A.N: *Insert a long list of reasons for why I haven't been updating for so long*

I created a Wattpad account where you can find some of my original written works, you can find the link on my profile.

Chapter 18

"So, what's up with the mask?" A voice broke through Harry's morning haze.

He raised his raven head to look at the young teenager in front of him. From what he got, she was fifteen, homeschooled by her muggleborn parents who felt that the magical world was too unkind towards non-pureblood citizens. Even if he didn't wear the mask, he doubted that she would've recognized him. He had to resist the temptation.

"The privilege of privacy is something that I came to cherish, Celandine." He replied, sipping on his tea. Harry and Remus stayed slightly late into the night, to come up with the right charms for Valravn to be able to eat and drink without having to take off his mask. Nevertheless, he had to ignore the unconscious instinct of trying to avoid knocking against the raven's beak.

The teenager looked at him for a few moments, chewing her toast in thoughtful silence.

"Well, it looks lame." Celandine said with an air of finality.

Harry felt his cheeks warming up, he was glad that she couldn't see it. Though, his silence was most likely more than enough to let her know.

The dark-skinned boy sitting next to them snickered quietly. His name was Brian, he was the second under-age teenager who tried to convince Valravn to be allowed to fight. It was the three of them at the table this early in the morning, the others cherishing the unusual opportunity to sleep in without being bothered by Ministry personnel.

Despite the semi-hurtful remarks, Harry could feel their frequent curious glances at him. He knew that if a masked stranger showed up and saved him from a lengthy stay at Azkaban, he'd be wondering as well.

"Then it gives me an advantage," Valravn concluded, "an average Death Eater wouldn't be too intimidated by a lame mask. It gives me the chance to finish the fight before it even began."

It meant to be a joke, but the coldness in his voice turned it into something much more sinister. The two teenagers tried their best to smile, but they ended up with grimaces.

"Don't let that downer ruin your breakfast, kids. He's a big softie deep down inside." Tonks commented as she entered the kitchen, a hand lying softly on her stomach.

They chuckled while Harry sent a half-hearted glare at the pregnant woman, receiving a teasing wink in return.

The table filled in with the younger kids who demanded breakfast. Tonks tended to them with a gentle look in her eyes that Harry has never seen before. Remus joined her, his own gaze turning soft as he helped her with the horde of hungry kids.

"They are really good with the kids, I have no idea how they do it." Celandine whispered to him, taking great care to not be overheard.

"I think that it's their ages, as well as everything that they went through." Harry replied, not knowing why he was sharing that much with a stranger.

She considered his words for a few moments.

"You seem to know them pretty well." She commented off-handily, not expecting to be graced with a response.

"Yeah, they've been around for me for quite a while." Harry admitted with an unseen smile.

XXXXXXX

"Are you trying to make us give up?" Brian demanded with an angry flush on his face, panting slightly from the physical work.

"No, I'm not." Harry tried to deny as he dodged another one of Celandine's spells with little effort. It took him some time to get into the whole combat, but his muscles soon remembered the old dance. The sluggishness at the raid seemed to be nothing more than just a scare. Or perhaps it was their clumsiness that made him look like a world champion.

Brian sent a stunner his way. It was blocked by Valravn's shield before being answered with his own stunner. The teenager wasn't able to muster the agility to dodge it in time.

The others didn't seem to be doing much better either; awkward missteps and clunky spell work dominated the broad gymnasium that they found on the third floor of the building. Valravn had to wonder if he made a mistake by trying to create an army out of those who were not built to fight.

"Come on, people. We aren't going to get anywhere if you are too afraid to hurt your opponent." He called out loudly at them, hoping to get some sort of a reaction.

A Reducto spell almost slammed into his chest, but Harry was able to dodge in time. The violent hex smashed against the wall, leaving an impressive mark on it. All activity in the room halted at once, people stared at the downed Valravn.

He got up slowly to his feet.

"Whose spell was this?" The question rang out.

A hand was shakily raised. It belonged to Celandine who had a terrified look on her face.

Valravn paced towards her with slow and deliberate steps. Stopping right in front of her, he breathed out a little sigh of contemplation. The young woman was absolutely petrified, ready to flinch away from anything.

"That's exactly what I'm looking for." He finally announced loudly, clapping a hand on her shoulder. No one dared to say anything, continuing to stare at the pair with wide eyes.

If he didn't know better, Harry would've thought that they expected him to hit the girl or something of the kind.

XXXXXXX

The fist almost collided with Harry's mask, but the wizard was able to evade it just in time. He stepped back, trying to create distance between himself and his opponent.

