Ch - 2: Acknowledgment
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is a trademarked product of JK Rowling, I just time-travelled to make an alternate reality.
24th June of 1995
Harrison James Potter, now Harrison Ambrosius Peverell, raised a rough eyebrow to Voldemort. His hands went to the scabbard on his hip and he took out a sword of bronze from it. He had carved it himself on the Spring Equinox of last year on the 20th of March.
Harry said in his regal voice, "Thomas Riddle the Second, do you accept the Duel I challenge upon you?"
Voldemort narrowed his eyes and said in his abnormally high voice, "I must say, I did not expect a Potter to Duel me after your dear father, Mister Peverell."
What you may say about Voldemort, he was always a Slytherin.
Though he did not have much of an option, David Potter stayed still and silent for a moment in his entire life. Truly, this was not what he expected of his brother.
_
Harry and Voldemort circled each other, with Voldemort playing a 'Tactic of Serpentes (By Christopher Serpentes; 1578)' while Harry was using the 'Play of Mage' which was the Pureblood Tactic of a Pureblood. Harry's tactic was so well-used and deadly that no one used it. It is also one of the most complex tactics in Europe. Many died attempting to use it, that is its complexity.
Voldemort taunted with a Bone-Vanishing Charm, used mostly by Lockharts, by mistake, and by sadistic Healers. It was also a Dark Lord's charming spell.
Harry held up his sword, Iliades, after Romulus, the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Romulus was the beginning of Rome, with his twin, Remus, and Harry will be another beginning, though it has yet to begin.
Iliades blocked the Charm and Harry brought up his wand of Pine and Rowan to fire a Slicing Charm, used by magical woodworkers, to Voldemort's right palm. It almost hit its target, but the agile and older pale being dodged it. The Charm had hit the Black Robe of the Dark Lord.
Voldemort growled silently and brought up his Yew and Pheonix Feather Wand to cast, "Vitae Gratis!", which was another illegal curse, almost bordering on Urforgivable if not for the fact that it cannot be used for anything but executions by Ministry.
Harry lowered Iliades and brought upon his Wand of Phoenix Feather and Curupira Hair to mutter, "Gratus" which was a Dueller's Banishing Hex.
Voldemort sidestepped and the Duel got worse and worse.
Many spells, unknown and unheard, were cast away like a Squib from Black Family, between the two clearly powerful and talented individuals. The spells varied from a bright violet to a dull yellow and from vibrant orange to a light blue.
Death Eaters were equally mesmerised by the magic as David Potter, the Forgotten Boy in the Graveyard. Rabastan Lestrange, who had held his head high, was looking like Gods were fighting Olympian battles in front of him.
Though Voldemort had the clear advantage of experience, any mishap of Harry was covered by the defence of his trusted Iliades.
He stabbed through the light of curses and hexes alike, tearing between the space between himself and Voldemort. It was almost like the Legendary Duel between Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin (recorded by Amir Patil; 1023).
After thirty minutes, the clearly dangerous duo stopped, panting in exertion. Voldemort said in his usual silky voice, "You are a very talented young man, Harry, I was once just like you. With a Wand of Yew and expressiveness of my views, I became who I am. Castaway your family for the traitors they are and join the Dark Lord Voldemort under his ideal reign."
Harry had no doubts as clearly said in an unusual mixture of a tired and energetic tone, "Thomas Marvolo Riddle, Heir of Slytherin and Gaunt, I respect you and your offer, though I have no need. Though I respect you, I have come to loath you. You are the Power of Hatred and Darkness, abolishing the balance of Magic. You are the force that has disturbed peace and equality. Magic has spoken, Voldemort, and it will have your head."
Voldemort tilted his head pantingly and spoke, "So you have spoken?"
Harry nodded and agreed, "Indeed, I have. I was unwilling to speak of this but I stand with David Potter in his stand against you. You must be destroyed and that is severely more important than the petty disagreements of my family. I will be the Merlin to his Arthur, and the Minister to his King, even if I will never bow before any man or woman, I have sworn to protect Magic, and so shall it be."
Voldemort looked surprised for a fragment of a second but acknowledged Harry. He said, "Magic is with traditions, old and historical. Magic is for those who have known it. Magic is the Being and the God that survives with us all. It is not too late, Harry."
Harry blasted away Voldemort's hand with a dirty trick of his wand and slashed away David's ropes. He held up Cedric's body for any spells and was happy to note that the Killing Curses were blocked by the dead body.
