This ones been a long time coming and hopefully, the next one will follow in a few weeks.
I've had to re-watch several episodes of Lucifer to prepare for an up coming chapter, and I'm and getting to the point where Harry mentality is... no longer fully stable.
Please enjoy.
Chapter 14: Dreams of the Past, Desires of the Future
~~ 11th July 1996, Hampton Hall ~~
To an outside observer, Harry was simply walking around the centre of a three-acre empty field.
To Harry, he was inside the small, Tibetan temple-inspired building, walking between the five, modest-sized rooms that made the interior of the building.
Each design element was scrutinised by both himself and his Djinn magic, as the power from the still active wish weaved through the world searching for each decoration and building material, so Harry could physically get them purchased and delivered.
"Harry, it is good to see you again."
He smiled as he came back to reality to the voice of Jacqueline.
The woman stood with her husband, Matthew, and Owen; the latter having stopped by to see Harry yesterday.
'Showtime,' he thought as he greeted them, his magic, bewitching their minds and ensnaring their senses better than any gross concoction Snape could brew.
They needed to get a view of what he was planning so, he drip-fed the mental images as he went into detail.
The central meditation room of the building would house nothing more than a small wooden pit made of cherrywood, containing black sand and a low table. Jacqueline was fond of constructing sand mandalas to help her focus, and with this, she could focus, construct, and meditate on the design.
The room, being central and without windows, would have a skylight for the day, while candles lit the building during the evening.
There was to be no electricity used.
Off this room, there was a small den, holding all the classic elements of a tearoom - shelves holding the teas and paraphernalia to brew and enjoy one of the good doctor's favourite drinks…butter tea.
An acquired taste he was sure, but the salty drink was seemingly a fantastic boost of energy for the day, a testament to the rural area and climate of Tibet.
Next was a workroom for her more esoteric medicals studies, containing everything she'd need for the 'magical' healing techniques that had been used for millennia.
Besides the small entrance room, the last functional room was a bedroom. Jacqueline spent some of her best nights with her husband in such a room and Harry knew they'd both appreciate the addition, judging by the way they were now eyeing each other.
This whole building would have the look and feel of a small temple, without being over the top. The main colours, naturally, would be reds, whites, and blacks. Red for the majesty of Tibetan culture and the earth, white for divine holiness and nature, and black would make up the boundaries of the doors and windows, to ward off evil.
This peaceful little building would be set within a small meadow full of Gesang flowers bursting with reds, pinks, and whites.
Likewise, the meadow would be encircled by a thicket of Tibetan cherrywood trees, densely packed to provide seclusion but with enough space to allow a small pathway to run between the trunks.
The last and hardest part of the project was to surround the whole thing in a moat-like river, complete with pumps to keep the water flowing.
It was to be, as people had commented, an ambitious and near-impossible undertaking, but this was the true desire of Jacqueline, and Harry was wish-bound to see it completed.
They now stood at the boundary, closer to the house as a relieved Harry started to release his hold over everyone's minds, not used to the strain of influencing four people at once.
"Looking at your designs yesterday was one thing, but to have you go into such detail, it's almost like I could see it fully in my mind."
Harry nodded with a smile at Owen Jacobs, remembering both him and Matthew stopping by yesterday.
"Harry, the one continuous pathway you have that twists like a labyrinth, I have one small change," said Jacqueline, a peaceful look on her face.
'Shit, did I miss something,' Harry thought as he mentally looked over the four concentric circles leading the person inward.
"Do you want me to make it one short path that goes straight to the building?" he answered, realising that the path might be too long.
"A path to enlightenment is never short," she replied with a smile. "No, I'd like marker stones placed at each corner of the path. Eight in total to symbolise the eight auspicious symbols."
Once back at the house, Harry unrolled an overhead diagram on which Jacqueline used a provided marker to draw eight symbols where she wanted them.
Over the next two hours, the five sat and discussed the new schedule and budget for the project. A lot of the costs are offset by Harry using his 'contacts' to get a good deal on the trees and various other items.
It wasn't long after Harry had left for the office when a certain Grigori appeared, wondering how to get in without looking too suspicious.
~~ 12th July 1996, Privet Drive ~~
"Okay, Hedwig, Dumbledore's too polite to refuse a drink, so I can get a simple wish out of the way without much fuss," Harry said, perhaps a touch too hopefully. "Simple, right?"
Hedwig looked at Harry with an expression that clearly said, 'if that's simple then I'm a crup pretending to be an owl.'
Harry looked about, absently scratching his chest where he'd cut…well, he didn't want to think about what had happened last night
The house was clean and the Dursleys were, thankfully, out for the evening after a bit of carefully chosen words to his uncle and an almost disaster of a wish from his aunt.
~~ Flashback ~~
~~ 11th June 1996, Privet Drive ~~
His aunt was curtain-twitching as per usual every time Mr. Bostwick was tending his garden in the evening.
"Harry." She called, repeating herself more sharply when he didn't respond in the timely manner she wanted him to (aka now). "Harry!"
He shook his head in exasperation as he came to the lounge from the kitchen to stand next to her at the window.
He still hadn't managed to get a wish out of her, which was surprising considering most everything from her was getting him to do something. It didn't help that she always phrased it as an order rather than a desire.
"Bostwick is out there again with that topiary of his." She said, not bothering to look at him. "He's going to win first again at this rate, I know it."
