Ch 30

Garry stared, momentarily stunned, but then sprang into action. A quick wave of his wand and the various tracking charms on the boy began displaying their results. The three standard tracking charms reported nothing, indicating that the tags he had placed did not exist.

Clearly, enchantments at Harry's destination prevented those tags from working.

The three he had used in the middle of the future-past war detected their tags, but merely indicated the boy was to the south and east, and between three hundred and a thousand miles away.

It was the tracking spell taught to him by the Chinese Wizard near the end of that future-past war, however, delivered clear information. It revealed the boy had been portkeyed to a location that should be Little Hangleton, if he remembered correctly.

That contradicted his alarm charms in Little Hangleton, which were silent and indicated that nothing out of the ordinary was happening in the tiny village, decayed Mansion, or graveyard. Voldewhore must have detected Lockhart's alarm spells and subverted them or prevented them from working. In retrospect, Garry should have expected that — Voldewhore always had been extraordinarily cautious when he was weak. This time, because someone had attacked and killed so many of his minions, perhaps he had placed himself under a fidelius charm. The attention brought by the public kidnapping, and the variety of tracking charms on the boy, negated most of the protections provided by the fidelius. The charm can only hide you if you don't do anything monumentally stupid that reveals your presence, such as moving things not covered by the magic.

People were only just beginning to react. An alert Auror had hit Bagman with a stunner as soon as Harry had disappeared — the self-important promoter had probably been under an imperius — and the head of the DMLE was hurrying over to investigate. Minister Bones was gone, her security squad had portkeyed her to the Ministry almost at the same time that Bagman had been stunned — they were taking no chances on an assassination attempt. The other foreign dignitaries were similarly being hustled away by their paranoid security forces.

Garry quickly cast his patronus, momentarily surprised when a magpie appeared instead of his peacock or stag. "Find Minister Bones, tell her that Harry has been portkeyed to Little Hangleton, a village about two hundred miles north of London. I believe that's where Voldemort is, as well. I'm going there now and will send another patronus as I find out more. Get a team of Aurors and Unspeakables ready." The bird rapidly flew off.

He took a quick look around and saw both Remus and Sirius headed his way. He assumed that the Tonks and Bell were headed for the Hogwarts Gates and home. Rather than face the two men and try to explain that he didn't want their help — there was no way he was going to risk their lives in this situation and possibly deprive Harry of their presence in his life. He took off Sam the Sorting Hat and cancelled the disillusionment charm on it. He tossed Sam as if it were a pointy Frisbee to Sirius, getting an outraged "HEY!" from the Sorting Hat as he did so. He gave the approaching Wizards a broad smile and cheery wave as he spun on his heel and disapparated.

He apparated into a small clearing not far from the Riddle family graveyard but well beyond any alarm enchantments that the Death Eaters might have emplaced. His four tracking charms confirmed that Harry was less than a mile away, and his direction.

Lockhart disillusioned himself, silenced his breathing, footsteps, and anything else that might give him away by sound, scent, or visually, and then camouflaged his movements with a spell that restored wherever he stepped to its original condition — you would have to watch exactly where he stepped to see the momentary outline of his shoes. A final set of Notice-me-nots, both Muggle and Magical, completed the set. He was as nearly invisible as it was possible to get without being a ghost. As he expected, point-me merely made his wand spin uselessly. His specialized tracking spell still worked, though — it hadn't yet been detected. He pulled out his broom, enlarged it, and took off as quickly as he dared move — which wasn't as fast as he could move. He didn't want to fly into a trap, after all. Once was enough for that!

Barely five minutes after the abduction he found himself approaching the graveyard at a speed barely above walking. He felt the Magical and Muggle Notice-me-not enchantments put up by a Death Eater, or the Dark Lord himself, as he passed through them at the edge of the graveyard. Voldy, it appeared, didn't want to be disturbed. If Garry hadn't been focused on following his tracking spell, it might have worked, too.

