Where in the world is Harry Potter?

Chapter 2

Author's Notes: Well, after a long break editing most of my works and problems galore with Microsoft Word which seemingly decided out of the blue it didn't want to work properly anymore, I decided to look up for alternatives ways of writing. This is going to be the very first chapter I'm going to be fully writing on a Google document. I usually only copy-pasted existing chapters who gave my regular word processor heart burns. It doesn't help that my PC is aging and being left in the dust, what with being still on Windows XP Family Edition. Oh well, enough griping. Time to get cracking! I left this story alone too long, I almost lost all of my inspiration for it. We will continue where the last chapter left us.

Sirius has been broken out from Azkaban, Remus was outpranked and Harry is living the life he should have lived. Also take note that I will not write the various accents of the characters. So If you wish to read how Hagrid speak for example, you'll have to go elsewhere. I would like to give a quick Kudos to Bobmin356 to thank them for the idea of a Caribbean native old wizard/sailor who is somewhat of a mentor to Harry. It was their idea first, I'm just borrowing it. Ah a quick word to people who like to have the most pertinent information in the stories, I've been unable to find a reliable website about the Tides in the Caribbean, so excuse in advance my use of improvisation.

Now let's go get a look at those stats shall we? We have 36 Reviews, 258 Followers, 241 Favourites, 15 C2 Communities and last but not least, we also have 6 289Views. Thank you everyone for your support. Now let's get this show on the road!

Azkaban Maximum Security Prison, Azkaban Island, North Sea, from July 10 to mid-August 1988.

Sirius Black was feeling rather miserable today. It wasn't exactly a new situation though, he had been feeling like that ever since his incarceration without a trial back in November 1981. While many prisoners went mad in Azkaban due to long time exposure to the Prison Guards, the Dementors, Sirius was relatively better off than many others. While Dementors could feed from happy thoughts leaving the victim with only his bad memories, Sirius had two things going for him. He was innocent and he believed it with all of his being. It wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't take it from him. He was also an Animagus. As an animal, his emotions were muted for lack of a better term, thus it took the edge of the Dementors' aura off. And the demonic guards couldn't distinguish them. It was now evening and the guard had just came in to give him his ration of gruel.

It was slop, that's what it was, but it was all what they were given here to eat in Azkaban Ressort for malcontent Wizards and Witches. They were lucky to have warm soup with some meat chunks and some Invigoration Draught during the winter months. Then something outside of the moans and shrieks of the other inmates was heard. It was the sound of explosions. Then it was the Dementors that were shrieking since something just set a few on fire. Now as funny as it sounds, Sirius could really have done without seeing a few of the buggers naked, rushing back toward his cell block.

Yeah, that was going to be his new Boggart if he ever managed to escape from this rock alive to meet one. After the not so well received strip-tease,(Seriously, it would have been better to see his cousin Bella naked, at least she was a woman, even if they were blood related…) the Marauder suddenly heard a man barking orders in a military style and also the sound of loud boots on the stone floors.

Of course, now that the more alert of his fellow inmates realized that there were intruders in Azkaban, they all came alive, screeching, screaming, hooting, basically doing everything to make some noise. He was the exception to the rule. It was the reason as to why he was the first to recognize a military unit of about twelve men armed to the teeth with muggle weapons. Once the soldiers divided themselves adequately to guard the only access in and out of the cell block his cell was located in and that others soldiers had the occupants of the other cells held at gunpoint, the apparent leader who was wearing a silver coloured balaclava contrary to the standard black of everybody else stepped forward.

He then said with a rather charismatic but strong authoritative tone of voice:

"We are here for Sirius Black only. Sirius Black, please stand up and step forward, now! You've just been accorded a remission of sentence of sorts. "

The Leader of the Mercenaries finished with clear amusement in his tone.

While Sirius had always fantasized of getting out of this hellhole, he wasn't certain if he should follow that Muggle mercenary's order. For yes, he now knew that the whole platoon were mercenaries. The men were dressed in military fatigues and were equipped with what seemed at first look to be standardized firearms, but if they had been a legit Military unit, they would have passed by the proper legal channels first, not assaulting the Wizarding prison when there was no Human guards present. In the end, the temptation of getting out of here was stronger than his mistrust about Mercenaries in general and the methods that these Muggles had likely used to bypass the Wards around the Fortress. So the emaciated man got up from his bunk and stepped forward before saying with a voice that showed signs of long disuse

"I am Sirius Black."

What happened next was literally a blur. The leader gave a non verbal order then two Mercs exploded into action. They then put some sort of off-white clay (C4) on the lock of his cell and once Sirius was a safe distance away, the locking mechanism was blown apart in a controlled explosion. Once his cell door was blasted open, Sirius was seized by two other Mercs by the armpits and brought before the Leader. Just before he was given a compress of chloroform and some sort of black hood to be put on his head he was told

"Well, Mr. Black, you seem to have either very good friends in high places or maybe you have pissed the wrong people to the point that they were willing to pay the big price to bust you out of this hell hole just to have your hide. I wish you a good and safe trip Mr. Black! And also, good luck! Because for where you are going, you're going to need it..."

