Guest - There's no plot hole. How can he be rested if he's still exhausted? Yeah, his body might be regaining his strength, but the rest of his magic hasn't recovered.
For the other reviewers, thank you for your feedback.
Finishing the Horcruxes.
Later that evening, Harry was sitting in the living room with just one lamp turned on by his shoulder, giving him the best of the light in the room while he read the book on the history of other magical countries. The book wasn't that large; it was as big as a hardback fiction novel, and the magic imbued in the pages allowed the book to store the various histories of the different countries in its pages without having to go to all the trouble of writing various separate volumes.
All he had needed to do was to tap his wand and press the tip into the symbols of the various magical countries, and the entire book would show the history whilst storing the histories of the other countries. Harry had been reading the book for at least an hour, after he'd had his bath and had a quick bite to eat to restore his strength after using so much of his magic in the ritual, and he hadn't moved much since as he rested. He was still a bit weak and a little sore, but he was getting his strength back quickly. In the meantime he was just resting and not using magic at all, in fact the way he felt he doubted he could cast a simple lighting spell never mind something bigger.
He was too tired magically after the ritual that he doubted he could deal with the amulet right away. In the meantime he distracted himself with getting his strength back, and distracting his mind. He immersed himself into the history of Magical America, he was fascinated to learn more about the Rappaport's law, and the reasons why muggleborns weren't allowed to study magic in American magical schools. It did help take his mind over what he had to do with the amulet. He was still trying to rebuild his physical, mental, and magical strength after using virtually all of it combined to drain the souls of the Death eaters and their twisted boss.
A cup of coffee was on the table next to his sofa while he read the book for over 3 hours. Some of it he'd known already; Harry's parents had learnt over the years that where the muggle world was dealing with the continual chaos caused by the never ending ascension of various kings and queens who came to power, the ceaseless wars before the First and Second World wars came around to accelerate muggle science, the Wizarding world around the planet had isolated themselves from their muggle counterparts in answer to the never ending prejudice and fear muggles had towards magic. The attitude was 'if they can't live with us, they can live without us, and we can finally live in peace without being terrified for our lives', and the magical world had followed that doctrine ever since. It went both ways - while the Wizarding world was safe from harm, many witches and wizards were taught that muggles were primitive beings afraid of the unknown, and so savage they even killed their own. Harry could understand their point of view, especially since muggles hadn't really grown up and would fight anyone; he might be a muggleborn, but he had seen first hand the prejudice muggles had towards bizarre incidents, but he also pitied the muggles. They had missed out on a chance to explore and understand a world that moviemakers and fiction writers wrote about but got both wrong and right simply because they were so afraid of the unknown while professing they weren't afraid at all. But if the wizards hadn't decided to hide, then their whole civilisation, thousands of years of history, would have been wiped out, and if there was one thing prevalent in each culture, it was to survive. The Wizarding world simply took it a few steps further, that was all.
But that didn't stop the muggles. While very few witches and wizards were killed compared to the number of people the muggles had killed, the amount of magical blood that had actually spilled during the carnage of events like the Salem Witch trials was minimal, but it was enough to keep wizards and witches away from muggles. The wizards and witches who were actually caught were more down to luck on the part of the muggles, all the other victims were just that. Victims of prejudice and envy, but still victims of ignorant muggles who probably only accused them of witchcraft for stupid reasons.
It was because of the small number of people that were caught by muggles and then killed that the wizarding world hid from them, but then again when the muggles actively destroyed what they didn't comprehend it wasn't a surprise.
Even the time of King Arthur wasn't what the fantasy writers believed it to be. Merlin had been born in an age of magical persecution and prejudice, and it was a time where many wizards and witches were going into hiding behind wards so then they could survive. Merlin had even needed to hide the truth of his powers from Arthur for years, and when the King finally found out it was too late. He was dying, and after he died nothing Merlin had done had made much difference. Merlin had waited for years to reveal the truth to his friend, who had seen the damage and carnage magic could cause in the wrong hands, but one wrong word and all his work would have been for nothing.
