Chapter 10 Snippets

"Xeno love your finally home! Those rascally twins and your mischievous daughter are waiting in the printing room. I told them it was going to be a while but they insisted they wait. George said he'd use the time to study the books I've lent him while Fred is plotting with Luna. Sweet little dears." the petit blonde woman said fondly before she faltered taking in her husband's appearance. Silver eyes growing worried. "What happened? Did something go wrong with your story? I thought Kassia said it was a scoop you wouldn't want to miss?"

Xenophilius Lovegood smiled a bit sadly. "Death Eater's attacked Harry Potter's home last night. They haven't been able to find him. Bad news all around. Seems like it wasn't a very loving home for Mr. Potter."

"Oh my."

"Yes. We'll talk more about it later. I need to clean the story up a bit and then get it out. Betrys is doing the article for the Prophet, thank Merlin, so it will most likely not be complete and utter rubbish but I'd like to make sure facts we have get released to the public without bias. Not to mention I know our readers have been dying to here more news about the resurgence of the Fuzzling Nitwicks in Australia and I don't want to disappoint them. Though I have a feeling all our research on the matter is for naught. Such bad news will take away any and all enjoyment to be had in the rest of the paper."

Seren Lovegood nodded before casting glance down the hallway at the sound of a yelp. "Not to mention it would be a good idea to put those Weasley twins to work before they cause too much mischief. Not that it's entirely their fault. Little Luna seems to enjoy egging them on."

Xenophilius chuckled. "Indubitably. They are good help though, despite their little antics. I am truly grateful I agreed to let them help me in the printing room and distribute papers in the neighborhood. They sell more editions of the Quibbler than the owls ever did. Cute little buggers that they are. Hard workers too. And they make Luna happy."

Seren brightened. "I agree. They're quick as snidget. Both of them seem to really enjoy my teaching, even if it's mainly bookwork. If they aren't at the top of their classes in potions and charms at Hogwarts I'll eat my left shoe!"

Xeno chuckled again before pecking his wife on the cheek and heading to his office. His lovely little star always did make things brighter, even in the face of such bad news.

At about 7 am Xenophilius found the boys still waiting in the printing room. Seren had apparently commandeered their daughter to help with breakfast, leaving both Fred and George with their little freckled noses stuck in a book.

"Anything interesting boys?" he asked, moving to the large contraption in the middle of the room that spat out new copies of the Quibbler with a few nifty charms.

"Morning Mr. Lovegood! And nothing too interesting..."

"Just a few charms that might help us fix…"

"Our mother's cookbook."

Xeno raised a pale brow at the red-headed boys lounging in the overstuffed purple couch against the wall. The twins always seemed eager to share their little plots with him. And damn him if he didn't enjoy it. Seren often got on him for egging them on but he just couldn't help it. There was never any malice in their little pranks and both boys seemed eager to bring about laughter and cheer. Even though they went about it in rather mischievous and often hilarious ways. Like the time they swapped their great-aunt knickers for muggle lingerie. Xeno had a feeling Bill might have had a hand in that one too. "And just why does it need fixing?"

Fred, he could tell because he was wearing a sweater with a large 'G' emblazoned on the front, sat up scowling a bit as he helped pull George to his feet.

"Mums on a bit of a health stint."

"Nothing but broccoli and cabbage!"

"Brussels and carrots!"

"No more pies or tarts!"

"We'll starve to death at this rate!"

"So we talked to Bill,"

"And he said he'd help us with all the wandwaving."

"If we just figure out how to make it work."

"Well that was nice of him. A man must always defend his sustenance. What have you boys figured out?" Xenophilius said as he started up the press, sparkling pink smoke puffing out the top. The twins then set up the bins in the proper place to catch the papers as they fell.

"Well," George began. "We found a neat little charm"

"That scrambles words on parchment. So we're thinking"

"What if we could change it so,"

"The ingredients in mum's recipes,"

"Change to things we like when she's not looking?"

"A wonderful idea, but you do know the end results might turn out unpleasant. Imagine broccoli in chocolate sauce." And all three shuddered. "Not to mention Molly would definitely notice something amiss. If only by smell alone."

