Servitude of a Peculiar Sort
Chapter Six: Back to the Dursleys
A/n: Just letting you know there may be a few spoilers from Deathly Hallows over the next few chapters. There will be nothing from the main storyline, and nothing that one would be able to recognize as a spoiler without having read book 7 first. None of these spoilers will be Exactly the same as they were in canon, but some aspects will be similar. There are no spoilers in this chapter.
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Hogwarts Castle
Near the lake
11:13A.M, July 29th 1996
Harry gained some semblance of control over his magic in the few days that passed since his initial outburst. Not that "control" was the right word to describe what he was doing. It was closer to suggesting that his magic do something and his magic would either do it or it wouldn't. Sometimes, Harry found that if he phrased his mental request differently (but asking for the same result) the magic would happen even if it hadn't the first time he tried. Harry highly suspected that his new magic was sentient.
Training with his magic was a lot like training a muscle. While it had some initial strength to it, it still needs work to get into optimal condition. The more spells Harry cast, the more healthy and strong his magic felt. Harry suspected that if he left his magic alone, it would atrophy and weaken.
His old magic was shackled and bound to him with occasional outbursts where it was uncontrolled (accidental magic). His new magic was the complete opposite: it was unpredictable at all times save for the rare moments when the manipulation of his magic suddenly came as naturally to him as breathing. When this happened, the feeling of power was intoxicating and Harry would feel giddy even hours afterward. The raw energy oozing from his fingertips where he could summon and manipulate fire, warp wood and call an animal to him that would fight until it died in Harry's service... with the exception of fire summoning, these were all spells well above the NEWT level and quite impressive when completed by an ordinary wizard. Harry knew with every fiber of his being that this was "the power the Dark Lord knows not." Only Headmistress McGonnagall had witnessed it, and even then it was only for a few seconds before she was blown unconscious. Harry was now taking pains to make sure he only practiced when nobody else was around. If he knew that anyone was going to be about (Minerva rarely was and with the exceptions of Trelawney and Filch, she was the only instructor who lived at the castle during the summers. Madame Pomefrey tutored prospective healers at St. Mungo's during the summer, but was still on call if Hogwarts needed her at any time.) he would only cast harmless parlor tricks such as growing a bouquet of flowers from thin air and giving them to the Headmistress. He tried to cast something new each time she was around just to show he was progressing. He suspected that his progress and the fact that he stayed out of her sight with the exceptions of mealtimes were the only things keeping her from sending him to the Dursleys.
The Dursleys... if they didn't think he was a freak before they would now. Harry wanted to see them about as much as he wanted an encounter with one of those Crenelated Testicular Scavenger Worms that he read about in the restricted section. That was another benefit of staying at Hogwarts over the summer. Nobody was there to monitor who read which books.
Besides his seemingly random reading, his magical training and his attempts to charm McGonnagall into not sending him back to the Dursleys, Harry had discovered other things about himself. The most interesting of which was his body's peculiar reaction to sunlight. Harry discovered that he had become at least partially photosynthetic. As such, he felt even more alive when he was in direct sunlight. Also, the more sunlight he got during the day, the less he needed to eat. The sun didn't provide everything he needed to sustain himself, but it helped a great deal. He would always need to eat at least something though, as his body didn't have roots with which he could extract nutrients out of the soil.
The other thing he noticed was a serious increase in the rate his body healed. A deep cut that would ordinarily take a week and a half to heal would be gone by dinnertime. Harry found this out by forgetting about a certain vanishing step on a staircase and tumbling the rest of the way down. As he was only wearing a t-shirt and shorts, he got quite a few nasty cuts on his way down the stone staircase.
Harry looked up at the sun. He could tell time by its position in the sky now and he was invariably right within three minutes of his estimate. Even at night he knew the time, even though the sun was no longer visible. In this case, the time was almost noon. Lunch started at 11:30 and he was late. Minerva insisted on at least trying to have meals together for some reason or another. He supposed it was so she could check up on him and make sure he hadn't died or something.
Harry got to his feet (he'd been lying in the grass, recovering from his last magical discharge. In this case, it was his largest flame conjuration yet: a five foot by five foot sphere that stayed in existence for just over ten seconds before Harry lost control of it and it left. Harry had been making it fly in circles over his head before he felt his magic give out on him.) and made his way slowly back to the castle.
Minerva was just sitting down to her seat when Harry arrived. Just about perfect timing.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter. I trust your independent studies went well?" She asked.
