Okay, guys, here we go! Sorry about the long delay, but between Christmas, two birthdays, a family reunion, video games, REPEATED failures in trying to edit my formatting, and a couple other things, I got distracted MULTIPLE times. Good news is, I have gotten the Gatcha tables set up (partially. Feel free to send me ideas for prizes you would like to see.), I have a bead on what is coming next on my Hero Trainer story and Dragonborn, and several of my other works are coming along pretty well. I have also started my work on my two BIG stories, but those are, like, a year away. Minimum.
Anyway, talkies aside, I hope you like this chapter! It is almost 50% larger than my normal length, AND we are getting into the good bit next chapter. Harry goes to class! Also, you should have a good idea of what I am looking at, magic-system wise, by the end of the chapter. Tell me what you think.
I had intended on familiarizing him, but the whole familiar thing just kinda… fell flat for me, so, instead of a kitsune kit, he got something else. First gatcha, GET!
As always, read and review! If you have any ideas, comments, requests, or questions, feel free to PM me. That helps a lot in my writing.
Ok, rec time. This time, I'm going for Gamer of the Void by a-shifty-sword. Honestly, the gamer system in this, and a few others I will rec later, are JUST what I am looking for. As such, if you know of any other stories with the same or similar systems, please let me know! The story is M for good reason, but it is a very interesting SI in DxD, and the story is going strong at 238k with much yet to come.
Just cause I can, I am going to double-rec to a similar story, An Electric Game by AgelessReaper. Same idea, just Elder Scrolls, not DxD. It is AWESOME as well, but it seems to be currently stalled (since November, so it is not without hope), so if you like it, please encourage the author. Hard writing times hit us all, but it is the encouragement of other readers/authors that helps drive most of us nutjobs ahead with our… 'literature'.
And finally, story!
---
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Harry Potter's Room
September 2nd, 12:30 A.M.
Hello, Harry. If you are getting this, it probably means you are at Hogwarts. If your life was anything like mine, you are probably happy about this. You shouldn't be.
As of the moment you got the first letter from Hogwarts, you were in danger. No, actually; that is wrong. You were in danger from the moment you were conceived. The danger is just greater and closer now. You see, many of the people in this place are untrustworthy, dangerous, or even want you dead. Two people who have undoubtably put in effort to make your acquaintance, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, are probably spies, while Ron, at least, surely is, or will be. Professor McGonagall, Madame Pomphrey, and Professor Sprout are puppets that, while MOSTLY harmless, cannot be trusted, and can be dangerous by association. Severus Snape is a willing threat to you, and will do EVERYTHING in his power to threaten, belittle, and harm you, though it is uncertain as to weather or not he would kill you. All of these people, and more than a few others, can NOT be trusted, cannot be PRETENDED to be trusted, without many safeguards and backup plans; in fact, don't EVER trust Ron Weasley. He was nothing more than a stool, and he had literally nothing to offer. Moreover, outside the school (in the magical world) there are SCORES of people who would use you for their own ends, kill you, or only view you as a political tool.
If you have received this message, you will probably soon get The Gamer power, if you don't have it already, to help you grow and point you in the right direction in dealing with these threats, as I cannot. I am sorry if this ability causes you trouble, but it was the surest way I could think of to help you, and not leave you unprepared, or highly cynical of everyone around you. It is completely trustworthy; after all, I helped design it to be a piece of yourself.
As for why you should trust me, it is because… I am you, or at least, I WAS you. Harry James Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, born to James Potter and Lily Potter neé Evans, both of whom died on Halloween almost nine years before you got this message. I grew up at Hogwarts, as often as I could escape there from the Dursleys, went through many dangerous adventures there, and eventually died there, in the Headmaster's Office, at age seventeen.
I… we… died because we were betrayed, but even then, our life had been hard enough that we didn;'t really put that much effort into running. The… weight of so many of our dearly-trusted people sacrificing us willingly… I broke. Thankfully, our death caused enough of a SNAFU on the other side that we got a redo, a new chance at life. The reason you don't remember our, or your, history is because having our memories would cause issues, like I said before. Thankfully, you should have all of the knowledge triggers from my life, so you won't have to re-learn everything I already learned. They will show up as a sort of savantism, boosting your speed of learning and permitting you to surpass your peers easily. Make sure to utilize these, and put in as much effort as possible to develop even more. I was something of a protégée in Defense, but I almost entirely ignored the other classes, much to my regret. Of course, Snape will make Potions hell for you, but our mother was a true master at them, so don't let him push you down!
