Harry James Potter, the Mercenary-Who-Lived: A Harry Potter Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its associated characters: all rights belong to JK Rowling. I do not own any crossover references used in the story: all rights belong to their original creators. I do own any OC spells explained at the end of a chapter.

Plot: The Contracted Hero Response: So, you want me to come to your 'school' and be the Golden Boy, do you? Question: what's in it for me? Oh, you don't like that I'm charging for my heroism? Don't you know that all magic comes with a price? Tit for tat, dearie! Well, Albus, what'll it be?

Challenge Information: DZ2's 'The Contracted Hero' Challenge: When he was a boy, Harry found himself headhunted by people whom saw his power and want to give him more. But not before they help him teach others how, like Magic, things always have a price.

Rules: Grey or Dark Harry

Powerful Harry or stronger

Before he starts Hogwarts, Harry MUST be approached by a member of a magical-mercenary/bounty hunter guild/organisation

The organisation MUST make a 'deal' with the Dursleys to ensure the organisation has full custody/guardianship rights over Harry

When Harry's taken away, he starts 'at the bottom' as he learns the ropes, but, over time, as he rises up through the ranks, he accompanies others on 'jobs/contracts' and even gets to go through his own 'jobs/contracts' as well

When his Hogwarts letter comes, Harry MUST ignore it/dismiss it because 'there's nothing in it for him'

If/When someone from Hogwarts finally decides to come and investigate, Harry MUST make it clear that they're entering into a contract with him

What the terms of this contract are is up to you, but it MUST benefit Harry more than Hogwarts (e.g. financially, resource-wise, allies etc.)

At Hogwarts, Harry can go to ANY House

His mercenary ways MUST be the cause of controversy, especially since he doesn't do anything for anyone but himself without asking for a price (this MUST include his end-of-year adventures)

On more than one occasion, Harry and Dumbledore MUST have a confrontation with Harry warning the old man about cancelling/ending the contract too soon

Even though he's at Hogwarts, Harry MUST find a way to still take on 'jobs' outside Hogwarts

All pairings are welcome

Guidelines: Crossovers

Super/OP Harry

Dark-Lord-like Harry

The organisation's head honcho is the one to 'recruit' and 'care for' Harry

Canon-HP characters are members of the organisation

Lily and Petunia had a third sibling/distant relative whom is a member of the organisation and is the one to 'rescue' Harry from Privet Drive

Creature-Wizards/Squibs/Magical Creatures who aren't wizards are members of the organisation

Gringotts/the goblins have a strong sense of respect/alliance with the organisation because of how they don't just kowtow to the humans' ways and rules

If/When Harry gets Sirius' name cleared, he lets Sirius know/remember he owes him twice now - once for breaking his godfather's oath, once for clearing his name

Harry uses enchanted or just plain Muggle weapons as part of his arsenal

The organisation teaches Harry magic/magical abilities not really accepted by the Brits

The organisation is located overseas/on non-British soil (e.g. uncharted/Unplottable island)

The organisation has other branches all over the world that Harry visits

Slash

Harems

Harry/Multi

Harry recruits his fellow students and/or teachers/other adults into the organisation

Harry seeks to build his own 'branch' of the organisation, with him as the top dog

A prophecy speaks of the Merc With Magic

Voldemort approaches the organisation for a possible alliance/jobs, even though Harry is a member

Weirdly, if/when Voldemort approaches the organisation, Harry offers a 'truce' as payment because he isn't being 'paid' to be the Dark Lord's enemy (this can be a lie)

Forbidden: Light or Evil Harry

Harry staying with the Dursleys

Harry immediately being granted top-level rank and ability

The organisation out to manipulate Harry (at least those who rescue and care for him)

Harry allowing Hogwarts to claim him for nothing

Voldemort successfully making Harry a servant

Anyone getting Harry away from the organisation

Everyone, especially Dumbledore, accepting Harry's mercenary attitude

The contract Harry makes with Hogwarts benefitting the 'client' more than him

Harry doing any job/favour/task for someone else for nothing

Other than that, it's up to you…

Author's Note: So, here is what I solemnly swear is going to be my last new idea for quite some time, but, at the same time, it's a fun little notion that just wouldn't let me focus on my other works, so…let the fun begin.