Harry made an unhappy face when he read about the result; as soon as he read that particular section of the book, he knew it wouldn't be good. It was the most savage reminder wizards had that muggles would never accept them, and this time thousands of witches and wizards were killed. Even Godric Gryffindor who had wanted to have both worlds integrated to prevent more pain and grief soon realised he was wasting his time when the muggles murdered his family, and witch hunts were growing in popularity and any sign of magic was instantly attacked by the muggles, which included magical creatures like unicorns and even Centaurs who were content to let the muggles live in their own settlements and be at peace. But no, they needed to attack simply because of their fear. Old Godric wasn't the only founder of Hogwarts who'd suffered. Slythern himself had been orphaned at a young age by muggles who'd killed his entire family, and he'd had to rely on his cunning to just survive. But before Gryffindor came to that realisation, he'd travelled the world for a while, and he'd started to rethink his plans and his dreams for making the magical world and the muggle world become friends when he toured magical Asia - specifically countries like India and China, he saw that the wizards and witches in both parts of the world, along with a few places in Scandinavia and Africa had separated from the muggle communities which had always been unstable and wracked with violence and destruction, and their worlds thrived and they kept their heritage and knowledge alive. In those communities, the people had just about had enough of the barbaric muggles. Harry shook his head, unsurprised by the Wizarding world's reasons. All they wanted was to be left alone, to live in peace.
Hogwarts marked a new age for magical people around the world. For hundreds of years witches and wizards had bene educated and taught magic by their families or through apprenticeships, but the creation of Hogwarts where magical children would meet and learn their craft together to exchange magical knowledge together in a fair environment where apprentices were taught only one at a time. Other schools appeared around Europe, and soon magically educated children began making their mark on Europe. Asia soon followed, teaching their own children and future generations magical knowledge and traditions going back centuries. Where the magical civilisation worldwide was growing, a revolution was taking place. Apprentice taught witches and wizards only took their mentors knowledge to the next level, but school taught witches and wizards were able to open the doors to new fields of magical study and grow them.
Where the muggle world was still wracked with chaos and destruction for centuries, the magical world was flourishing and it was safely hidden away from muggles. Wizards had collectively decided that the muggles could destroy themselves anytime they liked, they would not be involved with them anymore, and that had been a staple of magical philosophy for centuries.
Harry chewed his lip thoughtfully. He was a muggle born, a second generation, but he was still a muggle born, but while he was a little upset that even back then wizards and witches had decided to just ignore muggles, he could understand the problem after hearing about the breach in the Statute of Secrecy in America.
Witches and wizards had also settled in America a few hundred years before Christopher Columbus had even been born, and they had encountered the Native American Indians there; like all primitive magical societies, the Native Americans' skills with magic varied from tribe to tribe, many of them had skills comparable to the druids in Europe, while others had rather primitive and rudimentary magical abilities. After the inevitable clash between two different cultures, the witches and wizards who'd come had helped teach the Native American Indians more advanced potion making skills and the basics of a more advanced form of magic, but they had enough common sense to not give them magical powers that they simply could not control.
In return the grateful Indians had given them access to their own magic, and while it might have looked foolish it had worked; the Europeans had long since mastered and moved past the level of the Indians centuries before. Magical settlements had grown in America, whole groups of settlers from Europe and Asia came and colonised parts of America in harmony, exploring the country and solving many mysteries that expanded their knowledge greatly of the continent. But those magical settlements were small and isolated, and it wouldn't be until the 17th century that they began to grow with the influx of more settlers from Europe. In the meantime, the settlers were just there to get the lay of the land. They encountered the Aztecs and the Incas, and while they didn't approve of the human sacrificial ceremonies, the wizards just let the muggle side of the Aztec civilisation get on with things before making peace with the magical side which didn't practice human sacrifice at all. Where the muggle Aztecs worshipped the sun, performing sacrifices, their magical counterparts worshipped magic itself, and they worshipped nature. Their ancient sorcerers had learnt a great deal about magic, and they exchanged their knowledge with other countries in return for some of their knowledge, which the Europeans were more than happy to give.
