A Different Start: American Harry Prequel

Disclaimer: Oh, if only Harry Potter were really mine, the fun I would have… oh yes, the fun I would have…

Warning & Story Info: Found in previous chapters.

Reviews: I like strawberry shortcake. But not the cake kind. I like real strawberry shortcake with biscuits. Top it with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream and it is delicious. Though the most amazing and unusual strawberry shortcake I've ever had was served with a cinnamon scone with homemade cinnamon whipped cream. It made me happy.

Review Responses: For chapter 12 and 13 are on the Ygroup.

Things covered in this response: Response to karlii about Harry roughhousing; What's going on with Dumbledore and the Order looking for Harry; Response to lisa about Harry perhaps obscuring his abilities when meeting strangers in the future and a little bit about Harry's abilities; Harry will start school in America when he's twelve (quite a bit to go before we get there); Response to karlii about prequel vs. prologue, the length of this story and why, advice on reviews

AN: BRITPICKER

AN2: For those of you who may have not realized this or noticed I feel the need to say two very, very important things.

First of all – this prequel is in fact a story in its own right and it will be very long. Very, very long. I want all of my wonderful readers to really get a sense of American magic and of Harry's family, friends, relationships and home life. They will be important later when he does go to Britain. Very, very long.

Second of all – this story is SLASH. That may not seem necessary to state at this point, but I've recently had a few people ask me about it privately, people who ought to have known. So: this story equals slash. That is all.

AN3: PLEASE NOTE – It will happen a fair bit in the story that Harry will be going off somewhere new, to meet people or stay over with a friend or get a specialized training or going to a party, etc. and I will write him going and then him chattering on about it afterward. Please don't think that his going somewhere means you'll see him there. You likely won't. This helps keep the story manageable and it cuts down on introducing a ton of new characters that won't stick around beyond the scene.

BETAS: Imaginary strawberry shortcake for Jynx67 and Andrea. Megan, too!

Edit: Chapter replaced 05.10.08 with tweaked pre-story stuff and small formatting change

A Different Start: American Harry Prequel 14

"When they gonna get here?" Harry asked eagerly.

Laney smiled fondly. "Dinner's at two, so everyone else has twenty minutes to get here."

Harry bounced on his toes as he nodded, then he twisted around. He almost ran into Kathy as he went to dash out of the room.

"Whoa there, kid. No rush. Dining room table looks good, by the way."

Harry beamed and then rushed around her anyway. In the living room, he peered out the window for several moments just to watch the snow before twisting around to study the twinkling Christmas tree. There was a pile of presents around it and Harry carefully rechecked all the tags to make sure everyone's presents were all together.

"Everything still there?"

Harry whirled around. "Terry!" He gave the man a crushing hug and pulled back with a grin. "Yup. Everything's there."

"Quite sure?"

"Definitely."

"Glad to hear it. I have some presents to add."

"I'll do it! I have it all organized just right and stuff."

Terry chuckled as he pulled out a bag and expanded it. He pulled out a dozen presents and Harry sighed when he saw them.

"You wrap these yourself?"

"I used a spell."

Harry eyed the crinkled wrapping paper, the uneven folds and the overall lumpiness of shapes that could and should have been nicely rectangular. "You did? A spell?"

"I did. A spell."

"Well… it's certainly the thought that counts."

"And the present beneath?" Terry grinned.

"Not as much as the thought," Harry told him firmly, sorting the presents out. Three of them were for Laney, the rest for him.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Mom's going to hit you with her spoon. She said no presents for her."

"I guess I'll just have to take it like a man," Terry told him.

Harry rolled his eyes again.

"It's just some magical stuff, to make some things easier for her," Terry confided quietly as he scooped Harry up in a hug. "It's more for the house and stuff, not really for her. Think she'll let me off lightly?"

"She might."

"It's rather cold out there, isn't it?" Suntree remarked mildly from the hallway.

Harry squeaked and wriggled to get down from Terry's hug. Once free, he dashed into the hall and gave Suntree a tight hug around the waist.

Suntree chuckled softly and bent enough to kiss his hair. "Hello there and Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas!"

"Hm… Is your volume control broken again?"

Harry eyed him with exasperation.