And, as always, if you don't like it, don't read it.

Recommended Reads: Silver King, Bonded, Widow's Vengeance, Trickshot and Damaged Raven by JustBored21, Triton by the elementa1ist, Light's Hope, Death's Hunters by reptilia28, Harry Potter and the Clean Slate by ForsensProgeny, My Beautiful Huntress, Janus, Just a Touch of Kleptomania and A Union of Dragons by Quatermass, Harry Potter and the Hidden Truth by KingFatMan25, The Don of Hogwarts by Hector Flores, The Shadow of Death by Darkened Void, Family Ties by BarbaraKaterina, Wand, Knife and Silence by TheGirlWithFarTooManyIdeas, The Raven's Anger by oso1991 and Wizard Kingpin by Odin999

Key Pairing: Eventual Harry/Lisa

Other Pairings: To be determined

Normal Speech

'Thoughts'

/Parseltongue/

Chapter 1: Then and Now: Long-Lost Family

Six Years Ago

Knock-knock-knock-knock!

"BOY! GET THE DOOR!"

Like a well-trained pet – though perhaps slave was more-appropriate – five-year-old Harry James Potter slowly made his way towards the front door, after leaving the sink full of dirty, white-hot pots and pans to steep in the even-hotter water. His hands were already red from the heat of the water and, as he made his way to the door, Harry winced silently, doing his best to hold in a whimper of discomfort as the cool air of the afternoon hit his heated hands.

Nearby, he saw his Uncle, Vernon Dursley, as well as his Aunt Petunia – his Mother's sister, not that she ever admitted to having a sister – and his cousin Dudley laughing uproariously at something on the television, his cousin laughing through what had to be his fourth slice of chocolate cake, while his Uncle was on his sixth, and yet, somehow, he wasn't full.

As he pulled his eyes away from his family, Harry made his way to the front door, just as another round of knocks filled the air; when he reached the door, he reached up and pulled on the handle, doing his best not to whimper as the touch of the door handle's cold metal stung his hot hands.

Pulling the door open, Harry found himself looking at a really strange sight: there, on the other side of the door, was a tall, yellowish-blond-haired man whom was dressed in a long, flowing overcoat, which seemed to flare out behind him like the wings of a bat. As well as the coat, the man wore a loose-fitting white shirt and dark, denim jeans, as well as converse trainers on his feet. His eyes were an unusually, if not eerily-familiar shade of green and, as he looked at Harry, the man's eyes widened in alarm before he seemed to become stern-faced and angry.

Given that he'd basically been taught to fear anger, thanks to the rage-infested demon that was his Uncle, Harry shied away, even as he asked in a weak, shaky voice, "C-c-can I…can I h-h-help you, sir?"

"Bloody hell," replied the stranger, his voice edged by an unusual-sounding accent – at least, Harry thought so – while he scowled in displeasure as he continued, "I knew you wouldn't be…well…you, kid, but this…damnit to Hades! At least I know I'm at the right house; tell me, are your aunt and uncle home?"

When Harry nodded, the man then offered him a friendly smile, the sight of which seemed to take away some of Harry's fear and dread, while the man asked, "Can I speak with them? You can stay out in the hallway, if you like."

"I…I don't think…"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, FREAK?" Roared Vernon, the sudden roar making Harry jump in shock, while Vernon demanded, "TELL WHOEVER IT IS WE'RE NOT BUYING WHATEVER THEY'RE SELLING AND CLOSE THE DOOR! YOU'RE LETTING THE HEAT OUT; HURRY UP, UNLESS YOU'D RATHER BE SENT TO YOUR CUPBOARD WITHOUT FOOD AGAIN!"

