Harry stared at the half-human standing in the doorway. He stepped into the building and took a deep breath. "Sorry 'bout tha'." He stepped to the side off the door and picked it up with one hand, shoving it back into the frame.
Harry let out a silent breath of relief as the sound of the storm outside was muffled once more.
The man looked around. "Where's 'arry?"
Dudley looked frantically around the room and spotted Harry in the shadows. "There! There! He's there!"
Harry growled quietly and stepped out of the shadows. The man beamed down at Harry. His eyes were small and black but they shone with an inner kindness and genuine affection. Something that had never been directed at Harry before. "There ya are 'arry. Ah didn' see ya there fer a secon'. Goodness, look at ya. Las' time a saw you, ya were small enough ta fit in the palm of me 'and. How are ya?"
Harry glanced down at the man's massive hands. He would have probably been able to fit in the palm of his hands until he was about four. He narrowed his eyes at the man. "I'm sorry. Should I know you?"
The man blinked. "Well, pro'ly not. Ya were only a babe at the time. I'm Rubeus Hagrid. Keeper of grounds and keys of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You know all about Hogwarts o'course."
Harry shook his head. "No. I'm sorry but I don't." If I was a baby then did this man have something to do with me being left with them?
The man- Mr Hagrid- seemed taken aback. "Never 'eard of 'ogwarts. Didn' ye ever wonder where yer mam an' dad learned it all?" Ah, so this man knew my parents.
Harry narrowed his eyes. "Learned what?"
"Magic o'course!"
Harry narrowed his eyes further. "You need to leave. We're not falling for your tricks, Mr Hagrid. There is no such thing as magic." He walked past the man and pulled the door back off its hinges, an easy feat considering the door was just leaning in the frame. He gestured outside. "Leave."
Hagrid bristled and moved closer to Harry. He opened his mouth to say something but Harry shoved him out the door and stepped out after him. He pulled the door back into the frame and quickly used forced field to cover them both from the storm. The sound was instantly muffled to nearly non-existent. "Sorry about that. They hate magic and go to such ridiculous lengths to pretend it doesn't exist. Anyway, my name is Harry Irving, formerly Harry Potter. It is very nice to meet you, Mr Hagrid."
Hagrid looked at the force field in awe for a moment before his attention was snatched back to Harry. "Did you say Irving? Not Potter? Why would ya go and change yer name for?" He seemed genuinely upset and angry.
Harry sighed. "Mr Hagrid. I never knew my parents. They have never been here and I have no memories of them so I have no attachment to the name Potter. It is only ever said in utter hatred and disgust. I don't like the name. Besides, Lloyd Irving has been more of a father to me in the past six years than anyone else ever has." Isn't that sad? The closest thing he has to family is a character in a game. "I changed my name to Irving, although the change isn't legal. Anyway, why are you here?"
Hagrid blinked. "Oh, right, sorry. Here," He rummaged in his pockets, "...it's in 'ere somewhere..." He rummaged in more of his pockets, "Ah, here." He handed Harry an envelope. Harry looked at the address on the front.
Mr H. Potter.
Shack on a Rock
The ocean.
Harry turned the envelope over and looked at the wax seal on the back. He was shocked at how detailed it was. Wax usually did not behave like that. The seal was a shield split into four with an H in the middle and a lion, a badger, a raven and a snake in each of the four boxes. Beneath the shield was a small strip with the words 'Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus', though the text was far too small for a normal human to see. How did they get it so detailed?
Harry carefully opened the envelope, being careful not to break the wax seal. It broke and Harry huffed under his breath.
He pulled out the two sheets of parchment. The first one read,
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin: First class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock of the Wizengammot, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards)
Harry rolled his eyes, well this guy isn't full of himself at all.
After reading the rest of the letter and the list of equipment he raised his eyebrow.
Okay, firstly, 'parents are reminded that first years are not allowed their own brooms'. Brooms? Really? People actually fly on brooms? Also, reminded? How would they know in the first place? And second. Where in the Nine Levels of Niflheim am I supposed to get any of this? "Mr Hagrid? Is this the letter they give to everyone?"
Hagrid shook his head. "No. This is the one they give ta the 'alf-bloods and the pure-bloods. The Muggleborns get a diff'r'nt one an' one of the teachers come an' see them personally."
