Harry awoke the following morning without the feeling of dust in his eyes, or yelling straight into his ears. He wondered if the Dursleys were still asleep, or he'd slept in. Then, he remembered. He wasn't in the cupboard under the stairs, he was in a martial arts dojo. He wasn't with the Dursleys anymore, he was in his own room, given to him for no reason he could think of. Harry slowly swung himself off the large bed, placing his feet on the floor tentatively, then slowly walking around the room, taking everything in. Harry heard a knock on the door and leapt back into his bed, jumping ridiculously high and causing a grunt from outside. "C-come in," he whimpered, and Stephen opened the door, smiling while slightly wincing.

"Morning, Harry,"

"Good morning, sir,"

Stephen laughed. "Please, don't call me sir, call me Stephen," magic doctor rubbed the back of his head at the awkward silence. "Well, uh, I just thought I'd come tell you that breakfast is in the main hall downstairs. You can't miss it, it's the room with the huge fountain in the middle,"

"Thank you, si-I mean, Stephen," harry shrunk under his covers slightly, and Stephen shrugged.

"Eh, baby steps," he muttered under his breath. "Anyways, to work the shower turn the right handle down, and the left handle up for cold water or down for hot. There'll be a basic uniform in the closet for you, which'll fit no matter what, and uh, we'll talk later,"

"Th-thank you," Harry nodded and Stephen just smiled and closed the door, sling-ringing to the library to have a long talk with Wong.

Later…

Harry was exploring the compound, shying away from any people he came across, apparently well enough that nobody took a second glance at him. He walked past the library doors, and heard shouting from the centre of the darkened room. He stuck to the wall and snuck in, slowly hearing more and more of the conversation.

"- why we cannot teach a child our ways, Strange! It could rip his soul from his body!"

"He has an incredible power tha-,"

"That what? That you want to be able to use? This is a child, Strange, a child!"

"He has a power that he can't utilise, and when he loses control it makes waves. Surely you felt it this morning! That felt the same as it did in the mirror dimension," a pause.

"Even with the amplified power?"

"Exactly. I'm not asking to turn him into a weapon, Wong, I just want to show him some measure of control so that he doesn't one day inadvertently kill someone!" Strange and Wong were so caught up in their argument that they didn't see Harry walk up to them, and gasp when Strange mentioned the possibility.

"I could kill someone?" he breathed, and Stephen's head jerked to the side, eyes wide.

"Harry, don't worry, it's gonna be OK," Stephen put his hand on the kid's shoulder and Harry started to cry. "Look, we're gonna help you get control of this, so no-one gets hurt, alright? But we can't teach you yet, you're too young, and if something goes wrong…"

"My soul leaves my body?" Harry sniffed, and Strange sucked in, then nodded. "I don't want anyone to die!" he wailed, and Strange patted his back.

"I know, I know. It's gonna be alright, Harry," Harry wrapped his arms around Stephen's neck and hugged him tight, the sorcerer supreme returning the hug. "Now, I need you to go back to your room for a sec, and I'll sort you out with some books, OK?" Harry nodded and Stephen opened a portal to his room, which Harry walked through, still pretty amazed by the concept.

Wong crossed his arms once the portal closed. "So, since you're not going to be training him, what books will you be wanting?"

Stephen shot Wong a mock glare. "Third grade Math, English and Science,"

Harry was sitting in his room, playing with a loose thread on his old shirt when he heard a knock on the door again. "Come in," he called, and Stephen opened the door, carrying 3 thick books and a ream of paper.

"Hey, kid. You doing OK?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm scared. I don't want to hurt anyone,"

"I know, I know, but you're not gonna hurt anyone while you're here, I promise," Harry sobbed once, Strange sighed and patted the boy's back. "Hey, I've got you some textbooks from the library," Harry looked up, tears threatening to fall from his eyes, and smiled. "It's just the basics, Science, Math, English, but it'll be a start," Harry nodded and smiled again. "So I want you to take notes on the first chapter in each of them by tomorrow, alright?"

