Harry Potter is The White Prince
Chapter 3
Diagon Alley and a flight
A/N: Hello folks, and welcome back. Since I felt bored this January, I decided to make a new chapter out of the blue and help continue a work that I have some idea of where to go. So as a quick line of thought, Happy New Year. I will be having another college semester coming up the 25th of this month and ending in May, which will be my last semester in community college before I'll have to do things on my own, since my education will be finished.
Also, I want to mention that after some thought, I've finally decided to create another story that I'm interested in, but I'm going to make sure not to write anything for it until probably May, since I have some other ones I need to get done and don't want to pretend like they don't exist. Procrastination is something that I'm going to try and happen less as part of my New Year idea, after all. But for those who were patient enough to read this entire thing, I'll be giving multiple details about it in the bottom A/N.
Lastly, if anyone asks why I had Harry act 'whiny' in the last chapter, I was trying to do so in order to make a more realistic reaction someone might have if an Unscrupulous Hero did something that would seem out of the blue for them, and not have it be shrugged off like nothing happened. I'll try to ensure that happens less overtime, though.
Anyway, that's enough for this note, let's get started!
July 24th, 1994, 7:40pm...
Harry quietly coughed as he sat in his seat of the London City airport, feeling a bit of a cold as he sat in the barely warm seating area. It was obnoxious to him that he would have to sit this long for a flight, especially with this being the first time he would be flying from one country to another. The seat he was in wasn't bothering him, but he had been glued to the chair for over 45 minutes, and barely had anything besides his thoughts to keep him occupied as the flight went on. Luckily, Hedwig was on his right as he had kept the cage onto his right while he sat still, and was gently pecking his fingers as a way to distract him from his boredom, which Harry appreciated.
"Thanks, Hedwig." He smiled, feeling a little better with his snowy companion giving him some affection. He probably should have accepted Emma's offer to go get a book or something while they waited for their flight to New York. Although, in all fairness, it wasn't entirely Harry's fault for his impatience. The flight had been delayed nearly 3 times, when they were supposed to leave earlier at 7:10, it got delayed for over half an hour. And even before that, it would have been 6:45. It was rather annoying that the flight would be getting delayed often, since it reminded him of when he and Ron had to take a flying car in order to arrive at Hogwarts due to Dobby's actions.
"Feeling tired?" He heard someone say softly. He looked up to his left and saw Emma standing beside him. She had two gyros, which from Harry could see were made of pita bread, a beef and lamb mixture, lettuce, tomato and some red onions, with some tzatziki sauce, all of it wrapped in aluminum foil in her right hand, and two books in her left. "The flight's delay was getting tiresome, so I decided to buy a book to stay awake." She explained, nearly letting out a yawn from how late it was getting.
"I guess I deserve to be like this for me deciding to come here early." Harry said. Because he hadn't been on a flight before, and didn't want to miss it or deal, Harry chose to soon head to the airport after leaving Diagon Alley, since buying products for the following year took a bit of time. Time also ended up being taken up after Emma finally returned the rented vehicle. Harry could see from her face when it happened that she was glad that she returned it, since she kept it only to ensure that she didn't look cheap, but even then, she wasn't that satisfied having it around. She reasoned it was because the car looked new when it was actually old, and it was only going to work for a brief amount of time before a mechanic would need to inspect it again, and she only used it due to planning to be in England briefly before coming home. Because of this, Harry chose to skip dinner, choosing to wait at the airport. He started regretting the decision after the second delay happened.
Emma just smiled at her 'son' and sat down in the seat on his left. "It happens, Harry. A flight gets delayed every now and then." She said, offering him one of the gyros, which he accepted and took a bite out of almost immediately. He soon felt her hand, where he discovered that she had placed four napkins on his lap. "I made sure to get extra, since these can get a little messy." She said, making sure to place one of the books on the floor to her right and the other one beside her as she placed the remaining four napkins on her lap.
"Thanks." He said, taking another bite into his gyro, enjoying the taste of the tzatziki sauce that oozed in with the onion and gave a slightly bigger touch to the meat. It helped to soothe his stomach since it was grumbling for a bit. Hopefully, the flight wouldn't be delayed again, and they would be on their way. Listening to babies crying, people snoring and leaving trash behind in some of the seats was tiresome to look at and listen to.
"Do you want a book?" Emma offered, trying to help him deal with his impatience. Harry gave a nod, trying to be careful not to spill any of the sauce or become messy like Dudley could be. As he quietly ate into his gyro, Emma bent down and picked up the book that she had just placed down and slid it onto his side, making sure it wasn't near his napkins. "I didn't know what kind of genre of books you're into, so I decided to choose a random novel. Hope you'll like it." She said.
"Thanks." Harry said, picking up the book that was given to him. The title read 'Nineteen Eighty-Four', written by George Orwell. The cover art consisted mainly of a creepy yellow eye that seemed to stare back at Harry, almost looking like he was endlessly watching him, and seemingly waiting for him to be doing something bad to watch...forever.
"Hmm..." Harry muttered, taking another bite out of his gyro as he looked at the cover art. He'd probably feel uncomfortable having a book like this, but considering the actions he committed in previous years, this book probably wouldn't be any different. Oh well, it was worth reading. Perhaps it would make up for how early he left Diagon Alley and just sat there for what felt like a couple of hours.
*Flashback*
July 24th, 1994, 1:45pm...
After their embrace, Emma and Harry headed towards the Leaky Cauldron, which would have allowed them to access Diagon Alley. It was their destination since it was where the will was stated to be amongst the Potter vault and galleons that were present within it. Since Harry knew the location, Emma didn't have much trouble noticing it, and they stepped inside rather quickly.
"Alright, the entrance to Diagon Alley is just behind the back door. I know where it is, so try not to worry." Harry assured his aunt, trying to not get too much attention from the witches and wizards due to who Emma was.
"I trust you, Harry. I haven't stepped foot in here, so I apologize if I get sidetracked." Emma said, blushing a little due to her barely partaking in the wizarding world. Most of her knowledge came from Lily at best, since she often stopped there, but she never visited the place herself, so this was going to be a bit different than usual.