Normally she would be somewhat magnanimous in defeat, but this might be the second year she'd lose to him and his topiary sculptures, it was making her crazy.
"Aunt Petunia, I think we've a better chance this year than he does," Harry reassured her. "We've got substance, not some flashy over-the-top eyesore."
"Hm," his aunt hummed, disbelieving. "Still, I wish he had an accident with that thing so I can win." She continued to peer out the window, not noticing Harry tensing next to her.
As sudden as it was, Harry managed to steer the direction from the first choice of disembowelment with the hedge trimmers Mr. Bostwick was using, but unfortunately, Harry couldn't stop what was to happen….
~~ End Flashback ~~
A speeding car was nothing new, but a blown-out tire on a speeding car mounting the curb to wipe out Mr. Bostwick and his topiary were never seen in Little Whinging.
It was only due to his aunt's sudden scream that Harry, in a spark of quick thinking, used an Arresto Momentum on the car.
His aunt never noticed the magic and Mr. Bostwick would be out of the hospital in a few months, prosthetic legs were better nowadays so…
A knock on the door snapped Harry out of his memories and he went to answer.
The headmaster was here.
Opening the door, Harry was greeted by the smiling face of his headmaster, looking as…resplendent as ever in a dark-blue robe covered in a bright purple paisley design…his aunt would have a heart attack at the sight of such a gaudy robe and a blacken ha….what.
"Sir, what happened to your hand?" he asked in slight shock, his plan momentarily derailed.
"Ah, Harry, my boy, that is a tale for another time. It is nice to see you in good health, though it has only been three weeks since last we spoke in my office. You'll be please to know I've repaired most of the damage."
Harry had the good grace to blush at the memory.
"I'd like to apologise for that, it seems like a lifetime ago…. Would you like to come in?" he asked, gesturing with one hand while preparing to take a soul-spark with the other.
Unfortunately, the headmaster simply smiled and entered without a word, glancing around curiously.
'Oh well done,' he thought as he shut the door, cursing his rotten luck at the failed attempt at a wish. 'Harry, strike one,'
"Would you like something to drink, sir? Maybe a snack?" he tried again, sure that the ever-polite headmaster would accept.
"Not at this time thank you. I had a rather large lunch and still find myself suitably sated," the man answered. "Where are your relatives?" he asked curiously.
"My cousin's at a summer camp and Aunt Petunia is missing him so, Uncle Vernon took her for a nice meal," Harry answered with a mental sigh.
Well, third times the charm.
Harry led them both into the lounge to try once more.
"Do you want to sit in the garden to talk? It is still nice outside."
"There is much muchness with the weather these days, I fear that it could turn at the drop of a sickle. in here is fine."
He emphasised that statement by transfiguring his uncle's armchair into a crushed velvet chaise armchair in a shade of orange the clashed horribly with the robes.
Harry wondered if the man had any sense of taste or if he did it the keep others off their game.
He sat on the sofa opposite and waited for the headmaster to get comfy. He'd exhausted all the manner-related questions for the moment, he'd have to bide his time now, otherwise, it'd be too suspicious.
"Well then," Dumbledore said, lacing his fingers together and looking at Harry. "Let us start with the more serious talks before we get to the discussion of where you'll be residing, hmm?"
Harry nodded and began to recount the 'vision' he'd had the previous Sunday, and since he was being mostly honest at the moment, the one he'd had on Thursday.
The only thing he left out was Voldemort's last few words with his snake.
He neither wanted nor needed Dumbledore to know about Madam Bones.
That hit too close to home right now and he would just worry too much if Harry let on that he knew about the soul piece inside him.
"I trust you know to keep this knowledge a secret. Some information is best left forgotten in the void."
"Of course, sir, I'll keep it a secret. What about the other two items he's still missing, aren't they a cause for concern?" he said, almost twitching at the use of the word 'void'.
"They would be if their whereabouts were still a mystery. However, the ring has been taken care of, with my hand as a reminder to be careful."
Here, the headmaster held out his other, good hand, for Harry to inspect the ring in question.
Harry looked in fascination at the ring, not because it was nice looking, but because of the strong taint of Djinn magic surrounding the object. This was more than likely something that was wished for at some point in time, the symbol inside looking quite familiar.
"That symbol, isn't that the crest from the Peverell family?"
"It is where the Peverell's got the symbol from, but if you're interested, I shall lend you a copy of the Tales of Beedle the Bard," the headmaster said, retracting his hand. "Now, the second item, the locket. I now have a suspicion as to where it could be and may need your help to retrieve it."
"Where?" Harry asked, curious as to where it could have been hidden by Sirius's brothe- oh, that was where.
"Grimmauld Place."
'Naturally,' Harry thought.
"But sir, why would you need my help? Couldn't you just have a few Order members search the place?"
The headmaster had a hesitant look on his face, with a small amount of sorrow in his eyes.
"I'm afraid that we have abandoned Grimmauld Place for the moment. With the death of Sirius, the ownership is in question. Either it is yours or it has transferred to the closest living blood relative, Bellatrix Lestrange."
"And if I go and claim ownership, it'd be proof that it's passed to me, right?"
"Essentially, even though Sirius left you everything in his will, there may be enchantments placed on the bloodline to prevent you from inheriting. Family matters such as these can get confusing."
Harry fell silent as he thought it over. Everyone else thought Sirius was dead, only Harry, Hermione, and Luna knew the truth, with the only question being how to get him back from Limbo.
