A/N: This story contains SPOILERS! If you are not up to date on any of the three series that this story covers you will have major plot points spoiled! You have been warned!
This is an idea that my best friend and I have been kicking around for a while and i finally decided to put it down.
Please read A/N at the end of the chapter
I own naught but an extensive scifi book library!
Chapter 1
So it Begins
The large crow alerted Siodhachan O Suileabhain that today wasn't a normal day. The redhaired ancient druid, that actually only looked twenty one, had just finished his samhain rites when a large crow with glowing red eyes landed before him on the altar and spoke in a menacing and raspy voice. "Siodhachan, I have need of your abilities. I need you to bring a child to me." at that the druid flinched and was about to flat out refuse when the crow continued, "This child has been marred by a being that has challenged my authority and he must be destroyed." Siodhachan sat there and thought about it for a second before asking a question that would decide whether or not he would help.
"Are you going to help the child or is it beyond saving?" the birds eyes, that were glowing like hot red coals, dimmed to a normal black and the harsh voice lost some of its venom, "I will remove the taint from the child but it will be up to you to raise him. This being isn't gone but he has beyond even my sight at the moment and this child will be needed in the future to take down this being. You have been able to stay ahead of your enemies for two thousand years, you are the only one suitable to protect this child till he is needed."
This left the druid feeling conflicted, on one hand there was a child that needed help from dark magic and he had the ability to help them but on the other hand it would mean that he would have to raise a child, something he hasn't done since Tahirah died but in the end his conscious got the better of him. "Where can I find this child?"
It was the night of the November first when the druid shifted through the tether closest to Surrey, the time was around midnight and using his druidic bindings cast camouflage and faerie specs. He was now able to blend into his surroundings and see the magic that was in the area. The druid followed the directions that the Morrigan had given him to a neighborhood where all the houses looked the same. He eventually came to the house that was numbered four and sitting on the front porch was a bundle of blankets. Around the house he could see the beginnings of a ward though it was poorly constructed.
Crouching down the druid picked up the small bundle, making sure to keep the sleeping baby asleep. Moving quickly the druid made his way back to the tether to rendezvous with the Morrigan. He could only do this with the child because of his young age otherwise he would have to get to know the child to be able to shift with him. Arriving at the point where the he was supposed to meet of with the Morrigan he found a woman with pale skin and black hair, she was beautiful in every sense of the word she was clothed in a black robe that accented her curves. This was the Morrigan's true form, the form which struck fear and lust in many of his fellow countrymen. Once she saw the druid approaching with child she motioned for the child to be placed on the altar that the druid had been using for samhain.
Once the baby was on the altar the Morrigan started chanting in a strange language that sounded older than most languages, after a few minutes of chanting the Morrigan placed her forefinger and thumb on the lightning shaped scar on the baby's forehead and started pulling when her fingers pulled away from the baby there came with it a black mist to which the battle crow destroyed using her own powerful magics.
Through all of this though the child kept asleep and the Druid was amazed at how soft and gentle the Morrigan was acting towards the child, she usually just beat him up. " Now that the taint has been removed and time is no longer of the essence I feel that you are owed some explanation. This child was attacked by a dark wizard who has created several Soul-Threads," at this the druid's jaw nearly hit the floor. A Soul-Thread or as they were known the wizards of Britain, a Horcrux, was some of the most evil magics out there for obvious reasons the druid had stayed clear of those things and stuck with his own ways of staying alive. The Morrigan had seen the druid's reaction and was pleased that he was appalled. "Yes although the wizard has created several of them and his defeat at the hands of this babe has not ended his life. What I need from you Siodhachan si to raise the child to the point that he can destroy this piece of filth once and for all."
Siodhachan gently took the sleeping little boy from the goddess and looked down at his soon to be apprentice and smiled. Though he had major scruples about training a boy to be nothing but a weapon, the Morrigan said nothing about training him and teaching him to be his own personas well. But that smile didn't last long in front of the Celtic Chooser of the Slain, as if reading his mind the Morrigan dashed all of his hopes away, "Sadly the boy won't be able to become a druid. He himself is a wizard and as such has his own reserves of magic within him, which is something you can not have and be bound to Gia. No you will have to find a way for him to be trained in the art of wizardry." she said with some finality. The Druid had to think, he had several enemies out there and few allies, even less were wizards. Though there was one he could think of.
