-1A Destiny I Never Wanted
By Tenchi Malfoy
Disclaimer: Obviously, the things you recognize are not mine or I would be rich! Well the only thing that is mine is a few select characters and mannerisms as well as the plot to the story.
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Chapter 10: Fun Comes With Problems
Ginny disappeared out of his arms, he reached into the air and rubbed his eyes. She had left him again, he had her and she left him! He silently cursed and then remembered why Ginny had left him.
"Come in," he snapped irritated more at himself than anything. The door opened and in came Rico with a more reluctant Jenny.
"Harry sorry to bother you but I thought that maybe you could apologize to Jenny for the other day," Rico whispered in a mumble but Harry caught it, he sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly.
"Of course," He answered sitting up, Riddle was still sound asleep next to him. "Jenny Weasley you have my most sincere apology and I promise to never insult you or your family again."
"I dunno Rico," Jenny said, skeptical of the boy. Harry was expecting some kind of worry against believing his apology.
"Harry's cool now Jenny, trust me," Rico assured her with a smile. Jenny still seemed a bit hesitant but finally she accepted.
"It's alright," she said before taking an armful of Rico's robes and removing the two of them from his room.
"Let's go to the library boy," Harry decided, he couldn't fall back asleep and the library sounded like the perfect place. He needed to start researching how he got he and if he would ever return to his old home.
Riddle opened his eyes and yawned tiredly, the cat was more lazy than a gnome. They made their way to the library by memory, only getting lost once, once there they sat down at a table and Harry started shifting through books. He didn't want to bother Treble, who was probably still helping out with the party.
Hours and books later, he hadn't found much of anything and was surprised when nobody came looking for him. It was dark outside he could tell by the windows, it had been for awhile, Riddle had fallen asleep sometime after they first arrived. Gathering up the creature he headed up to his room, all the lights were out in the house, had everyone already went to bed?
"Treble," he whispered in the dark, he more heard than saw Treble appear. "What happened to everybody?"
"Harry sir, it is twelve at night. The Malfoys left right after you went up to your room and everyone else a few hours later. Miss Jenny is staying the night though," Treble whispered back, he hadn't realized it was that late.
"Thanks Treble," he dismissed the house-elf, the next few months before Hogwarts were going to be hard and troubled. Filled with training to get back in shape, reading books to learn everything he possibly could before school started and finding somewhere to practice his magic so he could build up his reserves.
The next two months past by real fast, Harry spent most of the time studying, training himself or Riddle. He spent time with his family, he talked with his mother about different charms, his father about quidditch, he taught Rico how to swim, he chased the Pegasus with Cyzelena and taught Zykye to read.
He himself had slowly changed, he grew his hair out past his shoulders with a little bit of magic. It now was always tied back with a hair sash at the base of his neck, he was happy now that it was actually manageable.
He also muscled up a little bit, he didn't look pathetically scrawny anymore. He stood at about five foot three and could run around the forest once now without stopping. He would have to rest after but he would get up and do it again. His abs were starting to come in again, as well as his biceps. He was even getting some chest definition now.
His magic though hadn't made as much progress. It would take a year for it to even get half way to what it was before he moved here. He still needed to increase his height, body mass and muscle mass for him to have even a chance. Since he probably wouldn't reach his old height of 5'9 for at least a few years, he expected his magic to be up to his full capacity by his fifth year at the latest.
He was going to push for sooner, he was already practicing everyday for up to two hours out by the forest where he couldn't be seen. It wore him out and he usually took a three or four hour nap before dinner. Hopefully though he would return to his old world before than though.
Riddle though seemed to never stop growing he was just over three months now and he took up half of the bed now. He stood at about two feet at shoulder and his hair had smoothed down to a silky black. He reminded Harry of a muggle leopard but way more intelligent, he always seemed to know what Harry was saying.
Riddle ran with him, he was a very lean cat but still more lazy than a gnome. When Harry rested, Riddle played in the lake, for a cat he sure loved water. Harry didn't know what he was going to do without Riddle when he went to Hogwarts, he had become like a brother to him.