Then all was dark. Sirius woke up with a start an undetermined time later with a minor but persistent headache in an examination room situated in what he would later learn was the illegal Practice of a back alley Healer. He was wearing new clothes, he was close shaved, hell he even had gotten a haircut! It was a military buzz cut, true, but it was better than nothing. The healer was a rather pretty lady that looked to be in her mid forties. Blue-green eyes, straw blonde hair with a few streaks of grey tied in a french braid falling to her shoulder blades. Before he could even open his mouth, he was apostrophized quickly

"I swear those English! Azkaban Prison should have been condemned centuries ago! We are no longer in the 17th or 18th century, but in the 20th! Would it have killed them to buy a prison building from the No-Majs or else build one themselves and then Ward it to hell and back? But no! "Oh! Let's put all our prisoners, no matter the gravity of the offence, in an ancient fortress guarded by soul sucking monsters on a forsaken rock somewhere in the middle of the North Sea!" Yeah, that's one hell of a good idea! Not!

It's a Goddamn miracle that you're still so healthy after years in that God forsaken place! Now, take your potions Dear, so you can be on your way. Quickly now, you still have a long way to go. Don't you worry about the money, I've already been paid in advance. Now, drink before I force fed you those potions!"

Sirius learned two things at this stopover on his journey to possible freedom. This Healer was an American Witch, what with her accent and the term "No-Majs" and also the wand that she was now brandishing under his nose. Needless to say, Sirius did drink his potions even if they tasted only marginally better than his prison meals. Once he was done with the Healer, he was quickly shooed in another room near the consultation room he had been in. Inside that new room, he found a Lazyboy armchair, a decent sized TV, a remote for said TV on a tray table near the armchair and beside the remote was something he never thought he'd ever see again!

"Sweet Merlin's balls! That's a Pizza! I never thought I'd see one ever again!"

And to top it off, there was even an unopened can of fizzy drink! It was a can of Pepsi! His favourite brand! Sirius was even closer to Heaven than he was before when he found a Sports channel after surfing around a bit. He was not all that much knowledgeable about Baseball, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth! It was a very Muggle activity, but it was one James and he had fallen in love with when Lily had showed them the bright sides of her society of origin. Unfortunately, the next Lord Black should really have been leerier of the set up and the apparent kindnesses. For after eating two slices of the pizza and also after downing in one go about half of the Pepsi can, he found himself fighting a losing battle to stay awake. Soon, he was swept in Morpheus' Realm.

After an indeterminable time, he woke up sitting on a chair in a waiting area inside a Veterinary Clinic off all places. When Sirius regained consciousness and his full motor skills, he was quickly ushered inside the closest exam room by a rather harried looking female technician before he could make a scene or ask for clarifications. Once inside, Padfoot of the Marauders came face to face with a former classmate. A Muggleborn Ravenclaw named Henry Collins if his now recovering memory was not currently playing games with him. Now talk about an awkward reunion... As to why it was awkward? Well, our dear Doctor Collins will be quite happy to explain everything in a few seconds.

Once Doc Collins had warded the door and the windows with silencing and anti-spy charms with quick and stealthy movements from his wand, he said

"Well well well, just look who the cat dragged in! If it's not Sirius Black in the flesh! You know, I should really pay you back for that itching powder prank in my school robes from back in Seventh year. Because of your "brilliant prank idea", note the sarcasm here, I was forced to miss my Practical NEWT DADA exam. And thus I was unable to obtain the necessary grades to apply for an Auror position. All this because I've fooled around with a girl you had a crush on that year and she never gave you the time of the day. Marlene Mckinnon was it?

But on the other hand, that failure led me to eventually work in this clinic as a recognized Vet, so not everything was lost. To be honest, I think that after eight years locked away in Hell on Earth you've been punished enough. I guess we're pretty much even by now. The past is the past after all so let's get back on track. Now, do you have an idea as to why you're my patient ?"

The Vet was of average height for a man of his age, rather thin, light brown hair cut short in a brush cut, rather round features, hazel coloured eyes and a three days beard on his cheeks. There was some bags under his eyes and worry lines on his forehead. The life of a Veterinarian was stressful, true but also quite fulfilling when you loved working with animals. That kind of life was bound to leave physical traces, even on a magical.

Realizing that he was asked a question, Sirius answered

"I'll be frank with you, Collins. I have absolutely no bloody clue! Only a short time ago I was languishing in Azkaban for a crime I didn't commit. Then I got busted out of that hellhole by a band of Muggle Mercs of all people! One of them put something on a compress and pressed it to my face to make me fall unconscious then I woke up I don't know after how many hours in a Healer's private clinic. After a shock treatment with more potions than I've ever swallowed in my life, I'm given food that in hindsight I should really have suspected of being drugged and after another dark period of unconsciousness, I awoke here in your waiting room. So any clues you could give me would be real nice, thanks!"

He finished somewhat crossly.

