AN: Okay, so now thing gets moving a bit more. Now I know that this story might lose some readers, and sadly i know that some people do not like character bashing, however there will be some. Does not mean that the character cannot grow and learn and become a better person, but bashing will happen. Also as you can tell Albus is rather manipulative, I am uncertain if the story will make him evil, or just manipulative for a greater good that only he can see.
My story has a base idea, and a bit of an idea where I would like it to go, but then I let the story do as it wishes. I am having fun writing this, and never expected so many to be reading it. Again i know there are going to be errors still in here, but that is why I state this is a 1st draft and being written for NaNoWriMo. Well here is the next installment!
Chapter 8
It was a restless night of sleep plagued by faces, and things that he had lived in this life and the last. He knew it was just his mind sorting through everything and trying hard to make sense of having two similar memories for every day he had been alive as well as for days he had yet to live.
Waking fully to his aunt pounding on the door, and to the massive headache, he suddenly wished he had only done one set of memories.
"Why was your door unlocked," his aunt snarled at him as he snapped the door open.
"Wha?" he started and clenched his eyes shut and held his throbbing head. "Sorry Aunt Petunia, I really don't know."
"What's wrong with you?"
"I have a very bad headache; may I please take some medicine for it? I know you have a lot or me to do today, and I don't want to burn breakfast," he said hoping that his reasons would be enough for her to allow it this time.
"One pill, no more," she snapped. "Now get to it, you have half an hour before they are down to eat." Her glared stayed with him as he stumbled to the w.c. and as he took the single pill he was allowed, before she left him alone to do his own very quick morning routine.
Then once more he found himself at the stove making the enormous breakfast that he probably wouldn't get to partake of. However with his new inventory ability and no one else in the kitchen, he quickly made himself a bacon sandwich and placed it in the limbo to eat later, when no one was home. The mere thought of being able to eat without anyone in the house made him a bit more brave as he tossed some scrambled eggs and toast on a plate and into the space as well, however his plans ended when he heard someone coming down the stairs, and by the groaning of the boards it was to be his walrus of an uncle.
Quickly he grabbed the coffee pot and took it to the table, it was always the first thing he wanted before he sat down to eat. Having set it just moments before the man came into the dining room he scurried back into the kitchen to make the man a plate of food, enough to choke a hog, but who was he to judge.
As much as he wanted to leave this place, he loathed the idea of the pain that they could inflict on him. If it was just being trapped in the cupboard for the entire day, he could handle that no problem and Hermione would come quickly when she didn't receive an owl from him today. So there was a failsafe in place.
Soon as the plate touched the table he moved away to make plates for his aunt and cousin would arrive at about the same time. The routine really did not vary much from last life to this, and for that he was actually quite glad. Having something to fall back on that even this body could recall doing, well it was almost like sleepwalking, and if he could just keep that up without causing too much of a stir, well, he'd be home free without any more broken bones, and just rescued from neglect.
As everyone else sat down to eat, harry began to wash the dishes. Just to keep up with the idea that he hadn't made extra food other than what was keeping warm for those at the table. With him busy it was obvious to the family that he wouldn't be able to sneak any of the food before he was allowed.
"What have you planned for the day my Pet? I know the freak will be hard at work cleaning Dudley's second room out," his uncle asked from behind the paper.
"Today I am taking Dudders to get his measurements and his uniforms for Smeltings made up. Our precious boy is going to look so smart in them," she beamed proudly at her obese son who stabbed at the food on his plate. "What's wrong Dudders?" she asked seeing his expression.
"I don't want to spend all day getting prodded and poked with pins," he said sulkily.
Had Dudley stopped there and just went back to eating the day probably would have played out with him being placated by some treat or food, or something while they were in London. But Dudley hadn't stopped there, not with the idea his cousin had been forming since last night. However he had always gotten what he wanted, no matter what, so why would this be any different?
"I want to go where Harry got his uniforms done at. They only take minutes to do, and then we could have the whole day free," He looked up with a proud grin thinking that this would make him looks mart. "The people on that side are bound to have some more neat books with moving pictures in them, like the ones Harry was looking at last night."
In the kitchen harry closed his eyes and pleaded that this was just another nightmare and that this was seriously not happening. While his cousin was a bit thick, he was in no way a moron, and even he could tell that he must have said something wrong, because his mother dropped her fork and looked ready to cry, while his father threw the paper tot eh floor and glared at his son, the first time a glare like that had ever been directed towards him and not to his scrawny cousin.