Speaking with her every meal had brought Harry a lot closer to Minerva. He understood that while they were both speaking English, it was not the same language. When she asked one question, she didn't want the answer to that question. She wanted the answer to the question she didn't ask. Now that Harry knew how she functioned, he simply needed to find the question. This one was easy. She was asking him if he'd gained any more control over his magic.
"They went very well." Harry answered. "I worked mostly on my conjurations, but I also figured out how to do this." When he said 'this' Harry asked his magic to make him like a chameleon and blend in with his surroundings. The way he did it this time was humorous as he took on the stone pattern of the wall behind the bench he was seated on. In reality he could do the spell a whole lot better. It was slightly stronger than disillusionment but still slightly weaker than total invisibility. But this was something he didn't want the Headmistress to know. In fact, it was really something he didn't want anyone to know. Not yet at least.
"Impressive, Mr. Potter. Your control has improved greatly over the past few days." Minerva said with genuine pride in her voice. Then her face turned grim. "But unfortunately I also have to be the bearer of bad news. Were it not for my promise to Albus before his...passing I would not send you back at all. I still considered it, even though it was his dying wish. Those people you live with are foul beyond reason and nobody should have to deal with them, especially not you. You will be returning to them tomorrow. However, without the Hogwarts Express it is difficult to transport you to Surrey from here. As such, I will send you to the Burrow this afternoon for an early birthday celebration before you return to Privet Drive in the morning. This was the best I could manage Mr. Potter. I apologize."
Harry nodded his understanding and answered in a voice barely louder than a whisper. "You did more than he ever did."
Minerva's face twitched into a frown. "Your placement at the Dursleys was something I never agreed with Albus on. We argued about it constantly, from the moment he first tried to place you there. It was the one thing that I ever doubted his judgment on. I only regret that I let him place you there in the first place."
This was one thing Harry had never known about. Nobody had told him that his Head of House at the time was fighting for him behind the scenes since he was an infant. It made him remember that he wasn't alone in this fight. "Thank you." Harry said.
And then, just like that, the subject was gone. The emotional moment was over. Harry finished his lunch and Minerva told Harry to pack his things. He would be headed to the Burrow within the hour.
It didn't take him long to pack. Harry hadn't taken anything out of his trunk except clothing. With bored house elves all over the place, his laundry had already been cleaned and folded from the day before. He arrived with his trunk in the great hall with five minutes to spare. Minerva was waiting for him. She was carrying a small purple dishtowel which Harry assumed (correctly) to be a Portkey.
Five minutes and a hook behind his navel later, he found himself face down in the Weasley's living room. By the time he'd sat up, there were three Weasley's and a Granger in the room, inquiring after his welfare.
"Don't bother with the security question, Mum. Nobody can mess up a Portkey landing like Harry can." Harry heard Ron say as he was pulling himself to his feet.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." Harry said. "I hate those things though. I can't wait until I can apparate."
"You're sure you're all right, Harry dear?" Mrs. Weasley inquired. Harry was happy to notice that she seemed to bear no hard feelings for his harsh comments at the Order meeting.
"Yeah. It just made me dizzy." Harry said, vaguely noticing that Hermione was trying to peek inside of his hooded robe. "Mrs. Weasley? How much did you explain to them about what happened to me?"
"I thought I would leave the explanations to you, dear. Let me put the kettle on." She said, leaving the room at a brisk pace. An awkward silence followed her passing. Harry was the one to break it.
"I might as well get this over with." Harry said, pulling back his hood. Hermione let out a startled "EEP!" Ginny's eyes bugged and Ron swore.
"Merlin's balls, Harry. What'd they do to you?" Ron asked.
Harry laughed. "It wasn't exactly someone doing something to me as it was the forbidden forest deciding to turn me into its champion."
Hermione twitched. "What?" She asked.
"This is going to be a long story. Why don't we all head up to Ron's room."
It took Harry nearly four hours to get through the entire story. Except about his private training at school. He kept the information he knew about his full magic power to himself. He planned to keep that secret to himself for as long as he could.
Hermione had been particularly curious about his photosynthesis and had asked a dozen questions about it. He almost expected her to start taking notes. After her question frenzy, she excused herself and left Harry alone with Ron and Ginny.
"So... what do you think of all this?" Harry asked Ron.
He shrugged. "Better you than me, mate." He paused and then got a predatory grin. "So, what was this Catriona girl like? How far did you go? Does this bond between you two mean that you're essentially married?"
"She's really hot in a way that feels almost dirty." Harry answered with a predatory smile. "Like something you didn't realize you wanted until you see it there, waiting for you. She's also an immensely powerful ancient magical creature that will look like she's somewhere between 18 and 21 for all eternity. And as for the second question, well... what do you know about Dryad bonding ceremonies?" Harry raised his eyebrows suggestively to get the idea across. Ginny looked livid.