Before they could enter through the back door, they noticed that the fireplace had magically been started. Harry knew immediately what that meant, although he could tell that it wasn't danger. "Mr. Potter?" He heard a voice say. Harry turned his head to his left, where he had heard the voice come from. It was there, besides the bar table, that he saw an old man, who was hunched over, quite bald, and he looked like the toothless walnut that Harry saw last year. It was Tom, the landlord, innkeeper and barman of the Leaky Cauldron. "Oh, thank heavens. It is you. I almost thought for a moment that you were an imposter, or perhaps Malfoy."
Harry ignored the Malfoy comment and quickly walked over to Tom. "Good afternoon, Tom. I was j-just about to, uh, head to Diagon Alley." He said, trying to hurry along so that he wouldn't waste much time.
"Ah, returning here for another handful of weeks until school starts, are you?" Tom chuckled, his near-toothless grin being made onto his face. "And what could have possibly hap..." he paused, as he noticed Emma standing at Harry's right, since a bit of her cloak flew over Harry's side. The moment his eyes laid on her, he was partially in awe, feeling almost pixelated and amazed at how beautiful the young woman looked. He had seen a lot of young women throughout his time running the Cauldron, but never had he seen such a revealing, and well-developed person. It was amazing.
"Oh, uh, I forgot to make the introductions." Harry said, trying to move along with things. "Um, Tom, this is my Aunt Emma. She is my aunt through adoption, and she's from the United States." He stood out of the way, trying to allow Tom and Emma to shake hands.
"A pleasure to meet a young, beautiful person such as you." Tom smiled and offered his hand.
"Uh, thank you, Tom." Emma said, trying to be polite as she shook his hand. "If you don't mind, we're heading to Gringotts. I don't intend to stay long." She added.
"Gringotts, eh?" Tom said, surprised at the interest for an early visit despite Hogwarts not opening up for at least another month. "What for?"
"A will." Harry spoke in. "My parents had years ago supposedly written a will that made it so that by no circumstances was I supposed to be living in Muggle England with the Dursleys. It has been sealed away in the vault that my father has."
"I was among the small list of people that were supposed to take care of Harry in the event that they were to pass away." Emma added.
"Huh, this sounds like news from the Daily Prophet to me. I never knew about such a thing." Tom turned to his left, seeing Harry looked rather impatient was he standing there like he wanted to just take off, even though he didn't seem to have much of an issue being within the Leaky Cauldron in previous times. "What's the matter, Mr. Potter? You don't seem like yourself usually when you enter the pub."
Harry gulped a little, looking at Emma as if he could talk about what was coming out next. If people knew that he was with a Muggle within the Wizarding World, that would cause a lot of trouble for him, meaning he'd be barred for life from the school. Regardless of his fears, Emma gave him a nod, and decided to continue. "Um...Tom," he began, "I'm in a hurry because I have some rather unfortunate things on my plate. You see, my aunt, she..." he looked around, before he came in closer to Tom to whisper. "She's from the muggle world."
Tom's eyes slowly widened in awe. "A muggle?" He said, looking at the young woman standing in front of him. "Um..." he began.
"Look, I really need to know the truth behind the matter of my past, and I don't want further trouble." Harry begged, really not wanting things to get even worse.
Tom further inspected Emma, ignoring Harry's statement as he looked the young woman in the eyes. "I hope you know what you're doing being in an area like this one. Muggles aren't allowed to know what's inside of the wizarding world whether you are a pleasant person to have around or not."
"I am more than capable of taking care of myself, thank you." Emma retorted, giving Tom a very sharp eye, as if she was ready to fight him if needed.
"Look, look," Harry interrupted, not wanting something serious to go down in the Leaky Cauldron. "We won't take long being in Diagon Alley, we just need to head over to Gringotts so that we can see the will that my parents had left behind. Hopefully if that is true, the elves will believe us and we will be able to go off without any troubles." Harry didn't want the first day he was with his new aunt to cause him to be permanently expelled from the Wizarding World. It was already bad enough he started speaking about it in their hotel room where people could have been listening before he whispered, having an incident in the Leaky Cauldron would have been the final straw for disaster.
Tom looked back for a moment, but then he nodded. "I understand. I won't report this to anyone, Mr. Potter. Just go into the back and head off. Maybe you should get any supplies for school as well in case you can't return. Don't worry about anyone looking for you and causing you any trouble, not many people are in Diagon and Knockturn Alley right now. They usually come down during the evening hours. Just try not to attract too much attention until everything's cleared with Gringotts, Mr. Potter." Tom then proceeded to head back behind the bar and proceeded to start cleaning a dirty mug that he had in the back area.
Harry sighed slightly in relief, but he could tell things were going to get bad quickly. 'Something tells me I'm not going to be able to return to Hogwarts. I was able to get away with this in private, but this won't fly over Merlin's head.' He really didn't want to leave Hogwarts behind, but he could tell that having a muggle Aunt, powers or not, wasn't going to be taken lightly by the Ministry of Magic. He wanted to be frustrated, but he should have thought about this before he chose to go along with Emma's offer.
"I promise Harry, it will be okay." Emma said, coming over to hug him. "I'll make sure to have your magical abilities are trained, even if you are kicked out."
"This is going to suck." Harry said, after a sigh. A few moments after Emma hugged him, he squirmed out of her arms, and began the walk to Diagon Alley. As soon as he tapped the bricks onto the brick wall, he wasted no time and rushed over to Gringotts Wizarding Bank, ignoring anyone who possibly was looking at him and Emma. He wasn't interested in whether or not he would be allowed to head to the school at the moment, since he knew something unexpected happened with him a lot, but he needed to know the truth, and see if what he was promised was worth it in the end. 'Merlin, I hope what Emma said was true.' He pleaded in his mind.
Once he had entered through the doorway and was standing past one column of goblets working, he finally slowed down to a halt, feeling slightly embarrassed that he ran into the bank like a madman that was enacting revenge. Some of the goblins looked at him with a raised eyebrow, before they noticed Emma coming into the bank behind him. They seemed to raised another eyebrow, before they just shrugged it off and continued to work.
"You really shouldn't run off like that. You looked like you were being chased by someone." Emma sighed, but she spoke softly and retained herself.
"I'm sorry." Harry breathed, "I just need to know the truth. I won't try to run like that again." He quickly regained his breath, and he proceeded to walk up the main goblin on duty, clearing his throat as he spoke. "Um, good afternoon." He greeted the elf, bowing as a sign of respect. "I need to speak to Mr. Griphook, please."