"What did you say?" his father ground out glaring at his son with venom he had never had to face.
"I," he paused to swallow and take a breath. "I, I said, I wanted to go where Harry went. He got a whole bunch of clothes done in one day! If I got my uniform done there then it would be done faster, and harry said they put magic in them so that if I grow we don't need to replace them the grow with me for a bit."
To the casual observer this was far from the right thing to say to a man who hated anything he considered abnormal, and the fact it was coming from the mouth of his own son was obviously having a negative affect on the man. However Dudley was trying to use what grasp on what he thought was logic, by giving valid reason on why this was such a great idea.
Harry however was not a casual observer, he knew what his uncle's breathing pattern meant, and by the color creeping into the man's face today was not going to be a good day. Thankfully his aunt had yet to do anything more than stare and look like a gasping fish at her son, like he had suddenly grown a second head one wing and a horn from both his heads. Knowing this was going to be bad he turned his eyes back to the dishes, perhaps he could just wake up now?
The harsh sound of flesh on flesh made him jump and drop the pan to the floor causing more noise, and drawing attention to him from his cousin who was shocked at the fact that his own father had struck him. This set things into motion, his aunt shrieked at the fact her son had been hit, and his uncle rose up menacingly from the table and in one quick motion released his belt. That sound made harry want to run, but if he ran it would be worse, and logically he knew there was that spell on him, but the fear was how long would it take her to get there? Would he and his cousin be dead, or would it just be him?
"What did you do to my son you freak!?" his aunt wailed, "undo it this instant and give me back my NORMAL sweet caring boy!" His aunt was seeing red, but his uncle was already past that point.
"That Freak may have infect your boy," the man growled out. "Only cure is a good lashing for that."
"Da-dad?" Dudley looked up in fear at his father as he snapped the leather belt double and glared at his son.
"Not my boy! Kill the freak maybe that will end whatever he has done!" Petunia screamed as she tried to stop her husband from taking a swing at her precious boy.
"You bring the freak here, while I give your son a lesson that he remembers about all that freakishness." While Petunia wept for the pain her son was about to endure she rushed into the kitchen and sunk her perfect nails into the flesh of his shoulder and shoved him out to the living room as they could hear Dudley wail from the mere three lashes he got. Then the man turned and stalked towards his nephew.
"Strip him down, and hold him across that," he said to his wife gesturing to a gift from Aunt Marge to them, a well lacquered wooden footrest.
"p-please no," harry couldn't help but get out, but it was no use his shirt and pants were removed quickly from him being that they were so large. His Aunt then got a devilish look in her eyes as she held his arms so that he was bent forwards over the stool on his knees.
"You will never cause harm to another family again you freak!" she spat at him as the first lash came down across his back. Then a second, and then the pounding on the front door, and Dudley still wailing in the dining room, but no one seemed to hear the door. A third lash and the door was opened by a bobby who was being followed in, but then the fourth lash hit.
He waited for the fifth but it never came, both his abusive relatives were frozen. The police were coming forwards to remove the belt from his uncle and prepared to cuff his aunt as soon as the spell was released.
While the two magicals looked over the room for anything else that could prove harmful, and the bobbies were writing down what they were seeing, Madame Bones stepped into the house and closed the door.
"I am so sorry Harry," she said as she offered a hand up to the young man. She had conjured a blanket to wrap him in. "As much as I wanted to remove you yesterday, we had to get it on file with the muggle police, and the fact that they were caught in the act seals their fates in Her Majesty's courts. I had my alarm on you, but I also put a tracker on you so that one of my finest could sit and watch. This is Alicia Dent."
"Hello harry," the kind looking blonde woman said as she looked at him. "I was on watch there on the patio; I heard and saw it all. My brother in law," she motioned to one of the men in blue, "Simon, and his partner, Simon," she smirked, "were parked across the street waiting for my signal. They got the all clear from their boss on a tip off last night."
A temporary silencing charm was placed on his relatives before they were unfrozen and cuffed before being marched out in front of the neighbors and placed in the car.