As for you surviving, I have no idea how you are going to pull that off. This skill system should provide you with enough information to give you an edge, as should the Classes but, according to the people over here, I blamed the wrong man for the disaster, so I don't even know what to do to save you. All I can say is: use the system to get strong, make allies and back-up plans, and BE READY!!! Your worst enemy will be nothing more than a prelude to the real enemy. At least, if your life is anything like mine. Then again, giving you this will probably see to it that… it isn't. Cause, ya know, time travel.
If it really isn't, have fun!! I have no idea as to when the system should, or did, activate, only that you should have access to all of the primary functions after tonight. The GATCHA will be opening, the quests activating or becoming more frequent, and the class system will re-open in the morning, if it opened before this; if not, it will just open. The long and the short of it is, you are permitted to pick a class every time you finish out a class, and at levels fifty and one hundred, you will be permitted to add in a subclass if you so desire.
Grow strong, little man. I hope you have a better life than me.
Sorry if this message is slightly disjointed. I've been dead for a few eons, and my death REALLY messed with me. Oh, I almost forgot! Sirius Black is your godfather, and he is innocent! I am not sure what you can do about this at this time, but it is important! Make use of it, and GET HIM OUT OF AZKABAN! Remus Lupin… is complicated. He is a good friend of your (our) father's, but he is a werewolf and a sock puppet for… someone we can't trust. You have to figure that out for yourself.
As for the Weasleys, the older brothers can be decent, but we were never close to them, and the father and the twins are trustworthy. The rest… take 'em with a grain of salt.
Good luck, little man. Don't let ANYONE convince you to do anything you don't want to. Be for yourself, and have fun! Worst case scenario, you will die young after a life of fun. Best case, you will die OLD after a life of fun.
And, while you are at it, I would recommend taking over the magical world. That, or burn it down. Either/or. It would be better than living in it.
Anyway, this is Harry, wishing you, Harry, good luck, lots of fun, and a fair bit of sweet, sweet vengeance.
Peace, mini-me.
And, at that, Harry's dream faded to black.
------------
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Harry Potter's Room
6:30 A.M.
Harry woke with a start with his head whirling with new information. So THAT explained it!!! He HAD DIED!!!
Oh god… he had died!!!
Well, all he had to do to avoid it was not do what the other him did. Which, he didn't remember, except, it involved Hogwarts. Where Harry now was. And living. Which Harry (thankfully) was now doing. And dying, which he really should avoid!
IT IS TOO BL**DY EARLY TO DEAL WITH THIS!!!!!!!! WHAT THE H*LL IS HE SUPPOSED TO DO?!?!?
PING!
Quest Alert!
It's not such a big deal you b**dy moron! I've been working to make you stronger so that you don't die prematurely like last time! GET OVER IT!!!!
Objectives:
GET OVER IT!!!
Rewards:
YOU GET OVER IT!!!
PING!
Gamer's Mind Activating.
At the snark from his system, Harry calmed down. Yes, he had died once before, but he was MUCH stronger now, and he had seven more years to develop even further. True, it was a shame he had/would/could die (F*CK time travel), but now things would be different in the new (and now only) future. And, really, everyone had to die anyway, so it wasn't that big a deal, right? As long as he didn't die in the next, ya know, three THOUSAND years, he would be okay with it. Zen, even!
As he came to that realization, he started getting ready for the day. Living or dying, he could do later; for now, he had things to do.
After about twenty minutes, Harry was ready to go, so he took a moment to open his system, a habit from his younger years. A brief check of his current stats pointed him in the direction he wanted to train for the time being (STR, PER, INT; which meant high-detail puzzles while strength training, AGAIN. He would also be pushing for WIS, as he was just 86 points from the next tier), and sometimes there would be a surprise waiting for him. That, and the dream/message said he could pick a new class now, something he was thrilled about. After all, he had a lot to do if he wanted to stay alive! Sure enough, as soon as he opened the system, a message was waiting for him.
Congratulations on unlocking the GATCHA!
Have one free gift from us for doing so!
Item received: Lucky Gatcha Token X1
Lucky Gatcha: Gatcha Token that cannot bring a poor item. (A.N. Gatcha is based off of two D20 Rolls [see below]. Lucky gatcha's first roll is D10+10, second is D10+D3+D2+5)
Please spin to discover what your prize will be!
Harry blinked. That was new! What was this 'gatcha?'