The head elf looked at Harry, and nodded. "Understood, I'll send him up right away." Before the goblin could start anything, Griphook soon stepped forward, apparently just emerging from the vault area. He was dressed in a small business suit that fit his small body, and had his glasses on while he kept his hair back. Harry could see that when he once saw his hair being black, it was starting to grey out, probably going to be the color of sallow by the time he was an adult. That didn't mind him, since everyone ages sometime.
"Huh, Mister Potter, you seem to be trying out new hair colors from what I see." Griphook said, chuckling a little at the human in front of him.
"Hello, Mr. Griphook." Harry greeted, before he gestured to Emma. "This is my Aunt, Emma Frost. She came by a day ago to inform me that my parents had left a will. I came here to see if that was true."
Griphook gave a good look at Emma, blinking a little, surprised at the human female that was beside Harry. "Hmm, that's...rather revealing." He gulped a little and he turned his attention back to the human male. "Sorry about that, but to soothe your tension, yes, they did leave a will. I'm surprised you didn't find it when you would come here whenever you came to withdrawal, but then again, it was hidden in the way back of the vault. Come with me, we'll use the mine cart to get there."
Harry nodded, but before he took a step forward, something popped into his mind, and he quickly searched for his pocket. "Ah, here it is." He said, finding the gold key in his pocket of items, and taking it out. "I just remembered about this." He didn't come to Gringotts often, but if he lost his key, he'd be in serious trouble.
"Very good." Griphook said. "Now, come with me." With that, they proceeded to enter the back of the vault and both reached a mine cart, sitting down so they could reach the vault. As they sat in the cart, Harry felt himself letting out a small sigh of relief. So it was true, there was a will left by his parents, meaning that Emma wasn't lying about anything, feeling somewhat better that his parents did think of who should look after them in terms of them dying. But, at the same time, he had to wonder why he wasn't told about it to begin with, or why he didn't previously see it before when he would access the vault to get money for his first and second year supplies? Why was it ignored when he could have been living a better life outside of the Dursleys, who were just downright cruel? Was there something that he was missing? Did somebody hide it from him? He didn't have much of an idea, but this raised so many questions to him.
As he kept on pondering on about what life could have been for him if he was revealed the will, he felt a massive pain come into his head. The first thought that came to mind was that Voldemort was now trying to destroy him again. But soon enough, the pain emerged into something a little bigger than before, and it was with this moment he could tell it wasn't coming from his scar. If anything, it was all over in his head, as he began to hear voices that he wasn't sure where they were coming from, with the pain worsening as he realized that a blood vein was making itself noticeable on the left side of his forehead. He covered the blood vein with his left hand, taking very quiet breaths so that nobody was looking at him, although he could see that Emma was looking at him with concern.
When the cart arrived at the vault, the pain seemed to numb in Harry's mind, but he wasn't feeling completely clear, like a major throbbing nerve was still going on, only being softened by the other nerves he had. Keeping his temper down was going to be a little difficult considering the numbness, he would have to be careful.
"Alright, we have reached our destination." Griphook said, as he got out of the cart and made his way onto the platform that was up for the vault. "Vault 687." He announced, before he turned around to his passengers. "Lamp, please." He asked.
Emma proceeded to reach for the lantern, but Harry grabbed it first, feeling a little impatient from the numb feeling that was going into his head. He handed the lantern over to Griphook as he emerged from the cart, followed by Emma. They followed him over to the vault before Harry gave him the key and waited for the door to open. Once it was opened up, Griphook avoided stepping on the Galleons that were around the vault, and opened up a very small compartment in the back of the vault, which kept a piece of parchment paper that seemed to have gotten a bit dirty over the years, but Griphook quickly wiped the dust off before he handed over the will. "Here you go, Mr. Potter." He said. Harry nodded at him before he took the parchment paper and unfolded it, before he began to read, which wasn't easy with the throbbing numbness.
'Last Will and Testament of September 12, 1981. We, James Potter and Lily Evans-Potter, being of sound, body and mind bequeath our last will and testament.
First of all, under NO circumstances, will our son, Harry James Potter, be placed underneath the guardianship of Petunia and Vernon Dursley. They have a major distaste and hatred for anyone with the slightest bit of magical ability, and it is highly likely that they will harm him. Reason or not, no child should be forced to live in an abusive household.
These are the people that we wish for Harry to be raised by in the case of our passing by the Dark Lord:
Emma Grace Frost (my sister)
Sirius Black (my best friend)
Remus John Lupin (Best Friend)
Andromenda Tonks (Recommendation from Lupin)
Peter Pettigrew (Close friend)
To Sirius Black, we leave you membership of the Potter clan unless if Harry wishes to take ownership at appropriate age and most that comes along with it. This includes ownership of the main Potter manor, and your favorite Quidditch team 'London Golden Ladies'.
To Remus John Lupin, we leave you our home on the French Rivera, and 25 Million Galleons, as well as our thanks for not getting involved in committing any bullying. We believe you can be a good role model later in life.
To Andromenda Black-Tonks, we leave you 25 Million Galleons as well as our prayers for your daughter, Nymphadora. We understand you want no involvement in the Wizarding War, and we won't pressure you.
To my darling sister Emma Frost, we leave you with 50 Million Galleons (the equivalent of 50 Million Pounds). Please keep your promise and take care of Harry.
To Peter Pettigrew, we leave you with 10 Million Galleons and our hopes that this war will end.
To Albus Dumbledore, our pity, we know that eventually even with love, the protection that Harry will get from us won't last forever against Voldemort. Dark Magic has a history of finding even the smallest of loopholes, as well as harm from the non-magical world can still kill Harry, not to mention it doesn't stop other dark wizards from committing the deed. If you have a spell that makes you immortal, you better use it, cause we won't be pleased if you send our son to people who are cruel and despicable towards him.
Lastly to our son Harry, we are very sorry we were not there to hold you when you were in pain, or suffering from nightmares or fell. You are our heir, and we love you very much, and we leave you with the entire Potter estate that's worth 50 Billion Galleons, and our fortune of 500 Billion Galleons. Live your life, sweetheart.
