Way of the Warrior
Raised by the greatest swordsman in Magical Japan, it is a very different Harry Potter that arrives at Hogwarts. In fact, he is no longer called Harry Potter. How will Magical Britain take Jubei Yagyu, the Heir of the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū school of swordsmanship?
This is the chapter where we find out exactly how Harry ended up as Jubei. Should be fun and rather unpleasant. Enjoy!
Chapter 7
Albus Dumbledore was worried. Everything seemed to be going horribly wrong for his plans. It all started when Mcgonagall had failed to bring him Harry Potters letter. He had thought that either she'd simply forgotten her request or sent it by accident, but he was quickly proven wrong on that assumption when he'd checked the instruments that monitored Harry's health, only to find that half of them weren't working. Fortunately, they were the ones that indicated that he was alive and well, but the ones monitoring the state of the Wards around Number 4, the Tracking Charm, Blocks on his Magic to keep Accidental Magic to a minimum and even the monitoring charm he'd managed to attach to the chunk of Tom's Soul in Harry's Soul were all dead. In the past, he'd only glanced at the devices every so often to make sure Harry was still alive and unhurt so he hadn't noticed the fact that all of the devices had been dead for close to a decade.
Upon seeing the dead devices, the aged Wizard dove for the Floo with the agility of a man many times his junior, emerging in the Hogs Head and apparated to Prvit Drive, ignoring the heated glare Aberforth gave him as he passed through. He appeared in front of Number 4 and sprinted up the path, hammering on the door with a fury. However, when the door opened, he felt his stomach drop. Instead of the pinched horse like visage of Petunia Dursley, he instead found himself looking at a pretty young woman with chestnut hair and blue eyes. She looked him up and down, raising one elegant eyebrow at his state of dress and heavy breathing.
"Can I help you sir?" she asked.
"Ah, perhaps," said Dumbledore, composing himself as best he could, "I'm looking for a previous resident of the house, a Petunia Dursley? I don't suppose you know where I can find her?"
The womans lips thinned.
"I'm afraid not," she said, "We bought this house from them ten years ago, but they never told us where they were going and I didn't ask."
"I see, thank you," said Dumbledore.
He turned on his heel and left, apparating away as soon as he was out of view to try and find the Dursleys and figure out where Harry had gone. The woman closed the door and huffed.
"His dress sense has gotten even more ridiculous than I remember," she grumbled, making her way through the massively expanded house back to what she was doing before Dumbledore called. She entered a room that was set up as a laboratory that looked like a cross between a science classroom and an occult ritual chamber. Stood over a workbench at the other end of the room was a tall, broad shouldered man with long, golden blond hair tied in a loose ponytail. As the woman entered, the man turned, revealing a squared jawed face with a full beard and oval glasses over his golden eyes.
"Who was it dear?" asked her husband as she re entered the lab and slipped her goggles back on.
"Albus," said the woman, "And his dress sense has got worse. Pay up Nick."
Nick huffed and handed his wife a sheaf of notes.
"Thank you."
"Shut up Penny and come help me with this."
The couple worked in silence for a moment before a loud explosion echoed through the house. Nick and Penny glanced at each other, before sprinting out of their lab and down the hall, slamming open a door to release a cloud of black smoke and two coughing boys, both with golden blond hair. The older of the two was eleven, although he was short for his age, with blue eyes and longish hair, as if he was growing it out. He was wearing a dark green shirt and a pair of brown shorts. His face was smudged with soot from the explosion.
The other boy was a year younger and had golden eyes like Nick and softer features than the other boy. His hair was cut short and was kept neat with a parting on the left side. He was wearing a white shirt and grey trousers.
"I told you that the formula was off," choked the younger of the two.
"Aw shut up Al," grumbled the older as he brushed off his shirt.
"Alphonse Nicholas, Edward Dudley Flamal, what do you think you're doing?" demanded Penny, making both brothers freeze.
"O-o-o-oh, hey Mum," stuttered Edward, "Y-you see...Al…"
He turned to his brother for help, only to see that Alphonse had already legged it.
"It was his idea!" he shouted as he ran.
"TRATOR!" shouted Edward as Penny grabbed him and picked him up by the collar as he tried to follow his brother.
"CLEAN THIS MESS UP!" she roared, shoving her eldest into the room with a mop.
She gave a huff and turned to her husband, who was chuckling at his familys antics.
"Honestly, what am I going to do with them?" she sighed.
"Ah, you love it," said Nick, wrapping an arm around his wifes waist.
