The Third Time is a Charm

Posted 20 March 2010

Chapter 89 To Free a Child

Sirius was a little confused; actually he was very much confused. He thought perhaps being in the cell at the Ministry may have addled his brains. They actually had a dementor there to keep the prisoners in check. He had been seeing the death of his friends over and over again and now Dumbledore was the bad guy, Lucius, Regulus, and Snape were the good guys and even though Sirius knew they had been Death Eaters, they didn't die with the others.

He did find out that Dumbledore had pushed for the no trial thing. That went against everything he believed about the man. Sirius was not the only one that was in the cell awaiting Azkaban without a trial either. There were others, but based on his case, he assumed the others would have a chance to clear themselves.

Alright, he understood about the time travel thing, and there being a Harry that was almost his age. He didn’t understand about the, Snape or Severus or Prince whatever you wanted to call him, husband thing with two kids. That was a little harder to follow. Why would anyone want to be married to that slimy Slytherin? And then to have his two children, only a month apart? That was definably hard to comprehend.

He didn't know what to believe about Salazar Slytherin either. He thought Voldemort was his heir; that his views would be the same.

He had been sickened when he saw the sex slave mark on his little godson. In court, under veritaserum, Dumbledore had said it could not be removed, but according to these people it's been done before. Now, even that was believable, but THE SNAKES were another thing entirely. This whole family was talking to snakes like it was nothing and Moony, Regulus, Snape, even the house elves, the Lupins, EVERYONE was accepting of it. How did that happen?

Right now they were under the ground (which Sirius found kind of creepy) swimming in a pool with basilisk snakes, and as if it was no different than what anyone else would do.

When he had heard that his friends were actually alive, he wanted to go straight to them. They promised they would get him into the medical wing where the Potters were, but right now the most important thing was to free the baby from the blocks and slave bond to Dumbledore. Sirius had actually been sick twice thinking about it and was fuming mad at what that man had done. He was sure that if Remus Sr. hadn't stopped him, he would have killed the man. and the Ministry would not have had to worry about transporting him to Azkaban. They could have transported him straight to a cemetery and been done with it.

The ritual was from a book on sex magic. At first when Sirius heard that, he was livid that they wanted anything to do with that kind of magic. He found out it was a ritual from the same book that had been used on Harry, but that had been SEX! You couldn’t do that to a baby! It was explained to him that sex magic was not just about sex. It was about love and bonding and the agape (ə-GAH-pay) or unconditional love for the family or loved ones. It was a Greek word to denote all consuming love. It was hoped that the ‘all consuming’ love of the people present for the little one would be able to break the bonds that constrained him.

“Wasn’t this classified as dark magic and banned from use by the Ministry? Sirius asked the group.

“It is not dark magic, it is sex magic. Some old fools banned it because they thought the word sex made it evil. The word sex is not evil it is good magic that comes from the love deep within your soul. But in answer to your question, yes it was banned from use, and so was the magic that put that brand on the child in the first place.” Salazar explained.

“I see your point.” Sirius answered chagrined. It didn’t make sense to not use the magic, banned or not, if it would get rid of that ridiculous label from his precious godson.

As it stood they needed one officiator for the ritual and seven family or bond members to participate. He knew he could join the group as Harry's godfather, but they didn't know about the others. It was determined that each family member and participant needed to be strong magically and so the Potter parents, even if they were awake, would not be strong enough to help.

Once the group was all together, they went to Godric's Hollow where it all began. They would use the Potter crest that was still on the basement floor in the foundations of the house. When they arrived they could see that the front door was completely off its hinges and it looked as if several people had tried to break through the wards. Evidently once the attack had happened, the house decided who could come through and judged the intent of the person.

The group made their way through the destruction and climbed down to the basement. There was a play area already sectioned off for the children and they quickly put baby Harry, Lillian and Evan down so they could set up. Because Becca was not a strong witch they thought she may need to hold Lillian during the ceremony to stabilize the magic. It was Lillian’s magic after all that helped save the Potters and also was incorporated in the seal. They were hoping it would help now.

Black and Severus were not sure the ritual would work if they were part of it, but even though they were not bound to the baby, they were bound to his time traveling counterparts. They were not sure it would work, but they were going to give it a bloody good try before bringing in anyone else that was not as close. Everyone there was sickened about the sight of that mark on the child that the wizarding world thought of as their orphaned savior.

Salazar was the officiator. The seven family members and bond members were Harry and Severus, Moony and Sirius, Black and Silver, and Becca holding Lillian. The seven had come with them and were to form a circle around the group on the floor around the seal. Laying themselves clockwise head to tail. It was felt that they could add their magic to the ritual since they were very closely tied to most everyone present.

It was time to begin…

Salazar was standing north of the seal, Becca next to him at northeast, but closer to the middle. Then it was Severus at east of the seal the same distance as Salazar. Next was Harry, southeast but closer to the center like Becca. Black was south of the seal and Silver was southwest. Then it was Moony at the West point and Sirius at the northwest point of the circle.

