raised by dementor

chapter 16

Snow was rarely seen in Azkaban prison but when Harry Potter awoke on Christmas it fell from the sky with a passion; coating the island along with the bars covering all windows of the prison.
"Merry Christmas Harry," Lucy greeted gliding into the room, she was holding a small wrapped package which he knew was from her. The presents from the Malfoy's and his friends would arrive by owl later in the day,
"Merry Christmas mum," Harry answered. This was the first time he had called her mum on Christmas, he always thought she preferred Lucy but since he returned from Hogwarts their relationship had changed, he realised how much he loved her and also how much she cared about him. She had always been proud and encouraging but he never realised that she saw him as a son until now, they had missed each other during his time away and both knew their relationship had changed. At first she was a guardian then without even realising it she had become a mother to him, she no longer felt any awkwardness when Harry pulled her into a midair hug. For a moment they embraced relishing the bond they shared but then Lucy pulled back and handed him the present
"Here you go." It was wrapped well and Lucy had obviously spend a lot of time on it, so as he carefully pulled the paper away a book was revealed, at first he was confused but then he saw the first picture. It was of a younger Sirius waving from a portrait with two other people, one looked much like Harry but lacked the lightning scar and his arm was wrapped around a young woman with long red hair. It was his parents and as he turned the pages more pictures stood out, the first was of four people including his dad and Sirius, then as the pages turned he saw them get older and older until it ended with Lily and James Potter holding a small baby.
"That's me," he remarked with a smile. The pictures had been hand cut and glued onto the pages, this would have taken months with Lucy's skeletal hands but the effort she went to was astonishing. This wasn't it however, Lucy suddenly revealed another package, it was soft and silky and as he opened it a cloak fell out and fell onto the floor in a heap.
"This was found when the Ministry searched Dumbledore's office, there was a note connecting it to James Potter and you as his son are entitled to it," Lucy explained gesturing for Harry to try it on. He did father, and he let out a slight gasp as he vanished. It was an invisibility cloak and had belonged to his father; it was a present that meant a great deal to him as it was both a relic of the past and it was going to be very useful.
"Thank you," he whispered softly pulling her into another embrace, this was warm and full of thanks and Lucy felt warmer inside then she had ever felt. Dementor's rarely felt like this; they reproduced with a fine mist but this was a new feeling, and something she wanted to keep hold of forever, this was motherhood for her and she was possibly the only Dementor that had ever felt this way.
Later
"Jingle Bells, Jingle bells," Bella sung over and over again, Sirius was looking unimaginably irritated and even the Dementors were shooting her looks of annoyance. Bella seemed to thrive at Christmas and enjoyed singing more than anything, sometimes Sirius suspected she only did it to annoy as many people as she could and he was right. Harry's influence had done a lot to her and given her some resistance to the Dementor's chill, so in other words she was free to sing and dance as much as she liked, something that Sirius among others did not enjoy anywhere near as much as she did.
"Merry Christmas," a younger voice interrupted suddenly and Harry Potter came into view with a huge smile on his face,
"Harry! Merry Christmas," Sirius greeted as did Bella. Harry spend some times showing the pair the book he had received and while ignoring Bella's requests to add some younger pictures of her into the book Sirius enjoyed the time he spent with his godson. Though this was not the only present he received as a few minutes later a number of owl's entered the room, it was almost a swarm with packages practically raining down on them. The Dementors looked around confused as they could not sense animals that well (Something Sirius used a lot when playing with Harry), parcels lined the floor and Bella eagerly picked one up. It was wrapped in silver and green paper and there was no mistaking who it was from, Harry nodded at Bella who opened the present on his behalf, inside was a book detailing the history of various families in the wizarding world. To Harry the book was interesting for a number of reasons, firstly he had always been fascinated by wizarding history and was perhaps the only person able to stay awake during the lectures of Professor Binns, other than Hermione. Also because it gave him a chance to find dirt on real life families, this was how he knew the Parkinson's had produced a number of squibs, such things were shameful to pureblood families and these titbits of information could prove invaluable in both winding people up and also gaining their help. Fudge sent him a box of Honeydukes chocolate which Harry devoured immediately sharing some with Bella and Sirius, Umbridge sent him another book which detailed the most basics in defensive magic and had only sent it to remain in the minster's favour. Hermione had sent him some sugar-free sweets which he kept for himself, Cho had sent him another book detailing wizarding cultures around the world. Crabbe and Goyle sent him books on Quidditch with one giving a history of the game and the other giving him tips on how to play. Most of these were advanced tips that would be much less difficult for him seeing as he could fly and Harry was determined to try some out whenever he could. Draco had sent him a book on how to become an animagus and Harry had no idea where he found that; it was very advanced magic and required a lot of dedication, though decided to make use of it as soon as he could. A number of other presents involved sweets but his eye suddenly fell on a badly wrapped Gryffindor red coloured package, then he took a breath and using his second vision saw what was embedded in the wrapping. A compulsion charm, if he opened it without knowing then he would have complied with the instruction given, with ease he destroyed the enchantment and already had a feeling who sent it. Excusing himself he hid the package out of sight and once Bella and Sirius were out of view he opened it, inside was a vibrant red jumper with the letter H sown inside. A note was pinned to it and his suspicions were confirmed when he read it
Harry
How about we start over? you're a true Gryffindor at heart and we both know it
Ron .