Brian was completely engrossed in the mock fight, advancing towards Valravn without a moment of hesitation.

Harry had to wonder how the boy's parents felt about his finesse in physical combat, but he couldn't check. Many offensives rained down on him, not letting him even a chance to breathe.

Dudley made sure that his childhood did not lack experiences with violence, but it helped him little at the moment. Harry was used to running away from the fights. Now, he had no choice but to face them head on. The teenager wasn't quite sure if he liked the change.

Someone raised the idea of training without wands, just so they didn't rely on them too much. Harry had much more in mind than mere fist fighting.

Ideas like his felt more at home with an army, not a homemade group of rebels.

His head snapped back as one of Brian's attacks finally connected. However, a sharp kick to his opponent's knee wiped off the triumphant smirk before it could even come out. Ignoring the pain radiating from his left cheek, Valravn pressed his advantage. The teenager was pinned to the floor before he could recover.

"Good lord, you really don't go easy on people, huh?" Brian grunted out once the masked man let him go. He slowly got up to his feet, making sure that he had his balance.

Valravn considered him for a moment, the emotionless raven eyes refusing to betray even the smallest detail.

"Will you ask the death eaters to do the same?"

XXXXXXX

"You stay away from my daughter, you hear me?"

Harry looked at the man in front of him, unsure how to react. It was Isaac, the man who has been trying to doubt and dismiss anything that they've been trying. Remus had to face unending questions every time he said anything during the training sessions.

"I don't want my family to go through anything they don't need."

"How would this help us survive?"

"As adorable as your jumping around is, I don't see why we need to do this."

Harry seriously considered telling the man to leave, to avoid destroying morale before it even had the chance to rise up, but two things stopped him. Firstly, they didn't have enough people to be able to casually throw the cheeky ones out. Secondly, despite all of his questioning, Isaac was perhaps the best out of all of their recruits. His wand work was precise and deadly, and his agility and calm made up for his lack of brute force. Kingsley and Harry privately decided to bear with his attitude.

"I'm sorry?" Valravn finally replied, crossing his arms as he faced the older man.

"Do you think that I don't know what you're doing?" Isaac demanded quietly. They were in the hallway beside the gymnasium where the recruits were taking a quick break. If he raised his voice just a bit more, it would be possible for them to be overheard.

"You know very well that we could leave whenever we want to, but you can't afford to let that happen, can you?"

Valravn did not acknowledge whether Isaac was right or not, preferring to ask, "what does this have to do with your daughter? Who is your daughter?"

Isaac's eyes narrowed in anger.

"Don't play dumb with me, bird boy. I've seen how you act around Celandine; you want to tie her in so that she convinces us to stay."

Harry blinked in surprise, unseen by the other man.

"Celandine is your daughter?" He blurted out, unable to see the similarities at first.

However, after a few beats, some dots started to connect. While they didn't share any obvious ones, Harry could see the familial link. The girl clearly inherited her father's confidence when speaking, and the same fire that burned in her eyes was reflected in Isaac's.

"We've stayed away from your world all of these years, and we were doing fine before all of this. Just because you people cannot deal with your own problems doesn't mean that it's our job to clean it up." The reproach in the older man's voice halted any protests from Valravn.

"No one is forcing you to stay; like I said before, you are free to leave whenever you feel like it." Valravn kept his voice calm, not wanting to provoke the man more than he already was.

"Oh spare me," Isaac snorted, "why would you let anyone leave? They are bound to be caught and spill all the secrets about this place."

He did not consider that.

However, before Harry had time to come up with a reply, a voice interrupted them.

"Dad? What's going on?" Celandine stood at the entrance to the hallway, looking at the two of them with a scared look. Clearly, they did not stay quiet enough.

Isaac gave a start, moving away from Valravn. Harry himself realized that they somehow closed the distance between them while talking. They stood almost nose to beak.

"Nothing, sweetheart, I just needed to have a little talk with Valravn here. Is your mother with Jean and Breese?" Isaac moved towards his daughter, leading her into the room without another look at Valravn. Celandine gave him a final confused gaze before the pair disappeared into the gymnasium.

Harry leaned against the wall with a sigh. He instinctively ran his hand through his hair, ruffling feathers instead. The mask suddenly felt suffocating; Harry wanted to take it off and throw it away.

Was he truly ready to take the role of a leader, to bear the baggage that came with that title?

Was he ready to be a Valravn?

A.N: Feedback is always welcome.