AN: I had thought about giving Harry the power to pull things from books/stories he has read when I was thinking about this story. The reason why I did things the way I did instead was mostly because I couldn't really think about how to fit said power into my plot as comfortably as I wanted. It would make for an interesting story separate from this one though (with different books involved maybe) but not something I plan on writing. If someone wanted to write a story like that I think it could be cool and if they want some ideas for such a story let me know. Anyways enough rambling on with the story.
Fixed up and smoothened out as of 11/4/18
Time in the basement had no meaning to Harry. He didn't eat, he didn't sleep and there was no way of knowing when the sun was up. The only reason Harry knew that time was passing at all was the few times that Sakura had been allowed to leave the pit. Her had returned to the usual blank mask she showed shortly after she had given him that small smile when he had first reached her. The only indication that she was even aware of his presence was her refusal to let him go whenever she was with him. Usually it was something simple like holding his hand but on rare occasions when, one of them could fight through the pain, they held one another in their arms. The worms got… agitated when they perceived that they were being blocked off from their meal however so the pain was worse than usual when they did so. Still, neither of them regretted those times. They did make sure they didn't show outwardly that they drew immense levels of comfort from the act otherwise who knew what Zouken would do.
Speaking of, Zouken showed up periodically to either stare at him in dark amusement or throw the occasional insult. It was nothing new to Harry so he paid the old monster's words little heed. The only exception was when he mentioned useful bits of information. One such piece of information was that he was apparently special even amongst magic users as he possessed something called a magical core. For another he had both a high quantity and quality of magical circuits as well, almost as if he was from a long line of Magi, though his apparent lack of crest seemed to preclude that. Harry was almost positive his magic was the reason why he was in a world that was supposed to be fictional when he learned he possessed it. If so how had he done it? He needed to figure it out because if he could it would be possible to escape from here with Sakura in tow.
It was something to think about even if he had just ended up making wild theories and explanations. Thinking about it helped keep his mind off the pain he was going through so the futility of his efforts didn't matter.
According to Zouekn, he was supposed to stay in the pit for a total of three months before he would be let out and start his magical, and mundane, studies. As for how far away he was from the end of that time period Harry didn't know but he hoped it would be soon. Life at the Dursley's might have been hell for him but his current situation was like a condensed version of all his… experiences there happing at once. If it wasn't for the worms apparently providing him with some level of nutrition and his magic healing his injuries, which was something that Zouken had taken great interest in when he saw it, he didn't even think he would be alive still. At least the hunger pains were a welcome contrast to the worms tunneling into and out of his body.
Harry turned his head slightly at the sound of the basement door opening, his face tightening in anger at the sight of Sakura walking next to her grandfather. That meant it was time for her next session in the pit and Harry need to steel himself so he could work through the pain and make it to her side when she was forced in. Zouken made sure to put her in a different location every time, likely because he took sick pleasure from watching him wade through the worm pit to reach her side. The old monster was twisted like that. Which was why it was such a surprise when, instead of chucking Sakura into the far side of the pit, he actually called off the worms currently feasting on his magic.
The shock caused by the absence of the constant pain was too much for Harry's mind to process causing it to briefly go blank as he laid on the basement floor. Zouken sneered at his display of weakness before commanding Sakura to fetch him, something she didn't hesitate to do. As Zouken watched his pathetic granddaughter help the pitiful boy who was the source of his latest curiosity he took in the changes the boy had gone through. His Crest Worms, in addition to both expanding natural circuits and acting as artificial ones, caused physiological changes in those implanted in them as well.
If the target was pathetic, as in weak, earned his contempt [and thus added cruelty] or had no magical potential then they would look like their life force was being consumed by the worms (because it was). This showed in a variety of potential ways such as a loss of pigmentation in the skin, loss of color in the hair and eyes and the atrophying of limbs. For someone who is actually worthy of his worms and are meant to survive the implantation process the change was more cosmetic and led to changing of the color of the hosts hair and eyes to a purple color. Zouken was unsure of the reasons why that was the case as there was nothing inherent in the implantation process that would cause such and effect. The negative changes were caused on purpose most of the time so he knew it wasn't that. In the end however he simply brushed it off as an unintended yet meaningless side effect and left it at that.
