Babble babble blah blah Chapter 4!

Chapter 4

Recap

Rita Skeeter had thought that Lucius Malfoy's desperate search for his wayward son would make for some juicy columns, but all thoughts of that plan were gone now.

Wait until the Wizarding Public found out Harry Potter was alive, and for them to see just how far the Golden Boy had fallen.

Colin Creevey, as soon as he graduated from Hogwarts, immediately accepted a job at the Daily Prophet as a photographer, first because he had dreamed of doing so all of his school days, but also because, as an inside man for the newspaper, he was useful to the Prince of Thieves, who he owed so much to.

Flashback: 2 Years

His younger brother, Dennis, who was the only other wizard in his family, had something no one in the magical world had ever encountered before. Dennis had contracted brain cancer. At first they didn't really pay attention to the headaches, or occasional hallucination, but when it got worse during the summer in Dennis' fifth year and Collin's sixth, their mother demanded they go see a muggle neurologist. That's when they found out.

It was too deep, too fast, and completely inoperable. Dennis had a year left to live. Collin, in desperation, had sent letters to every medi-witch and wizard he could find, but they all sent back in negative. It was very, very rare for a wizard to get cancer, and they had no real reason to research a cure.

Finally, almost three months before his brother's time ran out, Collin gave up. He spent every moment with his younger brother, making memories, and telling him that on no uncertain terms that he loved him. He was running out of chances to do that. But one day a majestic snowy owl flew through the high windows of Hogwarts and landed right in front of him, sticking out her leg as she eyed him imperiously.

The letter stated that, although the sender hadn't received a letter from Collin, he had heard of his plea, and had a solution. The letter bid them to come out to Knockturn Alley, just off of Diagon Alley, in two days time, the day after the end of school. There they would be met by a boy who identified himself as the bard, who would lead them to the sender.

There was no name signed; only the initial POT.

On the day instructed, Collin lead his nearly delirious brother down into the bowels of the ill reputed alley, all the while wondering if this was a hoax, when a boy about two years younger than him with shaggy chestnut hair and amber eyes stepped out in front of them and introduced himself as the bard. He blindfolded both older boys, and led them away.

They hear doors opening, and finally the blindfolds were pulled off, and Collin found himself staring into eyes he hadn't seen in almost five years.

"Harry Potter." He whispered reverently. The older boy smiled softly.

"Hello, Collin. Welcome to my court." Harry said. He led them up a grand staircase that seemed to still be under construction, and into a room filled with beds that smell of disinfectant. A medical room.

Harry had Dennis lay down on one of the beds, and placed his hands gently on the younger boy's temples, closing his own eyes.

Finally he opened them again, and smiled. "You came to me just in time, didn't you?" He asked Dennis softly, as Collin watched on in fascination.

"How can you do something, Harry? You ran away in your second year, and medi-witches and wizards twice our age claimed they couldn't do anything." Collin asked. It wasn't as if he didn't believe Harry could do what he had promised, he was just curious as to how the raven haired teenager learned how to.

Turning to his patient's older brother, Harry snapped on latex gloves, something that wasn't normally seen in magical hospitals.

"Actually, by training by myself I've actually surpassed most witches and wizards in power and knowledge. But that's not the only reason I can do this when they normally can't. Most witches and wizards turn their noses up at muggle technology, which includes their medicine. I, on the other hand, embrace it, and mix it with magical medicine. What I'm going to do with your brother will be a mix of both. I'm going to open his skull to reveal his brain, then use magic to simulate a powerful dose of radiation. It's not exactly radiation, so it won't kill him, and the direct contact will eradicate the cancer completely." Harry explained patiently. Collin nodded, slightly in awe.

Turning back to Dennis, Harry looked his patient in the eye, and for the first time in a month Dennis' eyes were clear and alert. "Dennis, there is a slight chance that the magic I use will overwhelm your brains ability to function, and you won't make it out of here. I warn you that you'll have to be awake through the whole procedure. Are you willing to proceed?" The raven haired boy asked seriously, to which the 15-year-old only nodded. "Are you ready to see what makes your brother tick, Collin?" Harry called over his shoulder, an attempt at joking. Collin didn't answer. He couldn't.