Harry raised his eyebrow. "Then why was I not offered that courtesy? I only know magic exists because I can do it, I don't know anything else, let alone an entire magical society. My relatives are not magic-users, why did you expect me to know anything about magic, or a magical school or where to get any of these?" Harry held up the letter.
Hagrid blushed. "Well, since yer mam was a witch we thought yer Aunt would tell you about it."
We? So, he had something to do with me being dumped on their doorstep but there was someone else involved. Harry shook his head. "She hates her. Any mention of my mother sends her into a tiff that usually lasts for days." A particularly loud clap of thunder shot through the air causing Harry to slam his hands over his ears. "This is not a good place for a conversation." He looked down at the dock. "How did you get here?" The only boat there was the one the Dursleys used to get there.
"Um... I flew."
Harry quirked an eyebrow, trying to picture this man on a broom. It would have to be a big broom. He looked around and saw the rain falling on something not too far away. The way the rain was falling showed that this thing was horse shaped but when it shook Harry was able to make out the outline of wings. Harry raised an eyebrow. "Invisible horse with wings?"
Hagrid smiled. "It's called a thestral. Ya can only see them if ya've seen death."
Harry nodded. "Are we able to go somewhere a little... dryer than a rock in a storm?"
Hagrid looked over at the thestral. "Well... alrigh'. We'll 'ead to London." Hagrid got on the creature and it was rather strange seeing it since it looked like the man was sitting on air. Harry climbed up and put one foot on either side of Hagrid's waist and held onto his shoulders.
The flight was nerve racking. Harry much preferred to fly on his own wings. He was so tempted to bring them out at so many times throughout the flight. His force field kept the worst of the winds from them, stopping the thestral from being blown about too much.
They landed a few hours later and Hagrid led Harry into a pub. Harry 'heard' the thestral whinny quietly and he cast Charge on the poor animal. He felt its mana perk up and a sense of appreciation from it as it took off and flew north.
Harry turned around and followed Hagrid into the pub. Hagrid was talking to the man behind the bar in hushed tones. He passed some money over and got two keys in return before he beckoned Harry to follow him. He led him upstairs and stopped outside a door. "This one is your room fer the night Harry. Here's yer key. Sleep well. I'll wake ya in time fer breakfast."
Harry nodded and took the key from the man who went into the room exactly opposite him. Harry sat in his room for a short while before going back downstairs. He didn't really need to sleep anymore and even if he could there was no way he would with all this happening. Seriously? A man who is only half human shows up at midnight in the middle of nowhere, claims to have known his parents, tells him he's a wizard and takes him off to London. And he was expected to be okay with that? In theory no, but anything was better than the Dursleys.
Harry didn't have any money so he wasn't able to get any of his school things but he was able to hide in the shadows and observe people and get a better feel of the situation. He noticed a number of people coming in from the door at the back and slipped through.
It was just Harry's luck that when he did so the wall split open and revealed a hidden alleyway behind the pub. Harry slipped in past the man who had just come out.
Most of the shops would be closed at this time but that didn't mean Harry couldn't look to see what there was. He used his mage sight to look at buildings as well. There was a clothing store called Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. It looked really expensive. There was a number of book shops, a few stationary shops, a wand shop, what looked like a newsagents and a number of other stores. He looked down a street called Knockturn alley and shrugged. There were a lot of people down there still.
He wandered down that alley. All the patrons looked really shady. Some weren't human. In fact, most of them weren't- Was that a vampire? Harry stared at the man sucking on another man's neck. The man smiled at Harry when he caught his eye so Harry assumed nothing was wrong and carried on walking. It looked surprisingly intimate.
The shops here were much cheaper and some of them seemed to be good quality. There was even a store that sold staves. Harry was so getting one of those. As well as a pair of swords. He had to get dual swords. They were the only things Harry was willing to splurge on. Ending up with very little amount of money in the game had taught Harry to budget and never having a lot of things taught him the difference between needing something necessary and wanting something unnecessary.
He kept running out of money for gels because he spent it all on weapons and food even though you didn't need food in the game and he already had decent weapons.
After wandering Knockturn for a while he went back up to Diagon to the only place that was open. Gringotts bank.
He looked at the curious creatures outside the door and approached them. "Excuse me, I don't wish to sound rude but I have never met someone like you before. What race are you?"
The one on the left sneered at him and the one on the right glared and answered. "We're goblins."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Goblins? Hmmm. I didn't know they actually existed. Your mana is very different than a human's."