Harry snorted as he read the note, it was the least subtle attempt at begging he had ever seen, but on the other hand he had to hand it to Molly Weasley. She made a jumper that burnt very well when he practised Incendio on it, he knew Ron had only written this because he was being made to but the question remained why? Molly Weasley's mind revealed she would be getting paid for it but is a pay check really worth this much effort? this much desperation? Well at least their desperate effort kept him warm for a few seconds.
Later
Harry and a black dog played in the snow, currently Harry was throwing snowballs at the dog who moved too quickly to be hit, Lucy sensed this from high above the prison and she knew who the dog was. Her sisters had almost no idea but she knew Sirius Black was an animagus, Dementors knew the innocent were sent to this place but they had no way of making the Ministry believe them or explain how they knew. Their chill was a natural part of them and they could not reduce it for long periods of time, so even the innocent were forced to endure the effects of a Dementors presence, the guilty however were a much different case. Dementors would have to see everything the guilty had done, images of violence, murder and worse flooded their minds and in most cases the punishment of the chill was justified. Lucy herself was one of the more resistant Dementors and was one of the few who could stand being in the maximum security area and not see the twisted memories that existed in the minds of the guilty. Dementors were all female and were sisters in a way, that is how their society worked but ones like Lucy were respected for being willing to do what others could not, this was how she was able to bring Harry into their midst. At first her sisters were not happy but over time they grew accustomed to the boy, he was polite and could talk to them which many found fascinating, eventually he was accepted as a Dementor in all but appearance. His gender and blood were irrelevant and many had tried to discover the source of his power, Lucy would stop any experiment she felt could harm Harry but she was also very interested in how he came about these powers. She hadn't found out yet but she had some theories, theories that she had no yet shared
"I thought I would find you here," a voice pulled her from her thoughts and she turned to see Dora behind her. The two were high above the prison and masked by the snow; Lucy had chosen this location so she could keep an eye on Harry but also so she could collect her thoughts, this was the place she always went to think and it was her worry that got the better of her on this day.
"What's bothering you?" Dora inquired seeing her friend was troubled
"Harry, when the Troll attacked he switched into his true form, this can only be activated by him and he has only ever done it twice; the first was not his decision to make. Recently he risked everything to save his friends. He could have lost control at any moment and the entire school would now be empty, that form doesn't feed on souls Dora, It feeds on life force, that hunger clouds his mind and it takes a lot of effort to pull away. He risked the lives of many to save a few and while that is commendable I worry that he will do anything to save a friend, it was a friend who stopped him killing the troll and without her interference I worry that he could have gone a lot further. Too far, he is a good person but there is a power inside him, the power is dangerous and he is wise to rarely use it but not using it is not a long term solution. Also I know something is going on at that school but I have no idea what, every day I fear that he will use his inner power with good intent but there will be no one to hold him back, no one to stop him going too far," Lucy confessed. A skeletal hand was placed on her shoulder
"You worry too much sister, he may have this power but you must see that he never uses it unless he needs to. If he did not use it then he and his friends may have died on that night, he knows what is at stake and your worry while justified is misplaced. You should not worry about what he might do but instead worry about what others are trying to make him do," Dora soothed gently. The air was cold and the snow clung to their robes as they began to glide.
"What do you mean?" Lucy asked after a while. Dora looked around to make sure no one was in earshot before answering
"Think about it, given to abusive relatives, isolated from the wizarding world, money being taken from Gringotts, a marriage contract with the Weasley girl, these are not random acts. These are parts of a much bigger plan, Dumbledore could not have managed them alone, others are helping him and I sense something has changed in the very fabric of the world. Someone or something wants Harry under their control and Dumbledore is only one piece of this puzzle, why I don't know but I do know that it will not bode well for Harry" Dora explained. Lucy cursed herself, Dora was right she had been so preoccupied by the present and worry for the future she did not see the bigger picture, these acts were motivated by control. A marriage contract would assure loyalty, finical dependency would make him willing to work for someone, isolation and abuse would make him desperate for companionship which would fling him right into the arms of Dumbledore or anyone else who offered it. Now she understood why Ronald Weasley was so desperate to befriend Harry, Ron was a pawn but a pawn that had the power to change the entire game, a game that these unknown people were currently losing but how would they react to what had happened over the last few months? Dumbledore being discredited was a major blow to them and it would not go unpunished. They would react soon and Lucy couldn't help realise that if she hadn't found Harry Potter in the woods on that fateful day then everything would be different and there was a chance that he would have fallen right into their trap.