Harry made another unhappy face. And then the muggles had finally arrived. The European and Asian wizards and witches had given their magical counterparts in America and Mexico warnings for years about the dangers of muggles how they destroyed everything they couldn't and would never accept, and in the end they were right.
Muggles would spend the next few hundred years exploring America, destroying parts of the country, and eventually the muggle Aztecs were destroyed but the magical Aztecs survived, and to this day they were an integral part of magical America. With more muggles in America, it was logical for witches and wizards to come as well.
When the MACUSA came into being, magical America was gripped in chaos as they struggled to grow their communities, and they separated the country into states like the muggles did, but Harry couldn't tell for sure when it happened or if the wizards had simply copied the muggles. At that time the Scourers were roaming the lands like the outlaws of the time in the muggle world.
Harry sneered as his eyes scanned the text that told the story of how the scourers had gone from a basic band of mercenaries into a corrupt bunch of vigilantes and bounty hunters who tracked down criminals and anyone for whom a reward was offered. They resorted to torture and murder, taking advantages of the lack of real wizarding governance and law enforcement. In time they became even more sick, they began engaging in wizard-trafficking, and they also turned muggles (No-Majs) over to witch hunting Puritans for gold.
But when law enforcement began to grow when the nascent MACUSA, or rather a crude form of it, rose to power, and the Scourers were being hunted at last and were tried and executed for their crimes, some of them didn't hide in the magical world. No. They did the opposite. Harry started shaking his head softly as he read how some of the Scourers evaded justice by marrying No-Majs and integrating into their society, but he was also intrigued by their clever strategy in hiding in the muggle world. Their descendants had an impact in the centuries that followed, and some of the descendants acquired an intense hatred of all things magical.
A wizarding historian called Theophilus Abbot identified several families that had been founded by the Scourers, and each of them were marked by a profound belief in magic's existence and had a truly worrying hatred of magic. The activism of these descendants was one of the reasons North American No-Maj's were harder to fool when it came to magic than others. Harry shook his head as he began seeing for himself the real problems the North American wizards had to put up with when it came to their No-Maj counterparts.
And then things got worse, and although Harry had already heard of the story, this was the first time he was reading it for himself. In the 18th century, one of these scourer descendants, an American No-Maj by the name of Bartholomew Barebone somehow managed to ply details about the magical world from a witch. Dorcus Twelvetrees when he met her at a picnic, of all things. The stupid cow had been infatuated with the No-Maj at once, and she performed little tricks to impress him. Harry groaned when he read that, and it was also helpful of the writer of the book to have put in that Dorcus was described as "pretty, but dim", which was a worrying combination. Apparently the author had wanted those details written into the book, and Harry wondered if the author had provided similar footnotes into the rest of the book. Dorcus was apparently not that good academically, and was only interested in organising parties and styling her hair.
Barebone feigned amazement and he began plying her for details, and without a shred of common sense, Twelvetrees gave them the details of the MACUSA's headquarters. That was probably bad enough given Barebone's ingrained hatred for magic, but the idiot had also given him the location of Illvermorny. Harry shook his head, trying to remind himself that Dorcus had been infatuated in Barebone, that she had no idea that he'd known about magic all of his life and had grown up hating it.
Barebone also got away with Dorcus's wand, which she obligingly showed him, and he revealed it to other No-Maj's. Some thought him a crank but there were those who didn't, and published pictures of it, describing "How it had a kick like a mule" when it was waved. Harry became thoughtful, did Barebone had some magic in him, or was it some defence mechanism wands possessed when held by a muggle. Barebone then used the information Dorcus had given him and wrote and printed a series of leaflets detailing the locations of Illvermorny and the MACUSA's location. Some No-Maj's were motivated to investigate and see if "evil occult parties" actually practiced there. Harry closed his eyes, pitying the MACUSA for having to clean up that mess and mitigate the worst of the disaster, but he wondered if some of the old articles of Twelvetree's wand still existed and had been passed down to the modern day as proof magic existed.