"You're kidding!" he exclaimed.
"Nope. And for the third question... I don't know. We are in all the ways it matters to Dryads, but I don't think that's something that will be acknowledged by Wizarding law."
"Wicked!"
"I know!" Harry answered. He was about to continue when Ginny huffed loudly and stormed out of the room. Harry grinned. "I was waiting for that to happen." something about his bond with Catriona made him feel disdain for all those who were seeking him as a mate. Catriona had things that none of them could offer and their advances now felt cheap and sleazy to him. Harry continued to feel his normal feelings for everyone unless they looked to him as more than a friend.
"Me too." Ron replied. "She's been mooning over you ever since you two split up. I told her to get over it but she yelled at me."
Harry shrugged. "Women."
Ron laughed."So... she never gets old?"
"Nope. "
"So... when you're a dying old man, she'll still look 18 and love you just as much as when you first started?"
"Pretty much. Although, it'll take me a lot longer to be a dying old man... Her magic extends my lifetime to be about twice what a normal wizard's would be. I should expect to kick off around 280 or so."
"And even if you practice every day, I'll still be able to whip you in chess." Ron said
"You'll be dead, Ron." Harry deadpanned.
"Too true. But I'll still win." Ron replied. "Speaking of which, are you up for a game?"
"Sure... Why not?"
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The Burrow
Ron's Room
6:19PM, July 29th, 1995
Ron beat him in chess, like he always did but it was much more costly for him this time. His encyclopedic knowledge for plants and animals seemed to include a greater understanding of the predator/prey relationship. This led him to capture Ron's queen and even put him in check a few times before he lost.
"Mum should call us for dinner soon. We should head down." Ron said. Harry nodded his agreement and followed Ron to the kitchen.
Mrs. Weasley seemed to have eyes in the back of her head and noticed them enter without turning around.
"Harry, be a dear and help set the table. Dinner's almost ready. Ron, go out to your father's barn and get Hermione and your father. I think Bill might be out there as well. Tell them that dinner's ready." Ron nodded mutely and headed out to the barn. Harry set the table and was just finishing as Hermione, Ron, Bill and Mr. Weasley came in.
"Evening, Harry." Mr. Weasley greeted, taking a seat at the table.
"Good evening, Mr. Weasley." Harry replied.
The door swung open a second time and the twins came in.
"Sorry we're late!" Fred called.
"The traffic was terrible!" George joked.
"Harry, I love what you did with your hair. Tell me, do you use conditioner or do you just have to pull out all the weeds?"
"This is for you." George said, dropping a present into Harry's lap. It was shaped like a bottle of laundry detergent.
Tonks, Remus and Luna Lovegood all arrived within the next fifteen minutes, each one giving Harry their birthday greetings.
"Neville sends his greetings." Luna said dreamily. "His Gran is keeping him busy and he couldn't make it."
"That's a shame." Harry replied. "I was hoping to see him."Harry was surprised to hear the sincerity of his answer. While they hadn't exactly started out as great friends, Neville had really grown on him over the years.
Dinner vanished in a flurry of knives and forks and yet still it seemed that Molly would keep bringing stuff out of the kitchen. By the time the birthday cake came around, Harry was stuffed. Then came the presents. Mr. Weasley went out to his shed and wheeled back a large...cart of some sort that was covered in wrapping paper with the exception of its wheels. On top of it were more presents.
"Happy Birthday, Harry." Hermione announced. "Open the big one last. That one is from Me, Mr. Weasley, Bill, Fred and George "
Harry opened the packages piled on top of the cart. From Remus, Tonks Bill, Charlie and Fleur he received an everlasting flagon of butterbeer. Press the button and it fills up to the top with Rosmerta's finest ice cold butterbeer.
"Charlie sends his regards. He pitched in on it but couldn't make it to the party. Order business. Fleur is at her Parents house preparing them for coming out here. They should arrive by tomorrow." Bill explained. Harry thanked them.
Next up was a better set of chessmen from Ron. Instead of the usual medieval weapons, the units were wizards and generally used a wand to blast the enemy piece to dust. "I should've given these to you before crushing you in chess today but I didn't think of it." Ron apologized.
"Don't worry abut it. Worry about the fact that I'm going to beat you at chess at least once before you die." Harry taunted.
"In your dreams!" Ron responded
"Boys!" Mrs. Weasley admonished.
Harry opened the next present. It was a plain black book with no identifying marks on the cover.
