Title:
Summary: Harry circumvents the blood wards, and is now preparing for the Tri-Wizard Tournament.
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Harry Potter poked his food absentmindedly. His third year had just ended and he was loathed to go back to his relatives' house. He had once again asked Dumbledore if he could spend his summer holiday at the school but was denied. He asked why he couldn't and what was so special about it. Dumbledore told him about the blood wards surrounding the place and how they worked.
"My dear boy, as long as your mother's blood dwells there and you call Privet Drive your home, that is where you will remain, safe." Dumbledore answered, giving Harry a grandfatherly smile and a little twinkle in his eyes.
Since then Harry's thought of nothing else. Dumbledore's words played over in his head: where his mother's blood dwells and 'as long as he called Privet Drive his home'. But last year he declared to Dobby that Hogwarts was his home, and the year before that he'd thought very highly and with all hope of Hogwarts as his home. Shouldn't that kind of declaration affected the blood wards in some way? Then again, 'two out of three was better than nothing'. But Dumbledore only listed two points about the blood wards. According to the brief look in Hermione's Arithmacy book, the number three was a very magical number next to seven.
Geometrically speaking, the number three was a strong force. After all, an iceberg sunk the Titanic. Above water it was triangular shaped. The great pyramids of Egypt were also testament to the triangle. In mathematics the triangle was to help with positives and negatives with the negatives being on the bottom (the base) and the positive being on top, the saying like so: two negatives make a positive, and a positive to a negative will always equal in a negative.
The former, however, contradicted on a philosophical level: two wrongs don't make a right. That brought forth the rescue of his Godfather, which Dumbledore subtly encouraged. Hermione, without a second thought or letting him think about the pros and cons, roped him in to travel back in time, all because Dumbledore made a cryptic subtle suggestion to them.
A rough nudge to his shoulder pushed him out of his thoughts and he looked to see that Neville was the one who pushed him.
"It's time to go." Neville said and stood up.
Harry nodded his thanks and stood up as well, taking a last swig of his drink. It was a lemon-lime soda glamoured to look like pumpkin juice. He had asked Dobby for a cool, crisp muggle drink at the beginning of the year and Dobby returned with a whole variety to choose from, then asked Dobby if he could disguise the drink as wizard-like without ruining it. The drink exploded and Harry suggested cooling the drink first then applying a simple glamour on it. Dobby did and Harry has been drinking cold soda since. The looks he received when he first belched out a roar in class was the best. A tired but mischievous smirk made its way onto his face as he left the Great hall for the carriages to the train.
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At the Head Table, three pairs of eyes were watching the boy leave; only two became worried about the sudden smirk to cross his face as he left for the summer holidays. "He really does look just like his father with that smirk on his face." chuckled an old man. Dumbledore was his name, Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump, recipient of the Order of Merlin First Class and a whole lot of other high ranking titles.
The other two people watching the boy were his professors. Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House, Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration Professor.
Then there was Professor Snape, Head of Slytherin, Potion Master and Potions Professor.
They were the ones that were worried about the sudden smirk on Harry Potter's face. Dumbledore's statement was a partial reason for such worry. That was to say that the boy didn't act exactly like his father, like a bully to other students, rather the Potter boy acted the bully towards the teachers, the Headmaster especially.
Severus Snape was all set to hate the spawn of his enemy, but ever since the boy turned down Quidditch in favor for his studies, Severus Snape became intrigued. Potter had turned down the offer because he felt it was undeserved and nearly cost another's life. Potter was offered a spot on the Quidditch House team for his amazing flying prowess, but the natural flight talent was only revealed because Neville Longbottom had lost control of his broom and flew around the castle screaming in terror. Potter gave chase to the wayward student and saved the terrified boy from the wild broom and from near death by hoisting young Longbottom off the broom by his waist. But the ends of their school robes were snagged by a statue's spear. They dangled for a few seconds before Longbottom's tore and he plummeted, only to be snagged again by a torch guard then slipped out of his robe and crashed to the ground. Potter, with his light build, was still snagged to the spear.
By a small miracle, both boys were unscathed, not even a bruise. Of course, that was attributed to both boys wearing protective gear. The Potter child had bought two sets during his trip to Diagon Alley and loaned the second pair to Longbottom. Dumbledore ignored Potter's protests on being on the House team and expected the boy to play in the first game, though he himself couldn't be present. He'd asked Severus to tell him about the boy's performance in his first game when he returned and Snape was delighted to say that the Potter brat never showed up to the game. And since Gryffindor's Quidditch captain dismissed their Seeker for Potter, Slytherin won by default.
Then Potter got himself off the team by writing to Longbottom's grandmother about the incident and how, despite his protests, was placed onto the House team for "amazing flying skills", then went on to ask other Board members if that was their child on the wild broom and there was no one to save them, how would they react.
Madam Hooch was gifted with new learner brooms that week.
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Harry sat in his room contemplating the Headmaster's words. He'd written them down on paper, underlining the key words 'mother's blood' and 'home'. Blood magic, according to Dumbledore's own words and belief, was considered Dark magic, along with anything else he didn't understand or comprehend.
"Dobby." he called, and the joyous hyper elf popped in.
"Master Harry Potter Sir is calling Dobby?" squeaked Dobby.
"Yes, could you go to Gringotts and see if I have an account manager there, and if I do, could you ask him about how blood wards work. If he decides to write out a reply, could you ask if he could write them on paper instead of parchment?" Harry asked, handing Dobby a legal pad and a fountain pen.
