.

The Ruins of House Potter

Chapter 5 – A wizard?

By Jamnaz79

Notice: I do not own Harry Potter. I do not claim to own it or wish to make any money off of it. I am merely using the characters to write some hopefully enjoyable stories. All rights belong to the sacred lady, may she grace us with future stories someday.

"Yes Harry. I am sure that I would want you to live with me. I would not want to see you taken away. I know I am not your family but cub, I do care about you. I think you are becoming a young man that your parents would be proud of…." Remus paused for a long moment and let out a sigh. He leaned back into his chair for a long time staring at his own cup of tea. He broke his silence as his pale blue eyes looked upwards at Harry meeting him in the eye, "There is more though Harry. You need to learn about your true legacy. I had promised I would not tell you till your letter came but I can't do that if you live with me. I need you tell you the truth. I need to tell you the whole truth."

The boy blinked in surprise staring at the man for long moments. Confusion was plainly written on the face of the youth as he watched his possible future guardian, "My legacy? What truth?"

~~~ RoHP ~~~

"You're a wizard Harry…"

The words hung in the room filled with silence for long moments. The youth couldn't help but stare at the serious expression on his possible guardian's face. Was the man insane or demented? Perhaps he inhaled too many of those herbs that he seemed to use at his practice. Maybe those few days a month that he disappeared was a time period where he got locked away for his craziness. These thoughts all burst through Harry's mind before he broke out into laughter. The young man laughed and laughed at the lunacy of the idea. A wizard? Yeah right! What was he Gandalf the Grey?

"I am serious Harry… Well actually I am Remus, but I am serious about this topic." The man spoke even as the boy ignored him as he kept laughing. Finally the eyes of Remus narrowed, almost as if his inner marauder was awakening he flicked his hand a ten inch stick carved with runes appeared in his hand. He flicked that hand towards the boy's chair. A moment later Harry's chair started to run around the kitchen as he found himself seated on a large pig!

"WHAT THE FUCK!" The boy screamed in surprise.

"Language!" Remus countered before he flicked his wand again and silently transfigured the hog back into a chair.

The emerald eyes of the boy were now huge as he looked up at the man. A bit of fear spread over his face, but curiosity was the main emotion showing in his eyes. His voice croaked out a whispered question, "How?"

"Simple, that was transfiguration. You will learn it in your fifth or sixth year at Hogwarts." Remus smiled at the boy then flicked his wand at the tea kettle which started to float over to the table and pour two cups for the pair of them.

"Hogwarts? What is that? How do you do that stuff? What is that stick?" Harry started to ask questions one after another his inquisitiveness getting the better of him. The fact that he was witnessing the impossible before his eyes was making the youth very curious.

"Hogwarts is the major school in Britain that all Wizards and Witches go to. This stick is a wand and you will learn how to do it after you turn thirteen. There are five major types of magic. Transfiguration as you see can turn objects into other objects like your chair into that hog. A charm is a temporary enchantment that can cause an effect on a person or object. For instance the tea kettle floating over here is a levitation enchantment. Jinxes are spells that cause minor irritation, often used for jokes. They would enlarge someone's front teeth or ears or change a hair color. Hexes are darker spells like jinxes cause changes to the effects of a person but long term. An example would be to cause boils to appear on someone. Curses are dark magic that can harm another individual doing anything from cutting them to killing them outright." Remus started to launch into teaching mode. He had always dreamed of becoming a teacher but knew it would be next to impossible with his condition. This chance to introduce someone to the ideas of magic, even more to introduce his best friend's child to magic was amazing to the man. Perhaps he was getting a bit ahead of but it was the thought that counted.

Harry looked at the man in confusion at all he was saying. He shook his head with a frown, "Wait a minute. How do you even know I am a wizard?"

"Your mother was a very powerful witch and your father was a very powerful wizard Harry. You inherited their blood. I bet you are going to be one of the most powerful students of your year." Remus smiled wistfully as he thought about his two friends. Then he continued, "Haven't you ever done anything you didn't understand? Have something take place around you because you wanted it to?"

"Well, I guess I did. I have had some strange things happen. I was accused of turning my teacher's hair blue once." Harry frowned as he now thought about that incident. Perhaps he really did cause it to happen! Then there was the bully that he dealt with. Maybe that was his magic reacting to a threat? Heck once he had even talked to a snake while on the playground at lunch one day! Was he really a wizard? No he was supposed to be normal. That is the Dursley always trained him to become. They had taught him control, willpower and strength through his convictions. But, couldn't he be that and be a wizard too?

"Exactly Harry, you used to do plenty of magic when you were a baby. I remember one time when your father was going to put you to bed. You wanted your little stuffed animal dog named padfoot that you had left in the living room. You cried and tried to fight your father but he wouldn't listen. Well as soon as James put you down to sleep you actually floated back into the living room right to the stuffed animal. It scared your mother and father half to death!" Remus laughed brightly at the memory then looked down wistfully at his tea. He smiled sadly for a brief moment, "They would be so proud of the young man you have become Harry. You will do great things and I will teach you everything I can to make you ready to come back into our world."

"You will teach me all about this world? I can learn magic?" Harry blinked starting to get excited after the story of his parents and him. Part of him felt a calling out at the possibility; this was what his parents were like. This is the world that his parents were in! He always wondered why he couldn't remember more than a few red blurs of hair or blurry images from his parents. Why couldn't he remember his old house and life before the Dursley family? He was only three but surely he should have remembered something. It felt as if most of his life was gone and he started off just on the Dursley doorstep.

"Of course I will teach you Harry. I will make certain you know everything there is to know about being a wizard and a Potter. It is why I moved here. I can't let my cub go into Hogwarts without being the best." Remus smiled warmly at the boy.

Harry retuned the smile starting to feel confident. He nodded his head once firmly as the decision was made, "Good, because according to Uncle an Evans or Dursley should always be the best."

"You will be Harry…"