But Barebone wasn't satisfied by all this even if he'd whipped up such a mess. Oh no. He gathered a group of gun wielding friends, probably other Scourer descendants like himself, and set out to persecute witches and wizards. Harry wondered if it would have worked even with everything Barebone had gleaned from Twelvetrees.
And then, in the mother of all ironies, Barebone overstepped himself by shooting at what he believed to be a group of MACUSA wizards, too giddy with the mission and his earlier triumphs with managing to steal a wand from a stupid and careless witch, but it turned out they weren't wizards at all. Harry winced as he read on. They were No-Maj's like him, and they had left a suspected building while he was watching it. No one was killed, but Harry almost wished someone had been killed, because then Barebone's punishment would have been worse and the MACUSA would have taken more extreme precautions in future.
The MACUSA were left floundering in the aftermath of the disaster. It was one of the largest breaches in the Statute of Secrecy, and the MACUSA struggled to cope with it all; they had to find the No-Maj's who been exposed to the knowledge magic existed, and they had to wipe their memories, but unfortunately Barebone had handed out too many leaflets and letters, and heaven alone knows how many copies of those damn photos had been sent around, making Harry once more wonder if some American No-Maj's had copies of them hidden somewhere. Even President Emily Rappaport had testified they had no way of being sure they'd obliviated everyone's memories.
Harry didn't have much sympathy for Dorcus Twelvetrees after reading about the mess she had caused, and he wasn't surprised that opinion was divided over what should happen to her. Some said she should be imprisoned for life, others said she should be executed for what she had done. However, she spent only a year in prison, and when she came out she was a deeply traumatised and disgraced woman. She lived out the rest of her life in isolation.
Stupid bitch, Harry thought to himself, thinking she had gotten off lightly.
The consequences of Dorcus's supreme act of stupidity were felt even to this day. Rappaport's law had been repealed, but it had banned witches and wizards from marrying or even befriending No-Maj's, meting out harsh punishments if anyone disobeyed. Only actions "necessary to perform daily activities" were allowed to continue, but only that.
Another side effect of the law was when students at magical schools attended places like Salems or Illvermorny, they were issued their wands onsite and when the holidays came they would have to leave them behind, and when they were 17 they were allowed to purchase a wand legally. Rappaport's law drove the North American wizards deeper underground, widening the cultural divide even more between them and the wizarding communities in Europe.
In Europe, the magical governments kept and maintained clandestine contact with the muggle world, and wizards were allowed to marry non magical people, but in America it was forbidden. Harry was unsure if the law had intended for the effect it had, but it happened nonetheless; wizards and witches showed an increasing level of hostility towards No-Maj's. Personally he wasn't surprised; in their eyes Dorcus had betrayed them to a society who would and could wipe them out if given the chance, so of course they'd be nervous and that fear would turn to hatred.
Harry also read that the Rappaport's law had also made it clear that witches and wizards born in No-Maj families were forbidden from attending schools; again, not a real surprise, but it made Harry wonder if the magical president of the MACUSA at the time had been prejudiced towards muggleborns, but it made little difference now. The point was it had happened, and muggleborns were left to live without knowledge of magic, or the chance of meeting other people who understood them.
Even to this day the MACUSA had prohibited muggleborns from joining their world, but they must have knowledge of them - that hunter, for instance, knew about muggleborns, and from the sounds of it the prejudice towards them was the norm. So maybe it was a good thing he hadn't attended Illvermorny, after all. Harry shuddered as he considered the prejudice in places like Hogwarts. In the Ministry of Magic in this country, it was obvious that, although they tried to present themselves as an impartial society, pureblood families were given more credibility.
But despite all the appeals for banning muggleborns, blaming them for those shitty rumours that muggles stole magic or some other bullshit lies like them, persecuting them, at least the European countries accepted muggleborns to a point.
Not in Magical America.