Of course the Devil was literally in the details with that issue.
"Okay then, is it just a matter of going there to claim the property?"
"I think a simpler approach would suffice," the older wizard admitted. "Call Kreacher. If you have indeed inherited the property, he will answer your summons."
Harry thought for a moment before shouting.
"Kreacher!"
'Crap, I should have gotten that rephrased as a wish,' Harry thought before, with a loud crack, the elf appeared, bloodshot eyes set within his shouting face.
"Kreacher won't, won't, won't, not even for powerful old-."
"Kreacher be silent!" Harry yelled quickly, concerned the belligerent elf would say something he shouldn't.
"Well, that proves things nicely," Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling. "I shall proceed to have the Order search the place."
Harry nodded, looking closely at the elf, who was regarding Harry with a strange mix of reverence and disdain.
"Kreacher, I am now the Head of the Black family and, as such, you will refer to me only as Master Harry, am I clear?"
The elf nodded slowly in agreement.
"What should I do with him, sir? I don't think I can keep him with me at the moment."
It would be more of a hindrance than anything.
"I would suggest sending him to Hogwarts," Dumbledore replied, looking at Kreacher with a mix of sympathy and pity in his eyes. "The other elves can keep an eye on him there."
With a smirk, Harry called, "Dobby!"
A second crack heralded the arrival of the much more agreeable, if eccentric, elf.
"Master Harry has summoned- oh." He paused mid-sentence, taking in the presence of both the headmaster and Kreacher.
"Dobby, it is good to see you," Harry greeted. "I have a favour to ask if I may."
"Dobby would be most pleased to help with anything Master Harry needs," the elf replied, taking unusual care not to say anything more than needed.
"This is Kreacher, the Black family house-elf who has passed into my ownership. Can you take him the Hogwarts, keep him out of trouble?"
"Dobby be doing that most definitely, Master Harry sir."
Harry turned to address Kreacher
"I want you to follow Dobby's orders as if they were my own, understand? You are no longer a respectable elf and need to relearn how to behave..." He watched the gnarly elf through narrowed eyes. "You can speak now."
To drive his point home, Harry increased the pressure of his magic on the elf, the previous disdain gave way to more reverence as the elf trembled slightly.
"Kreacher understands... Master Harry, sir."
With a bow, both elves disappeared with a crack.
"I'm not sure that was completely necessary, but the results speak for themselves," Dumbledore said, eyeing the young wizard shrewdly. "Now, one more thing before we get back on track: Buckbeak. Hagrid has taken responsibility for looking after him since Sirius died, but the hippogriff is yours now. Would you prefer other arrangements?"
"Can anyone really own hippogriff, sir?" Harry chuckled, "I think the current arrangement is more than adequate for the both of them."
"Wonderful," Dumbledore said cheerily, clapping his hands together. "Hagrid will be most delighted. Ah, incidentally, to avoid complications, he now goes by the name Witherwing, not that the ministry will bother connecting the two."
The headmaster did have a point. With Fudge on the out and Macnair outed as a Death Eater, Witherwing needn't worry.
"Now, what are your impressions on what happened in the vision?" the headmaster asked, getting back to the main conversation.
"I guess you've got the Order keeping an eye on Madam Bones, and it could be dangerous if he gets that information Dolohov and Rookwood are hunting." Harry hesitated before admitting, "Rookwood makes me a bit nervous."
Harry thought about how detached and emotionless the man was in the vision, even Voldemort gave some sign of feelings, bad as they may often be.
"You are wise to be wary. I have known both Tom and Augustus during their time at Hogwarts, both were disturbed in different ways."
"How so?"
"Tom was polite, charismatic, the perfect student in many eyes. I knew to be wary of him though, his cruel actions during the time spent in the orphanage I found him showed, in part, his character, and it was that character I had hoped to steer in a different direction.
"As for Augustus, he was almost as bright as Tom was, with an insatiable curiosity but…he seemed to lack any sort of empathy. He committed some truly horrendous acts during his time at Hogwarts and it was only the influence of some on the board of governors that reduced expulsion to a mere suspension."
"What sort of things?"
Dumbledore looked as though he was debating saying anything more, but eventually sighed. He'd already admitted this much.
"He was fascinated with the Thestrals at one point and spent two months observing them and their habits. It was only after four months had passed that we realised he had dissected three of their number, one of which we'd found still alive, even though it had been cut open."
Not the worst thing he'd heard, seen, or done, but still pretty bad, considering.
"I'll be careful of him, sir , but what of Voldemort himself. I know he's somewhat incapacitated but, what can we do."
"We, as in, the Order and I, will help the Ministry in curbing the Dementor population and interrupting his power base. You, Harry, must focus on Occlumency, and I have been remiss in having you learn some finer points on combat, both of which I plan to rectify at once back at Hogwarts as I instruct you on Voldemort's methods and psychology."
Out of all the things the headmaster could have said, Harry hadn't been expecting that. Occlumency, sure, but psychology lessons and combat training?
While not one hundred percent useful for him anymore, Harry did still appreciate the gesture.
And while he would like to know more about what the Order was up to; it was no longer important to him. With a thought, he could find anyone within his sphere of influence and watch them and what they were up to, not that he used his powers in that way, but the feeling of omnipresence was a head rush at times.
"I'd like that, sir, thank you." Harry finally said, getting up
Time to try for another wish.