He muttered to his estranged but acknowledged brother, "Keep your head down, David, for I am saving the life of you."
David nodded slowly as Harry battled with Voldemort and his followers.
Harry summoned the Triwizard Cup and it landed in his sword as Harry put a leg on David's knee and an elbow to Cedric's body. He held his sword and wand high and had the pleasure to slice Nagini up before disappearing.
As he disappeared, Voldemort cursed for the first time in forty years, "Bastard." as he wiped the reddish liquid of blood from his lower lip.
_
Many were surprised as a golden light erupted at the entrance of the maze in Hogwarts.
A young man of about fifteen years of age with a royal bronze longsword and a light brown wand. He had jet black hair that reached his shoulders and emerald green eyes that glowed gold like Dumbledore in a muggle meeting of businessmen. He was the perfect embodiment of warrior and lord.
He had cuts and scratches littering his body, flowing with crimson blood. His body supporting Cedric Diggory's limp body on the left side while David Potter held him on the right.
Blood littered his sword.
David Potter looked shocked, scared and relieved. His short messy hair was muddy and his clothes were torn. His mischievous hazel eyes were unusually sombre and he was wearing a grimace. He looked to have limped and his hand had dried blood.
Cedric Diggory could only be identified as dead and peaceful.
Chaos erupted. Of course, it did, Harry bloody Potter was there. And the Marauders were in the stands.
Albus Dumbledore shouted, "SILENCE!" for everyone to quiet. How does every teacher know how to do that?
He ran with James and Lily Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Igor Karkaroff, Olympe Maxime, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Amos Diggory, 'Alastor Moody', Cornelius Fudge, Amelia Bones, Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and Dean Thomas, to the entrance of the maze.
Though James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, Snape, Fudge, Diggory, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Dean were not needed, they were for the Boy-Who-Lived, Attention and Cedric. Fudge was the only one who wanted the attention of course.
Dumbledore took out the Elder Wand and questioned Harrison Peverell, "Who are you?" well, that was a demand actually, but oh well.
Harry smiled in a strangely Dumbledore-esque way and he smiled softly. He swiped the blood from his forehead and lowered Dumbledore's wand. He said softly yet confidently, "I am the Heir of Potter and Peverell, Albus of Dumbledore, Headmaster and Teacher. I am a Man of Magic, a resurrection of an advisor. I am Harrison Ambrosius Peverell, born as Harry James Potter."
Gasps were heard from everyone except David who nodded slightly to say, 'yes, that's Harry'.
As Moody approached, Harry stunned immediately and said in a surprised and suddenly hostile tone to the Headmaster, "You did not invite dead men."
Fudge said harshly, "Potter or not, boy, you have no right to stun my-"
Harry silenced him and turned to Dumbledore. He walked a step forward and looked up at the taller and older man with his vibrant green eyes. He said again, "You did not invite dead men."
Dumbledore was in a quarry.
_
As Sirius plucked his hair and Lily cries in guilt, Harry sat stone-faced, facing Dumbledore. David had blurted every single thing in shock while Harry told one thing: that Moody is Crouch Junior.
Dumbledore grew more and more old as David said everything from the acromantula to the graveyard, from Harry to Voldemort and from the Duel to the Arrival.
Snape, the Potters, Black and Lupin were the only people present. Every single one of them were still shocked that Harry bloody Potter was there, in flesh and in blood.
Harry looked up to Dumbledore and said, "You are senile."
It was the second thing Harry had said to Dumbledore's face that night though it was surprising that someone said that to Dumbledore's face.
He explained, "You have disregarded many things, Dumbledore. Your lack of action and preparation. Your dismissing of any impostors among the staff. Your allowance of David into the Tournament, disregarding Clause 12 of Article 9 in the Triwizard Charter of 1891. Your disregard of the Atlantian Treaty between Veelas and Merpeople. And finally, your dismissive outlook on Voldemort.
"You messed up big time, Dumbledore."
Remus flipped up. He was one of the most avid supporters of the man, among Hagrid and the likes, and for such blatant disrespect. He did not tolerate it. Harry Potter or not, this boy is clearly not Light.
He said harshly, "And why is Professor Dumbledore supposed to listen to you?"
Harry looked at him serenely as if Remus had said that the Earth is round. He closed his eyes and opened them again.
He said, "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches.
Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies,
and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal,
but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not,
and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies,
with the resurrection of the Great Advisor.
As the light of the seventh month dies,
the Advisor would come to play,
the Advisor and the Vanquisher will be wrapped in familial bonds,
neither can be destroyed by the other.
Overcome by abandonment,
lost for acknowledgement,
the Heir of Magic,
the Advisor shall be the brother in arms of the Vanquisher.
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches as the seventh month dies,
and the Advisor and the Vanquisher shall thrive or raze,
Fate may decide."
Silence fell into the room as Dumbledore looked down in sadness. Nobody expected a bloody Prophecy.
Dumbledore said knowingly, "You are the Great Advisor, brother in arms, and abandoned and unacknowledged, yes?"
Harry nodded emotionlessly.
Dumbledore sighed and turned to face David. He said softly, "The Truth is a very beautiful and a very dangerous thing, and must be treated with caution. David, my boy, I had thought to summarise the Prophecy about you on the eve of your sixteenth birthday, but alas, we may not. I wanted you to have a childhood, how abnormal it may be, but a childhood it is. I apologise, my boy."
David nodded unsurely as he turned to Harry. He said, "That's what you meant? 'I am the Minister to his King'?"
Harry nodded in a satisfied feline way.
Sirius roared and tore a part of his robes. He then looked down and started crying. Everyone watched Sirius run away like a first-year Hufflepuff student from Snape.
Harry asked confusedly, "What happened to Black?"
Remus, who was more confused than anything, explained, "After Harry Potter, James and Lily's eldest son, ran away from his home, his godfather went to a trauma-like state. Every mention of Harry sent Sirius like that, it was very sad. Sirius has to go to St. Mungo's every month for medication against depression."
Harry pitied that man. But he still did not forgive him fully, that man had abandoned him for ten whole years. It was not his place.
Dumbledore turned to Harry suddenly and asked, "Why did you reveal the Prophecy, Harry, my boy? And how do you know it?"
Harry looked into the bright blue eyes and said, "I have to answer every question I know for I have to give knowledge for it to be trusted with me. You cannot just ask everyone to give every piece of knowledge to you in return for nothing. That is why. I answered Lupin's question just for that. Trust is a feeble thing, Headmaster."
Dumbledore nodded with narrowed eyes. Everyone knew that Dumbledore never gave more knowledge than he wanted to.
Harry continued, "I knew the Prophecy because I have been to the Department of Mysteries."
Silence halted, turned around and slapped everyone in the face as everyone watched Harry in wonder. Dumbledore asked, "How did you enter the Department of Mysteries?" It was serious now because Dumbledore did not add 'my boy' to his question.
Harry answered, "I walked in through the door."
Cricket noises were heard as David snorted and then started to laugh. He spluttered, "He . . walked . . . in . . . . I am so confused right now."
Harry elaborated, "I wanted to know how the Dark Marks were created, so, I entered the Ministry. And then . . . ."
Harry, currently nine years old, walked right into the Department of Mysteries with protestation. Seriously, who thought that a kid could not just walk into the Ministry in daylight just like that and be ignored?
Harry opened a door and then walked randomly through another door and bumped into a robed man. It was an Unspeakable.
Harry greeted, "Hello, can you help me?"
The Unspeakable said in a neutral voice, "Of course, boy, I will help you, for that is an Unspeakable's job!"
James said into the silence, "You just walked right in?"
"Yes."
James turned to Dumbledore and then said in a smug voice, "I told you that the Ministry has no security, didn't I?"
Snape snarled, "Shut your smug voice, Potter, even I know for a fact that there are ancient wards on the Ministry." Snape turned to Harry and demanded, "How did you enter, brat?"
Harry smirked and said, "The wards only allow visitors to enter if they are entered into the wards. The visitors can only enter one time. The Ministry's staff though, their blood can enter anytime."
Dumbledore's and Snape's eyes widened as Snape said in awe, "He walked right in because he is your brat, Potter!"
David muttered, "Drama Queens."
_
As the meeting ended, Remus, Snape and Dumbledore exited the Headmaster's office for the estranged family to reunite.
Only if they knew that will never happen . . .
Or so it is said.
An awkward silence filled in the wake of the departure of the trio of men. The Potters and Harry just stared at one another. James and Lily at David and Harry.
Harry, who had gotten used to the silence, still found his old friend to be quite disrupting. Clawing his peace of mind and throwing him in situations.