Harry had no idea if the Americans were going to repeal their laws and allow a slow but steady trickle of muggleborns into their world, but he somehow doubted it; they probably condoned the slayers and hunters like the one that had attacked Harry on the night he'd recovered the memories of his parents, so it was hard for them to accept muggleborns at this stage. Besides, with the prejudice and hatred simmering beneath the surface after that mess with Barebone, he doubted they would ever get over it. And since they didn't have muggleborns in their society, it would hardly work out like the American civil rights movement; in those days black people lived and worked in North American even with all the prejudice, and they had fought for the rights of all black people. With no muggleborn to lead the charge, the MACUSA didn't have the motivation to change their attitude.
Even after he'd recovered his strength, Harry was still uncertain about what to do with the locket. He wanted to blast it with a killing curse - the Avada Kedavra curse was powerful, and since it separated the soul from the body, it was the perfect and probably the most simplest spell that would destroy the horcruxes and the souls imprisoned within it.
While he was sure it would work, the problem was whether the spell would be detected. Harry had been hidden in the muggle world for years, he didn't want to suddenly get caught by the Ministry, and if there was one thing that he'd gleaned from his parents' memories, it was the contempt they held for the Ministry, and how they rolled over themselves to please the pureblood families.
The thought that bunch of incompetent idiots putting two and two together if he showed up out of the blue after a decade of being missing, assuming they even cared, and studied the amulet before finding out it contained the trapped souls of the Death eaters who were members of their precious, upstanding society. A malicious and mocking sneer spread across his face at the thought, then his features took on a lets get down to business expression even if he couldn't see it.
There was probably nothing else for it, he thought to himself, he'd have to visit Gringotts again and ask the goblins for help. Harry had hoped to do this by himself, just slip quietly into Britain, get to Diagon Alley and visit the goblins, perform the ritual without anyone knowing about what he was doing, destroy the locket somehow, and then leave and get back to America. He had hoped to do it all quietly without someone as meddlesome as Dumbledore, and as stupid as the Ministry of Magic getting in the way.
Another problem was his wand - if he went back to America, what would stop the American Aurors from trying to arrest him because he owned a wand?
Harry thought over a few things, and wondered if perhaps he should move over to Britain rather than live in America. While he had lived there, he'd always felt like an outsider, and his Britain accent hadn't helped matters either. If he moved, he would have access to the magical world rather than living in ignorance, but he didn't have to decide today if he wanted to move. There were downsides as well, obvious ones.
After having a quick breakfast, Harry left his flat and headed for Diagon Alley. The first place he went to was the shop where he'd gotten the wand.
The shopkeeper looked up at him in surprise, then he smiled. "Back again, I see?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah. I should have asked you before, but is do I need a licence for the wand if I happened to move to America."
"If I were you," the shopkeeper said seriously, his cheerful demeanour disappearing in favour of a more serious manner, "I wouldn't move to America and deal with their magical community full stop. They have all kinds of laws that make sense on the outside, but inwardly they cause more problems than they're worth."
"In what way?"
"Do you know anything about their magical history?"
"I know that decades ago, one of their population, a witch, was charmed by a muggle who happened to know about magic, and she stupidly told him the locations of the MACUSA but also the location of Ilvermorny. Afterwards they had a helluva time trying to mitigate the worst of the disaster. After that they banned young witches and wizards from carrying wands around until they hit 17."
"That's it, yeah," the shopkeeper replied, hiding how impressed he was by the way he'd replied to the question about America's magical history, "when foreigners arrive in Magical America, they have to spend days securing a temporary VISA licence for their wands. It's expensive and its irritating. Don't try it, if you're planning on seeing magical America then at least go there on holiday, and if you have to move, then move someplace where you have some freedom."
"You make America sound like a dictatorship," Harry observed, he had no intention of telling the man he lived in America himself. It would open a can worms he didn't need.
"It's not, but after that mess they have every right to be cautious of muggles," the shopkeeper replied.
Harry sat lazily in the chair, well that was how the goblins would describe his posture, but a more astute observer would have seen he was thoughtful and alert. After the enlightening talk with the shopkeeper of the wand shop, Harry went thoughtfully to the goblins and held up the amulet for the arrogant teller to examine. He had told the goblin that he had simply gathered all of Voldemort's horcruxes, and those of his followers, and had them in the amulet for disposal.