Henry took the vitriol expelled by the ex-convict unflinchingly. He had gotten far worse from belligerent owners of some of the animals he had treated along his years of working as a Vet. Some people weren't that nice and not afraid to show it when forced to acknowledge their own failings in training their pets. Once Sirius was calmed down, he told him

"Hey relax. Don't get your knickers in a twist. I'll tell you what I can. I think I've deduced more than what I've been told but I don't want to risk the plan that was put in place or getting the attention of the authorities. Somebody truly wanted you out of Azkaban. A certain someone with enough cash to hire a top notch Merc unit to do the job for 've been shipped around the country by untraceable portkeys to various locations to get you as healthy as possible in a short lapse of time. I don't know how many days passed since you've been busted from that hellhole in the North Sea, but it's been long enough to put the entire DMLE on alert if my guess is correct.

It's not like I go take a stroll down Diagon Alley every other day since I work and live in the Muggle World; so I'm not the one with the more accurate info of what's currently going on in the magical communities. From what I know, you'll be smuggled out of the country pretty soon if everything is going to plan. And before you ask, I don't know where you are going and I didn't want to know either. It doesn't concern me. I've been paid most handsomely for this little jig and it's all I less I know, the less chances you have of getting recaptured if something goes wrong."

He paused, went to take a few mouthfuls of his water bottle before he continued informing the fugitive

"By now, you'll likely be wanted by both the magical and muggle authorities given how high profile your particular case is. So you're going to be smuggled out of the country in your Animagus form, hence the reason of your presence in my clinic. In the Muggle world, there's a ton of paperwork needed for permitting an animal to cross international borders. Therefore, you will need to be immunized against many diseases so I can adequately fill those required forms. "

Doctor Collins stopped talking, only to smile with more or less restrained glee in seeing Sirius finally connecting the dots. Thus began "The Humiliation", that's how the event would be categorized in the Animagus' mind in the near future. Karma was indeed a Bitch. And she was currently suffering from PMS. As Padfoot, he was prodded, examined, dewormed, given his shots and also vigorously treated against fleas. Doctor Collins did everything with an admirable show of professionalism but you could see in his eyes that he felt quite amused and vindicated if you knew what to look for. Talk about schadenfreude!

After all, he had gotten one over the infamous Sirius Black, prankster and Marauder extraordinaire. But the ultimate revenge prank Doctor Henry Collins pulled on his former classmate was explaining to him exactly howhe would travel out of Britain to his unknown destination once he was allowed to take back his human form once all the tests and exams were done.

"You will have to stay in your dog form during the entire trip. And to be sure that you will not compromise the plan and destroy all the hard work it took to break you out, you'll be wearing a very special dog collar. It has been enchanted to suppress your magic in a similar way of the magic dampening manacles used by MLE agents. With that specific collar, you'll stay a dog until someone remove it from your neck. You won't be able to remove it yourself whatever you try. It's also going to be an anchor for glamours spells to make you look like healthy since no chartered flights would take you along seeing how emaciated you are."

Doctor Henry Collins then stopped talking to wait for Sirius' reaction. He was not disappointed, it was quick and epically amusing. Sirius bonelessly fell on his knees before throwing his arms to the sky and yelling an overly dramatic

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Before starting to sob in earnest like a young capricious child who was denied sweets before a meal. What was worse for Sirius but quite funny for Henry, was that the latter managed to take a few photographs of Sirius' breakdown as future blackmail material.

A few hours later, Padfoot was driven to Heathrow all the while sulking inside a Vari Kennel transport cage. It would take a while, but his plane ticket had been bought in advance and once customs were cleared and after one last walk outside so he could relieve himself before the long hours of flight, he was boarded in the hold. His cage was expertly restrained so as to not be shot from one side of the plan to the other during take-off and the Animagus was feeling quite humiliated, whoever broke him out of Azkaban had planned for everything.

If the Magical authorities had suspected anything, the Airport would have been crawling with Aurors by now. It took another hour, but soon the plane was taxied on a runway. The pilot and co-pilots finished their initial checks and after getting the green light from the Control Tower, they put the gasses and soon were in the air.

The British Magical Enclaves would move heaven and earth trying to find Sirius Black inside their borders but would never find him. By the time someone had the good idea of checking the Muggle ways of international travel, the Dog Animagus would already be inside the borders of a country without an extradition treaty with the United Kingdom. It also didn't help the local Magical Law Enforcement that the current top brass politicians were of the opinion that Pureblood Britain had no need of allies.

Tia Dalma's Unplottable Island, Somewhere on the Caribbean Sea, from July 31 to August 2 1988.

Lily had been highly skeptical at first, but it was very possible that that particular profession was still around. While the world had moved on with the times, certain things simply did not change. Magic in all forms had been around for millennia, so who was she to doubt the existence of a bonafide Voodoo priestess? While the ICW had done everything in it's power to try to eradicate the practice after declaring it illegal under the death penalty in Europe and also pressuring other nations into doing the same, it was far too much ingrained into many Caribbean and African cultures to be completely eradicated even if various countries had banned it also for one reason or another. It also didn't help that the Caribbean had no unified Ministry of Magic, each country had their own version of a magical government.

