, much to his pleasure.

A cawing and flapping of wings drew his attention, and he watched as five truly stunning ravens swept down onto a nearby perch. They settled themselves onto the long branch, slightly above eye level.

"Well, hello there," Harry murmured appreciatively. He extended a hand, waiting for permission from the nearest bird before stroking its breast. "Aren't you beautiful?"

The bird puffed up proudly, croaking happily.

"Do you have names, lovelies?" Harry couldn't help but coo, utterly enamoured by the intelligent birds, and deliberately ignoring Alex's amused cough behind him.

The birds shuffled, giving the impression of a negative. He wasn't sure how he knew that, he just did. Just as he knew that they were all female, sisters, and from the same laying. What's more, he knew they had been waiting for him. He decided to put the question of how aside to deal with later. "Would you like one?"

The birds cawed and flapped excitedly, bobbing and shoving each other as they tried to crowd closer to him.

Harry laughed, and examined them each closely, head tilted to the side as he thought. "Any preferences?" He waited, absorbing the strange understanding they seem to have gifted him. "Ah, I see. Something with a theme for you all to share, then? I can work with that." Tapping his finger against his lips, he let his mind wander. "Oh! I know!" He lightly stroked each bird, starting from left to right. "Omen, Portent, Harbinger, Reaper, and Dread. How's that?"

The birds all let out various tones of a throaty gurgle, and dove off their perch, flapping around the boy happily.

Harry chuckled as they took turns to land on his shoulder and preen his hair lightly. "Alright my beauties, I need to go for now. I'll come and see you next time I'm here, ok?" He smiled, and turned to leave.

Harbinger swept down, perching on his shoulder, and began scolding him, croaking and making displeased knocking sounds. A sharp bite to his earlobe made her position very clear.

"Ah, you're coming with me, are you? Alright then." Harry chuckled, ignoring the sting from the broken skin on his ear. He understood that the birds would take turns being with him, and that one of them would always be nearby now that they had made contact at long last.

"Anything else before we return to The Nest, Sir?" Alex asked quietly, eying the birds appreciatively.

"One last thing. I want to tie the wards to me, and get a copy of the ward schematics and property defences to take with us. This will be my Fortress, so I want to make sure that it is properly protected."

Brix snapped his fingers, summoning another little elf and sent her off to get the requested schematics, before leading his new Master to the ward Keystone. As they walked, the old elf couldn't help the feeling of pleasure that swept through him. His new Master was going to be exactly what this old place needed. With any luck, he would be the one to return the Potter family to their original glory, undoing the shame that the miscreant James had brought upon it.