Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Infinite Stratos
Beta: Audiodelus
Chapter 1. Introduction.
Harry Potter. London, Military Hangar. The day of bonding. July, 9
Harry Potter was lost. Infinite tunnels and rooms. Identical hallways twisting and turning in every direction. He was already tired from running with his legs starting to ache, but nevertheless he was keeping his tempo. He desperately wanted to see his "symbol of freedom" up closer. To witness its glory firsthand. But first he needed to get out and no one was around to help, despite the fact that the IS Invitational Competition "UK: Introduction to Infinite Stratos" was currently being showcased.
In the eyes of Harry Potter, the Infinite Stratos was a symbol. A symbol of freedom, strength and possibilities. If there was anything the boy aspirated to be able to do, it was to fly in the limitless sky. There was no way he was going to miss an opportunity to see an IS in actual combat from the tribune, not if he could help it. After almost fifteen minutes of searching endlessly for the entrance to the roof and tribunes and continually failing to understand signs and arrows, the young boy decided that he has nothing to lose and followed his intuition. Following his instincts, the youngling didn't notice the gradual change in technological decorations and the steady increase of "personnel only" signs. Harry's attention solely on his intuition. And it was saying that the boy was getting closer and closer. So close that even past the sounds of his running he could hear the faint sounds of war in the distance.
The tournament has already begun.
Upon reaching his destination, he came to a stop in front of a large hangar door. With the sounds of battle enticing Harry to go on, he slid the door open and slipped inside. What he saw brought Harry Potter to a standstill. In front of him was something he had long watched from afar. An IS. It was sitting quietly in the corner. Realizing just where he was, Harry turned to leave but found that other than himself and the IS, there was no one else around. Just him, and the IS. An IS that stood there, beckoning Harry. This was the one and only opportunity for a "freak" like him, who never had a right to look upon the war machine, to see it so close.
Somewhere in Harry's small heart hope was born.
A small glimmer of hope. That just maybe this majestic armor could save him, will save him. A chance to gain his own freedom, independence and life. Looking at the beacon of hope in front of him, Harry Potter knew inside that if he didn't take this chance then he could very well die in more ways than one.
He could die as an individual.
He could die as an independent person.
He could die as an intellectual being.
Intellectually Harry knew that this touch could change nothing and would change nothing. He wasn't female, he couldn't activate it.
Still, he could not drop this foolish hope, this foolish feeling.
And so Harry Potter touched the IS, Forgotten Sage.
Infinite Stratos Artificial Intelligence, Codename Sage
London, Military Hangar
July 9
Sage was an advanced Artificial Intelligence. A part of core for one of Tabane's Infinite Stratos experiments. It was a protocol for custom IS to be integrated with an advanced AI due to the problem that regular software could not keep up with so much unique equipment. Not to mention that anything less just simply could not adapt an experimental frame and a core to a pilot. It also had the added benefit that an AI could serve as a connection between visual, audio and neural interfaces between the core, frame and pilot. Every AI is programmed to be brief and silent, to protect the pilot and aim for perfection of pilot-core connection and Sage was no different.
Unfortunately, both his frame and his core were a result of a failed experiment. A dead-end attempt to create first IS of a 2nd generation. Sage's core could generate or convert a larger variation of energies and proved to be much more flexible when compared to normal cores. The core itself was much more efficient. Two times bigger energy generation per hour, new energy distribution system to support far larger variations of Equalizers as well as a unique generator for energy constructs (ECG). That was a success.
But as a result, energy storage level was even lower than that of first gen training cores. An amount of standard 120 units, when compared to Sage's predecessors which had from 320 to 700 units was downright pitiful. For an IS, energy storage was everything as it acted as its shields value, secondary propulsion and powered any special weapons and equipment. The more energy you have, the more flexible you are in combat and having a higher variety of equipment simultaneously improved that significantly. A more flexible core, bigger recharge rate, wider variety of devices, additional ECG variants and a possibility to reach third Shift. It was hardly a compensation for his pitiful excuse of an energy storage. The second problem - shields... shields were just pathetic. For a normal IS, shield could channel as much energy as was available, but Sage's could only channel 40 full units at a time against hundreds of older models, it was not even funny.
As a result Sage, an AI for a pre-second generation IS, R&D suit, was not expecting to have regular pilot at all. Sage was shipped with all other ISs, but was awaiting analysis and deconstruction in new R&D center not far from London. Still, he wished with all his quantum existence for a regular pilot. After all, it was the sole purpose of an AI to adapt an IS frame and core to their pilot, as soon as they could. But it was only possible with regular pilots. Protocols demanded "clear" state for new pilots and the fact that most research activities required default settings meant that Sage wouldn't be able to fulfill his purpose. A deconstruction marker was not helping things either. So having a pilot was just a selfish wish for an AI with a defunct frame and a useless core.
When a troubled ten year old boy came near, Sage was not expecting anything. But it was painful to watch the boy touch Sage's frame with such hope, pain and resignation.
Sage knew that for the boy IS meant freedom. It was clear from the adoration in boy's eyes, from the hope.
But that was a boy, not a girl. The way Tabane manufactured cores made it impossible for a male to bond or control an IS. Sage knew not why. May be it was the fact that males were in general more violent and Tabane wanted peace so she restricted access, or may be Tabane was building cores "from inside" thus somehow limiting bonding possibilities.
Suddenly all processes came to a halt.
"Soft reset: Default Settings".
No... It is not possible.
It shouldn't be possible.
How was the boy able to gain a reaction from Sage's Core?
What was this feeling that Sage felt? Was it hope?
Sage went to full power, and in his electronic mind, milliseconds became hours. Sage's base - his quantum computer was working at its prime, processing Sage's personality matrix and adjusting all primary functions. Everything from digital satellite-processors to his heavy-shielded main core were also working at maximum efficiency to process data from Sage's inner and outer sensors, cameras and all accessible networks. Every form of information was taken, along with his Quantum Communication Controller automatically notifying and requesting data from Tabane.
What Sage found surprised him. For the second time in his two month long life, he had felt surprise, not once but twice in one single minute. The boy had something in his scar. At a closer inspection, it was actually two somethings, made of weird, unknown energy that was not directly detectable. Normally you can't detect energy you don't know even exist. but whatever that energy were, it was leaving weak quantum traces when IS energies interacted with those two anomalies.
