A/N:
I'm finally back! I completely fell out of it, but I got prompted back into writing and here I am. I'm not making any excuses that's just what happened..
I updated the first chapter, to give you guys a bit of explaining about the characters etc. If you have questions maybe some of them can be answered there, so check it out. I know the writing is kind of off in this chapter - but it get's better. Also if you have any questions about me, I updated my bio because it was a bit scarce. Enjoy and consider leaving me a review!
Harry Potter's Wand: Willow and Dragon Heartsring, Eleven inches, unyielding flexibility.
(Extract from Wizarding World, Ollivander's notes)
"The straight-grained pine wand always chooses an independent, individual master who may be perceived as a loner, intriguing and perhaps mysterious. Pine wands enjoy being used creatively, and unlike some others, will adapt unprotestingly to new methods and spells. Many wandmakers insist that pine wands are able to detect, and perform best for, owners who are destined for long lives, and I can confirm this in as much as I have never personally known the master of a pine wand to die young. The pine wand is one of those that is most sensitive to non-verbal magic."
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"A wand of unbending flexibility finely tunes itself to its original owner's preferences and doesn't stray from those preferences, even in the hands of a new owner; the new owner will just have to get used to it. It is particularly good for combative and healing magic. Unbending wand owners tend to be very confident in themselves and/or in the things they believe in. They tend to be intelligent, somewhat cynical, and usually have well-defined principles that they will not stray from ever. Sometimes, this combination can lead to arrogance."
"As a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner. The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental."
He had no family, no friends…he was but a lone child. He had been raised in a castle, by an old man.
And yet Harry Potter thought he had a fairly good upbringing. For him, everything was normal. There was nothing wrong with being raised in a castle, it was his home. There was nothing wrong with being raised by an old man, he was the only thing resembling family he had.
Well, apart from the brother he had been separated from. In his opinion, Arcturus Black had done a good job of raising him. But then again, he was an eleven-year-old child who had no one else to look after him, save for the house elves.
At the tender age of eleven, Harry Potter had everything a majority of people would crave. Wealth, power, influence. But this was all what a blind person would see. Someone who was not so blind on the other hand, would see that wealth, power and influence were nothing when you did not have a family or friends to share it with. These things, said from the mouth of a nine-year old boy were not normal. This was what had shocked Arcturus Black into silence, but also made him beam with pride.
When he had taken the young boy from the muggles, Arcturus had no idea what to do with him. Firstly, the boy had been targeted by a Dark Lord. Arcturus had his suspicions that this man was not gone, not yet at least. So, that would mean he had to train the boy. Alright, he could do that. But then what about his brother? The boy was born a twin…So should he leave him as he was? Yes. There was nothing he could do to help him now.
Albus Dumbledore had taken Harden Potter under his wing. He knew that the boy lived with his godfather.
The godfather – a man named Remus Lupin had been friends with his grandson. It was common knowledge Sirius had a tough relationship with his family. The two of them were close friends, which meant that they undoubtedly talked to each other about their home life. So, the chances that Remus Lupin would welcome him into his house, to talk matters over tea – were rather slim.
Albus Dumbledore was another matter entirely. Lupin trusted the man, which meant he undoubtedly had access to Harden Potter.
The details of what transpired on that fateful night were still murky, but Arcturus was working on it. Until then he wanted to keep a low profile. He wanted to provide Harry with the best of everything he could offer.
The last thing Dumbledore, as well as most of his old associates and contacts at the Ministry and elsewhere had heard of Arcturus Black, was when he apparently left the English coast to spend his remaining days away from the conflict in France. It was speculated he moved into a house near where Abraxus Malfoy lived.
He snorted at the thought. Him and Malfoy had never gotten along. Arcturus absolutely hated the man and his entire family. They were rivals at school and they were rivals at the Wizengamont. The thought of them spending their remaining days as neighbors made him laugh.
And then was the matter of his family. Harry was the oldest child and there were no other living relatives that could take claim of the Potter Lordship. Which would mean that he would have to be educated in the ways of the Potter family. Again, that was something he could do.
