Harry missed the card between Luna’s fingers but he didn’t miss the way that Padfoot stiffened suddenly, nor could he look away as Padfoot went through a rather weird and painful looking transformation from four legged furry friend to the man Harry had seen on the posters of Sirius Black.
Before Sirius finished his transformation back to human form Harry had blacked out.
Luna glanced at Harry as the Bracer glowed and Harry’s black hair took on a browner tone, his eyes going amber.
“This one is yours, Powel.” Luna said, curtsying and gesturing to Sirius who had been frozen in place with a glower and a wave of the Bracer spirit’s hand. “But I want a word with you afterwards.”
“I understand Helga.” Powel nodded.
The spirit of the Serpent Comb blinked at him, surprised and then smiled at him and waved towards Sirius again.
“What’s going on here?” Sirius demanded.
“That’s what I should be asking you.” Powel glowered, “Pretending to be my host’s pet. I’m guessing that ‘Grey’ character was you too.”
“Your host?” Sirius’s eyes widened, “Who are you and what have you done to my Godson!?”
“Your Godson?” Powel demanded, “I think you gave up the right to call him that when you tried to kill him.”
“If you’ll remember I stopped that Death Eater from getting a second shot in.” Sirius shot back.
“Why would you stop one of your own allies fro...?”
“Me?” Allies with that!” Sirius looked severely offended, “How dare you?”
“You’re a Death Eater.” Powel pointed out, “A mass murderer who apparently wants my host dead. Why would I suspect otherwise.”
“I was never a Death Eater!” Sirius snarled at him, “Nor was I the one who killed all those Muggles! And Pettigrew is still alive!”
“Who?”
“The scum who betrayed Harry’s parents to Voldemort. He’s alive.”
“Where?”
“You think I went after that rat because I was bored?” Sirius demanded. “That was Pettigrew. He’s an Animagus. Like me. And he’s probably fled by now!”
Powel paused, grimaced and ran a hand down his face. “Scabbers? Is Pettigrew?”
Helga frowned slightly as she wondered why Powel suddenly looked like he wanted to throttle someone.
“That’s what I’m telling you.” Sirius snapped back.
“Damn it.” Powel growled.
“Who are you?” Sirius demanded of Powel, “And why are you possessing my Godson?”
“My name is Powel Redgrave. I’m a Master of Transfiguration and a Teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” Powel replied, standing straighter as he spoke, “And I’m possessing your Godson because he’s wearing my item and I’m stuck in it.” Powel paused, “Oh don’t worry. He’s unharmed. If he takes my Bracer off, I can’t possess him.” He saw an idea forming in Sirius’s head, “Try and take it from Harry without his permission and I’ll Shadow Game you.”
Sirius had been active during the last war, he knew the horror stories, and though he glowered at the spirit in control of Harry’s body, he wasn’t stupid enough to risk doing more than that.
Powel considered the man in front of him, then let out an irritable noise that was somewhere between a sigh and a growl, releasing the spell he had petrifying the man.
It took Sirius a moment to realise that he could move again and when he did, he sat down on one of the chairs. “So what are you going to do now?”
“What do you mean?”
“You can’t keep possessing my Godson. You could kill him.” Sirius pointed out.
“Wrong, actually.” Helga spoke up, interfering in the conversation for the first time, “What kills the host is the suppression of their soul when a second one moves into the body. We don’t live in their bodies, we live in our items and when we need to take control, it’s the True Self who enters the item. There’s never two of us in the body at the same time.”
Sirius blinked at her, “So this,” He gestured towards the pair of them, “Is harmless?”
“Relatively.” Helga looked less than concerned, “I’ve been doing this for over a thousand years and the only harm that’s ever come to a host due to my actions is when I ran into someone else’s Shadow Game while trying to talk some sense into them.”
Sirius didn’t look completely reassured. In his situation neither spirit could imagine that they’d be much better.
“You need to speak to my host, but I would suggest that you spend most of your time in canine form.” Powel told Sirius. “There are Aurors all over Diagon looking for you and I doubt you want to be taken back to Azkaban.”
“You’re on my side?” Sirius looked surprised.
“Too much of what you said makes sense.” Powel scowled, “But if you try anything that harms my host and you will regret it.”
