Harry Evans Potter, An Earthborn Asgardian's tale
Chapter 6
Harry stood before his mother's grave, rain sticking his hair and dark clothes fast to his body. A wind whipped around him, spraying water out of his ebony locks.
Hard emerald eyes locked onto the stone, his hands curled into a fist as a flash of lightning reflected in his eyes, its song reverberating deep within his soul, "I promise you this mother, I will find the people who killed you and I will make them pay!"
Spinning on his heel, his dark dress shoes squeaking against the wet grass, Harry strode towards the Iron Gate leading out of the graveyard. He stopped before it, eyeing the iron fence ringing the arched stones within.
With a flare of power, runes were carved into the iron. They shone with fire before fading, becoming invisible to the naked eye.
There, that should keep anyone wanting to disturb his mother's final resting place out.
Walking through the gates, Harry meandered up the sidewalk. His gaze flicking to the houses on either side of him.
Godric's hollow was a stable middle-class neighborhood. The houses lining either side of the street were the same two-story construction he lived in for a year.
They may have been different colors, but just looking at them made his mind drift back to that night, the night that started him on the path to losing everything that mattered.
His lips tugged downward.
His mother had lived here for three years before the attack, and not one of these people in their perfectly manicured houses thought to come to her funeral.
He stopped before a slightly rusted iron gate. Beyond the gate the grass had grown up to at least six inches, pushing its way through the concrete path leading to the two-story white house at the end.
Black shutters accented the broken windows shimmering with the magical barrier to keep out the rain.
Reaching forth a hand, Harry wrapped his fingers around the top of the gate, the rust rough against his skin. With a slight push, the gate came open, it's sound lost against the heavy rain.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped onto the sidewalk, each step towards the house putting weight on his shoulders.
Stopping at the shimmering blue barrier that replaced the door, he reached his hand forward. The barrier winked out of existence before he made contact with it.
Stepping inside, dead leaves and loose grass swirled into the door frame behind him, forming a pristine dark green door.
He glanced around him. A layer of dust covered the plush antique style furniture. Breathing deep, stale air and old blood filled his nose. His gaze lingered on a reddish-brown stain at the far end of the room two feet from the fireplace.
Striding around the curved back furniture, Harry knelt before the stain. Stretching a hand out, he gently ran his fingers over the dried blood, bowing his head, "I'm sorry, father. I'm sorry I was too young to realize what happened to you, I'm sorry I did not bring you back with mother."
Raising his eyes, lightning flashed, drawing his attention to a shadow underneath one of the high-back armchairs.
Reaching underneath it, he pulled out a familiar knobby wand. An image of Dumbledore pointing this wand at his mother flash through his mind as the wand resonated with him.
Something about this wand felt different, his fingers curled around it, his soul sight flickering on. Orange fire licked at his pupils.
Staring at the wand, he nearly dropped it at what he saw.
In his hand he clutched a shaft of shadow, black fire wreathed it, licking against his skin.
Almost in a trance, another presence tugged at his mind. Rising mechanically to his feet, he made his way over to the staircase, ignoring the pictures lining the wall opposite the railing as he began his ascent.
Getting to the top of the stairs, Harry entered the hallway, shifting broken pieces of wood at his feet with each step. His gaze fell on a white door half buried in the wall.
He slid one foot forward. A brass knob fell from the door, hitting the floor with a loud thump. It rolled across the floor, stopping in the center of an empty doorframe.
He stared inside, the tugging on his mind pulling his gaze to the floor. Three feet inside the room, a cloak of liquid shadows lay curled on the floor, shadow fire dancing around it.
Striding into the room, cutting a clear path through the dust, he knelt before the cloak, reaching one hand out to curl his fingers in its silk like fabric.
Images flashed through his mind, his gaze flicked to the far end of the room, six inches shy of the window.
He rose to his feet, draping the cloak over his arm.
The wand and cloak pulsed in time with one another.
He glanced down at them as he made his way over to the window, "What are you?"