For his newest acquisition the change was even more unique and he hypothesized it might have been a result of the boy's strange existence. Not only was the child in possession of a magical core but when he had analyzed him he had read more like a magical existence such as a phantasmal beast than a human. He didn't full read as one though, it was more like a mix of the two. If Zouken was more interested in research like a regular magus he would have dissected the boy as soon as he found him.
All that aside the boy's, presumably, cosmetic changes were different from anything he'd seen before. The implantation was a success, Zouken knew that much, but instead of a uniform purple hair coloring he instead retained his black hair as the primary color with a rich purple color as a sort of bottom layer of it. Thankfully the rather unsightly way the boy's hair had stuck up like a bird's nest had changed and was not much straighter than before. It had also grown longer, though not as long as it should have after three months. The boy's eyes were the most striking change however. One eye was the boy's natural color of green, only the intensity of the color had increased reminding him of the purest Emerald in its sheen, while the other had changed to a striking purple color reminding him of the highest quality Amethyst in its vibrancy.
Zouken was pulled from his musings by the sound of the boy talking to his granddaughter, or at least attempting to speak anyways. The boy obviously barely knew how to speak Japanese, though he could apparently understand it to a decent enough degree. From the boy's clearly European ancestry Zouken figured he might be a native English speaker or at least be able to speak the language better than Japanese at any rate. Which was why it was curious when his granddaughter seemed to actually be able to understand what he was saying. He didn't think she was pretending to do so, he doubted she'd be able to fake it well enough for him to not see through such an act.
That was not the only curious thing she had done either. While he was glad that the boy had become a sort of pillar of support or beacon of hope for his granddaughter, if only because it would make it easier to completely break her because of it, he didn't understand why he had done so. About the only thing about Sakura that he was impressed by was her force of will. Despite everything she had and is going through she hadn't completely broken yet, mostly because she didn't cling on to false hopes like this boy represented.
Even when his useless son had promised to rescue her during the Grail War she hadn't believed him. So, when the fool died and was thrown into the pit as food, she didn't even blink. So why was it that she obviously drew comfort from a strange boy that she couldn't even understand, even one who had jumped literally into hell of his on volition to reach her? He'd have to figure it out later, for now it was time for the boy's introduction into Magecraft. After all, if he was to be useful he'd have to possess at least some ability with the craft.
It took far longer for Harry to be able to walk on his own (and at a decent pace) for Zouken's taste as it took nearly ten minutes for the group to travel from the basement to the room he had prepared for his lesson. He was irritated by the boy's weakness even though he knew, intellectually at least, that it was to be expected. What was surprising to him was that the child didn't seem to be feeling any discomfort from his still active circuits, they had been active for three months straight after all. Zouken had figured (correctly) that the boy's magical core and semi-magical existence would insulate him from the consequences of active circuits to some extent, but to seemingly not be affected at all was surprising.
While the child had been in no danger of running out of Od thanks to his magical core being almost akin to a magical factory in terms of prana generation and wouldn't have died from overheating thanks to his Crest Worms there should have still been some damage. He didn't consider the boy's weakness as damage as that had more to do with barely moving for three months while not being fed and being subjected to the implantation process. Another thing he would look into when he next analyzed the boy.
Harry, for his part, was actually a little giddy to learn magic. His life may still be a living hell and he wanted to get away from Zouken as soon as he possibly could but still, he was going to be learning magic! Despite the universe apparently trying to stamp out any hint of joy or childishness from his life he had still stubbornly clung on to a small measure of such. It also helped that once he started learning how to do magic he would be much more likely to find some way to escape from this place.
