AN - WUT? I'm posting something? That's right, my writer's block may have destroyed all progress on Shattered World but it let me sit down and hash this out at least. Anyway since I managed to bust out this chapter in a single sitting I'll try finishing chapter 31 of SW, wish me luck.
Easy Mode
Harry woke up with a start at the knocking on his door. 'Housekeeping!'
He got up with a groan, threw on the nearest pair of trousers and a shirt before opening the door. "Go ahead, I'll head down for breakfast meanwhile."
The woman nodded and let him pass. Harry rubbed his scar with a wince, the damn thing was acting up again. Quirrelmort was probably hanging around again or something. Bloody git.
"Morning Tom." He waved at the barman who gave him a simple greeting. "Usual for me please."
"Comin' right up." Harry to one of the corners and simply tried to keep himself on the down-low. Tom had been a godsend and was able to make his life here the past few weeks bareable even with the amount of customers coming in and out, he usually tried to steer them away from him. Bless that man's soul, he would have to remember to get him something nice for Christmas.
That thought then brought him to another thought concerning something he had read last night. Traditionally witches and wizards were pagans and shied away from the witch burning Christians but in recent times they'd come to embrace some of the muggle traditions like Christmas and Halloween over the Winter Solstice and Samhain.
Something that blood purists used as a point against muggleborn or halfbloods as them trying to change the old ways but Harry somehow doubted many of the newer generation purebloods like Draco really even cared. Free gifts and candy? Screw tradition!
Now while Harry wasn't much for religion himself the books he'd picked up on the Old Ways and pagan rituals described that these dates were when the boundries between realms were the weakest and these gateways could be used to travel to the outer realms or used as fonts of great power.
Something to consider in the future should he ever have need to travel into the realms of the immortals. Somehow he doubted that Queen Mab would be inviting him to a Christmas dinner at the Unseelie Court any time soon however.
"Here you go, Kid." Harry was brought out of his ponderings by Tom's voice and more importantly the smell of eggs and bacon.
"Thanks Tom, looks great as always." Tom smiled slightly and nodded before returning to his place at the bar.
Harry summoned a forgotten newspaper and began reading it as he ate. As usual nothing worthwhile was written in the rag, even Rita's scathing report on Rosier's illicit affair wasn't enough to make him think this thing would be worth the paper it was printed on. That did remind him however that he needed to shut that Beetle down soon before she got it into her head to start writing about him.
Right now would be a bit too soon but as soon as she starts digging into his love life or other personal matters, it's the Jar for her and many not-so-subtle threats about sending her to the DMLE as an unregistered animagus. Especially considering that she'd likely been unregistered for upwards of fifteen years now ever since she became a reporter, that's ten years in Azkaban easy.
As Harry savoured his meal he was thankful that a normally debilitating condition like malnutrition was fixed within the time he spent at the Leaky Cauldron, simply eating normal, wholesome, food for about two weeks and then the debuff was gone.
Death was right, having a main character-like body had some serious benefits.
Harry headed back up to his room once he finished his meal and went right back to the small desk in the room. Laid out before him were a few basic runic patterns but for the life of him he was still couldn't figure them out. Even though he had a rudimentary understanding of runes now through his absorbed knowledge he still personally didn't have an affinity towards the art.
Even now after spending the last few hours trying to figure out some mid-year runic strings he still couldn't make them work right.
"I should have taken Runes last time around..." He grumbled as he reread the instructions in 'Ancient Runes Made Easy' the introductionary book used in the first year of Ancient Runes. "Alright so if I move this one here then that would link it to that one but that still leaves that rune unpowered and... AUGH! Stupid bloody runes! It's like trying to do a fucking crossword puzzle written on a Rubik's cube!"
Standing up with a huff he gave up on those for now and instead went back to grinding his wandless magic by summoning random things from around the room. "Accio, pillow. Accio, boot. Accio..." He sighed. "I think I'm burned out..."
Truthfully he was starting to get a bit restless. Being cooped up in this small room for the last two weeks was starting to get to him, especially when he wasn't even forced to be in there like he was with the Dursleys. He theoretically could go out and do stuff but why risk it?
Harry paced around for a bit before falling on his bed. *Hoot. Hoot.* His favorite snowy owl choose this moment to land beside him on the bed. He smiled and stroked her feathers lovingly, silly bird had to go and get herself killed last time...
"Sorry girl, just a little anxious. A few more days till the start of first year." *Hoot* "Yeah I know, I'm just a little excited is all. There so many things I want to do better this time." Hedwig turned her head to the side. *Hoot?*
He smiled and shook his head "Nevermind that girl, how about some treats?"
*Hoot, hoot* The owl flapped her wings appreciatively and flew back to her perch while Harry walked over and pulled out a few owl cookies from a bag near her perch.
Harry watched her eat away at the treats while he stroked her feathers. It was nice having his old friend back. As soon as he was able to get away with it he would find Selwyn and banish his head through a brick wall for what he did.
"Hmm, now I'm contemplating murder... I should probably go outside for a while." Luckily for him however an answer to his boredom began tapping on his window. Harry walked over and let the small black owl in, taking the letter from the satchel on it's back.
'Dear Mr. Potter,
I apologize for the lateness of my letter but for the past two weeks since our first discussion, I have been searching and re-searching through old court files and have come to a startling and horrifying conclusion. Sirius Black was never given a trial.
I even enlisted the aid of my husband in this but neither of us were able to so much as even come up with an official statement of arrest. This grave miscarriage of justice disturbs me greatly, not only as a professional but as a fellow pureblood and more importantly as a family member.
I have brought this issue up to the Director of the DMLE, Madame Amelia Bones, and have asked to resurface Sirius' case. I also brought up your request to speak with Sirius to her while I was there and she agreed only because the investigation shocked her aswell and she also wishes to know the truth.
Please clear your schedule for August 24th at 10 AM.
