Author's Note at bottom!
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Everything had gone as Harry planned more or less, he'd been true to his word and stayed long enough to ensure the protective wards around Privet Drive were strong.
Flashback
The doorbell rang and since Harry was passing by on his way back up to his trunk he answered it. "Bill, Charlie! What are you two doing here?" he asked more than a bit surprised and a little suspicious.
"Hey Harry, can we come in and talk to you a bit…"
"I'm not letting you in with your wands until I know it's really you" Harry said defiantly.
"Oh, well…. um I guess saying that Dumbledore and our so called family are a bunch of idiots isn't proof enough?" Charlie joked slightly.
The two brothers shared a glance before handing over their wands. Harry let them inside casting a wandless charm with a discreet movement of his hand that checked for any magic that was out of the ordinary. Satisfied he led them towards the kitchen past a staring Dudley and mute Petunia.
"Well Harry you've changed since I last saw you, how are you doing?" Bill asked.
"Yea well I've had a long summer so far…I'm fine given the recent happenings, why exactly are you here?" Harry said letting the two sit at the kitchen table while he took a seat across from them.
"Well to put it simply, we just found out everything that's been going on…we don't usually get the Prophet and other England news reports as regularly and only just today found out what's been going on…I fire called Charlie as soon as I read the paper…."
"The idiots, I don't know what they're thinking Harry, I know you kid, and there's no way you would ever think of joining You Know Who, or go dark!" Charlie said his face going slightly red. Harry looked at the two oldest Weasley's.
"Well, I don't know what to say, it seems the wizarding world has proved again how fickle minded and judgmental it can be where I'm concerned. I'm not a bit surprised really, they hold me on a pedestal until I do something they don't agree with and then all hell breaks loose. It's not the first time but it's the last time I let it bother me." Harry said. "If you'll excuse me minute."
He went about pouring tea for each of them slipping in three drops of a truth serum into each while his back was turned to them. He sat back at the table passing them each a mug.
A moment later the two brothers felt the effects of the serum and sent a questioning glance at Harry.
"I know you are who you say but in light of recent events I need to take some precautions…you understand." Harry said.
The brothers shared another nod before Harry began.
He turned to Charlie.
"What is your full name?"
"Charles Arthur Weasley."
"Are you here to spy on me?"
"No"
"Why are you here?"
"I found out the wizarding world is turning it's back on you and wanted to come and tell you that I won't abandon you, that I believe you are good. I want to help you."
"Does anyone from the Order know you are here?"
"No, Bill and I left immediately after confronting them and came here, they shouldn't suspect anything."
"Can I trust you not to reveal information to Dumbledore or any of the order, not to betray me?"
"Yes you can trust me."
Nodding his head Harry cast a privacy bubble around Charlie and released the one on Bill and asked him the same questions. Waiting for the serum to wear off he began to think of what his next plan of action should be. Once he knew the serum had worn off he spoke to the two brothers who had been watching him curiously.
"Well since I know I can trust you I have an offer for each of you, I need someone to keep an eye out for me on what's going on in the Order and things like that. I'll be leaving again until the beginning of term. Would you help me?"
"Harry are you sure it's safe to leave like this?" Bill asked him.
"I'm sure, I spent 3 weeks away from here and no one ever found me, trust me I'll be fine. Once I'm there safely I'll contact you both with my phoenix Bronwyn." Harry said.
"Wait, you have a phoenix?" Charlie asked.
"Yea I do, it's Hedgwig actually, she reached the age where snow phoenixes can develop their magical powers." Harry said as he explained what had happened to his beloved companion.
"You promise us you'll be careful Harry, if anything at all happens you let us know!" Bill insisted, as they got ready to leave.
"I'll send word as soon as I can really. Let Bronwyn teleport you out of here to be safe," Harry said as she appeared on his shoulder, thank you for coming here it means a lot to know that I have at least 2 people on my side." Harry smiled sadly and hugged each of them before Bronwyn took flight singing lightly before the she disappeared with the brothers gripped in her talons. Harry chuckled and headed upstairs to pack.