The thought of escaping had Harry unconsciously tightening his grip on Sakura's hand, an act that caused the young girl to look at him worryingly. Well to someone looking just at her face they wouldn't be able to tell anything, but Harry could feel the worry and slight curiosity in the look. Harry, in response, gave her a smile before telling her not to worry, which she seemed to accept before turning to once more to face her grandfather. Harry was glad he had been learning Japanese otherwise talking to Sakura would have been impossible. Although maybe calling it talking wasn't correct as she hadn't spoken a single word to him yet.
Harry was brought out of his thoughts as they reached their destination, a rather comfortable looking sitting room complete with couches, an armchair, a fireplace and a coffee table. Seeing the sheer… normality of the room in a house that has something as horrifying as the worm pit was unnerving but Harry did his best not to let his discomfort show. Judging by the cruel smirk on Zouken's face he didn't succeed.
Zouken proceeded to sit down on the only armchair in the room while Harry and Sakura, hands still firmly intertwined, took the couch facing him. Harry would have preferred standing up, partly because he was just not used to being allowed to sit and partly because he wanted to loosen up his body, Sakura had taken the initiative to sit down and he wanted to be next to her. Once they were all seated an uncomfortable tension filled the air as Harry did his level best to both set Zouken on fire with his pure hate while still looking like he was being respectful.
If Harry was less intelligent he might have already tried running away, taking Sakura with him, or assaulting Zouken in an attempt to be free from the evil man. He, however, knew that the man was capable of magic so even if he wasn't a scrawny child beating him up wouldn't work. He also would have run if not for two other things. The first was that he just didn't believe running away would actually work anymore, not the times it had failed to work when he lived with his relatives (who were not capable of magic). The second was little more than his intuition about the worms residing in Sakura's, and now his, body. He wasn't sure exactly what they were capable of except for the things he had seen/read in Fate/Zero but he doubted that was the full extent of their abilities. Especially since all of his knowledge came from a (at the time) fictional source that never delved too deep on the topic.
Which was why he settled on trying to burn a hole in the old man with his eyes while keeping the rest of his face passive. Though, once again, he seemed to have failed at hiding his feelings if Zouken's condescending smirk once again making an appearance was anything to go on. Oh well, at least he wasn't being beaten for that like what would have happened at the Dursleys. To his surprise when the silence was broken it was by Zouken addressing him, in English.
"Now boy, seeing as how you look European and don't possess the capacity to speak Japanese in any intelligible form I'm going to assume you'll at least be better with English. That being said tell me your name so I can stop calling you boy, unless you want me to give you a name?"
Judging by the cruel glint in the man's eyes Harry definitely did not want him to give him a name so he answered.
"My name is Harry. Harry Potter."
"Good so you do speak English, if you hadn't I would have been annoyed. It's going to take more time than I would like to get you speaking Japanese at a level above a drunken baboon as it is. I would have been quite… upset if we didn't have a common language to base are lessons off of."
Harry frowned slightly. "I know Japanese, I learned it myself. I am perfectly capable of understanding both the written and spoken forms."
Zouken arched an eyebrow before responding. "We'll have to test that claim but understanding the language and speaking it at a level we could understand you are two separate things boy. And you most certainly can't do the latter."
"If I can't speak properly then why does Sakura seem to understand me?"
Harry's tone was a bit more defiant than he would usually be comfortable with but Zouken, thankfully, seemed to be merely amused by him than anything else.
"Yes I noticed that and was rather curious myself. Let's find out shall we? Sakura, how is it that you're able to understand Harry when he speaks to you? I know you're neither smart enough nor skilled enough to decipher what passes as the boy's poor attempts at speaking Japanese. So what is it?"
The last part was addressed to Sakura and was spoken in Japanese. Harry was able to understand the gist of what Zouken was saying, something that Zouken saw so at least it showed he hadn't been completely lying or exaggerating. Then, when Sakura answered her grandfather, Harry heard her voice for the very first time.
"You're right that I don't understand his words grandfather but when he speaks to me I am able to understand his meaning anyways."
"Hooh? Is that so? In what way? Explain in more detail girl I have no wish to keep asking needless questions."
