Raised By Wolfstar: Slytherin Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince

Chapter Five: Draco's Detour

Harry remained within the confines of the Mould-On-The-Wold Cottage's property over the next few weeks. He spent most of his days playing games of Exploding Snap, Wizard Skittles, Snitch Snatcher, and Gobstones with his family in the cottage, Runok Ko by himself in his room, and Shuntbumps with Theodore and Remus in the hidden field. He also enjoyed the homecooked meals Remus made, as Harry had not realized how much he missed them. Harry also received responses from Tracey and Allison pledging their support for Harry in relation to the prophecy as well as telling him about their summers and O.W.L.s. They had been more similar to Harry marks wise, mostly "A"s and "E"s, Allison got a "O" in DADA and Study of Ancient Runes, while Tracey got a "P" in Divination she made up for it with an "O" in Charms. Allison also included in her letter that her "E" in Potions meant she too could not be an Auror to her father's disappointment but she felt relieved that she now had an excuse to pursue other interests.

It would have been a happy, peaceful holiday had it not been for the stories of disappearances, odd accidents, even of deaths now appearing almost daily in the Prophet. Not long before Harry's birthday Remus shared some news he had learned from Nymphadora.

'There have been another couple of dementor attacks,' he announced one morning. 'And they've found Igor Karkaroff's body in a shack up north. The Dark Mark had been set over it—well, frankly, I'm surprised he stayed alive for even a year after deserting the Death Eaters; it only took a couple days for them to catch up with Sirius' brother...well, maybe we should try to find a more positive story.'

But bad news continued to poor in, as only two days before the thirty-first of July, amongst the birthday cards Harry received from friends and family, was an obituary pamphlet from a funeral home in Hale, Liverpool, United Kingdom. The picture was of a middle aged woman with a round face, brown hair, and green eyes who Harry had met only a couple times. The obituary read:

"In loving memory of Balance Runcorn (nee Noir)

5 Sep 1956 ~ 27 Jul 1996

Balance was a kind woman who enjoyed gardening, reading by the fire, and sewing. She is gone too soon but will never be forgotten.

Balance is preceded by her parents Verseau Noir and Fester Boot, her husband Albert Runcorn, and her daughter Allison Heather Runcorn."

Harry and Theodore wrote Allison right away, they had known her mother had been sick for quite a while but last either of them had heard she was still stable. They gave her their deepest condolences and that if she needed anything all she had to do was ask. She wrote back thanking them but that she just wanted some time to herself, and Harry remembered how he felt after Sirius died and agreed to her request. Tracey wrote saying that closure to the end of the summer they should all go to Diagon Alley together to cheer each other up and that didn't sound like a bad idea.

On Harry's birthday things continued to get worse, Remus and Canini were exhausted from transforming the previous night but Remus tried to make it feel like birthdays of the past, but with the Fidelius Charm the only person outside of their household who could attend was Tonks, and between the cake and presents there was just more bad news.

'Have you heard about Florean Fortescue, uncle Remus?' asked Tonks as she drank some butterbeer. 'The wizard who owned—'

'—the ice-cream shop in Diagon Alley?' Harry interrupted, with an unpleasant, hollow sensation in the pit of his stomach. 'He used to give me free ice creams. What's happened to him?'

'He was taken by Death Eaters by the looks of his flat, there was no body or dark mark, but I sadly think we won't be seeing him alive ever again.'

'Why would they take such a sweet man?' asked Canini with tears welling up in her already tired eyes.