Yours faithfully,
Andromeda Tonks.'
Harry couldn't help the wide grin as he finished the letter. "I'll get you out of there Sirius, I promise." He went over to his desk and wrote a short reply letter stating that he would be ready by that time and sent it off with the owl from earlier.
Looking up at his calendar he marked the day. Four more days and I get to see that mutt's ugly mug again. He tried to keep the happy tears from spilling but a few roled down his cheeks before he could successfully blink them away.
*Hooot.* Hedwig cooed as she rubbed her face against his.
"I'll be fine Hed, I'm just going to go see my godfather soon." Harry told her happily before setting her down on her perch "I have a meeting with the goblins today so I'm heading out for bit Hedwig, feel free to go out and hunt for a while if you get bored in here ok?"
*Hoot, Hoot!*
Harry let his hair fall over the scar before leaving the room. "Going out for a spot, Tom." He said with a wave as he walked towards the back exit that led into Diagon alley.
"Take care."
Harry didn't really have any destination in mind but after spending so much time indoors grinding for days on end he was looking for any reason to step out for a while. It was getting closer to mid-day so people were now starting to mill about the Alley.
Since it was getting close to lunch time he decided to find someplace to eat. He remembered Katie telling him that her parents ran a small cafe just past the Quidditch shop and how when she was a child she would always pass by it and ask her parents to let her go to the store since it was so close and thus explained her love for Quidditch.
Seeing Quality Quidditch Supplies just down the walk he continued on towards the corner where the Bell family cafe was. It was an open air cafe with tables and chairs outside and a small shop where they made the food and drinks. It also had a very gryffindor theme to it with reds and golds so he figured Katie's parents were griffs also.
Harry took a seat at an open table and picked up the small menu on the table. A minute or so later a woman came by with a smile. "Welcome to Bell's what can I get for you today?"
"Uh, I'll take the tuna sandwhich with some crisps and a cola." The woman nodded and jotted down the order before heading back into the small shop. Harry took out a small black journal while he waited and wrote down something that just came to his mind.
'Remember to make contact with the house elves in the kitchen.' While magic naturally sped up one's metabolism even for those born with a slower one, a healthy body was stronger and had more stamina and for that he needed to keep up his healthier diet then the usual fatty meats and sugary deserts served during dinner at Hogwarts.
'Also destroy the diadem asap.' He suddenly remembered due to Dobby telling him about the Come and Go room. 'And free Dobby.' Harry added.
"Hope I'm not interrupting." A young voice said causing Harry to look up. "Got your order."
"Oh thanks." Harry said with a smile, happy to see his old friend and former teammate again.
"You're welcome, just let me know if you need anything else. Oh! I'm Katie by the way." With a cheerful wave the twelve year old girl went back to into the small shop.
Harry closed his journal and put it back into his inventory before starting in on his meal. This isn't half bad.
"-We can have lunch here, it's a more muggle friendly cafe run by two of my former students. Luckily you are my last family on the list so I don't mind answering some more of your questions while we eat." A familiar and elderly voice said from behind him causing him to turn.
"Oh, good afternoon Deputy Headmistriss." Harry greeted the woman who turned towards him just as he stood up.
"Ah, good afternoon mister Potter." She said with a smile "And please, call me Professor. I'm sure my full title is a handful to continuously say. I know it is for me."
"Of course, Professor." He then looked over at the family she was guiding around and let his actual surprise show. "Pardon my manners, Hadrian Potter, at your service." Harry said formally with a smile and a nod towards the family.
McGonagall's lips twiched in amusement "I see my suggestion of looking up those books on etiquitte were well advised. Mister Potter this is David, Hazel and Hermoine Granger."
"A pleasure to meet you all." Harry said as he shook all their hands. "It's nice to meet another of my future classmates." He said to Hermoine specifically.
She smiled shyly, "I'm rather nervous to be honest. All of this is all so new but it's also so very exciting!" Hermoine ended her statement with a grin showing her true feelings on the matter.
Harry chuckled good naturedly "You get used to it quick, I've really only known about the magical word for about two weeks now but it's pretty great."
He then gestured towards his lunch "I was actually about to eat myself, would you like to join me?"
"Really?" Hermoine asked unsurely, not at all used to having anyone her age let alone a boy be nice to her.
"Of course," Harry said happily, something he didn't even have to fake since he really was happy to see his best friend again. "Here let me."
David raised an eye brow as he watched the boy pull out the chair for his daughter. "Not bad for a kid." He whispered to his wife who giggled slightly and patted his arm.
Harry then turned towards them, "Ah, apologies, I hope I didn't intrude on your plans. I would be honored if you join me Mr. and Mrs. Granger? Professor?"
"Well I might as well." Minerva said with a slight smile and sat down. He reminds me so much of James when he was that age.
"We'd love to Hadrian." Hazel said with a kind smile and took a seat followed by her husband.
"By the way, what brings you into the Alley today Mr. Potter? As I recall your home is a ways away from Charing Cross." Minerva asked after they placed their orders with Mrs. Bell.
"Business actually, I recently bought a small storefront and I'm going to go see how the renovation is going." He answered truthfully, not really seeing any need to lie.
"You... you bought a store?" David couldn't hide the disbelief in his voice.
"That's right. I plan on opening a joke slash candy shop." Harry told him.
"But how?" Hazel wondered.
"Oh, right, you wouldn't know. You see my father came from a wealthy family and left me with quite a bit of money and I used some of my trust fund to open up my own shop since I don't have access to the money from the main family vault." He explained in a way that muggles could understand.
McGonagall smirked "A joke shop? James would be so proud... your mother perhaps not as much."
Harry smiled but didn't comment on it. "So has Professor McGonagall gone over the house system to you yet?" He asked Hermoine.
"No I haven't, thank you for reminding me Mr. Potter." Minerva said before turning to the bushy haired girl "Like your fellow classmate mentioned Hogwarts is sorted into a house system. The four houses being Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin."