Signed,
James Potter and Lily Evans-Potter'
Harry finished reading the will, feeling extremely upset from everything that he read. Not only was he kept from something that he should have known from the very beginning, but it was planned from the beginning that he would be under another person's care, and not under the Dursley Residence even with the blood protection that would come into play. His heart felt insanely heavy, like it had transformed into a giant block of stone, and his heart strings were the only things that were keeping it from falling and breaking his abdomen. If he believed that the pain he got from being stabbed in the forearm by a tooth of the Basilisk was bad, this new kind of pain was trying to rival that from the inside rather than be an outside cause.
Although he made no noise, a tear fell down from his left eye, sliding down his cheek. His head and his chest were now both causing him great harm, with the numb feeling from his brain, and the heavy heart that was dangling in his chest. As he kept his mouth shut, but his face continued to show his upset state, Emma came up from the cart and took him into her arms, trying to soothe him. "Shh, it's okay." She whispered, kissing the boy on his temple. She knew this was a lot for her new son to take in, but that didn't take the painful realization and how this needed to be processed slowly. All she could do was comfort him.
Then, all of a sudden, a massive shock ruptured in Harry's brain, making him grunt in serious pain. Almost like it was automatic, he threw himself away from Emma, but the pain soon traveled from his brain to all over his body, making him feel excruciating pain everywhere. He quickly fell face down, his glasses slipping off due to the impact that had fallen. He tried to get up, but he could only put his hands onto the ground as the pain ruptured inside of him violently.
"Harry!" Emma panicked, rushing over to his right side, unsure of how to comfort him. She soon learned however what was going on, as she noticed that more of his black hairs were becoming blonde, leaving more blonde than black. 'The blood adoption. He's gaining more of my powers.' She predicted.
As Harry laid down on the ground, he felt numerous ripples happening in his legs, thighs, arms, and his chest. As the ripples continued, he felt his body slowly becoming even stronger than when he woke up in the morning. It was like every ripple that was going on was...influencing the growth in his muscles. The process was still majorly painful, as a blood vein was now visible on the left side of his forehead again, like his skull and muscles were doing everything they could to ensure his brain didn't explode.
"Mr. Potter!" Griphook said, rushing over to Harry's side. "Are you alright? What's going on? What's happening?" He turned his attention to Emma. "What's happening?"
"I blood adopted him. He's getting more of my traits." She told him. "I used an enchanted needle so I could make him my child."
"You should be more careful with that." Griphook told her, "Sometimes the adoption can take time to be fully processed."
Soon enough, Harry felt the pain stop and the ripples came to an end, and so did the headaches that his brain was suffering from. But he stayed on the ground, in a dizzy state, unable to move as he could only hear white noise. The pain reminded him of the Dementors that he had to face just one month ago to save Sirius from getting the Dementors Kiss. It was paralyzing, harmful, and just purely emotional zapping. This indeed did surpass the Basilisk incident from his second year, and dear merlin did it hurt.
Luckily, the dizziness and white noise soon ended, and he could hear himself breathing again. "Harry, are you alright?" Emma asked, trying to rub his back to soothe the pain he just had to go through. Harry took a deep breath through his nose as he tried to focus. He managed to reach forward and felt his glasses, which he grabbed and put back onto his face.
"I'm-" Harry began, coughing as he tried to explain himself. Emma didn't waste any further time, and she gently pulled him onto his feet. "I'm...I'm okay, Aunt Emma." He said, as he opened his eyes and looked at her, feeling his coughing coming to an end. "Everything...hurt. My entire body was on fire, and all I could do was just stay down, until it all ended. It was all...so much." He said. Unbeknownst to Harry, but certainly noticeable to Emma, his eyes changed color again, making them less jade green, although at best, she determined they were at the very best a very pale blue, even though it was trying to retain a green tint.
"How do you feel?" She asked him, putting an arm onto his shoulder. "What you went through didn't seem very thrilling." Harry nodded, hoping he wasn't going to cough again. He began to move his right arm around and touched himself. His eyes left him in surprise at how much stronger his body now felt, as if these muscles were naturally developed and grown, even seeing some pecks touching the surface of his shirt. His legs no longer felt knobby, now feeling straight, and his back felt much tougher than imagined. His stomach also felt much more toned, certainly not fully done, but certainly not weak either. Harry could tell though that this wasn't the peak of his strength, so if he wanted to reach it, he would have to get the rest by working out.
"Stronger." Harry said, moving his arms back to give his shoulder blades a good movement and stretch. "Ah, much better. Just feels weird of how quickly these came to be."
"Your body will adjust, I promise." She said, giving him a smile to make him feel better. She then turned to Griphook. "Sorry about that."
"It's alright, I'm just pleased there wasn't need for an emergency." Griphook mentioned, waving it off. "Let's just return to the top floor." With that, he closed the Vault door, and the trio got back into the Mine Cart and returned to the main floor. "Considering that you are with a member listed within the will that should be caring for Mr. Potter, I will allow you to depart from Diagon Alley without any repercussions from the Wizarding World. Do not abuse this permission for the day." He warned Emma.
"I don't plan to return unless if I absolutely need to, Griphook, but thank you for causing very little trouble." Emma said, hoping that she could soon leave and not have to deal with Dumbledore's squabble.
"Anyway, Griphook, thanks for helping me out." Harry said, politely bowing to the small goblin.
"It was no trouble at all, Mr. Potter." Griphook said. "Wait right here for a moment." He went into the back and found what he was looking for, and returned to Emma and Harry with two blank cards, with the size being similar to that of a credit card. "These cards are not commonly made within the wizarding world, but if a wealthy family were to live among muggles, these can be made by their request for their convenience. These have a similar function to an ATM Muggle card, and will work as such."
Harry took one of the cards and gave Emma the other. "Thank you so much." He said.
"Absolutely." Griphook stated. "I forgot to mention, in case if you wish to know, Albus Dumbledore had requested that the will be kept well hidden within the vault, although he gave no exact explanation given. You will however be pleased to know that no money from either the Black or Potter vaults has been taken."
Harry didn't expect that. Dumbledore caused this? This didn't sound the regular grandfatherly man that he would usually know. "Oh...well." He had no further comment about it, and he simply nodded. "I'll have to think about this further. In the meantime Griphook, thank you." Harry then proceeded to walk out of Gringotts as Emma quietly followed.