"It's like he sends me a series of emotions and other feelings, along with a rare image that, when taken together translate into something I can understand as a message."
The explanation was difficult for Harry to follow, both because of his, apparently inadequate, Japanese skills and because he simply didn't understand what she was talking about. Zouken, however, had no such troubles and was highly intrigued by the explanation. He contemplated the issue for a moment before his eyes flickered to their entwined hands.
"Sakura. Release Harry's hand."
The word's caused both the children to stiffen and unconsciously tighten their grips on each other. Zouken merely frowned minutely before Sakura, upon seeing the look on his face, reluctantly let go of Harry's hand. Harry for his part want to defy the man but was too adept at reading people when they were upset to not miss the displeasure in Zouken's face. Since he had no desire to get Sakura into trouble, and thus risk punishment, he forced his hand to relax and let go of her hand.
"Now Harry I want you try speaking to Sakura once more." He spoke in English as Sakura hadn't learned it yet and he didn't want to potentially influence his little experiment.
Harry… wasn't sure what to say to be honest. He didn't want to have a conversation with her in front of Zouken, if she would even respond to him in the first place that is. He didn't think she wasn't talking him because she didn't like him or didn't want to speak. Instead he felt like it was that she didn't know how to talk to him. Zouken started getting mildly irritated as Harry was taking too long to speak, which finally spurred him into action.
"Sakura can you understand me?"
Sakura just tilted her head quizzically as she stared at Harry impassively.
"I'm assuming that you can't interpret what he's saying now?"
Sakura just shook her head at her grandfather's words, which were spoken in Japanese this time.
"Hmmm. Interesting. Boy come here."
Harry really did not want to obey Zouken's command. Not only did he not like the man in general but even his presence was sickening to be near. It wasn't something caused by his physical senses, though they were not happy to be near him either, but rather something… more. It was like just being in the same room as the man stained his soul. Unfortunately, Harry had little choice in the matter. If he didn't obey it was likely that he'd be forced to obey anyways and not listening to commands usually had… bad results. So he steeled himself and walked over to stand in front of the old monster. Sakura watched the whole thing with a barely visible frown on her face and concern evident in her eyes, for those that knew where to look that is.
Harry stopped just within arm's reach of Zouken and, before he could react, had his right armed grabbed by him. The feeling of wrongness increased considerably at the contact and before he could even think about his actions tried to jerk his arm away and shouted at the monster in human flesh.
"Let go of me!"
His words, unfortunately, went unheeded and his attempts to wrest his arm away were futile, though Zouken seemed faintly amused by his attempts. Zouken, for his part, had figured out just what Harry had been doing to Sakura to be understood. He still didn't know how it worked exactly beyond a vague guess but the results were intriguing. Harry was somehow projecting his emotions and intent when he spoke to the person he was touching. He was doing this unconsciously and it was caused, somehow, by the boy's magical energy, which he channeled into who he was touching while speaking. It did not really conform to what Zouken knew of Magecraft as even enacting the weakest of mysteries required clear intent and an understanding of what was being done. Both things the boy obviously lacked.
Zouken ignored the boy as he slowly stopped struggling, finally realizing the futility of attempting to free himself from Zouken's grip. Was it related to the fact that he was a semi-magical being perhaps? Or his possession of a magical core? Magical cores had always been beyond rare throughout history and there had been no research, at least none that survived that Zouken knew of, on them so it was possible. Maybe it was a combination of the two. Phantasmal beasts, even though most were slightly more intelligent than normal animals (some even on the level of humans), utilized their prana in a purely instinctual manner.
Whatever the case maybe was not something he'd likely be able to figure out anytime soon even if he was inclined to study it. The only thing relevant to his interests was the necessity of constructing a few more bounded fields to help control any other similar occurrences that were potentially more… violent. After all it would be annoying if the boy lucked into a way to either hurt him or free himself or his granddaughter after all. His thoughts finished Zouken finally released the boy's arm but gestured for him to stay in place when he made an attempt to go back to the sofa.