"Yes, Stephen. I'll do it,"

Stephen smiled and stood up. "Great. See you later then, Harry," Strange left the room and walked back to his office. He opened the door to see a bulky blond-haired man with a ponytail and a beard, subconsciously flipping a hammer in his hand, as a man wearing green and golden robes in manacles and a mouth gag. "Ah, Thor," he said, sitting in the chair at his desk, his cape flying to a nearby coatrack. "I'm glad you came,"

Strange beckoned for Thor to sit, and the Avenger placed his Mjolnir on the floor with a clang, Loki's eyes rolling. "So there are wizards on Earth now, as well?"

Strange smirked as he lifted a kettle. "Would you like some tea?"

The next day, noon

Harry looked over the notes he'd been making throughout his waking hours. He's finished the first chapter in all 3 books, so he went on to the second chapter. He didn't want Stephen to think he was a lazy, good-for-nothing freeloader. He winced at that particular memory as he knocked on the door to Strange's office. "Stephen?" he called meekly. No reply. He opened the door and crept in. "I've done the notes," again, no reply. "Stephen?" he asked again, a little louder this time.

"Dr Strange has gone," an Asian man who appeared from the shadows told him.

Harry yelped and dropped his notes. "I'm so sorry, sir. I shouldn't have come in here, it won't happen again, I promise,"

The man seemed unfazed. "Dr Strange has been called away on an urgent mission. As such, I am the master of this sanctum until he returns," he peered down on Harry, who shrunk into his Gi and shook. "So, you are the boy he took in, hm?" Harry nodded. "I am Master Hamir. And you are?" he held out his hand expectantly.

Harry had seen Uncle Vernon do this with businessmen who made house calls. He shook the man's hand tentatively, then squeaked as he felt himself getting pulled up. "H-Harry Potter, sir,"

Hamir looked the boy up and down. "I will look over these notes you have made," he held out his hand again, and Harry gave him the paper. Hamir hummed as he read the notes. After about a minute he gave them back to Harry. "This is good. Well done. Tomorrow you will be given more work to do. Until then, you are free to roam the sanctum,"

Harry shook a little, but nodded. "Th-thank you, sir," he left the room and breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been praised for something he'd done and not been punished for doing something wrong. He smiled as he walked back to his room, then jumped when dozens of people shouted at once. Then again. And again. Harry followed the shouting and reached the courtyard. He saw about 50 people lined up in ranks, all performing some sort of dance or ritual. They turned with their hands extended in front of them, golden sparks coursing through their fingers and making discs of light appear around their fists. Harry sat in the shadows, awestruck by what he saw. He quickly pulled out his pen and paper and began taking notes on what they were doing and how they were doing it.

"Concentrate. Feel the flow of energy through you, like a river. You don't try and move it, you move with it. Then you will be granted the power you need," Harry wrote down every word, his awful handwriting barely legible as he was writing so quickly. He smiled as he picked up his paper and admired his handiwork.

The next few weeks fell into a routine. Harry would either give his work in or get new work from Master Hamir, then walk around the complex, before stopping to take notes on that particular lesson. He'd stop in the cafeteria and silently pick up a bowl of soup or a sandwich to take back to his room, where he'd either do his work or meditate. Harry wasn't trying to become some sort of wizard, that was just ridiculous, he'd tell himself. Harry Potter as a wizard? What'll they come up with next? Harry was slowly learning to understand the feel of this 'power' Stephen told him about, so he may be able to stop himself the next time he had an outburst. He managed to find his power quicker each time, until it was almost instant, and he spent the rest of the time exploring his energy, manipulating it to go into one hand then the other. Sometimes he went into his mind, explored his memories, looked at how his life had changed from just a couple of months ago to now, and often looked as far back as he could remember, which was, surprisingly, a pretty long way. He could remember voices. One was of an old man, who sounded on his last legs. One was gruff and deep, and one was supposedly a stern Scottish woman. He couldn't remember what they said, just, that they said it. Sometimes he got flashes of something terrible. Hearing a door be blown off its hinges. A man who must have been in his early twenties shouting for another person to run. A green flash and the thump of a body hitting the floor. A woman begging with someone in a black hood to kill her instead. Another green flash, and the woman fell to the ground. The hooded man walked up to him, pointed a… stick… at him, and a green light formed as the man yelled. "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Harry's eyes show open. He was dripping with sweat, his scar ached, and he was completely exhausted. He crawled back into bed and closed his eyes, waiting for the next day in his life.