"Yes sir, Dobby can do that, sir." Dobby said and popped out.
Harry waited around and started to compose a letter to Lady Longbottom about why a ghost is being paid a teacher's salary, and why only three teachers had a Masters degree in their subjects, why there was no Wizarding classes for muggle-borns or muggle-raised, why a third year drop out or a drunk could be teachers when there were other certified people out in the world who could teach. Then asked if Hagrid could get a trial concerning his expulsion, and then if he could get the opportunity to continue his education or get private tutors and earn a Master degree in his field.
Dobby popped in and handed Harry the legal pad. "Would you like anything else, sir?" Dobby asked.
"How about some McDonald's? You can get yourself some chicken nuggets, if you'd like. Then you, Oggy and Frankie look around in muggle bookstores to see if they have anything on magic. Write down the titles so I can look them over later, yeah?" Harry said.
"Dobby can be doing that, sir." Dobby smiled and popped out.
Harry smiled. After he'd freed Dobby, Dobby popped into his room and asked to be bound. He asked why and the elf explained that house elves needed to be bound as a large portion of their magic stemmed from their family. They could be bound to magical places if the the place had enough magic, which was how the Hogwarts elves were able to work there without masters, but their magic wouldn't be potent enough like a bound house elf. If an elf was left unbound their magic slowly drains away thus killing them. So Harry bound Dobby to him but insisted that he continue to state that he is a free elf if somebody were to ask. Then he asked if Dobby knew of any other homeless elves and if they wanted to be part of the family.
Dobby returned with seven other elves who looked to be on the verge of death, all with hope in their large eyes at bonding with another master. Harry worded the bonding so that if he accidentally gave them clothes they could re-bond with him if they wanted by just shaking his hand. The elves were overjoyed at that loophole and didn't have to fear being handed clothes.
Harry looked over the response on the legal pad, it was a very short reply. He had an account manager by the name of Goldberg, stating that he'd like to meet with him as soon as possible concerning his accounts and Lordships. Then went on to explain about the blood wards. According to Goldberg, the blood wards needed three key elements to work: family blood, a homely feeling and love. Love was the biggest key.
Harry looked at his notes then back at the goblin's reply. Love was the final key, then. The Dursley residence certainly had no love for him and he's never considered this place home. The blood part was giving him the most trouble. He knew the Dursleys wanted to be rid of him, and the feeling was mutual. If he left Privet Drive and the wards fell, Dumbledore would know that he was no longer living there and would force him back. He tapped the table top with his finger nails, picked up a pencil and started writing a draft letter.
Dear Goldberg,
Thank you for answering my questions about the blood wards. However, after reading what you wrote, I do not think there are any active blood wards here at my residence. Could you send some goblin warders to scan the place to see what kind of wards are in place?
Harry put down his pencil and called for Dobby.
"Yes, sir? What can Dobby be doing for you?"
"Are you able to draw out a sample of my blood and deliver it to my account manager?" Harry asked.
Dobby looked uncertain about drawing precious blood from his Harry Potter Sir. "Yes, but why?" he asked.
"I know goblins need blood to do certain tests, like an Inheritance test or something like that, but I don't know how much blood is needed for such tests." Harry answered.
"They usually require only three drops. One crystal vial would be enough for them to perform twenty tests." Dobby answered.
Harry sat back and thought for a moment. "Hmm, before I do anything of the sort, maybe it would be better to have a full scan of myself. I wouldn't put it past the old codger to place some kind of magic on me. Can house elves perform such scans?" he asked.
"Yes sir, Gene can be doing that." Dobby said and popped out to get the elf.
Harry gave a small smile. Gene was Frankie's little brother. They had been without a family for so long that they lost their names, so he named them Frankie and Gene, after Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly.
Gene popped in and scanned Harry, then showed him the results. Harry became angry.
Tracking Charms placed on glasses and wand
Compulsion to Obey Albus Dumbledore (key words spoken by Albus Dumbledore: parents, relatives, love)
Compulsion to Hate Severus Snape (key words spoken by Severus Snape: father, fame, detention)
Compulsion to Obey Hermione Granger (key words spoken by Hermione Granger: study, books, Headmaster)
Compulsion to Obey Ronald Weasley (key words spoken by Ronald Weasley: chess, Quidditch, blimey)
"Gene, could you make copies of these and give one to my account manager for safe keeping, you guys keep another and plot if you will, then see if some would be willing to watch over these two and gather information, see if they know anything about this or not. And scan Hedwig when she returns. If she has tracking charms on her, can you disable them, or relocate them to something else?" Harry asked.
"Yes sir, I can be doing that." Gene replied and popped out.
Harry sat back and tried to find a way to meet up with his account manager. The Dursleys hadn't bothered him much since his return, not that they now knew he had a Godfather, who was an escaped murderer. Not wanting to risk their lives, they reduced his chores by half and let him eat at the table if he wanted. Of course, he'd mentioned to his aunt that he was working on a way to get out of the house without the Headmaster knowing, so they could be rid of him for good if they allowed him to study this. Vernon heard and asked what the old old codger said that would make the freak think he had a chance to get out of the house without his knowing, and if he could help, which startled Harry and Petunia at first, but then Harry decided what the hey, the sooner he was out of the house, the better. So he told them what the Headmaster told him about the blood wards and what he knew of them so far, but they were stumped on how the freak would be able to pull off this stunt, but let him be as he requested, and if he had any means to stay out of their sight for the whole holiday, the better.
Harry went back to his letter, looking it over. He decided to scrap it and have Dobby take him to Gringotts later that night.
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