"I'm going to get some juice; can I get you some?"
"Not at this time, thank you, I have my lemon sherbets with me," the headmaster answered, removing the bag of sweets from a pocket.
Opening the fridge, Harry pondered his next move.
'So, he's got proper instruction now for my Occlumency, that will be useful in the long run in helping me, and I guess it could be fun to duel with some of the Order members... I wonder if that was why he wants me at the Burrow earlier this year.'
Contemplating the Headmasters motives, Harry re-entered the lounge and sat down.
"So, Harry, how are you feeling exactly?"
How was he feeling?
He'd mutilated himself last night like a badly carved Sunday roast, he was great.
In reality though, there were so many conflicting emotions that he wasn't sure himself. His personality was shifting, and it scared him. Made worse by how clearly it scared Afrit too.
"I've been a freak, The-Boy-Who-Lived, a cheat, traitor, hero, champion, and everything in-between during my time both here and at Hogwarts. I don't know how I'm feeling because I no longer know who I am, and I need the find that out."
They were both being honest, up to a point at least, with each other, and if Harry was going to convince the headmaster to let him stay, he'd have to appeal to him on a more mature, sincere level.
"If I go to the Burrow, I'll be expected to conform to what they expect me to be, that's not what I need right now, no matter how well-meaning they are. The Dursleys, no longer have any expectations of me so, I can be free to…well, be me, whoever that is," he concluded, standing near the window looking out at the damaged topiary from the crashed car.
The techniques shown to him last night by Afrit made use of the Malice to act as a barrier against the fragmented personalities, keeping Harry a bit saner.
However, no matter the changes that had happened in the past few weeks, here and now, he was feeling lost, vulnerable, and more...human than he'd felt since his change. It must have shown some in his expression because the headmaster had gotten up and rested his good hand on his shoulder.
"The expectations of others can be such a burden at times that it can distort who we are," he agreed. "I too have felt this way at times, and it never gets easier. And you, my dear boy-no... young man, have had to deal with this at an age far younger than I."
Harry turned to look at the openness on the headmaster's face and saw the truth in his words, and a certain amount of guilt. He had read the history of what happened with Grindelwald, at Hermione's insistence, and knew the pressure others had put on the headmaster to defeat the dark lord, Harry didn't know why the headmaster hadn't done something sooner, that was never printed, but he was sure there was more to the story than was written, the world was good at forgetting things and hiding from certain truths.
"Harry, take the time you need here to find yourself," the headmaster finally said. "In the meantime, I will have the Occlumency teacher come here for lessons with you once a week. In addition, while I prefer you to have a bodyguard with you should you go out, in the interest of giving you space and the fact Tom wants you left alone, I will instead caution you to be careful, agreed?"
Harry nodded silently.
It was a lot more than Harry had expected, the shock must have been on his face because the headmaster chuckled.
"I believe the muggle expression is cutting the cord, so to speak," He smiled ruefully. "Funny, the man I've selected to teach you agreed with what you wanted, stating something similar to what you did."
"Who is he by the way?" Harry asked, curious about the man who had guessed what he had been feeling.
"A man who will also be teaching DADA this year, a Mr. Gregory Hunter."
"The school year hasn't started yet, but I assume this one won't be trying to kill me. He did seem nice though, but that could have been said about the fake Moody," he said before realising his slip.
The headmaster gave him a critical but amused look.
"Been out already, Harry? Hmm, I'll have to talk to Greg about omitting certain information."
'Get your head in the game, Potter, your smarter than that,' He chastised himself at the slip as he leaned against the windowsill.
"I got a letter from Gringotts about reaching my Maturity and some stuff my mum had left for me," he admitted. "I couldn't not go."
Harry had the good sense to look both guilty and sad, knowing that the mention of his mum would halt any questions he'd rather not answer.
"Did you at least avoid notice?" Dumbledore asked.
"Besides the goblins, only Madam Malkin and Tom noticed me. Maddie, because I stopped in there, and Tom because I got a Butterbeer before going home. That's where I met Greg."
"And did you go alone?" the headmaster asked, his tone suggesting he knew the answer.
"Hermione came for emotional support, we bumped into Luna while there." He admitted, keeping things as plausible as possible.
"Not to add to your burden, but you are the best hope we have for a better future, and while I probably haven't shown it much, I do genuinely care about your happiness. Above all else, I simply wish for your safety."
Harry gripped the windowsill tightly in response, keeping his smile in place.
This wish, in essence, was purely a benign wish, with no room for malicious intent to take hold, and that feeling, now employed to guard his mind, burned inside as Harry focused it into his hand on the sill while the Djinn magic waited for him to define the desired safety that had been wished for.
"I know you do, Headmaster, what would you suggest?" he asked, needing a bit more context to help him along.
Dumbledore hesitated long enough that Harry knew he was working through his options.
"Maybe I can get Bill to upgrade the wards here and at the Burrow. Perhaps get you a book on self-transfiguration to help with disguises. After all, you've passed your Maturity early and no longer subject to the Trace, but," he warned sharply, "don't abuse that right."
"That sounds perfect, sir, and I'll be careful."
The headmaster graced him with a small smile.
"I'd best be off," he said, clapping his knees with his hands as he pushed himself to his feet. "Amelia will be sworn in soon and I need to be there. I shall let you know when to expect Bill and will also arrange for Greg to come by tomorrow for your first lesson."