The Gatcha system is thought to be the bane of gamers everywhere! Basically, you can pull something from ANYWHERE! Any reality, any story, anything at all, can be a gatcha prize. Sadly, this also means you can pull BAD things as well. Your luck stat can help increase the amount you get, but your prize is based off of an organic (no LCK) D20 roll for value of prize, then another D20 roll for specific prize. Roll a one, get a random enemy trying to kill you in a boss fight, or hunting you down in the world you are in. 2-4 is mostly garbage, and with your luck, a LOT of it. 5-7 is normal stuff, money, materials, the like, While higher grade materials, special prizes, and even extra powers can be earned by getting REALLY good rolls. Many of the prizes will be tailored to you, while the rest will be too OP to matter. Also, rolling 10 Gatcha at once gets you an extra Lucky token, twenty-five at once gets you a Rare token (A.N. D5+15 for first AND second rolls per prize, two prizes roll), and, if you roll ONE HUNDRED at once… well, I mean, it will be awesome, but, at that point, it pretty much is the definition of 'overkill', so it won't be that big a deal. Also, any roll of 6-10 from 2 up gets you skill tokens! 2-8 are mundane skills ranking between common and supreme, going up one tier per number; 9-15 are the same, but magical skills; and 16-20 get you a SET of magical skill tokens, the lowest of which is uncommon, and the highest mythic, that can even be given to MUNDANES!
Please roll for your first EVER gatcha!
Harry shrugged. He wasn't THAT interested, but it could be fun, so he pushed the roll button. And the idea of giving magical powers to normal people? THAT should be… most interesting!
First roll: 15!
Second roll: 20!!!
Reward: Deck of Many Things (Empty)!
Deck of Many Things (Empty): Got a giant Mech you need to transport? Want to steal a palace? Have an immortal enemy you need to get out of your life (or on your side)? Well, look no further! As long as you can claim some kind of ownership/victory over it, and you can create a semi-passible drawing of it, these cards can store it! Simply 1. Draw a picture of it on the card, 2. Make your claim, and 3. Throw the card at it! As soon as you do, the item will be sucked into the card, and completely at your command. You can even enter the card, or send other people into it to fight whatever it contains!!! Contains unlimited cards.
Harry blinked, then grinned. If this is what the gatcha offered, he was looking forward to it! This was going to be FUN!
You better bet on it! And that was a MID-LEVEL PRIZE! Wait until you see the big ones!
Anyway, due to specialized actions, the Classes: Sorcerer and Magician have been unlocked and Maxed!
These will be condensed with Wizard and Elementalist into the Class: Magic User, as these are (one each) part of the four man-based magical categories. To unlock the Class: Master of Magic, Player must gain one of each seven class categories, then max them out, and use those to max out, one each, the master classes: Staff Master, Wand Master, Grimoire Master, Foci-less Master of Magic, Alchemist, Rune Master, and Ritualist.
Present: Introductory: Wizard (Staff), Magician (Wand), Sorcerer (Grimoire), Elemental Summoner (Wandless)
Mastery: Alchemist Rune Master
Missing: Ritualist (Either)
Due to specialized actions, the Classes: Rune Master, Leatherworker, Smith, Alchemist, and Artificer have been Combined into Magical Craftsman and boosted to and Mythic!
Please note that this doesn't change anything, it merely cleans up the interface. If the User develops another crafting class, it will be added to here. However, due to the User's skill at magic, it will automatically be assumed to be at the level of Mythic. Building Classes, such as shipwright or architect, still need to be studied up to uncommon or rare (case specific), before the previously acquired knowledge can affect them.
User may now select a New Class!
Harry Potter
Race: Human (Magic User (Metamorphmagi))
Rank: Rare
LVL 126
EXP: 147,219 / 561,000
Class: Golemancer (LVL 100/100 (Legendary))
Runic Warrior (LVL 50/50 (Legendary))
Wardcrafter (LVL 34/50 (Rare))
Subclass: (Magic User (Mythic))
Wizard: 86.94%
Sorcerer: 100%
Magician: 100%
Elementalist: 56.82%
Total: 85.94%
(Merchant (Legendary))
(Magical Craftsman (Mythic))
Titles: Magic Rogue (Mythic) (+75% dodge)
Paladin (Special) (+40% Holy dmg. & 20% necrotic res.)
Monk (Legendary) (+20% dodge, 500% CQC dmg., +500 spirit dmg.)
Weaponsmaster (Legendary) (All weapons at or below (Legendary) usable with +250 dmg)
Metamorphmagi (Rare) (Minor shapeshifting)
Dragon Mage (Legendary) (50% magic resistance, 250% boost to fire magic)
True Hogwarts Student (1)
HP: 311,750
HP regen per sec: 29,469
Total time to regen: ~11 seconds
MP: 695,400
MP Regen per sec: 65,483.5
Total time to regen: ~11 seconds
STATS:
STR: 5000 (R)
VIT: 5920 (R)
AGI: 6444 (R)
INT: 5234 (R)
CHA: 7604 (S)
DEX: 8030 (S)
WIS: 7414 (R)
SPR: 7692 (S)
LCK: 7932 (S)
PER: 5273 (R)
Spendable Points: 457
Harry blinked in confusion as he read over the changes. 'That's new… That being said, my choice should be obvious. It is true that I am as able in combat as I am at the arcane, but I AM A MAGE!!! Let's round out my magic! Give me Ritualist!!!
