This Harry Potter story was written for fun. All rights belong to the wonderful lady (JK Rowling) who gave the world Harry Potter to read and enjoy.
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[I don't remember riding in an auto-mo-bile before,] Iggy stated. [Not as much fun as riding a broom but certainly more comfortable than sitting on a broomstick.]
[Life in the real world is very different.]
Iggy was lost in thought for a minute as he remembered hearing that term before and then he asked, [Do you think Magical Britain is not a real world?]
[No. It doesn't feel real in many ways that don't have to do with magic,] Harry replied. [People wear restrictive clothes from hundreds of years ago, write with goose feathers on animal skins and depend on torches for light. They don't have radio with thousands of song choices, food from all over the world, electricity or mass production.]
[Mass what?]
Harry grinned and said, [I'll show you. Just watch out the window.]
Looking out the car window, Harry showed Iggy thousands of cars, skyscrapers, planes, and kilometres of paved road. The Dursleys stopped at a food store and Harry followed Aunt Petunia through the store up and down each aisle with a selection of food and other items that left the entity in the magical cloak flabbergasted.
[No wonder Lily Potter wanted to live in the 'real world' and flee Magical Britain,] commented Iggy.
Vernon, Petunia and Dudley ignored Harry Potter after a few careful magical 'nudges' from Iggy. Sluggy appeared with food and drink every day to supplement that food provided by the Dursleys. With help from the house elf and his magical cloak, Harry completed the chores for Aunt Petunia every day, leaving her with a perfect garden and house. Dudley never gave his cousin a thought and Vernon forget the freak was present six out each seven days of the week.
At night, Iggy tutored Harry in his responsibilities as Hier Potter, the proper manners for a young man who would lead one of the major houses in Magical Britain, and they investigated Harry's estate but having Sluggy drop off letters at Gringotts. By return mail using Sluggy, Harry was able to receive a Gringotts money bag and debit card tied to his education account. This allowed the pair to plan to purchase a suitable muggle wardrobe for Harry to wear around Hogwarts when he wasn't required to be in the school uniform.
[They cast spells on Hedwig!] Harry spit in anger and promised to remember this slight along with so many others. Iggy and Harry made the unfortunate discovery about spells on Hedwig when Harry had wondered aloud why his faithful owl could not find Neville Longbottom. Iggy's wandless magic demonstration of detecting the charms on Hedwig gave Harry the incentive to learn them as well.
Consequently. Iggy taught Harry how to access his magical core without a wand and how to cast many wandless spells that summer that could not be detected by the ministry devices in London. With the daily visits by Sluggy, Harry was able to correspond with his friend from Gryffindor.
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At Malfoy Manor, Narcissa Malfoy watched her husband leave for the ministry. The Wizengamot would debate budgets for the next fortnight and keep his close attention. When the floo closed after his departure, she gracefully made her way to her son's apartment. There she found Draco staring out a window rather than working on his summer studies.
"Draco, I want to hear about your first year at Hogwarts," she said as she lay an arm across his shoulders. The sigh that escaped her son's lips disturbed her.
"Mamma, it was not what I hoped," Draco admitted, slipping back into the name he'd called her until he turned ten years of age.
"How was it disappointing?"
"There was a boy…he took all the attention…he ruined the whole thing."
"Who?" asked Narcissa though she had her suspicions.
"I can't say his name without my head pounding in pain for an hour," Draco admitted.
"Pain?" she asked, her wand out and casting diagnostic spells at her only child. "Why has your godfather not helped you?"
Shaking his head, her son explained, "Severus has much worse headaches. When he engages with 'him', Snape must remain in a dark room for three days without any sound. The house elves care for him, feed him and put him to bed at night,"
Narcissa moved to a chair to sit and think.
'Draco means Harry Potter. There must be some jinx on the boy that Severus triggered with his hatred for all things Potter.'
"Son, can you provide me with a list of everyone you observed who has these headaches when they deal with 'him'?"
"It's not just headaches," Draco explained. "I can't see him in the halls, classroom, or quidditch pitch. In the game between Gryffindor and Slytherin, half of our team could not see Potter and he flew rings around them, stole the quaffle every play, and then snatched the snitch that our seeker never saw. The final score was 750 to 15."
When they reviewed the list, Narcissa was unprepared to find that her son included Ron Weasley, Professor Minerva McGonagall and Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, in addition to the expected Slytherins and sympathetic Ravenclaws. The Weasley boy could see Potter on occasion but the red-head's temper always boiled over at some point and once again interfered with their 'friendship'.