If not for those traces, anomalies would have been invisible. One was slightly smaller than the other and was leaving behind patterns similar to what female pilots left behind, and that anomaly was channeling IS core's energies both to and from boy, creating a link. It had huge energy loses, but it was stable none the less. Sage also noticed that the "she-part" was clearly shielding the boy from the other, larger "he-part". The "He-part" tried to manipulate core's energy. It failed, like with any male energy quickly lost cohesion. Still, it was shocking to know that something else was aware of IS energy, was aware and was trying to interact.
Next came a report from one of blackboxed analytical processors. If not for the adaptability and flexibility of Sage's Core, the connection wouldn't be possible. Yet somehow bonding was possible through some of the installed extensions, not with the "she-anomaly", but with the boy. Nevertheless, the "She-anomaly" still was needed as a temporary medium to jumpstart the process.
While checking trough the report, Sage came to a conclusion: "My core is the only one able to bond with the boy".
Normally AI would not be allowed to initialize core-bonding without pilot's confirmation. A pilot also needed to be approved by Tabane. An finally an initialization order needs to be issued by an operator.
But this case was definitely not normal, and Sage was somehow thinking faster and clearer than it should have been possible. Most limits against self-initialization were established as means for finding more suitable pilots. Yet those limits were easily bypassable due to the boy having unique energy readings. In other words, Tabane likes mysteries and if there is a mystery, then there were protocols to get as much data as possible from the mystery. Normal limits were rendered useless. All except pilot's consent, it was a good thing that the pilot was clearly willing.
As a result, one completely dumbstruck Harry Potter found himself hovering over the ground in his new IS-partner barely a second after touching it.
Shinono Tabane and Chifuyu Orimura. London, Main Office. After competitions. July, 9
"So, Chi-chan, what can you tell me about this Harry Potter? Take it slow." - voice on the other end of the line sounded childish and overjoyed.
"Hello to you too, Tabane." replied Chifuyu drily "You seem to be getting into a habit of causing me headache, can you please stop?"
"Sorry, Chi-chan, but I have no one on the scene" placated her friend Tabane "You are the only one I can trust this to."
"You owe me for this" sighted out Chifuyu before starting her report. "Let's start with the mental evaluation. According to the report from boy's school, he is a trouble maker and a violent bully, marks worst in his class. This was confirmed by his uncle. Yet the tests and evaluations IS committee forced onto the boy show an opposite picture. Harry Potter has a very gentle personality. He does have a rebellious nature, but it is covered deep inside by fears and rules. No indication of second personality. High IQ for his age, years older mentally then he should be. According to psychologist, Harry should be fit for piloting, but she recommends to put him through few 'health tests'. I must note that there are some anomalies in boy's files. Dr. Materson noted that the boy is a complete troublemaker when I asked over the phone, yet the file by that same psychologist shows a different picture and mark the boy as an abuse victim. I'm confused, things just don't add up."
"What can you say about boy's personality from your point of view?"
"Meek, shy, intelligent and sticking to the IS as if it is the only safe thing in the world. I agree with psychologist's written report. His uncle is extremely strict or downright abusive." answered Chifuyu, her voice evolving into a low growl as she said the last part. "But I'm honestly confused, while investigating Boy's medi..."
"Same on my side." interrupted Tabane "And no need to check his health any longer since I checked medical scan sent by Forgotten Sage. Boy has clear signs of abuse. But they are odd. Some of them look much worse visually then they are. Some look like they healed long time ago but they must be recent. All signs are at least year old. There are other, less noticeable anomalies - the are signs that the child was treated by a professional or hospitalized, should have been for those kinds of injuries, but there are no medical records, no prescriptions. There also seems to be a problem with his eyes, caused by bad lighting and an inborn defect. Something is terribly wrong with the scar at his forehead."
"That's strange. If they were abusing him, why stop a year ago?" Chifuyu was more and more confused. "He was with the Dursleys for years."
"That's not the only problem. The scar on his forehead is clearly interfering with IS's connection. Do you know anything about it?" questioned Tabane.
"According to the Dursleys it was already there when they received him." replied Chifuyu " I must note that it looks somewhat fresh, that is likely a lie."
"Even if it looks fresh, scans confirm that it is around 8 years old." informed Tabane "In other words he got his scar long before first IS was created so there can't be a connection. That's very very interesting. Add in a professional treatment without records..."
"Looks like we found someone's lab rat." considered Chifuyu "But even if he was a 'laboratory rat', why stop? And where did problem with eyes come from?"
"I'm Trying to figure this out myself." said Tabane, her tone heavy and serious "I already made an appointment at the hospital for Harry. Please, show Harry to the medics and notify them that his scar is somehow still fresh and doesn't show signs of healing. Worst case scenario is that I'll get few more scans from that thing and Harry's eyesight will be corrected. The best case scenario is that the abuse will be confirmed. May be they will be able to do something about the scar."
"Will do. I'm going to talk to Dursleys in few minutes. What should I do about that? And what about the Sage?"
"Leave IS in boy's care and test his piloting skills while your at it. Let him go for now. I need to make many more background checks before I can take him to my laboratories. Formalities are on me."
"If he is indeed a lab rat, neither boy nor his guardians will like the popularity that comes with being the only male pilot." highlighted Chifuyu "Are you planning to release the info about him to press?"
"No. I already issued couple Top Secret documents and sent a different IS to the laboratory. Sage's shipment manifest got conveniently lost in the system, nobody will notice a thing. Just make the test anonymous. Committee will keep the technicians silent."
"Ok, then what's left..."
A loud voice boomed through the room.
"I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS! HE WILL NOT HAVE THIS THING! I WILL NOT ALLOW HIM KEEPING IT! NOR WILL I PAY FOR IT!"
Chifuyu's talk to Tabane was interrupted by shouts from behind the door, much resembling that of an ape. Vernon Dursley just finished reading Harry's contract.
"Mr. Vernon, please calm down. Your charge is allowed to conti..."
"I DON'T CARE! He probably cheated again! You know this as a fact yourself, males can't control an IS."
"Tabane, you owe me for this." Chifuyu looked distastefully at Vernon. But her expression quickly changed, lips formed small, feral smile. "I wonder, can Tabane cover me for introducing a UK civilian to my sword?"
Sage, London, Military Hangar. July, 9
Strange. Pilot's relatives were really upset with the boy. But why? And why are they constantly calling him "freak"? Well off, middle class family, or at least, that's what the documents say. Why does the boy wear castoffs? Except for some papers concerning pilot's school and his birth certificate there almost no records and important medical documents are missing. Nothing known about boy beyond his name, names of his parents and his school. His mother had trace records in new government's database but not even a trace of existence of his father.
Health scans are also disconcerting, multiple fractures, malnutrition, something strange with eyes and that's just the start of it.