"Now," the blonde said looking at him and then at his cousin who was now also wrapped in a soft conjured blanket. "We are going to take both of you off to the hospital to get checked over, the magical one. My sister will meet us there, she's a squib that works with child protective services and welfare programs. Now since this is a muggle neighborhood we are going to get into a car, and we are going to drive to a prepared location, and then take you both by apperating to the hospital, is that alright with both of you?"
"Thank you Alicia," Bones said looking at the two boys. "I will be coming with the two of you to make certain precautions are taken for this whole situation. Once that is handled I shall go fetch the Grangers, as I am certain they will want to come right away."
"I was supposed to send Hermione an owl today," Harry said numbly.
"Yes well, I will be your owl and she can come visit you," she replied calmly while wanting badly to curse those two supposed relatives.
The neighbors watched and gossiped quietly about what could possibly be going on. However when the investigative unit showed up, with another auror on the team, bones couldn't help but smile. The secrecy was going to be cared for quite well today, and with a joint operation such as this, there would be no way Albus would be able to deny what had happened here.
"Be sure to look at the cupboard under the stairs gentlemen. Seems they were keeping one of the kids there instead of a proper bedroom, and I noticed dried blood in there as well," Bones called out for the gossips to hear, and watched their eyes go wide. If those two were to ever set foot back here again they would be ruined.
"What's going to happen to my cousin?" Harry asked Bones as the car began to move.
"Well for starters," she placed her hand on Dudley. "I Amelia Bones do hear by accept this child, Dudley Dursley, as my magical charge. I swear to do what is in the best interest of him, so mote it be." As soon as the flash happened harry felt he could smile again.
"Dudley isn't magical though, can you still be his magical guardian?" he asked happy but a bit confused.
"Magic says yes. He is now my ward through magic, just like my niece Susan, Hermione, and you. This means that I can make certain that he gets into a very good muggle school as well, and if the Grangers are unable to take you both, then I will have him live with me until school begins. I will make sure he is safe, and gets whatever treatment he needs harry, though right now it seems to be shock."
"His father hit him in the face, and three times with the belt," he looked to the still shocked crying face of his cousin. "It was the first time he was ever punished like that."
"What did he do to make him so angry?"
"He asked to go get his school uniform made in the magical world so he wouldn't have to waste a whole day and be stuck with pins," he replied looking down at his hands.
Far above them in an office where Harry had recently sat signing contracts to return, Jacob sat very confused. He was going through the binder that was now impossible to add or remove things without proper authorization.
"This wasn't in here before," he muttered as he looked over the various things. "Family life has been altered this time through as normal, but this page was not here before, and then those pages in the soul bond area. Who could have," he stopped and grabbed his phone quickly dialing Fatima.
"Hello?" came her sweet voice.
"What did you do? I am going over the binder on Mister Potter and there have been pages added all through the book, pages that change, well everything! THIS could get me fired! THIS was NOT the approved plan!"
"Jacob, you need to relax. You will not be fired for this, as I authorized these changes. I have prophecies that are rather old due to the wars that happened on earth. This is my way of fixing them, with a bit of help. So relax, and just let it happen, if you were to meddle there now, then you will be canned." He could almost hear her grin over the phone, "Discordia and I have our reasons."
"You let that kender write things for this life!?"
"Half kender, Jacob, only half. She makes a wonderful goddess of chaos and discord, and is much more helpful than the least one we had on committee. Seeing as her father is the God of Organization, she has a bit more tendency to understand and want to help in tying up some very loose ends, and that world has been sitting on far too many for far too long.."
"But you gave him more than one soul mate!?"
"I do not expect you to understand the intricacies of this, but in order to move things out of stagnation it needs a big of a powder keg to go off. I just got help in setting the charge and lighting the fuse. Now relax, I spoke with Amore about this when Harry had his last life, and still didn't get his soul mate. You want me to send the lover scorned your way? You know how she gets when her matches do not happen."
"Nope, I'm fine with not dealing with her," he gulped. "Why didn't you tell me about the changes?"
"Plausible deniability Jacob, we want to keep you in your position, but you are far too strict on some of the rules, so we just did this to help fix the issue. Now relax, have some popcorn and enjoy the show."
He heard the click, and then set his own back in the cradle. At least the changes about to strike the unknowing young man was not his doing, and he was not going to get into trouble over it. So as to not give himself an ulcer over what might happen next, he instead placed the binder back in his currently living file, and moved back to those he still had to finish with from the last world war. So many deaths and he was tasked with all worldly disasters such as that one was.