But . . . had he cancelled the Oath he and Bellatrix had sworn as he had meant to do? Had he covered everything needed? If things went completely pear-shaped the poor girl might accidentally invoke one of the penalties while at Hogwarts or later in her life. It would be irresponsible of him to allow that situation to remain! He knew he had spoken with her . . . .

(◎_⊙)

"Ah, Bell! There you are!" He had found her in the game room watching a Disney movie — like most girls her apparent age she was quite enamoured of the Disney Princesses. "Could I have a few minutes of your time?"

Shrugging, she hit the pause button and followed him back to his Study.

He carefully closed the door behind them, and discretely erected several privacy charms. It wouldn't do for anyone to hear what they discussed or did for the next several minutes. "Bella," he said as he turned to her with a flourish, "You'll be eight years old in a few weeks and I thought I would give you some early birthday presents — Harry will grab the limelight when he wins the Tri-Wizard Tournament, you know." Her eyes lit up and she bounced on her feet like an excited house-elf.

"First, is this!" he held out an open box with a twelve and three-quarter-inch long wand, made of Walnut with a dragon heartstring core.

Her eyes opened wide, "A wand," she barely breathed out. She looked at him, shocked. "A real wand?" she asked hardly believing it to be true and hoping it wasn't a prank.

Garry smiled broadly, "A real wand, just as surely as I am Gilderoy Lockhart!" He paused as if he were about to give his customary spiel, but her eyes were unwavering on the wand in his hand and she missed his pseudo-prank. He sighed. "Here, take this." He held out the box and she slowly reached for it, still half-expecting a prank. "Not the box, silly, take the wand."

She gingerly took the wand in her right hand and gave it a small wave. Multi-coloured sparks burst from the end.

"Excellent!" Garry cried out excitedly. He hadn't been sure that the wand, made exactly as her old one, would still be appropriate for her after her de-aging and new life for the past two years — especially given how radically different her new upbringing was compared to her previous experiences in her father's mansion. That old buzzard hadn't had the slightest bit of humour in his soul — a true Scrooge from the sounds of him.

"Now hold your wand like this," he held his wand up and at a slight angle towards her. She imitated his stance and did so. "Now touch the tip to mine and hold it there for a few moments." She did. "I'll answer your questions when we finish, alright?" She nodded. She would agree with almost anything to get her own wand!

"I, Lord Gilderoy Lockhart-Black-Potter-Peverell-Gryffindor-Slytherin-Gaunt declare now and for all time that Bellatrix Lestange née Black, also known as Belladonna Bellatrix Black, has satisfied all conditions and requirements of the Magical Oath we both swore on May 16th, 1992. I have provided her with the galleons promised, now residing in her personal vault at Gringotts, and she is free to come and go as she pleases. I have no farther expectations from her and will provide familial protections and assistance, as she needs. She has no farther expectations beyond those provided by any family for a member of the family. Therefore, I declare that Magical Oath complete, null, and void, without any enforcement or punishment powers whatsoever. So mote it be!"

Bell stared at him, jaw dropped open in surprise and shock.

"Say, 'I release Gilderoy Lockhart from said Oath.'" She did.

"Now say, 'So mote it be." She did.

"Excellent!" he exclaimed, lowering his wand to waist level. She stared at him. He could feel her curiosity and the questions boiling up in her mind.

Before she could voice any of them, however, he said, "Obliviate!"

Her eyes turned blank and she swayed slightly.

He gently relieved her of her wand and replaced it in its box. He stashed it in an expanded pocket and pulled out something else. This package was gaily wrapped in paper with balls of light flashing around on it. From its size and shape one could expect it to be a book.

"And here's your first present!" he declared holding the package out to her.

She blinked uncertainly, but then, with eyes shining in anticipation, the young girl quickly shredded the wrapping paper to reveal 1,001 Spells, Charms, Jinxes, and Hexes Every Wizard and Witch Should Know. "Wow!" she breathed softly as she eagerly opened the book and glanced through it — while the Black library had many books, most had protective enchantments to prevent under-aged children from accessing them. Which meant the only books she could read spoke only in general terms or were fiction or completely non-magical. After a moment, she looked up at him, "This is so cool." She clutched it to her chest and hugged it as if it were a pet.