The druid looked at the goddess and smiled and nodded, "You have my word Morrigan the boy will be taught by the very best." He looked down at the sleeping baby and had another thought, " What is the boy's name?" The Morrigan smiled and replied "Harry James Potter."
-Nearly Four Years Later-
For almost four years now the druid had been raising young Harry as he had with any of his children and he loved the boy as if he were his own but it was now time to get him training. The young boy had a bout of magical discharge and you can usually tell how strong the wizard is going to be by the first instance of that. Now Siodhachan had been around a long time and he had to say without a doubt young Harry was going to be a powerhouse, now he just has to have control to match the power.
It was for this reason that the five year old and the druid had shifted to a place called Hog Hollow in Missouri, where an old friend of the druid's lived and has lived lived since before the Civil War. As the two approached the old farm, that was kept up very well, Siodhachan felt some very powerful wards. Telling young Harry to stand by him the two waited for the owner of the home to come out and greet them. They didn't have to wait long, from the front door came an old, short, stocky man, with white tufts of hair fringing his mostly bald head, and a white beard covering his mouth and jowls. He wore a white tee-shirt, denim overalls and a big grin as he looked at the two.
"Well look who it is! Billy you old son of a gun, what are you doing here?" asked the old man as he stuck out his hand which the druid shook. "Well old timer I figured i would call in that favor that you owe me." replied the druid with a smile on his face. He hadn't seen his friend in almost a hundred years, this man was one of the few that knew exactly who he was and how old he was. This was Ebenezer McCoy after all, Senior member of the White council, a group of wizards more powerful than any wizard in young Harry's supposed magical community. McCoy was also known as the Blackstaff to several of the senior members, meaning he was the wetworks guy of the council.
The old man looked at the two one was an old friend emphasis on the old and the other was a pup that was no older than five, and he was pretty certain what the druid was going to ask but wanted to hear it anyway. McCoy led the two into the sitting room of his farm and had them sit on an old but very comfy sofa. He motioned for the druid to spit it out but before he could a young voice piped up and asked an innocent question that didn't have an innocent answer. "Daddy why did he call you Billy? You told me your name was Jack." the young boy looked at the man who raised him with general confusion and that prompted Siodhachan that he had many enemies and that's why he had so many different names. "Old timer, young Harry here has shown that he is on his way to becoming a powerful wizard. As you know I don't have the knowledge to train in him that art but you do. Would you take young Harry as your student?"
The favor had been asked and McCoy sat back in his chair and thought about it, teaching the young boy sitting on the couch looking around the room without a care in the world would be something that he could do. Heck for a kid that young it would be fun, showing him the wonder of the world around him and the beautiful powers of creation that is magic. He knew he would do it but for how long? The boy would have to go to regular school so he could fit in with society, McCoy stood and looked down at the duo and smiled, "For the next three years I will teach the boy, I will teach the boy the fundamentals of the Art and when that three years is up he will go out and make the art his own."
Siodhachan nodded and looked at Harry before kneeling on the ground in front of him, "Harry, you're going to stay here with Mr. McCoy. I will be back to get you after your time with your new teacher is up then we are going to be forever and never be separated again." this was all said before hugging the now crying boy. Siodhachan was holding what was for all intensive purposes his son as the young boy cried. He kept reassuring the child that he loved him and he didn't want to get rid of him but that this was an amazing opportunity to learn great and powerful magics. This seemed to calm the boy down, as his sobs slowed down and he looked at his dad with those bright green eyes that seemed to glow with power and determination.
"Daddy if I become good enough will i be able to fight that bad man you told me about?" he asked with as hard a voice as you can have at five. Siodhachan had told him about the bad man that took his real mom and dad thinking that it would be good for him to know about his past and of course the child had cried but he also knew that the boy had a strong will and would avenge his parents. The old druid simply nodded his head at the boy with a small smile on his face. Harry let go of his dad and walked over to the old man in the room.
"Harry Potter, pleased to meet you sir" he said respectfully and stuck out his hand like he had seen his dad do many times. The old man looked at the young boy smiling and shook the young boys hand, "Pleasure to meet you Harry my name is Ebenezer McCoy. Now let's get to work there Tadpole."