[…]
[…]
[…]
[You dope.]
[Ritualist is a Mastery class!!! You can't choose it as your class without first learning a base variant!!! In the case of alchemist, you already had the necessary background in potions due to your previous life, and you manually upgraded rune master with all your study and experimenting! If you want to learn rituals, go with Abjurer. It is the second-most ritual-intensive class, and the first-most is an Abjurer variant, Exorcist, which you can't access yet. It will prove useful anyway. A good third of Abjurer is cleansing and containing wild magic. The ritual magic you learn from it can be extracted into the Ritual Magic category, when you max out the class.]
'Eh, right. Let's go Abjurer!!!'
[Dimwit…]
Please choose your class:
{Fighter}{Mage}{Rouge}{Support}
{Support Selected}
{Fighter Support} {Mage Support} {Rogue Support} {True Support} {Back}
{Mage type selected}
{Healer} {Abjurer} {Enthraller} {Back}
{Abjurer Selected!}
Due to your magical knowledge, Abjurer is upped to level 53 (53/75)!
As soon as he received this notice, Harry's head went foggy and he almost fell over. Suddenly, a hundred connections he had missed before were just… there! And it was FASCINATING!
For one, abjuring was heavy on theory. Mostly, it was about understanding magic, and how to stop it or clean up after it, seeing to it that there was no residue left behind to cause problems for other magic. Sure, there was a fair bit of banishing and shielding, but that had more to do with cleansing the residue emotions and memories of people, and defending against wild or attacking magic that you had to clean up. More than that, you couldn't just leave a dead spot behind in the place of the magic you were removing, as such a thing was aberrant to nature, like a vacuum; something had to fill it! You had to figure out what HAD been there, what WAS there, and what NEEDED to be there. As such, it was a perfect intro to rituals and how to use them, because it taught you HOW most magic did what it did. Sure, Harry didn't gain many rituals to use, but he had a deep enough understanding to be able to actually design a few, especially when you consider that vampires and were-beasts were made by rituals, further boosting his knowledge. In fact, it helped him begin to clear up the large number of questions he had regarding the two alterations! All this, however, required time, timing, and space; as such, he was going to put off really getting into rituals until the summer, and, for now, would stick to abjuring.
Rituals themselves as a study, however, looked like they would be even better than abjuring! Over the course of the last three (lineal) years of his life, Harry had been learning magic, but in a very disjointed way. It was true that he had a LOT of skills relating to various magical disciplines, but his actual knowledge was rather sketchy. His three-plus years under the Draconim had helped, to a large extent, flush that knowledge out, clean it up, and help him understand WHY what he was doing was working. However, there had always been a slight issue. Draconim, like many of the Western Dragon races, were… adept, to put it mildly, at magic casting, or magical resistance; that being said, their races were VERY physically oriented, making higher thought harder for them. Their processing power (smarts) and ability to cross-reference and use the info they had (intelligence) were normally above average (by several miles), and their long-lived nature gave them access to a HUGE amount of info to process (knowledge); but, while they were inventive in their applications of information (cunning), they were rather lacking in the area of discerning what, what they knew MEANT, and figuring out how to use that to get them a better, or the best, outcome (wisdom). To use layman's terms, they were bright, knowledgeable, and clever; but you would have to go a long way to find a dragon philosopher. Oh, they were often above average then, too! It's just, they were much LESS above average in that area than in the others.
This, of course, meant that most, if not all, of what Harry had been taught, had been practical knowledge. How spells worked, and how they could be used, rather than WHY. As soon as Harry gained a class in rituals, however, the difference became clear.
The seven classes of magic were, roughly speaking, split right down the middle, with three being about man, three about nature, and the last being about where man MEETS nature. The Staff, the symbol of the Traveler, he who has seen the world; the Wand, the symbol of the Maestro, he who guides the world; and the Grimoire, the symbol of the Scholar, he who studies the world, were the three branches that focused less on nature, and more on magic. These three were the staple of modern magics, due to the fact that you get to do pretty much whatever you want, as long as you have the necessary ingredients.