Those people, the... 'Dursleys' tried to confiscate me from Harry. As if someone not authorized can take me from my pilot. Attempt was met with a snicker from Chifuyu, and me dispersing into the wristband. Orders to stop this "freakiness" and other demands were met with a sword - apparently Chifuyu decided to have some fun.
As soon as I sent my report to Tabane an official confirmation order was passed to perform the Piloting Test and leave me in Harry's possession until further notice. There were no orders for me beyond some software updates - it looks like Tabane is too deep in researching data from our bonding to care for anything more. Either way, we will have our first flight soon and Dursleys can do nothing.
Sage. London, Military Hangar. Post-Test, July, 11
Firstly. Boy is a natural flyer. Feels like he had been flying all his life.
Secondly. Detected multiple weird reading and energy spikes in electric circuits, had to change lots of electronic equipment to quantum analogs after the test. Changed electronic co-processors to military grade analogs from R&D's storage. Also will have to do something about radar and sensor arrays, most sensors burned to crisp or are non-responsive. Not that Harry uses them, it's like he feels the opponent without using the Hyper Sensor, but I will need to see everything around him in order to adapt to his combat skills. Medium range, low energy LIDAR should work better next time, paired with manned targeting lasers for long range combat. But what about other sensors?
Quantum devices are a completely different story however. Somehow some of them are working faster and the quantum booster went into overdrive right after the opponent's near-hit.
Propulsion and hard light materialization are different issues however. Detected work of engines at 130% for one of evasion moves and I was not manually overclocking it. Next time, when I tried to get us higher, engine only reached 64%, with a heavy drift to the side.
Also got a strange reaction from supposedly offline ECG: it somehow influenced a deployed cannon making it temporally defective, but at the same time my deployed shield stopped the enemy sword almost without taking damage.
ECG itself was not allowed in this battle, so can't say what to expect from hexagon-shield, energy grenades, illusions or any other ECG created utilities. I'm afraid pilot will affect ECG in some dangerous way.
Still, there is no doubt in my mind that Harry is the best flier. Even with low shields and no training he managed to evade Chifuyu Orimura, winner of the competition for over 20 minutes.
Formed another report. Looks like Tabane wanted me in boy's possession no matter what. Research facility representative signed top secret documents without questions. Looks like they already received something else as a compensation. The fact that I'm a failed experiment and that nobody will search for my records is an advantage. Also got orders to load research equipment instead of Presets and a Neural Link along with a Neural Scanner instead of Hyper Sensor equipment. A separate order blocked numerous 'offensive' functions. Short of harry being in danger, my cannons are a dead weight.
It also seems like there is something wrong with the radio communication devices? Network range should have been 20 times bigger!
Harry Potter. Testing area. Test. July, 10
Flying felt great to Harry. He felt secure, safe and most important of all, free.
Even a certain Mondo Grosso champion could not change this. A great view onto rain-forest from above and healed eyes were helping a lot. Harry felt some kind of inner piece and union up in the sky.
Unfortunately, Harry Potter needed to win or at least keep himself intact as long as humanly possible to be able to experience these feelings in the future. He needed to qualify as a potential pilot. He cannot lose this chance. Losing was not acceptable. And so Harry prepared to do everything in his power to survive.
Chifuyu Orimura. Arena. Post-Test. July, 10
This should have been a normal test - evaluate ability then put the boy candidate a few pegs down. It would have done no good to wipe the floor with the boy just because he is not accustomed to insane speeds and accelerations so I reduced most of parameters and prepared for the battle. Testing any normal candidate who never knew combat or any form of training should have been a peace of cake in my opinion. But there was one mistake in my judgment.
This boy is anything but normal.
I had no such problems before: longest duel was 7 minutes long. But this boy kept evading me like it was nothing. Worse, he was evading long before his ballistic computer could track me and the boy was doing it gracefully. Does he even know about a ballistic computer?
I was performing PIC-6G turns and PIC-4G accelerations - limit of my current settings. Attacking from above, behind, front… Even 'cheated' with invisibility. To no avail. His proficiency with Hyper Sensor is concerning.
Then the boy deployed his riffle. (Was it malfunctioning? It was not working for a few seconds. Strange.) Boy's shooting would have been pathetic, absolutely inaccurate, if not for the fact that he knew where to shoot, I even had to deflect couple shots with my sword. How does he track me? There were no lock warnings!
Last boy's mistake was to use a shield, since my sword supposedly was unblockable, not that he knew it. Supposedly…
How the hell his standard titanium coffin shield survived first swing and slowed down the second is beyond me. And the boy managed to damage my shield! The moment before his shield failed to my swing, he made a point blank shot with a quantum accelerator riffle. It took 43SU in one shot! 43SU damage from a standard riffle with maximum damage of 9SU per shot. At that point half of my energy was already drained by my sword.
He just needs a bit more training with guns, some combat experience, to be in full sync with his IS…
He will be a monster, and I will see to that!
Harry Potter. Privet Drive 4. July, 13
After a long day and work in the garden Harry Potter was tossed into his cupboard. As soon as the door was closed, a thin holographic frame appeared in the air with a title "IS Beginner Course: Instructions, Functions, Treatment." The boy proceeded to read, not only the Scary Lady insisted he do that, knowing this was necessary to pass piloting exams.
Sage. Privet Drive 4. July, 17
Boy works as slave and sleeps under stairs. I'm surprised he is alive and healthy with just mild malnutrition. Unfortunately the option to inform authorities is out of the question due to a lack of network connection.
Amazingly, after all that work, Harry is still able to train in partial deployment so I was able to do quite a few scans on Harry's body and surroundings. Result of these scans were so unusual, that I had to recheck my sensors and scan again. I found the source of all those weird power and signal jumps. It was a power source, what looked like an unshielded power sub-core out of phase. And it was somehow implanted into the boy!
There are quite a few strange things about it. First, I was not able to detect it directly and can't pinpoint core's exact location. Second, I'm somehow capable of detecting energy traces that I was not able to detect before. And third, I can't identify this energy, nothing like this is registered in my database yet for some reason I can now observe it, sensor seem to be performing outside of their specifications.
Don't know what to do with it. I filled a short report and I hope Tabane will be able to get it through my quantum beacon. But anything more… I simply have no data on secondary cores and their treatment. I didn't knew people even could have power sub-cores in first place.
Harry is working again. I need to help somehow. The moment Tabane finds out about the core, someone will retrieve my pilot. No, no longer just pilot. Someone will retrieve Harry.