"Well, I'm glad that I was able to show you proof and things concluded rather soon." Emma smiled, feeling a bit relieved from the deplorable cart ride down. She looked around the small alley, knowing of how many stores had to be selling items, although there was a few witches and wizards inside at least a few of the stores. She rolled her eyes at this, annoyed that she had to act like a coward because of absolute secrecy. "Do you know where to get your school supplies?" She asked Harry, hoping he knew what to do.
Harry nodded. "Yeah, I've gone to these places at least 3 times before. They're not hard to find, anyway." He figured that he might as well get his school supplies early, since then he wouldn't have to worry about them later, or even have to wonder if he would be banned from the wizarding world.
"Good. Double check what you are looking for and try to hurry back. Because you are gaining my abilities, you're likely to be receiving something painful. I'll be outside the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron and check the time for when we need to catch our flight."
Harry almost wanted to ask what Emma meant, before it came to him. "The flight? You mean the one you took when you came back here for me?"
Emma nodded. "Yes, the plane will be leaving at 6:45 this evening, but I wouldn't be surprised if it gets delayed again due to how ridiculous the waits can be. Still, I need to show you a few things before we get on board."
"I'll make sure to be ready on time and hopefully just early enough to catch the flight." Harry promised. "It's not like it's going to disappear into nothing." He chuckled. Emma simply smiled at him before she kissed his forehead and departed.
Harry could tell that because this was (possibly) going to be his last year, or because this was his fourth year that school work was going to be high up his ass, he would need to gather up the few books he needed in order to go on with the school year if he could. Thankfully, he still had a few Galleons in his pocket that he still had from the previous year, so getting the few books he needed wouldn't be much of a problem.
Making his way to Flourish and Blotts, he could see a few wizards and witches walk around and inspect the books inside of the store, or even taking them off of the shelves and trying to read them for a brief amount of time before putting them back. He just hoped that they wouldn't give him a hard time, so he just went looking straight for the book he was looking for. The only book he believed that he would need was 'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4'. Apart from the one necessary book, he believed the only things he was lacking were quills, parchment paper, and refills for potion-making kits. With those out of the way, he would have everything ready for the next year. IF he was allowed to return there next year, that was. Harry took a deep breath in the hope that the worst case scenario wouldn't happen.
'I wonder if something is wrong with that young man?' He heard someone say. He quickly turned his head to where the noise was coming from, although he traced it to the woman who was sitting at the front desk, who Harry guessed was the assistant manager. "Oh, H-" she began, only for Harry to put his finger to his lips in attempt for her to be quiet. The assistant manager gave him a confused look, but she obeyed. 'Is Harry Potter undergoing a makeover?', she thought to herself, unaware that Harry was unknowingly able to read her mind.
Harry ignored that and walked over to her desk, glad that nobody was taking their mind off what they were reading. "Hey, look, I don't intend to be here for long. Can you show me where The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4 is, please?" He asked politely, trying to avoid any other thoughts he could be hearing.
'My goodness, Mr. Potter, you really are going under a makeover.' The assistant thought, which Harry groaned in his thoughts. "Um, yes, go to the book shelves at the far left side of the store. You'll find the book in the third column. It'll cost only one Galleon." She told him.
"Thank you." He said, before he walked over to the side of the bookshop that he was told to enter to locate the book. As he walked over, he began to question what he just heard. 'How did I hear that? She wasn't even talking to me, and yet I heard her voice.' Before he could think of anything else, he heard another voice inside of his head, coming from another reader whose eyes were glued to the book they were inspecting.
'Dear Merlin, how does a giant ever manage to mate with a human?' He heard, which just confused him even more at the sound he had heard.
'These books feel so downgraded then when I was in Hogwarts.' He heard another voice say, although this was coming from someone in the back, in the 'Broomology' section of the shop. Harry was beginning to wonder where all of these voices were coming from. Was this part of what Emma wanted to talk to him about?
As he kept on trying to put stuff together, he bumped into a siding. He turned around to see that he was at the section he needed to be. Without wasting anymore time, he began to search the third column, and in the middle of the shelf, was the spellbook he desperately needed. He quickly swiped the book out of the shelf, paid for it and departed for the next store to get ahold of the quills, ink, parchment paper and the refills he needed, before he would need to grab some more clothes and robes.
He rushed over to Apothecary and got the refills he needed, his brain slightly relaxing since there was only 2 people in the store at the moment, then went over to Amanuensis Quills, which he managed to secure at least 5 additional quills, but it was exhausting when he saw at least 8 other people and so many voices came into his mind. They were seemingly coming in at full force and they just didn't seem to be stopping. He kept on going to get his stuff, trying desperately to be careful with how much he bought, but the voices were everywhere and raging into his mind. The voices kept on coming, and coming, and coming, and coming.
'Where does he seem to be going?'
'He looks like someone is chasing him.'
'Is that the Boy-Who-Lived with blonde hair?'
'He surely seems to be here a bit early than usual.'
'How does a small piece of fairy dust configure into this recipe?'
Thankfully, only 20 minutes had passed, and Harry finally reached the Leaky Cauldron, avoiding any and all other witches and wizards that were present in the area. The Leaky Cauldron, the one place that was the entrance to the stores available for the Wizarding World, all tucked away from the muggle world that made it seem like it was closed and abandoned to the muggle world, offering the relaxation that people needed if Hogsmeade wasn't a place one could come and go to. Just ask for a drink or room from them, and they won't decline.
That would all be nice to think about...if his brain wasn't a throbbing mess from the massive amount of voices he heard just within those twenty minutes. If he thought the massive pain in his bloody head while he was in the mine cart was bad, this kind of pain somehow managed to even top off that, even though his brain was functioning completely at that time. How could one human hear every single one of those thoughts and not want to just have a troll come out of nowhere and rip their brain out? It...was maddening, truly painful to listen to, and exhausting to hear them. He had no defense or how to turn them off, and even with the small amount of people within Diagon Alley, that somehow still managed to cause so many voices to just squeeze into his mind. He was going to need a very long nap once he was on his way to America. 'I better make sure to remember to write Ron and Hermione a letter to explain where I will be once I arrive, or else they'll be worried.' He feared, adding more stress onto his already painful brain.