"Well I figured out what you were doing more or less. In any case you're going to have to learn to speak proper Japanese if you want to actually have a conversation with Sakura-chan."
Harry's insides burned and adopted a scowl at the addition of the affectionate suffix Zouken had added to Sakura's name. It felt disgusting for him to play at holding affection for the girl whose life he ruined. Zouken just smirked at the boy's rather predictable response. He had rarely added any kind of suffix when speaking to or about his granddaughter before and had only done so now to make the boy uncomfortable. Sakura, for her part, had only stiffened slightly when she heard that. Zouken had been speaking in English but she easily recognized her name and the suffix added to it. Even that slight reaction was more than he usually got so Zouken chalked up a win at the sight of it.
Zouken might not understand the boy's obsession with his granddaughter. In fact, it confused him greatly as the boy had willingly jumped into his worm pit at the mere sight of her and then proceeded to comfort her as best he could when he shouldn't even know her. Sakura's however response was much more understandable, though the speed of it was slightly surprising. Still he wasn't going to complain, it's not like it will make a difference in the end, though now he would have to find some other use for that waste of space grandson of his.
"Now that the side attraction is done with it's time for your first Magecraft lesson. First I'm going to check your Element and Origin, after which I'll explain what both those terms mean and then start explaining Thaumaturgy from there."
Saying this Zouken stood up from his chair and walked behind a now very tense Harry. Harry, for his part, was feeling incredibly uncomfortable as the current situation reminded him of what his uncle did to him. He didn't move though, despite how much he wanted to. It had less to do with bravery than it had to do with habit at this point. Moving just made things worse.
"Now, try not to scream. I'm old and loud noises are irritating for me."
Without further words or warning Zouken sunk his arm into Harry's back. He didn't physically shove his arm into the boy's spine, though that might have been an amusing, albeit wasteful, thing to do. Instead he sort of merged his arm into Harry's soul as a means of gaining information about his Element and Origin directly. He knew of other ways to determine both those things, such as a few Formalcraft rituals or a modified version of certain analyzing spells. He didn't use those methods though as the rituals were too time consuming for his tastes and using those spells deeply enough for that purpose was dangerous to him. So instead he had developed his more… direct approach about a century and a half ago. It was agonizing for the target but completely risk free for him in addition to being fast so he was quite proud of it.
Zouken pulled his arm out less than a minute later, an action that caused Harry to collapse on the floor. Sakura, who had been worrying about Harry since her grandfather stood up, made a small sound of distress before rushing over to the nearly unconscious child. Zouken let her do as she pleased as he waited a minute for the boy to catch his breath before speaking again.
"The results were as interesting as the rest of you Harry. Your Element as far as I can tell is everything. The five elements of both eastern and western philosophy along with many others I couldn't fully identify are present within you. As for your Origin is Dreams. Your affinity for seemingly everything means you won't face obstacles no matter what route you wish to go with your magecraft. As for your Origin I only have a vague idea what effect it will cause.
Harry had composed himself enough at this point to both understand Zouken's words (as much as it was possible for him to) and to stand up (with the help of Sakura at any rate). This time when Harry made a move to sit down on the sofa Zouken made no move to prevent it, something that almost had him feeling grateful… almost. Harry and Sakura were once more holding each other's hand as they made their way back to the couch. When they finally seated themselves Zouken resumed speaking, having paused once Harry had started moving.
"To give you a brief explanation one's Element is what determines what kind of mysteries you are able to invoke. Someone with a fire Element would be able to create a fireball by using their prana for instance but unless they had a water Element wouldn't be able to create a ball of water. There are five standard Elements as none to magi, that being Fire, Earth, Wind, Water and Aether. Of course there are non-standard Elements like yours as well but those are rarer than having an affinity to all the elements. There are mysteries that don't require an affinity and are able to be used by any magus but more on that later.
As for one's Origin, it is the starting point that defines one's existence and directs one's actions throughout their entire life. It often manifests as a kind of instinct and is what determines a large part of who we are both as a people. For Magecraft one's Origin plays a big role in specialization of mysteries. It doesn't determine what you can or cannot do but it does give you a boost in fields that relate to it."