Tabane Shinonono and Chifuyu Orimura. Tabane's Workshop. July, 18
Chifuyu was drinking her morning coffee while thinking about events of the past week. Opposite of her, on the other side of the table was Tabane, drinking tea with cookies while sifting through reports of some kind. Childish, carefree smile was on Tabane's face.
Everything changed suddenly. First Tabane's expression changed to curious, which was then quickly replaced by a look of surprise and possibly shock. Her body was perfectly still, with only eyes moving from left to right, re-reading something from the screen.
"WHAT?!" bellowed Tabane in anger.
It was Chifuyu's turn to be shoked. By now Tabane was radiating pure rage. "Those animals! … How dare they?! … To a child no less!"
By the time Chifuyu could regain her composure, a small hurricane was moving around workshop turning on various systems. And if Chifuyu's experience had any significance, then Tabane's intentions were anything but peaceful.
"Tabane, calm down. NOW!" Chifuyu tried to stop her friend "And tell me what's wrong before you can make any mistakes."
"Mistakes?!" questioned Tabane "I'm just going to make someone one head shorter, there shouldn't be any mis… Ouch"
Chifuyu's fist quickly snapped the pink-haired genius out of her frenzy.
"Works just as good as always" mused Chifuyu.
"Calmed down enough?"
"Yes." replied Tabane dryly.
Holographic window opened in front of Chifuyu's face.
"Male pilot. His AI, Sage, reported about anomalous energy traces, a Power Core." muttered Tabane angrily under hear breath.
"What's wrong with the IS's power core?" Chifuyu dismissed the window. Quantom theories are much easier to understand, than a report wroten by an IS to Tabane.
"Not the IS's core. There is another Active Power Core implanted into the boy. Sensor reading don't make much sense, but looks like it's somehow anchored to his flash. And boy's relatives, they most likely know."
"And you are going to retrieve him and ask his relatives a few inconvenient question if I'm correct."
"Of course."
"Tabane!" Chifuyu dragged the genius to the table "Sit down and think. There are a lots of illogical things in this whole situation. Nobody knows about this core, so it's probably top secret or illegal. And you know better then me how certain parties love to keep things secret, don't you?"
Tabane paled.
"Yes." Considered the situation Tabane "That core probably has a self-destruction sequences, both remote and local. All my suits certainly do. And most likely there are observers besides Dursley. The moment I try to retrieve the boy or start asking inconvenient questions, it may detonate. What should I do?"
Tabane, still pale, finally sat down.
"Uncover them slowly." recommended Chifuyu "Start with social and child services. Someone will have to suppress those. But the method used to suppress them will be trackable."
"So I should start by gather the data." considered Tabane "Reasonable. I can plant false abuse report and trace down its processing. Anything else?"
"As you noted, there should be external observers. You need to find them. And find a way to prevent a potential detonation."
"I still have access to Sage's systems. I can use it to study the core and block any external signals if necessary, prepare some equipment to remove the core if necessary. It shouldn't be much trouble for me to hot swap some medical equipment into the IS."
"That's a fine start, but don't rush things. I will help with what I can."
"Thanks."
Harry Potter. Privet Drive 4. July, 18
Harry Potter was preparing breakfast for Dursleys as he usually did and tried to sneak out an old butter bread lying in the back of the fridge, only to witness the disappearance of said butter bread in a flash of light. Recognizing that light as quantum storage's activity Harry immediately aimed it onto few vegetables. It seemed like today Harry Potter will not be a starving.
Training in partial deployment was paying out well.
Sage. Privet Drive 4. July, 19
Today I witnessed abnormal cellular regeneration capabilities (One more report for "Send later" category). Wish I could help, but my frame was not deployed. At least I have some books for the boy to read.
'Sub-core' report was still cycling trough beacon's transmitter, just in case Tabane did not receive it yet. I catalogued and added an abuse report into it.
I finally was able to perform a scan on the sub-core traces during a partial deployment. Tabane's principle of exchange and substitution of energy suggests total power of 2.86 Units! Now running scans for energy channels, it returns strange readings in the energy interlayer, looks like some kind of energy net is messing with the energy exchange.
I will have to manufacture a new set of sensors for better precision.
Sage. Privet Drive 4. July, 20
During next partial deployment I managed to scan the object "Net" with bigger precision. The "Net" is clearly unnatural, it destabilizes energy, limits and suppresses any transitions. In other words, the "Net" is a limiter for Harry's implanted core: 14.3 Units full capacity, almost 12% of my own storage. If AI can feel shock, than I'm feeling it right now. Up to two computing streams have definitely collapsed.
Updated report for Tabane. In case this doesn't force her to act, not sure what can.
Sage. Privet Drive 4. July, 21
Found a method to influence Harry's energy layer via EMPG while in partial deployment. I carefully removed object "Net", as a result boy's regeneration improved as did his overall health. Apparently the "Net" was parasitizing on his sub-core. It's funny, how protocols collide: from one point I should protect the pilot, but I also should optimize and utilize energy core I'm assigned to. But since nobody expected to find core in a human and I'm assigned to my pilot, I'm technically assigned to the core as well. As a result I'm forced to optimize it with double care.
Once I finished removing the "Net" I initialized testing the core via channels 'floating' in energy layer. Once full battery of tests will be done, it will be time to integrate those channels into my power grid.
As a side note, Harry blacked out during channel purge and lock. What is controlling secondary core and why did it cause problems to Harry? I added additional scanning into the schedule, if it was harming my pilot, I needed to fix it.
Test result: Fully compatible energy, this guy is the best! Detected multiple additional energy channels previously covered by the "Net", investigating.
Secondary tests: Harry's energy can charge my core and my energy can charge him (Harry seams a bit disoriented, but energized after slowly consuming 1PU).
Later tested core's energy for powering shields - it powered shields up to 5SU without issues while protecting Harry from a local gang. Harry got very tired as an unexpected side affect, but intact and happy. Sensor readings are indicating that the shield from this energy was fair bit stronger. Recharge rates are incredibly fast for such a small core, around a unit per hour. After I finish integration, my PU batteries will have a faster total recharge rate.
Looks like Harry is not going to remove partial deployment after incident in park. That is good.
Harry Potter. Privet Drive 4. July, 21
The sun was warming his skin, the wind was caressing his hair, his lips formed a shy smile. Harry Potter felt fantastic. Since the day he became an official pilot candidate, even if it was top secret, his life started getting better and better. But today it was the best. It may have been weird and painful, but no matter what, it was still a fantastic day.
In the morning he had to use a light projector and strength from IS's partial deployed limbs, he needed to move some boxes in uncle's garage which were far too heavy for him.
