Chapter 6
by a hair's breadth
01:50 pm 6th march, Headmaster's office.
Albus was seated in his chair with his hands steepled, and his back slouching slightly waiting for the upcoming meeting, his trusted friend and familiar was out somewhere roaming the sky, he frowned when he thought about what Minerva reported about young Harry's reaction to his family's death, it was highly worrying, his duties at the ICW and Wizengamot in addition to his duties as the headmaster were already incredibly taxing on his time, which was only possible because his faithful deputy helped him out, without her he'd be buried under work, but now with the issues created by the stone not to mention having to be on the lookout for any information on Voldemort was creating difficulties in his work as headmaster guiding his students. He wasn't able to give them as much time as he wanted to. He sighed once again, and then he sat straight as soon as the alert wards outside his office detected his charge coming up to his door, and soon he heard the expected knocking, "come in," he called out to him. Harry strode in his office with his usual expression, and stood in the center of the room, meeting his eyes and waiting for him to begin the conversation.
"Young Harry, come, have a seat," Albus began, as soon as the boy was seated he continued, "first of all you have my condolences for your family's demise, i want you to remember that we're here for you and help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it," dumbledore stopped for a second here and took a deep breath. "I'm sure that professor Mcgonagall informed you that I'll be making arrangements for your new guardians." the boy simply nodded without any outward reaction, and he couldn't help but feel how wrong the situation was.
Due to his experiences he had grown used to sensing the magic of those around him, there were wizards of his caliber and that of Voldemort and Grindelwald whose foul magic he could sense without any effort at all for they simply possessed so much of it, not to mention their habits to brandish it, if he were to make a comparison, the magic of any average first year felt like a hand held lamp, useful for light and provided a bit if warmth but that was it, an average 7th year or a recent graduate was a bonfire lit for safety, by comparison young Harry was like a forest fire, huge and out of control, he could feel it without trying to, and trying to control it externally would be a fool's errand. He felt not unlike when we was standing in front of a younger Grindelwald or Tom, the boy was definitely dabbling into dark magics, but it was also different and again as Severus said not unlike is not the same as like, the boy in front of him didn't seem to have any care for his deceased family but he didn't seem to find any glee about it, he didn't know if that was good or bad, after all apathy was at times only a step away from cruelty. He knew this boy was capable of compassion unlike those two, he had after all saved his fellow classmates from certain death, at the risk of his own life.
Snapping out of his thoughts and coming back to reality he noted something about his current charge, again unlike other children he seemed to possess quite a lot of patience, he wasn't even fidgeting which was quite hard even for a lot of adults, taking a deep breath he began, "so while i had initially thought to look through some of my contacts in the wizarding world, and though several viable options did pop up, i was recently contacted by a muggle child protection services officer, her name is ms Lane, and she sent a letter to one of our post boxes in the muggle world which were set up so that muggle parents and guardians could contact us, though she knows nothing about magic, so while she seemed to have contacted us by accident it seemed like a good arrangement to have you connected to your muggle roots." 'Not to mention it'll be easier to keep people like Lucius Malfoy from trying to get him under their influence,' he added mentally.
"She's planning for a foster home for you at the moment, and she would like to meet with you soon, i will arrange for you to visit her soon with professor Mcgonagall escorting you, you'll be informed about the other details as soon as they're finalized," he elaborated. The boy replied with the now expected nod and then tilted his head forward as if asking "if that'll be all" something about those gestures was bugging his academic side, it wasn't' legilimency he knew that much with surety, but it was something he had encountered in past, he couldn't recall when or where but he had, he gave his permission for the boy to leave the boy soon left leaving him alone with his thoughts. Though everything aside now all he could do was wait and hope for the best.
He sighed once.
He hated how often that was the only thing he could do.
=0=0=0=0=0=
'That's one less complication in my plan' thought Harry as he headed to his charms class with professor flitwick. 'This was the best outcome possible in this situation, it would've been preferable if no one had found out about the Dursleys and he had more free reign, they were useful as cover for guardians,' he had already estranged himself from them when his hogwarts letter had come, but keeping people under the illusion that he was in their care made people scrutinize him less, it opened many paths, their deaths were creating inconvenience for him. 'It wouldn't be hard to evade them,' he could always teleport between hogwarts and whatever foster home he was placed at, he never lied, it led to complications, but if people assumed things based on their own perceptions he wasn't obligated to correct them, he didn't unnecessarily perform what little mind magics he knew, it could harm people, unnecessary destruction was not his purpose, it was simple, magic could do anything, bringing them back would be possible, of course others didn't think like him, they called it impossible, just like muggles called magic impossible, people ignored that all was possible if the right requirements were met, just like creating a potion, or an alchemical product to be more precise it required all the ingredients to get the desired results, whenever someone said reviving the dead the mundane always thought about something so... simple like necromancy, that was just the tip of the iceberg, there was so much more possible.