Lily's presence here was due to the Goblins' inability to deal with her beloved Harry's Curse Scar. They simply had no safemeans of extracting a foreign piece of soul from a living being without killing or at least permanently crippling the host. Since she obviously refused to let her son die or become a cripple, Lily had asked if they could refer her to somebody else who could help.

She then had been told about a powerful Soothsayer with Voodoo powers, able and generally willing to help if the price was right. While the priestess was somewhat recluse, understandable what with the legal ambiguity of her skill set, she often enough had dealings with the Goblins. For a sizable fee, The Goblin Nation were willing to sell her the information needed on how to make a proper visit on her unplottable island without incurring a plethora of very nasty curses. Lily was no longer afraid to go on the wrong side of the Law and bend her morals to get what she wanted, even less if it could help her son, so she paid the asked fee without complaint.

If she had been afraid of getting her hands dirty and having dealings on the wrong side of the Law, she would have been a truly poor Carmen Sandiego. She was wondering if the British Ministry of Magic were tearing their hair out in frustration or fear by now? Sirius was now en route to Haiti and after paying the second half of the agreed payment to the Mercenaries whom broke him out, the leader had confirmed having left her Business Card in the Warden's office. Back to her destination, the boat with a outboard motor she had charmed touched the beach and once she had tied the pneumatic boat to a nearby tree since this side of the island didn't have a quay, she helped Harry to get on dry land.

Once their little boat was secure and the outboard motor was raised up to avoid possible breaks, Lily took her shivering boy in her arms and waited. They were dressed warmly since it was now nighttime but even then he was quite tired. Her baby boy had taken a real interest into sailing, so in between regular school (Education was very important and her sweetheart was encouraged to his very best.) and his magic lessons at home, he was learning everything about the subjects of sailing, navigating and how to build and take care of a small sailboat under the tutelage of an old sailor down at the wharf. It was needless to say that the subjects were quite exhaustive. There was so much to learn!

Lucas Jefferson Smith was a good man but a real slave driver. He didn't tolerate any slacking off. When you were working for him, you were to give your 110% or you'll be dismissed. Not only was he teaching her son, he was also somewhat of a living legend in these parts. He was the Captain of a 19th century Brigantine still maintained in perfect condition that he had enchanted to be sailed without the help of a crew. He was one of the reasons behind why there was so many Ghost ship stories in the local folklore.

Tia Dalma's Island could only be accessed at high tide during the night and by non magical means. Each centimetre square of the island had somehow been Warded against any magical means of transport that wasn't approved in advance by the Mistress of the Island. Of course, to make things even more difficult, she didn't accept night time consultations and you couldn't just barge on her. No, you had to wait and let her come to you. If the level of her security setup was enough to make the Goblins nervous, you had better be extra cautious. Since the island was unplottable, they also couldn't get the direct coordinates for a portkey.

But since Tia Dalma only wished to be secure and not stop every attempts to obtain a consultation with her, she purposely left a few loopholes in her protections. A specifically programmed portkey could drop the visitors a few nautical miles off the island and an amulet loaned to Gringotts, enchanted with a very specific tracking charm, would guide the supplicants more or less safely to destination. It was also highly recommended to look up the meteorological reports from the Coast guards before setting out. Sane people wouldn't want to adventure on the sea during a storm after all.

If she had been alone, Lily would gladly have bet on the weaved-in protections of her work uniform and her talents as a Witch to brave the forest on the island, but with Harry depending on her? No. She wouldn't risk it. She would just have to be patient. They would camp further away from the water just in case, to not have a nasty surprise. Lily would have liked to instruct Harry on how to build a fire pit before starting a fire safely but he was literally dead on his feet. It was way passed his bedtime after all. So she said to her boy with a soothing voice

"Take out your sleeping bag and go to sleep, Honey. You're literally dead on your feet. Find yourself a place near the fire so you won't get cold. Not too near though. We don't want you to get burned after all."

She finished with some humour in her voice.

Harry accepted the instruction given by his mother with a tired tone

"Yes, Mum..."

It took him a few minutes to get comfy enough and he was soon out like a light after a

"Good night, Mum. I love you."

"Good night, sweetheart. I love you too."

Lily snorted a little in amusement since her baby had forgotten to remove his glasses before falling asleep. When he would be older she would see if she could get his eyes fixed. Maybe with that new laser operation she had heard about? Because let's face it, sailing in the traditional way with glasses wouldn't cut if for long and he was a bit young yet to get contact lenses. Add to the fact that Lucas wasn't one to permit shortcuts with magic... Shuffling near her boy, she took them from his face gently before storing them in their case and putting said case inside the cooler. At least, this way there were safe and they would lose them. After posing a loving kiss on his forehead, Lily went back to her previous spot.

There was no need to feed the fire since she had conjured bluebell flames. It was far more secure than a regular camp fire. It was still good to lose themselves in their thoughts though.