"Sounds like a plan, headmaster," Harry replied with a smile of his own, hiding the strain.
As the headmaster moved to leave, a curious looked crossed his face as if he'd just realised something, and he turned more fully to Harry again.
"By the way, the Sword of Gryffindor disappeared a week ago from my office," he said. "Did it happen to land back in your possession by any chance?"
Not missing a beat, Harry adopted a confused look.
"Sorry, sir, I've not seen it outside of your office," he grimaced, as though upset that he couldn't be of more help. "Maybe it was recalled back to where it came from?" he suggested.
"Could be," the man said, eyeing the ceiling thoughtfully. "The portraits did say that Fawkes did disappear for a while at the same time. I questioned him, but he can be surprisingly stubborn," he smiled at the teen, as though offering a secret. To Harry's relief, though, the headmaster dropped the issue.
Walking to the door, Harry bid Dumbledore goodbye with a wave of his hand, pulling a soul-spark in the process.
Harry breathed a sigh of relief in the silence, the door closing behind him. The magic was still heavy inside, waiting to be directed by Harry's will.
"How am I going to work this?" he wondered aloud. "I can't directly give Bill new knowledge, that would violate the second fundamental law and leave Bill braindead. Maybe I can have him acquire some books and then implant some inspiration…." He paused, running the thought through his mind further, then nodded to himself. "That could work, but first."
Harry walked into the lounge and, feeling a little guilty about using him like this, called out for Fawkes.
It took a moment, but the phoenix flashed into the lounge in a burst of fire, greeting Harry with a trill of happiness and a bow which Harry returned.
He regarded the creature - no, being that had once been a human that had willingly transformed to aid and protect the Djinn - and gently stroked his feathers
"I hate to keep asking you to take me places but, I need to grant the headmaster's wish and feel it will be big enough to attract unwanted attention. Can you take me somewhere far away?"
Fawkes regarded Harry for a moment before nodding in agreement, offering his tail feathers to the Djinn/wizard.
They appeared in a hot arid climate, the desert stretched on forever in one direction, and a familiar temple stood next to him.
"Fawkes, is this the same temple my mum bought?" He asked, eyeing the full-sized form of it.
Receiving another trill, the phoenix landed on one of the obelisks flanking the entrance and Harry followed to stand at the large stone door, not questioning how the phoenix knew about this place.
"Now, what did the family grimoire say about accessing properties for the first time..."
Doing a quick search, Harry found a piece of sandstone that was a slightly different shade from the rest and inscribed with runes rather than hieroglyphs.
"I reclaim this properly in the name of Potter," he stated, holding his wand to the runes.
A brief, soft glow preceded the grinding of stone as the door slid upward, exposing the cool interior to the warmth of the slowly sinking sun.
The inside was simple, a small entrance leading to a large, sunken room completely bare save for the hieroglyphs and sconces adorning the walls, which had lit up with his entrance, with four low pedestals marking the corners of the main area.
A large worn ritual circle had been inscribed into the floor, no doubt the one used by his mum to summon an angel, bearing a similar form to the Pentecostal seal Afrit had shown him.
"Perfricto!" he cast, watching in sadness as the carefully inscribed circle was scrubbed from existence.
It wouldn't do for him to accidentally summon an angel.
Sitting on the now smooth sandstone floor Harry focused on his still surging Djinn magic while Fawkes found a new perch on a pedestal to watch.
The focus of Dumbledore's wish was to keep Harry safe, but by his admission, that was also because he wanted the wizarding world safe. That gave Harry more license to inconvenience Voldemort's plans more, and he hadn't forgotten that Afrit had said in a roundabout way that he should focus on helping the Djinn with any wish he could. That meant that Dumbledore had, without realising it, wished for the Djinn to be safe.
Smirking slightly, Harry pushed out far, much further than he'd done in the past, the wish allowing the full scope of his powers to work his wonders.
Once his senses had encompassed the globe, he thought on his next move, maybe if he pushed forward in time, he could see what was needed, he'd gone a few hundred years back before, maybe he could do the same going forward.
One, two, ten, fifty, five thousand, two million, the possible futures came at him faster than even his mind could process.
With a cry, he pulled himself back to reality, nearly overbalancing with the physical recoil of his mental retreat.
There was a flutter of feathers as Fawkes came to his side.
"I guess that's why prophecies are never fully clear, there are just too many possibilities to contented with," he said, smiling reassuringly at the phoenix.
Touching his hand to his nose, he realised it was bleeding.
"That's the last time I try for more than a few weeks ahead... merlin that kills," he said, rubbing his head slowly.
Taking a deep breath, he started again. This time, with only a little hesitation, he let the Djinn magic fully loose, only guiding it with the sole intent of helping to restore the Djinn.
~~o~~
An image of a younger Rookwood slicing open a Thestral's eyeball.
Azkaban came into view, a room deep underground; a ritual with over a hundred people dancing in rhythm around a single figure and a few dozen around the edges empowering runic arrays.
That same figure dissolving into the form of a Dementor, who then proceeded to Kiss everyone in sight.
A giant of a man in ancient Greece battling a dark wizard and shadow-like wraiths with the biggest Patronus he'd seen.
Egypt, and a bald wizard entering an underground chamber beneath the sphinx and using a Patronus to open a gap in some wards.
The same bald wizard with a solid gold book reciting something in ancient Egyptian while standing in front of an identical archway to the one in the ministry.