The boys sighed and one mumbled, Xeno couldn't tell which as his back was turned, "That's true."

"Well don't be discouraged, I'm sure you'll think of something. Now we're running late. The batch for the neighborhood is already done. Run along and deliver them. I'll take care of the rest here. And don't forget to come back for breakfast. I'm sure I remember Seren muttering something about blueberry pancakes. I'm sure there will be plenty left when you return."

Two sets of blue eyes brightened. "Yes sir!" they said cheerfully before taking their delivery bags and heading out the door at a run.

"We have to do something Forge. I don't know how much longer I can stand to eat this," Fred whispered amid the hustle and bustle of the Weasley kitchen, lifting a spoonful of unsweetened oatmeal before letting it plop back into the bowl. "For breakfast." Their mother had refused to allow them to go back to the Lovegood's to eat after their route, exclaiming they would eat breakfast together as a family.

"I know Gred. We'll figure something out. If nothing else we could always stash a dungbomb in the pantry again. Maybe mum would get the idea then."

"She was pretty mad last time we did that. I don't want to get grounded from Zonko's again. She even held onto the money we earned for our route so we couldn't sneak anything."

"Yeah. At least that gave us our idea to set up our joke fund for Hogwarts. We'll have plenty of money stashed away to buy pranks and other things before we go." And George paused and sulked for a moment before perking back up. "Maybe we could also have Bill charm the book so she only smells what she thinks she's cooking. She doesn't really pay attention to the ingredients she using anyway. Just waves her wand and everything flies about. So she wouldn't be able to tell if she was using anything different."

"That's a brilliant idea! You think Bill would know how to do that? Or do we have to look through Mrs. Lovegood's books again?"

"I kind of want to do this on our own. And I think Bill wants us to as well." And Fred nodded in agreement.

"Now what mischief are you boys planning?" their father said sitting down at the table, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Nothing father."

"Dearest father

"Most wonderful, supreme"

"Grandiose father!"

And Arthur Weasley smiled around his coffee cup as his wife gave his boys the 'Look' before exclaiming "silly boys" affectionately and going back to her oatmeal and raisins.

"Paper sure is late today isn't it?" Arthur commented.

"Mr. Lovegood had do deal with a really big story this morning." Fred began.

"We didn't even start printing papers till about Seven."

"That's probably why the Prophet is late too."

"Did he say what the fuss was about?" Molly asked and she frowned a bit when the twins said no.

"And you didn't thin to check the paper itself when you were delivering them?" She huffed irritably.

"Well we were a little..."

"Distracted." and the two boys shared a look as they remembered the plotting that took place during their route.

"Well we won't have to wait long to find out." Arthur said standing to go to the window and stopping Molly from interrogating the boys farther. He so loved their pranks and lightheartedness. It just wouldn't do for his lovely wife to spoil whatever the boys were concocting in advance. She could always sniff them out given enough time. "Here comes the news owl now."

Harry Potter's Home Attacked!

Boy-Who-Lived Missing!

Family Murdered!

By Betrys Emlynne

Early this morning in the quiet muggle neighborhood of Surrey, Number Four privet Drive, the wards around the home of Harry Potter fell and the dark mark was cast overhead.

According to early reports Vernon, Petunia and Dudley Dursley, Harry Potter's muggle Uncle, Aunt and nine year old cousin respectively, were forcefully bound and both adults were summarily tortured and killed. Dudley Dursley was left relatively unharmed, merely silenced and jinxed with a pig's tail.

Harry Potter was not found on scene and kidnapping has been mentioned. The Auror's in charge of the investigation are refraining from any firm allegations until Mr. Dudley Dursley's memories have been examined.

Given young Harry Potter's importance to the wizarding world one has to ask: Why was such an attack allowed to occur? Why wasn't the Boy-Who-Lived better protected?

According to ministry records Albus Dumbledore was in charge of Harry Potter's placement. No record of his address was to be found and there is currently no magical guardian appointed for the young savior. Attempts to access the wills of James and Lily Potter were unsuccessful as for some reason both wills were sealed by the Wizengamot a mere three days after their deaths. It is logical to conclude this might have been to protect Harry Potter and his privacy but due to Albus Dumbledore's refusal to comment the true reason is unknown.