Sometimes when she was looking at her son, his father's face would replace his temporarily. While she was very glad to still be alive and have her child back in her life, Lily truly missed James. Her coma had not really helped her grieve her husband's death. There was many people and things Lily felt like cursing to a inch of their lives or all the way to the grave. The meddlesome old man Dumbledore who couldn't keep his nose off the affairs of others, that fraud of a Divination Professor who spewed that bullshit called a Prophecy and last but not least that bastard Voldemort. Each of them had a part of responsibility for breaking apart her family. But in time, she would make them pay. Revenge was a dish best served cold after all. But way before her revenge, she would ensure her son grow up as a good man.

Lily mulled her thoughts while watching the fire for a while longer before also deciding to go to sleep . She took her own sleeping bag from the pneumatic boat and after settling everything as needed to be comfortable, she was quick to join her son into Morpheus' Realm. There was no need to erect Wards since this Island couldn't be accessed willy nilly. The following morning, it was Harry who woke up first.

He looked blankly at the scenery, well as much as he could since without his glasses he was rather nearsighted. They were on a beach with golden sand, the waves of the sea were crashing on the shore gently. There was a deep looking forest further inland, which his mother was suspecting of hosting Tia Dalma's residence. All in all it seemed to be normal, but there weren't a single animal sounds around. And to be frank, it was creeping the boy out big time now that his mind was sufficiently awake to notice it.

There was a clear feeling of power in the air that Harry could feel. It was not exactly malevolent per see but not quite benevolent either. The young boy couldn't really find the right words to describe the feeling. After waking up his mother and retrieving his glasses they ate a frugal breakfast, they stashed their sleeping gear back into the boat once done and then they waited patiently for the mistress of the island to come retrieve them. His mother had explained to him what she had been told by the Goblins (Except things that was related to his possible demise if he was subjected to their rituals, the child had been told that they simply couldn't help but knew somebody who could.) and also about how the Priestess was operating. Personally Harry thought that she was paranoiac, but he was still somewhat naive at his age.

He was also wondering how Uncle Remus was faring. Was he alright back home all alone? Was he still disappointed of having being outpranked by his mum? They didn't had much time to bond yet. While Moony was seemingly quite adept with anything coming from the Muggle world (Harry had seen him use the microwave oven without any trouble the other day.), the man didn't speak a single word of Haitian Creole. English was not a language vastly known or practised in Haiti. French would be his best bet since Creole sounded very much like a rather weird variant of it.

Harry was brought out of his musings when a dark skinned woman came out of the woods at a calm pace. Her long hair was black and seemed to have either natural braids or have been combed that way, he wasn't quite sure. She was also a bit too far away to see her eyes. She was wearing a very old fashioned dress in various touches of brown and was even wearing a rather weird shawl across her shoulders, probably due to the freshness of the morning. Harry leaned on his side to get his mother's attention by tugging on the sleeve of her red trench coat. While he was no longer the withdrawn boy he was a few years ago, the Priestess' presence was making him feel rather skittish for some weird reason. Once he had gotten his mother's attention, he was quick to point to her the arrival of the mistress of the place.

The Sea Goddess Calypso, or as she was still known among the mortals, Tia Dalma, was rather intrigued by the new supplicants who had arrived on her Island by boat last night. Most if not all of those seeking an audience with her these days were far more skittish and troubled by the protections around her Domain and the fact that there seemed to not have any animals living around. But not those two. They had set up a camp a bit further on the beach, protected from the waves and waited patiently for her appearance. To be frank, it was refreshing to not have to deal with people half out of their minds and stammering with fear. Even though it was always amusing gouging those kind of people, it did kind of get old after a while.

After flaring her presence a little while longer, Tia Dalma finally cranked down her Divinity since the child seemed to be particularly sensible to her energy. A fond smile passed on her lips. The kid would go far if he was already able to tell that she was not a regular Magic user. The woman's aura and the infamous red trench coat made her nearly laughed out loud. She had taken the mantle of The Best Thief in the World! Calypso had, of course, heard of the original Carmen's exploits, but she never had the distinct pleasure to meet or deal with her and her successors. Hmm, this could work in her favour. She was in need of somebody who could supply her with the right types of medicinal herbs and ingredients for her activities of dubious legality.

Before long, the Soothsayer had invited both mother and son back to her cabin. What was even stranger than the lack of animal sounds all around, was the fact that the vegetation of her island was identical to the one growing on the Pacific coast of North America instead of being the one from the Caribbean! Her cabin was nested high in the trees between four giant sequoias for God's sake! Of course she had a makeshift elevator to help travelling from her porch to the ground, otherwise it would have took a long while before reaching the house. After an exchange of pleasantries, Tia Dalma then decided that it was time to get to the heart of the matter.

"Well met. As you both have surely guessed by now, I am Tia Dalma. I am a Soothsayer and also a Voodoo priestess. But before we get into what exactly brings the both of you to my humble home, you should know that for the right price, I will do almost everything in my power to give satisfaction to my customers. But there is some ground rules that you must be made aware of before everything else. Firstly, I do notdabble in Love potions and/or the Sex trade, so don't bother asking me anything about those. Secondly, Time Travel is completelyoff limits, so don't ask either.