In a long discussion, Narcissa led her son to understand that it was the ill-intent he felt for Harry Potter that triggered the jinx.
"A jinx? How can that work?"
"I am not certain how it works but you have experienced it first-hand. If you change your intent away from any ill-feelings for him, the jinx will not affect you again."
"But…"
"I know the jinx can be effective. During the terror of the Dark Lord's campaign to destroy Magical Britain, he-who-must-not-be-named placed a jinx on his name. Anyone who spoke it aloud, could be traced for a time," Narcissa explained.
"So, if I don't care about the boy-who-lived, if I don't try to trip him up, the headaches will stop?" Draco asked.
"Yes!" his mother stated forcefully. "Excel in your classes as a pureblood son of proud parents and establish a standard that the poor muggleborns can never attain."
"Father will be disappointed," Draco said. "He wanted me to interact with him and keep him off balance."
"I shall deal with your father," Narcissa assured her son.
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The Peverell magic cloak of invisibility was capable of deep thought and long-term planning. His charge to help the head of the family meant that he had an eleven-year-old – almost twelve-year-old – to guide toward a productive future.
'If I keep him safe from malcontents and manipulators,' Iggy thought. 'The mistake I made with James Potter was not sitting on his shoulders every day once Fleamont handed me over to his heir. If I had been with James…'
Refusing to play 'what if', Iggy considered the environment of No.4 Privet Drive. While the Dursleys now tolerated or ignored Harry Potter, it was not the appropriate home for the heir of the Potter legacy.
'Dumblemore's plans and schemes cost Magical Britain the Potters and so much more. I don't know if Harry will ever feel at home there. And it might be better if we don't stay there permanently. What I've seen on this 'telly' tells me so much more of the world is out there than the smidgen of the world locked away behind magical wards.'
'What is it like in other countries?' wondered Iggy. 'The library at Hogwarts has nothing current on other countries…and I wonder if that is on purpose?'
It was early morning, 4:00AM, and Iggy was awake and examining the wards around the property that Dumblemore claimed protected Harry from all ill-intent.
'And I wonder if that's why the old whiskered pounce never came by to check on the boy?' Iggy wondered after checking the wards that were supposed to be powered by the familial blood bond of harry with his aunt and cousin. 'Dumblemore's ill-intent triggered a subtle protection by the wards to keep him away.'
For two weeks, Iggy studied the ward schema and figured out that the love that James and Lily Potter felt for their son had powered the protective spell that saved Harry's life that Halloween night. That same love powered these wards.
'James and Lily did pay attention to my lessons!' Iggy realized. 'This ward is based on my magic…how my magic works to protect the Peverell heir.'
For the remainder of the night, Iggy concentrated on the magical strings that attached the ward to the house and examined ways to move them to some other object – such as a necklace or bracelet.
'No reason why Harry can't carry this with him to another house,' Iggy decided. 'Eventually anyway.'
When Harry's grades from first year and the book list for second year arrived, the Dursley were away for four days and Harry celebrated with his cloak. They made several trips into the shopping district for Little Whinging and began procuring a decent wardrobe for the boy.
When a letter arrived from Neville via Sluggy that invited him to a birthday party on 30 July, he dressed in new muggle clothes with an open wizard's robe as an outer garment. As a gift, Harry had a rose bush he had propagated two years before that he dug up and took as Neville's birthday gift.
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Lucius Malfoy quietly observed his wife and son as they sat on a shaded terrace for afternoon tea on that late July afternoon in late July. After fighting with Dumbledore and Fudge over the budgets for the ministry and Hogwarts for the coming year, mingling with the appropriate purebloods and avoiding ambitious half-bloods, the wizard hoped for quiet and peace in his home.
As he lifted his teacup and caught his wife's eye, Lucius Malfoy realized that something was about to change in his life.
"I have been speaking with Draco about his first year at Hogwarts," Narcissa began. "I have heard many stories and learned much."
"And what have you learned that disturbs you?" Lucius asked, attempting to get to the heart of the matter as quickly as possible.
Narcissa smiled dangerously and replied, "Our son is not a minion to be dispatched to gather intelligence for you. He is our child, our heir and worth much more being a pawn in the petty contest between the Dark Lord and Albus Dumbledore."