When it came to that, it really was not a problem. The Lordship of a house did not entail many things. He would have to be trained on how to act in the Wizengamont. The Potter family had a seat there and it was necessary that the next generation of lawmakers grew up with suitable morals...For the betterment of the country.
He would have to learn how to calculate basic Vault Statements. As the Head of the House, it was up to the Potter Lord to look over any and all finances that concerned House Potter. Of course, for now they'd hire a solicitor to help with. After all, a child could not be expected to go over bank statements.
But he was extremely reluctant to do both these things, as it would mean potentially robbing a childhood that could have been.
The Music Room at Black Manor,
West Yorkshire.
The bench underneath him was digging into his thighs, but he ignored it. The brand-new dress robes he was wearing were constricting his movements, but he ignored that as well. He focused on the black and white keys in front of him, how his slender fingers touched them, how the melodies emitted from the massive piano.
Harry Potter sat straight-backed on a piano bench; his fingers were a graceful blur on the keys as he threw himself into the music. He was playing 'Volans Thestrals' or 'Flying Thestrals' by Edmund Salinger, an 18th century musician, and the disowned squib member of an important pureblood family. Salinger had vowed to never give up, and eventually made his name in Magical Music. Each of his songs were based on important moments of his life.
This song for example, he had written it when he was only sixteen years old. It was based on an incident when Salinger, lost and confused wandered into a forest and saw a herd of Thestrals flying into the starry night sky. The incident had reminded him of Death and made him realize how little time he had. It was his motivation to work as hard as he could, in order to make a living out of his passion and it was his eloquent way of basically raising a massive middle finger to his uppity pureblood family and others like them.
It was one his few favorites on piano.
This was just his second lesson of the day. An hour-long music period. He finished the final note in a soft flourish. Emerald green eyes shot open as the room rang in silence.
"How was it?" He asked the man sitting opposite to him.
Arcturus Black stroked his beard lightly as he replied, "Beautiful, that is if you like out of tune notes."
Harry squeezed his eyes shut. He knew very well his playing was not out of tune. It had been one mistake. Just one.
Arcturus got up and clapped him on the shoulder.
"There's room to improve. Now get up and get the violin." Harry tried not to show how eager he was as he got the violin case.
He had never cared much for the piano. But Arcturus did, the piano was his specialty. Just as the violin was Harry's. He knew for a fact that Arcturus had not been able to master it. He shed his stiff, light-grey outer robe, tossing it unceremoniously on the piano bench. Loosening his collar slightly, he picked up the violin's bow and started playing.
By the end of it, he was sure he had played for more than half an hour, but Arcturus had not stopped him, so he saw no problems with it. He packed it away neatly in the silver-latched case. His calligraphic initials staring up at him as he slid it smoothly onto the shelf.
Arcturus moved from his chair and into the hall outside.
"Well played. Come, time for lunch."
Harry smiled lightly, knowing to accept compliments when got them. He would sit for lunch with Arcturus, and then have duelling lessons. Or the 'Finer Etiquettes' as Arcturus called it.
They stood facing each other in the duelling room of Black Manor. Arcturus had a serious expression on his face.
Harry's wand – 11 inches, Pine and Dragon Heartstring was loosely held in his right hand as he listened to what Arcturus had to say.
"One day, you will have to learn to step out of you comfort zone and practice." He indicated towards both of their robes, handing from a coat stand he had conjured. "I will admit, having your sleeves rolled up and tie loosened feels comfortable while practicing. However, you will have to learn to bear practicing in the stiffest of robes…It is common sense, really, if you practice wearing heavy armor, you'll be twice as fast without it. But practice without armor, and you will be twice as slow when you fight with it. Do you understand what I'm trying to say, Harry?"
He nodded.
"Now, I said I would teach the Etiquettes of Duelling. You must know; however, these etiquettes are only to be used in show duels. If a Death Eater wants to kill you, he won't give a toss about bowing before he starts, nor will he wait until you've walked the proper distance away. And that is another thing to remember – It has been found that many duelers, especially ones that are not as magically powerful as most, will move closer to you in order to send overpowered spells at you. And also, so that you have a better chance of being hit."