Finally two goblins strode in, both of them dressed in expensive looking pinstripe suits. Neither goblin spoke even as Harry stood up to greet them, knowing from his parent's experiences that the goblins really didn't like it when a horcrux was brought into their presence. They saw the things as abominations of nature after all. Both goblins examined the locket and spoke in the language Harry only had a basic knowledge of, but since goblins were a naturally surly race and quick to anger, it was hard for Harry to know for sure whether they were happy or pleased. "Mr Potter," one of the goblins in a gravelly voice, "I was surprised when you dared to bring this abomination into our midst, but when I heard you had problems getting rid of it I was unsurprised."
Harry didn't take offence to that, knowing that the goblin understood his reasons for coming here today. "I didn't want the magical world to know I was here," he said simply, "I also wasn't sure if the Ministry wouldn't detect my wand signature."
Harry had no idea if he had the Trace on himself since he had never attended magical school, but he had no intention of putting it up to the test. The goblin who'd spoken let his colleague speak. "The Trace is applied on every witch and wizard as they board the Hogwarts express," he said, "the spell is applied every time they leave for the muggle world."
Harry felt a little foolish, but he felt justified a little by his concerns about being tracked by the British Ministry who would cause him no end of problems especially if they discovered he had used a ritual to suck all the souls of the Death eaters and their boss into a piece of jewellery. "It wasn't just the Trace," he said, deciding to point out to the goblins how he felt about his countrymen and their stick-their-heads-into-the-sand-and-pretend-not-to-care-unless-the-purebloods-are-happy philosophy, "I know that the British Ministry are arrogant, they'd make sure I received the Dementors kiss if they ever found out what I'd done."
The goblins looked at one another. They knew he was telling the truth, but whether or not the pair of them were surprised that he had made the connection, or if they simply thought he was just making up for his 'stupidity', Harry didn't know and didn't care, either.
"Can we move on, I didn't come here today to debate the stupidity of witches and wizards," Harry said calmly, "can you deal with the amulet, or not?"
It was a risky business, giving the goblins attitude, but Harry couldn't see any other way he could get his point across to make things get moving, he was tired being fucked around, having his actions debated about, and he was sick of it. He had decided against going after Voldemort simply because there was a chance he couldn't win against the Dark Lord, and to be honest he didn't want to try. He had enough memories of his parent's meetings with the Dark Lord, knew they were the stuff of nightmares. Harry wasn't a coward, but even he would balk at the thought of fighting someone who was a terrifying opponent. Voldemort wasn't your average dueller. No, he wasn't a dueller. He was a fighter, and so incredibly unpredictable that few could match him. Where most wizards and witches would use high powered curses and spells to bring down their opponents, Voldemort would do that and yet he would use spells that most duellers wouldn't even think to use. In that sense Voldemort was a maverick. He would use transfiguration and charm spells that most children learnt in their first two years of magical education, confusing his opponents for a moment before he fired a particularly dangerous curse. He would launch tickling charms that were so basic that they sometimes got under the defences of the opponent, then followed by vicious spells fired in quick succession Voldemort's opponent would be hard pressed to defend against.
The problem with fighting Voldemort was he didn't have any issue wearing his opponents down, he would still be in fighting form by the end of it, and because of his unpredictability and his mastery of the mind arts, it was hard to get an idea of what spell he would use next. Harry had decided that life was sweeter, so he had decided not to try. Sure, if he had been raised in the magical world, he might have had a chance, though he doubted it. The only reason his parents had managed to survive was because of their proficiency in ancient magic, but Voldemort wasn't a slouch. Another thing he'd hoped to avoid was the death toll. Harry didn't want the magical world to be faced into a long term fight for god knows how many years, and he didn't want them to look for another poor kid to save their skins simply because he wasn't around. Some might call him a coward, but Harry didn't care.