Stopping at the window, he moved into the position he saw in the images. Leaning against the wall, he closed his eyes. For a moment, it felt like the world spun, and then he was elsewhere.
–XX –
Harry leaned against the wall, the moonlight shining on the empty doorframe into the room like a pale spotlight.
Something squirmed in his arms. He looked down, a strip of red hair falling into his eyes.
A black haired babe squirmed in the crook of his arm, emerald eyes staring up at his face.
Footsteps echoed from the hallway. His gaze snapped to the door. Raising a wand in a slender pale hand, he drew it in a circle. A large emerald green cobra made of bright energy circled around him before flying out the door.
The door exploded outwards on impact with the construct, the serpent wrapping its way around the tall thin man on the other side.
In a blink, Harry rushed towards the door, the moment he crossed the threshold, everything went black in the world changed again.
–XX–
Harry jerked back a sharp breath expanding his chest. He glanced down at the cloak draped over his arms, a familiar burning in the corners of his eyes. "Mother used this the night we were attacked," he rasped, "but why would it resonate with Dumbledore's wand?"
Shaking his head, he pushed off the wall making his way towards the door, a sense of déjà vu settled over him, causing him to pause in the doorframe. He glanced around the room, it was nothing special a single four poster bed, a small sitting area, and an ornate dresser, but the emotions felt in this room combined with his mothers psychic power, turned it into a bad place.
A place where anyone who entered would relive his mother's fear, he was just lucky he was powerful enough not to relive her death too.
Shaking his head, he stepped into the hallway, his gaze swiveling to the nursery at the end of the hallway.
The door was gone, having been blown up that night, splinters of white wood mingled with the dark Brown floor.
His gaze flicked to the large hole in the floor. His mother had Dumbledore trapped here, unable to use his magic to escape right away, she could've killed him. Why didn't she? Did her hesitation to kill make her a better person then him or weaker? Was his quest for vengeance going to turn him into a monster?
He moved forward, his stride sweeping splintered wood out of his path. Stopping before the door to the nursery, he curled his fingers into a fist, before slinging golf ball sized balls of fire towards the ceiling. They hovered there, painting the room and dancing dim light.
Entering the room, he surveyed his surroundings. The front part of the crib had fallen inwards from a blasting hex. Stuffed animals had fallen from a shelf on the left-hand side of the room, littering the floor.
He moved to the center of the room, his gaze lingering on an unharmed white rocking chair.
A smile tugged the corners of his lips as he caught sight of the book draped over the chairs arm. For a brief moment he saw his mother there, reading to him as a child as he drifted off to sleep.
With another flash of lightning, the vision winked out, bringing him back to reality. His mother was dead. This house had been empty for years. He was alone.
A dull ache throbbed in his heart, but he shoved it away, piling his desire for revenge on top of it.
Spinning on his heel, he turned to face the wall with the shelves. Small circles of runes in the walls four corners blazed with golden energy in his soul sight. With a flick of his hand, the balls of fire slammed into the runes.
The shelves and the remaining stuffed animals sunk into the wall like they had never been there.
Each circle of runes released a line of rectangular runes, which joined another runic circle in the center of the wall.
Stepping forward, Harry placed his hand in the center of the circle.
The runes flared red and he winced as blood was forcefully pulled from his pores.
The blood fell onto the runes, causing them to burn a bright blue. Then the wall cracked like clay shattering to pieces and revealing the room beyond.
Florescent lights burst to life with a buzz, revealing smooth metal walls. Shelves protruded out from the walls from floor to ceiling. The ones on the bottom contained stacks of cash, totaling 500,000 pounds according to the memories his mother had given him when he left Gringotts.
The middle shelves contained a few leather bound ledgers.
He stepped into the room, glancing at the name on the ledgers. Albus Dumbledore was written on the spines in his mother's elegant script. Apparently his mother didn't fully trust the man.
His gaze drifted up to the top shelf, spying a single piece of paper sitting in the middle. Curling his pointer finger, the page shot into his hand.
Dear Harry,
If you're reading this then that means your father and I have passed away. You will find rooms like this in every property.