Zouken paused for a moment to let his words sink in before continuing.
"Now as for what Magecraft or Thaumaturgy is, it is the ability to use one's magical energy to make changes in the natural/external world. These changes, like creating fire where there was previously none or changing the shape of the ground beneath you, are ones that could be made by entirely mundane means. You could spray oil into the air and use a match to create a fireball just like you could with Magecraft. There are a few mysteries, basically a sliver of power from the Root, which is the wellspring of all existence, that causes truly supernatural phenomena that can't be replicated through mundane means but that's not something you should worry about.
As for magical energy, simply put it is the energy used to invoke a mystery and is often called prana. Prana can be one of two things, or even a combination of both. Mana, the life force of the planet that is located throughout the atmosphere, and Od, the natural energy inside of living beings. To enact a mystery one must channel Od through their magical circuits, conduits of magical energy located in a person's soul, or somehow utilize the Mana in the area around them. The ability to directly manipulate mana has long been lost to humans however, it can still be utilized through rituals and runes to a certain extent but that's it. You may be an exception to this for certain reasons that I'll explain at a later time.
Now a Magus, the term for someone who practices Magecraft, has a set number of magic circuits with a predetermined quality from birth. Both the number and quality of a Magus' circuits determine both how much Od they have and how much they can utilize at any given point of time. Though it is possible that someone with fewer and lower quality circuits to have more Od than their betters It's not common.
On average a Magus has twenty circuits of medium to high quality. An elite magus from a long lineage would average between thirty-forty circuits of high to extremely high quality. You my boy have fifty of the highest quality circuits I have ever seen in a human in addition to your possessing magical core. A magical core basically being a large container for magical energy that, like circuits, resides in your soul. By large I mean that where as a circuit would be a small machine producing Od a core would be an entire factory. Magical cores are beyond rare and there has only been one documented case of a human possessing one, so what benefits beyond a large increase in reserves you'll get will be up to you to find out yourself.
Now as for how your Origin and Element will affect your ability to do Magecraft I will let you know my opinion. Your Element, or rather Elements, being all of the known ones, and possible unknown ones, means, as I said earlier, that you won't face any challenges or obstacles no matter what magecraft you use. There's also the possibility that there will be some synergy between some of them allowing you to do unique things. Now your Origin is a bit trickier to figure out but my best guess would be that it would lend more towards the creation of things or mental interference. Mysteries like the creation of Homunculi, Alchemy (which Homunculi are part of), Gradation Air and the construction of Bounded Fields. Mental inference magecraft consists of things like hypnosis.
I have books on basic Magecraft and Magecraft theory available that you will study in-between your sessions in the pit and learning Japanese properly. I will teach you the basic mysteries personally, those being Reinforcement, utilizing prana to strengthen an object's existence, Structural Analysis, utilizing prana to look into an object's existence, Alteration, giving an object a property/effect it didn't originally have, and Gradation Air, the materialization/creation of an object through the use of prana) Anything past that point is up to you to figure out for yourself like a true Magus.
The last thing I'm going to tell you is that to be a Magus is to walk with death. If you fail to actualize a mystery correctly, you could die. If you overuse your circuits or run out of Od you could die. If you meet another Magus and are useful to them in some way you could die or suffer a fate worse than death. If you don't properly harden your resolve you will not survive in the Moonlit World for long boy."
As Zouken's words faded the room became incredibly quite as Harry struggled to understand the massive information dump he had just received. For a boy who had barely turned eight years old (his birthday had been in the worm pit at some point) all the information about Magecraft was almost too much to take in. It was certainly more than he could fully comprehend at this point but Harry made the best effort he could.