Thirdly, Death curses and Resurrections are possible with a few rare exceptions, but both are very costly. So if you came to see me for those, you should be prepared to pay the big price. Fourthly, Apotheosis, meaning turning you into a Deity in layman terms, is totally impossible. Fifthly, never and I repeat myself, never try to renege on your end of a deal that we have struck. That is a one way trip to deadly consequences. Other than that, I tend to make a decision to help or not on a case by case basis."

Lily and Harry had no difficulty into dealing with Tia Dalma's limitations/rules except one. She could bring back the Dead to life!? How was it possible?! Harry was feeling a bit too overwhelmed to ask questions and the strange woman's presence was making him feel very nervous for some reason. He didn't know why, she had been quite nice to him ever since they first met. Lily was not that subdued though. She literally leapt with her questions

"Resurrection?! How is that possible?! No magic known to man and other magical creatures had ever been able to truly bring back the dead to life! Can you really bring back the deceased to the World of the Living? A trueResurrection? As is in a living and breathing body made of flesh and blood once more, and not as a Zombie or an Inferius? "

Tia Dalma was rather amused by the plethora of questions and answered frankly with a smile on her lips

"The answer is "yes" to all of those questions. But it is not always as simple as it sounds like. Hence why I charge my customers through the nose for this particular service. My time and my efforts must be remunerated after all. And before you start trying to haggle a price for that particular service, a Resurrection and/or a Death curse won't be bought by mundane money, gold, silver or bronze. Oh no. For those, I am afraid you will have to offer me something much more precious as payment. But for now, let's get back to the true matter at hand. Why have you sought me out in the first place? "

After an indeterminable lapse of time, the redhead managed to regain her calm and composure. Then she explained after hesitating a brief moment

" My son survived the Killing Curse cast by an admittedly very powerful Dark Wizard who called himself "Lord Voldemort" when he was fifteen months old. Harry's survival was thanks to experimental rituals set up way beforehand as fail safes, some of them coming from ancient grimoires and others of my creation, a runic shield engraved around his cot of my invention and a sacrificial ritual powered by the magic and life forces of his paternal grandparents.

A piece of the Dark idiot's soul somehow managed to attach itself to my child's scar and the Goblins couldn't do more to help him than sending us your way. What I need from you is a way of getting that soul piece out of my son in a manner that won't hurt him any more than necessary, won't leave him permanently crippled or/and even worse, dead."

After that, Lily let out a heavy sigh and sought comfort by holding Harry in her arms. Harry didn't really mind to be honest. At first it was weird, but he had grown to like it. The boy had the feeling that even as a teen or an adult, he would always crave his mother's hugs.

Tia Dalma had grown silent after hearing Lily's request. While Voldemort's Darkness had essentially been more or less confined to the British Isles, it had been starting to extend all over Europe until his unexpected defeat back in '81 and soon after if he had not been stopped, it would have likely been all over the world. While she could have escaped his Campaign by returning to the sea if it had came this far, his continued existence would be very bad for the world. Worse even than Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company who tried to destroy Piracy centuries ago.

Back to the present, humming to herself, she then approached the young boy. With the permission of his mother, she moved his fringe to observe the still red and inflamed lightning bolt scar on the right side of his forehead. Then she noticed that the lightning bolt was in fact the Sowilo Rune if only misshaped somewhat. It was another hint that this child was destined to do great things.

"You my boy, have a touch...of Destiny."

The Soothsayer let out a frustrated click of the tongue all the while using all her magical senses to analyze Harry's rune scar. It didn't made any sense to her that it somehow housed a soul fragment of all things. With how many powerful magical protections there was on the child, how come a sliver of soul managed to bypass all of them to graft itself on him? A soul, no matter how tainted with evil, didn't shatter that easily even under duress. Unless...No. No, he didn't! If that Dark Wizard truly did what she was currently thinking he did, then the situation could be far worse than what she first thought. That… that abominable Monster!

He had mutilated his eternal soul willingly in a futile attempt to cheat Death! As if it would do anything more than delay the inevitable! And since the Heathen wasn't currently in her Domain, the Seas that is, she couldn't simply send the Flying Dutchman and it's Captain to collect him for her. But then she could always bargain to get what she wanted… She would have to take time and make a plan. There was no need to rush. She would take all the necessary time to make as perfect as a plan could be.

She then said out loud with certainty in her voice

"I can get the Soul Shard out with little to no problem. Unfortunately it's going to really hurt since it's been embedded in him for years. But rest assure that young Harry shouldn't have any long term sequels. All the various protections weaved around the child actually helped into keeping the parasite at bay. It's not permanently embedded into his psyche and soul yet. It is a good thing you both came to me when Harry is still young. The older your son gets, the harder it would have been to extract the shard safely. There is something else you should know though. A soul don't shatter that easily.

It mean that the monster who attacked your son had made preparations beforehand to split voluntary his soul once more in effort to cheat Death. Doing such a thing is a truly abominable act. I won't go into details since it's really not something children should hear. The soul of a person should be sacrosanct. But many men in centuries past did monstrous things in search of immortality. Like I said, it's truly an abominable act. Right at this moment, I can't do much to get rid of the Heathen, but I intend to do something to correct that very soon. Someone who had dared to go this far simply MUST be destroyed. But before everything else, there is still the matter of payment to discuss. You just can't obtain something for nothing after all."