"Alastor sends his regards." Mr. Weasley said. "He told me to tell you to read it after the party, away from prying eyes." Harry nodded his thanks.
Hermione and Ginny pitched in to get him a backpack that was magically expanded. "The clerk said you could carry up to 500 pounds of stuff in there without even noticing the weight. After that it starts weighing you down like a normal backpack." Ginny said.
"Thanks, both of you!" Harry replied. They both beamed at him.
Harry found himself at the last present. The big cart thing. It was the size and shape of a coffin sitting on a park bench.
"Now, before you open it, let me explain. I thought this up this afternoon when we were talking in your room, so I recruited everyone to help on it." Hermione said. "So all of us had already gotten you something already and-."
"She's absolutely brilliant Harry. We want her to work at the shop with us!" Fred interrupted. Hermione glared at him.
"Anyway, just open it." George added.
Harry peeled the wrapping paper and stared at the thing before him, puzzled. He didn't have the foggiest idea what it was. It was green, plastic and looked like something straight out of science fiction. It had hinges so he could open the lid, a few buttons and dials and looked like a futuristic coffin with legs that had been fastened to wheels. He opened it. It was filled with rows of fluorescent light bulbs covered by a sheet of clear plastic (or was that glass?).
"What...is it?" Harry asked.
Hermione grinned. "It's a tanning bed with some slight changes. Specifically, I changed the lightbulbs and they worked on making it more comfortable and shrinkable and whatnot. Bill made it so it will run on a certain frequency shocking charm so the magic doesn't interfere with the technology. This baby will run at Hogwarts."
Harry was still confused. "Why would I need a tan? My skin is green. Won't I wilt or something?"
Hermione sighed. "You receive energy from sunlight, right?"
Harry nodded.
"I just filled a tanning bed with those 'plant growth' lights you can find at the hardware store. Mr. Weasley took me there. I installed them. It works. Try it."
Harry nodded mutely. Harry shrugged off his big brown robe and climbed in. Once inside, he pulled off his shirt. Someone wolf whistled. Hermione closed the lid and turned the machine on. The lights came on and Harry felt himself... recharge. It was the same feeling he felt in sunlight except now it had been concentrated into exactly what he needed. There was no longer a filtering process where his body sorted out what was useful from what was not. Harry felt his magic pulse inside of him. It too was responding positively to this light. Harry closed his eyes to sink deeper into this feeling... and then it was gone. The world had turned dark and cold once more. Hermione had turned the machine back off.
"Did it work?" Hermione asked as he opened the lid. Harry had a goofy grin on his face and his green skin was...glowing.
"Yeah..." Harry managed. "Hermione... you're my hero."
Everyone laughed and Hermione gave him a big hug. "Well, we layered it with cushioning charms, lightening charms and put a permanent shocking curse on the plug. Press the big red button to shrink it. I thought this would work..."
"Thanks." Harry said again. "I'm going to sleep in this tonight."
"That... might not be such a good idea. Harry, your body is radiating magic."
"Fine, fine. I'll sleep in it after a training session and I've used up all my magic." Harry replied. Still, his body longed for the feeling of concentrated sunlight again. It was like sunshine but better... He wanted to bask in it forever.
Shortly afterwards, Mrs. Weasley sent them all up to bed, talking about how Harry had to return to Privet Drive early in the morning.
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The Burrow
Ron's Room
5:11 AM, July 30th, 1995
Harry felt a hand shaking him. He awoke and saw Mrs. Weasley standing over him with a plate on a tray.
"Eat that." she whispered. "And then come downstairs. I already packed your things. Tonks and Remus will port you back to Surrey when you come down."
Harry nodded and finished off the plate of sausage and eggs. He took the dish downstairs with him and dropped it off in the sink. Tonks and Remus were waiting by his luggage for him. Everything had been stowed in that handy backpack Hermione had given him.
"Ready?" Tonks asked. Harry nodded. She handed him an old doorknob, and she held on to the other end. Remus put his hand on top and tapped the knob with his wand. Harry felt a hook behind his navel and he was soon laying face down on his Uncle's driveway.
"I'll get the hang of..." Harry trailed off. Something was wrong. Danger... he could smell it.
"Harry, what's wro-" Her question was cut off by a crackle of energy in the air.
The wards were falling apart. They were rejecting him. They no longer detected inside him that he was of the same blood as his Aunt and they were crumbling.
In the sky above the wards, he saw black robed figures on brooms. Death Eaters circling above them. The wards gave one final crackle before falling, completely inert.
Flying through the air without the aid of a broom was the Dark Lord Voldemort.
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort cast, his wand pointing at the three figures in the driveway.