August 9 was somewhat quiet for Harry. The Trace was a nuisance and so he removed it from both wands using his Absolute Aegis. He then proceeded to recall what he learnt about magical culture and law. The books he bought covered his knowledge about it. He was also fortunate enough to absorb the knowledge of magical law from a grey-and-red-haired monocle-wearing witch (who was fairly attractive for her age) named Amelia Bones. That she was the head of Magical Law Enforcement was also fortunate on his part.
Since her niece and daughter figure, Susan was also set to attend Hogwarts as a first year, he decided to try befriending her if possible… Wizarding traditions was a bigger headache for him, since they had no sense of tact or decency in naming new things- Muggles for non-magicals was the worst name, it implied that non magicals couldn't overpower them and were fools all around. That said, he also needed to change the perception of Squibs- non- magicals born from magicals- to better the genealogy, and so on and so forth. Then there was the blood purity problem that surfaced, and the magicasuperiority dogma that was espoused as well…
No, magical society as a whole needed to change, it would seem. Prats that they are, they also treat the goblins poorly! Wow! If the GRC decided to rebel, the war was won almost immediately… Stupidity now runs in magical society and is considered acceptable- how to deal with this problem? The magical society is basically the private life of a celebrity, whereas the rest is part of public life. You normally aren't privy to the former, unless an exposé was made… by… the…
"MANNY! I NEED AN OPINION!" Harry shouted in his mind.
"Whatever it is, it better be worth it." came the grumbled reply.
30 minutes later, a basic plan was made, that accounted for the eventual return of Voldemort, and then they decided that they didn't want to stay in Privet Drive any longer, so they packed up to get to the Leaky Cauldron till the end of the month. The month passed with Harry and Manny living in disguise as Mitchell Caesar till September 1. In that time, he focused on magic control, and practised spells, to avoid making a fool of himself in school- he had a reputation to keep, after all, even though the stories were fake.
To keep up appearances, Mitchell claimed to be from overseas, but of British origin. He had reason to be touring the world, as a shorter than normal 17-year-old (since the age of adulthood in the magical world is 17), and had a sudden brainwave and needed seclusion to note his thesis and thus requested meals to be placed in front of his door and no disturbances. It was lucky for Harry that there were no abnormal incidents during his stay, or in the 15 days following it. He still was peeved that he needed to pay 35 Galleons and 2 Knuts per 3 nights. That added up to 245 Galleons and 14 Knuts from August 10 to August 31, with checkout on September 1.
That converted to £1,207.99, and while he did have that much, he was still thankful that his trust vault was only draining from the main vault of the Potters, though that brought concerns that the goblins took care of as an apology for the possible thefts that occurred, which was unforgivable the way the race saw it- a stain in their honor. He was additionally thankful that the vault had a decent amount of gold in it, and wouldn't see much of a drain on it even if he was lavish on his spending. Still, he resolved to look up Potter family properties (They couldn'tve stayed in they shack his parents lived in for centuries- the large family would have necessitated a manor.) to stay in for the rest of vacation times, while keeping the wards on the Dursleys' active through the use of Absolute Aegis, if only to keep Dumbledore off his back with the wards up.
Waking up bright and early on September 1, Harry remembered how to get to Platform 9¾ on his own, despite Hagrid not even telling him how. Experience Absorption was getting a lot of use during his stay. That did result in headaches for long periods as when he first scanned Diagon Alley, but he had grown used to them the same way he grew capable of taking hits at the Dursleys'. Having taken his leave of the lovely, if slightly medieval inn, at 8:30 AM, he walked his way to King's Cross and reached it at approximately 9:15 AM.
Hedwig was perched in her cage (disdainful though she was about it), and Harry went straight through the barrier, using Absolute Aegis to block the perception of the non-magicals, or as Manny called them, Normals. Magicals were called Magicals regardless of origin and Squibs were Normalized.