As such we have only the facts revealed by this morning's investigation. Examinations by Unspeakables at number four revealed two sets of powerful wards, one cast by Albus Dumbledore and a blood ward that has tentatively been said to have been tied to Mrs. Petunia Dursley. If this is truly the case, how did the wards fall? According to our very own warding specialist Mr. Lukas Pharamond the blood ward in particular wouldn't have fallen, unless it was already weakened.

'Blood wards are a powerful protection, unbreakable. Without knowing the specifics of the wards in question I cannot say for sure, but there are only two ways a blood ward can fall. 1. If the person it is tied to dies or 2. If the ward was severely weakened. Since Mrs. Dursley's time of death is set after the wards had fallen it is safe to assume the blood ward was already weak enough to be broken by a skilled wards master. A wards master with enough skill or additional outside strength to pull down the other ward while simultaneously stopping any alarms for a time. '

How is a blood ward weakened? Mr. Pharamond had this to say.

'A blood ward can only be weakened if the ties, both physical and emotional between the ground (Mrs. Petunia Dursley) and the one meant to be protected (Harry Potter) are weak themselves."

According to reports Mrs. Petunia Dursley is Harry Potter's maternal aunt, a relation Mr. Pharamond assured us is close enough to insure a very strong ward. That brings to question the emotional ties between nephew and aunt.

This, along with some disturbing reports from those investigating the premises, hinting at neglect and abuse lead this reporter to some disturbing conclusions.

Was Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived unsafe in his home even before this morning's horrific attack?

To see more details on this morning's events see pg.2

To see more information on blood wards see pg.3

To see more information on Harry Potter's placement with the Dursley's see pg.6

To see more speculation on the whereabouts of Harry Potter see pg. 7

"Oh Albus this is terrible!" Minerva McGonagall whispered as tears fell down her cheeks. "What are we going to do? We have to find little Harry as soon as possible. Who knows what those beastly death eaters are doing to him!"

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts and champion of all that is good and light heaved a pained sigh and leaned heavily on his desk. Fawkes crooning notes of comfort from his perch. "Minerva, I'm afraid we must be prepared for the worst."

"The worst Albus! Surely you don't mean that! Surely there is something we can do? Anything?"

"I'm afraid not my dear. Can you imagine any Death eater allowing Harry Potter to live for long once they've trained their wands upon him? Unless we get any leads there is nothing for us to do. I made a dreadful mistake all though years ago. Thinking the blood wards more than enough to protect young Harry I neglected to place any tracers upon the boy and all my scrying attempts have been for naught. Everything seems to be blocked by an impenetrable shadow."

"Oh Albus." And Minerva closed her eyes tightly in anguish before taking a steadying breath and rounding on the Headmaster in fury. "And what of those blood wards Albus! They should not have fallen! What if the Prophet was right? What if that poor wee little babe was abused by those muggles? I told you. I told you he should not be placed there. And look at what has come of it!"

The aged wizard bowed his head. He had known that it might not be an exactly pleasant environment for young Harry but he would never have imagined Petunia Dursley turning her back enough on her own nephew for the blood wards to be impacted. Harry had needed the protection of his mother's sacrifice. Not to mention he had needed the chance to grow without the wizarding world's adulations heaped upon his young shoulders. And from the way evidence was pointing, the pettiness of a foolish muggle was to blame for everything falling to hell in a hand basket. If only he had thought to check on the boy. But alas, what was done was done. All he could do was make sure he did not repeat the same mistakes again.

"Even I am not exempt from mistakes Minerva. Call together the Order. Let us see if we can't find Harry. In the meantime I'm afraid I must be off. I need to pay Augusta Longbottom a visit."

Raevyn poked his head around the corner warily, ears twitching to catch the slightest noise. Felix was currently perched on his head, taking a rare break from his daily sleepy time. The pair were in the west wing, not far from Raevyn's rooms. Linny had told him Aunt Eirene wanted his help this morning sorting through the things she'd brought back from her travels and said to meet her in her study. It was now three days after his birthday and Raevyn hadn't really gotten a chance to meet the witch yet. His father had told him it was common occurrence for her to rest in her rooms for several days when she returned home from her travels. Raevyn had however, shared a few words with her familiar.