"Every student is sorted into a house based on their characteristics to place them with like minded students. Gryffindor is home to the brave, Hufflepuff that of the Loyal, Ravenclaw holds the Intelligent and Slytherin the cunning." McGonagall explained. "Our young Mr. Potter here seems assured that he will be joining Ravenclaw this year."
Harry grinned "I assure you Professor, Gryffindor was a close second."
"I'm sure." The woman huffed but held no bite to her words. "Given your enthusiasm during our stop at the bookstore, I fear I might lose you to Ravenclaw as well Miss Granger."
"Lose me?" A confused Hermoine asked.
Harry turned towards his soon-to-be again best friend "You see Professor McGonagall here is the Head of House Gryffindor."
"Been reading up I see." Minerva commented.
Harry grinned "I'm going claw for a reason Professor."
She smiled fondly "Clearly, to this day I still wonder why Lily wasn't in Ravenclaw herself. Then I remember than any woman brave enough to marry James Potter definately belonged in Gryffindor."
Katie and her mother came to the table just then and dropped off their food. "So Mr. and Mrs. Granger what do you two do for a living?" Harry asked so they could be included in the conversation while he started in on his sandwhich once more. Luckily he ordered tuna so it's not like it was going to get any colder.
"Ah, well we're both Dentists." Hazel answered. "We own a practice in London."
"Oh I see." Harry could vaguely remember Hermoine mentioning something of the sort. "Well it must have been quite the surprise when you learned that Hermoine was a witch."
"It was a bit of a surprise," David admitted before turning a fond eye towards his daughter "but that just meant that our Hermoine was even more gifted than we thought."
"Daaad!" Hermoine moaned in embarassment. She hoped her new possible friend didn't think any less of her for her father's words.
"Speaking of which, you seem to be dealing with this quite well given your own mundane upbringing Mr. Potter." McGonagall observed.
"Well that's just because your letter simply confirmed something I've known for a long time." Harry said with a shrug as he wandlessly and wordlessly summoned his coke can into his hand and took a sip. "Even when I was younger I was intimately aware of my magic."
Minerva's eyes widened at the feat of power and control "Very impressive Mr. Potter, silent casting is a sixth year skill and wandless magic takes an advanced understanding of magic itself to perform even the simplest of spells."
"Well like I said I've been using my magic for some time now so that's probably had something to do with it. I read about wizards in passing from a Dungeons and Dragons guidebook and figured that the strange things I could do was also magic." Harry told them.
"Aha! So you play a wizard? I'm actually a level forty paladin myself ." David said with a grin earning a snicker from his wife.
"Uhh..." Harry was momentarilly caught off-guard before looking away sheepishly, "I've actually never played the game myself to be honest."
"Well that's a shame." David's enthusiasm suddenly deflated.
"I'm sure you can nerd out some other time honey." Hazel said patronizingly while patting him on the hand.
Hermoine groaned as she covered her face with her hands. Why, after finally meeting someone her age who was nice, did her parents have to keep embarrassing her? "Please stop dad!"
"Alright, alright." David relented. "So Hadrian what do you like to do?"
"Hmm... well when I'm not training my magic or doing chores I sometimes play on my cousin's game console." Harry told them. "Though from what I've learned most electronics short out in heavily magic filled areas so I don't think I'll be playing any video games for a while."
David's eyes lit up once more "Oh really? Which games do you play?"
"My cousin has a few but the only one I actually liked was Final Fantasy."
"Oh, great pick!" The man said with a grin "I really enjoyed that one as well."
Hazel smiled and shook her head "Boys."
"Oh don't give me that, correct me if I'm wrong but who was it that always wanted to go to the arcade when we were dating? Hmmm?" David teased, and his wife relented with a smile.
"Point."
Professor McGonagall didn't seem to understand any of that but Harry found Hermoine's parents to be pretty funny and wondered why she never talked about them. "Your parents seem like nice people Hermoine." He whispered to the girl who seemed to be trying to hide in her new robes.
Hermoine poked her head out and looked at him strangely "You think so?"
Harry nodded "Yeah, you shouldn't be so embarassed, they're actually kind of fun to be around."
He enjoyed the casual chat around the table and he was glad he checked his watch when he did because he was due at his shop's location in five minutes. "Oh!" Harry suddenly exclaimed and stood up "Sorry but I need to get going soon or the goblins will have my head. It was nice meeting you both Mr and Mrs Granger and you as well Hermoine, look for me on the train and we'll talk some more!"
He didn't wait for them to reply and took off for the store front at a brisk walk, dodging and weaving between people as he tried not to lose any time. "What just happened?" David wondered as he watched the polite young man suddenly just take off like the devil was after him.
"I belive, that Mr Potter is close to running late to a meeting with the goblins. As I'm sure you've already gathered from our visit to Gringotts, they're an ornery bunch." Minerva explained. "That bit about taking his head wasn't hyperbole."
"I hope he's going to be ok." Hermoine murmured with a slightly worried expression, she didn't want her first friend in the wizarding world to be killed by those mean people.
000
Luckily the store was close by so Harry made it a minute early and took the chance to calm his breathing. He noticed the goblin walking towards him and walked up to him. "Good afternoon."
The goblin took his hand and shook it firmly, "Good afternoon Heir Potter, I am Bloodknuckle."
"Pleasure, now let's get to it shall we?" The goblin nodded, pleased that the human wouldn't mince words more than was necessary. He strode up to the door and took out a key that he used to open up the store. "Do you know about magical keys Heir Potter?"
"Other than my Gringotts one, no I can't say I do." Harry admitted.
"All business doors are spelled with a basic Anti-Alohomora Charm. The door will only be opened by a key specially designed to open that specific door or skilled enough wizards could bruteforce open the door open with a powerful enough Alohamora spell." The goblin informed him, "Gringotts does however offer the service to increase the power of the Anti-Alohamora charm for a fee."