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That night he listened to the Dursley's downstairs watching TV before bed. He walked to his aunt's art room and shadow walked into the room. Shadow walking was one of the rarer talents he'd finally learned to control over the last two weeks, it allowed him to move through the shadows over a short distance, sort of like apparition. Mainly he could use it to move about an area undetected because his body literally became absorbed, and transformed into a kind of shadow that no one who didn't have knowledge of the Battle Master skills in shadow magic could see.
He made sure he had all of his clothes in the trunk and double-checked the loose floorboard for anything he forgot. Glancing at his new watch he saw he had at least 5 minutes before he would be expected and decided to take just one more thing with him. He shrunk his trunk and put it in his pocket, slipping his messenger backpack, which held his laptop and cell phone, onto his back and walked to the art room. Inside he cast a spell at the paintings on the wall, which duplicated them. He took down the originals and shrank them, placing them carefully into his trunk's library. After he had put up the copies he made his way downstairs with Dysis wrapped around his arm and Tempest moving stealthily at his feet now in his true form with sharp as glass claws and and a fierce yet playful stare, his coat shining showing off his tiger stripes, a true fighter though he was still young. Harry, had seen no need to keep masking his real appearance under the house cat disguise since they were leaving.
The Dursley's were all crowded into the living room, watching a muggle television late show.
"I'm leaving." He spoke up startling them.
"What? That freak said you were to stay here boy! I will not have your kind coming here looking for you again, you brat!" Vernon began his usual rant.
"I am leaving Vernon, the Order does not control me, as much as they would like to." Harry said coolly. Petunia turned wide eyes to Harry. Dudley whimpered.
"Boy! This is exactly the lack of respect I am talking about…after all we have done!"
"Vernon! Harry growled, I offered to help you, because of my mother and father, but if you are going to continue to be the inexcusable bastard you are then you just suffer for your stupidity for once, and I wont even try to keep you safe. I hope you sleep well knowing what you've condemned your precious family to." Harry said vehemently.
"But h-Harry…" Petunia stuttered.
Harry paused and looked at Petunia.
"You and Dudley are protected by blood, he isn't. There are protective charms cast on your home, they should keep you safe enough."
"Harry, I-I understand that you are angry…and I know that you have a right to be but I'm asking you not to abandon us now…" Petunia spoke up quietly. Her voice was tinged with deep fear and a slight regret.
"So now you decide to show some sort of compassion, Aunt Petunia? When your neck is on the line you finally bring yourself to show some semblance of humanity towards me!" Harry spat, "What do you think your sister would say to the way you have treated her only son all these years, we were supposed to be family, you were supposed to take care of me! It shouldn't have mattered that someone left me on your doorstep to find, you should have opened your home to me for that reason alone. All these years you've openly shown me your hatred and disgust… I was an innocent child!" He said in voice that would freeze anyone in their tracks. Dysis hissed at him.
Master you must calm yourself Harry took a calming breath once again hiding his emotions behind a blank mask.
Petunia flinched visibly eyes glassy as Dudley huddled as close to her as he could with his massive weight.
"Now you look…" Vernon began, face pale and for once in his life seemingly scared of his nephew tried to gain some kind of control.
"Harry we…" Petunia tried again.
"Save it. Your family has mistreated me for my entire life; I have no idea why you would expect that I would bend over backwards to protect you when you can so easily throw my attempts in my face. You stood by for years and let your husband belittle me, try and break me mentally and physically; you saw the bruises and heard my pleas but did nothing. I don't know what compelled me to even try and do something like this even now instead of being as normal as you try to pride yourself to be Vernon, he spat, you still don't get the fact you can't bully someone into everything. My advice to you…if you encounter a Death Eater, you'd best hide where they cant find you…if you run, they'll easily kill you."
With that speech out of his system Harry disappeared from Privet Drive with silent wall of shadow that seemed to suck in the sounds around them.
In Scotland alarms went off alerting the old man behind the desk. Minutes later Albus Dumbledore and members of the Order of the Phoenix once again congregated at Privet Drive because of a missing Harry Potter.
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Harry reappeared in a small room painted a deep earthy red with a large red brick fireplace.
Two pops sounded and Dobby and Winky appeared.