The goblin snorted. "Mana? What's that?"
Harry smiled gently and charged his mana into a healing spell. The spell circle appeared beneath his feet, glowing brightly in the dark. "This is mana. An energy present in every living thing in the world. It is more essential to life than water. With no mana, there is no life. It is present in everything, even non-magic-users."
The goblins stared at the spell circle for a moment before looking up at him curiously. "What kind of spell is that?" the one on the right asked.
Harry smiled. "This one is a healing spell. It cures all physical ailments. I also know one to cure all magical ailments."
The goblins looked at each other for a moment before whispering in their own language. Harry listened in interest. It was harsh and rough. Like German. The one on the left stepped forwards. "Follow me, Sir." He led Harry into the bank and stopped to talk to someone else in that language. Harry muttered some of the sounds he heard under his breath, rolling them around his tongue. It was very difficult to produce those sounds.
The new goblin beckoned Harry over. "Follow me." He led Harry to a cart that went through many twisting tunnels and down further than Harry thought anyone could build anything. They stopped by a huge city and were stopped by another goblin. More hushed whispers and both goblins led Harry through the city to a large building near the centre. From what Harry could see this seemed to be a home for someone of great importance.
After more arguing with more guards Harry was led inside the building and into someone's room. There was a goblin lying on the bed. Harry's eyes widened as he took in the sight of him. His mana was very weak. Only a few more days and he would be dead without a doubt.
Harry immediately cast healing spells. The first thing he did was cast Inspect Magic to find out what the problem was exactly. The results weren't something Harry had ever seen before so he knew it wasn't a physical injury. His inexperience completely counteracted any skill or power he had.
Harry quickly decided to just cast a wide range of spells and see what ones had an effect. Anti-Magic had no effect so it wasn't a spell. Dispel had the same results. Cure had a slight effect. Detoxify had a dramatic effect on the cause of the problem so Harry cast it a few times. Since he was so inexperienced with magic he wasn't casting on himself he knew he was being really inefficient.
When he was sure the poison (And it was a poison since that was what Detoxify cured) was gone he started casting Heal and First Aid. Within a few uses he dropped to his knees and a few more had him leaning against the wall. He finally stopped casting when he felt like he would collapse any second and sat heavily on the floor from his kneeling position. He breathed heavily for a few moments before weakly lifting his head and glancing up at the goblin on the bed, who was now sitting against the headboard and staring down at Harry.
Harry smiled weakly and lifted one hand to wipe the sweat of his forehead. "You should be fine now. Just rest up, eat well and take it easy. And try to avoid whatever it was that poisoned you in the first place." Harry paused when his guide began to speak before he realised that he was translating for him.
There was some furious shouting amongst the goblins in the room for a moment before the one on the bed held up a hand for silence. The guide translated for him again. "Are you certain it was poison?"
Harry nodded. "I used a couple of different spells but the only one that had any effect was the one specifically for poison. It was definitely a poison."
The goblin hummed. There was some more muttering and another goblin stepped up to the bed. This one was in a white uniform so Harry assumed she was a healer. She cast some spells and said something. Harry was starting to get irritated with being unable to understand them. The one on the bed turned back to Harry and the guide translated. "You have saved my life human. I would have never thought that the one to heal me would be one of those who despise us and our kind. I owe you a great debt of gratitude."
Harry smiled. "Irving vow number two; never abandon someone in need. I was happy to help. Anyway, I have nothing against your kind. I only found out you exist just now. Besides, every life has value just in being born." The goblins all looked at Harry strangely when his guide translated again.
What followed then was about an hour of negotiations. As it turned out the goblin who had been poisoned was the King of the British goblin nation.
When the goblins asked for his name and he replied with Harry Irving a small light flashed on his guides ring. The guide looked at him suspiciously. "What is your real name?"
Harry sighed. "My given name was Harry Potter but I've never used it. I went by Irving before I knew my name was Potter."
The goblin glance at his ring and looked back up at Harry, surprised. "You're Harry Potter?"
Harry nodded. "Yes."
What followed next was a few hours of negotiations. Harry failed to persuade them not to swear their allegiance to him. He was quite happy with the offer of a sword though and told them that usually used dual swords. They readily agreed to make them for him.
He was given a money pouch tied into his account so he didn't need to come into the bank to withdraw money. He also got a bag. It was small, black and attached to his waist with a belt-like strap. It was bottomless and feather-light so he could store all of his belongings in it. Both of these had anti-theft charms as well as spells that ensured that Harry was the only one who could see, feel, use and remove the bags.