And so the procedure began. Raising a hand, Harry brought it down in one smooth gesture and, smooth as butter, the top of Dennis' skull separated from the rest, revealing his brain to the room. Collin gasped, and clutched a pillow from another bed fearfully. Dennis didn't say or do anything. His eyes had clouded back over, and he was lost to his delusions again. Harry positioned himself right where the cap like pert of skull had been hovering moments before, and it moved itself out of the way. He pointed resolutely at the pinkish tissue, and words that Collin had never heard of spilled out of his mouth. Finally a narrow beam of onyx light flew from his fingertips, and was absorbed into the younger sibling's brain.

For a few moments, nothing happened, and Harry too that moment to reattach the skull cap seamlessly, then, before to Collin's utter delight, Dennis' eyes cleared, and he blinked in confusion up at the ceiling. Looking over to his brother, Dennis asked, "Collin, where are we?" Before he could utter another word, he was tackled by his brother.

A few tests later, which tested Dennis' depth perception, motor functions, memory, and ability to analyze information, the boy was deemed completely okay, and his older sibling broke down in tears.

Collin Creevey would owe Harry Potter for as long as he lived.

Flashback end

Now Dennis was attending his last year of school, after having to catch up on what he missed due to the brain tumor, and he became Head Boy, and Collin couldn't be prouder.

So he owed the Prince of Thieves for saving his brother, and giving him the chance to live his life.

As he stood by the water cooler, chatting idly with some of his coworkers, a high pitched voice called his name, and, recognizing it, he winced.

Rita Skeeter, one of the most ruthless and hated journalists he knew, was calling him over.

Collin almost ran away when she winked coyly at him. Even though the woman was about twice his age, the bespectacled witch had for some reason, become enamored with him, and requested him whenever she needed photographs.

But, because it was his job, he reluctantly made his way over to the bitch-er- witch.

"Collin, dear, how are you?" The older woman asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

"Rita, please, I need to get back to my proofing. Did you need something?" The young man queried, trying not to lose his lunch.

"Fine, fine. I need you to sneak into this address and take pictures of the boy on the throne. Can't miss him." She handed Collin a slip of parchment, and when he glanced at it, it was all he could do not to cry out in alarm.

On the slip of paper was the address for the Court of the Rouge.

"A guy on a throne? That's unusual." He stated instead, trying to keep his alarm from showing on his face. Rita nodded eagerly.

"I'll let you in on a little secret, but only because you're my favorite photographer. You know how Harry Potter disappeared six years ago after saving some little girl?" Collin nodded, swallowing uneasily, "And of course you've heard the rumors about the Prince of Thieves." That wasn't a question. Anybody worth their salt in the world of journalistic reporting had to have heard that rumor, though none could confirm it. "Well, what if I told you they were one and the same?" The older woman finished smugly.

Collin almost obliviated her right there, but there were too many witnesses around in order to do so. Instead he tried to look suitably shocked.

"You don't say! Wow, that is big news, Rita, if you can prove it. I can see a promotion in your future if you're right." He declared.

Rita grinned wolfishly. "That's where you come, Collin, darling. With a picture, no one can deny it. If you can capture the illusive Prince on film, well, there will probably be a promotion for you too! And when this story is out, and we both get promoted, why we can go out to dinner together to celebrate." She proclaimed.

Collin grimaced, but managed to turn it into a grin. He walked away, leaving her to her plotting, and into his own cubical.

Quickly he scribbled down a missive that he sent off with one of the post owls that belonged to the profit. He couldn't think of anything to do to stop the woman, but His Majesty probably could.

Harry saw the owl fly through the window at once, and frowned when it immediately flew over to him. He pet it and had one of the others bring it meat to eat while he read the message it carried.

He frowned, thinking hard. All of his thieves were loyal enough to keep his identity a secret. They had an honor code for that. Only one person wasn't honor bound to keep his secret.

"Kain!" He called, and like always, the man appeared instantly, without a sound.

"Yes, Your Majesty?" The man asked.

"Bring me Lucius Malfoy."

Yeah, yeah, it was a long time in coming. But I hit a severe depression that took quite a bit to pull out of. But I'm fine now, and hope to update more frequently!