Mrs. Figg probably would have noticed something strange going on, however a nice young auror had shown up at her door early that morning. She was going to ask him why he was there, but she found herself answered before she could ask and was brought in for questioning about Harry Potter. She wasn't really certain why they would need to ask her anything as she was only there to keep an eye on things for Albus. Her job was to simply report so that if he needed to step in he could, otherwise she was to just let things take their natural course.
However it seemed to her as the questioning went on, that perhaps she should have done something, even though Albus had told her that James Potter had also been a scrawny child.
Once the group cracked into being in the emergency arrivals for the aurors at St. Mungos, both young boys collapsed and proceeded to be sick from their first side-long trip, and then helped up and moved into a room with two beds, the woman who was in the room came over and smiled the way you expect a grandmother would at her two grandsons.
"You poor dear boys," she said as she reached out and touched both of their cheeks. She saw the near flinch from harry and the shock retreating from the larger boy, "Don't either of you worry now. You are both safe here, and we will make certain no one knows you are in here, so you can heal up right and proper. My name is Clara, and my assistant likes to be called Dezzi. From here on out the two of us will be your personal healers, even when you head off to school."
"Can you help Dudley first?" harry asked the woman, who just smiled lovingly at him.
"Certainly, but before we start I should let you know that Director Bones has headed out to get the family that will most likely be caring for the two of you once you leave here." She bustled over to a door that they hadn't come in from and motioned for two girls to come through.
"Hello, I'm Mary, Alicia's sister. Now I don't want either of you to be alarmed, but I am going to have to take some pictures of your injuries. These are going to go into your files, as well as into the case file against your abusers. What happened to you is not your fault," she had a kind face and was also a blonde, and seemed a bit younger than the auror.
"I'm Dezzi Johnson," the other girl said with her black hair up in a bun. "My baby sister is Angelina, a Gryffindor, and a chaser on the quidditch team." She moved over between the boys as well and tried to keep a warm smile on her face though her eyes were grin with worry about how bad off the might actually be. "Even so I won't let her know you boys are here, after all we take oaths to protect our patients."
The two medi-witches helped the boys through the almost humiliating task of having the pictures taken of the injuries, and answering the questions about what happened that caused this today.
"Well we can't very well bring up magical things in a court of non-magicals. So I am going to alter your statements for them just a little bit. Neither of you will need to testify for any of this, as there were plenty of witnesses, and the police are taking statements from your neighbors on things."
Harry was very proud of his cousin, though it seemed while he was answering things he was still in a bit of shock. While the whole thing felt a little awkward to him, he was glad that he had someone he knew nearby, even if it was his own cousin, who until very recently was somewhat cruel to him.
"To make this go a bit faster I am going to run the scan on you Mr. Potter, and Dezzi is going to run a scan on Mr. Dursley." The two woman smiled and moved to the foot of each bed though both boys were still watching Clara. "This scan is going to take a bit of time, and is a lot more informative than the ones taught to the aurors, magical police," she added for Dudley so he could understand things as well. "Now I understand that Mr. Potter had a scan done, and I have looked it over. However that is a tip of the iceberg scan compared to what we are about to do now. This scan will tell us the time and date of each illness, injury, or medical issue that could possibly arise, as well as if you have been fed any potions or had any spells cast on you, and by whom.
"So where as the last scan you had done took a bit of time, this one will take quite a bit more. However while this scan runs, we can begin treating your current injuries as it will get to those last. Once each of your scans are done, we can figure out how to best treat the both of you to get rid of any ailments you do have."
Both witches nodded to one another and then began the slow chant, that was rather relaxing to hear, then came a warm tingling feeling starting in his toes and slowly creeping up his body, very slowly. With the chanting done within a minute, both women came forwards and began to work on the most current of injuries spreading the balm over bruises and welts, making them tingle and the pain fade before vanishing with the mark completely.
"Clara, Dudley's scan is complete," the younger woman said as Harry's own scan was still going.
"That was it?" his cousin asked confusedly. "No drawing blood, or blood pressure things, thermometers or wooden sticks in the mouth or lights in the eyes?"
"Not at all," Clara said to him. The two women looked over the short scroll together before summoning over a couple of chairs. "This right here concerns me greatly, but not as much as that one," Clara said to the nodding woman.
