Session 2: Lore Dump

Harry's POV

Harry stared wide eyed at Aunt Petunia. She was finally going to tell him about his mother, a topic that Aunt Petunia always hated being brought up. He never told anyone this but some nights Harry would hear his aunt in her room, crying as she woke up from some sort of nightmare. Sometimes she would call out for Uncle Vernon or Dudley, usually though it would be Lily she called out for.

Harry just knew that the two were close growing up and it hurt Aunt Petunia to think about the sister she lost.

'I always hated Lily,' Aunt Petunia grumbled taking another drink of her wine bottle. 'Perfect. Little. Lily. She was always the pretty one. The smart one. The funny one. The perfect little angel who could do no wrong. Everything was brighter when she was around,' Petunia went to take another drink but Uncle Vernon gently took the bottle out of her hand.

'Pet, you've had enough,' he told her softly in that voice he only reserved for Dudley and Aunt Petunia, for those he loved.

Aunt Petunia smiled up at Uncle Vernon, 'I'm sorry love, you know how this gets to me,' she whispered tenderly before looking back at Harry, the love and happiness fading from her eyes to be replaced with pain and anger. 'Of course when Lily got her letter we found out exactly why she was so special. She was a Divine Soul Sorcerer. Chosen by the gods to wield magic.'

'Wait. What?' Magic. Gods. Divine Soul? What is Aunt Petunia going on about. Is magic real? Wait is that how Aunt Petunia made that bottle float and that old man caught on fire? Does that mean those crazy cultist guys weren't so crazy? No they did try to sacrifice him to some weird god so they were still crazy, just less crazy?

Harry's musings however was cut off by a snort from Aunt Petunia. 'That was my reaction. Gods? Magic? that couldn't be real though it did explain so much that happened around Lily.'

'And you hated her for that?' Harry sneered, unable to stop himself. He knew as soon as the words left his mouth it was a bad idea, the glare that Aunt Petunia sent him, it froze his soul.

'Can you imagine what it was like?' she asked, her voice cold and emotionless. 'There I was, the older sister. I was to protect Lily, teach her, I was going to help her with everything like an older sister should. But what could I help her with? She was better than me in every way, she was destined for greatness, everyone knew this, everyone loved her more, including our own parents,' Aunt Petunia leaned forward, glaring at Harry, making him feel as small and weak as possible. 'and you want to know what made it so much worse?' she asked, dimly Harry realized that there were tears in his aunt's eyes. 'That some stupid, fucking god had decided this before she was even born. She wasn't better than me at everything because she tried hard, she was better because some god said so. She wasn't more loved because she was nicer and kinder, she was a vindictive women if you got her angry, but no everyone loved her because a god said so. I had to beg and plead and work my ass off to even be noticed when she was around. I tried everything, I was not better than Lily at a single thing, not a single thing! I learnt dance. Lily was better. I learnt poetry. Lily was better. I learnt sewing and math and cooking and accounting and magic and anything else you can name. Lily was better. She couldn't let me have one god damned thing. Even when she was at that stupid adventuring school all everyone talked about was Lily. At my wedding all anyone talked about was her engagement to your father. When I was giving birth everyone was talking about her pregnancy. When Dudley took his first step it was about how some necromancer was trying to kill her because of a stupid prophecy about you. So yes I hate Lily,' Aunt Petunia ranted, tears running down her face as she towered over Harry.

'Pet, that's enough,' Uncle Vernon whispered, gently pulling Aunt Petunia into a hug but the woman resisted, forceful extracting herself from it, still glaring at Harry. 'Your mother went to that stupid adventuring school, got herself into danger because of it and died because of it. I have tried to protect you from this and what do you do? You look down on me because I hate perfect little Lily. You know what get out! Get Out! Get Out!' she creamed over and over again.

Harry never having seen his aunt so angry before did as he was told, bolting for the door.

...

Like every time when Harry found himself having to hide out of the house he found himself in the garden shed, trying to process just what he had been told. Magic and gods were real. His mum had been hunted by a necromancer. His aunt hated his mum. There was a prophecy about him. Aunt Petunia truly hated Harry. He was interrupted from his thoughts by a tiger cub headbutting his hand for attention. 'Sorry, I still need to get you back home don't I little guy,' he muttered scratching the tiger behind the ears.

Leaning back against the wall, he pulled the tiger cub onto his lap where it instantly curled up to rest. 'What am I going to do. Aunt Petunia hates me. Magic is real. Gods are real. My mum was probably murdered. What do I do?' he asked softly, the cub just looked up at Harry uncomprehending and nuzzled into his hand wanting more scratches behind the ear.

'Should I find the old man?' he asked, distractedly scratching the tiger. 'Or should I just forget it? But what if that necromancer is still alive and comes for me and i'm not prepared? What if I die because of this? What if Aunt Petunia never forgives me? I just wish there was some way I could understand what was going on.'

'Well you could always come to my school,' the light and airy voice of the old man said, coming from the roof. Forcing himself to stay still, so as not to scare the cub Harry looked up, up into the rafters of the shed and saw the old man sitting one one such rafter, feet dangling as he happily munched on some popcorn.

'This shed doesn't have rafters,' Harry muttered, mind focused on the most obvious.

'Correction,' the old man grinned, 'it didn't have rafters. It also didn't have a toilet or a popcorn machine. Now it does.'

'Er...,' Harry was not sure how to respond to that. Should he ask why the old man was here? Why did he add a toilet, popcorn machine and rafters to the shed? How did he do it? Why was he here?

The old man upended the bag of popcorn, pouring the last bits inside into his month, and swallowed it all whole. 'In answer to your unasked questions I am here because you are here. I added everything because I can. Magic. And I am here because you are here.'