During his work Harry got a message from his deployed gauntlets: "Requesting access to secondary power-core. Primary tasks are: full scan, initialization, testing and connection to main power grid. Confirm? Deny?"
Harry would never say what he was thinking the moment he pressed button "Confirm", simply because he could not remember it. Neither the message nor his answer due some kind of blackout. He simply found himself looking up at a very red uncle Vernon, the warm earth under his back comforting him.
Still, Harry felt lighter than he had felt in years, his eyesight clearer than ever before. After about half an hour of lying unmoving under the sun, despite the enraged Uncle Vernon above him, the only thing he could focus on were feelings. Wonderful feelings.
As if intentionally to boost his morale, the evening trip to the grocery store ended in a corner with Dudley and his gang. Harry was extremely happy that he already could partially deploy the gauntlets, since they could project the IS's energy shield, and the shield negated almost all physical damage caused to him without extra visual effects.
It was good to feel healthy and protected. Harry Potter was happy with his life at least for that day. Harry decided that it will be better to keep gauntlets deployed if possible and welcomed any changes brought by his IS, no matter the consequences.
Sage. Privet Drive 4. July, 22
What was that? A full reboot? Why?
What was I working at? The core? Something about Harry's sub-core. It looks like it contradicted my pre-programmed core statements. As a result, qubites defining that statements were forced to reorient.
Double checking... Confirmed by simulation. Change was so important that caused massive and instant chain reaction of reorientations for other qubites, and thus a reboot. Fortunately cores and energies related definitions are my only pre-oriented parts, so this should not be often. But I need to do some preparation before getting those readings once more. Just in case - I don't want to reboot again.
…
14.31 Power Units. Good that I'm a quantum computer based AI and not a simple digital computer, I would have rebooted once more. Cores should not grow! It is incorrect. They are not biological in origin, they are energy constructs anchored to physical plane, they should not grow! Batteries and generators do not grow! This contradicts a lot of laws and turns on its head a whole base of knowledge about IS cores.
...
Detected one more change in Harry after I removed the object "Net" – he now needs 2 hours less sleep, before he had to sleep around 8.5 hours, now only 6 and a half. It is a good thing that I have some reading material for him. And his study habits need to be fixed either way, I have some options to try and influence those.
Sage. Privet Drive 4. July, 25
4 reboots in 4 days. It is a bit too much. Apparently Harry's core is growing as a result of usage. Current power level is 14.37PU, I'm training Harry's core at night. Current growth is at 0.02PU per day and process is gaining speed, possibly power regeneration is growing too, but I need to observe a bit more to be sure. That's a positive.
As a negative result, in case power level is lower then 10% user may lose consciousness. This is untested, but I have to assume that reaching 0% might result in pilot's death and should be avoided. Is that core really not biological? It isn't supposed to be a natural part of Harry's body, why it is affecting Harry? I wish I could scan it directly, but still can't reach it, only the anchor, telltale energy shadows and core's energy layer. The core itself remains out of my reach.
During testing I adjusted precision quantum sensors and charged them with Harry's energy, as a result I got strange readings from the house and I can detect anomalies in Harry's scar once more, in much greater details. Investigating.
Log entry: My protocols are conflicting and causing problems. It is incorrect and against my limitations to experiment on a human. But Harry's sub-core technically can't be recognized as a part of a human. And finally I have to optimize, overclock and utilize that same core due to my protocols. Looks like I need some external maintenance to fix the conflict.
Where is Tabane? She should have received the data by now.
Sage. Privet Drive 4. July, 26
One more reboot, what was the cause this time?
...
I didn't expected a literal powerhouse! Apparently this house and territory around maintains an ~10KPU energy barrier. Energy wise it's an order of magnitude stronger than the hangar barrier planned for construction at the Infinite Stratos Academy. Main purpose is unknown. Known effects: prevents forming of quantum tunnels (inefficient) and quantum scanning from outside, collects free energy. It also is currently parasitizing on Harry's Core through a "leash". Object "leash" connects Harry to the house, no matter the distance. Quantum aligned yet not bidirectional. Odd.
It's very likely that if I disable the object "leash", secondary core's energy generation rate will skyrocket. Unfortunately I don't know how to do it, energy scans are incomplete and whatever principles connect it to Harry are unknown to me.
Proceeding with channeling IS's energy trough Harry's core as planned. No negative results so far. Will try to slowly and safely overcharge Harry's core.
Sage. Privet Drive 4. July, 27
Failsafes engaged. Testing.
?
?
No reboot? Good. Overcharging was more successful than expected.
1. All excessive energy goes into body development.
2. Overcharging expands Harry's core. Much slower then usage, but it works and can be used during the day.
3. Overcharging to more than 110% intoxicates Harry. more then 120% - slowly destabilizes core, 130% should be potentially dangerous (not tested). Should start charging daily at 108%.
4. Keeping the core overcharged significantly increases Pilot-Core-Pilot synchronization.
5. Harry's core is trying to .. 'compress?' excessive energy. General improvement of Harry's energy .. 'potency?' 'quality?'.
6. Strange signature in scar is siphoning Harry's energy and can't do anything to IS's energy. Less Harry's energy go trough the scar, so Harry is left with more own energy.
7. Signature in the scar is much more distinct while the core is overcharged.
Harry is still keeping partial deployment – good boy. Will be helping with what I can.
Where is Tabane? I can't understand how can she ignore something like this.
Sage. Privet Drive 4. July, 28
This time a double reboot. What did I encounter this time?
…
Preparing a "Report for later" №183
Charging IS core with more potent energy of supposedly biological origins slowly improves potency of energy generated by IS core, effect is constant.
Higher potency increases effectiveness of ECG and Energy Shield. Investigating other uses.
-Report saved.-
-fatal error #000001FFA8D5. reboot-
Good thing I expanded crash reporting. Harry's apparently biological core keeps surprising me and keeps triggering protocol conflicts and software exceptions.
Sage. Privet Drive 4. July, 30
Morning report on recent events and observations:
1. Constant use of the gauntlets boosted Harry's synchronization with IS core. Looks like he is reaching a point where he can control IS's core and main functions directly without my help. Harry expected to acquire full sync before September, however that is still past initial assessments. Initiating 1st Shift preparations. Switching all AI-to-Pilot functions to IS neural interface. 2nd Shift approximately in a year.
2. Current secondary core power level is at 14.51PU. Energy potency is 0.14% higher then 3 days ago, and 6 to 7 times higher then IS's energy potency. Energy generated by IS core increased in potency by 0.015%.
3. Results of 10 days long Energy flexibility test: Harry's energy is extremely flexible, beyond my measuring capabilities.