Throughout the whole explanation Sakura sat quietly by Harry's side, simply enjoying the small comfort his presence provided her. As her grandfather had spoken entirely in English Sakura hadn't understood a word about what was being said, though she could make a fairly educated guess. Adding together both her grandfather's actions (shoving his arm into Harry's back) and the conversation she had gotten after her first time in the worm pit it was a good bet that conversation was about Magecraft. Sakura absolutely hated Magecraft. It was the reason why she had been abandoned and the reason why she was being subjected to hell on earth. As such she had absolutely zero desire to ever practice Magecraft, something which Zouken both knew about and, rather strangely, didn't care about. Which was why Zouken actually almost showed surprise on his face when she spoke up.
"Grandfather, I desire for you to teach me Magecraft as well."
Harry was briefly surprised that Sakura had spoken, though he was more surprised about the fact she spoke rather than the words that were spoken (after he mentally translated the Japanese to English). He wondered, rather absent-mindedly, why she didn't already know Magecraft but he was too wrapped up in his thoughts to pay that much mind. The only reaction to her words he had was a brief feeling of happiness that she would be joining him and a small tightening of his grip on her hand.
Zouken didn't replay for a couple of minutes as he pondered his granddaughter's request. The reason why he hadn't cared whether she learned Magecraft or not was because he was originally merely intending her to carry on the Matou line before being sacrificed as the Holy Grail so he could become immortal. She didn't need to know mysteries to become the Grail or give birth. Also the Matou brand of Magecraft only required exposure to his worms to be taught so it was rather pointless to teach hear standard Thaumaturgy. That being said her being able to utilize "normal" Magecraft would have little impact on her fate. So, he made a decision.
"Very well, I will teach you Magecraft alongside Harry. That being said I already know your Element and Origin. Your Elements are Imaginary Numbers/Hollow, which you were born with, and Water, which you gained from the Crest Worms. As for your Origin it is the same as your natural Element, which is quite rare. I will get you a book on basic Water Magecraft theory but I can't help make any recommendations for other branches of study. The only advise I have for your self-study would be that your Hollow Element relates to Spiritual Beings. Now, when you are not being taught Magecraft or spending time in the pit you will be learning English and helping Harry speak Japanese. I do not have high expectations of you but if you fail to even meet those the consequences… will not be enjoyable."
Sakura tightened her grip on Harry's hand to painful levels before simply nodding in reply. Harry didn't understand what happened as the conversation was too difficult for his limited Japanese skills to follow but he could feel the effect on Sakura's emotions. She was afraid, something he hadn't felt even in the worm pits. So he spoke comforting words to her in an attempt to soothe that fear. It worked but the rather amused glint in Zouken's eyes when he saw him do that sent a shiver of dread down Harry's spine.
It had been half a year since Harry Potter had gone missing and the details of his home life was released to the public. The resulting outcry and condemnations went just as Dumbledore had expected. The people of Wizarding Britain were furious to such a degree that it was comparable to a nesting mother dragon in a blood rage after someone had smashed her eggs. If Dumbledore hadn't already lost his positions as Chief Mugwump and his status as Britain's representative to the International Confederation of Wizards, he would have lost it within the hour of the story breaking. As it was he had lost the vast majority of the credibility he had managed to retain after the war, only keeping his position as Headmaster of Hogwarts because it wasn't possible to fire him. He had effectively neutered the Board of Governors and their ability to do so years ago so they couldn't do anything while the castle itself still approved of his appointment.
The public backlash against him for his part in Harry's upbringing was so bad however that he would have been put on trial for a long list of charges starting with criminal negligence and ending with accessory to child abuse, and he would have been found guilty. It was only the fact that Harry was still alive, and that he could prove it, along with the reasons (and the proof for said reasons) he had provided to explain why he hadn't noticed the abuse that he hadn't faced a siege. As it was, it was a near thing and he had needed to call in some of his small supply of available favors to insure that didn't happen. The public still hated him, and wouldn't piss on him even if he were on fire, but that would hopefully change as time went on and he proved himself once more.