He was a burglar. If there was one thing he had learnt in that time, it was never never ever look for a fight and to avoid them at all cost. Harry was a tough fighter, honed by years in dojos and in kickboxing rings, so he could defend himself with relative ease. He had been trained by former soldiers and marines who had become down on their collective luck and had taught him some bits and pieces. But Harry knew better than to try his luck, and thanks to his relative inexperience when it came to magical duelling through he had his parents knowledge on it, there was no way of knowing for sure if the fight would even go that way.
The two goblins looked at each other before regarding him again. "As long as you do not try to harm us," one of them said with a growl that told him this was not a threat, but a warning, "you may cast the killing curse on the amulet."
Harry nodded and he took his wand out and aimed it at the amulet, which glinted in the light. Harry closed his eyes and let all the loathing he felt, all the pain he wanted to cause others who had gotten on the wrong side of him, how he yearned to kill them… he felt it all bubble up within him, and he incanted, "Avada Kedavra."
The killing curse erupted out of his wand like a burst of green fire, rushing towards the amulet, and when it hit the piece of silver jewellery there was the terrible screeching of dozens of voices before they were extinguished forever.
When he left the bank, Harry leaned against one of the support columns outside, and closed his eyes, feeling as though a great weight had lifted off his shoulders. Still elated, Harry began walking out of the alley and back into the muggle world, wanting to do some exploring and maybe even pick a few pockets, but as he began his journey out of the alley, something caught his eye.
It was the newspaper stands. The main headlines read "Pureblood casualties high - strange ailment hits upstanding members of society," or "What is killing our citizens? Ministry still baffled." Making sure the guy near the stand who sold the papers was occupied, Harry picked one of the papers up and began reading it for a few minutes before he put it back, and then carried on with getting out, but this time he was more thoughtful than elated like he had been before.
The purebloods dying didn't bother him that much, especially since he and his parents and other muggleborns had suffered at their hands (well, he was targeted by that hunter, and there were probably dozens of other muggleborns back in America who had somehow survived, or hadn't been lucky enough to tell the tale, to say nothing of the MACUSA's policy of keeping muggleborns out of their country), but what annoyed Harry the most was just how blind these people were. When he had browsed that paper, no mention had been made at all about their Death eater ties, and there wasn't even the hint of suspicion the Dark Mark had anything to do with their sudden illnesses. After today, he knew, they wouldn't be calling it an illness, but rather a massacre. Harry wondered if he had made a mistake by killing the Death eaters, but he quickly pushed it aside, knowing that it wasn't his guilt talking but his practicality. He knew they probably had children of their own, children that they had spent the last decade teaching how to become the next generation of Death eater, but now that Voldemort was gone and soon it would be reported that the parent(s) were also gone, what would stop those kids from trying to take their place?
Part of Harry knew it was his fault, but he also knew that the parents of those children were also to blame, not to mention Dumbledore, the teachers at Hogwarts, and the Ministry of Magic itself. If Dumbledore and the teachers under him had bothered to open their eyes, see that their head-in-the-sand trick caused more harm than it solved, maybe things wouldn't have gotten so bad and out of hand as it did. The Ministry had done the same, stuck their heads in the sand, only for more political reasons.
The other part of him didn't give a damn. The magical world had survived for thousands of years, and even if the British community died out, the magical world would survive in some shape or form. It was tragic, but if they couldn't solve their own problems without resorting to the stupid philosophy of calling a baby their saviour when they hadn't even done anything, then they were screwed and they deserved to die out.
Harry sighed and walked out of Diagon Alley.
All in all it had been a fairly good day, he reflected when he got through the door of his temporary abode, finding London more enjoyable even if New York was his city. When he dropped his shopping on the table - he was still unsure what to do with most of the stuff he bought, but his plans to move from America to London were gaining a lot of weight. Harry smirked as he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket, and pulled out a wad of pound notes; he'd have to do the currency conversion to get an idea of how much cash he had in dollars, but he knew in a few days, he could very well have the makings of a fortune that could move him here. He'd already done some research and found that the general costs of living were lower in Britain than in America.
After safely locking the money away, Harry went to cook dinner.