Suddenly, Harry saw the stranger's eyes flash dangerously before he looked at the small boy as he drew in a slow, shaky breath before, holding out his hand, he told Harry, "Step aside, Harry; don't worry, I'm not going to let them hurt you anymore."

Even as Harry obeyed, again out of little more than instinct, he couldn't help but wonder how this man knew his name; however, just as he had been taught to obey all commands, so too did he know how wrong, cruel and criminal it was to ask questions.

Besides, he did want to eat that night, having been a good boy all day long and done everything his Aunt and Uncle had told him to do.

As he stepped aside, he saw the stranger turn back before, lifting a hand, he beckoned something from the end of the garden towards him; to Harry's surprise, a young lady with white hair and eerie-coloured blue eyes walked up the garden path, stopping next to Harry, while the blond stranger smiled again at the boy.

"Wait here…this won't take long."

Stepping past Harry, the stranger walked through the door and into the lounge; seconds later, Harry heard a clatter of china smashing on the floor, which he already knew he would be blamed for, before he heard his Aunt's voice cry out.

"YOU? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, YOU…YOU SELFISH BASTARD? HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR FACE AROUND MY FAMILY! GET OUT! I TOLD YOU BEFORE: I DON'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOU, YOU…YOU FREAK!"

"Oh, Tuney, why don't you shut up?" asked the stranger, earning a faint smirk from Harry: even though he didn't quite understand what was going on, he did find it funny to hear someone telling his loving family to shut up and be anything, but…well…themselves.

As he listened, Harry heard Petunia go on, clearly choosing to ignore the stranger's advice, "Get out of here, John: I don't know what you think you're doing coming anywhere near my family, but I will not have you staying! You, like that vile slut, chose your path and betrayed your family; you are not welcome here!"

"Oh, Tuney," sighed the man, John, his voice edged by a glimmer of amusement as he seemed to go on with a hint of mocking humour in his voice.

Though the words he said would change Harry James Potter's life forever, even if he didn't know it yet;

"Is that any way to greet your baby brother after all these years? Especially when I've come to offer you help in relieving you of the…ahem…burden of raising my precious nephew?"

'Brother?' asked Harry, looking to the woman standing with him, whom seemed just as amused by the man, John's, words.

When she saw Harry looking, however, the woman nodded before she told him, "It's true, Harry; that man in there is your Uncle…well, half-Uncle would probably be more appropriate; his name is John Constantine and mine is Sara Lance, Johnny's fiancée and, I guess, if you like, it makes me your Auntie…well, half-Aunt, I guess."

"I…I have a…another…Uncle?" asked Harry shakily, earning a nod from the woman, Sara, before Harry asked, "What…what does…does he want, Miss…um…Auntie Lance?"

"To give you a new home," replied Sara, earning a shocked look from Harry, before Sara winked playfully as she reached down and cupped the boy's cheek in a warm, loving hand as she smiled at him.

"And so much more…but I guess that depends on my sister-in-law and her moron of a husband agreeing to Johnny's terms, doesn't it?"

Even though he was still confused by the words, and what was going on here, Harry couldn't resist looking back to the living room door, silently praying that this long-lost relative was going to get him out of Privet Drive.

And, ideally, never return.

For that chance, he'd do anything, be anything, pay anything and give everything, even to his long-lost Uncle John.

Merc

Present Day

The sound of a soft, but clear bell chiming in his ears roused eleven-year-old Harry James Potter-Constantine from his sleep, accompanied by a feeling of well-practiced alertness, which took hold of him as soon as he opened his eyes.

For a long moment, the young boy lay flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling of his bedroom before, suddenly, he smirked and rolled to the right.

Just in time to avoid becoming a human pincushion as several shafts of magical energy suddenly cut through his hammock, earning a low groan from Harry as he drawled, "Damnit, Uncle John: that's my favourite hammock…mental note: make the sadistic a-hole pay through the nose for a new one…now, what's next?"