The Traveler's magic, for example, was about bringing things to where you were; essentially, it was a summoning-based magical system. Someone has a fireball, I need it, so I will take the fireball from the someone, and bring it here; though normally they were pulling from the universal 'wizards' space', a vast interdimensional pocket of existence that was filled with a constantly self-renewing cycle of every form of available wizard's magic. The fact you are not actually CREATING your spells, however, makes shaping and controlling them a much trickier process, and thus, more power-intensive, due to the fact that you are pulling something that already exists to yourself, then altering it to fit your needs. That, however, also makes it MUCH harder to dispel, block, or dismiss, because the item has its own set identity, and it already existed beforehand, making it more… real, for lack of a better term. A wand spell that gathers oxygen and ignites it to create a fireball will produce a much cooler, less dense, and much small fireball with a set amount of power, than the same amount of power being used to summon a pre-existing one from a literal hellscape. This, however, could also give the Wizard a 'home-court' advantage as often as they created or 'locally sourced' the output of their spells. A wizard who lived on top of a mountain, or near a mountaintop, didn't need to call from the wizards' space for snow, ice, or rock. The more familiar they were with the terrane, the faster, more powerful, and more accurate the spell. That is why wizards travel so much.
The Maestro, in comparison, was more focused on a domino train-like effect in its approach. Basically, the building blocks for every wand spell was readily at hand. All that really needed to happen, was for them to get set in motion. Take, for example, an animal-conjuring spell. This spell, instead of CONJURING the named creature, uses the Magician's understanding of the nature of the creature, and the nearest piece of similar DNA (typically in the form of a dust flake), to produce, or, more accurately, imitate the target. All the necessary pieces are there, all that is missing is the assembly. That is why mythical, or very geographically distant, animals are so hard to conjure. However, this makes it so that the user's magic is less involved in creating (or, for the Staff, summoning) the effect of the spell. True, I don't have a REAL tiger, but it has fur, claws and teeth, it is chewing on your leg, and it cost anywhere from a fifth to a tenth of what the actual thing would. That is good enough for me.
The Scholar is the most inflexible, at first, but also the most exact. A true Grimoire, is a grimoire, because the pages contain an actual item, or the magical code fore one. The page doesn't tell you how to make a fireball, it HAS a fireball on it. That is what the words, letters, symbols, or whatever the medium is, IS, not what it describes. That means that, to an amateur Sorcerer, each fireball will be THE EXACT SAME. Same oxygen content, same temperature, same velocity, etc. What a master does is, as he casts, he ADDS modifiers to the spell. Instead of 500˚, make it 550˚, and so forth. That makes it much easier to cast, and MUCH harder to dispel, but far less versatile, at least not without considerable practice.
Wandless magic is the study of nature around you, and your place in it. Take your hand and wave it through the air. By creating air currents, you have started on the path of wandless magic. The only thing missing, is degree. When that motion sets an actual wind blowing, no matter how light, you have achieved your first wandless spell. That means that Ki, combat sense, chakra, and many other 'mundane' skills are, in fact, the introduction to wandless magic. The only thing missing is intensity, and that is what the Sage pursues, as well as a firmer understanding of nature around him. After all, it takes far more skill and effort to condense water out of the air in the midst of a desert, than on the shores of the ocean.
The other three branches were where things got less power intensive, but more tricky, as each was about what was already in nature. You would not generally cast a spell to temporarily morph one ingredient into another in potions; rather, you used what the ingredient already was. The whole of potions lay in the art of combination. Basilisk venom was a potent destroyer, phoenix tears a potent reviver; so, if the two were properly mixed, they could be used to annihilate a person's body, or part thereof, and regrow it, unharmed. Runes, however, leaned more into changing nature. This stone cannot float, I want it to float, so RUNES!!! Simple, yet also VERY dangerous. Thankfully, nature acted as a leash for runemaster, due to the fact that bigger changes, like, oh, say, a BLACK HOLE, required thousands, minimum, of runes and huge amounts of energy.
But rituals? Ohohohohoho, rituals were where it got DANGEROUS. The whole sum total of ritual magic, was the DRAWING of bits of nature into yourself! You would actually be making it so your nature, imitated something else's nature! That is why it was so picky! For example, a common old-time magical ritual for young witches and wizards involved creating a ritual circle around source of fire (the stronger the better), then using the ritual to draw the nature of that fire into yourself, to make yourself more resistant to, and more capable of summoning, fire. However, no-one in their right mind EVER tried to use the sun for it. Why? While it is a MASSIVELY powerful source of fire, you would essentially erase anything 'non-fire' about your being due to its magnitude! The result would turn you, and a large amount of the area around you, into a burning wasteland. The only successful case of this working is why the Middle East is so dry and sandy, and created the race know as ifrits. Not the friendly ones, the 'burn the world' ones.
At this point of his inner monologuing, his musings were interrupted by a new message from the system, drawing him back to the matter at hand.
PING!
All subclasses at Legendary or higher. Please select two new subclasses.
Available: Shapeshifter, Berserker, Knife Juggler, Street Thief (Superior already in use), Seer, Medic, or Survivalist.