"I've got some presents for the tree."

"Really? For the tree? You're giving the tree presents? Really?"

"Don't be a smart ass," Suntree told him with a grin.

"Oh yeah, it's all the rage, you know," Terry added from the living room. "I mean, the tree works hard all season, supporting the weight of all those ornaments, risking life and limb with those strangling, burning lights, always-"

"Don't encourage him," Suntree interrupted.

"Yeah, don't encourage me," Harry piped up with a grin.

"And you…" Suntree rolled his eyes at Harry's super innocent look. "Here, put the presents where they belong. Pest."

Harry accepted the bag Suntree summoned and darted over to the tree to begin sorting. He tossed an exasperated look over his shoulder as Laney's pile continued to grow. "Mom said no presents."

"She knows about these."

"So I'm alone in my spooning?" Terry asked with mock-sadness.

"Take it like a man," Harry told him with a snort.

"Monster of a child, you are."

Harry stuck out his tongue and finished putting the presents in their piles.

"Jamie, I've got something for you in the kitchen."

Harry gave Suntree a curious look. "What is it?"

"It's the moon, riding a tricycle, wearing rain boots…" Suntree gave him a look. "It's in the kitchen. You'll know what it is as soon as you go into the kitchen and open it."

Harry bounced to his feet with a giggle and dashed to the kitchen. He slowed as his feet met the tiles and studied the wrapped box sitting on a kitchen chair. Harry gave Suntree a puzzled look as Suntree stopped in the kitchen doorway. "Why isn't it under the tree?"

"I felt you should open it now. And your mom agrees. And agreed to the present."

That piqued Harry's curiosity even more, as did the faint, odd smile Laney gave him when he glanced over.

"Yeah?"

"Just open it, brat," Laney told him with amusement.

Harry snickered and approached the box, studying it curiously. There seemed to be little holes along the sides, and when Harry picked it up something shifted a little strangely inside. Settling the box in the crook of his arm, he pried the lid off with his free hand and glanced inside eagerly. He gasped. "Really? Mom? Really, seriously?"

"Really. And don't forget to thank Sunny."

Harry put the box down with extreme care and then turned and all but threw himself at Suntree. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Of course." He hugged back a moment longer, then gave Harry a little nudge. "Go on."

Harry broke away eagerly to go stare into the box, wide eyed. His present stirred and looked up at him.

"I bought her from a magical pet store," Suntree said. "She's not magical, though. They said her name is Serish, but I'm sure you'll find out what she thinks her name is soon enough."

"They don't really have names," Harry said absently, glancing over at Suntree for a second and then back to the snake. "It's more like descriptions for themselves. "What I call her in another language won't matter."

"Going to say hello to her?"

Harry nodded slowly and leaned in to hiss a soft hello. The snake tensed, then relaxed and hissed out a query that Harry answered enthusiastically. He forgot all about the room until Suntree cleared his throat.

"Jamie?"

"Yes?"

"Jamie, try English. I don't understand 'ssssstheh'."

Harry looked up in surprise, blinking. "…Yes? Wait. Cow's bottom?"

Suntree was silent a second. "What?"

"Um… I think that's what you just said. Give me a cow's bottom…"

Suntree stared at him. "You're making that up."

"Maybe you said you were a cow's bottom," Harry mused.

"Jamie?"

"What?"

"Take your new friend into the living room and get acquainted there, please. Thank you."

"Oh. Yeah, I can do that." He gathered the snake very gently, after asking permission, and carried her carefully out to the living room.

"Whoa." Terry sat up with interest. "You have a snake."

"I do," Harry told him with a wide grin, sitting next to him. "She's called Serish. That's the name she knows from the pet shop." He settled her gently on his lap to pet her. "And she sort of recognizes it, so I'm not going to change it. She's a ball python. Isn't she beautiful?"

Terry nodded. "Very."

"She says she's not a magical snake, but they bred and raised her with magic to be more intelligent, and she's very glad that her companion can speak to her. She says she can't quite understand the sound vibrations we make, by that she means what we're saying, but that she's got a pretty good feel of the vibrations you feel inside, by that she means emotions. She says she feels much more aware of herself now that she's talking to me than she did before. Isn't that interesting? I'm going to ask Mr. John about it."