After playing referee for a bit between Felix and the large green snake he found Rasui very fun to talk to. Not only was the reptile able to share with him even more interesting hidden spots around the chateau but he also had lots of fun stories about his travels with Eirene. According to Rasui she was completely dedicated to her work and that while she wasn't the most powerful witch, botching charms and spells left and right, she was very smart and was one of the top Historians of magical culture.

But no matter how many praises the snake had sung it didn't make Raevyn any less wary of going anywhere near the room such loud bangs and noises were coming from last night, even if they had quieted down.

After a brief staring match with the door before huffing at himself in agitation for being so skittish, Raevyn made his way to the door leading to his Aunt Eirene's study and, rather timidly, knocked.

'Crash!'

Raevyn jumped away from the door, eyes widening at the flustered voice he heard from the other side. "Oh blast it all! Honestly I thought I had a bright bunch but didn't they know you can't transport over a hundred rolls of records without sealing them?" There was some shuffling and a few muttered curses before the door opened and Eirene's face smiled down at him as she brushes a few curls of loose black hair away from her face.

"Good morning Raevyn! Come in come in. Sorry about the mess. I made the mistake of having my assistants pack and it seems they made a bit of a mess with it. That's the problem with catchall bags. If you don't organize it just right everything gets all jumbled."

Raevyn nodded wondering what on earth a catchall bag was and gazed around the cluttered room in bewilderment. Piles of parchment and boxes and books were stacked taller than even Eirene herself! After giving him a moment to grab a tighter hold on Felix so the menace wouldn't cause an avalanche with his curious exuberance Eirene led him through a clear path (that he would not have found without her assistance) to another door which led to a room filled with crates and what looked like large filing cabinets adorning every inch of wall space. There were two leather chairs and a desk stacked high with papers, books and knick-knacks situated in the very center and after they each took their seats Eirene began.

"Now Raevyn, I have over two dozen crates from Peru that need to be unpacked and organized as soon as possible. Some pieces are rather delicate and must be stored in the proper environment. You see the files along the walls? Each drawer lead to a magically expanded space that is safe to store and examine my finds in. Merely open the drawer and it will resize to allow you entrance. Every object will be separated according to its origin, purpose and significance before being placed in its corresponding place. You are not to touch those boxes or scrolls sealed with red string. The items within are dangerous and would do an untrained young wizard such as yourself great injury and misfortune. Is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. Now the location the contents of each crate were found at should be labeled on the box. As are their purposes. You will place this first stack of crates here," and Eirene gestured at a group of five to six boxes. "In the file cabinet labeled 27. Those from the Pacarina go in the glass cases towards the back. Those from the Hueca go to the right, the scrolls need to be placed in their labeled order in the rack and the general items need to be placed on the left. And do not fret if you stumble, goodness knows I do so often enough, each piece has a temporary protection charm that will keep it from breaking."

Raevyn nodded and then asked. "What's a Packertina? And that other thing?"

Eirene smiled down at the boy. "It's called a Pacarina Raevynand Huaca. And I don't believe I'll tell you at the moment. The best things in life we learn ourselves. After you're finished unpacking you tell me what you think those places are, and what they mean. We'll indulge in milk and cookies if you reach a logical conclusion."

Raevyn nodded a bit hesitantly before turning to head off to work, pausing as a bit of newspaper caught his eye. He could just make out the headline. He bit his lip and went quickly off to work, mind buzzing and a little numb and leaving Felix to commandeer Eirene's desk for his nap.

"Now that won't do. If you're going to sleep on my desk you might as well hide those blasted forms from the ministry, not my translations." Eirene deftly picked up the sleepy critter and plopped him down on the thick stack of paper, unmindful of any damage from fur or claws.

"And apparently there are spirits on the mountains called Apu and they'd protect the people that lived on or near their mountain. As long as they had the proper respect. Isn't that amazing?"

Nikodemus nodded in bemusement as he watched his young son chatter excitedly as a rather large constrictor curled up in his lap. It was one of his modified anacondas, still very young, but even at this point was large enough to have crushed the child easily. Yet the thing seemed to literally purr beneath Raevyn's touch.