This layout was the four at the north, south, east and west were between the seal and the runes surrounding it. The four that were northeast, southeast, southwest and northwest were in the inside of the seal forming a smaller circle than the outside members. The Seven then lined up to make the circle outside the runes. Baby Harry was placed naked in the very center of the seal with a cushioning charm around him.

When everyone was in place, Salazar started the ritual.

“We call upon the magic of the four corners of the earth, north, south, east and west. We call from the four elements of earth, fire, air and water. Hear our plea.”

“Hear our plea,” responded the others together.

We call upon the dark magic from the foundations of the earth and light magic from the foundations of the air, hear our plea.”

“Hear our plea,” the others repeated again.

“We the family of blood and chosen ask that the bonds of evil be broken from this innocent child.”

“Break these bindings of evil and return it from whence it came,” the others chanted.

After they had repeated this three times, there was a glow of mist coming from the center of the seal, enveloping the baby in a soft color making his skin appear golden.

They didn’t stop and couldn’t get distracted. They had to finish. The Potter ritual athame was brought out and each of the seven family members pricked their right index finger and placed a drop of blood on the seal. Becca had used Lillian’s blood for this portion of the ceremony. Harry, who was standing next to her, numbed his daughter’s little hand so she would not feel the prick of the knife.

They all chanted, “We the family of this child, reclaim him and send back the magic that stole him from us.”

As the last drop of blood hit the seal, a power wave resulted like a tidal wave coming from an ocean. Everyone was drenched in the golden magic coming from the foundations of the house and they felt drunk from the swirling of it around their bodies. The baby was lifted as if on a cloud of air and turned around three times in a counter-clockwise motion. They all noticed how gently the movement was as if the magic knew it was a precious child and would not scare or harm it. The child was then turned three times in a clockwise motion and then settled back down on the floor in the middle of the seal.

The adults sat down on the floor where they had been standing, each one sitting, one after the other, as if it were choreographed to the pulse of the magic around them. After the magic receded and returned to the foundations from which it came, the adults had a few minutes of disorientation. As they started to gain back their sense of balance, the baby lying in the middle of the seal began to cry.

“Hey, there little one,” Harry said softly as he picked up the child and held him against his chest. “What’s all this fussing about, huh?” After he had calmed the child, he turned him around to see that his right thigh had lost the brand that had marred the smooth flesh just minutes before.

Meanwhile at the Ministry holding cells…

An old man was pacing within the bowels of the Ministry holding cells, wondering where he went wrong. All of his planning and his carefully made up excuses for his actions had gone awry. He must have missed something in the details, to have his cautiously prepared life go so wrong. Each time the dementor passed, he kept seeing the ministry trial before his eyes and hearing the verdict of “Guilty”.

Suddenly there was a surge of magic that came from the floor up into the cell. It was strong and malevolent and it was consuming him. He screamed with the pain and the pressure of it, and his legs gave way where he was standing, even as he was falling and tried to catch himself before he hit the floor with a thud.

The screams were never ending and the guards came running down the hallway as the prisoners were standing at the bars of their cells, trying to find out who was being tortured to death, for only someone in the throws of the Cruciatus curse could be that tormented into screaming their throat raw with such agony.

The old man clutched at his leg as the pain seared through it and decided to lift his robes to see what had happened to his right leg.

There on his thigh was his own slave brand that he had given the boy. He was in shock and dismay as the realization hit him. Harry Potter was free and he had been branded with his own mark.

The two security guards standing in front of his cell couldn’t help but see what the old man was looking at. There on his thigh was a sex slave brand. The both grinned evilly as a look of triumph gleamed in their eyes.

“Looks like someone freed the savior of the brand. I wonder if we should tell anyone about it?” asked the first guard.

“The only kind of magic that could have done this is sex magic,” said the second guard. “That kind of ritual is illegal and was banned years ago. If we mention it to anyone, the people that did this may be arrested.”

“It should never have happened in the first place,” the first guard replied.

“I don’t think I will say anything. I believe that whomever was able to undo what this scum has done, has accomplished a good thing; banned magic or not.” The second guard said.

“I agree, we don’t say anything. When I heard what he did and to whom, I was sickened that he had access to my children in that school. I wonder if he has done this to anyone else. Azkaban is too good for him.”

The two guards walked back to their posts, leaving the old man to his plight of now being a sex slave for the rest of his very miserable short time left on this earth.

In Doc’s office…

“Are the blocks on his magic gone?” asked Sirius.

Salazar reached out a hand as if trying to get a reading from the small child. “I can’t tell, someone other than Harry and Severus needs to hold the child or put him back down. Their magic is interfering with the scans.”

“Perhaps we should put some clothes on the child before he gets a cold.” Severus said dryly as he got up and reached for the bag that they had brought for the children. He noticed Evan was sleeping in the play area as he had no one to play with. Poor little tyke missed all the excitement.

He took a nappy and an all in one out of the bag and handed them to Harry, who still had the child clutched to his chest. After the baby was dressed, he was handed to Moony before Salazar tried again to see if the blocks were off of the child.

“There must be too much magic flowing in the room; I still can’t get a reading. I would say that the blocks are probably off if the mark is. The blocks were not irremovable in the first place.” Salazar said in frustration.