"I see... and how much would that cost? I'd hate to be robbed by some desperate idiot." Harry asked as they stepped into the shop and the goblin activated the runic cluster behind the counter that turned on the lights.
From what he'd read so far in his runes book this was a combination of a basic rune string that acted like a lumos spell linked to a more advanced master cluster that can activate all of them at once.
The room was designed with reds and golds like he'd asked, the Twins would have to add their own unique flair to it but for now it looked nice for a basic shop until they really got off the ground.
"Twenty galleons covers our intermidiate design, strong enough to hold back a small group of people trying to unlock it at once. For fifty we also offer our advanced design where the only way you could get in is to either have the key or blast the door itself down." Bloodknuckle told him.
"Huh, well remind me to get the twenty galleon one then, no point in spending fifty if they could just blast the door down anyway." Harry commented as he inspected the furniture, "By the way is there anyway to reinforce the doors and windows so that doesn't happen?"
The goblin grinned "Of course, Gringotts offers that service for one hundred galleons."
"Why am I not surprised?" Harry said with a chuckle "Add it to the list then."
"Very good." The goblin nodded and jotted it down on a piece of parchment.
"And the second floor?" Harry asked.
"The previous owner used it as a living space and office." The goblin answered "We wanted to know how you would like it furnished."
"Keep the office portion but open up the other space to be used for testing our new joke products. Also does this place have a basement?" Harry asked as they walked back down the stairs.
"It does in fact," The goblin said as he motined for Harry to follow him behind the counter to a trap door in the floor. "It works as a decent storage area."
Harry looked around at the basement, it was rather small but expansion charms could fix that. "On second thought could you expand the basement to twice the size and reinforce the walls? We'll use this area for testing our new products and use the second floor for storage."
The goblin grinned "That will cost and additional one hundred fifty. One hundred for the reinforment and fifty for the expansion charms."
"That's fine." Harry told him. Mentally counting his money, he hadn't spent any since his last visit to Gringotts so he should still have nine hundred galleons left over from his five-thousand.
They exited the basement and Harry looked around. He still needed to buy candy product but that wouldn't be too much of a hassle. "I think that's everything here Bloodknuckle."
"Understood, shall we move on to the other location?" The goblin asked and Harry agreed with the goblin locking the door behind them.
It was a short and terse walk to their next destination as Harry figured that goblins weren't really much for small talk and he was unwilling to test that theory. It only took a few minutes before they arrived at the small shop he bought specifically for his personal use.
"As you requested in your last visit we've taken down the walls to open up the space and outfitted it with some of the best potioneering equipment currently on the market." Bloodknuckle summarized. "Other than that we haven't done much to the store other than repair some of the issues it had from falling into disrepair."
"Excellent, I'd like these walls strengthened as well and the fifty galleon charm added to the door." Harry said as he looked around, other than the equipment there wasn't really much to see in the now empty area. "Also remove the windows and make them solid walls, I'd rather not have people looking in."
"Very well, we can do that for say... ten galleons." The goblin suggested.
Harry turned and raised an eyebrow at the goblin, "Five. That's no more than three minutes of work."
"Perhaps but that is the price." It said with a fanged grin. Greedy little shit.
"Alright, how about this instead?" Harry took out his wand and transfigured the windows to match the walls and poured in enough power to make them stay that way for the next few months. He'd have to recharge them during the winter break but that was of no consequence. "Now you get nothing, would have been better to settle for five gold, no?"
The goblin's grin dropped and it grudgingly voiced it's surprise. "Clearly I underestimated you Heir Potter."
"Three galleons to make it permanent for me?" Harry offered.
"Fi-" It cut itself off when Harry's eyes narrowed. "Very well, three."
"Excellent, I think that will be everything then. I'll look forward to your owl." Harry said as they stepped outside.
"Gringotts thanks you for your continued patronage, Heir Potter." The goblin grunted before turning on its heel and walking back towards Gringotts.
Seeing as he had nothing else going on for the day Harry returned back to the Cauldron and sat down at his desk. "Hey girl, fancy going a bit out of the way?"
*Hoot?*
"I need you to find a man named Remus Lupin and deliver a letter to him, I have no idea where he's at though. Think you could find him on your own?" Harry asked his dear owl.
*Hooot!*
"Awesome, thanks girl."
'Dear Mr. Lupin,
I am Hadrian Potter. I wanted to write you as I've been told that you were a close friend of my parents and wanted to know if you were willing to meet with me and talk about them. Another matter however takes precedence, I believe that Sirius Black is innocent and intend on visiting him in Azkaban to find out the truth.
I have memories of Sirius and Peter Pettigrew from when I was a child but sadly I don't recall ever seeing you. It was also due to these fond memories I had of my dogfather that I believe he's innocent and the real rat was Pettigrew.
I leave for Hogwarts in two weeks so I understand if that is too short notice for you to be able to meet me but if you are able then I am currently staying at the Leaky Cauldron and until September first.
Yours Truly,
Hadrian James Potter.'
With a nod of approval he sealed the letter up with some wax and his family crest before sending it off with Hedwig. "I hope Hedwig finds him before I have to leave."
Looking over to the side of his desk he grimmaced seeing the runic string worksheets. "Ugh, that's the last thing I want to see right now."
Getting up he went over to his bed and laid down "Occlumency sounds like a good idea right now, a lot of stuff happened today so I need to sort it all out."
000
Harry opened his eyes and noticed that it was already dark out. He stood up and stretched his limbs for a bit before looking at his watch. "Seven twenty... wonder if Tom has some left over dinner."
Walking down the stairs he went up to the bar and asked. "Hey Tom any grub left from dinner? Had a bit of a kip earlier and only just woke."
"Yeah there's some stew left if you want me to warm it up fer ya?" Tom offered.