“Why are you so protective of him?” Sirius wanted to know, “Is it just because you need his body?”
“Yes and no. The Serpent Bracer was mine, I got myself killed and sealed within it.” There was embarrassment there, and frustration, “Now it belongs to your Godson. I’d rather the same didn’t happen to him. It’s not a good way to spend a thousand years.”
“What happened during that battle?” Helga asked, watching Powel with concern, “You should have been able to handle that mob easily.”
“I don’t remember.” Powel admitted heavily, “The last thing I remember is talking with Salazar before we parted ways and then,” He sighed, “Nothing. I have no memory of how I was sealed, nor do I remember what happened during the fight.” Helga frowned slightly but Powel looked at Sirius. “I will answer any questions you may have at another time, but now, if you don’t mind, I have an old friend to catch up with.”
Sirius just nodded, trying to process exactly what he’d been told as the former Transfiguration professor turned to one of the women who had been his boss when he’d been alive.
“Madam Hufflepuff, please excuse my earlier failure to follow protocol.” Powel bowed to the woman currently in control of Luna’s body, “It is good to see another of our time.”
“I would say the same except that you have been foolish, Redgrave.” Helga scolded him, “I understand the need to protect your host. I have looked after many before my current holder inherited my Item. But you are more idiotic than I realised if you believe that you can keep using the Penalties you have.”
“I cannot lift the Penalties I’ve set,” Powel scowled at her, having not expected the lecture for what was, in his opinion, a fully justified challenge and Penalty, “Nor would I do so if I could. Vernon and Dudley Dursley...”
“I understand. I was thinking about doing something about his situation myself.” Helga held up a hand as she spoke, “But this time is not like our own. If it gets out that you are possessing him, they will send him through Rowena’s Veil.”
With that the spirit in control of Harry’s body froze, a look of disgust and anger on his features. “They would not...”
“You know the dangers of the Shadow Realm, Powel. Just as I do. Do you really want to risk your host’s life?”
“But he’s a child.” Powel’s growl mollified Sirius’s concerns about if Powel was really protective of Harry because he was worried about the boy, or just because he needed a body, but only slightly.
“That won’t matter to them. People without Items don’t survive possession, so to the Ministry they’re already classed as dead and... well... you know what walking through Rowena’s Veil is like...”
Indeed Powel did. The Veil had been designed by Ravenclaw as an easy method of getting back out of the Shadow Realm. A permanent gate that had taken the powers of all five Serpent Items to create and fix so nothing could escape. After a scare where they’d nearly lost Helga because she’d drained herself too heavily and not had the power left to escape the grasp the Shadows had had on her, it had seemed like a good idea. The Items were drawn to the Gate and, in the Shadows, the reverse was true.
That the Ministry for Magic was using it to feed the Shadows with souls whenever they discovered someone who was possessed was worrying.
“You need to stop and think about what you’re doing.” Helga spoke again when she saw that her words had almost sunk in, “I have waited over a decade for someone other than Slytherin to emerge.” Powel frowned slightly when Helga said Slytherin, catching the combination of hurt, anger and shame, “It would be nice for you to be around longer than a few days.”
Powel scowled but nodded. “I’ll be a little more careful.”
“Good.” Helga looked pleased, then suddenly it wasn’t Helga anymore, it was Luna who grinned at Powel and settled on the bed.
“Can Harry come out to play now?” She asked, giving Powel a sweet and innocent look.
Powel just snorted, amused by Luna’s complete lack of concern, and closed his eyes. Sirius watched in shock as Harry’s hair returned to its normal raven black colour and, when Harry opened his eyes and looked around, panicked, until he saw Luna unharmed and waving happily at him, the dog animagus saw that Harry’s eyes were green again.
“It’s an illusion.” Luna explained, “They do it subconsciously. Helga trained herself not to though so she normally only does it if she’s cross or trying to make a point.”
Harry just blinked at her, then turned to face Black, his eyes widening for a moment as he went for his wand, then confusion crossing his face as he realised something.
“You’re not in a coma.”
“No.” Sirius replied, looking amused at the total confusion on Harry’s face, “I don’t appear to be.”
“You’re not insane either.”
“No more than usual.”
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