The few hours gave Harry a bit of time to rest after the spells but he still felt like he could sleep for a week. He was then led up to an office near the top of the bank and introduced to a goblin named Hookfang, who was apparently his account manager and was in charge of his family's vaults and assets.
Because apparently his family was loaded.
Go figure.
He legally changed his last name to Irving, read over a brief audit of his account and looked over the transactions taken since his parents' deaths. He demanded all the money that had been paid to the Dursleys back as well as from Dumbledore who had been taking money and items from his account from the same day of his parent's deaths. The man hadn't even waited for them to be put into the ground.
Once that was done Harry was given his family Heir ring. He would be given the Lordship ring when he turned seventeen or was emancipated or married, whichever came first. He and Hookfang talked for a while about Harry's powers. After Hookfang told him about the wizarding public Harry decided it would probably be better if he kept his powers a secret. He had no intention of being used for other people's gain.
"So, Lord Irving, how exactly did you learn these powers? It's not something I've ever seen before."
Harry looked to the side. He would have to trust someone and since Hookfang was in charge of his vaults he would have to trust him and trust was two ways. If he wanted Hookfang to trust him he would have to trust Hookfang. Harry sighed and explained about Tales of Symphonia, the elves, dwarves, half-elves and angels, about mana, summon spirits and anything else he could think of.
Hookfang hummed. "Hmmm. Interesting..."
Harry tilted his head in question. "Hmm?" He glanced up at the clock and winced. "I'm sorry, Hookfang. Could we carry this on later? I kind of left the pub last night without the man who brought me here knowing I left. He will worry if I'm not there."
Hookfang laughed. "Of course, Lord Irving. Come back on Tuesday, your swords will be ready by then and we can go over some more details about your account."
Harry grinned ecstatically. "Thanks!"
"My pleasure, Lord Irving. The goblin nation owes you a great debt."
Harry bowed slightly and left the office. He quickly made his way back to the pub and back into his room. He slept for a short while before Hagrid knocked on his door. Over breakfast Harry sheepishly explained what had happened last night, leaving out his venture into Knockturn and what kind of healing magic he used. Hagrid laughed. "Only you, 'arry. Only you could do tha'!"
Harry laughed. It was just his luck that he couldn't walk into the bank without earning the allegiance of the entire goblin nation by saving their dying king. Nothing stayed simple when he was involved.
After breakfast Hagrid took Harry clothes shopping. He deemed that more necessary than getting his school supplies and Harry couldn't help but agree with him. They had a minor argument (as minor as a half giant can get) when Hagrid was adamant that Madam Malkin's was the only place for his school robes and Harry refused to go in until he was sure that it was the only one and since he needed other clothing anyway he might as well ask in the other clothes stores around the alley. He stormed off and dragged Hagrid with him.
They ended up finding school robes of much better quality with some enchantments such as heating, cooling and protection spells for a much lower price than Madam Malkin's. Hagrid was suitably apologetic but Harry shrugged him off. The man had obviously been told that Madam Malkin's was the only place so he had no reason to think any different.
Over the course of the day Hagrid had gotten into the habit of calling him Irving instead of Potter. And since Harry kept his ring in his bag no one thought any different.
Except for the tailor who did Harry's formal robes. Since they needed the Potter crest on them they had to tell the tailor who Harry was. It was tiring. Clothes shopping was so boring. Harry was eventually allowed down from the stool and changed into one of his new sets of clothes. Wearing a red jacket of course. His money pouch was clipped to a hook just on the inside of his bag, which was fastened to his waist. He also got a tie and did his hair up like a samurai. It looked kind of cool.
Hagrid turned to the bank. "Right. I've got official business to attend to. Can ya manage on yer own fer a while? I'll meet ya at Fortescue's later."
Harry nodded. "Yeah. That's fine. I'll see you later." He watched as Hagrid disappeared into the bank and went straight down Knockturn alley. He easily found the custom wand place and opened the door, the bell above it tinkling pleasantly when he did so.
The man in the shop looked up at Harry as he entered. "Hey kid. Looking for a spare wand?"
Harry shook his head. "No sir, I don't have a wand yet. I was wondering if you could help me with that issue?"