Harry scowled. 'Forget Berserker, I am a strategist! Street thief is no good for now, and I think that medic and survivalist won't do much for me at the moment. Shapeshifter will HOPEFULLY help me be more effective with my Metamorphmagic, given that I can't seem to really use it for anything better than disguises, so I should probably use that. That and… Seer. It ain't gonna be much at first, and I doubt it will really be that good to begin with, but it might be able to give me an edge against those that are threatening my life. After all, knowledge is power! We will try Knife Juggler soon, though. Hopefully, it is more than just juggling!'
Subclass: Shapeshifter unlocked!
Due to Metamorphmagic, Shapeshifter is up to Rare! You can now shapeshift into any human or normal animal you understand well enough.
To upgrade, Shapeshift into (ten) mid-tier magical animals perfectly, with abilities.
Subclass: Seer Unlocked!
Due to INT and PER being over five thousand, Seer is up to Special!
Subskill: Deduct has been added to observe!
To upgrade, successfully predict the next ten action/reaction pairs in a row of a person/event/etc., ten times.
Harry sighed to himself. It seemed that the seer skill was more Sherlock Holmes than it was Frank Cadillac (A.N. Downing Jr. Sherlock, particularly when he fights, as opposed to Frank Cadillac, Nicolas Cage's character in Next, who could see about thirty seconds into his own future at will). Still, it should be useful! Anyway, since he was done with his system work for the day, Harry closed the window in front of him, got up, and started getting dressed while looking over his security log for the night, then headed for the door. After all, it was just about eight o'clock, and it didn't pay to keep a woman waiting!
On his way out, however, he completely failed to notice that the message he got, and the new magics and skills he unlocked, had effectively wiped away the despondency he had felt the night previous.
------------
Tracy Davis was more than a little uncertain of her place in life right now. After all, Harry Potter, everyone's favorite for Gryffindor, had ended up in Slytherin based off of their DORM SELECTION after a protracted argument with a hat, she had ended up bullied the first night at Hogwarts (sadly, that wasn't that unexpected) as a 'reminder' of her 'place' with her supposed protector as an instigator of said treatment, and the-Boy-who- really-SHOULD-have-been-a-Gryffindor had been the one to save her.
Now, if Tracy were to be honest, she would have confessed to the fact that she would have accepted ANYONE'S help at that point in time, even if it was the devil himself, or Snape in a pink tutu. After all, she had been bullied in front of, and partially at the request of, her best and only friend, and said friend had done NOTHING to help out. Sure, it was expected; sure, it was normal; sure, it had been (mostly) harmless. That did NOT change the pain she felt. And she didn't mean physical pain, either! There really are no words to describe the feeling you get when you are being bullied in front of your best friend, and they do NOTHING but watch, not even verbally. The sensation of knowing that it was done, at least partially, at their request? That was MUCH worse.
That being said, she kept worrying away at what serving under Harry Potter would be like. Would she be forced to fight against the Dark, acting as a meat shield while he took all the glory? Would he just expect her to sit near him and act friendly? Would she be serving under him? She had NO knowledge of what to expect here, and, like any good Slytherin, she hated that. After all, how was one supposed to get an edge, without a way to get an edge? She needed DATA!!!
So wrapped up was she in trying to figure out what her role would be to Harry Potter, she missed when the boy himself arrived, which was a minor miracle. After all, the WHOLE DAMNED HALL went silent; and, given that all students had to attend to get their schedules, and they were all catching up after having been separated for the summer (or hyped up as it was their first year here), it had been… rather noisy.
Harry, oddly enough, just ignored the odd behavior and sat across from her, a wry smile appearing on his face when he noticed that her head was so far in the clouds that she missed the fact that the probable cause of her troubled mind was sitting near her. Actually, it was either him, or Daphne, and they were both in viewing range.
After a few minutes, the arrival of Slytherin's Head of House soon drew everyone's attention, even hers. Well, let's be honest, that would barely rated a collective shudder from 75% of the hall on a normal day. No, what made his arrival interesting, was his appearance on this particular morning.
He was, as was his norm, wearing in black trousers. Somewhat different from normal, but not quite a big deal, was the fact that his shirt, as opposed to its normal coal color, was black-and-white striped, and the black eye-mask that was tied around his head was even stranger; but these were not the most noticeable bits. No, the honor for that position went wither to 1.) the massive bags under his eyes that indicated a complete lack of sleep that were SO bad, you could see them under, and OVER the mask, 2.) the gigantic bag with a dollar sign on it, or 3.) the eighteen-inch imp (it LOOKED like a dwarf, but those were almost three TIMES as large) that ran along in front of him, yelling "Oyez, Oyez!!! All hail the idiot who tried to break into a warded apartment! More than three hundred attempts, and a matching number of failures, plus one for his failure of a life!!! Here is a man, that cannot tie his own shoes without a map and someone to use it for him!!! Oyez, OYEZ!!! Hail to the Ugly Prince of FOOLS!!!"
