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Reformation

Summary:

(or what happens when Tom Riddle realises the potential of mind control)

"You may think that the best kept secret on Earth is the concealment of the magical world from the muggle one, and you would be wrong. Millions of witches and wizards know that secret. No, the best kept secret on Earth --one that only a select few know-- is the concealment of the muggle world from the magical one." - Arcturus Black

Seven years after he left the magical world, Sirius Black's grandfather contacts him to say that his brother has gone missing. Sirius reluctantly agrees to work with his family to solve Regulus' disappearance by helping decode his brother's journals. Meanwhile, ex-werewolf-soldier Remus Lupin is hired as a personal assistant for Black Enterprises, Narcissa Malfoy tries to convince her sister Andromeda to run for the House of Commons, and Harry Potter is bewildered by the appearance of a stranger at Number Four, Privet Drive.

Very AU. Divergence after Tom Riddle's graduation.
(rated M for coarse language (courtesy of Bellatrix and Sirius) and brief descriptions of violence)

Abandoned. :(

Chapter 1: Prologue: Benjamin "Benjy" Holt

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Benjamin Holt was feeling a little nervous as he waited outside the Black Study. It was extremely unusual for Mr Black to talk to him directly, given that Holt was somewhere near the bottom of the pecking order. Holt’s official job was a ‘magical transports technician’, meaning to everyone outside the Business that he fixed fireplaces and portkeys. To everyone inside the Business, he was a tracker for people who disappeared, usually after not paying their loan interests or after learning too much important information to live. Using a combination of scrying spells, tracking charms, and sometimes a ritual or two, Holt was able to find these unsavory characters’ locations and mark them for other ‘consultants’.

After graduating Hogwarts, Benjy landed a clerical job in the Department of Magical Transport but found it unsatisfactory. The salary was low and he was constantly passed over for a promotion by more well-connected mages. Benjy was more an asshole than an asskisser and he knew it. After three glum years writing and stamping paperwork for eighty galleons a month, Benjy was contacted by an old classmate, Blackwood, for ‘a job he may be interested in’.

Blackwood approached him at the Ravenclaws’ Reunion party. He was a stout man and had played beater for the house team. Benjy was somewhat afraid of him, but he accepted a job offer of ‘doing floo and portkey stuff’. His decision mostly had to do with the interesting pay offered. 

Blackwood gave him a photo, a name, some toenail shavings, and an instruction to give the target’s location. Body-binding the target was helpful but not necessary, the burly man told him. Benjy did the job within a day and was given eight galleons for his effort. He suspected that Blackwood was merely testing on how well he could keep his mouth shut. After that, more difficult jobs started rolling in, where he was only given a name and a photograph. After ten cases, he left the Ministry and Blackwood gave him a license to work as a magical transports technician, which was quite funny since Benjy never once fixed a floo fireplace in the following years.

Benjy gradually understood that Blackwood too was a small cog in the big wheel of whatever business was going on. Blackwood was practical, but he wasn’t a criminal genius; someone else was running the show. And what a show it was! People to be found and neutralised every week because they were a little too nosy. Some targets tried to bribe him with gold, some offered slaves; but the most dangerous targets offered secrets. Benjy made sure to cast a quick silencio when he heard that. He didn't need Blackwood sending someone after him because he had stumbled upon a secret something or other in this vast criminal underworld. Benjy also suspected that the Business (as he called it in his brain) was not limited to the Wizarding World. Half the time he was ordered to search for individuals who were most definitely muggle. Before, he would have thought they were squibs, but certain unassailable facts (‘Why the fuck are you holding a stick? WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK WAS THAT!’) proved that they were completely mundane. 

He had asked Blackwood on whether he could use spells on these muggles, fearing that the Improper Use of Magic Office might lock him away in Azkaban. Blackwood guffawed and told him that since Benjy was of age, it was impossible to trace his magic and since no one was going to tell on him, Benjy going to Azkaban was as likely as Blackwood going to heaven. And so Benjy thought no more of it.

Eight years, five months, and two days after he began his technician work, Blackwood asked him if he was willing to take an unbreakable vow for a potential job. Benjy asked how much the job was worth. Blackwood told him that if he did this job proper, he would get three years’ worth of his usual salary. Benjy thought of the new messenger bag in Madam Malkin’s shop and vowed to never talk about the job.

He was given a spare wand (“For emergencies”), a word about who his boss’ boss is (“You call him Mr Black or sir, and don’t speak unless spoken to.”),  and a floo password (“Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place”).

An hour later, he was tapping his foot anxiously against the expensive carpet of a corridor in the Black London Residence. Five minutes of waiting, and the door swung open of its own accord. Benjy stood up, entered the study, and gave a bow to Mr Black.

“Mr Holt, is it?” He said. “Have a seat.”

Benjy obeyed.

“Blackwood has told me about your talent in locating people. Explain the procedure to me.”

“Well, if the trail is fresh, the easiest way is to look for apparition residue --”

“And suppose the target’s marks are not fresh?”

“A bit of non-magical detecting and a locator matrix using some of the target’s body fluids will do, sir.”

“And does this method always work? How long does it take?”

“It will take from three days to perhaps a month.”

Mr Black closed his eyes. “A month. Have you followed people who have disappeared for a long period of time?”

“I had targets who disappeared for three weeks when I was assigned to the case, I found them under a month.”

“Very well, Mr Holt. You are vouched for by Blackwood, so here are 5,000 galleons upfront for expenses. Your job is to find a wizard who has disappeared for six years --”

“SIX years!” Benjy exclaimed.

“If you want to refuse the job, then say so.”

“No, Mr Black sir. I’m very sorry for the interruption.”

“Good. Now, there is a dossier on your target, but it will be easier if I explain the basic facts. Your target is a seven year old boy from a respectable family, a pureblood father and a muggleborn mother. The last time he was seen was by a family friend when he was one year old. Shortly after, the parents were murdered, their house was burnt down, and the boy disappeared into thin air. Have you heard of this case, Mr Holt?”

“No, sir.”

“The newspapers never talked about it, which I find a very curious point that may aid your investigation. Now, this boy has some important business with me. I do not want him harmed, only transferred into my care. We must be clear on this point, Mr Holt. I do not want the boy frightened or angered, act as if you are a well-paid au pair when you find him. Now do you have any questions?”

Benjy had a hundred different questions whirring around his brain. If the boy’s disappeared for six years, isn’t it likely he’s dead? Why didn’t the newspapers report the incident? Are you related to the boy? Are you Blackwood’s Boss? Is your name really Mr Black? How does a man get a hold of five thousand galleons so easily? 

In the end, he settled for the simplest question.

“What is the boy’s name, sir?”

“His name,” Regulus Black drawled, tapping a finger against the well-polished oak desk. “ is Harry James Potter.”



Notes:

The rest of the chapters will not be as short as this and the story will be told in alternating POVs (mainly Sirius, Remus, and occasionally Regulus; and in the second arc we will have more Andromeda.)

This is my first work, and I hope you like it.