Of course they also lacked the sheer power required to do something on that scale, even people like Dumbledore and Voldemort didn't have it, but even now when he had about four times as much power as compared to Dumbledore it wasn't enough, not to mention though his control over it was terrible, even with his methods of casting spells he wasted a lot of power by overpowering his spells, he needed to learn how to increase his control along with the quantity, he would need at least twice as much as power as he had now and he didn't have any idea currently on how to increase it even after his experiment last month.
Flashback start
He was standing in his sanctuary, the room had been converted to a large white empty room at the center of the room there was a humongous array that had been drawn in red, it looked like a small circle inside a rhombus which was inside another bigger circle, there were also four semi circles running parallel to the corners of the rhombus with some symbols in them too, and then to finish it off there was another rhombus that covered the whole array. It was also pulsing with a visible glow, most would have trouble deciphering even a single section of it, those however who were masters of runes and arithmancy would quite easily recognize the ancient arabic that made the smaller rhombus, Latin that made the semi circles , and Greek symbols that were inside those circles, and quite a lot of Sanskrit symbols that constructed the two circles too, though they were quite obscure, the weirdest were symbols that could be best described as chicken scratch which made the outer rhombus.
There was an inferno rampaging within the smallest of the circles, as if it was sentient, like a creature trying to break out of a prison, he was staring at the inferno with calculating eyes, all his preparations were done including preventive measures for any worst case scenario, and then, without any preamble he jumped into the rampant flames, the rampaging flames now turned apocalyptic, their progress was halted to within the circle, the runes that were earlier pulsing were now outright glowing, burning even. A few hours passed and the only activities in the room were rampage of the flames which were ever steady accompanied by the sound created by them, all of a sudden the flames started to calm down, and steadily started to shrink inside, and when they finally died all that was left in the now thoroughly destroyed center of the room, were a heap of ashes and a boy with no scratch or other blemish on him, nothing to provide evidence of the events that had just transpired.
Slowly the boy outstretched his hands and started to stare at his palms, he could feel it, the surge in his power threatening to spill over like a volcano ready to erupt. Unlike all those times when Uncle Vernon tried to right his freakishness, when his wounds healed themselves faster after every time, snapped bones bonding back together, torn muscles knitting together and new flesh replacing the previously too damaged to be of any use. Not to mention having a body that was in general not busy feeling pain all over or maintaining blood wards made a lot of difference, 'not to mention i am now not only aware that what i have is magic, but am actively using it'.
Magic is like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it gets, but simply having a lot of muscle mass is useless if it's quality is low or if you don't utilize each muscle to its full potential. Also just like doing; let's say 10 squats every day, won't give you a heavily muscular body no matter what, you have to increase the load on your body, try out different exercises, increase their quantity from 10 to 20 and then further, similarly while Vernon's beatings were efficient for forming a base for my magical power, they were only good so far, they forced his magic to grow stronger to rapidly heal his body again, and again, and again, but eventually his magic got used to such exercise, no matter what he did, eventually it was just like doing 10 squats a day, by the time he was 8 his beatings didn't have destructive energy to force his magic, to pose an actual challenge, the fiendfyre that he had cast was full of destructive energy that once again forced his magic to either evolve or vanquish, unlike the beatings that had escalated with time, of course the risk was proportional to the reward.
'It was mainly possible because of what mother did,' Harry contemplated silently, 'though…..'.
Flashback End
He had reached the charms class whilst being lost with his thoughts, noticing that the class had began he politely knocked on the door of the class and waited to be acknowledged, the diminutive professor turned towards him from where he was taking attendance for the day and said, "ah yes mr Potter do come in, headmaster had informed me that there was something he wanted to discuss with you hence i expected you to be late, please take your seat."