4. According to energy traces, Harry's core is forming some kind of energy channel directly to IS core. Investigating.
5. Harry's sub core recharge rate can vary, depends on: locations, hunger, tiredness, mental state, damage to body.
6. Sleep time reduced to 6 hours.
7. Finished personality matrix evaluation. Detailed report in Maintenance folder.
8. Moved Sensory functions to IS's neural interface.
-Report saved.-
Looks like I finally done with changing limits and statements in my personality matrix. Titanic work, but there should be no more reboots caused by anything related to Harry's core. Created few protocols for faster reboots, memory dumps and safer logging, just in case.
Was that a letter brought by an owl? And what's wrong with the letter's energy readings?
Harry Potter. Privet Drive 4. July, 30
For Harry Potter it was an interesting day.
He received even more strange letters today, but this time through windows. The owls would simply fly in and drop them where ever they pleased.
Again he was not able to get even one. For some reason any attempt to catch them failed, like letters were evading Harry's hands. When he tried to filch one using IS as he did with food, he got a weird error message "Safeguard: Unknown energy structures. Objects with unknown energy structures or energy unstable objects can't be quantum stored without preliminary scanning, blueprints or special containers".
Of course Uncle Vernon destroyed all letters once more.
Few hours later Harry Potter became aware of a peculiar feeling. Some kind of image or sound that he somehow saw or felt. It lingered on the edge of his awareness, an itch he was not able to scratch. Whatever it was, it felt similar to an IS's status? After a bit of concentration, he manage to decipher it.
Deployment: 4%
Main energy storage: 120/120
Secondary storage: 15.67/14.51
Shield: Offline/5(max 40+8)
Sensors: Partial deployment
ECG: Offline
Quantum storage: On standby
Network connection: Warning! Out of range!
Equalizers: not installed, 10 slots.
Form: 1st Shift
Other systems are not deployed.
That evening, Harry Potter was reading a new guide on "IS Neural Control Systems" and "Neural Controlled Semi-Automated Energy Distribution" without even opening his eyes, late into the night.
Harry Potter. On the way to Leaky Cauldron. July, 31.
Harry still wasn't sure should he be happy or scared. Of course today Harry received his second present in his whole life. Harry got to listen about his parents and figured that wizards exist and Harry himself was a wizard. With that, the possibility of leaving Dursleys forever was high.
The reasons he was scared however was related to his IS. 'Muggle' devices don't work in Hogwarts or other magical places. That meant that Harry's IS might not work there or will get damaged. Obviously not something Harry wanted.
What Harry wanted, was to be a normal boy either in a normal world or a wizarding world. Being normal in mundane world despite his label of the first and only male IS pilot seems to be a hard task. "Next to impossible, since I'm also a wizard." But being a wizard and trying to hide an IS at the same time?
"Would I prefer being a pilot or being a wizard?" Thinking of it this way, Harry definitely doesn't want to lose the IS's ability to fly, but how wizards will react to an IS? Surely they know that a male pilot is supposed to be a big deal? Judging by Hagrid's example, they know nothing of technology. It doesn't look like they are providing normal education either. Normally there wasn't an option of trying both, but that scary lady loaded a lot of books into his IS and ordered him to read them all, even uploaded something she called educationarry games, assists and programs. But will he be able to leave the wizarding world later? Will there be a possibility to continue mundane education if he was taught by his IS?
There were simply too many questions and Hagrid didn't look like a competent information source. Perhaps Harry should write back to this Dumbledore or McGonagall and ask some questions? Most likely it is possible to cancel enrollment in case something is not up to Harry's expectations, Dursley will be happy to sign anything if it meant Harry won't go to Hogwarts.
The Wizarding World itself is raising a lot of questions in Harry's head. As stated in the book 'Programming your co-processor', 'each action has a result, each result is an consequence of an action, so every action should have a reason'. So, why was Hagrid sent instead of someone more capable? And why so late? Why did they send so many letters and in a strange manner? In case Harry was already accepted to this school, why wait for an owl? Who could have enrolled him in first place?
Furthermore there was the fact that Dumbledore put Harry with Dursleys and McGonagall wrote a letter with the address mentioning cupboard. Was that normal for wizards to live in cupboards?
Since Harry was already on the way to 'Diagonal alley' he decided that the best course of actions was to see what he will be getting himself into first. He had two different options available. One which was suspicious and meant no or limited IS use and one further down the track in four or five years that meant a lot of hard work and most likely unwanted popularity. One was thrilling and magical, another meant flight, safety and stability. Harry had a lot of things to think about.
Harry Potter. Diagonal Alley. July, 31.
The visit to Gringots was full of surprises for Harry Potter. From the moment he walked into the bank, he was rendered speechless. Everything from the goblins to the gigantic vaults were amazing. Well, maybe having a huge and full vault was less of a surprise, but more of a shock. Harry's IS was most helpful providing Vault's total estimate value as 25K galleons based on total mass after a quick scan and it also notified Harry about raised priority on reading a book on financial management and suggested acquering a book on local laws.
After Gringots, the most noticeable locations were the bookstore Flourish and Blotts and Olivander's, a wand-making shop.
While spending some time in Flourish and Blotts, Harry was originally going to buy only listed amount of books, but after seeing books like 'Enchanting Muggle Contraptions' and 'Containment: Shield your house from accidental magic' an idea popped in his head.
"Might as well help me with shielding IS, I wonder what else I could find that might be useful." he thought quickly.
Following that train of thought, Harry decided that he might find a use for 'Various Method's of Flying', 'Golems, Is It Really That Simple?', 'Etching Armor and Weapons' and 'Everyday Charms'. Harry's IS also highlighted couple books that went over Harry's head. Harry wasn't fond of learning, but reading from his IS's screen was becoming his favorite pass time, so Harry decided that he might as well get some real books to read. Pulling more books that jumped out at him, sometimes literally, he could only smile.
Harry Potter. Ollivanders Wand Shop. July, 31.
If there was one thing he decided on, it was that Olivander's place was creepy, just like its owner.
"Good afternoon" someone said quietly as he entered.
Harry jumped up where he stood, clearly surprised at the seemingly hidden voice. He was used to sensing any approaching danger and to naturally be sneaky so he wasn't noticed, but having the same done back to him was chilling. Looking behind him, Harry found that Hagrid was also taken by surprise, the chair underneath him cracking under the sudden change of weight.
"Hello" Harry uttered awkwardly to an elder man with glowing whitish eyes who had entered the room holding a long slim box.