"Uh..." Tom's said, before Harry gave him a quick, angry eye and settled back to getting ready for drinks to be served. Harry didn't have a problem with the man, but there was so much going inside his head that he couldn't think straight. The only thought that he could come up with was to rush the hell out of the Cauldron. So when he saw the door, he rushed right through it and didn't even look right back. The moment he entered the non-magical world however, he heard even more voices, some of them looking at him in awe at where he came from, others were just minding their own business and thinking about other unimportant subjects that Harry didn't care for. The amount of voices made him just want to scream at how many there were. 'DEAR MERLIN, MAKE IT STOP.' he mentally screamed into his mind. He saw a woman reach towards him on his right before he collapsed from exhaustion.
One Hour Later...
July 24th, 1994, 3:20 pm...
Harry blinked his eyes open, his head not feeling as heavy as it did the last time he remembered being awake. This was...probably the 4th time in a row that he had passed out and would later wake up in a completely different area, with the previous 3 incidents having to do with Dementors that tried to suck out his soul. Now, it was due to the major throbbing pain that was going on in his forehead, a pain that he couldn't control, and was a rival to the pain that he felt whenever Voldemort was nearby or downright ready to kill someone he cared about. This wasn't at all a pleasant feeling, but he took some comfort into knowing that the Dark Lord wasn't in power yet.
The first thing that came to his mind after he blinked his eyes open was that a hand was stroking the hair on top of his head, and his head seemed to be laying on a person's lap. This was unusual, as the last time he was awake, the ground was suddenly rushing up to meet his face. Which in of itself, would have been a massively painful thing to feel.
Speaking of his face, his glasses were slightly off. One of the lenses was touching his mouth, while the other lens was below his left eye, probably even touching the side of his nose. They must have fallen over as he was about to touch the ground, but perhaps someone caught him. As he blinked again, a gloved hand came down and readjusted his glasses back onto his face correctly. He almost got blinded by the high sun in the sky when his vision seemed to return to regular, which is why he put a hand up in where it was coming from. He moved his right eye to the right and see who exactly moved his glasses, only to relax when he saw it was his Aunt Emma.
"You looked like you were in an intense amount of pain from when you left the pub. I trusted you enough to get the supplies you needed, but I'm glad I was only outside when you came out." She said, giving Harry another kiss on his temple.
Harry let out a small breath through his nose as he rubbed the right side of his forehead with his hand. His headaches were now gone, but something told him that this state of being wasn't permanent and could likely happen again. "What happened?" He asked, holding back a cough.
"You experienced a migraine and an overload of thoughts that came into your mind. I heard your agony-filled thoughts as I stood outside and caught you before you could fall down again, like you did in the bank." She really wasn't fond of the wizarding world, but she was trying to omit certain words regarding it in case anyone was listening in. "I've got to say, I'm glad your body has partially filled out, but you were quite heavy on the way here."
Harry blinked in surprise at that and he sat up. He took notice that he and Emma were sitting on a wooden bench in the middle of a park, which was practically empty with the exception of a few people across the small lake, not a surprising thing since it was likely most would be on vacation or at the beach judging from the weather and time like this. There was a tree positioned behind the bench that they were on, giving some shade from the hot sun, even if it was still humid.
"I didn't want you to endure a similar migraine while you were in the hospital, since that is filled with numerous people and that would lead to hearing more thoughts. I decided to head somewhere more quiet as you slept, which is why we're behind this tree." She explained, making herself a bit more comfortable around her nephew.
Harry sat on the other side of the bench, shaking his head a little and regaining his composure. "I'm surprised nobody wondered if I was okay."
"I told them that you were exhausted and that you just needed rest, going all over. Not the best excuse I could have come up with, nor did it excuse me from using my powers, but I didn't want to fiddle around." She said, patting his shoulder to make him feel better. "Besides, I had similar moments."
Harry looked at Emma with confusion. "Wait, you had migraines as well?"
"A long time ago." Emma confirmed, gently squeezing her 'son's' much stronger shoulder. "When I was a teenager Harry, a couple of years after your mother was adopted into my family, I began to suffer from horrible migraines and hear random voices that I couldn't hear anywhere else. It happened when I was attending the Snow Valley School for Girls, very expensive, but fabulous school, which I attended when I lived in the city of Boston. I was walking home after...a talk with Ian, and as it happened, I felt sick, dazed, like I had been hit by a train, and then out of nowhere, I heard numerous voices going on. They were everywhere, and I demanded them to stop, while my nose started to bleed. I passed out, and found myself in the nurse's station. I made up the fact that I skipped breakfast so I could go on without an issue. The day after, I was worried about passing a test, knowing it would end me if I failed it. But then, I heard the voices in my head again, and I managed to pass it because of this ability. I suffered numerous migraines after that. They did eventually stop, but my ability to hear other people's thoughts stayed with me." She didn't look very comfortable when she mentioned Ian's name, the simple utter of his name from what Harry saw left a sour taste in her mouth.
Harry took what he was just told and thought over it. It made sense to him, meaning that he wasn't alone when it came to problems like these, and this didn't sound like a bad power judging from what Emma was telling him, but how did exactly she got those genes to become a telepath?
"I have no idea." She told him. Harry had to remember that because she was a telepath, she could read his thoughts. "My...parents," she stressed the word 'parents' to show how uncomfortable she felt mentioning them, indicating to Harry that they weren't really nice people. If anything, they sounded just as nasty as the Dursleys did. "Weren't born with any mutant abilities, they just came to me, and my sisters...my biological ones." She added, trying to make sure Harry didn't get the wrong idea. "They didn't develop until I was a teenager."
Harry nodded as he listened to Emma. "So, you're telling me that, because of my puberty, I'm starting to gain your powers? Such as the...mind reading?" He asked, feeling weird saying that.
"There are far more abilities that I have regarding telepathy, Harry, but yes, reading minds is one of them. That's why I hoped to bring you to America so you can learn how to use those abilities besides my lack of interest in staying in England. I'll try to see what I can do to make sure you can continue learning about magic, but I can't make any promises about Hogwarts." She said, knowing as much as she wasn't fond of Dumbledore, she knew Harry wasn't going to be fond of this idea.