It had been the only survivor of that particular hatching. The influx of magical power from the Basilisk DNA was too great and only the strongest had survived. Which was probably for the best. While the large snake lacked the deadly gaze of its forebears it was still much stronger and exceedingly resistant to magic. It also had immunity to a cock's crow.

Which had been a horrid problem when said snake had suddenly become irritable, snapping its jaws at the least provocation and refusing its monthly meal. Nikodemus was truly grateful for Raevyn's newly discovered gift. Even if he had to brave the wrath of his aunt for pulling the child away from his new position as her 'assistant'.

After a brief conversation Raevyn had revealed that the scent of the cockatrice several enclosures away was making it nervous and territorial. So with a few quick spells and some sedatives Nikodemus had the murderous chicken moved to the opposite end of the compound and the snake, who Raevyn informed him was named He who comes silently or in human tongue SilentStalker, had finally calmed down.

"Father? Do you think I could visit Stalker again?"

"For a time. I have several people interested in purchasing him as a guard for their treasures. Though it will be a few months before he is old enough to be sold."

Raevyn nodded and continued to pet the scaly head that had wound across his shoulders and over his chest for a few minutes before saying quietly.

"I saw the paper today, in Aunt Eirene's office."

"Did you now. And what do you think of it?"

"I…I don't know." And he was silent for a few more moments before raising conflicted green eyes to Nik's own.

"Is it bad that I feel safer? Now, now even if people find out I used to be Harry Potter and take me away from you they at least can't send me back there."

Nikodemus moved from his spot leaning on the wall and with a flick of his wand sent Stalker back to its enclosure before sitting next to Raevyn and pulling the small child to his lap.

"No. How can it be wrong for you to feel safe? You are only a child and whatever else I may be or believe I hold firm to the truth that every child deserves to be loved. Well…at least the ones that have managed to get my Aunt to promise to take time away from her books and notes to bake her wonderful cookies."

Raevyn chuckled weakly and hugged Nikodemus around the middle. The pair sat there in silence for several long moments, listening to the various shuffles and sounds from the animal enclosures and each dwelling in their own thoughts.

"Thank you dad."

Nikodemus merely scritched one of his ears in acknowledgment before saying. "I guess I need to get you back to Eirene. If she never finishes cataloguing her notes and finds we'll never get those cookies."

Raevyn nodded and gave his father one last squeeze before hopping off Nik's lap, swishing his tail and giving a devious little grin.

"You know, Aunt Eirene never said anything about me having to share the cookies she's promised…"

And then Raevyn took off running.

Author's note:

Now I wasn't planning on going anymore in depth about Eirene's research at this point in time. Both Pacarina's and Huaca's are from Incan culture and with the quick read-through (from Wikipedia) I did I don't know that I can give it adequate justice. If enough people wish for me to do so I have some ideas to make it work so let me know what you want. I'm fine either way. There will be more tidbits about different magical cultures in the future though, especially as Raevyn starts maturing. I'm going to say this now, if I get something wrong, feel free to inform me. But keep in mind this is fiction story based in a fictional reality. Things here can be different and be in no way disrespectful to actual cultures and/or religions.

Also, let me know what you guys think of the twins. They will be going through some changes, they're only ten at the moment.

Spoiler Alert

Answer's to reviews

Dark Serpent Cat: I honestly never thought of having Raevyn be able to talk to felines. Which is sad because to makes purrfect sense for him to do so. (heehee)

Kitsune95: I have another pairing and interest for Draco. He's also going to be more of a brother figure for Raevyn. But I've been seriously thinking of some one-sided Cedric/Raevyn as some early competition for the twins. Feel free to offer more suggestions.

And I totally agree about the bondage so don't worry. It won't be happening until Raevyn is good and ready and no relationships will really start until at least Raevyn's forth year. And when I say bondage I don't mean anything that's going to cause Raevyn actual pain. Mainly just collars, leashes and stuff like that.

XxHopex: Yeah. Leila will be coming along. Someone has to keep the curious kitten out of trouble while he's at school.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed/commented.

Sneak Preview: Time Jump! The Twins start Hogwarts and Raevyn learns a new trick.