"Sounds great, some water too please." The man nodded and went into the back to fetch the food.
"What do you feel like eating Susan?" An older voice drew his attention towards a table to his right.
"Umm, I'm not sure yet Aunty." A shy voice answered.
The woman chuckled "Take your time."
It took Harry a moment before figuring out that it was Amelia Bones the director of the DMLE and her niece Susan Bones. He wanted to thank her for the opportunity to see Sirius freed two years earlier but he didn't want to intrude on her time with Susan.
From what he remembered Amelia was Susan's last living relative after the first war and she was devastated when Amelia was assassinated in their fifth year. They became a lot closer afterwards as Susan could relate to him due to all the unwanted attention she got when the Prophet reported on Amelia's murder.
Susan was a good duelist and a better friend so he hoped he could count on her support when he started raising his army once more, only this time he would take an earlier and more proactive stance on training them to be fighting fit for the second war he knew was going to come.
"May we help you?" Harry blinked and much to his embarassment realised that he was staring.
"Ah, apologies Madam Bones, I was actually considering if it would be rude or not to approach you and thank you for providing me an opportunity to see my godfather soon. I didn't want to intrude." He answered honestly.
Amelia looked confused "I don't follow?"
Harry walked over to their table and motioned towards the empty seat "May I?"
"Please." Amelia said, "Now what is this about thanking me?"
"Right, before I answer I'd prefer to keep this quiet. I am Hadrian James Potter and I recieved Mrs. Tonk's letter this morning informing me that you agreed to my request to see Sirius Black." Harry whispered causing Susan's eyes to widen but she was able to keep herself in check so as not to blurt out something loudly.
"I see," The woman nodded "I'm actually curious about the legitimacy of Mr. Black's incarceration myself due to there being absolutely no records concerning his trial."
Susan's eyes widened further "You mean-"
"Shush." Amelia quietted the girl, "You will not speak about what you heard today Susan, is that understood?"
The girl gulped and nodded hastily "Yes Aunty."
"Thank you again for your help on this matter Madam Bones," Harry said as he extended his hand to shake hers before looking over at Susan "and it was a pleasure meeting you miss Bones, I hope we'll become friends this year."
Susan blushed when Harry took her hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles before standing up once more and heading back over to the bar where his food was ready.
As Harry sat down he received a few notifications that made him smile.
[A lasting impression made on the members of House Bones: +1500 Rep. You are now Friendly with House Bones +2500/9999]
[Quest Objective complete: Met Heiress Bones.]
Harry finished eating his soup when a thought occurred to him "Hey Tom?"
"Yes?" The man set down the glass he was cleaning and turned towards the boy.
"I rather enjoyed cooking while I was at my former residence, any chance I could convince you to let me help you with the food?" It would certainly be a good way grind his cooking skill.
"Oh?" Tom asked with a raised eyebrow "Can ya prove it?"
Harry grinned "Sure, got something in mind?"
"I think your first customers are coming up right now." Tom nodded behind Harry.
"Hello Tom, we'd like two medium-rare steaks please. Pumpkin juice for her and some wine for me." Tom jotted down the order.
"Alright, it'll be a few minutes Amelia." The woman thanked him once more and the Bones women walked back to their table. "You heard the lady, two steaks, let's see what you can do kid."
[Quest Alert! Cooking at the Cauldron.]
[Successfully cook two steaks for the Bones family.]
[Reward: 200 XP, +5 Cooking skill, +500 rep with Tom, employment at the Leaky Cauldron.]
[Failure: 20 XP, -500 rep with Tom.]
Harry accepted the quest and stepped down from the stool, mentally recounting a few recipies for steak from the few cook books he'd absorbed. He walked into the kitchen where Tom was waiting for him and noticed that there was a large freezer and an old gas stove. "I'm guessing neither of those actually use electricity?"
Tom laughed "Course not, the freezer has cooling and preserving charms in it and the stove works off of runes that regulate heat temperatures."
Harry accepted the answer as he never even bothered to think about how Mrs Weasley's stove worked before without electricity. "Alright so two medium rare; I need olive oil, salt and pepper."
Without prompting Harry walked over to the freezer and opened it up, quickly finding two cuts that he liked and setting them on the table. "Is there a spell specifically used to de-frost food or just general warming charms?"
Tom blinked "Uh... no, I usually just hit'em with a quick warmer."
Harry nodded and took out his wand. "Vapos Minima"
The man didn't even bother hiding his surprise that a boy not even in Hogwarts yet could use the boiling steam spell, he also didn't bother questioning it as nothing about Hadrian Potter seemed normal anyway.
Harry then pointed at his left hand "Scourgify." He then repeated the spell for his right. "Never used a magical range before, it work the same as a muggle one?"
"Ah, yeah, it should." Tom answered though he wasn't entirely sure as he'd never used a muggle stove before.
His steam spell melted the ice off the steaks while Harry tested out the magical range and sure enough the knobs worked just like a muggle one. "Salt and pepper?" He asked Tom who pointed over at a shelf.
"Perfect. They should be done in about ten minutes." He informed the man who simply nodded and went back out the front. The kid seemed to know what he was doing so he decided to keep an eye on the front.
[Cook: Grilled Steak]?
Harry tapped yes and he suddenly felt as if he'd been cooking steaks his whole life. He got to work seasoning the steaks once his spell wore off before placing them on the stove's built in grill.
After five minutes he flipped them over and waited another few while checking them with a simply charm created to check the temperature of whatever it was aimed at. After another two minutes they looked done and he transferred them to a pair of plates, sliding the ends off and smiling when he saw the pink core.
[Recipe complete. Received: Grilled Steak x2 ]
[Grilled Steak heals 200 HP when eaten.]
[Grilled Steak offers the well-fed buff: +10 Endurance for 1 Hour.]
[+2 Cooking Skill: 104/500]
"Order up." Harry called out as he brought the dishes up to the bar where Tom inspected them.