Terry chuckled. "She seems to have a lot to say."

"She does."

"You two will get along very well."

Harry grinned and then smiled more softly at the snake on his lap.

"Damn it!" Harry rolled away with an angry hiss, grabbing a pillow as he sat up. He threw it as hard as he could at Al. "Damn it!"

Al grunted as the pillow smacked into him.

Harry glared for good measure before carefully pushing up his sleeve. He had a line of scratches down his arm that were just barely bleeding, but that hardly mattered. They hurt three times more than their appearance suggested. "Damn it!"

"In all fairness, you just fucking bit me," Al said with a sort of strangled calm, breathing hard.

Harry picked up another pillow and threw it at Al. "Damn it! I hate this!"

"Jamie-."

"Shut up!" Harry pointed angrily at Suntree. "Just shut up!" He pushed to his feet to pace the length of the matted room angrily, twisting one of the bracelets on his wrist before forcing himself to stop, fists clenched at his side. "I hate this! I hate being knocked around! I hate being played with like that! I know you're an adult, damn it! And I'm just a kid! But I hate feeling that way!"

"Jamie-."

"Shut up, damn it!"

"Jamie," Suntree ventured again after several minutes of tense silence watching Harry pace. Harry glared, but didn't snap, and Suntree continued quietly. "You need to work on containing your anger. You need to keep a level head."

"I know!"

"Then calm down. We'll take a break, you have a drink; we'll try again."

"Damn it!"

"Does it make you feel better to scream?"

"Yes it freaking does!"

"Then go ahead."

Harry took a deep breath and let out a loud, frustrated scream. Cam poked her head into the room, then ducked out again wide-eyed when Harry glared her way.

"Fearless Aurors, cowering at a screaming eight year old," Al muttered, limping over to the side of the room to lean against the wall. Harry glowered at him and kicked a nearby pillow into the wall.

"Perhaps it's time to call it a day," Suntree suggested after watching Harry pace with angry, jerky movements.

"No!" Harry threw himself down on the mats to sit in a half-hunched, cross-legged position, breathing hard. "No."

"Have a water."

"I will when I'm damn well ready!"

"Try the exercises we taught you-"

"I am! Shut up!"

Harry hunched in on himself a little more and tried to calm his breathing and will away his frustrated tears.

"That really freaking hurt," Harry muttered after almost ten minutes, calmed enough to sound grumpy instead of fuming.

"Guess what? Your teeth in my fucking arm really fucking hurt, too. But it happens."

"You bleeding?" Harry asked, looking up.

"Yes."

Harry just grunted.

"Want to call it quits for the day?" Al asked after a little pause. "Or try this exercise again?"

Harry stayed hunched, silent, for several minutes. They let him stay there.

"Again." He got to his feet slowly.

"You sure?"

"Yes, damn it!" Harry gave him a hard glare. "I hate being pushed around! But damn it, if I'm going to be pushed around, it's going to be by one of you!"

"All right." Al pushed away from the wall and came over. "Remember, you'll do better the longer you keep your temper."

"I know."

"Ready?"

"No."

Al waited almost a minute. "Ready?"

"…Yes."

"You okay?"

Harry looked away from the window where snow was softly falling. Cam was giving him a concerned look. "Hey. Yeah."

"You don't sound it."

He shrugged.

"Sweetie… you know you can put a stop to our training at any time."

Harry gave her a weak smile and looked back out of the window. Cam shifted to sit next to him on the padded bench, putting an arm around him.

"You can," she told him quietly. "All you have to do is say 'stop'."

"I know," Harry said a little listlessly.

"Then why don't you?"

"Because… I hate being pushed around like that. I hate feeling so useless and unable to do anything. Especially since I've felt so able to do almost everything up to now. It's just really awful. But you know what's even more awful?"

"What's that, sweetie?"

"Thinking that one day I'll feel like that, and it won't be one of you doing it. That bothers me, a lot. And thinking one day I'm going to really need to know how to keep calm and I won't. I've been… reading a lot about Harry Potter. And my- my parents died for something. You know? My parents died for something, for a reason. And Harry Potter- I lived for some reason. I'm sure of it. Some reason greater than this Voldey. And I don't want- I don't want to let that down, that expectation, that whatever. I don't want to be useless. I don't want to let my temper get the better of me. So I hate this; I hate doing this stuff. But I need to do it."

