"So, the in Merlin's name happened here, pup?"
Harry stopped laughing and smiled at the elder Marauder before raising an eyebrow and asked, "And how did you sober up so fast?"
"Kalina had a Sobering Potion in her tent," came the answer. "Now what happened?"
Harry told the older Marauder everything that had happened up to the point the Aurors arrived including the Beast's appearance and his brief fight with the Death Eaters.
"What was that bit about the basilisk venom?" Sirius asked.
Harry frowned as he thought about it. "Well, I doubt that Sasha or another basilisk just happened to slither by after I put the Death Eaters down. The only thing I could think of it the Beast's claws are now poisonous to some degree. You know I don't kill the animals I play 'tag' with." Sirius shared Harry's grin as they both thought of that night at Hogwarts where the Beast played tag with the large black dog he found wandering the grounds.
"Well, thank Merlin for that," Padfoot allowed. "Er, is there a chance the survivor saw the Beast?"
"I doubt it," Harry answered with a headshake. "It was probably the first one I took down and I got him from behind. He might have seen something before he passed out. I know he was unconscious when I brought out the one that came into the tent." Sirius grimaced at hearing his godson so casually talk about killing or almost killing three wizards. Harry was usually a happy, friendly, and thoughtful kid, but the wolf definitely had an impact on him. When it came to protecting his 'pack' he had a streak of brutal practicality that saw killing the enemies of the pack as being a sensible, logical decision. Wolves never killed for pleasure. They killed for food and in defence. As Harry said, the Beast never killed the animals he played tag with because he didn't need them as prey to survive.
Sirius set his concerns aside. For now he needed to get Harry and the still-unconscious Remus back to the Marauder's Den and safe.
"Okay, pup. Let's get Moony and get out of here."
....
The next morning's Daily Prophet carried a screaming (literally) headline announcing the appearance of hooligans dressed as Death Eaters at the Quidditch World Cup. Minister for Magic Fudge was spinning the story as simply several drunken revellers playing a prank while under the influence of recreational potions and alcohol. He also promised to see to the full prosecution of the party responsible for the over-reaction that resulted in the death of two wizards and the serious injury of another. The dead were identified as Augustus Avery, age 68, and Barnabas Crabbe, age 37. Walter Jugson, age 39 was identified as the survivor. Jugson was being held at St Mungos in the security ward. While the Prophet did mention that all three men had been suspected of being Death Eaters or holding sympathies during the war, all of them had been cleared or found to have been under the Imperious Curse. An 'unnamed source' within the DMLE suggested that the attack may have been a misguided attempt at revenge for activities the three men had been cleared.
The fact the men were found wearing Death Eater robes and that over a hundred witnesses had seen others dressed in similar fashion did not seem to matter to the Ministry's official position. The Prophet's editorial floated the theory the other 'Death Eaters' had been the ones responsible for the assault and murder of the three wizards. The brutality of their deaths along with the presence of snake venom in their wounds pointed to- they claimed- the involvement of 'real' Death Eaters on the 'innocent' men.
Reading the articles, Harry wondered, "Do the editors sniff their ink or something? How could anyone believe this shite?" Sirius snickered at the acerbic comment. Remus however leaned back in his chair and considered Harry for a moment.
"Harry, have you ever really thought about your own story?" Remus asked. Harry lowered the paper to look at his former professor in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
Remus slipped easily into his professor mode. "With magic, almost anything is possible. It is the thing Muggleborn - and Muggle-raised - have the hardest thing adjusting to in our world. Muggles live in a scientific world of cause and effect. To an extent wand magic is the same way although focus, emotion and the caster's power has some impact on the effect different wizards can have with the same spell.
"Potions, runes, wards, and rituals increasingly move away from that 'rational' thought process. Advanced potions can be impacted by the time of the month, the sex of the potion maker, and a thousand other factors. Severus Snape is a Potions Master not because he is great at following a recipe, but because he has an instinctive grasp of the minute adjustments that have to be made to get just the result he wants."
The former professor paused and added, "Ms Granger drives Severus crazy because she seems to have that instinctive grasp to be a Potions Mistress but is too tied to her rational thought process to just let the magic work. He may not like her but he hates to see potions potential so restricted." Harry was stunned at the little aside.
"Anyway, the older, more powerful the magic is, the less it conforms with rational thought. Think Harry. What if they printed the true story of your life? A 15-month old child survives an unsurvivable curse that causes a Dark Lord to be physically destroyed. That child later becomes werewolf/animagus hybrid that manages to stand off a 1,000 year-old basilisk, survive its bite, and save a young witch, all the while running about Hogwarts and playing tag with stray mutts. Would you believe that story?" Remus smiled ironically. "In some ways, you could say the wilder, more unlikely the story, the more likely it is to be true because of magic."
Harry felt a bit chagrined at Remus's comments. In truth he hoped the story was so out there that no one would believe it if something leaked.
"He's right, Harry," Sirius agreed. "After the attack on your parents, the whole wizarding world exploded into one big party. Dumbledore and the Ministry reported his death and the party started. No one hesitated to believe it was true, not even the Death Eaters. Less than three hours after the attack Lucius was at the Ministry presenting his Imperious defence. There was no body, just his robe and wand, and Dumbledore's word."
Remus rubbed his chin in thought. "It is also true that the truly powerful wizards and witches have been a bit off. The deeper magics are more an Art, not a Science. That often means they have a view of things that is off kilter from the rest of us."
"So you are saying the barmier the wizard the more powerful?" Harry asked with a grin.
"Oh, don't worry, pup," Sirius said while patting Harry on the arm. "You are definitely the most powerful 14 year-old I've ever seen." Then, with a grin, he walked out of the room.
"Thanks, Padfoot. Wait a second! Padfoot, get back here! Padfoot!"
...
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