Harry clenched his teeth. This was going to be a very frustrating reality. On one hand, he was finally able to have somebody who wasn't among the Dursleys taking care of him and helping him get on his feet, as well as learn new aspects and culture in a new country, as well as learn more about mutants. On the other hand, this would likely strain things regarding him, the Wizarding World, and being able to keep in contact with his friends. He already knew that he was practically on the tipping edge of being expelled due to what happened earlier, meaning that trying to retain his ability to attend Hogwarts was already on the breaking point, but he wasn't sure how else he would be able to do something he wanted to enjoy, or even learn about the other aspects of the world that involves Magic. He didn't want to leave Hogwarts, but considering what just happened, as well as anything that could happen in the future, would he be allowed to return?
As he was thinking over what he should do, something rather soon popped into his head. He might not be all out of options in learning magic as he originally thought. "Are there any...places where I could learn magic? In the United States?" He asked her, remembering what they spoke about last night.
Emma nodded. "Yes, I'm glad you remembered. From what your mother has told me, there's Ilvermorny School located in Massachusetts, so Hogwarts isn't the only magical school. Although, I wouldn't really recommend it, since as I mentioned, the magical community and Mutants, as well as some of the humans aren't on friendly terms. There's also Stephen Strange, although he would show more in terms of combat and how to retain reality more than caring for magical creatures and plants."
That made Harry feel a little better. He had other options, meaning he didn't have to go only to Hogwarts to continue his magical studies. Getting there would be another difficult process, but he was glad he at least had something on his way. But he wasn't fully sure of everything. Strange sounded perhaps like a professor, so maybe he could help out like a Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher, and Harry wouldn't be defenseless against a wizarding charm if one were to be casted onto him. The fact that there was other people who could teach him magic ensured that the door to helping out a magical community wasn't permanently closed, even if Griphook mentioned he'd allow Emma safe passage out of Diagon Alley when it came to Hogwarts. But still, this would have to take some time to think about.
After about 20 long minutes of thought, he finally decided to come to a decision. "Alright, Aunt Emma, I'll come to the United States. However, I want to keep in contact with my friends. I won't be able to see them unless if it's outside of school with what's coming up next, and since I care about them, I want to be able to know if they're alright with what's going on in the world." He wasn't going to just drop his friends like flies, even if he had to go to a different school.
Emma could tell he wasn't happy about this, but she had an Academy back in the United States to teach, and she didn't want him back with the Dursleys again. "I'll allow that, Harry. Just try to keep it minimal, snowy owls are not native to Great Britain." She told him. "Be aware though, that migraine you had won't be the last, and hearing people's thoughts will return to your mind in time, possibly tomorrow. Don't worry about hearing other voices in your head."
"I understand, Aunt Emma." Harry replied.
Harry and Emma then spent the day traveling to London since they had an hour left and went over to examine the Tower of London, since it was an attraction that was developed as early as 1066, and Harry didn't know much about the castle himself. He found certain aspects about the castle interesting, since it reminded him of the strength of Godric Gryffindor, and the bravery that came alongside it.
Soon after they left though, Emma returned the old limo she had been using, and she had to return to the airport early since she had to fill out a ticket for Harry. The problem wasn't the price, it was the fact that she wasn't able to get one until they managed to return. Luckily, because of her early arrival, and information about Harry, she managed to get a flight booked for him. He had to however fill out passport information after he got his ticket purchased. He wished he could instead claim his firebolt and just fly over to America, but Emma told him that having a passport would help him in case he needed a backup. Harry just took it for her word and placed it in his right pocket.
Afterwards, Harry just decided to sit there, since he didn't want to miss anything in case they needed to return, since it took sometime for everything to be double checked. Now, he wished that he didn't do that.
*End of Flashback*
July 24th, 1994, 7:45pm...
Harry had finished up his gyro and saw a nearby trash can on his right, which he tossed his trash in before he sat back down at the chair he was in. He really hoped the flight wouldn't be delayed again, or else he'd probably lose his mind. He'd make sure next time to come a little early, not be around for hours to pass. Oh well, at least security didn't give him a hard time about his wand, which he had managed to wave off that he had it as a souvenir to the security as he placed it in a tray from a friend. He felt weird having to say that, but they believed him since the wand wasn't showing anything that made it look suspicious and he kept it in his pocket after he got it back.
A few moments after he sat back down, a loudspeaker nearby from a man behind a computer desk spoke up. "Good evening, ladies and gents. We are about to begin boarding Western Airlines Flight 21 to New York City."
Harry took a deep breath, relieved that the plane was finally being called up. "Come on, Harry. That's our flight. Make sure you have your passport in hand when you approach the gate." Emma reminded him, which Harry, where he took out his left pocket and had his passport in hand. He picked up some of his luggage, while Emma helped him with anything else such as heavy suitcase as he held onto Hedwig's cage with his right hand.
Luckily, the boarding procedures took less time than for the flight to be ready, and within moments, Harry found a seat into the plane, although Hedwig sadly had to be placed elsewhere, even though he didn't want to let her go there. He later shrugged it off, knowing that the flight will eventually end, and Hedwig for a while won't have to be back on a plane and stuck in a likely claustrophobic space. For him, he was going to America, not knowing that from this moment onward, a series of events were going to head into motion.
A/N: Dear god, this was long, and somewhat boring for me to write! I did some research on London City Airport so I could have certain details correct, but I'm not one who lives in England, so my apologies to any English readers. BTW, to everyone who sees this, you might need to read it, or at least be prepared that this is long as fuck.
I tried to make the whole situation that Harry was in regarding heading to a whole country feel more realistic and understanding as I wrote this, since the previous versions simply had Harry be okay with it, and I thought this was closer to being towards his character than the previous one. It would be dumb if he just blindly accepted it like nothing bad was going to happen. The details of this chapter were something I painstakingly put in so that way it would make sense, but not leave a shit ton of plot holes. I suppose that Griphook just decided to be nice for today.
If anyone is wondering why I had the blood adoption part happen where it seemed to still be happening even though it was like a lapse in time, this was me trying to do a bit of my own take on the subject. Blood adoption is not part of the Harry Potter canon as far as I know, but considering that there are abilities such as Dark Magic using blood of an enemy to cause resurrection, hence the rebirth of Voldemort, and Polyjuice Potion, Blood Adoption isn't really out of the realm of possibility within the Harry Potter universe.