A couple of months later…

A golden spark landed on Harry's shoulder as he walked through the courtyard. He took a step back as a sling ring portal was formed, and a tall black man walked through, and instantly formed a ball of energy, which he threw at the floor, blowing up the courtyard. Harry yelled and leapt into the air, his knees slightly buckling as his feet made harsh contact with the slate on the roof. On the… roof. Master Hamir strode into the square and stared the newcomer down. "Mordo, you should not have come here,"

The man, Mordo, scoffed. "Why is that Hamir? This place is nothing to me anymore, merely where the undeserving come to be given more power than they should. There is one way to stop this from happening, to ensure only the worthy may wield this gift,"

Hamir shook his head and brought his arms out into a stance, revealing to Harry for the first time that he was missing a hand! Hamir formed some sort of transparent spear and ran at Mordo, who leapt into the air, his boots making platforms for him to jump even higher. He took a staff off his back and whipped it at Hamir, it flew at his face, extending, magic dotting the weapon. Hamir blocked with his spear and kicked Mordo in the chest as he dropped to the floor, and threw the spear to follow him Mordo whipped his staff and smashed the spear mid-air. Hamir quickly made discs on his wrists as Mordo charged again, raising his staff above his head. He brought it down with enough force to break through the side of a house, swinging with ferocity and rage that put Uncle Vernon to shame. Hamir could only block, the speed and power of Mordo's attacks overpowering him until his discs faded away. Mordo struck Hamir one last time in the face, making the old man yell in agony. Blood ran down his face from his eye, around which a huge bruise was forming.

"I'm sorry, Hamir," Mordo said, and it sounded sincere. "But this gift is too valuable to be taught to just anyone. Therefore, the teachers must be removed," he made another ball of energy and thrust it into the floor.

"HAMIR!" Harry yelled, jumping off the roof and landing in front of Hamir, arms outstretched, focusing on his power and directing it to his hands. He moved his left hand up and his right hand down, diagonally, a gold line trailing behind. He then moved his hands in a pattern that created an intricate wall of energy. The explosion crashed against the wall, and held fast. Harry grunted at the strain of sorcery for the first time. The explosion ceased, and Harry let go of the energy, his vision blurring as he fell to his knees, his legs on fire. Before he collapsed he managed to make out the blurred form of Stephen running through a portal and standing between him and Mordo.

Harry woke in his room, with Stephen sitting at his desk, looking through his pages. "Good, you're awake," he didn't look around at him.

Harry grunted and sat up. "What happened?"

Strange sighed "You saved Master Hamir's life then passed out," he turned and looked Harry in the eye. "That shield was crude, but incredibly effective for someone your age. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't impressed," Stephen smirked, then frowned straight after. "But you could have killed yourself! Why did you jump off the roof?"

Harry flinched. "I don't know how I got on the roof!"

Strange raised an eyebrow but let it slide. "Well you've broken both your ankles and you have a hairline fracture in your left shin. I've fixed you up the best I could, but I'm a neurosurgeon, so it's not exactly my forte," Strange got up. "Until you're fully healed, you won't be able to walk," he dropped a half-dozen books from the sanctum library onto his bed. "So you'll want to hit the books," Harry's eyes widened. "The other Masters and I have decided that, since you're so hell-bent on learning anyway, there's no point in trying to stop you,"

"Thank you, Stephen," Harry smiled widely and shifted into a sitting position.

"I'll leave you to it, then," Stephen exited the room.

"Stephen?" Harry called.

"Yeah?" Stephen replied, turning his head back round the doorframe.

"What's Avada Kedavra?"

Stephen frowned. "I don't know. Why?"

"Sometimes I meditate, to find the power you said I have, and I hear someone shout it, then there's a green flash," Harry frowned, as did Strange.

"Tell you what; I'll do a little reading and see if I can find anything, alright?" Harry nodded. "OK, see you later," Strange closed the door and folded his arms. "'Avada Kedavra'. Where have I heard that before?"

And the chapter is done! First off, I really want to thank you for the incredible support you've been showing me and my writing. Y'all are amazing, and the love and support you give me really pushes me along. I really appreciate reviews and am more than happy as ever to answer any questions you may have over a PM. Suggestions, questions or just conversations, hit me up, all are welcome! See you next time!