"Well I'll be damned." He said, highly impressed by the quality of the food. "Good job, kid."
[Quest Complete!]
[+200(240) XP, +5 Cooking skill, +500 Rep with Tom.]
Harry grinned "Thanks."
Tom took the order and the drinks over to the Bones table while Harry leaned against the wall and waited for his future employer to come back. "Well, they certainly seemed happy with the meal. What else can you do?"
"Give me a copy of your full menu and I'll have it memorized in no time." Harry said confidantly.
Tom chuckled but didn't doubt him this time. "Alright, here you go. Go ahead and get familiarized with the kitchen I'll send you some orders as they come."
As soon as Harry entered the kitchen he activated the menu and absorbed the information. The pamphlet was destroyed but at least he now knew the entire menu by heart with perfect recollection of it. "Man that's useful."
Harry spent a few minutes looking around the kitchen and finding out where Tom kept everything when his second order came in. Tom walked into the back and handed him a slip of paper from his pad. "I need a prawn sandwhich with some chips."
"Got it." Harry got to work on the order and set it to automize the work while he mentally sat back and watched his body prepare the food. It didn't take long to make the sandwhich and even less to cut up some potatoes and fry them up.
[+1 Cooking.]
He took the dish back up to the bar and set it down. "Ready, Tom."
Tom gave it a once over before nodding "Good work."
Harry smiled and went back into the kitchen. Time to sit back, relax, and auto-craft his way to culinary mastery.
000
"It's starting to get slow so you can call it a day Hadrian." Tom said as he walked into the kitchen, "Good work by the way, you really impressed me."
Harry resumed control of his body and worked the kinks out of it and looked at his watch, it was 8 PM now. "No problem Tom, you've been nice enough to let me stay here without asking too many questions so I wanted to do something to help while also keeping up with my cooking."
"Well anytime you want to help, feel free, the customers seemed to really like your food so I'd appreciate the help whenever you feel up to it." Tom said gratefully, "I doubt you need the gold but honest work deserves honest pay."
He accepted the three galleons but now he felt a little bad since he didn't actually do any of the work himself. Then again if it helped Tom's business, did it really matter? "Glad to help."
[Daily Quest Unlocked: Cooking at the Cauldron.]
[Reward: +100 XP, +50 rep with Tom, 1 Galleon per hour.]
[Failure: 10 XP, -50 rep with Tom.]
"I'll help an hour or two during lunch time. I need something to keep me from locking myself in my room all day anyway." Harry reasoned.
Tom laughed "Sounds good to me. Anyway go get some sleep boyo, I'll take over from here."
"See you in the morning." Harry said before making his way up the stairs to his room. He crashed on the bed and managed to take off his runners before passing out for the night.
000
August 24th
Harry stretched as he woke up. "Today's the day." He quickly sat up and checked the time on his watch. 7:42.
Good he still had plenty of time.
It didn't take him very long to finish his morning rituals and putting on one of his new expensive and stylish robes before heading down for breakfast after his usual application of obscuring charms.
"Morning Tom," He greeted, taking a seat at the bar.
"Morning Had- Kid." Tom quickly corrected himself. "Sleep well?"
"Well enough." Harry answered with a shrug, "Usual would you? And some coffee."
"Cream?"
"Plenty." Harry said with a nod. With a sigh he leaned against the counter, Death willing, Sirius would be questioned under veritaserum today. Said questioning would lead to him telling the truth and that would give them enough basis to form a proper trial hearing at the Wizengamot along with letting him out of Azkaban on probation due to him never being officially sentenced in the first place.
He gratefully took the plate of breakfast and hot drink a few minutes later, relishing in the taste of the coffee. He knew what it was having made it often enough for the Dursleys when he was a kid but it wasn't until they were on the run that he truly began to appreciate the drink.
Especially since Wideye potions became highly addictive and gave back diminishing returns the more you used them. Caffeine on the other hand was significantly less addictive and tasted a whole hell of a lot better than the foul alertness potion.
Checking his watch again he saw that he stil had a little over an hour to burn until he had to meet with Andromeda. Might as well walk around for a bit.
Getting up he waved at the barman "Hey Tom I have some business this afternoon so I won't be able to help with the lunch crowd today."
Tom nodded with a smile, "Not a problem lad."
With a final wave Harry made his way into Diagon Alley. With no real goal in mind he simply walked around aimlessly for a while. F&B's was a bust seeing as they didn't have any new books that interested him.
Harry briefly considered buying a broom but given his age he doubted they would sell him one. He could try using glamours to make himself look older but the quidditch shop owners would no doubt be used to that trick already and likely shoot him down regardless.
Slowing down his gait as he reached said quidditch store, another thought struck him. He was Hadrian James Potter. The-Boy-With-The-Hyphenated-And-Needlessly-Capitalized-Title. If he wanted a broomstick then they would likely trip over themselves to give him the Nimbus 2000 just for the rights to say they sold him the broom.
Decision made he walked into the store, subtly undoing his obscuring charms as he walked in. He also made sure to make The Boy Who Lived his active title to double its effects.
[Boy-Who-Lived] - Activated -
+4 Charisma while inside of Magical Britain.
20% Discount on purchases, 20% Profit on sales.
Almost as if a magnet suddenly appeared on him, all eyes turned his way after the bell on the door jingled. "My word... is that Hadrian Potter?" The clerk said to himself in an awed whisper.
Reigning in the eye-roll that threatened to give him away he walked up to the counter with Charming Smile #3 while making tilting his head just enough for the scar to peek through his hair. "Good Morning, I was hoping I could buy a Nimbus 2000."
"A-Ah of course Sir... only... first years aren't allowed to own their own brooms, Mister Potter."