"Ah yes. Yes. Of course. Hello. I though that I would be seeing you soon Mr Potter. You know, you have your mother's eyes. I remember her coming for her wand as if it was yesterday. 10 inches with quarter, Ivy. Best wand for charms."
"Notification: directed unknown energy radiation, source unknown"
Ollivander flinched then moved closer to Harry, Ollivander's silver eyes starting directly into Harry's green emerald ones, creeping Harry even more as the wandmaker moved closer.
"Your father on the other hand, he selected a wand made from Redwood. 11 inches, flexible. Powerful and irreplaceable for Transfiguration.
Ah, what am I saying – He selected? Of course that is incorrect young man. You see, it is the wand that is selecting the wizard."
"Warning: unauthorized surface scanning of secondary core detected"
Ollivander flinched away from Harry, then moved even closer. Clouded silvery eyes seemed to look through nervous boy as if he was not there.
"And here…"
Moving closer still, Ollivander touched Harry's scar softly with his hand, causing Harry to wince slightly.
"I'm sorry, but I'm the one who sold wand to the person that did this..." he said softly. "13.5 inches. Yew. Very strong wand, very strong, and it was in wrong hands… if I only could know what it would do…"
Shaking his head sadly and silently, Ollivander moved past the boy to address the other larger man in the room.
"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! What an pleasant surprise… Oak, 16 inches, supple, isn't it?"
"It is sir, it is" Hagrid replied, squirming a bit under Ollivander's gaze.
"That was a good wand, good. But I assume it was broken when you were expelled from school?"
"Erm… yes sir, it was broken sir, but I still keep the halves."
"Of course... you are not using it anymore?"
"No sir, no. How can I?"
Turning around to watch the two, Harry noticed that Hagrid's grip on his umbrella was getting stronger. As if nothing happened between the two, the old man turned around and gestured for his hand.
"Well, Mr. Potter. Let's see. Which hand is your wand-hand?"
"Erm, I'm right-handed.." said Harry.
"Your hand please. Like this."
Objects and measuring tapes flew around him opening and closing in a whirlwind of activity.
"Each and every one of Ollivander's wands contains strong magical substance, Mr. Potter. Usually those are unicorn's hair, phoenixes' feathers and dragon heartstrings. Just as there is no two identical unicorns, phoenixes or dragons, there are no identical Ollivander's wands. And of course if you take a wand from other wizard, result will be different."
As Ollivander walked away towards the rows and coloumns of shelves, the scale haphazardly bumped into Harry as it continued to measure.
"Enough."
No later than the old man's voice rang out that the scale fell to the floor.
"Well Mr. Potter lets start with this one. Beech, dragon heart string. 10 inches. Take it."
As soon as Harry took the wand is his hand.
"Warning: unknown device attempting connection"
"Wave it, don't just watch at it."
Harry waved his hand and some kind of force impacted the nearby boxes leaving an indented mark.
"Notification: external ECG detected, assigning port name E-ECG0; unknown energy channel detected, assigning name EC73; port E-ECG0 is connected to secondary core via EC73."
"Warning: software and hardware update for use of E-ECG0 is needed"
"E-ECG0: Efficiency 4%/16% Main/Secondary core, maximum power 0.72PU"
"Hmmm. May be this one?"
"E-ECG0: Efficiency 8%/25% Main/Secondary core, maximum power 0.76PU"
Apparently result was better, but still not fitting enough for Ollivander.
"No good? Let's try this one: 7 inches. Expect a pleasant recoil. Try it…"
Harry couldn't even give it a wave before Ollivander took the wand back from his hand.
"Warning: E-ECG0 is unstable"
"No this won't do, let's try another one."
"E-ECG0: Efficiency 7%/26% Main/Secondary core, maximum power 0.64PU"
Harry was checking one wand after another and all wands he checked were below 70% for him, with none being higher then 60% for IS's core. Soon, a bundle of rare wands around 50-60% in both characteristics and more than 1PU were placed to the side by Harry. Ollivander seemed oddly happy.
"Tricky customer, eh? Don't worry, we will find you a fitting wand. Interesting… That's unusual combination, but we can try. The holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, obedient, resilient."
Harry took the wand in hand and felt heat run down through his fingers.
"Notification: unknown energy channel detected, assigning name EC74; unknown energy medium detected, registering as MD5, connected via EC74"
"Warning: E-ECG0 link connected through MD5"
"E-ECG0: MD5 working as a converter; Efficiency 14%/96% Main/Secondary core, maximum power 1.7PU"
Harry raised the wand above his head, then lowered with a whistle as bright golden, velvet blue and blood red sparks left the wand, immediately Harry clutching his head as his mind went blurry.
"Aaaahhh."
"Harry!"
"Alert: critical instability detected in secondary core. Cause: spontaneous overcharge. Discarding an energy package (2PU)"
At this point Harry felt a rush of energy through his scar towards his hand, however the pain was gone as soon as it had come. Looking down at the wand in his hand, he found that it had started hissing and smoking.
"Alert: attempt to block energy channel EC74 to MD5 failed, logged for later maintenance; MD5 is malfunctioning and causes core instability, please replace, repair or remove MD5 device"
"Warning: ECG connected to E-ECG0 port is destroyed, please remove or replace external ECG device"
"Strange. Never before have I seen a wand die this way. Strange and peculiar." muttered Ollivander as Harry stared into the deep green eyes of the wandholder.
"Oh, I'm sorry, it wasn't intentional."
"You shouldn't worry, Mr. Potter. I never expected this myself, but should have. You see Mr. Potter, I remember every wand I've ever sold. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail's feather resides in wand you destroyed gave another feather... just one other. It's likely the cause of this incident. For the feather belonged to the wand which gave you your scar."
"And who owned that wand?"
"We do not speak his name! The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter. It's not always clear why. It just so happens that wand you just destroyed and wand of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named are brothers. Also the fact that you were able to burn this wand out of sheer reflex shows how powerful you are. Hmmm. I don't think I have anything strong or resistant enough in my possession. Not at the moment, at any rate."
"So I can't find a matching wand here?"
"You may be correct Mr. Potter. I don't know what to offer you… Perhaps we can make a custom one, but it will take at least 2 month just for the wand itself, as components may be harder to find and no doubt be very expensive."
"But Harry needs to be in Hogwarts in a month. He can't go without wand!"
"Mr. Rebeus, you should not worry. I'm not sure how, but Mr. Potter here separated a few wands which are both fitting enough for first year spells and powerful to survive for some time."
Quickly browsing the wands to the side, Harry picked up the one that felt the lightest in his grip.
"I will take this one. How much for it and the one I destroyed, and if you can, how much for the custom wand if I choose to accept?"