'Wait. What? You can read my mind?' oh this was not good. Think of something normal, stop thinking of that time you called the teacher mum. Normal thoughts. Normal, non weird thoughts.

'Yes I can read your mind, no your thoughts are not normal and yes you should feel embarrassed,' the old man laughed falling from the rafter and landing light on his feet without a sound. 'Now this place is boring so forgive me as I make a few more changes. How do you feel about bowling?' Harry stared, not quite sure how to respond. The old man shrugged, 'well not like your opinion matters anyway. Pin Novem Patera,' he yelled clapping his hands together.

Harry was treated to an unusual sight as space seemed to warp and fold and stretch around him, all over the shed reality buckled and cracked. The shed stretched out like old gum, the floor melted away to be replaced with perfectly polished wood. Electronic displays and wooden pins appeared. Once all was said and done the shed had been turned into a beautiful nine pin bowling alley, complete with ten lanes, bowling balls and a vending machine. 'I hope you're good,' the old man remarked casually as he took a seat and began taking his shoes off. 'I have a contest coming up in a few months and I need to practice. Now put some shoes on and let's go,' he ordered.

Harry had no words, he just gawked, mouth wide open, eyes unblinking, this was...he had no words. The old man sighed in annoyance and decided to ignore him, moving to the lane, a bowling ball appearing in his hand and with a swing of his arm the ball went flying, rolled down the lane and with a crash the old man scored a strike. 'Helga's tits I am epic!' the old man hollered happily. 'Just you wait Halaster i'm going to kick your nine hundred year old wrinkled behind! No one can beat me, not even that little pipsqueak behind me!'

'What was that?' Harry asked, suddenly angry. Who did this old man think he is calling Harry a pipsqueak? Besides how hard could bowling be? It's just throwing a ball at some pins. Angrily Harry pulled himself to his feet, causing the tiger cub to fall to the ground with a startled meow. 'I can beat you easily old man,' he said walking to his own lane, not at all surprised as a bowling ball appeared in his hand. 'Watch and learn,' he grinned confidently before running forward, pulling his arm back and slipping on the floor. He landed with a painful thump, and to add insult to injury the bowling ball rolled straight into the gutter.'

The old man's voice reverberated throughout the bowling alley/shed as Harry slowly pulled himself up, face flushed red with embarrassment. 'Definitely a Gryffindor,' the old man chortled. 'No one else can embarrass themselves like that.'

Harry glared at the old man and readjusted his glasses which had slipped in the fall. 'are you done?' he snapped, annoyed.

The old man kept laughing, bending forward and holding his stomach as he laughed, and laughed, and laughed at Harry's expense. It took him more than five minutes to stop. 'Thank...you,' he wheezed out. 'Merlin I haven't laughed like that since...well never!'

'Did you just come here to make fun of me!' Harry growled, feeling his anger and rage building up within, almost reaching a boiling point.

"Nope!' the old man said cheerfully, 'I cam to offer you a place at my school, like your parents before you.' The old man's words and cheerful tone took the anger right out of Harry's sails. 'Making fun of you is just a perk,' and Harry was angry again.

'And why would I want to go to your stupid school anyway,' Harry snarled, dimly he noticed the tiger cub snarling as well, as if copying him.

The old man stepped forward, so fast and gracefully as if he was gliding and wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulder. 'Well my boy, I see many reasons. Perhaps you wish to learn under the greatest Wizard who has ever existed, Albus Dumbledore. Also known as myself,' he grinned down at Harry, his blue eyes twinkling. 'Or perhaps you wish to learn more about your parents, why going to their old school would teach you so much about them after all. Or perhaps you would like adventure and excitement beyond anything you have ever experienced before. Gods and Dragons and Fae are all out there if you are willing to look,' he exclaimed waiving his arm in excitement as if gesturing to such beings and not the walls of a bowling alley. 'Or perhaps,' the old man whispered, leaning in close as the lights dimmed. 'Perhaps you wish to find the man who killed your parents, perhaps you wish to seek revenge for their murders.' The old man suddenly stood up straight, the lights regained their intensity and the serious mood was gone.

Harry wasn't quite sure what to make of the old man, Albus Dumbledore. One moment he was energetic and playful like a little kid. The next he was theatrical. Then he was serious. Then he was back to that energetic crazy old man. It was so much to take in and then there was everything he said. Harry had to admit Albus made lots of good points, magic, adventure, learning about his parents, meeting magical beings, revenge. It was so very tempting. He would have to think about it.

'Well agree, don't agree. Noodles, don't noodles,' Albus shrugged. 'It is all the same to Fate, now come along my new feline companion. Have you ever eaten a phoenix before?' he asked, bending down and picking up the tiger cub and bringing it to his face. The cub tried to claw him, but it's paws seemed to hit some invisible...something, so instead the cub started to play with Albus' floor length beard.

'Wait!' Harry yelled before Albus disappeared again, causing the old man to turn and regard him. 'What if I want to go to your school?'

Albus' almost perpetual smile extended even further, it was literally ear to ear and very very creepy. 'Well my boy, then you just need to show up to school with your supplies.' he explained. 'If it's truly to be then you'll find your way, if not...' he trailed off and gave a slight shrug. 'Ta ta,' and with that he once more disappeared in a flash of fire.

Harry still was not sure what to make of Albus Dumbledore but his curiosity was peaked and Harry would find out as much as he could about this school.

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Hey y'all. Chapter 2 is out far earlier than I expected. Im going to try for at least one chapter a week with this story, ma do more if the muse strikes me. Anyway I hope you like it as is so far, gave a bit more of a look at Petunia's mind and an idea of just what kind of man my Dumbledore is.

If any of you have ideas of what some characters should be class wise then please let me know, or if there are any plot points or ideas you want added.

anyway Read, Review and let's go bowling.