Harry frowned dramatically "Pity, and here I was ready to let everyone at Hogwarts know where I got my amazing new racing broom. They would ask 'Hadrian! Where did you get that amazing broom?' and naturally I would respond 'Why, Quality Quidditch Supplies, of course.' alas that seems like it will soon change to 'Quidditch Unlimited' seeing as you are unwilling to sell to the Boy-Who-Lived."
The man reeled back as if he'd been slapped "N-No that's not it at all, Sir!" He immediately proclaimed, if word got out that he refused to sell to the Hadrian Potter, his business would be ruined!
"Oh?"
"Yes, yes, most people ignore that silly rule anyway - most parents buy their children brooms as early as six!- as a valued customer I will of course sell to you. A-At a discount even! Twenty-percent off, for our nations hero!" The man was quick to kiss his ass now that he had threatened to take his business elsewhere.
"Such a generous offer," Hadrian replied with Grateful Smile #6 "I think I'll take you up on it. From what I hear my late Father was a Chaser for the Gryffindor team so I think I'd like to try joining the team next year. And for that I'll need a fast and reliable broom." He said, not so subtly eyeing the Nimbus 2000 behind the man.
"Ah yes of course! I went to school with the Late Lord Potter, amazing chaser he was, no doubt flying runs in your blood!" The man said in relief that his store wouldn't be ruined. Quickly turning around he grabbed the nearest Nimbus and presented it on the counter for Harry.
"The Nimbus 2000 as you see here is the newest model, vastly surpassing the previous Nimbus 1700 in speed, handling and durability! It boasts an impressive top-speed of 185 km/h and accelerates at 0-105 in less than five seconds!"
Harry nodded along, having already known all of this from his previous life but he had a part to play. With Excited Grin #2 in place he pulled out his coin pouch "I'll take it!"
"Excellent!"
"Also I'd like to get some gear... and a full servicing kit as well."
The man nodded eagerly as he set to work on the order. "Yes, Yes of course, if you'll just step this way my assisstant can get you fitted!"
The assisstant - a familiar fifteen year old girl who looked to be doing a summer job stint - had been looking their way dazedly as she followed the conversation, only snapping out of reverie once the shop owner called her over. "Penelope get Mister Potter here fitted for a set of armor."
Penelope nodded quickly and motioned to the side "This way please, Mister Potter."
He smiled and offer the girl his hand once they reached the podium. "Hadrian Potter."
"P-Penelope Clearwater. " She uttered with a slight blush as he took her hand and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles.
"A pleasure." He said with Flirtatious Wink #4 added for a bit of extra charm that seemed to work if the increased blush from the girl was any indication. "I'm planning on trying for either chaser or seeker so I don't need a full set just the basics will do."
"What house do you think you will be joining?" She asked with thinly veiled anticipation.
"Ravenclaw." He answered simply.
Her eyes widened. "Really? I- I mean... I'm actually in Ravenclaw. Four- err Fifth Year, I was planning on trying out for a Chaser spot as well. All three chasers graduated last year so Professor Flitwick needs a full line-up."
"Is that so?" He wasn't aware of that last time around. "What about the seeker?"
"The current captain, Joseph Blurbridge, he'll be a Seventh Year." She asnwered.
Harry looked down at her with a grin "That rules out seeker then so I guess we'll be getting to know each other real well in the future as fellow chasers huh?"
She blushed once more but returned his grin "I guess so,"
000
After paying for his Quidditch gear and broom he took it back to his room and waited out the last fifteen minutes for Andromeda in the hall. Seeing the woman walk in he promptly stood up and walked over to her. "Missus Tonks, it's good to see you again." He said while offering his hand.
"Mister Potter, likewise." She replied with a slight smile before her face returned to a stone-like quality. "Ready to go?"
"As I'll ever be considering where we'll be going."
With a slight grimace she gave a curt nod in agreement. "Quite. We'll be flooing to the Ministry where we will meet with Madam Bones."
Harry didn't see the need to comment any further and simply followed the woman to the walk-in chimney and floo'd to the Ministry, thankfully catching his footing before he made a fool of himself.
It was a short walk and elevator ride - magic elevators - to the DMLE offices. During which he pondered the utter bullshit that was 'Muggle electronics don't work in high magic areas' Such shite. Fucking Ministry is just keeping the good stuff for themselves.
Flying cars for example.
"Are you alright, Harry?" Andromeda whispered loud enough for him to hear which drew his attention outward.
"Yes," He said simply, "I was momentarilly distracted by idle thoughts."
"We're almost there so get ready to meet with the Director of the DMLE." Harry nodded once more and focused on the task before him.
They were met moments later by two Aurors in the standard brown armored trench coats with badges pinned on the front. He remembered when he used to be one of these guys, like his father. Until he learned that even the 'elite' members of the DMLE was still restricted by miles of bureaucratic redtape and bullshit.
"Mrs. Tonks and Mr. Potter?" One of the glorified pencil pushers asked as he approached them. He didn't recognize either of these two so they either died before the war, abandoned the force like many others or he simply hadn't seen them.
"That's us." Andromeda answered for them.
"Madam Bones is awaiting us at the DMLE's portkey zone." Harry remembered Tonks telling him about that. It was an area within the department that held special wards allowing outbound portkeys but not inbound.
It would allow for quick responce to emergencies but you could only pre-load so many destinations into portkeys and more often than not the Aurors appeared far too late, unnable to even save their boss from being killed in her own home last time around.
While the loss of Amelia led to him and Susan becoming much closer in his previous life, he wasm't about to let Susie suffer through that again if he could prevent it.
He made sure not to let his mind slip this time and greeted the director when she turned to him "Harry Potter, thank you for allowing me to come Madam Bones."
She accepted his hand with a shake "A pleasure Mr. Potter. It's not often people willingly set foot in Azkaban, let alone an eleven year old. I will ask only once, are you sure you wish to join us?"
Sensing that the woman wasn't so much insulting him as she was trying to show concern for him he simply nodded and kept the bite out of his words, "Yes Madam Bones."