A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform that held people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it. Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, small as it was, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks. The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats.
The crowded scene was his imagination, but the potential was there. Harry quickly found a compartment in the middle. Manny took over, his magical signature too clouded to be recognized, to use Experience Absorption and gain a rough estimate of the number of students in his year and the average magical strength of a first-year. Hiding his full set of abilities was crucial as he intended to act the confident, but beginning to learn exceptional student, not the all-around monster he honestly already was- being on par to a 30-year-old as an 11-year-old is a good wary of inviting attention, something he didn't want as of yet, though his fame would already buggering that particular idea. Thus, Manny set up a barrier that would only accept students who were either interested in sharing the compartment with someone- anyone, really, had some kind of business with the students in general, or was Susan Bones, the last one being magically drawn to share the compartment. All these wards were cast wandlessly and were also undetectable, by his Absolute Aegis, which he had found to bolster any ward he wanted and rendered them undetectable, if he chose to.
He then created a Magic Clone that was undetectable to keep an eye on the outside, and scout out any issues between students and to transfer memories to the original body. This clone was controlled by Manny, while Harry settled in to pretend to read and hopefully meet Susan.
At around 10:15 AM, Harry felt his ward being breached by Susan Bones, and someone tagging along- might be her friend. Sure enough, moments later, a slightly chubby (likely baby fat) but nonetheless cute redhead with blue eyes, having a square face, which suited her. Her hair, autumnally auburn in shade, fell to her shoulders in a bob cut. She stood at 4'6", but showed signs of growing into an attractive woman already. This, Harry recognized as Susan Bones, from Amelia's memories. At her side was a blonde, round faced girl of roughly the same height, having hazel eyes that again suited her and her hair in pigtails. Both girls seemed abashed at having found an occupied compartment.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize this compartment was taken. We'll just go" mumbled Susan, blushing slightly at Harry, who had started himself on nutrient potions bought anonymously in addition to the healthy meals he preferred at the Leaky. As such, he stood at 4'10", above average for his age, and still growing. He did ask Madam Malkin to account for a massive growth spurt when he bought his robes and uniform, so that worked out well. Hopefully, with his current routine, having cast an illusion to hide his scars (Again, rendered undetectable by Absolute Aegis) and his eye color changed to a chocolate brown using his Metamorph ability, he would appear to be a normally raised 11-year-old.
"No problems have been encountered as of yet, so I think we can dispense with the apologies. Would you mind terribly if I asked you two to share this compartment with me?" He tried appealing to her as politely as possible.
Susan's blush intensified at his reply, but she decided to accept, after a hushed discussion with her companion. They situated themselves in the compartment, being mindful to sit across him, directly in Susan's case. A few moments passed in silence, and though it was comfortable, Harry decided to break the ice and introduce himself.
"My name is Mike, by the way" Harry kept his polite mannerisms up, using a pseudonym to keep the fame away like smoke to mosquitoes. "I'm afraid I'm muggle-raised and had no knowledge of magic till I received my Hogwarts letter, so I'm essentially a muggle-born, much as I detest the term. I would appreciate it if I could learn as much as possible of this new world from you. Of course, I'm planning on continuing my non-magical education on my own, to keep my options open. May I have the honor of knowing the names of the two lovely girls in front of me?" OK, so he laid it on thick, but the fact that he was subtly buttering them up, just to develop a better relationship with both of them was proof of Harry belonging to Slytherin.
Susan, meanwhile, was wondering how she could have had the fortune of meeting someone as cute as the boy in front of him, never mind the charm in his voice. 'Oh Merlin, his eyes alone are mesmerizing… wait, what am I thinking!? Auntie Amelia wouldn't be happy with me if she found out I was nothing but polite in polite company!' Hearing his self introduction was indicative of him being a suitable candidate for consortship, as it stands though, he was husband material.