Let's be honest, it was probably the mask that drew the attention.
Snape looked like he was ranting. It also looked like he had a tri-forked, rainbow colored tongue that was covered in sequins. It was important to note, however, that everything he said, while relatively clear (as long as you ignored the… em, speech impediment), was made exclusively of the sounds of flatulence and belches, the same sounds that were made when he did literally anything, making it hard to tell when he was actually speaking or not. Of course, the raucous laughter caused by the surrounding herd of Cornish Pixies following him made it even harder to hear him, but he certainly LOOKED unhappy with… someone. He kept river dancing and pirouetting, so it was hard to tell where he was looking.
A few seconds later, the staff had him stunned and levitating, though they couldn't seem to contain the river dancing. Professor McGonagall marched over to her house's table and grabbed the ears of two rather mischievous-looking and violently protesting red-headed students, dragging them behind her as she made her way from the hall, while Professor Flitwick found himself involved in a high-speed chase with the gnome, who, when he made eye contact with the rapidly approaching staff member, had yelled "Blimey, it's the coppers!", then bolted while continuing his heralding, interspersed with protestations of cruelty and calling for people to "Come see the violence inherent in the system!"
It was at this point that everyone forgot Harry Potter (for the moment), and Tracy Davis noticed him.
"Ah, my… um, Harry. Mr. Potter? Lord Potter? My Lord?"
Harry just grinned and waved his hand. "Harry's fine. I don't really have a problem with nick-names either, as long as it isn't diminutive or insulting. Something like that, however, should be put off for later. After all, as of this moment, we only have the most cursory of verbal agreements. After we hash out the details of our interaction, we will settle on a title."
Tracy flinched slightly. This had to be some form of nightmare! She knew what those terms meant from her father's teaching about loan officers. Cursory verbal agreement? That meant he could just toss her aside if he didn't like the deal she made. She chucked her friend away for this deal! And 'hash out the details?'!!! She was going to be skinned for minimal services, she just knew it!
Harry chuckled as he saw her response. "Relax! I promised my services, and I WILL deliver. We just need to figure out how, where, what, and/or when I deliver. As such, I think we should have a meeting to discuss it. What say we meet… on the third floor, righthand side, a half-hour after breakfast. Classes won't start until day after tomorrow, so that should give us a good opportunity to talk, and, to the best of my knowledge, there are at least two or three classrooms over there that are unused year-round."
At his words, Tracy calmed down a little, but not much. After all, this might be a trap! She would have to be very careful.
---
Of course, by the time Tracy made it to the meeting area, the classroom had been converted into a complete office with a decent looking, although slightly old, throw rug covering most of the floor, some new, and mostly filled higher-grade wood bookshelves, a grandfather clock against one wall, and a rather large, and VERY sturdy, wood desk in the middle of the room. Naturally, Harry sat behind the desk going through a stack of correspondence, which confused, because she was SURE he hadn't received any letter via owl this morning.
Nervously, she took a seat in front of the desk, and waited.
Tick, tick, tick.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the grandfather clock kept it's steady rhythm up, each second feeling like it was another boulder on her back. The first few were bearable, but after that, the strain just kept getting worse! A bead of sweat rolled down her face, and her breathing grew louder and more ragged.
Tick, tick, tick.
Harry was frowning as he paged through more letters, his concentration indomitable as his eyebrows drew closer together. Was it bad news? Would he be changing his mind? Would he charge more? Each fearful process brought her closer to a full-on panic attack.
Tick, tick, tick.
The clock was growing louder now, it had to be! Otherwise, how could she hear it over the thundering of her own heart? What was going to happen? Why was he ignoring her? Was she having a heart attack?
Tick, tick, tick.
The pounding got louder, and her breathing was so frantic, she was starting to hyperventilate. She was doomed! She would be-
BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG!
With a loud yip, Tracy leapt in her chair, then fainted out of it, collapsing to the floor.
Harry looked up at the noise. "Hello?"
No-one was there. Confused, and convinced he was forgetting something, Harry turned back to his business corresponds. After all, food doesn't sell itself!
---
Sadly, after all that, the meeting wasn't all that interesting, mostly just an arrangement where Harry provided protection and minor tutelage, mostly through access to books and answered questions, in exchange for her providing him with any intel he requests regarding the socio-political scene of wizarding Britain, as often as he asked for/needed it, over the course of the next two years, with a new contract to be examined at that time. All in all, Tracy found herself… disappointed. To be sure, she didn't want to pay more! But still, the fact that she wouldn't be working closely with the Boy-Who-Lived, or learning from him, was almost… sad, in a way. When she offered the option of a closer interaction, preferably for better tutoring, he just laughed and stated that he was going to be far to busy for that, then gave her a look.