~~~ RoHP ~~~

Two years had come and gone by and the morning of July 31st 1991 came to pass. It was a day of excitement in Harry Potter's household was starting to boil over. Today was the day that it would arrive. There was no need to say what it was; of course it was Harry's Hogwarts letter!

Remus sat at the breakfast table alone before even the daylight broke sipping from his cup of tea. Though he would not admit it, he was very nervous. He had been expecting and dreading this day all together. Sure he had allowed Harry to go with him to Diagon Ally and trips to Hogsmeade and other places renowned for magic, but this would be the first true step for the boy into the magical world of Britain.

The worried man let out a sigh as he stared into his cup of Early Grey. He was worried. He had prepared Harry in every way he could think of to get him ready, but there was so much more to teach him. He had taught Harry of the history and culture of their world. In addition he taught the youth about the creatures and beliefs that many of them followed. He even brought Harry to an abandoned meadow and taught him how to ride a broom and about quidditch. They often would listen to games of Puddlemere United who had been James favorite team. He had spent hours upon hours telling stories about the times that James, Sirius and Peter had spent pulling pranks and getting even.

Remus was not proud of how the marauders were in school. He knew now that they were bullies plain and simple. They would do anything to get their way and they were definitely not of the light sort many times. Perhaps he should have saw the signs then and many things could have been stopped. Perhaps he could have stopped James and Lily from going dark as the war got more dangerous. His friends had midway through the war stopped fighting with spells that Dumbledore and his group approved up and started to take an eye for an eye strategy. Remus liked to color it up for himself but the simple truth was James and Lily would use any method necessary to get information and strike against the Dark Lord and his followers. Sirius would join them often. It was part of the reason that Remus had gone to the werewolves to try to stop the influence of Greyback. He needed to get away from their actions, he couldn't in his heart support a different path. Part of him wondered though if he had stayed could he have stopped what ended up happening.