Smiling broadly, Garry held out a second package. She put the book on the study desk and just as quickly as before removed similar wrapping paper from the box and opened it. Momentarily puzzled, she held up a leather contraption with two belts.

"It's a wand holster," Garry explained. "Dragon-skin leather, with concealment, comfort, anti-summoning, and protection charms. Here, let me show you." He took the holster from her. "Hold your right arm out." She did, and he quickly fastened the holster in place. "While you are wearing it," he said, "no one can take it from you and only a very powerful cutting charm can harm it. To make it invisible, place your left-hand fingers on it and say 'invisible.' Then say 'visible' to see it again." She did that, too, making it disappear and reappear repeatedly. "When it's invisible, if someone grabs your arm, they won't feel it. It fits so well and is so comfortable that after a while you might even forget you're wearing it! Also, it has three compartments; one for a wand, one for a knife, and the third for whatever you want, such as a forever-ink quill."

"Wow!" She was truly speechless.

He waited as she admired her present. Finally, she looked up at him and said, "This is wonderful." She sighed, "But I won't have a wand for three more years." She glanced wistfully at the book on the desk.

Garry laughed as he held out a third package, a long box with square ends.

Bell's eyes seemed to double in size and she stared at the box and then at Garry and then at the box. Almost not breathing she tentatively reached out and took the box. This time she slowly removed the wrapping paper to reveal a simple cardboard box. Hands shaking, she opened it and stared at the revealed wand. It was short, barely six inches long, with a handle made of a different wood shaped to fit her small hand. She looked back up at him, disbelief plain. "A real wand!?"

Garry laughed again, humour present in his tone as he said, "Yes, Bell, a real wand. Made of Walnut wood with a dragon heartstring core." He paused a moment as she slowly took the wand out of the box. "It's a training wand, with special runes that prevent you from casting spells your magic can't handle. Every time you touch it, it measures your magical ability and won't let you do anything that might harm you."

She waved the wand and a few bright sparks shot out the end.

"Children are allowed wands only after they turn eleven because before then their magic is unstable and unreliable. Using a wand before you're eleven can actually hurt you in the long term and stunt your magical growth by dangerously straining your magic at a young age. This wand, however, adjusts to your present abilities, and that will never happen. Unlike a regular wand, with this wand if you try to cast a spell your magic can't handle, nothing happens. A regular wand would attempt to do the spell and allow you to hurt yourself."

Bell gave him a brief glance before waving the wand again to watch the sparks fly. She was listening. She just couldn't take her eyes off her new wand.

"That book," Garry indicated the book on the desk by pointing with his chin, "has 1,001 spells, but only about ten of them are within your abilities right now. Lumos and nox are two that you know, you've seen all the adults use those two so you know what they do. Whisper lumos."

"Lumos," came the soft response. The tip of the wand glowed just as softly.

"For the other three spells, you'll have to search the book to find them!"

She stared at the end of her wand, then whispered nox. She threw herself at Garry wrapping her arms around him and saying, "Thank you, thank you, thank you," in a steady stream.

Garry patted her on the back. "Remember, the wand tracks your magical ability, so if you do a spell a bunch of times and drop your magical ability low enough, the wand will stop working! The same is true if you try to do a bunch of spells. Then you'll have to wait until your reserves replenish themselves completely before you can cast another spell. So when the wand stops working, you are done for the day!"

"I'm the luckiest girl in the world to have you as my Uncle! I love you!" Bell said, her face still buried in his side.

"Thank you, Bell," he replied softly. "You don't know how much that means to me!"

"Okay, then," he said, pushing her back a bit to look her in the face. "You can't tell anyone that you have a wand! And you have to promise you won't try to use someone else's wand, no matter how tempted you may be!"

Her face fell. She had been so looking forward to telling everyone about her new wand and wand holster.