The Dursley family on the other hand had no such favors to call upon, not that it would have done them any good even if they did. For once the Light, Dark and Neutral families were all united in seeing them punished for what they did to their nation's hero, though for the Dark families it was more outrage about how a wizard was treated by a filthy Muggle. Their trial, and subsequent sentencing, was probably the fastest ever in Wizarding history.
The boy, Dudley, while a bully, hadn't been put on trial and had instead been shipped off to a muggle orphanage with his memory wiped, no one really cared about his fate after that. Harry's maternal aunt had been found guilty of child abuse, both physical and emotional, and had been sentenced to life in a Muggle maximum security prison for life. She had also been secretly enchanted with passive compulsion spells to encourage the distaste and hate towards her from the people around her. Harry's uncle's list of charges however was too long and horrible to read and had been found guilty instantly. He was sentenced to a (wizard's) life time in Azkaban, his life to be insured by magical means so as to carry out the full sentence. They would have sent him through the Veil or had him Kissed, his crimes warranted that much, but no one wanted him to die without suffering first.
Dumbledores' closest friends/confidants and been both more and less understanding than the average wizard about what had happened. They knew that it truly wasn't his fault that he hadn't checked in on Harry or noticed the warnings from his monitors. After all they experienced the same sort of shock of remembering his existence when the wards fell as he did. Only Minerva had truly known about where Harry had been placed however, though she had been too busy worrying about him at the time of his collapse to realize she remembered. As a result, she was taking the revelations the hardest, as well as blaming him the most, and he couldn't fault her reasoning for doing so. She had warned him after all, he just hadn't listened. He simply couldn't understand how one's family could not treat their own blood with anything but kindness.
The others on the other hand had only noticed the change when they had entered his office and remembered what his monitors were linked to. They were also, as whole less directly attached to Harry than Minerva, although Snape had been ever harder to get a read on than usual when the news broke. There was one exception however, and that was one Remus J. Lupin. Tracking down the troubled werewolf and former Marauder had been difficult as he had taken to living almost exclusively in the Muggle world. The conversation that followed after he finally found him was probably one of the hardest things Dumbledore had ever experienced, much like the man's fist after he finished telling him about what happened. Dumbledore still had the bruises from that experience as Poppy had refused to heal him, though he didn't think he deserved to be healed anyways. Remus left after that, determined to find his lost cub even if he had to die in the process. Dumbledore still couldn't find him even now, though he wasn't sure if he wanted to.
Still, time eventually heals all wounds, and while the anger and pain was still present in abundance it had become more of something hiding below the surface rather than the general state of being for most people. Dumbledore held little hope that things would get much better than that until Harry was finally found but it was still better than the beginning.
Now however, he could no longer put off the meeting he had been dreading since he first found out what had happened to Harry. His destination was only a quick Floo trip away and the total travel time would not be long at all. Despite that, to Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore it was the longest trip he had ever taken in his long life. For he had to visit Harry Potter's parents.
Opening the door where he knew he would find the Potters was a struggle akin to Atlas trying to hold up the world in his mind. But he had to do this, it was his duty and, as much as he didn't want to perform it, he would not shirk from it. Taking a deep calming breath Dumbledore steeled his will and entered the room where he would apologize to two of his closest friends. As Dumbledore look at the Potters he couldn't help but remember the day he took Harry and had sworn to them that he would make sure he grew up safe. He had failed that promise and now it was time to confess his sins.
"Hello, Lilly, James. It's been a long time since we last spoke. Unfortunately, I have bad news. The worst news in fact and the only thing I can say is that I'm sorry that I failed you and that I would give anything to change what had happened. You see I had decided that no place would be safer for your son than with your sister's family Lily. As it turned out I was wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong. You see it all started when— "
Dumbledore continued to pour his heart out to the parents of the young child he had failed as he proceeded to tell them just how badly he had screwed up. Throughout it all the pair remained silent, not that Dumbledore had expected anything else. After all they haven't been able to speak in over seven years. It was hard to speak when you couldn't wake up after all, and despite the best the Healers in Saint Mungo's could do Lily and James slept on, oblivious to the world, on their sterile white beds.