She finished with a somewhat naughty smile on her lips.

Tia Dalma kept her silence so what she just had revealed could sink into her customers. It was more for Lily's benefits than Harry's, since the poor boy was completely surpassed by the current topic of the conversation. Not that she could truly blame him that is, he was still a child. To make it up to him since she always had a soft spot for children, the goddess in human form went to look for a snack for him in her pantry. She came back a minute later with a homemade lollipop made of honey. After receiving his mother's approval, since you weren't suppose to accept candies from strangers, Harry thanked the priestess and didn't waste any time into unwrapping the candy and eating it. It was quite good!

Now that Harry was occupied, the women could haggle in peace the just price for Tia Dalma's work, but before they could agree which each other, Lily had assimilated the information that the Goddess of the Seas had offered then asked

"When you said that the Dark idiot had somehow managed to split his soul, it must mean that he must still be alive in a certain fashion correct? He did not perish the night his curse rebounded on him after all. Damned it all! I had hoped that my family would be rid of that monster's shadow forever! He is not known to let people he marked for death escape him for long. Fuck! As if I don't have enough on my plate as it is in keeping the senile old goat Dumbledore's agents off our trail all the while raising my son. Now I'll also have to watch behind our backs for fucking Death Eaters and the loony they call "Master"! Great, just...fucking...great!"

Lily then shook her head, letting her long red hair fly around a bit before she said

"No, one thing at the time. This time I want the Soul Shard inside my boy's scar dealt with. For the rest, I'll take care of it in due course. If I have to do some permanent damage to those inbred morons for them to finally get a clue, then so be it."

In the end, after some more haggling, the price was agreed by both parties. In exchange for cleansing the abomination and making sure that Harry could never be possessed ever again, Lily in her guise of Carmen Sandiego would owe Tia Dalma three heists of her choice, free of charge. The Soothsayer would get back to her with the details later as to what she wish for the Thief to acquire for her. Once that part was over, they would see about negotiating another deal for future cooperation another time. Once the current deal was struck with a magically enhanced handshake (With a suspicious boom of thunder sound effect in a cloudless sky in the background...), the Goddess in human disguise got to work to honour her part of the bargain. Never should it be said that Calypso didn't kept her word once given!

she had the child lay down on her cot-like bed and with a snap of her fingers, she conjured restrains that went to work immediately. Calypso also gave Harry something to bite through to make sure to not injure his tongue during the inevitable trashing that the exorcism would cause. Once everything was in place, the Goddess in human form said out loud

"Like I said, it's going to hurt. I truly can't tell you how much, as a Soul Shard inside a living person is almost unheard of. Sadly, young Harry needs to be aware and without anything to dull the pain during the process. This way we will know for sure that Voldemort' piece of soul won't be able to take over his host. But hopefully the process shouldn't take too long. Mrs Potter, can you control yourself or do I need to restrain you as well? Once the exorcism has begun, stopping before the end could have catastrophic consequences. "

Lily bit her upper lip for a moment before nodding reluctantly. She would bear the anguished cries of her son since after this, he would be free of the man who tried his damnedest to destroy her family. While her husband had given his life for his family, she would be damned if she let her son die before his time on this earth was over! In other circumstances she could have thought about her child being freed from the Prophecy, but since she was of the opinion that Divination wasn't worth her time and she didn't believe in Fate anyway. Then all her attention was brought back on her son when she heard his screaming voice due to the pain he currently was in. She had to fight her impulse to rush to his side, it was sheer torture to force herself to stay rooted in place.

With Tia Dalma and Harry, the former had chanted something in an old tongue. It could have been an extinct language or simply gibberish for all he knew, the child hadn't understand a single word of it one way or another. Then her palm started glowing, which was kind of cool, but the second she put her glowing hand on his scar, it felt like he was branded with red iron! He couldn't help but howling in pain. It was a real boon that he had something to bite on or else he would already have bitten his tongue off!

Calypso was currently frowning. The Soul Piece was resisting her. But she simply couldn't use more power to extract it faster, since it would risk the child's life. He was already in such a state of stress. It was in times like these that she cursed having to rely on her mortal powers since as a Pagan goddess of the Seas, she could only use her divine ones having regard to her own Domains. For a second she even started to think that she would not be able to honour her side of the bargain. But her fear was in vain when the Horcrux finally lost the battle. Now flowing out of Harry's scar was some sort of black liquid, viscous, smelly and frankly disgusting.

Tia Dalma then stopped applying the purification magic and vanished the black goo coming out of the scar once it was all expelled. Harry had finally stopped screaming and thrashing but had fallen unconscious due to the pain being too much for him to handle. Now that it was no longer there, he was out like a light. Quickly, the goddess in human form bound Riddle's Soul shard into a simple amulet she had on hand. She had the beginning of a plan to get rid of the Abomination, but she had to iron out some of the finer details first. Finishing her part of the deal by making sure that Harry could never be possessed again by anything, be it benign or malign (It was a trade secret), she decided to let him rest. It also seemed that Lily had used all her inner strength to not rush to her son's bedside during the procedure.