He smiled down at her, "Just imagine the pranks you can now pull if no one knows you have a wand! Padfoot will blame Moony, Moony will blame Tonks, and Tonks will blame Padfoot. And you'll be laughing yourself silly at all of them. They will never think that you cast the spell that changed their hair to Slytherin colours because that requires a wand, and they know you don't have a wand! Just remember, pranks are to make people laugh, not to hurt them or humiliate them."

She stared back up at him for a moment, eyes shining in glee, then she smirked. "I know Uncle Gil." Then she smiled to herself, imagining all the mischief she could do without anyone suspecting her.

"And if you do try to use another Wizard or Witch's wand, you will hurt yourself, even if it doesn't feel like it at the time! So promise! You have your own wand, don't use another's! If you do — and I'll know, don't you think otherwise — I'll be forced to confiscate your wand! And just think how awful it will be to know that you had a wand and lost it because you wanted to try someone else's wand."

She nodded rapidly, clutching the wand to her chest, "I promise, Uncle Gil! I promise! I'll only ever use this wand!"

"And you'll be the terror of Hogwarts when you arrive — 1,001 spells already under your belt!" He grinned, "But you'll have to read the entire book to find out which spells work today and which ones will have to wait until you're older. After you've mastered a dozen or two you'll begin to get a feel for which ones you can do and which ones are for later.

"And the wand and holster will be our little secret, won't they?"

The ecstatic girl nodded energetically.

"Okay, let me show you how the wand holster works . . . ."

Of course, everything he had said about the wand was a lie. The de-aging potion he had given her had physically reduced her age, but hadn't changed her magical abilities except to slightly reduce her total capacity. Bell still had a very powerful magical core, far more powerful and stable than any child her apparent age.

The runes concealed under the wand handle's top layer of wood were rather simple; they limited the power through the wand until she had used about one percent of her actual strength. And being a shorter version of the wand than was natural for her also would limit the power of the spells she could cast. The runes would slowly increase that power limit until she would be at full strength when she went to get her "first" wand from Olivanders in three years. Until then, she would be more than happy to play with her wand instead of pirating one of the adults, as he knew she would have done otherwise. That would have been a disaster as everyone discovered she had an adult's capability at such a young age. And raised questions that Garry did not want anyone to even begin to think about asking.

(⊙_⊙)

No, after careful thought, he had taken care of the Oath and told Bell everything she needed to know.

He looked up and realized that he was almost back to where he had started! That damned Voldewhore, in addition to the notice-me-nots, had put up anti-magicals and anti-muggles charms! The anti-magicals enchantment had subtly made him redirect his flight while he was lost in thought. He cursed a bit, then turned around and headed towards the graveyard, again. This time he wouldn't allow himself to be distracted. He had taken care of everything he needed to do before the Third Task had started. He didn't need to return to Hogwarts and fix the "Incoming New Students" book of names to reflect that Belladonna hadn't already graduated. Being Head of Gryffindor and Slytherin Houses had granted him easy access to that book and it took only a few minutes to affix the necessary charm. Bella would get her letter right on her eleventh birthday, just as she was supposed to. And her name would appear as Belladonna Bellatrix Black, just as it was supposed to. Lestrange would not appear. He had even fixed the Castle Enchantments so that the Headmistress or Headmaster would only see her corrected name if they should directly examine the Castle's protective enchantments. Even Harry's Marauders' Map would show her name as Belladonna Black.

Sam! The Sorting Hat! He hadn't forgotten to tell the Sorting Hat what needed to be done, had he?

(◎_⊙)

"Ah, Mr. Lockhart!" Sam said almost as soon as Garry dropped the Hat on his head. "I've missed your company; the Headmistresses office is so dull! What new adventure are we about to embark upon?" The Hat shifted slightly, then settled.

"Ah," said Garry, "Sorry, Sam, no adventures this time. I just wanted to warn you that Bellatrix Black is going to be coming in three years to be sorted again."

". . . ."