Remaining silent, Lucius listened carefully – his wife was a true Slytherin.
"Your instructions to our son would have him sorted into Gryffindor rather than Slytherin. To brag about 'my father' and our position is never the way a Slytherin moves through the world. And to antagonize the boy!"
"The boy was raised by muggles," Lucius argued. "They do not have subtly."
"And now Harry Potter does not see any subtly in Slytherins either."
Draco was pleased to find that hearing the name of his old rival did not cause his head to hurt though from the wince on his father's face, he thought there might have been the beginning of a headache there.
"What would you have me do, then?" Lucius asked.
"Do nothing!" Narcissa insisted. "Draco's next year will be perfectly Slytherin. He will ignore the Gryffindors and demonstrate to Harry Potter how to move through the magical world."
Again, Darco saw the wince on his father's face.
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Arriving at the Longbottom home via elf apparition was much nicer than any other form of magical transportation that Harry had experienced. Dressed in his new muggle pants, shirt and boots with a relatively plain open wizard's robe, and the pot containing the new rose bush, Harry appeared outside the front door of a large manor house built of yellow stones. All around the house, there was greenery in shrubs, trees and beds of blooming flowers.
Harry set the rose on the stoop and knocked on the door. When the door opened, an unfamiliar elf stood there and asked, "Who be you?"
"I am Harry Potter. I am here for Neville's birthday party."
The elf appeared conflicted for a moment before it pulled the door open all the way and bowed. Picking up his gift once again, Harry stepped into the pureblood home of Neville Longbottom where Lady Augusta Longbottom ruled.
[Something feels off,] Iggy said immediately. [Don't talk overly much – just answer questions with simple answers. Don't eat or drink anything until I say you can.]
[Okay…] replied Harry.
From an interior room, Neville appeared and he hurried over to Harry.
"I am glad you're here," the other boy said. "There's been something strange happening all morning."
"What?"
"Our house elves keep popping in and out trying to catch another elf that's messing up things for the party."
"Another elf?"
"Sluggy noticed him first when the mail all disappeared."
At just that moment, Iggy squeaked with surprize and Harry giggled. Neville looked at Harry strangely and the boy quickly apologised, "Neville, just a stray thought about my cousin who must exercise this summer. He tries to hide the mail at the house every day to keep his parents from seeing letters from his school."
[Good cover,] added Iggy. [Sorry about the squeak but someone just changed the wards around the house to block elves from entry. House elves can't pop in and out except at a single location outside the wards. Another elf has to approach them… I shall do the same thing at Privett Drive the instant we return to that place.]
"In any case," Harry said as he motioned toward the rose bush. "Happy birthday Neville!"
"What is this, Harry? We don't have this in the magical world," Neville said.
"You don't have roses?"
Neville shook his head and said, "I don't think so."
Pulling out his wand, the young wizard held a leaf in his hand and tapped it once. A bell rang somewhere in the house and the sound was clear and bright.
"Well, it isn't poisonous or dangerous to have in a magical environment," explained Neville. "Lots of common plants are poisonous and my elves know to keep the leaves and seeds out of food and potions. Unless you have to use the poison as part of the potion."
Harry frowned for a moment but then added, "Yes. I remember Professor Pretzel talking about how the brewer must use a poison sometimes to make a potion that will cure an illness."
A new voice greeted the two boys as a tall, elderly woman walked into the room. "I am pleased to hear you putting your herbology knowledge to use in your other classes, Neville. Will you introduce me to your friend?"
"Gran, this is my best friend, Harry Potter," Neville said, laying one hand on Harry's shoulder. With his other hand, Neville motioned toward the old woman and introduced her saying, "Harry, this is my grandmother, Dowager Lady Augusta Longbottom, nee Croaker."
Remembering Iggy's tutoring, Harry bowed from the waist and replied, "Lady Longbottom, I am pleased to make your acquaintance. Thank you for allowing me into your home as a guest for the afternoon."
Smiling, the dowager inclined her head properly and motioned for the two boys to follow her into the lounge. Once they were gone, Sluggy popped into the room and moved the rose to the greenhouse an isolated greenhouse to sit for a few days to make certain there were no parasites, diseases, or small creatures hidden in the pot.
"I thought the three of us would begin with lunch before the other guests arrive at three," Lady Longbottom announced as they came to a small table. Without prompting from Neville or his grandmother Harry came around to assist Lady Longbottom with her chair.