~~o~~
With a gasp, Harry came back to himself, the weight of knowledge resting, but not absorbed in his head. He didn't want to risk taking on any more fragments of personalities, as he had with every other bit of information he'd taken, he had enough to deal with as it was.
"Step one done," he said aloud. "I have the knowledge, now to get it to Bill somehow."
If he had things appear as books in the past, would the Grigori sense it?
Would he remember changes in the timeline like Voldemort seemed to? Maybe have the books somewhere only Bill would find or receive years later... Bingo.
"There was onetime, Fawkes, Dudley had a sleepover, and they had a movie marathon with something called Back to the Future. Didn't catch all of it from my cupboard but, one scene at the end of the second movie had a letter delivered to the Marty character from the Doctor who was stuck in the past... I think I could do the same here."
Not thinking of the consequences, Harry stood and with a smile and salute to Fawkes, vanished.
~~ 5th November 1955, Diagon Alley ~~
It worked.
He had used the Djinn magic to go back in time much further than any wizard had ever done.
Appearing in a remote corner at the intersection of Diagon Alley and Knockturn, Harry, with a thought, transformed into the guise of Brian.
Justin came with a bit more attitude and it wouldn't do to look like a Potter.
His rationale for the date, he didn't want any temptation to go see his parents, that would be counterproductive for what he had to do.
Plus, it was a date from the first movie and Harry thought it poetic.
Making a beeline for Gringotts, he approached a free teller and waited, he knew the goblin etiquette well enough now to know that a wizard waited at a goblin's leisure.
"What do you need wizard?"
Getting straight to the point, Harry answered.
"I need several packages delivered to someone."
A moment passed as the goblin looked at him like he'd grown two heads.
"Do you need a mind healer wizard? We're a bank, not a delivery service. Go bother the Owl Office for that."
Harry was about to be dismissed but he knew what to say to get the goblin to get him to agree.
"The packages will need the be sent in a few decades rather than today and the contents are rather sensitive so, they'll need to be kept secure... I can pay whatever fees are necessary."
Harry's smirk was mirrored by the goblin, they both knew how the game was played.
"Very well, wizard, use the desk over there to fill out the details on this form and return to me once done."
Harry nodded and proceeded to do just that, looking over and filling in only the relevant details and, deciding on the best course, simply wrote down the name Emmett, thinking of one of the movie characters.
Taking a second piece of parchment, Harry next wrote a letter to Bill, adopting Brian's style of handwriting.
To Mr. William Weasley
I do hope this communication finds you in as most glorious a state of health as I feel.
I am an accumulator of certain knowledge that can, in the right hands, be of immense benefit to mankind.
After following your career, I find myself in the position to bequeathed to you these most ancient manuscripts, each possessing unique, intrinsic value to a person such as yourself.
Use it for the betterment of all, as I know you are appropriately proficient.
I leave you with these wise words.
When going back to move forward, a traveller sees everything, a tourist sees only what he intended.
In time you will see.
Emmett
Smiling at the slightly cryptic nonsense at the end, he placed the letter in an envelope and willed all the knowledge into some ancient-looking notebooks, wrapped in parchment paper, and attached the letter before returning to the goblin.
"You haven't even filled in-."
The goblin didn't finish his sentence as Harry placed an expanded sack containing multiple, pure gold ingots.
"Well, Mr. Emmett, this all seems to be in order. Once Gringotts has delivered the contents to Mr. William Weasley we will close the vault. Good day to you."
Taking the dismissal for what it was, Harry walked out of Gringotts and once in the shadows of Knockturn Alley again, vanished.
~~ 12th July 1996, Egypt ~~
Reappearing where he had been standing, Harry's smile slipped slightly as he took in the slightly disapproving gaze of the phoenix.
"What, I didn't do anything to alter the timeline, just opened a vault in Gringotts, left the information to be delivered to Bill, and came back. The only person I interacted with was a goblin, and he wasn't gonna tell anyone, discretion is part of the Gringotts ethos."
With a huff, Fawkes flew back to a pedestal and started to preen his feathers.
"Arse," Harry called after him as he sat down again.
Focusing now on the third and final part of the wish, Harry extended his senses back to London where he knew Bill currently was. The curse breaker would have had the books for a month now, enough time for him to check for curses, read, validate, cross reference and research what he could, all that was needed now was for Harry to help Bills mental process connect the dots.
~~o~~
The eldest Weasley was there in his apartment with Fleur, they were... oh.
Harry blushed, embarrassed but curious as he tentatively looked, avoiding the full view, opting to dive straight into the man's mind.
Avoiding what Bill's current thoughts were, Harry focused on the knowledge that the man had read, some of it focused on notes concerning methods for combating dementors more effectively using a movie of all things about ghost catching as inspiration, he just needed a nudge here and there for him to develop something else.
Harry privately wondered when the elder Weasley had started to watch muggle movies.
Harry wasn't sure how exactly Dementors and Patronuses translated to helping the Djinn, but it was how the Djinn magic had interpreted the wish and Harry's intent.
With a final tweak, Bill's mind latched onto and ran with the idea.
"Oh my god!" was his exclamation as he both climaxed and formed the idea in his mind.
Harry watched as Bill's naked arse jumped out of bed.
"Sorry, Mon Chéri, I promise I'll go down on you hard next time," Bill called as he grabbed his leather trousers, heading for the door.