Today though was different than most days, today he was going to go shopping for his school supplies. He had received his Hogwarts letter a few weeks ago but had wanted to wait to visit Diagon Alley.
Yawning he opened his eyes and pushed his hair out of his eyes. His leg was dead asleep due to a rather large black cat bottom laying across it. He sat up and couldn't resist the urge to push the animal off the side of his bed, in a heap Riddle fell to the floor.
Almost immediately after hitting the ground, a hundred pounds of muscle landed squarely on his chest. Air left his chest, he gasped to put it back in as angry hisses turned into slobbery licks that met his face, courtesy of a white tongue. This was their normal waking up routine.
"Alright boy," Harry muttered sliding from underneath the nundu, careful of the sharp claws that lay in his huge paws. "You are officially going on a diet." Riddle just smacked Harry in the face with his long tail, as he was still standing on the bed.
"Stupid bloody cat, should have got rid of you months ago," Harry mumbled darkly under his breath as he quickly dressed himself in his usual running outfit, a pair of shorts and a plane t-shirt. Riddle's response was nothing more than to purr lovingly as he twisted himself in and out of Harry's legs, knocking him to the ground finally. "One day I'm going to shave all of your hair off."
Ten minutes later the odd pair finally made their way outside and starting their training routine. It wasn't more than six o'clock when they arrived outside but when Harry was finished running, with Riddle loyally by his side the entire way, it was 8:30. He was happy, for the first time since he arrived here, he had been able to fully finish five laps around the forest before being exhausted.
It didn't seem like much but five laps around the forest was like, three or four miles and accomplishing that in two and a half months felt like flying. He supposed his extra energy came from his trip to Diagon Alley that would happen in just a few short hours.
Sweating he quickly drank from the fresh lake, splashing Riddle in the face a few times lightened up his heart, why? Because it was funny when the nundu tried to flick water droplets off his whiskers by twitching, his laughs filled the forest.
After he had calmed down, he went to finish his morning training while Riddle went swimming in the lake. He finished his running off with pushups, sit ups and stretching. Just after nine o'clock, he finished and threw his sweat soaked shirt off and headed into the water to cool off and play with Riddle.
It was rather cold water, he had never actually been in the lake before but today for some reason he was open to anything. He swam over to Riddle and took some water into his mouth before squirting it back out at the unsuspecting cat. Riddle didn't seem to think it was very funny, showing so when a long tail hit the water right in his face, making a huge splash.
"Alright it's going to be like that is it," Harry muttered before taking in a large breath and going underwater. With his eyes open he found, Riddle's two back legs and pulled them down, suddenly two dark green eyes met his own. Riddle started blowing bubbles in his face right before Harry came up to breath. "Dumb cat."
"Harry Potter, what in Merlin's name are you doing out there?" Lily's voice yelled as she came running over, Zykye in her arms.
"Swimming," Harry yelled back as he floated on his back, Riddle put his paws on Harry's stomach making him go under water. Lily screamed and ran to the edge but stopped when Harry resurfaced with a laugh. "Riddle, that was low."
"Harry James Potter get out of that water right this minute mister," Lily snapped in a worried voice. Harry swam over slowly since Riddle clinging to his back tiredly and a few minutes later made it out of the water. A red headed green eyed lady was staring menacingly down at him, child on her hip and foot tapping the ground angrily.
"Sorry, Riddle wanted to go swimming," Harry muttered, his eyes downcast. Nobody knew about his training, that was why he got up so early. He didn't want anymore suspicions, which he knew already existed.
"If you say so young man but so early in the morning? You could have got hurt and nobody would have known," Lily scolded, she was more worried than angered.
"I know, I should have asked I'm sorry," Harry apologized again flickering his matching green eyes up to his mum. He wasn't used to being coddled by anyone, especially a mother figure, he just didn't know how to react. Riddle was whining with his ears down and his tail between his legs, Harry took noticed that Lily was glaring at him now. "Mum you're scaring him."