Deciding to be polite, she replied. "My name is Susan Bones, and I was raised in the magical world. This is Hannah Abbott, my best friend. We would be happy to teach you about the magical world, though why is it that you hate the term muggle-born? As I understand, you have no problems using the term without disgust in your voice" Hannah, properly chastised for fantasizing when she was introduced, was also curious about the detest he held for the term.
"It is not so much the term muggle-born as it is the term muggle itself that I detest, since the word implies that the majority of the population of the world is dumb and have no intelligence whatsoever. Tell me, Ms. Bones, would you like it if you were called a dunce?" Susan blushed in embarrassment at that since she did not like insulting others- her Aunt instilled a sense of right and wrong in her. That said, she resolved to never use the term muggle except as a verb. "To quell your other doubt, I have a talent for hiding my emotions well. Not many can claim to have read my emotions accurately. In my opinion, calling non-magical people Normal works, since the wizarding population is at a minority, and can be seen as 'special'. That said, truly special people don't really need much to be the best or to advance in life."
The two girls were enchanted by Harry's vehement statement about getting ahead in life, the fact that one's own ability is what truly makes him/her special was something that made them admire Mike more. That said, Susan was wondering who exactly Mike was. It was then that she remembered that she was supposed to meet someone on the platform.
"I'm terribly sorry, but I need to meet someone on the platform. Would you mind if he joins us as well? I'm certain he won't cause trouble!" Harry inwardly was intrigued, so he agreed and insisted on accompanying her.
Sure enough, they got off, after Hannah assured them that she wouldn't let anyone else enter- Harry had already applied the necessary ward to ensure privacy.
The two of them were waiting for 10 minutes when Susan suddenly shouted out
"NEVILLE! OVER HERE!" A plump, blond boy about Harry's age and with a round face and slight buck teeth was walking alongside a tall, old lady wearing robes and a vulture-topped hat? Harry had many questions, but the boy seemed somewhat downtrodden, almost like… Harry was officially interested in Neville.
"Susan, good to see you!" Neville cheered upon seeing his sister figure, as he called her sometimes. He also caught sight of a handsome boy about 3" taller than him, and instantly went into what he called his 'please-don't-kill-me' persona. Harry noticed this and knew instantly that something had to be done about his homelife. Ironically, if Harry hadn't learnt to be a survivor, he might've been worse than Neville. Masking his displeasure, he smiled slightly, which made the boy slightly more comfortable, though the old lady had to go.
What followed was a sight to see. The old lady, Neville's grandmother, spent 10 minutes checking everything, and dressing him down for losing his toad, Trevor, before she let him go. Harry quickly scanned the old lady for Neville's story, and was promptly incensed at her and his other relatives for their attitude and treatment of him- no wonder Neville seemed too timid for his liking. Susan pulled on his robes, drawing his attention.
"Mike, meet Neville Longbottom, my older brother figure. Neville, this is Mike, a new student who was raised unaware of the magical world. Get along well, you two!" Her subtle threat was unnecessary, though Harry intended to honor it anyway.
They shook hands and boarded, though Harry did notice a group of gingers just boarding. They moved to the compartment and they were off in 5 minutes.
Harry and Manny looked forward to the chaos they would unleash in the long run. For now, they focused on the short term ally gathering in progress. It sure was shaping up to be a beast of a year!
I do seem to have been successful in changing the direction of the story to where I want it. TO answer some doubts that may be creeping up, no, Harry may be OP, but he understands the value of staying low- why else would he hide his unique magic? The previous iteration didn't exactly touch on this concept the way it was intended.
Also, Dumbledore will be mostly as in canon, but he will start to see the reasoning that comes up near the end. That won't stop Harry anyway.
There were some people who wanted Manny as an OC out of the fic, but he is present for a reason. If you can be patient enough, then you will understand why Manny had to be created. If you want a clue, please intimate it in the reviews and I will include it in either the next chapter, or it's ANs.
Please R&R!