He had told Harry about his condition. The boy had taken it well. He was accepting and honestly Remus thought he was happy with him. It felt great to guide the boy, but he knew that starting today Harry would have to put up with a lot of looks that he didn't deserve. James and Lily were not beloved by many in their world. They had caused the unproved deaths of hundreds of Voldemort's followers with their ambushes and attacks. So the followers of the Dark most likely would not look kindly upon Harry. On the other side of the coin, the followers of Albus Dumbledore and the Light wouldn't care much for him either. The Potters were known to be the secret keepers of the Boy-who-lived. It was their failure that allowed the boy to be attacked. It was them that allowed the savior of the wizarding world to defeat the Dark Lord. But, they weren't remembered for their fight, which the Potters had helped to bankroll, against the Dark Lord. They and Lily especially was remembered for that failure. So the boy would not be in for a warm welcome from the Wizarding World. Hopefully many would forget the sins of the parents and look at the potential of the boy. Remus was not so certain.

He had made certain to teach Harry as much as he knew about the Potters. The boy's family used to be an Ancient and Noble house. They were still an ancient house but after the betrayal the noble portion had been stripped and provided as a title to their former shield house and ally House Longbottom. It was considered just reparations for the boy-who-lived to gain the title at least for the losses he experienced. Still the boy knew of his grandparents Charlus and Dorea Potter nee' Black. He knew of the tradition of his family that was traced back to the time of the Druids. House Potter had been a founding house of the Wizengamot; a house had been remarkable in a number of wars. They could claim two Headmasters of Hogwarts from the House of Potter.

Every weekend the boy would return from the military academy and he would teach the boy these lessons and more. He taught him of Arithmancy since he was advanced in muggle calculus and algebra. He taught him Runes, which the boy picked like nobody he had ever seen. His mother had been a prodigy at Runes but Harry was even better. As a eleven year old he had memorized the Norse, Egyptian and Babylonian runes and started to figure out ways to use them. When Remus had asked him about his ability he only commented that it was all part of a puzzle. He taught the boy spell theory and movements of the wand but wouldn't allow him to use one. Instead he would have him practice the pronunciations, theories and movements behind the spells he would learn. Harry soaked it all in like a sponge. Part of Remus hoped he would be able to turn the boy into a Ravenclaw. Perhaps a life of study would keep him away from the hardship of the world!

The thoughts of Remus were interrupted when the thumping sound came down the stairs. A few moments later Harry walked into the kitchen and immediately walking over to cup of tea to enjoy. The boy sipped his tea looking around with sleep filled eyes. He didn't even notice Remus holding an envelope in one hand before him for two full minutes. When he did realize there was an envelope though Harry blinked in surprise and screamed in happiness like the little boy that he rarely showed, "IT IS HERE!"

The boy snatched the envelope from the hands of Remus and ripped into it excited. He smiled brightly as he danced around, "I really got it!"

"Of course you did! Did you think that they would forget their future Head boy?" Remus teased the boy with a smile.

After a few minutes Harry calmed down and remembered himself. The happiness disappeared from his face as he tried to reassert control. The conditioning he went through as a child with the Dursleys always seemed to come back after Harry acted as a boy. Despite his best effort to try to be disciplined he couldn't fight off the smile on his lips.

"Go on and open it up." Remus smiled and winked at the boy.

It only took a moment for Harry to quickly open up the letter. The boy's emerald eyes slowly scanned up and down the list with a joyful expression.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Harry flipped over the letter and scanned over the list on the other side. He had a number of these items but he didn't have all of these books. A smile crossed his lips as he considered the shopping trip. Almost as if a light went off for the boy his emeralds seem to catch the light of the room and glow brightly!

Before the thirteen year old could open his mouth Remus spoke up, "Yes Harry, after breakfast we can go to Diagon Ally and get you a wand."

It was the fastest breakfast that the boy would ever eat. In record time the paid were fed, watered and apprarating out of the residence to the ally for shopping for first year.

Author Note: Next chapter will be Harry's wand and the ride to Hogwarts. Perhaps even a sorting will take place. Hopefully this idea is interesting enough to keep growing.