She stared into his eyes for a moment before nodding curtly "Very well then, everyone grab on to the rope."
He, Andromeda, Bones and three other Aurors all held on to a thick cord of rope as she spoke the keyword. "Resort!"
000
Harry staggered to his feet but managed to keep his balance before turning towards the slightly ruffled Director with an amused smile "Your keyword to travel to Azkaban is 'Resort'?"
She returned the look "Our portkey crafter has an odd sense of humor."
"Indeed." Andromeda added primly as she straightened her suit. "Shall we? I'd rather not dawdle in this place."
Harry made sure to ramp up the strength on his occlumency shields to lessen the effects of the dementors since he couldn't just bust out a patronus charm out of nowhere. Especially considering he was an underage wizard who hadn't even stepped foot in a magical school yet and that's not even mentioning the three Aurors and the Director of the DMLE standing not ten feet from him.
For now he would just have to grit his teeth and bear it for Sirius' sake.
"Shields up." Amelia ordered and suddenly whispy barriers of joy and happiness surrounded them, cast by the three Aurors as they made their way into the prison. They made a quick visit to the warden where he and his the few guardsmen under his command followed the Director up to the very top of the prison where the worst of the worst were held under maximum dementor exposure.
As they approached Sirius' cell he heard a cackling laugh that made his blood boil. He briefly considered the pros and cons of simply killing that psycho bitch that took his godfather away from him right now. No one would miss her right? Granted Amelia probably wouldn't see it that way but dammit if it wasn't tempting to sneak away for a moment and toss a withering curse her way.
Thinking better of it, he forged on. If Bella escaped again then she was dead, if not then that means that Voldemort was never around to bust her out in the first place. Either was fine for him.
"P-M-390, Sirius Black." The warden called out, "Stand up prisoner, face the back wall and hands behind your head!"
Sirius wasn't entirely sure what was happening but complied nonetheless. He felt someone approach him and place one of his wrists in some magically binding cuffs followed by the other. "What's... going... on?" He rasped.
"You are to be transferred to the DMLE where you'll be questioned on the the events that transpired on October 31st 1981. Following this questioning you will be tried at the Wizengamot and either absolved of your crimes or sentenced." Madam Bones informed the man who could barely believe his ears. "I suggest you come peacefully and cooperate fully Mr. Black."
"Y-Yes... of course." He readily complied with her request and allowed himself to be led out of his cell. Were he not so caught up in his own thoughts of freedom he might have noticed the black haired boy who looked so much like his best fried.
000
Several hours later Harry had to keep a tight control over his emotions as Dumbledore banged his gavel to silence the court room. "After much deliberation this august body finds Sirius Orion Black innocent of all charges and to receive a compensation of ten-thousand galleons for each year of wrongful imprisonment. Lord Black as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot I must express my deepest and most sincere apologies over this grave injustice." He banged his gavel once more and dismissed emergency session.
This time Harry had to hold back his sneer. Fuck you Albus, you knew all along Sirius was innocent but you let him rot in there anyway to keep up appearances. That little shit-eater Snape won't get to kill you this time because you're my pray now.
As the Aurors removed the chains from Sirius he stood up at Andromeda's urging and followed her to the floor. Sirius still hadn't looked up from the floor, still shaken and in disbelief that he was not only suddenly free but exonerated. It was almost too much for the man who had all but given up hope.
"Sirius?" Harry took care to steady his voice. He would not - could not - break down right now. Sirius needed him. Seeing the man still unresponsive he approached him more cautiously "Padfoot?"
The man twitched and his haunting grey eyes shot up to meet Harry's own. "P-Prongs?"
Harry smiled ruefully "Try again Snuffles, my eyes are green."
The man's eyes widened and he could barely hold in his gasp as he sunk to his knees "Harry..."
Said boy reached the only man that had been a father figure to him and embraced him tightly, afraid that he might lose the man again if he let go. "You're free Sirius." He whispered. "You're free."
As he held his godson for the first time in ten years the man finally broke down and cried holding on to James' son like a lifeline.
AN - I'll be classifying spells into the classic Elder Scrolls style of the six schools because trying to remember all of the D&D ones would give me a headache.
~~ Stat Summary ~~
Name: Hadrian James Potter
Title: Boy-Who-Lived
Race: Human
Class: N/A
Level: 5 - EXP to next level 948/2000
Stat Points: 0
Skill points: 48
HP: 220/220
MP: 180/180
Stamina: 112
STR: 9
END: 12
AGI: 1 (+3)
INT: 20
WIS: 12
CHA: 5 (+6) [+1]
LUK: 2 (+2)
Perks: Marked as Equal, Hermoine's Notes
Status Effects: Horcrux
Skills: +77 Herbology, +126 Cooking, +91 Speech, +23 Sneak, +52 Unarmed, +56 Thieving, +87 Survival, +62 Small Firearms, +72 Meditation, +48 Running, +32 Bartering, +43 Wandless Magic, +16 Blunt Weapons, +28 Perception, +68 Wand Skill
Languages: English, Parseltongue, French 50/500, Bulgarian 50/500, Spanish 50/500, Russian 50/500, Italian 50/500, German 50/500, Japanese 50/500, Mandarin 50/500.
Magic: Destruction 24/100, Illusion 48/100, Conjuration 6/100, Alteration 16/100
Gear:
[Face] - [Black Sunglasses: 10% Resistance to Light, +1 Perception.] (Not displayed)
[Wrist] - [Basic Watch: Tells time.]
[Weapon] - [Elder/Thestral Wand: +10 Wand Skills, +10 Destruction Magic, +10 Illusion magic.]
[Chest] - [Plain Black T-Shirt: +1 Defense, +1 Sneak.]
[Pants] - [Blue Jeans: +2 Defense.]
[Shoes] - [Black Trainers: +1 Defense, +5 Running]