He didn't care what anyone thought but unnecessarily antagonizing people could be potentially troublesome for his plans, hence why he was always respectful of the adults, kept them on the edge, curious enough to give a look once over but not make them scrutinize deeply. He knew that if someone found out about his plans they would probably try to stop him, he didn't care about the reasoning behind it but the probability that outcome was not something he wanted to test out so he thought it was best that he stay in people's good graces, 'when i met Dumbledore earlier his magic fluctuated slightly after brushing against mine, probably because he sensed the aftereffects darker magic I've been practising as of late'. He didn't view magic as dark or light, oh he fully understood the difference between them and why they were categorized so, but with proper precautions taken he was willing to use whatever necessary to bring them back, no matter the cost.
As soon as the class ended he once again snuck back into his sanctuary to work on his magic control and think up ways to increase his power.
Time Skip
12:00 pm 12 April, Spencer St, London.
Harry was seated at the small cafe just outside the city university of London, dressed in a plain white shirt and black pant, along with him was professor McGonagall dressed in a grey business suit to blend in the muggles. They were there to meet with ms Lane as professor McGonagall had informed him after one transfiguration class at the end of march, they were meeting today as it was a sunday hence he wouldn't be missing any school and it would be easier for professor McGonagall to chaperone him. From his time with the dursleys and studying in his muggle elementary school he knew how they functioned so he simply removed the outer robe of his school uniform and transfigured his shirt so that his house crest wouldn't be visible, and even though all of this was cutting into his present time which he could have used to hone his skills and progress his plans, it was an investment for future time, unsupervised time, His thoughts were interrupted by someone taking a seat across him, and when he looked up to inspect the person he presumed was ms lane, he found a blonde woman who was 5'4", she like professor McGonagall was wearing a grey business suit and had a black bag with her, she was also panting from light exhaustion, presumably from running, "so professor McGonagall how are you? How was the journey from Scotland?" She began soon after she had caught her breath, to which professor replied with a smile, and then facing towards harry she continued, "and you must be young Harry, I'm Lane, Louis Lane, though most call me Louis which is what i prefer to be addressed as, nice to meet you," by the time she was done saying all this she had held out her right hand in his direction for what he deduced was a handshake.
After having shaken hands with him she resumed her questions, "so Harry tell me about yourself?" to which harry answered by writing something down using some of the paraphernalia he had brought along himself, a notebook and a ballpoint pen, when he passed the written note to her first, she was confused and then after reading the note she was laughing really hard, then she looked in his direction but whatever she was thinking made her slowly stop laughing, getting herself in control, she began again, "so Harry i hope you understand why we're here today?" she waited for a reply which she received in the form of a nod, "there is a family, the Laws, they run a foster home and they've expressed their wish to foster you, it seems like a viable option and the matriarch of the family, judy law, is someone I've heard about from my colleagues as a kind and compassionate woman, and she wants to help you, but i thought your opinion should also be heard in this matter, so what do you say?" Just like earlier she received a written reply by the boy in front of her and what was written in the note seemingly surprised her, as her eyebrows had risen high, "are you sure Harry? I mean it's alright if you want to think for some time or something?" But all she received was a nod and he looked her in the eyes as if to say that a decision has been made and the matter is to be closed. It was a weird sensation.
Her lips had thinned out then she softly told harry, "how about this Harry, can you go and buy some snacks for all of us from the counter? Whatever you'd like," she requested him as she handed him a few pounds. He nodded once and took the money heading towards the counter, as soon as she felt that he was out of earshot she turned to McGonagall and began, "okay, i see what you meant that day". The both of them had exchanged a few letters because Louis wanted to know a bit about harry before meeting him and Minerva because she wanted to get a feel of the kind if person Louis was, and if she could be trusted with young Harry's life.
Louis removed her own notebook and pen and began "professor Mcgonagall do you mind if i had a few questions about your school?"
"call me Minerva, Louis, and no i don't mind especially if it helps that boy in any way," came the reply.
"Does your school has a counsellor?"
"No, not a specialized counsellor, but our school's nurse has what we believe to be sufficient knowledge about psychology,and if she ever feels like she's out of her depth with any of out students or if a more advanced intervention is necessary she refers them to some of the best psychologists we're in touch with," McGonagall replied as truthfully as she could, which meant in this instance she was only keeping out the magical aspect of the healing.