[Good. Perfect pureblood mannerisms,] Iggy said.
Thank you, Mr. Potter," Lady Longbottom said as she pulled her napkin into her lap and called for the first course.
Neville frowned at his grandmother who pretended to not see the boy's face as an invisible servant offered Harry food from different dishes. Augusta noticed the boy took some of each dish–even the brussels sprouts–and ate neatly.
"Mr. Potter, I was told by my grandson that you were raised by muggles and had no knowledge of good manners."
Smirking slightly at the look of horror that now appeared on Neville's face, Harry replied, "Lady Longbottom, even muggles understand good table manners. They may not understand the unnecessarily convoluted practices of wizards with precedence for who walks into the dining room first but we do use napkins, knives and forks at our table."
Lady Augusta Longbottom stared for a moment and then she began laughing.
"Excellent! Most excellent!" she declared. "Neville, your friend is a marvel!"
"Gran he is my friend and not some social experiment!"
"I know that but His Holiness-on-High Albus Percival-something-something Dumbledore made Heir Potter a social experiment when he announced last August that your friend had been raised by muggles."
"The initial reports of your return were not promising but I am pleased to see that you are adjusting to our ways."
"Lady Longbottom, may I tell you two secrets?"
"Secrets? Yes, please."
"First, until my birthday last year on 31 July, I never knew that magic was real. My relatives called me 'freak' because of the strange things that happened when my 'magic' acted out. My Hogwarts letter was the first time I'd ever heard that magic was real. After my first year at Hogwarts, I understand more but like this world less than I expected to when I travelled to Hogwarts to be sorted."
The statement by the boy-who-lived made the old witch think and review his earlier comments.
"And second, after returning to 'muggle land' where there are reasonable clothes, telly, radio, telephones, I think I will spend more time in the 'real world' when I am grown rather than on this side of the looking glass."
"Looking glass?" Neville asked though Harry saw that Lady Longbottom understood the reference.
"There is a book for children about a muggle girl travelling into a magical land…a squib wrote it about one hundred years ago and many muggleborns refer to their experiences in Magical Britain as having travelled 'through a looking glass' or mirror," Augusta explained to her grandson.
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Augusta Longbottom maintained her role as hostess when the half-dozen children arrived with one or more parents to attend her grandson's birthday party that afternoon. She paid close attention to the interactions between the boy-who-lived with Susan Bones and her Aunt Amelia, Hannah Abbot and her parents – one pureblood and the other a muggle born, Ernie McMillan with two pureblood parents, Lavender Brown with her half-blood mother, and Luna Lovegood who came without her pureblood father.
The McMillians were slightly scandalized that the young girl came by herself but none of the other parents or the children made an issue of her appearance through the floo without an escort. The children seemed to have a good time and Harry spent time talking with Lavendar, Hannah, and Luna more than Susan or Ernie.
When it was time to open Neville's presents, the only one that generated any talk was Luna's gift of an empty perfume bottle.
"Luna, there's nothing in this bottle," Lavender said. "What is Neville going to do with it?"
Smiling prettily, the blonde replied, "Harry Potter gifted Neville with the Breathe of Magic for his birthday. In August, Neville will learn to capture the magical scent of the blooms and save Hogwarts before Christmas this year."
[BREATHE OF MAGIC?] exclaimed Iggy. [You said it was a 'rose bush'!]
Ernie McMillian snickered and said, "Luna, the Breathe of Magic is a fairy tale, like the Peverell brothers and their magical things."
[Seer! Oh, Merlin Love a Duck! She's a seer!] Iggy began saying over and over.
Harry interrupted and asked, "Ernie, are the deathly hallows all fairy tales?"
"Of course, no one can recall the dead, hide from death underneath a cloak or have the most powerful wand in the world," McMillian replied. Then he asked, "Why do you ask?"
"It's just that last year this time, I would never have believed that people could step through flames and appear at another house on the other side of the country without being burned. I never heard of anyone creating water by waving a stick around or drinking a potion to cure a disease instantly."
[I am going to show that boy some Peverell magic once we're back at Hogwarts,] Iggy promised.
To change the subject, Neville asked, "Luna what house will you hope for at Hogwarts this September?"
"I shall wait and see what happens that night," she replied.
Grinning Harry spoke up, "Miss Lovegood, I hope you ask the hat to put you into Gryffindor with Lavender, Neville, and me. We have a great house and look after each other."
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