This room contains everything I've been able to find out about Dumbledore and his organization. The Evans family has always been about gathering secrets of their enemies, and with the way Dumbledore is acting he may very well be an enemy.
Use what you find in these ledgers to live a happy life my son, and know that no matter what happens your father and I will always love you.
Love, your mother Lily Evans Potter.
Swiping a hand over his eyes, Harry flicked his hand, conjuring a leather duffel bag. With another flick of his hand, the cash and ledgers flew inside.
Folding the parchment over, he stuck the parchment into the pocket of his blazer.
Spinning on his heel, Harry made his way out of the vault, the wall growing over its entrance the moment he stepped over its threshold.
Making his way towards the door, he tensed as a creek filtered up from downstairs and whispering voices caught his ear. Tucking the wand into his pocket, he wrapped the cloak around him. Throwing up the hood, he vanished.
Making his way towards the stairs, Harry wrapped himself in power, masking his scent and the sound of his movement.
Air gathered beneath his feet to cushion his footsteps as he descended the stairs.
Two figures hidden in shadow stood in the center of the room close together, their heads inches apart as they whispered to one another.
With a flick of his hand, both figures flew through the air, sticking to the wall like a bug in amber.
Flaring his power, the chandelier hanging in the center of the living room flared to life, revealing the figures, shadows swinging over the bodies as the chandelier swayed back and forth.
"Sirius? Tonks?"
Sirius Black snapped his head from side to side, his long brown hair falling over his gray eyes impeding his search for the voice. His broad thin chest rose with difficulty, the pressure on his torso making it hard to breathe, "Who's there?" He rasped. His large thin hands curling into fist as he strained against the force holding him.
Spit burst past his lips with the strain, falling down into the beard that decorated his chin.
Suddenly the force increased the plaster at his back cracking under the weight. Sirius groaned as the last of the air was pushed out of his body. He squeezed his eyes shut as something hammered against his mental shields, causing a trickle of blood to run down into his mustache.
"I could break your shields, it would fray your mind, but if you are Sirius Black, I don't want to do that, so I'll settle for making sure you tell me the truth. Now, are you Sirius Black?"
"Yes," Sirius croaked out.
The pressure on his body vanished and he slid to the floor coughing. The presence in his mind stayed a bit longer, before it to withdrew, and his companion was gently lowered to the floor.
The young woman looked around her, her dark eyes searching for the assailant. Her light brown hair was pulled into a short ponytail. Dark clothes accentuated the curves of her body. Her lips twitched, revealing an abnormally long canine and the truth of her Black family heritage.
The Black family had always been obsessed with two things, blood purity and black magic, but they realized inbreeding would only weaken their family magic, so they came up with a way to fix that.
They captured a dark elf from Niflheim, and a two hundred-year-old vampire. Using a ritual, the family was able to imprint characteristics from the desired species into their own blood, enhanced speed, enhanced strength, shape changing, an advanced healing factor, and powerful magic.
With that one ritual, the black family had become the second most powerful family in Europe, only succeeded by the Potters who added desired traits to their bloodline, the old-fashioned way.
Nymphadora Tonks glanced around her, her dark eyes flicked to red as she searched for her targets heat signature. Her hand expanded to twice its normal size, silver clause gleaming in the light of the chandelier overhead.
"I don't know who you are, but you made a big mistake breaking into this house and attacking my cousin."
Sirius pushed himself to his feet wincing as his ribs popped back into place, "You know Harry, there are easier ways to make sure someone is who they say they are, and they are a lot less painful."
Harry flipped back his hood, a small smirk playing on his lips, "That's true, but I find the majority of people will be more honest after a little pain is applied."
Tonks slid one foot forward, a scowl twisting her face, "How do we know you're really Harry Potter?"
Harry inclined his head, "Someone learned a lot from old Alastor Moody." With a blink, fire danced around his pupils.
Tonks relaxed crossing her arms over her chest, "Any reason why you're so jumpy?" She asked crossing one booted foot over the other.