Seconds later, he got his answer when a burst of fire erupted from his bedroom wall, but, again, Harry seemed to realise it was coming as he leapt up into the air, spinning like a corkscrew as he dodged the fire before, as he hit the floor, he rolled over onto his belly as he smiled knowingly.

"Firewall Snare…been a while since you tried that one, Uncle…nearly caught me off-guard, but I was trained by the best…"

Then, to Harry's disbelief, the floor opened up beneath him, making him drop out of his bedroom…

And into a large, rusty-looking tub filled with ice water, the feeling of which caused him to cry out in alarm, before he rose up, coughing and sputtering, while an amused voice greeted him.

"What have I told you about being overconfident, Harry?"

"Never when you think you're free and clear," groaned Harry, shivering from the cold as he shook his head like a dog, sending the water he'd fallen into flying everywhere, before he groaned again as he added, "My bad; I saw the Firewall Snare and thought you'd kept things simple today, Uncle John…guess I forgot nothing's ever simple where the great and powerful John Constantine is concerned."

"Says the kid famous for surviving the unsurvivable," drawled John Constantine, earning a soft laugh from Harry as he cleaned out an ear with a single finger, rubbing more droplets from his eyes with his other hand; once his vision had cleared, Harry looked up to see his Uncle – his Mum and Aunt Petunia's half-brother, as he'd learned on that fated day six years earlier – standing there with a towel, as well as what looked like a faded envelope held in his free hand.

Seeing the envelope, Harry scowled as he asked, "Again? How many letters does this make it now, Uncle?"

"I think it's somewhere in the hundreds," replied John, handing Harry the towel first; when he took it, however, Harry paused, turning the towel several times before, with his own free hand, he traced his fingers down the cottony material. Once he was certain there were no more hidden surprises waiting for him, he ran the towel through his wild, unruly black hair and down over his face, rubbing it over his emerald-green eyes and down his now-soaked pyjamas before, wrapping the towel around his neck like a scarf, he looked to John with a questioning air.

"When are they going to get the hint, Uncle? Unless they're willing to pony up the dough and agree to a full-term contract, I don't want anything to do with their so-called hero-worshipping bull-plop!"

"Guess they're getting desperate," replied John, earning a scoff from Harry as he walked alongside his Uncle – though, thanks to everything that John had done for him since that fated day, Harry actually saw him as more of a Father figure – before John went on. "However, according to the Shadows, nobody at Hogwarts is actually aware of you saying no; if I had to guess, I'd say Old Tall, Senile and Twinkly is sending out more and more letters in the hopes of getting a reason to find you and send you back to Tuney and her Zoo."

"Good luck with that," laughed Harry, earning a soft chuckle from John as they walked through a set of large, double doors, which opened into a huge, circular chamber, like a rotunda. This also revealed the presence of many men, women and even children gathered in the rotunda, be it in the circular centre itself, or down one of the many aisles that led off of the circular centre. Some were reading from books, scrolls, parchments and newspapers, while others seemed to be browsing shelves, as well as working with what looked like training dummies and animated mannequins.

Over the top of the circular-shaped centre of the rotunda, a mosaic depicting a black-and-white dragon, holding the Sun and Moon in its claws, as well as what looked like a pair of gold-and-silver weighing scales on its chest seemed to light up the room with unnatural light, which only grew brighter as Harry and John entered the rotunda.

As though on cue, the people in the chamber, as well as down the aisles, stopped what they were doing and, looking to the two newcomers, they either saluted with fists to their chests or dropped to one knee, bowing respectfully before the two men.

"At ease," said John, earning a faint smile from Harry as he followed his Uncle straight across the rotunda, walking down an aisle that seemed to be comprised of noticeboards and shelves filled with books. On each of the boards, there was a large, Olde-English-written letter, as well as a varying number of stars down the left-hand side of each noticeboard. Here and there, Harry saw men, women and children eyeing up the boards, though not before they either nodded curtly or, again, saluted Harry and John as they walked between the notices and all those browsing through them.