Penny smiled and snuggled up to her Husband.
"Your right. Taking those two in was the best decision we've made in over a century."
She looked at the door that lead to the room her eldest was moodily cleaning.
"I don't want to have to tell him Nick," she said, "What will he say when he finds out what happened to his real parents?"
Nick scowled at the reminder.
"I think he'll understand," he said, "Those monsters were barely human. How can anyone do that to a baby?"
Penny shivered as she thought back to that day.
It had been almost 10 years since then, but she could still remember it as clearly as if it was yesterday, such was the curse of immortality. It was a month after Voldemort had attacked the Potters and the Flamals had just heard the news, having been on an expedition to Darkest Peru in search of a special and very rare plant they needed for an experiment and had been out of reach. It had been quite a surprise then to return to Europe to the news that Voldemort had been defeated and that the Potters were dead. Not many people knew, but the Potter family and the Flamals were old friends, so the two Alchemists had taken it upon themselves to find little Harry.
While all the others who tried had failed due to Dumbledores meddling, Nicholas had taught the old man everything he knew, so it was easy to locate the boy in Surrey. That had worried the Flamals as they knew that Lily's sister lived there and that the two Evens sisters hadn't exactly been on good terms. Had Harry been in good hands, the Flamals would have left him be, but they had to check. And it was a damn good thing they did.
They had arrived on Privet Drive and, after pausing to take in the almost sickening normalcy of the area, made there way to Number 4, where Nick's spell had told them Harry was. What they found there would likely haunt them for the rest of their days.
Upon arriving at the house, the two ancient Alchemists had cast a spell that would allow them to see what was going on inside, only to be utterly stupefied by what they saw. A massive man that looked like a failed Chimera experiment involving a Walrus, a beet and a Human was shaking a crying baby, roaring with fury while an equally ugly woman who looked vaguely like a horse stood nearby, feeding another baby that looked like a beachball in a woolen hat.
After a moment to absorb what they were seeing, both Flamals had reacted as one with the ease of centuries of practice. They moved to the door, Nick vanishing it and Penny replacing it in an instant, before they cast Binding Spells at both adults, adding a silencing charm for good measure when the woman started shrieking. With the threats neutralized, Penny had started scanning the baby Harry, finding multiple broken bones, bruises and malnutrition, along with a number of welts that seemed to have come from a switch, none of which had been treated and more than a few were infected. On top of that, it didn't look like he'd been cleaned in weeks.
While Penny was sorting out Harry, Nick had taken a look around the house. It all seemed normal enough, a little to normal to be honest, until he had reached the cupboard under the stairs. Inside, he found a soiled blanket, covered in blood and waist and a bloodstained length of dowel. Upon his discovery, Nick stormed back into the sitting room and dove into Vernon Dursleys mind to find out what in the world happened. What he found was the mind of a man twisted by bigotry, hatred, fear and a religious fervor so great that the only thing that stopped him from burning Harry as a Witch like some middle aged nut was the fear that the Magicals would find out and come down on him like a ton of bricks. Petunia's mind was no better and it took all of Nicks self control not to lash out and turn the two into bloody smears on the wall as such a death would be much too quick.
Instead, the ancient Alchemist proved his genius and that he was capable of sadism beyond even Voldemort as he permanently transfigured the two adult Dursleys into rats that would become the Flamals lab rats for the next ten years and still served as subjects for experimentation today. Criminals now punished, the Flamals had turned to decide what to do with little Harry. They knew they couldn't take him in, no matter how much Penny loved kids. He was famous in the Wizarding World and, if it got out that he was raised by the Flamals of all people, he'd be in even more danger than he already was as the last Potter. Alice and Frank had already been attacked by this point and Sirius was in prison for killing Pettigrew. Despite their vast knowledge and incredible power, not even the Flamals could cure Cruciatus induced brain damage. Not yet at least. As for Black, although the Flamals had serious doubts that he'd ever betray the Potters, they had no proof and they knew how much people could change with time. After much discussion, the two Alchemists decided that it wasn't worth the risk. Finally, they decided on who to take Harry to.
One of Lilys old friends, a powerful and skilled Samurai who they knew could teach Harry how to be strong, strong enough that none who wanted to do him harm ever could and ensure that he would be able to live the life he deserved. They did however take in the Dursleys son, believing it was the least they could do since it was there fault his parents were now rodents. Plus, it had been a while since they had taken in a child.
"I wonder how Harrys doing?" mused Nick, breaking Penny from her trip down memory lane.