"Remind me here, what is the minimum distance two duelers should have between them?"
"Ten feet" Harry said softly, enraptured by the lesson so far.
"Right, professional dueling circuits will have no qualms about slapping a fine on your head if you break that rule."
Arcturus looked thoughtful for a moment. "A lot of today's duelers have no idea of this…Method."
Harry's curiosity was piqued. "What method?"
Arcturus studied him for a second. "It is a traditional method, called 'The Flow'."
"The Flow?" Harry asked dubiously.
Arcturus smiled slightly. "Yes, a rather odd name. It came from the term 'The flow of dueling.' "
"You see, most people think dueling is waving a wand in complicated twists and elaborate arcs, throwing powerful non-verbal spells left and right, but no, that is absolutely wrong."
Arcturus had begun pacing now, his brow furrowed, clearly deep in thought. Harry new that Arcturus had been a Dueling Champion while he was at Hogwarts, during the early 1900's when Hogwarts actually had the subject and regularly held Inter-School Tournaments. According to him, an annual Tournament was held every year. Recruiters from all sorts of Dueling Circuits would come to watch, and every year, three students would be selected from the Fifth to Seventh years.
While younger years were also chosen, these were the recruits that would have actual jobs, and places in the circuit waiting for them after graduation – or in rare cases, some students were so good, they dropped right out of school and joined the recruiter that had offered them the best deal.
Harry was well aware that during those years, Hogwarts was a thriving ground for intelligent young minds. Everyone found their talents, which were further nurtured into something greater. But, there were darker aspects to this. Purebloods reigned supreme during these times. Muggle-Borns were discriminated, humiliated, put down every day. Most Muggle-Borns chose not to pursue careers in the magical world, knowing they would have a better chance at success in the muggle world. If a Muggle-Born had the same grades and qualifications as a pureblood, or Half-Blood, they would never have a chance at getting the job they desired. That was how bad discrimination was during those times.
It still happened – but it was not as bad. Harry shook his head and concentrated on what Arcturus was saying.
"One must master the steps first. The movements. For example, whilst throwing some minor jinx, you'd stand casually. Say the spell and flick your wrist. The end. However, imagine you are in a fight, a duel to the death. The spell you are about to throw may be your last opportunity, I doubt you'd be as flippant with it, correct?"
Harry nodded, that would be suicidal.
"As you grow older, I'll be putting you through some of the exercises I did while I was in the Dueling Circuit."
"How much older?" Harry asked, curiously.
Arcturus thought for moment before answering; "Not much, in a year or two."
"As unfortunate as it is, you cannot skip to some of the harder methods immediately. You must start from the smaller exercises and gradually move up. Remember, walk before running."
Harry nodded, as much as he would like to do that, he knew he could not.
Arcturus cleared his throat, "As I was saying, you will be learning some basic techniques of the flow." He held his wand aloft and summoned a book from the Manor's Library. He flipped it open until he was at his desired page, and beckoned Harry to come over.
Looking down at the book, an entire page was covered with the moving picture of a man in some sort of obstacle course. He was surrounded by a translucent wall on both sides, it curved and snaked around him oddly.
"This exercise, to date, remains one of the hardest and yet, most effective exercise for duelers. The dueling master sets the course up, depending on the student's capability. During the beginning the two walls that the student stands in between, are pretty far apart from each other. You have to follow every curve, and every twist it has. If you come into contact with either of the walls, it sends a stinging hex to your rear."
"More about that later," Arcturus summoned the book from his hand. "You needn't worry about it now, you have time before we get to such exercises."
The lesson ended shortly after. He was free for the rest of the day.
When he went to bed that night – he remembered that it would only be another five days until he got his Hogwarts letter. Five days and all the peace he had so far would end.
He wanted to meet his brother before they stepped foot into Hogwarts. He wasn't sure how he felt about it. They had never talk, seen or even written to each other before. Harry had seen pictures of him before, of course. The-Boy-Who-Lived was pictured by the Daily Prophet on almost every trip to Diagon Alley.
He shook his head, rolled over and fell asleep within the next few minutes.