"That's a lot of responsibility you're putting on your shoulders, dear."

Harry leaned heavily into her. "Think I shouldn't?"

"You're eight."

"Yeah. But one day I'm going to be nine, and then ten, and then eleven… and before you know it, I'm going to be an adult."

Cam kissed the side of his head. "We could take a break."

"No. It'd be too easy to just not start again."

"You're a good kid."

Harry sighed a little. "I want to be."

"You are. Come on, Jame. You're thinking way too much like an adult these days. Let's go to the mall and play arcade games, eat burgers, act our age."

Harry snorted, then half giggled. "Your age is four times mine and then some."

"Hey now, what's this 'then some' nonsense?"

"You are," Harry pointed out with amusement.

"Fine. But I'm a kid at heart."

Harry laughed. "No arguments here."

"Come on, let's go to the mall. We can even get manicures."

"Why would I want to do that?" Harry asked with a laugh. "I don't want nails like yours."

"You don't have to get them painted. But they massage your hands and make them feel nice and they'd trim those wild fingernails down. It's called pampering, dear. It feels wonderful."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Manicures, burgers and arcade games? What kind of day is that?"

"A fabulous day, young man. And one day, you'll agree with me. You just wait."

"Whatever."

"My, you look a little… cross," Terry ventured.

"Someone," Harry sent a glare at Al's back, "made me go through the Floo network thirteen times until I could come out on my feet."

Terry gave Al a startled look. Al shrugged unrepentantly. "Don't let him develop bad habits; that's my motto."

"My first time using the Floo network and I'm already sick of it. Thanks a lot, Alaris."

"Oz, kid, don't use my name like that. It's bad for the mojo fires."

"I send thunderstorms to your mojo fires."

"I put up eternal umbrellas to cover my mojo fires."

"I send winds underneath the umbrellas to blow them away and now you have wind and rain battering your mojo fires."

"As fascinating as this all is…" Terry said, looking back and forth between them. "We have a mile walk to get out of the town."

"Geez, kid, learn to Apparate already."

Harry sent another glare at Al. "Geez, adult, someone needs to teach me."

"There will be no Apparition today, tomorrow or any time soon," Terry cut in. "Come on. Boy, am I glad I got a private fireplace and didn't have you come in through one of the public ones."

"Aww, I wish I was special like you, Mr. Auror," Al teased. "I want to be able to request a private fireplace, too!"

Terry gave Al a flat look.

"What?"

"Al…"

"Oh, that's right." Al grinned and winked at Harry. "I am an Auror."

Harry sniffed disdainfully, though he was fighting not to grin. He skipped over to Terry as they left the room, slipping his hand into Terry's, and Terry gave his hand a squeeze with a fond smile.

Harry looked around curiously as they walked through the building. It was a strange place. At first, it almost looked like a hotel or something similar, as they were walking down a hallway with nothing but doors to either side. At the end of the hallway, the room opened up into an almost lobby-like area with couches and chairs in the center. Along two walls were large fireplaces, big enough for several people to stand in at once, and along a third wall, there were enclosures, like phone booths, where people were Apparating in and out. The remaining wall was taken up by a long counter with people behind it, like a customer service desk, and a glass door that led outside.

"What's this? Where are we?" Harry whispered as they left the building, looking around curiously. Snow crunched underfoot and something very much like an old town street stretched out in front of them, lined with snow dusted cobbles.

"We're in Rithera. It's a small magical town in Pennsylvania," Terry explained quietly, starting off down the cobbled road. "About a mile out of the town, there's a parking and rent garage; that's where we're going. See…" He trailed off as someone sped by on something like a round-bottomed scooter that was skimming along just off the ground, kicking up little swirls of snow. The woman riding it waved cheerily as she went by.

"You see," Terry continued once Harry had stopped staring after it wide-eyed, "they try to keep the old magic feel of the place, so they don't want cars actually inside the town. The building we just came from is the magical transportation station, the only way to get here without having to walk. The MTS has Floo fireplaces, Portkey rooms and Apparition booths."