"I know, I mean I am qualified to handle his physical wellbeing, but those two things I am not sure I want to try and handle, and especially not alone."
"What's wrong with me?" Dudley stammered out nervously.
"Relax Dudley," the younger woman said. "It is nothing serious. I know when doctors and nurses talk it might sound bad, but everything is treatable and fixable." She moved her chair closer to the side of the bed so she could take hold of his hand and hold it gently in her own. "You have had a spell cast on you to make you dislike someone very strongly, however the spell was ended when a general finite charm was cast on you canceling out a tail that had been placed on you." He squirmed at the thought of it and then looked stunned for a moment.
"So the reason he has been a bully to me all this time was because someone made him?" Now harry was getting upset, as was Dudley.
"Yes, but now you both know this. I do not think Hagrid knew of the other spell on your cousin, so the removal was accidental, and very fortunate. "Clara stood as she looked over the results, "When the finite was used, it took care of the tail, the charm, and placed a crack in the binding on your magical core."
Both boys sat there looking shocked. If Dudley was magical there was no way his parents would want him back, even if they didn't get a prison sentence. That would mean Aunt Marge for Dudley, but she was just as vicious as her brother, so there was no way Harry could let his cousin live with her either.
This was another huge change from his last lifetime, Dudley a wizard? It was possible, his mother came from non-magical parents and her sister could also carry the ability to have a magical son. Yet it still made no sense whatsoever, and then all thoughts stopped as he was covered in a mass of bushy brown hair and a scared Hermione.
"Oh Harry!" she cried as she hugged him as much as she could with him still laying down, though she pulled back suddenly at the tittering from the women in the room.
"Hi Hermione," he said a bit pink in the face. "Um, this is my cousin, Dudley, and um," he glanced at his cousin who was watching him and the others entering the room. "Dudley seems to be a wizard." That caused his friend to stop and blink a few times, but Bones strode forwards and began to whisper with the aging doctor.
"Harry who are all these people?" his cousin asked obviously beginning to try to regain his footing in the world.
"Dudley, this is Hermione Granger. She collided with me at the bank, and is the first friend I made. Like you and my mum, she is a muggle-born, meaning non-magical parents." His cousin was following slowly, so he kept going, "those are her parents Dan and Emma Granger, they are dentists. The lady with the monocle talking to Clara is Director Amelia Bones of the Department of Magical law Enforcement, or DMLE for short."
"Hello Dudley," Dan said as he came forwards looking at the two very different boys. It was very obvious they over-indulged their own child while massively neglecting Harry as a form of mental and emotional as well as physical abuse. His wife was already joining in on the cluster of women whispering about what was on the parchment. "So they fix the two of you up with all that magic yet?"
"Not yet Sir," harry replied. "I'm still being scanned by the spell, though it is up to my chest now. The scan on Dudley went much faster. All recent injuries are healed though," he said trying to add a positive spin on things.
"Well just so you both know, Madame bones filled us in on the fact that both of you were taken away today. She also told us that she is filing things in both magical and non-magical courts about things. Seems your last guardian is out of the country right now Harry, doing things for the International Confederation of Wizards. They don't expect him back until the end of the month to double check that the school is ready, though his Deputy is probably going ahead and doing all the work for him." He scratched his head and looked at the two boys, then smiled, "we have plenty of rooms at our home, so you will both be coming with us once they clear you. We got one room set up last night, but it will only take us a few minutes to get another one set up as well."
"You live in a big house then?" Harry asked wondering now about where he would be living.
"Yes, a pretty big one. I was one of five kids, and so when we have family over, well it is nice to be able to put some of them up with us rather than a hotel all the time. We still have three guest rooms open, on the ground floor, while all of us will be on the second. Emma and I have our own private bath, but the full bath is open for everyone, there is also a half bath on the main floor and one in the basement attached to the game room. I have darts, a snooker table, and a few other things down there, along with a very good sound system for music. So consider having fun one part of your recovery," he smirked. "As you boys get older, so long as you end up staying with us, and you prove to be responsible I might just be willing to take you to the range with me so you can learn how to shoot a gun."
"Daddy has promised to teach me to shoot as well," Hermione said as she finally decided to sit on Harry's bedside.
"Dan, kids," Emma said getting their attention. "The ladies and I have come to an agreement on a number of things concerning Dudley." Everyone turned their eyes to the boy at hand and he swallowed nervously.