After about twenty seconds of staring at her, he seemed to come to a decision. "Look, Davis, I will be honest with you. You, above all other things, were a choice of convenience. It is not that I saw something in you specifically, though you do show more potential than, like, ninety percent of or classmates. The fact is, I have more potential than, approximately, one hundred of you, COMBINED! No, the point is that you were in a perfect position for me to prove my point and begin my legend. Not that I didn't care about you as a person, though. No-one should be so badly treated by their friends, and I would have, at LEAST, provided some aid. Let's be honest, however. Although I have a great deal of hype as the Boy-Who-Lived, that is nothing more than a rather flimsy celebrity status, nothing less, nothing more. As such, since I aspire to greatness, I am aim to make an ACTUAL name for myself, a name so strong that no-one will ever dare stand against me and mine again. The Dark Slime Voldemort, and all his men, will be shown a very important lesson: To lead, others must choose to follow; and by the time I am done they will be following!
You, however, have a unique opportunity. If you want, with time and good effort, you can get in on the ground level, and ride my coattails to fame and fortune. This was the path your former ally would be the most likely to take. Minimal effort, negligible risk, and a HUGE payout. I, however, doubt that is for you. Though we will be allies for a LONG time, I doubt you want to be a follower. As such, I will offer you this advice.
For the next two years, lay low. Fulfill your duties, do your job, and stay in the middle of the pack, just another face in the crowd, all while I will teach you the basics of magic, politics, technique, and manipulation. At the end of that time, have a 'life-changing' experience, and start to build your own legend. That, I think, is the path you will desire.
In the meantime, watch me. To be sure, my way is not the only way to grow powerful, or famous, but I will teach you the basics. Starting tomorrow in class, you will see, as will all the others, that I am different, I am MORE. This, above all else, is where it begins. If you wan to be great, start by becoming different, then, grow efficiently. While your friends waste time, be efficient. While they goof off, practice more. True, you need rest and relaxation; just, don't take as much as the others. This will help you get to where you are a cut above. Then you, too, can gain a reputation as effectively as I will. This will be the best way for you to truly get what you want."
Tracy sat back, stunned. It had been… years. Before she and Daphne had really become friends, she had always wanted to be… strong. Recognized. Someone so powerful that no-one would ever look down on her. Daphne had told her that was not her way.
"I don't mind your dream, Trace. Anyone can dream. But… are you really a leader? Do you have what it takes to stand out front?"
The question had seemed innocent. It probably wasn't. Not that Tracy blamed Daphne. She had just been raised to manipulation from day one. Her father may have been an amazing businessman, but it was all just politics, and her mother, while lovely, didn't have the majority voice in her home.
"I… no. I don't. I just want to be the best, ALONE! That way, I can be powerful, and peaceful!"
Daphne sighed, looking at her young friend. "It… doesn't work like that. Just, follow me. I can't make you the best, but I can get you your quiet."
It had been a couple of years later, after Daphne's mother's death, that Tracy had caved. They had fought, and Tracy just… gave in. She didn't want her friend to suffer, so she had suffered for her friend. The years of conformity suddenly felt heavy again, the weight of following starting to suffocate her.
"Can you really? Can you give me my dream? Powerful, but peaceful? Strong, but gentle?"
Harry looked up sharply, then laughed. "Is that all? Do you want me to make you richer than the Ministry as well? No, I will give you no such dream. If you want it, then you will have to get it. I will merely help. A LITTLE!"
When he started to answer her, she had shrunken in on herself. She knew her dream couldn't… wait. He said… she would do it? Herself? She could?!? Then she remembered. There was one more thing she wanted.
"I also… want to help Daphne."
Harry paused, then the pen he was holding down and looked her in the eye. "Are you sure? That is… not small. It is even harder than the first thing you asked for. It CAN be done, but NOT cheaply."
Tracy paused, remembering Daphne's betrayal. Then, she remembered something… older.
"My Daphne will need you when I am gone. Please, don't leave her friendless. If you leave her, then it will be just my daughters and my husband. He doesn't know… he can't do it… Please? Help her… and… find some… someone for… Stori."
Tracy sniffed and rubbed her face. "I'm sure. I… made a promise. One I have to keep."
Harry looked down, then looked back up. "Are you sure? Only ask because you will be carrying the weight. You must understand, she will hate you before this is done. She may even curse you, or try and destroy you. Is it worth that much to you?
"Yes."
He rubbed his eyes, then nodded and extended his hand for her to shake. "As you wish, Ms. Davis. I wish you a lot of luck. You are GOING to need it."