Harry nodded, only half paying attention, sticking close to Terry's side as they passed shops that almost seemed normal on first glance. All of the buildings were strange, narrow house-like structures, with an odd mix of architecture decorating the front of the shops, many of them in a wild variety of colors that drew the eye to them. The unusual appearance of the stores aside, the stores didn't look magical until you took a second, closer look.

Magical fireworks sparkled and shimmered in the air outside of a shop on the left. The fireworks reflected strangely off of the windows of the shop, drawing attention to the exotic looking robe-like dresses with plumes and high collars and other strange things that a sign claimed were for the modern traditional woman. It took Harry a second of staring to realize that the fireworks were shimmering, exploding outward and forming twinkling, cheerful signs advertising sales and products.

A large window to the right gave a clear view of a shop full of toys that looked normal in appearance but were doing things non-magical toys definitely wouldn't. There were planes that whizzed around on their own, puzzle boxes that changed shape, bouncy balls that changed color and blocks that broke apart to rebuild themselves into other shapes.

Further down that side of the street, there was a shop with televisions, music players and even computers and some strange things that Harry thought looked sort of like computers, but opened up like a book, with a keyboard on one side and a computer screen on the other. The sign above the shop said Magitech. Harry turned to Terry to ask what the almost-computers were when he was distracted by another shop. He slowed and then stopped altogether to stare.

"Jamie, what…? Oh." Terry laughed when he saw what Harry was staring at. He glanced at Al and Al grinned back. "Think we should?"

Al gave Harry a close, studying look. Harry gave Al a wide-eyed pleading look. "Can't hurt," Al decided at last, mouth twitching with amusement.

"You want to go in there?" Terry asked Harry.

"Can we really? Really? Oh yes, yes, yes!

"Yeah, I think we can manage stopping for a few minutes."

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Al laughed and tugged Harry away from Terry and into his arms. Terry walked ahead to get the door to Sports Unlimited.

Inside, Harry stared around in wonder. One entire wall held a display of brooms in more colors, styles and sizes than Harry even thought possible. Another entire wall held a display of windboards, ranging from boards smaller than Harry himself to boards even taller than Terry, some plain looking, others with interesting designs, wild colors and pattern, and others still with actual images on them, like stars, the beach or one with a fierce looking panther that looked like it was about so jump off the board at any second. The shelves of the shop were filled with strange looking balls, odd gloves, protective padding and boxes and bins filled with strange looking things that defied explanation.

"That is so awesome," Al murmured reverently, gravitating toward the windboarding wall. "It's the Sound Smasher 3000. Fastest board on the market. Look, they're using the new foot grip designs that allow for pivoting movement. It even has the new wind resistant sleek board design. So awesome."

"Awesome," Harry echoed, staring with just as much rapt wonder as Al. "Completely awesome."

"And look at these brooms…" Al moved over to the other wall. "Look at the Falcon line. Aren't they beautiful? Best brooms on the market that aren't USAS or custom made."

"The USAS brooms are custom made," Terry put in with amusement.

"Shut up, Terry," Al told him without even looking around. "You, rain, parade, no. Be normal, stare at brooms."

Harry reached out to touch the nearest broom with awe. It quivered a little under his fingers. "Wow…"

"Totally," Al agreed.

"That is so awesome…"

"Come on, you two," Terry said with a laugh. "You'll be here all day. We are expected somewhere."

With reluctance, Al pulled them away from the broom wall. They were able to leave the store with only a few other attention-consuming distractions.

"I can't wait to get a broom," Harry said with a grin once the awe of the store had worn off a little.

Al laughed. "That's my little flyer."

"Come on." Terry gave them a nudge. "Let's get moving."

"Gonna put me down?" Harry asked Al.

"Hadn't planned on it. Want down?"

Harry curled his fingers into the soft material of Al's jacket and leaned in close. "You're warm."

"I'll take that as a no."

"And you're stopping the wind and- Ooh, look, a bookstore! A bookstore! Bookstore! Stopping? Bookstore!"

"Definitely not stopping there," Al laughed. "Unlike the brooms, I know you'll end up talking us into buying you a ton of books."

"Not even one book?"