"Hmm, okay," Here she wrote down a few notes and then continued, "okay so your school is a legacy school right? As in children of the alumnus receive invitations for attending it?".
"Yes," Was Minerva's short yet curt reply.
"And Harry's fees and other academic needs are being met? And is he in need of any financial support with regards to the same for the foreseeable future?"
"I'd like to believe that his academic needs are being met, and no all of his tuition and extracurricular expenses have been met as per the directions left by his parents in the contract signed with the school, most probably from the trust fund they set up for him," was the reply, Minerva had gringotts send a few financial records of the Potter family to the young woman in front of her so that she could get a grasp on his financial and legal needs for harry that would have to be attended, of course it was all forged by gringotts, and for a fee.
At this Louis sighed softly, "thank god for that, a lot of children who enter the system have to abandon good education because they're unable to receive scholarships and run into some or other kind of financial or legal issues at school," She elaborated so as to she wouldn't be misunderstood by the loco parent of her to be charge.
At first Minerva only replied with a soft smile and a nod of understanding, then she added, "starting from the third year the students get to visit a local village near the school, it allows them to not only let out a but of steam so to speak but also teaches them to be responsible and independent, but we also ask for parental or guardian consent for the same, so should we contact you for that or ms law, for that reason, should an emergency arise whom should we contact?"
Understanding that they were merely covering precautions she replied, "should Harry choose to stay with the Laws then yes you'll have to contact them for any formalities, but yes in case of a medical issue i would like to be notified".
Minerva gave another nod of understanding at this.
Louis' lips thinned once again and she began, "most of what needs to be done has been covered in his case, and from what it seems he doesn't mind being placed with the laws," at this she picked up the note harry had earlier given her, it read, 'i accept'. Though from what you've told me of his behavior i believe he might be living with the autistic syndrome".
At this Minerva's eyebrows shot up.
Louis held up her hand to forestall any questions and continued, "of course this isn't really an official diagnosis, the last case i handled was of a girl who is autistic and Harry is displaying similar attitude," At which point she held up the first note Harry had given her which held the answer for her question to him for describing himself and apparently the boy had given a physical description, "i would like to have him formally diagnosed by some of our psychologist over the vacation before pronouncing any judgement, just ro cover all the bases".
At this, outwardly Minerva only gave a nod but on the inside she was troubled, she didn't know what was autism, or how to handle this situation, so she decided that she'll have wait before taking any steps, not he preferred course of action. But before she could say anything ms lane announced, "hmm, i think we're done for the day," And he realized with a start that she was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice Harry return with snacks, only 2 cups of tea with scones, and placed one of each in front of her and Louis along with the remaining change next to her cup of tea, at which Louis commented, "sweetheart didn't you get something for yourself? What happened? did you not like anything that was offered on the menu?" at this Harry just shook his head and picked up his notebook and started writing something, but this time he didn't pass any notes to either of them and they understood, 'change the topic' "okay, so both of you i hope to see you soon, and goodbye for today!" At this she had gotten up from her seat and proceeded to gather her stuff but not before giving Harry's notebook a pointed look.
"Goodbye ms Lane, and indeed i look forward to meeting you again," Replied Minerva curtly.
As expected there was no reply from their charge.
As soon as she had left Minerva addressed the boy, "Harry, it is about time that we leave for school." He stopped writing, looked at her once, then he packed up all of his stuff and stood up waiting for further instructions, at that minerva took his hand and guided him to the nearest apparition point, and apparated back to Hogsmeade, when they reached there Harry was staring at her in a fashion she recognized being asked for dismissal, granting him what he wanted she started trailing behind him as he hurried to the castle, and then disappeared as soon as they entered it, she marched towards the headmaster's office, she had a lot to discuss with him.
A/n : really really sorry for the delay, i had to make some calls in this chapter which would influence how the story progressed, hence my procrastination from writing.
Think of Harry as a neutral doomsday, whatever you do to him he'll simply return stronger.
Harry isn't actually autistic, but his behavior is simply the result of the dursleys abuse on him, not that louis or minnie know, so I'd like to apologize to anyone offended by that. And her (louis) name was in reference to lane from dc, supe's otp. Because i wanna do a dc/marvel x hp crossover in future using this harry as the base, but that isn't for some time until we finish like the fourth year.
Oh and I'll be wrapping over the first year in the next 2 chapters.
Thanks for reading.