"Bill? BILL! Get back here! Enculé de salaud!"
Whatever Fleur shouted; she was undeniably pissed.
~~o~~
"I don't know the first thing about women but, leaving one unsatisfied in bed is a bad move, especially a Veela. Think I might need to make things up to Bill." Harry thought a book on the tantra magic he had used on Lance would work.
He could just say he found it in his family's main vault.
Fawkes still didn't look too impressed but relented, flying over to Harry and offering his tail, the wish concluded.
"In the grand scheme of things, what I did was a good step towards helping the Djinn, I think, isn't that the end goal?" Harry asked the phoenix.
A soft trill was the bird's reply, an impression of begrudging acceptance washing over his senses.
As he was about to bid Fawkes goodbye, a beeping sound interrupted him.
"Huh, a missed call from Lance," Harry said with a smile.
After a few short rings, Lance answered.
"Hey, Lance, what you up to?" Harry said.
"Harry, buddy, I've got a crazy but brilliant idea, can you come over?" The man answered.
"Sure, I can come over, what's the idea?" Harry said, puzzled and amused by the clear excitement in Lance's voice.
"You'll find out when you get here, see you soon." With that non-answer, Lance hung up.
"Cryptic," the wizard muttered. "I'd better get going, thanks for-" Harry didn't finish his sentence as Fawkes. once again, offered his tail.
"Really? I don't want you to think I'm using you just for transport, I mean, won't you be missed?"
Fawkes affected a long-suffering look while sending a feeling of extreme boredom down the link. Harry guessed that all that time with squabbling portraits and the headmaster would get boring fast, especially given the fact Fawkes was an immortal firebird.
"Well, if you want to tag along with whatever nonsense I'm about to get up to, on your head be it."
Fawkes' response was to cuff Harry across the head with his wing before fluttering his tail again, a self-satisfied feeling emanating from him.
"You know what, you're a right git, you know that?" Harry asked as he grabbed the feathers again.
~~ Lance's Apartment, London ~~
Appearing in a modest-sized lounge/dining room, Harry was greeted with the sight of Lance choking up cream that he'd seemingly been squirting directly from the can.
"Well now, you certainly didn't have that reaction to my cream," Harry said, amused.
"Well, it's not every day I get visitors appearing in my apartment in a flash of fire…is that the phoenix from your stories?" Lance replied, wiping up the last of the cream from himself with a tea towel.
"Sure is," Harry replied. "Fawkes, meet Lance, Lance, meet Fawkes."
Fawkes let off a warbling sound like he was laughing at Lance.
"Should I be bowing or something?" Lance asked, eyeing the bird with a touch of awe.
"Merlin no! I've started to realise that Fawkes is a bit of an arsehole, by rights phoenixes serve my kind so, you can do your bowing to me," Harry deadpanned with a side glance at Fawkes, who, with a dirty look, spat a fireball at Harry before ignoring the humans in favour of attacking a banana he'd nabbed from a bowl.
Harry, ignoring Fawkes and the fireball as it hit him in the head, walked over to the sofa and sat, Lance joining him a second later, accepting what should be an odd incident as just an everyday occurrence.
"So, what's your crazy but brilliant idea then?" Harry asked.
"Hear me out, I was watching Arachnophobia earlier and thought about our conversation about that basilisk you killed at school." He explained as if that logic made any sense.
"Killer spiders equals killer snakes, I get it," Harry said with a raised eyebrow that said he didn't.
"I was thinking about the large spiders you mentioned," Lance stated flatly before continuing.
"I figure there no time like the present to nip down there, do some exploring and slice up the carcass if it hasn't decayed too much."
Fawkes seemed quite keen on the idea from the way he was bobbing his head - not unlike a demented parrot, an image Harry fully planned to hold onto for when Fawkes was being seriously difficult - in agreement.
Harry rolled his eyes, sighing in amusement.
"I've completed the budget for a multi-million quid garden, verbally bested my headmaster, been to Egypt, and travelled back in time today so why not. I could go for a romp in a secret chamber with a giant dead snake."
It would be a welcome distraction from everything that had been going on with him recently, and he was always happy enough to spend some more time with Lance.
His easy-going nature was just the thing to help Harry take his mind off his problems.
"Your gonna have to give me more details than that mister," Lance said as Fawkes flew over.
"Well, the largest cost will come from the labour and extra surveys needed for-"
"No!" the human interrupted. "Details about the Egypt thing and the time-travel," Lance said in an exasperated tone as they both flashed away to the Chamber of Secrets.
~~ Greg's POV ~~
~~ 11th July 1996, Hampton Hall ~~
The previous days questioning at the bike shop hadn't yielded anything noteworthy, and he'd just spent two hours conning his way through the project site as a Conservation Officer with the council and likewise, had very little to show for it.
Sure, the low but steady pulse of energy registered by the Transducer may have been the same one from the previous day, and it did warrant maybe planting someone to keep an eye on the place, but it may turn out that the owners had some long-forgotten Djinn artifact that kept triggering. But Greg couldn't know, not while the Djinn field of influence had been on near-constantly since Sunday.
Greg took out the upgraded phone Skullhammer had created and dialled.
"Hey Skullhammer, this place is a bust. I'm gonna have Electra plant someone here though just to keep an eye out. There may just be some unknown artifact here," Greg said, knowing that with a few select calls, the formidable woman would have someone there within a day or two.