"We'll be back through here at the end of the week, when you head back home," Terry told him. "Maybe then."

"Really?"

"Maybe."

"Can't even stop just for a second-"

"No," Terry interrupted, looking amused.

"Darn. Ooh, is that a pet shop?"

"Definitely not stopping there." Al snorted. "I think your mom is finally getting used to your snake, and knowing you, you'd talk us into buying you another one. Or something."

Terry muttered something like, "Because you're a pushover," but Al ignored it.

"And it's been, what? Around a couple of months?" Al asked with a grin. "At this rate, it'll be years before she's ready to let you have another snake."

"Almost three," Harry corrected. "I got her for Christmas, remember? And hello, spring break, mid-March. That's almost three months."

"That's around two months and two weeks. So around a couple of months. So I win."

"Knock it off, you two," Terry put in before they could start to tease back and forth.

Harry snorted and stuck his tongue out at Terry. Terry ignored him.

They soon left the warmly lit cobbled streets of the town and Harry could see in the distance a parking garage type building.

"Excited about spending half your break with Al and his family?" Terry asked as they walked, snow crunching underfoot.

Harry nodded, leaning more into Al as the breeze picked up. "It'll be way cool. He's got, like, dozens of cousins-"

"And for once the kid's not exaggerating."

"And they're super awesome. And, oh! Al has a little house thing in the back where he stays when he visits, cuz he does that a lot. It'll be just us staying there this visit and that'll be totally awesome. It looks like a shed, but inside it's got a bedroom and a living room and a kitchen and bathroom. It's a lot like your apartment, Terry, but it's actually got stuff in it."

Terry coughed. "I have things in my apartment now. You made sure of that this Christmas."

"Yes, I did." Harry gave him a bright smile. "And I helped you put everything up."

"And I couldn't help but notice that you made sure you went flying afterward."

"Yes, well, we were just right there. It was just an efficient way to end the visit. And stuff."

"Oh, yes, and stuff." Terry laughed.

"And oh! Al's mom makes some amazing banana bread! I can't wait to have some more."

"And since she thinks you're an adorably polite dear, you can bet she'll have made you some." Al snorted. "Can't imagine why she'd think that."

"Oi, be nice to me." Harry pouted.

Al gave him a little bounce and Harry squeaked in surprise, almost strangling Al as he gripped Al's jacket.

"Okay, okay." Al loosened his jacket with a grin. "That sure lesson's me."

"Lesson's you?" Terry gave Al a look and shook his head.

"And, oh! And if there's still snow around we'll do snow stuff!" Harry exclaimed.

"There might not be snow," Al warned. "It is mid-March. I didn't think to ask when I talked to my mom yesterday."

"I did say 'if'." Harry rolled his eyes. "And we'll go roller skating, too! That's so much fun. And, oh! The last time I visited, they had the most amazing magical stuff, like butterbeer and buttercream and butterscotch pop and-"

"Hold that thought." Terry pushed open the door to the box-like building attached to a large garage structure. Al stayed outside, meandering over to the open garage area. He found the car just a handful of seconds before Terry came out and headed over, tossing the keys up and down.

"Here we go, kid." Al set Harry on his feet again and made sure Harry was settled into the backseat, next to his already waiting suitcase, buckled up snugly. Terry tossed Al the keys and settled into the passenger seat as Harry checked his luggage over.

"It's all there," Al told him with amusement as he started the car.

"Yep." Harry sat back. "How far away is it?"

Al guided the car from the garage. "About half an hour from here. There's a book back there, if you want to read. Behind your suitcase."

"Cool!" Harry felt behind his suitcase and pulled out a hardcover magical mystery. He grinned. "Awesome."

"Thought you'd like that."

"Do you think Serish'll really be okay?" Harry asked once he'd given the book a thorough study.

"Suntree said he'd look after her," Terry told him, glancing back. "And you said yourself that she likes Suntree and didn't mind."

"Okay."

"Must be nice being able to talk to your pet," Al mused.

"Not a pet," Harry corrected. "A friend."

"Quite sorry."

Terry chuckled. "So what else do you plan to do on your visit? Unless you'd rather read."

"Oh!" Harry put the book down and went back to excitedly describing all the fun stuff Al had said they might do.