Now that it was over, she didn't lose any more time before rushing to his bedside. If she didn't knew better, Tia Dalma would have sworn that Lily had bypassed the Anti-Apparition Wards to be near her child faster. Once there, she fell to her knees without care and peppered her unconscious boy's face and hair with motherly kisses full of relief. She had been so terrified seeing him trash about and scream like that and not being able to do anything about it!

Potter's Home, Tortuga, Haiti to Port-Au-Prince International Airport between August 2 to August 4 1988.

In the end, both Lily and Harry had to stay twelve more hours on Tia Dalma's Island to let Harry's magic regenerate the damages caused by the exorcism and replenish enough strength to be able to travel back to their house on Tortuga. And even then, Harry floated in and out of consciousness for two days before he was recovered enough to leave his bed. Although this was not foreseen, the removal of the shard of soul gave Harry a much better vision. Once he was lucid enough to see the difference, Harry found out that he no longer needed his glasses to see correctly. Which was a relief for the boy, he could continue his sailing lessons without any future problem now.

But while Harry was back on his feet, the Goblin Healer who oversaw his health did order the boy to take a few more days off. In these circumstances, Harry was thus available to go fetch his Dogfather with his mother at the Airport. Since Lily wanted to one up Sirius, she did take care of putting in place her Carmen Sandiego persona. Harry was under a spell of Remus' creation. No one looking for the "Boy-Who-Lived" would find him, since Harry Potter had been magically dissociated from the moniker given to him by the British magicals. And "Harry Potter" would be seen to those looking for him as a "uninteresting ordinary boy" to everyone except those keyed into the charm. Remus had crafted it in his Marauder's days so he and his friends could escape from the teachers wanting to catch them on the act.

It took a while, but Padfoot's Vari kennel was discharged from the cargo plane and after passing through the customs and seeing that all his papers were in order, he was thankfully spared from another vet check. Once everything needed to be taken care of was done, Carmen took back everyone to her house on Turtle Island via Portkey once they were in an isolated location with no chances of being seen. In the privacy of their home, Carmen retired the spelled collar on Padfoot's neck, well when he was done licking Harry until the laughing child was soaked with saliva that is.

Now able to take back a human shape, Padfoot was replaced by the getting better but still emaciated Sirius Black. Having never seen or heard of Carmen Sandiego but seeing his Godson clinging to the woman's left hip in awe of seeing him transform had the man bring out the goold Ol' Black charm that had girls throwing their knickers at him during his last years of schooling and his early years of adulthood:

"I guess that it is to you that I owe my freedom then, miss? You have my thanks. "

He finished with a would be charming grin. He then continue with other pointed questions

"Now why would a perfect stranger arrange to break me out of Azkaban and more importantly, how have you managed to obtain myGodson's custody? If you know what is good for you, you will answer my questions quickly. If not, Harry will be leaving with me. Your health at our leaving will depend on how cooperative you were."

He finished sharply.

While the charming number was a good try, Sirius failed to realize that in his current state, he wouldn't charm any knickers off a girl for a long while. The sharp demands after the charming attempt were expected, but made her feel threatened a tiny bit. But the outright threat at the end had her almost shift into Mama Bear. It was only because he didn't have access to a wand and the fact that he knew only two wand-less tricks whom were useless in a fight that prevented her for taking out her 9mm pistol and shoot him point blank in the kneecaps. Wizards were in general big babies in pain threshold, what with the extend of magical healing and numbing charms. A single bullet wound was generally all it took to make even the most stupid and inbred thug think twice before crossing her.

Thus Carmen was quick to answer with the raising of an eyebrow and a sarcastic tone of voice

"First of all, Mr. Black put your charm away, in your current state it won't work. I am not one of those vapid and easy girls you were used to seduce before your false imprisonment. As to why I know those details, it doesn't matter to the current conversation."

Her eyes then became deadly sharp and before Sirius could react, she had her knee in his stomach, while he was hunched over the said knee with the breath knocked out of him she followed by an elbow blow in between the shoulder blades. Not content with that, Carmen levitated him with magic high enough to judo flip him back to the ground. Stunned, Sirius could do nothing when Carmen put her boot on his torso. The apparition of her 9mm pistol was also a very high deterrent. In his eternal quest to annoy his parents, Sirius had researched heavily firearms and was very well in the know of their capacities.

With a growling voice and glowing eyes, Carmen spat out

"NEVER! NEVER threatened to take my son away from me! You're quite lucky that you were James' brother in all but blood and that Remus is currently on his way to set you straight or I would have killed you on the spot! I'm no longer a goody two shoes Black!"

Then to make things clear to the ex-con, Carmen let herself fade away to reveal a very pissed off Lily Evans Potter.

Sirius could only gulp loudly in fear before pleading with a very meek voice

"Huh...Mercy?"

Lily then put away her gun before taking her wand whose tip was now sparkling dangerously and answered with a terrifying smile

"Sorry, all out of mercy…"

Then Lily started hexing while Sirius squealed like a little girl, all the while Harry was wondering what was going on.