"Master Harry Potter sir! You is home, Dobby and Winky happy to have Master Harry Potter home…we is working hard to make home nice for Harry Potter sir!" Dobby's voice squealed.
Harry smiled a genuine smile at his small friend.
"Dobby, Winky, it's good to finally be home!" he greeted watching as Tempest started to wander around the little room.
"Master Harry, I'll take you to you room sir." Winky said softly.
"Thank you Winky, I think I'll leave my trunk there and then explore the house a bit…have all the preparations been made? Is Sage ok?"
"Yes Master Harry, Ms. Evangeline had all of the electronics people come and install all of the things you asked. She said to call her when you got here sir, Sage is fine sir, if you look out the window you can see her running on the grounds." Winky explained excitedly, Dobby seemed to be rubbing off on her. The small group walked into the hallway that was decorated in an airy cream with semi lavish design in a deep gold, and towards the entrance hall to the stairs. The house was big and a lot more than he really needed since he was living alone technically but he knew that he would make use of the space. The grand staircase was made of a marble with intricate detail of the railings. The entire house was lavishly decorated but not too much, there was a feel of elegance but it was as simply decorated as a house, mansion, this size could be with a lot of modern muggle touches. Harry glanced out of the window at the second floor landing and saw Sage running the grounds with Tempest who had somehow found his way outside with her.
Harry put his belongings into the master bedroom which had a king sized sleigh bed fitted with dark silk coverings in black and light gold, a massive dressing room which was the size of his previous bedroom on Privet Drive with full length mirrors there was a collection of clothing he had asked Evangeline to have sent over. Muggle suits, dress pants, dress shoes to match, as well as nice dress shirts, jeans in black and blue hung along racks separated by color, t-shirts mostly in blues, greens, reds, white, gray, and black were folded on built in shelves, one wall had built in spaces in a shelf to house his sneakers, and an armoire held his socks, ties, and other necessities. He grew up wearing muggle clothes, and as awfully as they fit him, he was most comfortable in them. On the far side of the room were more racks and shelves which held his wizards robes which he'd ordered from Madam Malkin's in the best material she had, nothing overly done but all noticibly expensive. There was one section of dragonhide pants and trenchrobes in black, brown and a deep rust color. The robes actually looked like muggle leather so he could wear them in both worlds. Asking Winky to prepare him a snack he went back into his bedroom.
The room was decorated with a mural of the forrest covering the walls which made it seem as if his bedroom was in the center of a forrest of redwood trees and lush greens. The floor was made of mahogany wood and comfortable throw rugs with Celtic designs here and there. There was a large brown leather couch facing a fireplace and above that what he knew was the flat screen television he asked for. He walked through various places of the house and letting Dysis down to explore after she started to get bored. There were a total of 8 guestrooms, a library, potions laboratory, a set up for a medical needs just in case, 2 offices one in the east wing and one in the west, training rooms with wizard and muggle equipment, a large kitchen decorated in black marble counters and an odd blackish grey wood, a formal dining room decorated in cream, gold, and black, with long table with a clear top with gold Celtic design along the edges and the center, an indoor pool and game rooms. He had left special instructions with Evangeline to have certain muggle things available so Harry had a room full of muggle electronics, another flat screen television and full entertainment system with speakers throughout the house. He also had two rooms that he had not decided what to do with and had left completely bare, the walls were left unpainted and the floor was the same mahogany wood that flowed through the entire house.
One thing he loved and insisted on were big windows, charmed to be unbreakable and to tint during heavy sunlight, there were large picture windows everywhere, he figured his need for the light came from his years spent locked in the cupboard. The house had a decidedly muggle feel with it's furnishings which is what Harry liked about it most, it was comfortable. Security wise he had taken a leaf out of the muggle world and had the entire house and grounds set up with security cameras to run on magic and charms that he would activate with his own magic so that no one else could release them. The cameras were charmed to be invisible to anyone except the house elves, his animals, and himself.