The man smiled. "Of course. You've come to the right place. Let's get you tested shall we? First we need to see what kind of wood suits you best." he pulled a tray over. "Hold your hand over this and send some of your magic through them." Harry did as asked. Three of them started glowing but one was clearly the brightest. The man nodded. "Alright then." he pulled up another three trays and put the first one away. These three trays were covered in the wood that had glowed brightest. Harry waved his hand over the trays and one wood really stood out from the rest, glowing quite brightly.
The man nodded and they repeated the process with various different types of core until they found the right combination. As the man put them together he asked Harry some questions about the wand like what spells he wanted crafted into it and if there was any kind of design he wanted for the handle.
He ended up with anti-theft, anti-summoning, and unbreakable charms into the wand. He also got a holster with an automatic summoning charm on it. If his wand got more than six feet away it would automatically appear back in the holster. While in the holster it was protected from damage.
The wand maker winked and told Harry that since he didn't ask for it, he hadn't put the trace on the wand so he was able to use magic outside of school. Harry chuckled and nodded, paid the man, with a bit of a tip, and left for the staff store next door.
The man behind the counter made Harry hold a small glass ball. When he did the numbers 15,943 appeared. The man stared at Harry in shock for a moment before shaking his head and starting a similar process to the wand maker. Harry had a lot more to say about the appearance of his staff though. He basically got a staff that looked exactly like Martel's but was made of the same materials as his wand. He placed the staff in his bag and thanked the man, paying in full with a tip. If he ever had to come back he wanted these people to think nicely of him.
When he got to Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour Hagrid was there waiting for him. "Sorry I'm late, Mr Hagrid. I went to get my wand while you were in the bank."
Hagrid smiled. "That's fine 'arry. Shall we be off then? Lots to do."
Harry nodded. "Books first? That way I can read them tonight if we don't get everything by the time the shops close."
Hagrid nodded and they set off down the alley. Harry ended up dragging Hagrid to several stores before he found the ones with a good quality for cheap. He didn't even think about second hand. He had enough second hand things without buying things second hand. Anyway, best save that for the people who couldn't afford new ones. It ended up taking most of the day.
By the time he finished buying books the shops were closing for the day so he and Hagrid called it a night and went back to the Leaky Cauldron for dinner.
As they passed Eyelops Owl Emporium for Martel knows how many times that day the snowy owl near the shop front started screeching and beating her wings. Harry looked over to her. She did that every time they've been past today. The shop was just closing but Harry slipped in and stepped up to the cage. The owl looked at right at him. Harry tilted his head and reached out to feel her mind.
Talking with animals with his mind was difficult since animals didn't speak English. They communicated using various different sounds for different meanings so when communicating with their minds they spoke with emotions, fragments of memory or images.
He got an 'about time' and a sense of irritation. He sent back an apology and received an acceptance in return. He sent to owl a sense of curiosity and she sent back an exasperated 'are you stupid or something?' feeling. Harry sent a bit if irritation across the bond with a firmer sense of question. The owl practically rolled her eyes and huffed at him.
The shop keeper walked over. "Blimey, looks like you've got yourself a familiar lad. That's not very common. especially this fast." He took the snowy owls cage down and took her over to the counter before picking up a number of other items around the shop. "Now, since she's your familiar I can't charge you for her but I can charge you for the rest of this. What of it do ya need?"
Harry sighed. "All of it. And a book on owl care. I've never had a pet before."
The man huffed. "This aint no pet, lad. She's a familiar. The two of ya have a unique bond. It will get stronger as time goes by. I can sell ya a book on it if ya want."
Harry sighed and nodded. He put all the equipment in his bag (including the cage after some verbal and mental protests from the owl) and left with the bird on his shoulder.
After a quick glance at the book he ordered some extra bacon for her when he and Hagrid sat down for dinner. After dinner Harry retired to his room and at the owl's insistence read the book on familiars. By the end of the book he felt he understood the difference between a familiar and a pet. A pet was any old animal you pick up, they die, you replace them, simple as that.
A familiar was something more. They were a companion. A wizard and familiar had a unique bond of understanding, a friendship that could never be replaced. In some cases they were even known to share magic and abilities and the familiar even shared their partner's life span. Harry smiled at the owl and spent several hours thinking of a name. She outright rejected anything he thought of from Symphonia. Eventually he looked through his books and they agreed on the name Hedwig, after a woman from his history book.
Harry rolled his eyes. Women. Who would ever understand them? Even when they were birds.