As they walked towards the end of this particular aisle, Harry scoffed to himself as he mused, "There sure seems to be a lot more requests come in lately, Uncle John. Do you think that's got anything to do with the fact that I'm meant to be returning to the Magical World soon?"

"Doubt it," admitted John, before he indicated a board they soon moved past as he explained, "I mean, most of the requests and aide notices that come in are either A, P, D, T or RB class; there don't seem to be too many EE, O and SFU class tasks brought to our attention. In fact, I think the last time I even saw a Class Three SFU request was the investigation into that Nundu pack in Chernobyl last October; since then, the only requests I've seen have ranked at Class One and Zero."

"Sounds like fun," laughed Harry, earning a scoff from John.

"Hey, none of that from you, young man; you know that if your Aunt got wind that her favourite nephew got sent out on an SFU task before you turned thirteen, she'd castrate me with a blunt needle and a hot potato…slowly…and I don't even know if that's even possible."

"So…what's your point?" asked Harry, earning a cuff upside the head from John, before Harry looked back down the Contract Aisle as he asked, "So, not that I mind taking the scenic route to meet Aunt Sara and my little cousin, Uncle John, but what's with the quick route, anyway?"

"Like you said," replied John, stopping before another pair of double doors, which John opened with a single key from his pocket; when the doors opened, Harry ran forwards as he saw a smiling, not to mention amused-looking Sara Lance-Constantine, his Aunt and, again, the Mother figure in his life, standing next to an ornate-looking fireplace, her belly swollen with the telltale signs of pregnancy.

As he hugged his Aunt, however, Harry spun around suddenly when he heard someone clearing their throat, which allowed him to see that they were not as alone as he thought.

Sitting in a comfy armchair, not too far from where his Aunt stood, her body tense and her arm already snaking around Harry in a protective embrace, was an elderly gentleman in baby-blue-coloured wizard's robes, as well as a silly-looking hat, twinkly blue eyes and a grandfatherly air, the sight of which made Harry want to leap over there and rip the man's eyes out.

Fortunately, John got there first as he cut off Harry's thoughts with a stern voice rich with alertness.

"They're obviously getting desperate, isn't that right, Headmaster Dumbledore? Why else would you be willing, if not eager, to come out to my old man's homestead, where my sister should have been safer than that ramshackle hut in Godric's Hollow, and come with the hopes of convincing Harry to attend your little slaughterhouse personally?"

Wow, talk about a weird beginning to an even weirder adventure: Harry seems to have family who want him around and, thanks to them, he's become someone else…or is that…something else?

Even so, what could the Old Fool want with such a close-knit family unit and, if Harry wasn't raised in Durzkaban, what, exactly, has he become under his Uncle's tutelage and his Aunt's loving care?

Keep Reading to Find Out

Next Chapter: Another flashback to show what happened and what the 'bargain' with the Dursleys involved; also, in the present, Harry's on tenterhooks as he comes face-to-face with the fool responsible for sending him up the river to Durzkaban Prison to begin with;

Please Read and Review

AN: Portrayals

John Constantine: Matt Ryan

Sara Lance: Caity Lotz

AN2: Crossover?

Also, before anyone asks, this story is NOT going to be a crossover with anything in particular, though there will be appearances and references to multiple fandoms – such as DC, with everyone's favourite Trickster Magician and White Canary – but this is purely for the sake of the story as a whole.

Furthermore, expect some fun and games throughout, including the details of the 'organisation' and everything that Harry is going to be capable of, and how he is going to be as the story progresses;

And, as always, if this isn't your sort of thing, remember: don't like, don't read.

AN3: Setup

Finally, in case anyone's wondering, this story's opening chapters are going to cover Harry's origin story, including his setup with the organisation and John and Sara as his new family; after that, it's all pure adventure and present-day stuff.

If you like, think of each part of the story as 'arcs' that cover particular themes, so, in that sense, the first arc, Then and Now, is the origin story and the next will be Harry's adventures at Hogwarts, year by year.

The point?

Get ready for a long and, hopefully, fun adventure.