"I'm sure hes fine," said Penny, "And besides, we'll see him again when we take Ed to Kings Cross on the First."
"Guess your right," said Nick, "Now lets get back to work. The mysteries of magic won't discover themselves after all!"
Up the other end of the country, Dumbledore had just arrived back at Hogwarts after almost an entire day of trying and failing to find Harry. He'd done everything he could think of, from visiting the Ministry's extremely poorly sorted archives, which were staffed by some of the most unhelpful people on the planet to Gringotts in his capacity as Harrys Magical Guardian. This trip actually bore fruit, but the only thing he found out was that he was no longer Harrys Magical Guardian and hadn't been in well, ever, and the fact that Harry no longer went by Harry Potter. The Goblins had blocked Dumbledores every attempt to discover who Harrys guardian was and even what his new name was, open laughing at his attempts to get the change overturned.
To Dumbledore, this was truly worse news than finding out Harry was dead. At least if he was dead, Dumbledore could run interference and salvage his plans with the Longbottom boy. However, Harry was alive and well and not under Dumbledores control so the old geezer could guide him to his destiny. Dumbledore hurried back to his office to begin plotting, completely unaware of the fact that there was someone in the castle infinitely more powerful than him who would do whatever it took to protect his student from the old mans grasping fingers.
Said person was currently sat in his office, sipping his tea as his formidable colleague did her level best to glower him into submission. It wasn't going well for her, not when compared to some of the other Saints or Lily Potter.
"You knew," said Mcgonagall accusingly.
"I did," said Filius.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Filius slowly took a sip of tea as he considered how best to answer the question.
"I didn't tell you because if I had you would have made assumptions," he said eventually, "You would have gone out there expecting Jubei to be someone hes not and likely be disappointed. This way you got the opportunity to see who Jubei is without the rose tinted goggles of Lily and James."
Mcgonagall huffed and dropped into one of the chairs across from the diminutive Saint.
"Here."
Mcgonagall looked up and saw that her long time friend was holding out a glass of scotch.
"To the memory of Lily and James," said Filius.
"Aye, I'll drink to that," said Mcgonagall with a smile as she took the drink.
While his colleagues were drinking to lost friends, Dumbledore was still trying to find out what name Harry now went by so he could inform his spys to keep an eye on the right person to make sure he didn't start walking down the wrong path. The method he was using was one he was hoping to avoid, mostly because, while it would tell him Harrys name, it wouldn't show where he was, only that he was alive. The Books of Names was a compendium of all individuals who's names had ever been down for attendance and their current status. It was self updating and nothing could be erased from it, so Dumbledore should be able to use it to find out what Harrys name was now. He heaved the massive tome open to the last page and ran his finger down the list of names, inwardly grieving over how short it was. That was one more reason to ensure Harry completed his destiny, to ensure that the Wizarding World could grow into the glorious utopia Dumbledore envisioned. For the Greater Good!
He shook himself and went back to his task. He seemed to be getting more and more easily distracted. Perhaps he was getting old… The old mans wizened finger stopped as he reached the naame 'Harry Potter', which had a line ruled through it. That was something only rarely seen as it indicated that the individual had changed his or her name. Dumbledore shifted his finger over to where the boys new name was written.
"Jubei Yagyu? What kind of a name is that?" he muttered, frowning slightly, "Oh well, I'm sure we can get this misunderstanding sorted out come September."
He shut the book and headed over to the fireplace to call Molly to inform young Ronald of the new information so he could find Harry on the train. This was just a minor setback on the road to the Greater Good and Dumbledore would not allow it to trip him. He was Albus Dumbledore after all, the Greatest Wizard since Merlin!
And thats the end of that. So, what do we think? Is Dumbledore deluded, demented or just evil? I guess we'll have to find out.
Yes, the Flamals are indeed currently living at Number 4, have turned the Dursleys into literal labrats and adopted Dudley with a new name and outlook on life. They also happen to basically be the Elric's. Dumbledore didn't recognize Penny because I'm going with the idea that they change their appearance every few decades so they can have some peace and quiet.
Still on the Flamals, the reason they didn't get Sirius out is fairly simple. They aren't omniscient and don't know for sure that he's innocent, so they decided to err on the side of caution, just in case.
Flitwick and Mcgonagall share a drink while Dumbledore is still busy plotting. No reason to say that, just felt like it.
Anyway, I'm done so I'll sign out and leave you to leave me a nice, shiny review! Laters!