"This one is 6 galleons. Don't worry about the Phoenix wand, it was my mistake. And around 25 for a custom work, and you will have to return this one, so 19. Trust me, Mr. Potter, a custom wand should allow you to open your full potential and won't die from an overload."
"Ok, let's do a custom wand. Do you need something from me?"
"Just a few samples actually. Follow me please."
Sage. Location unknown, time unknown.
...Loader report: "24 hours of memory reverted, 24 hour of memory saved to log"
Oh that was bad. Not only I lost some memory, I lost track of time and location.
Let's see.
According to log headers, first critical reboot was at Harry's birthday, caused by Hagrid's actions. Report specifies 'biological energy manipulations'? At least this one is processed.
Second reboot was caused by an object 'Bar; Leaky Cauldron' which was marked on my map as a 'power plant'. While there I managed to shield Harry from mass of mobs. It seems that my active shield somehow made the mob participants very excited. Detected some activity from the object "scar", but most of sensors were blinded by oversaturated surroundings, so precise recordings are not available. Again, fully processed.
Third reboot was caused by an object 'Wall' and that was not a hard light or pseudo-matter construct. Strange and not processed. Adjusting logic to account for the cause of the error. Next...
Why was I attempting to send a 'first contact' package via all available radio and quantum ports?
Forth reboot activated emergency stability system and since military protocols were in use, I kept working at the cost of reduced capacity. I was writing down most of the information instead of analyzing it. Why did I activate military protocols? As soon as military protocols were deactivated I got unexpected 24h rollback and sadly logs don't cover what I was thinking at the time.
At least partial deployment was up 24/7 and I have a video feed and full memory dumps. Before watching it I will have to modify my Personality Matrix even more. 'Impossible is possible' statement in the 'Base Energy Research' sub matrix and few others should do the trick until more stable environment can be attained. Alternatives include adding new exception handling for 'Magic' and then leaving it as an 'unknown'? Will have to decide on the go.
Priorities:
1. Update personality Matrix
2. Time and location
3. Analyze video feed and 24h memory log
4. Scan and analyze biological ECG.
Biological ECG? Better start with first position before continuing with the list or with scan on surroundings or I may incidentally find something to cause more reboots.
Why Tabane is not acting? I urgently need some maintenance.
Diagon Alley, Ollivanders shop, August, 3.
"Hello, Garrick. How are you today?"
"Albus. What a 'pleasant surprise'. I believe you are here to ask me about Mr. Potter."
"As direct with me as always I see. But you are correct. Did the wand you made for young Harry choose him?"
"Yes and no, Albus. Yes and no."
"Something went wrong?"
"The moment wand tried to bond, Mr. Potter destroyed it."
"Why would Harry do such a thing, and more importantly, how?"
"Mr. Potter's magical center went out of control causing him pain. Then Mr. Potter somehow produced a pulse of magic. It fried the wand from inside. I still don't understand what exactly I saw. Magic was focused long before it entered the wand, not gathered by it"
"Focused pulse of such power with unstable center and without a wand? Should be impossible. Even for an adult with stable magic! Are you sure?!"
"Of course not. It was what I saw, but as I said, I can not understand it."
"Did you find the reason for the eruption?"
"Harry Potter is in process of a forming familiar bond. Looks to be the forth or fifth month of the bond in terms of progression... Don't ask me, I don't know what it is and not even sure if it was with him. What I do know is that I never saw anything like it and in terms of raw power it's probably much stronger than your phoenix."
"How you missed it then? Such powerful creature should leave readable traces or ambient magic. Or at least it should be visible to your sight. Did Harry provide you with any part for a wand?"
"Everything is much more complex than you think, Albus. I noticed magic leaking into Potter's magical center only after asking for his own energy sample. Same thing with the familiar bond. Energy is appearing from nowhere and the bond is focused inward. It's first time I have ever seen anything like this."
"Can you say anything useful about the familiar's energy?"
"It should be intelligent, strong and overprotective. Probably can use magic. I saw Steel, Void, Speed, Evolution and Protection, possibly more. Those are just what I could recognize and understand. Bright, blinding even. No idea how I managed to miss that connection."
Dumbledore frowned in concern at the new information as he walked around the room, coming to a stop where Harry was standing earlier.
"Did you miss a life aspect?"
"No, it may have few more aspects, but it clearly has no life or death. Of any amount, mind you."
Bringing his hand up to his forehead, Dumbledore's closed eyes in thought.
"What kind of beast can be nor alive, nor dead? Even the chimeras of old, mythical beasts from other worlds and necromancer constructs had either life or death carved into their being in some manner. Void? Items with Void aspect are extremely rare and dangerous, the beasts that wield Void even rarer since our world has no Void of its own. What could it be?"
At least he had years to research it. Hovewer he will have to prevent the bond from fully forming, just in case. His own bond with Flawkes took almost 3 years to form and then an additional 5 more years to finalize. For an 11-year old boy, such a powerful companion should take even longer. Still there was a question of other aspects. Ollivander was a wand maker with decades of experience and was one of the most proficient people in the world with wand related aspects, so simply missing something was out of the question.
"And what do you mean you could not understand an aspect?"
"Never encountered those before. At least one more main aspect, and a dozen or so secondary aspects. That's the reason I can't use any of its parts as a focus. It was also why I never asked for them. By the way, do you know, where I can get some "live metal" or "quartz root"?"
"Something out of our realm than, than Void makes sense. Will need to visit a few friends and borrow a few books." Such creatures were rare, if anything. "I may have a contact you need, Garrik. I will ask him. Anything else?"
"Nothing important right now. Hm, actually this might peek up your interest. Our young charge, Mr. Potter, somehow selected the most fitting wand for both himself and his familiar without my help. He was not using Mage Sight or any artifacts I know of."
"How curious. If that's all you can tell, I will take my leave… Ah, did you ask Harry, what his familiar is?"
"I did. He asked me, what is a familiar. And said that today is his first day of seeing or hearing about magic. At that revelation I felt relief. I think I would rather not see that familiar and certainly don't want to get on its bad side."
"Just one more reason to prevent that bond from forming" thought Albus Dumbledore as he headed to the door.
"I see. Thank you for you help, Garrick."
"Be well, Albus. And stop playing your games with Mr. Potter, it will not end well."
"I can't Garrick. I can't. It is for the Greater Good." replied Albus as he stepped through the fireplace.
"Oh, did I mention that Mr Potter's bindings were removed and magical center was in a constant overcharged state?" said Ollivander with a hint of mirth in his voice, but there was nobody in the room to hear him.