"That was the point." Lily said simply with a smile. "Now go inside and clean both of yourselves up, we'll be leaving after breakfast."
Harry smiled devilishly and with a kiss to his mum's cheek, he ran off with Riddle at his side, back toward the house. Twenty minutes, gallons of water and a bruised bottom later, Harry and Riddle emerged from his room clean and smiling.
"Race you to the kitchen," Harry whispered to Riddle, all he got was a hiss of agreement before Riddle took off towards the stairs. Harry took off after him but by the time he reached the staircase, Riddle had jumped off the ledge and was looking up at him expectantly. Raising an eyebrow, he got onto the ledge and slid down the railing, landing squatted at the bottom. Harry looked at Riddle, Riddle looked at Harry, they both took off running.
"Harry slow down son, your mother's cooking isn't that good," James laughed as he came out of his office. Harry gave him a quick laugh as he continued running right behind Riddle who was trying not to knock into anything. He couldn't remember ever being so carefree in his life, he had always been on guard and a bit reserved.
With a smile as they rounded the corner before the swinging door before the kitchen, an idea popped into his head. Just as Riddle was about to burst through the door, Harry launched himself into the air and onto Riddle's back, making the cat crumble in a hiss. They both slid into the kitchen, Harry hanging onto Riddle's middle, they barely missed tripping Lily who was setting the table.
"Mama look at Harry he's silly," Cyzelena laughed from her seat at the table, Lily shook her head disappointedly but continued to set the table as Harry got off Riddle and rubbed his arm, Riddle had landed on it.
"Harry you should set a better example for your little sister," Lily reprimanded putting the food onto the table. She had rather got used to eating as a family and chatting about daily events.
"Oh come on my sweet lily-flower, today our son becomes a wizard," James entered the conversation. Lily rolled her eyes at her boys, she should have had all girls so she could outnumber James.
"Well maybe if he acted like one," Lily muttered irritably as Rico joined the table, his hair everywhere on his head. "I wish he would get his hair cut."
This had been a major discussion at breakfast for the last week. That and Riddle being too big but that was more out of dislike for the cat than anything else. Breakfast was over and everyone helped out with the dishes except Riddle who was still chewing on bones from a stag, James always grimaced when Riddle at the certain animal.
"Floo powder," Harry himself grimaced, it wasn't his favorite way to travel. Rather dirty and to him, he would rather be chased by a mountain troll all the way to his destination than hop fireplaces.
"Oh stop it, its not that bad," Lily said, Harry gave her a disbelieving look. Why couldn't they just take the house-elves? Well for one it drained them but he really disliked floo powder. "Alright you first then."
"Me?" Harry whined looking at Riddle, his mum had told him that the cat needed to stay behind. "Can't I take Riddle mum, please?"
"I said no, you two can't handle being in your own home alone, Merlin forbid a public place. Plus you know what he is," Lily glared at the cat, giving him a pointed look before finishing, "Things like that don't belong with people."
"We could just put an invisibility charm on him," James suggested readjusting his glasses. Lily glared at him for the suggestion as Harry smiled, he was waiting for them to suggest that because he knew if he did then they might get suspicious.
"Please mum," Harry begged, his eyes meeting Lily's in a battle between son and mother. He had to admit, he had grown rather attached to the nundu, Riddle went everywhere with him now.
"Fine but if he gets caught I don't know you lot," Lily joked, she didn't want to give in but she was a mother and she could tell Harry was attached to the ruddy cat.
The charm was put on him and ten minutes later they were all in the Leaky Cauldron. Tom said hello to them and a few other people waved but Harry didn't receive the reaction that he had the first time he came to the Leaky Cauldron in his first year.
"Alright do you have your letter?" Lily asked once they had made it to the red brick wall. James was busy tapping away at the bricks with his wand.