Outside the house was set apart from any other property for miles, which is exactly what he wanted and was thankful because that meant less risk of anyone wandering about. He had a large sprawl of land, which included stables for Sage and any other horses he got, places for his animal friends to sleep outside comfortably if they chose to. There was a small forest included in his property which he planned to explore later, and a lake that gave Sage a place to water and have fun wild. She was his horse but was special because though she obeyed Harry's commands she was generally untamed, something that he had learned from the Battle Masters in his training of horses was that the more wild the better for a battle horse. The house was enclosed by hills, which made the view look peaceful with wildflowers here and there. There was a large garden towards the back of the house where some of the potions ingredients he would use often grew. Others he knew he could find in his forest, as it was magical.
Harry walked to a wall on the opposite wall from the window and pressed his palm to it saying his name and a door appeared. He walked inside and saw an office with an elegant wood desk and what seemed to be a massive panoramic painting of the forest surrounding the grounds. With a snap of his fingers the painting melted into the wall revealing all the security camera monitors and all the controls for the outside and inside of the house. Waving his hand in a circular motion the system turned itself on. The room was set up to adjust once he activated the system allowing him to use magic to zoom in on monitors with a sort of projected image instead of the actual monitors, computers and other necessities along a built in desk with a plush black leather chair and a couch for him to sit in. He walked over to a panel near the desk and tapped his finger to it three times and the computer screens came to life.
"Dobby…Winky"
Pop Pop. "Yes, Master Harry you is calling for Dobby and Winky?"
"Dobby I need to key you and Winky into the security system now, I already made sure the masking charms and the wards outside are working. Both of you are the only house elves here and so when I am not here you two are responsible for the house and grounds, you need to keep an eye on everything, the muggle security systems I can monitor through my portable lap top I will have at school but I still want one of you in here at least twice a day to make sure all the monitors are turned on and none of the warning lights are flashing…it's not difficult at all. If you see a problem, I should already know about it as I've keyed a pendant to alert me of anything going on unusual. But if I can't respond in three minutes then you are to follow the lockout procedures which will seal off the house to anyone's magic and seal whatever room the intruders may be in…" he sat back in his chair thinking of what else to tell them… "Sage and the animal's stables have a defense built into them so you shouldn't have to worry about them, but if it's breeched they will be ported to the east wing of the house. I'm sure Evangeline told you about this. I know this must be confusing for you with muggle security but you should be able to use your magic to be use it all I've charmed everything to work the muggle way and by magic all you need to do is think the proper command and it will work with your magic. It'll only be until I can hire a proper security team." He assured the slightly shocked elves. They weren't use to working with muggle equipment but didn't even think to complain because they trusted Harry.
Harry had each of the elves keyed to the wards and security system magically and gave them each a pendant to wear that could only be seen by him and each other, that allowed them to access all the grounds now that the system was completely up and running. After making sure all his security measures were set Harry said the final incantations for the Fidelus charms and masking charms that would allow him and those with permission to perform magic undetected by the ministry.
He spent the rest of the day settling in and getting use to his new surroundings and even ventured outside to spend much needed time with Sage and exploring the forest which he found as he'd asked was warded to keep out the dangerous dark creatures that would harm any of his animal friends. He spent time gathering herbs and ingredients from the forest to stock his potions lab, which he had inventoried before his ride. That night he sat down to a dinner in his muggle entertainment room and indulged himself in DVDs and his computer and a nice pasta dinner.
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Over the last week to himself Harry learned more about his magic and the wizarding world. He made good friends in Evangeline and Charity and spent a good amount of time with Charity. She was a fun person and taught him a lot of the customs of the wizarding world. Evangeline helped Harry learn the old ways, teaching him the folklore and traditions of the Celtic magical world that he found out was a root in the Potter family. He had never realized how little he really knew about the magical world, he knew that his lack of knowledge had made it that much easier to lead him by the nose, Dumbledore's manipulations were easy to accomplish when Harry knew so little. Harry made a few muggle friends on his trips to London, and actually arranged with Evangeline to hire an assistant to look after his day to day affairs in the muggle world as well as magical while he was in school, a younger man of about 28 who had attended muggle and magical schools. He taught Harry about the different companies he was invested in and schooled him in the financial matters. Harry even took a day off from his training sessions to apparate to his properties in the area which proved a nice change of pace. All of his properties had house-elves working there and security in place, he ordered additional security run strictly on magic similar to what was in his home for the other property. He took time to explore the forest, Bronwyn spending a lot of time with the magical birds there while Harry, Tempest, and Dysis often tracked through the forest. Harry often took Sage on long runs through the hills and forest, it was relaxing in a way riding a broom was.