James cleared his throat for the Marauder in him can never stand so much silence. Though years have passed, he was still a priest of chaos, he has just matured himself enough to follow a fine line between kind and unkind.
James said to Harry, "Harry, we messed up."
"Big time."
James snorted at his son's words, wayward he may be, but a son he was. James continued, "Indeed, we messed up big time. I know it is not the right way to say it but I just want to let it all out. It is said that we do not understand the importance of a person until he is gone, nor do we understand the person until we know him. I apologise that, for not being there for you. I know and understand, that you may never forgive me, that you will never call me 'Dad' or Lily 'Mum', but it was our fault.
"It may not be the right way but it is my way. We may never be a family" James looked heartbroken, but he finished his words, "We may not, but I want the four of us to be forever on friendly terms."
Harry tilted his head. This was all new to him. Emotions and Apologies, he never knew and was never told of. His books and his friends never taught him this. He was taught for his destiny. To save and to protect. To be wise and to connect. He was to be the Merlin to the Arthur, again, a lifetime after.
He said, "I do not know much of family, never having experienced it. I have lived in forests for the past four years, even if I started my education since I was young and lived in the Manor of my Ancestors. I will forgive you, James Potter, but I will not forget your activities."
Lily told him, "That is all we ask, Harry, that is all."
Harry nodded and went to exit the room to avoid the unpleasant silence. He did not know that his friend for ages will turn on him so soon. That the silence will be unfriendly in such a manner to eat him whole inside.
As he stood, someone took his hand in his own. David Potter met his eyes and asked, "If you had already done your stuff in the Manor, then why did you leave it?"
Harry explained, "I was raised by myself, alone without anyone. I have known people yet never talked to them. Remember, David, that old habits break hard. I knew only loneliness and a family is just the opposite of what I knew. That is why I tell you that I ran away."
David's eyes were touched with moisture but his voice was hard. He asked like the nervous teenager he was, "Why did you never speak against it then?"
Harry looked him in the eye and answered in a way that it seemed very close yet eternities away, "What is there to speak against if you know of it as your life. I was where I was since I was and it was my destiny to shape, I was hesitant and fearful but then I shaped it my way. I was where I was for the steps I took, for the magic told me what it took. All the hardships and all the mistakes, I learned everything I could yet I learnt nothing."
_
Ron asked curiously, "What kind of person is he?"
David answered, "He is a bullshitting bastard who is worse at answering than Dumbledore. He tells you everything but in an off tone."
Hermione scolded, "Language." and smacked his right forearm.
David hissed in pain and slid it away from the older girl.
Neville and Dean looked on, amused. Dean looked away because of the sudden noise in the Great Hall and gasped, he explained, "It is him!"
And indeed it was.
David looked at the young man his brother became and it looked like he got the better deal. For all he lost, he gained something that David will never hear or see.
If David was white, surrounded by friends and family, Harry was black, all alone in solitude with happiness and self-accomplishment.
If David made allies and connections, Harry tinkered and found more ways to beat.
If David was the Sun, holding the Court of Sky, Harry was the Moon and in stars, he flew.
If David was the tree, standing by its root, Harry was the cloud, blown away with air.
Harry walked in looking the half-blood he was. His shoulder-length black hair looking windswept naturally and his dragon tooth earrings hanging curiously by his left ear. His eyes sparkled with wisdom and knowledge and his hands were in fists as he walked confidently. His developing person hinted at a distinctively masculine and regal look, his crimson dark robes glowing dully with him.
His magic though, Harry's magic looked to be controlled, pushed inside himself, yet it threw everyone off. Harry's magic seemed to twinkle almost with the ambient magic of Hogwarts and it made him look the perfect person he always looked.
Harry, with his scabbard and nineteenth-century muggle robes with his wand, tucked in a waist holster on his left side, was walking to Dumbledore, seemingly oblivious of everyone staring at him.
Harry walked to Dumbledore and whispered something to him to which the Headmaster said some words jovially. Harry said some cheerful words in a mock happy manner and the paler man dipped his head. Harry nodded his head when the Headmaster looked at him with his variety of puppy-dog-eyes and walked to David.
He sat in the conveniently empty seat in front of David and nodded his head mockingly. Harry said with obviously fake happiness, "Morning".
David asked, "What happened?"
He was not sure he heard anything but the sound was suspiciously like, "Bullshit".