"Hasn't left my sight since I got it a few days ago mum," Harry answered smiling, he could say honestly they had was just excited to be here again as he was his very first time. Lily nodded holding onto Zykye's hand, James onto Cyzelena's, he holding onto Riddle's tail.
"Can we visit the quidditch store?" Zykye asked with a toothless smile, he was just like his old man. Lily squashed that idea fast, well for Harry at least.
"We're heading to the book store first," Lily answered, a smile on her face. Flourish and Blott's had been her favorite store when she was in Hogwarts and she wanted the same for Harry, work before play.
"See yeah Harry," Rico called out to his brother, Cyzelena wiggled her hand free as well and went with her father. That left just him and his mother, well and an invisible cat.
Harry followed his mum silently, he had been wanting to visit this store first anyways. He needed some more books, the library at his house was great but it took forever to find a book and he didn't want to always bother Treble.
So he spent almost an hour with his mum in the book shop before he had to drag her away from the Charms section. She had already put at least five books on Charms for him in their basket which had all his course books and quite a few others.
They headed for robes, where he was fitted to another pair of Hogwarts uniforms exactly like the ones in his old world. Potion supplies and a telescope and seeing Hedwig in the shop, he couldn't resist and had to buy her. Finally all that was left was his wand before he was free to go look at the new Nimbus two thousand.
"Ah Lily Evans, it seems like only yesterday that you were in here buying yourself a wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy and made of willow, great for charm work. Your husband though favored a mahogany wand, eleven inches, quite pliable. A little bit more power and excellent for transfiguration. Its really the wand that chooses the wizard or witch of course," Ollivander murmured from behind them but Harry was expecting it and thankfully Riddle had heard the man so no noise came from him but Lily gasped before laughing quietly.
"Yes and with that wand he got away with quite a few things," Lily said in memory. Ollivander smiled knowingly as he made his way behind the counter and started fiddling with boxed.
"So Mr. Potter which one is your wand arm?" Ollivander addressed Harry who was scratching Riddle behind the ears while Ollivander's back was turned.
"My left," Harry muttered, he had changed wand hands. Well he hadn't really, he still used his right occasionally but Voldemort's wand arm was left so he taught himself to used the left instead. There really wasn't a good reason for it, well there was but that was a story for another day.
"Here try this one, beechwood and a dragon heartstring. Ten inches. Nice and flexible. Go on and give it a wave," Ollivander encouraged, Harry vaguely remembered a familiar wand. Smash went the picture to the floor and boom went the vase as it exploded. "Not quite."
Just like his first year, he spent a good amount of time waving his arm with different wands that he knew wouldn't work. He was curious though to see if Neville had gotten his old Holly wand yet.
"Mr. Potter tell me are you ambidextrous?" Ollivander asked, Lily gasped at the question for she knew the meaning of the answer. Only strong wizards were even capable of wielding a wand with both hands, her Harry ambidextrous? Weeks ago he couldn't even do magic and now this? She had to sit down.
"If you are asking if I can used both hands and that they are equally matched then no but if you are asking if I can use both hands with great capability then yes I am what you call ambidextrous," Harry answered honestly, Ollivander gave him a long and scrutinizing look before nodding and going back to the back for a few wands.
"Mr. Potter, since being ambidextrous is quite rare, I only make a few wands that are compatible with both hands. Especially since they are very complicated, two wand arms means two magical cores and two kinds of wood. I have two wands here that have been here for many years," Ollivander told him coming back with two boxes in his hands, he set them down and took off the lids. Harry totally ignored the one on his left, his eyes were focused on the one on the right, this was his wand. He could feel it, it was calling out at him.
"Oh yes, I thought so. Holly and Yew, a phoenix tail feather and a unicorn hair. Twelve and a half inches. Powerful, yes very powerful. Curious," Ollivander muttered, oh how that sounded so familiar. Harry took in a breath before he asked the same question he did seven years ago.
"Sorry sir, but what's curious?" Ollivander fixed him with a pale stare, that more than unnerved him.