"Oh I don't know. Fifteen years ago, a man my father trusted stabbed him in the heart in this very room. Three days ago my mother and I returned to England from being off world after fifteen years, and we were attacked outside of Gringotts Bank, I think I have reason to be jumpy."
Sirius stepped forward, one hand raised. "Harry, what happened to your mother was an unfortunate accident. it doesn't mean you're a target." he placed a hand on Harry shoulder staring into his fiery eyes, "No one is after you."
"I'm not too sure about that, fifteen years ago Dumbledore and Grindelwald attacked this place to get to me. They never found Dumbledore or Grindelwald's bodies here, and then on the day mother and I return Diagon Alley is attacked by the life force draining monsters. That's an awful big coincidence," he shook his head, "even if they're not after me those creatures killed my mother, I'm going to find whoever created them, and end them."
Sirius shook his head, "Harry, your mother wouldn't want you to go down this path."
"The dead don't want anything."
Sirius flinched.
Tonks pushed off the wall, sauntering her way in front of Harry, "How exactly are you going to find the person responsible?"
"I gave Amelia Bones the body of one of the creatures. I'm going to go to the Department of mysteries, and examine the creature for clues."
Tonks raised an eyebrow, "And just how are you going to get into the Department of mysteries."
Harry cocked his head to the side, causing his neck to crack loudly in the quiet room, "Well I have to admit before you guys showed up, my plan was going to be a little violent since I don't have the proper equipment yet for a stealthy operation, but now that you're here, I think we can do something a little more elegant."
Tonks's body expanded, her height shot up and she was looking Harry in the eye. Muscles rippling across her lithe frame, she leaned forward, her eyes becoming a blood red, "What makes you think we're going to help you?"
Harry eyed Sirius, "Well, if I'm right Sirius will want in, the vampire instincts runs strong in him," his gaze flicked down to Sirius's hand, his fingernails had morphed into white claws, "nearly a thousand years in the magic still running strong."
He looked at Tonks, "As for you. You want to prove yourself and get out from under your family's dark history, what better way than to catch the person responsible for the greatest amount of death since the disappearance of Grindelwald."
Sirius shook his head, "Your powers of gotten stronger, I didn't even feel you in my mind."
"Actually you did, I picked all this up while I was hammering on your shields before you confirmed your identity." He looked at Tonks, "she's different though, her mind is forever changing," he cocked his head to the side, "it makes it very difficult to read."
Tonks's eyebrows shot up, "If my mind is difficult to read. How did you know those things about me?"
Harry twitched one shoulder, "Mostly it was an educated guess. After all there have not been many officers of the magical law enforcement office in the Black family."
Tonks scowled. Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared over Harry's shoulder refusing to meet his eyes.
Sirius chuckled, the sound deep and rich, causing the younger pair to relax, "you have definitely improved Harry."
Gray eyes locked with emerald, "If we were going to help you, how exactly would you get into the ministry?"
Unfastening his cloak, Harry allowed it to fall from his body to pool at his feet. Concentrating, his close shimmered in his flesh began to bubble and shift. His body expanded, his height shrunk as his hair receded into his head. His skin tone darkened a shade in his green eyes became a dark brown.
Adjusting the brown fur robes clinging to his frame, he flashed Tonks a smile filled with stained teeth.
Sirius nodded, "That could work", he glanced at Tonks, "What do you think?"
Tonks circled Harry, eyeing him from every angle, "How did you know what Mundungus Fletcher looked like?"
"He tried to swindle mom once when I was younger." a smirk crawled across his features, "It didn't end well for him."
Tonks stopped before him, dark eyes staring into his, "You just want information on the creature, nothing else?"
Staring into her eyes, Harry tilted his chin down words in a nod, "That's correct. Whatever else the Department of mysteries is up to doesn't interest me. I would even be willing to swear," he looked up at the ceiling, "what is it you call it an unbreakable vow to that effect."
Tonks's eyes widened and she slowly shook her head, "That won't be necessary."
Harry stretched forth his wrist, "Alright then, let's get to work."