And in case if you noticed that I mentioned Peter Pettigrew on the name of people who should watch over Harry, and how he got a reward while the original story and my first re-write said he wasn't given anything, I did that because I found a minor plot hole regarding how James and Lily knew about Peter being a spy for Voldemort. In canon, nobody knew that Peter was secretly working for Voldemort, and he was made the Secret Keeper to prevent suspicion that he was the keeper. Sirius only learned about Peter's betrayal after James and Lily were killed before he was framed for murder. Since this story is set in an AU that diverged from canon after the events of Prisoner of Azkaban, I decided to go along with a canon element that would have fit over a month before they died. I double checked this, so I know this isn't wrong.
As for why I mentioned things such as the love protection being written in a negative light, I wrote that because the love protection has numerous loopholes, such as how it can be somewhat overcome if Dark Magic is used, hence why I wrote that in there, and considering Harry's upbringing with his relatives, if Vernon really wanted to, he would have violently killed Harry, or Harry could have committed suicide from the horrendous life he was forced to live, thus dooming the entire world. The love protection protected Harry from Voldemort directly, NOT from other harmful actions. As the Harry Potter wiki states: 'In cases involving a single person, the protection prevents whoever murdered the victim from physically touching the beneficiary without experiencing excruciating pain, and will cause a Killing Curse cast at the beneficiary by the murderer to rebound.'
Lastly, before I head into announcements, this story isn't going to be using the Bad-Dumbledore Trope, since anti-heroes of all kinds can be manipulative and do bad actions. However, what he has done will cause Harry's relationship with him to wane and cause some squabble, where it will get to an instance he will refuse to help him despite the need to do so. Can't use the old portrayal of Dumbledore, but we have to use logic here.
Regardless, since the next chapter will be the first to take place in NYC, the Stepford Cuckoos, and several other characters including Scott Summers will be making their debut in the following chapter. Emma won't be aware yet that these girls are her cloned daughters, since she didn't learn about their origin until the Cuckoos themselves learned that they were clones of her.
Anyway, here are some announcements about the stories I am currently writing on. If anyone who reads this story only reads this one and hasn't checked out anything else regarding my work (can't blame you if you want to skip it since I wrote most of them when I was younger and just thinking whatever the hell I could think of), then you can skip it. To those who have seen some other stuff I wrote, take a look.
*A New View of Life - This story will be examined as I try to find logical ways for the Slytherins to later help out Harry as he goes deeper into his adventures. Millicent will still retain her role as a main character, so don't worry about her dwindling presence.
*The Demon-Who-Lived - Writing for this story is officially restarting, although some of the content from previous chapters will be dropped due to me writing it when I was in my teenage years and didn't take writing as seriously as I try to do now. There will be some better explanations, as well as better character development, but Toadblatt's school of Sorcery will be canned rather quickly, and I'll be having Junior and Jason return to Endsville where they will remain there for years until they are of the appropriate age to return to Hogwarts. This story feels really de-railed and I want to have a new start and show better development.
*South Park: The Untold Truth - I have a chapter for this which is half-done, but I'm not sure of how to proceed with the story. I'm going to try and think of something as I write this shit down. Oh well, it would be disappointing if I just left it to rot.
Before I conclude this A/N, which I already know is going to be extremely long, I have one more announcement to make. As I mentioned above, I have been thinking about making another story, but before any of you scream in bloody murder because of how I used to write shit in the past, please know that until I get at least one of my stories besides The Demon-Who-Lived into some development, as in one of them has got at least 5 chapters written for it, this story I've been thinking about will not be written just yet. I might leave a small list of characters for you all to read, but that's all I can promise about it. Here are the details that I have chosen to release as I write this A/N, though:
The story I had been thinking about for months and still think about is a Naruto story titled 'Minato: Rising Sun', which focuses on a character (who starts off as an SI-OC before character development makes him stand out enough) who in the case of his passing, tells his story to one of the Next Generation children what had happened in his past, and how he got to this point in his life.
The story will be rated M, and there will be a lot of bad language coming from the main protagonist of the story, although the title character will also be squeezing in a curse word here and there. Also, in comparison to the Naruto anime/manga, this story will contain even more gore, where you will see eyeballs being scooped out, blood and skin being peeled off of the MC's feet, blown off limbs, severe burns, and rather dark moments, such as turning a person through science into a mindless monster.
Most of the story will be told through flashbacks, where the present time is during the events of Boruto, but the flashbacks take place during the events of Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden as well as events that happened in Boruto up until the flashbacks come to when the story opened. It will also be told through 2 different perspectives, although every now and then there will be a chapter that focuses on a different character. The main two perspectives include the title character, Naruto Uzumaki, and the main protagonist, Minato Arakan Uzumaki, although Boruto will replace Naruto's perspective once the story gets to the events of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.
There are three major elements that make up the story as well.
1. Waldo becomes the Punisher
2. Eastern vs Western Culture
3. Deconstruction of Naruto themes
I was thinking about this because I generally have a love/hate relationship with the actual franchise, some parts I love, some parts I hate, and I wanted to write it because I wanted to have a major character that couldn't be swayed from Naruto's speeches to make them see the light (or, talk-no-jutsu) or be beaten down to get that, but he still would choose to fight for good, even if people didn't approve of it, since I wasn't a fan of how nearly every major villain got redemption in one way or another. I also am not fond of the Fourth Shinobi World War, so I decided to make a war of my own to show how dark and serious things can get.
While the story itself includes the deconstruction of themes, or even how Eastern and Western Culture can conflict with one another, the story itself is first and foremost about how a sweet and nice character like Waldo can transform into someone whose willing to do the most graphic and dangerous actions known to man, such as electrocuting a man by his testicles with a car battery like Frank Castle.
I also want to mention outright, this story will make usage of tropes such as 'Humans are Bastards', which means that through at least one perspective, there will be the inclusion of Black-and-Gray morality, a major morality that has idealism kicked to the curve, so don't expect a whole lot of forgiveness on one part.
And lastly, the story will also include the usage of guns, but the only characters who use them are the main protagonist, the C.C.E. (Cross Character Examination) Outcasts and Atlas' League, or the NUR (New Universal Republic), with certain exceptions coming into play depending on the situation. Most of the weapons will be technologically advanced versions of older weapons such as ones from World War 2 or the Vietnam War, although newer weapons will make an appearance alongside those firearms.
Anyway, those are all of the details I wish to share, and even though I think this chapter wasn't the greatest, since it was mainly told through flashback and I try to cover as much ground as I could, it at least makes the chapter go forward. Good luck out there, see you next time!