Harry was thankful for the progress he had made in the Realm and worked hard to keep up his studies, reading countless books on magical theory, and in that last week studying the merits of weapons crafting. He had his throwing darts, and daggers he had forged in the Realm but he knew he would need to make a sword of his own hand if he wanted it to be bonded to him though his practice sword was good for the time being, he wanted it done as soon as possible. He studied ancient crafting and decided on a mix of old magics and forging. The sword he created looked like a Japanese katana, it's blade flashing with the magic he'd willed into it, shadow magic making it seem to melt into darkness, elemental force that made it look like liquid fire, and a blade that cut with an icy feeling that flared to volcanic heat. The hilt of the blade had an inscription in old Celtic language for power and justice, a clear crystal embedded in the end that he could funnel through some magic while fighting.
By the time September 1st came about Harry had learned all the things he'd hoped to accomplish before returning to Hogwarts though he knew he still had things to learn. He was a different person and had no regrets about that fact. He'd spent much of his time during the summer focusing on his magic, a priority being his occlumency skills. It was a painful process that he found came much easier than any lesson with Snape had. Still, reliving memory after memory of the life he led had changed him. He wasn't the boy they all thought him to be, he'd seen his life in far more detail and had analyzed and picked apart all the significant events. He knew how to talk, walk, and dress the part he would play. He could manipulate with the best of them and it was time he stepped into the spotlight. He wasn't the shy boy anymore, he was a young man who had hardened himself to the slights, and backstabbing the wizarding world had pushed at him. He let his slytherin side come out and reveled in the thought that the qualities he was showing came from his mother. He'd learned a lot about Lily Potter. No one ever spoke of her to him, and he was sort of glad they hadn't. She was a powerful witch well versed in the 'old' ways as Evangeline said. The two had been friends in school and had learned a lot about each other. Harry knew his mother was a loving woman, but she was no fool. She was as relentless and cunning as they came, part of the reason she caught the eye of James, Evangeline had once joked to him.
His parents were strong, smart, people. No matter what he knew they would be proud of the person he was, he was standing up for himself and he knew that is what they would want. He hoped that wherever they were, they along with Sirius could see how much better his mindset was. He had never been proud of himself before, his Aunt and Uncle, had made sure of that, the wizarding world had intimidated him into silence, the media attention too daunting for someone who was thrust into it so suddenly. That all changed now. He shrank his trunk pocketing it. Touching the charm on Sage's head he watched as she disappeared to the Hogwarts stables and then touched the portkey he'd made and appeared in an alley at Kings Cross Station with Dysis wrapped on his upper arm, Tempest disguised as a car perched on his shoulder, and Bronwyn invisibly following along in the air.
Author's Note:
Ok everyone I got a ton of great reviews from the last chapter! Thanks to all of you that reviewed!!
Keep in mind that this is an AU story so not everything will be like it is in the books, I'm taking some liberties with characters because well, it's interesting.
I know some characters aren't likely to react to the whole Dark Harry thing the way I wrote it but with them being led by Dumbledore who Harry is rebelling against, opens them to his anger, and because of them jumping on the bandwagon with the papers it makes it more likely. This chapter has a lot of details so I hope you like it.
Hogwarts is the next chapter coming up so review review, review, ideas welcome!
I'm preparing for yet another hurricane….can we say absolutely annoying!? Also I had this new thought for a story, I don't know if I'll start posting it just yet, probably after I get some of the action stuff done in this story…so keep an eye out for that one.
Jpthug12, Flopsy,lmill123, chaser1lixt66 , nogoalielikeme, lucasfsf noylj FantasyChick, gaul1,and padfootstwin2, Starmage, Webster,angelXofXdeath, Slimpun, glad you like the story and I hope this chapter is as good as the last! I appreciate the positive feedback. Thank you for the reviews!