"Mr. Potter, it is curious that you are destined for this wand when its materials are the exact opposites of each other. Holly is a light wood, essentially used in wizards wands that are completely into light magic. While Yew is in wands that are destined to be for dark magic.
"A phoenix tail feather from a phoenix so rare that I stumbled upon it by accident. Phoenix's are so rare but the phoenix I got your feather from a even rarer phoenix. Albino phoenix are almost non existent. I didn't even see the majestic bird, I stumbled over its nest where a single feather laid. I recognized it the moment I seen and searched the area for weeks before I gave up. I came back here and decided this wand was perfect for such a feather."
"Albinos are thought to be dark because they are a sort of subspecies of phoenix and people sorely misunderstand them much like that nundu you have," Ollivander smiled at Harry's confused face, his hand had stopped from where he had been scratching Riddle's head, his hand was now being licked till it was slobbered properly.
"I still don't get it, how can a wand belong to some one. Isn't a wizard either dark or light?" Harry asked looking curiously down at Riddle, he didn't know how it felt to be viewed as dark.
"Mr. Potter," Ollivander sighed, " This wand can only belong to someone that is both light and dark. Someone that is different all together, someone who blends and utilizes both parts of their personality. Obviously someone like you. A wand chooses its master, it on its own identifies how your future will lay."
"You receive a light wand then you are destined to be a light wizard, to defend against all that is evil. You receive a dark wand then you are destined to be a dark wizard, to be opinionated and powerful."
"Your wand tells us that while you have morals and beliefs, all magic is considered the right magic for you. You are what you are Mr. Potter, its now up to you to stand out and show the world what exactly a wizard was made to do."
"Are choices make us who we are, I learned that from a great wizard," Harry murmured back at the wizard, he didn't know how to convey his feelings out right now.
"That is true," Ollivander ended the conversation. Lily finally caught her bearings and got up to pay for the wand. Ollivander stared at him until he went through the door.
He was knocked over however the moment he stepped out of the store. It seemed he wasn't going to catch a break today. Luckily Riddle had moved out of the way before he landed on the poor old cat.
"Uh sorry," Harry groaned rubbing his head where it had collided with the ground. Looking up to see who was sitting on him, brown hair and a chubby face met his view.
"Watch where you're going," the boy mumbled irritated as the boy's mum lifted him off Harry. Harry however was gaping at the boy, a very familiar boy. "Yeah it's me, Neville the boy-who-lived."
Neville was dressed in impeccably classy robes the color of Gryffindor red and was that Alice Longbottom glaring at Harry's mother? Neville himself sneering at Harry as he tried to rid himself of dirt that had clung to him when he fell.
"Apologize," Alice demanded, everyone was looking at the boy who had made the famous boy-who-lived fall.
"Harry didn't do anything and if you would lift your overly large and quite arrogant head from the floor maybe you would have heard him apologize. Discussion over," Lily finished, taking Harry by the shoulder and leading him through the crowed, Riddle on their heels.
One thing was for sure. Protecting Neville had just become a lot harder. He didn't think a boy like that would accept help from someone like him, someone who Neville obviously now disliked. He just didn't understand how someone so nervous and kind could become so arrogant and snotty? Wait wasn't this the whole reason Dumbledore had put him with the Dursleys? So he would grow up normal and not arrogant of something he himself could not even remember. Guess this Dumbledore had missed the memo.
AN: I'm back and so very glad to be. I finally finished this chapter and got my internet back. Chapters will be coming out now regularly or at least I hope. Gosh you guys don't even know how happy I am to be back. Or how sad I was when I left you guys hanging. I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me and fall in love with this chapter much like I did.
Any questions write them in your reviews and I promised to answer them as soon as I can. Reviews? Wow there were so many, I couldn't even believe them. They are still coming in for the last chapter. A few negative ones but overall they made me grin with happiness. I hope to talk to you all soon!
Much Love,
Tenchi Malfoy