-One Year Later-
In the last year Harry had trained under McCoy and had flourished, the now six year old could cast fire from his hands granted it wasn't a lot of fire but it was enough to scare a pack of coyotes that had been in the area. Over the course of the year the boy had learned not only practical magic but was was learning a lot of theoretical magic that was scaled down so that Harry could understand. It was going so well that Harry was already taking those theories and making them his own as such as a nifty spell that created a small ball of light that Harry used to read after his bedtime.
McCoy had told Harry that he would soon be taught runes and their uses in all types of spells such as summoning, wards, and magical foci. Harry was really excited about that, he had seen the staff that McCoy used and was eager to make one that looked as cool. The boy dreamed of wielding a staff much like Gandalf or pictures of Merlin that he had seen.
The next morning Harry was disappointed when he learned that his magic was best suited for a wand and not a staff, but McCoy told him that it meant he would be able to do precise magic with a wand versus a staff, it was like a handgun to a rifle scenario. So here the two were walking through the woods looking for a good tree to make the boy's first wand. This was done by having the boy open his Sight periodically. The boy stopped and pointed to an old Dogwood tree that had been on this property almost as long as McCoy had. This tree had a split that had a large gnarled knot on the left limb. Harry walked right up to the knot and said, "This has a color of magic that is similar to my own, I think this might work."
Now Harry when he used his Sight not only saw what normal wizards saw but he also saw magics in colors, McCoy didn't know what to make of it. But it was useful, like now, instead of chopping down the whole tree they only needed to saw off the knot and then bandage the tree back up.
The two walked from the tree, Harry carrying the knot that they were to make his wand from, talking about how length of the wand would deal with the power of the spell but mess with the precision. For example if you used a longer spell it wouldn't pack the same punch but its aim would be better, and the opposite could be said toward a shorter wand, the power would be greater but the aim wouldn't be as on target.
They made it back to McCoy's lab and began the process of carving out the wand, the first of many that this boy would one day use.
-Two Years Later-
It was finally the day that Harry was to leave McCoy and return to his dad. Now that wasn't to say that he hadn't seen the druid for the last three years but it was only for a few days every few months. But today was the day McCoy had decided that Harry had learned enough and it was time for him to take what he learned and apply it to his own methods. The old man had to admit that the boy was powerful and when he was an adult he would be a force to be reckoned with.
Said boy was hugging the old man and promising to write him, which the old man was looking forward too, he really enjoyed the company of the young man more than he thought. He watched as the boy loaded his bags in the back of his dad's car, which he had to use instead of shifting. With being apart for three years he had to get to know his son again so that they could shift in the future. The duo turned around and waved one last time before driving off down the road. Ebenezer McCoy smiled as he watched them go knowing that he would be the one to introduce the kid to the council as a full wizard and not some apprentice.
The old wizard got his mail and was sitting in his chair relaxing when he saw a letter from one of his contacts that let him know of dark wizard activity. This particular letter let him know that the Wizard DuMorne was becoming active and it involved his own family, this is definitely something he would keep an eye on.
A/N: So here is the introduction to the biggest undertaking in writing I have ever considered. As stated earlier this a Dresden/Potter/Iron Druid crossover. My friend and I went over each timeline and they all seem to fit.
Harry Potter was born roughly 6-7 years after Dresden.
The bulk of the Iron Druid stories take place in the 6 month gap that Dresden is a ghost.
And if Butcher sticks with the way he has been going the other 8 or so books of the series will end just in time for Atticus and Granuaile to run from Loki.
Now the pairings will be cannon heck they might even be sooner than originally happening.
However I am at a disadvantage with a Pairing for Potter, after much debate with my friend we decided that the role of the pairing would fall to a Hogwarts student.
So a Poll will be put up on which of the three girls he will end up with.
The choices are
Hermione Granger
Susan Bones
Daphne Greengrass
Sadly those are the only ones I can stand in most pairings and the other girls would be too young for what I am planning.
I will hopefully have the next chapter up within two weeks as I am going on vacation.
I hope you have enjoyed the first of hopefully many to come!
Please Review:
AsherStorm