"Like with Dumbledore's wand?" the goblin asked.
"Yes…the wand," Greg answered stiffly.
He hadn't noticed it straight away.
It took a discussion with Albus on wandlore back during the first week after he'd gotten back from his travels, but he now knew that Albus was using what was known as the elder wand to wizards, and a Djinn-created artifact to Grigori.
Like the Ring, it too was crafted by a Djinn's magic and gave off a small pulse every time it was used, not enough for him to sense it far off, but, after a few tests, it was proven that the Transducer was sensitive enough that it could detect it within a certain limit.
"There's not much I can do at the moment. Not until either Snape can get me the location of the Lestrange brothers or I catch them out and about. I'll be in Egypt until tomorrow checking out a lead on something else," Greg supplied.
"Imhotep's books." The Goblin stated, not needing a reply.
"I'll ring you again when I get back," Greg finished with a nod.
With that, Greg hung up, since telling the Goblin about his other motive for finding the Djinn, Skullhammer, practical as ever, had been helping Greg not only research anything required for that search but ran some interference to keep others from guessing Greg's motives and it took a certain amount of pressure off.
He'd been feeling out Albus, and what his reaction could be, more and more it seemed likely that the old headmaster could be swayed to his way of thinking, at least with a bit more time.
~~ 12th July, 1996, Bill's apartment ~~
"So, with this updated map of Hamunaptra, the possible location of the book has been narrowed from a few thousand locations to a few hundred…we're making progress," Greg said, sarcastically.
"Correcting the map for variations in the date has brought us closer to finding the Book of Apopis," Bill pointed out. What gives?"
Greg sighed.
"Sorry, just got a lot on my mind at the moment and I'm still sore about not finding any leads of the Book of Amun-Ra."
Greg's main worry was the prophecy, and the reaction the Cabal and the ICW Founding Ten would have to it.
He trusted Albus would pull some strings if the Cabal tried to insist on a Wishmaster. The wording though….
Prophesies weren't worth the orbs they were recorded in, but they still held a truth no matter how vague, and this one was no different.
"Boys, so tense from working soo hard, it appears that you need a break…loosen up."
The goofy smile on Bill's face as Fleur walked in said it all.
"Hey, Fleur, was that a subtle way of saying you'd like me to leave?" Greg asked, seeing the way she was eyeing up Bill.
"Non, that was a subtle way of saying I'm going to fuck my William senseless, should you choose to watch, participate, or leave matters not."
"…I should go, Albus wants me at the swearing-in ceremony for Madam Bones anyway," Greg answered after a pregnant pause.
Giving a nod to Bill who simply nodded back, Greg beat a hasty retreat.
The part-Veela was wasting no time in her goal of undressing her target.
~~ Ministry of Magic ~~
"I, Amelia Susan Bones, by the grace of magic, do solemnly swear, that I will faithfully execute the office of Minister for Magic for Great Britain, and to perform my sacred responsibilities in safeguarding the Statute of Secrecy and uphold the laws of our World as set out by the Founding Ten.
"Furthermore, I swear to serve and protect the people of Great Britain with all the power granted to me by Magic, by Blood, and by democracy. So it is spoken, so it is written."
Greg glanced briefly as Amelia stood with her wand held high in one hand while holding one end of a golden tube containing the original Statue of Secrecy.
Supreme Mugwump Akingbade was holding the other end as he swore her in as the next Minister.
Greg turned his eyes back on the crowd, looking for any sign that two of their number were the Lestrange brothers in hiding or any other dissident who would threaten the life of Amelia, Akingbade, or Albus, who in his capacity of Britain's ICW Ambassador, co-signed a copy of the SoS as a witness.
He'd kept a tight lid on his own divine magic so as to remain as hidden as possible from the Djinn detection, he didn't want a repeat of what happened in Knockturn Alley.
"Spot anything with your two good eyes?"
Greg smirked, not taking his eyes off the crowd as he addressed the paranoid ex-Auror.
"Well, Mad-Eye, there are two Imperiused wizards near the back and by the way they've been acting, I believe they are informants only. There's a shifty journalist who will find their notes replaced with a recipe for banoffee pie when they leave, aaand, that nervous-looking blonde witch is probably Amelia's niece under some decent muggle makeup and an ageing potion most likely."
He briefly turned his head to look at Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody flashing the man a smirk, daring him to be wrong.
"The niece?" he said, scanning the faces until they found the nervous but smiling face of a twenty-something-looking woman, baring only a passing resemblance to the new minister.
"Well, I'll be," the Auror grunted, reluctantly impressed. "I guess Albus was right about you, but don't go thinking you can take me because I'm older."
'Wait until you find out how old I am, Alastor,' Greg thought as both he and the man followed Albus, Amelia, and Akingbade to her new office.
"So, gentlemen, Not even sat down, and it looks like you're about to hit me with a bludger."
Amelia's look was curious but cautious, sensing the tension.
Albus looked her straight in the eyes as he spoke.
"Tell me, Amelia, what do you know of the Djinn?"
End of Chapter 14
My view of Fawkes is that he is now comfortable with Harry enough to be himself, namely, somewhat of an arse.
The next chapter is progressing nicely so hopefully it won't take as long to up load.
Please leave a review, favourite and follow, much appreciated.
P.S. Still in the market for a Beta to look over the finer points of Grammar and some tweaks to the sentence structure.