The baby was still cradled in Moony’s arms when they heard him say “Foo” and watched him hold out his arms and pat his little hand on the man’s chest.

“That’s right Harry,” the man said to his godson as he pulled the baby to him, “Uncle Padfoot.” Sirius had a big grin across his face. That was the first time the baby had tried to say the name since he and his parents were attacked.

“Foo” the baby said again “Mama?”

“That’s right little prongs, we are going to see your Mama in just a few minutes.” The dog animagus then looked at Harry and the others. “We have to take him to see them. It’s not right to keep them apart.”

They all agreed and as they had said to Padfoot earlier, they would take him to see the Potters as soon as the brand was removed from the baby.

“Come on everyone, we should go and see the Potters. Doc can take a look at little Harry and see that he is alright after the ritual and if the blocks to his magic were removed.” Severus said to the others in the room. They put the snakes back in their traveling cage, picked up Evan, who was still asleep, and everyone, snakes included, went to the medical center to see how the Potters were doing.

When they arrived at the medical center, the first thing Doc did was check out the Potter baby and proclaimed him healthy and block free. He was suffering no ill effects from the ritual and, indeed, he was not bound as a sex slave anymore and his magic was quite powerful and free flowing.

When they went into the room that housed the Potters, it was almost as if they were just asleep. They lay so still and unmoving though that Sirius felt a shiver crawl up his spine as he held little prongs and watched them.

“Mama,” the little one cried when he saw his mother, “Da” he then said as he reached out for his parents. Sirius laid the baby down on the bed next to his mother. He watched as little prongs patted his mother on her face and said “Mama, ite? Mama ite?”

Sirius turned to Becca who had come into the room with him and asked in a whisper so as not to disturb the reunion, “What is he saying?”

“I think he is asking if his mother is alright. You spend enough time with the other two and you will get a feel for the half words that they use.” Becca said as she looked at the scene in front of her. When she turned back to Sirius, the unshed tears for the family were evident in his grey eyes. They could see the baby was getting distressed as his mother wouldn’t wake up.

“Shush, little prongs. Your Mama is sleeping.” Sirius said as he sat next to his godson. He tried to comfort the child again, “Mama sleeping.”

“Mama eep?” the baby repeated.

“Yes, Little Harry, your Mama is asleep.”

The child then put his hand on his mother’s chest and lay his head down as if going to sleep himself. He listened to her steady heartbeat for a few minutes then looked at his godfather. “Mama eep,” he repeated and then he crawled into his Uncle Padfoot’s lap.

Becca, who could see how hard this was for the two of them suggested, “Perhaps we should be heading home. Little Harry has been through quite a bit today and we could all use some rest.”

Padfoot nodded and followed the woman out of the room while he held the baby close to his chest. When they caught up with the others in Doc’s office, they spoke for a few minutes on the condition of the Potters and finally returned home.

Back at Prince Manor…

The elves were appalled; there was a woman in front of the Dursley home that didn’t belong in the neighborhood. She didn’t even belong among muggles. In her arms she was carrying a baby who was dressed in some hand me down green baby robes and she was knocking at the door of number four Privet Drive.

They couldn’t call their masters because they were doing a very important ritual, so they called Remus Sr. instead. He hadn’t gone because they had enough people to perform the ritual and he had some things to do with Buddy in the muggle yards. They expected them back at any time now.

“What is she doing in this area?” the older man asked to no one in particular. “I know that the ministry restrained her away from the family of baby Harry.”

Sentry Dobby was at his post in the security room where he had asked Remus Sr. to come and witness what was going on. As soon as he had seen the woman come up the walk, he knew exactly who it was and why she was there. The Prince family trusted him completely and had told him about the trial and what they were doing today. They wanted everything to stay safe while they were trying to free the baby.

“Mister Remus, sir, Sentry Dobby does not know why that woman is there. But I don’t think it can be good,” the little elf said to his master’s friend.

“No Dobby, this is not good. Can you turn up the volume on the muggle equipment so we can hear what is being said?”

The elf nodded and turned up the sound so they could hear what the woman said to Petunia Dursley.

The security room was full of muggle recording devices. If anything happened in that house the Dursley family called a home, they would know about it. Most of it was just normal everyday interactions, but sometimes there was some juicy bit of news or a little gossip that they found amusing. Today, however, it was distressing to see that particular person walking into their neighborhood.

Just then there was a bell that sounded announcing the arrival of the Prince family, and the others, back to the manor. Remus Sr. quickly floo called the receiving room where they had arrived.

“I think you guys need to come to the security room right away. You will want to know about this.”

It took two minutes for the others to arrive, just as the two women in the Dursley house were sitting down to tea.

“What is she doing there?” Harry all but screamed at the others.

A/N Thanks to everyone who sent a review. You guys keep me going when I get stuck. Crazy Pedantic, Petuniac3, DHH, kasaan, alwaysabrat, Jennifer, mithrilandtj, mona, Kim, Werewolf Mistress, and tamikolee. Thanks so much for the support. If I have missed anyone it was not intentional. Lately my life has been a little hectic with a new project from my boss.