Hello, all! Back for another chapter and stuff, but first, to answer some concerns:

Albaholly- That was what I was afraid of. I didn't want the previous chapter to be all about Ray and his origins were supposed to be shorter. And I didn't just want to list everything, it just turn out that way. And don't worry; Harry will have a greater presence, this time around.

timber- I understand where you're coming from; I really do. I didn't plan for there to be a big flashback to explain things, but I couldn't think of anything better at the time. I think this is why I need a beta; I originally wanted to keep the history simple, and there I go complicating things. Your feedback is appreciated and rather humbling. PLEASE BE MY BETA! (*Bows to your greatness*)

Spear-of-the-doomed- It makes you wonder why no one thought of it before, right? Tommy boy had lofty ambitions, so why would he stop with Europe? I always thought Dumbledore had a fat head; I imagined him to be a real "lust for glory" individual, also sort of jealous of Grindewald when they both studied under Nicholas Flammel. Grindewald will be sort of different, too. Still a Dark Lord, still after the Deathly Hallows, but for different reasons; those will be explained at the end of Harry's 1st year by a special guest (Guess who?). With the ICW, I found it sad how similar it was to the United Nations and I wanted to change that. Most of their power is exorcised through the Department of Mysteries and other national agencies of similar function. You'll see what I mean later on. And about the US, it's a big place. I never said there was only one school. The Roundtree Proving Grounds could be considered a school, you know. I consider it a school! I just decided that the east would have a European influence on magic, the west would keep to the shamanic roots of the Tribal Americans and Chicago would act like Constantinople, or Istanbul; the crossroads of Magical America. Hell, the east and west have separate governments. The East is governed by the Magical Congress and the West is split with a Tribal Chieftain Council and a Werewolf Tribal Council. All of which are allies. They'll come into play later. Thanks for the feedback… the explanation is a bit long, I know. Sorry! And I hope you keep reading.

Now with that out of the way, here's this!

Disclaimer: If you're involved in law, specifically lawsuits, read the top of the first chapter… and sod off!

And now, chapter three! Hit it!

Harry Potter and the Shaman

[xXx]

Location Unknown, 8:30 AM, July 17, 1991

Ray and Sparrow made their way to the kitchen, passing through many rooms and descending many floors. Much like everything in Ray, Harry and Sparrow's lives, one should not judge their home by its façade. The cabin was a large, labyrinth-like complex of multiple floors and rooms. There are multiple libraries, studies, gyms, observatories and living quarters all over. Some rooms even opened to other dimensions, surprisingly enough; but that's a story for another time and place.

The couple finally made it to the kitchen, where they found Harry sitting on the kitchen counter, surrounded by various items used in making breakfast foods, specifically pancakes, eggs, toast and bacon.

"What took you two so long," Harry asked a little impatiently. Ray could only scratch the back of his head in embarrassment while Sparrow hid a smile. Ray gave him a mock-indignant look.

"Well, excuuuusssee ME!" Ray countered in mocking smarminess, then flashed Harry a mischievous smile. Playing along, Harry folded his arms and pouted. He held it for five seconds, then the three of them laughed for a minute. Smiling, Ray's gaze moved to Harry as he reflected on the immense changes the boy went through since Ray whisked him away from the Dursleys three years ago.

At first, Harry was very shy and somewhat cautious of his new guardian. The two stayed with Amelia and her then eight-year-old niece, Susan Bones. Susan grew to be a pretty little girl. She was the one who broke Harry of his fears and insecurities and became his first real friend. Amelia became a maternal figure to him. When she and Susan gave Harry his first hug, he cried. Susan was scared, but when she saw her aunt still holding on to Harry, she did as well. Harry cried out all of his pain and suffering that day.

Ray, Amelia and, to a small degree, Susan explained the magical world to the bespectacled boy. The elder two also told Harry about his parents; Ray gave him a picture album he held onto for his little brother. Ray and Harry lived there for a month until Ray was activated for a case in the US.

It was there that Ray reunited with Sparrow and introduced her to Harry. She became a big sister to the boy. With her in Harry's life, he gained weight and healed scars. She even fixed his sight, ending his need to wear glasses; he still does these days because it makes him look clever. Harry was now a healthy ten, almost eleven, year-old boy.

"Ray?" Ray shook himself from his nostalgia, embarrassed and blushing. Sparrow laughed heartily, finally losing the battle to hold back the laugh she was holding in.

"Sorry, Harry. Must be more tired than I thought," Ray apologized. He then clapped his hands together, rubbing them. "Alright," he said. "Let's cook breakfast!" Harry jumped down and gave his brother a quick salute while Sparrow nodded and placed a frying pan on the stove and turned it on.

They made pancakes, omelets, toast, bacon, hash-browns and egg-in-the-nest. Ray was drinking coffee, half-milk-half-cream with a spoonful of sugar. Sparrow drank Oolong Tea, a gift from Yun Jiao when they visited her and Bak Mei a few months ago. Harry had orange juice. They ate in a comfortable silence.

And then a clicking noise rang out. Ray pulled a tiny box made of polished black wood from one of the pockets of his robe; on the top of the box was an inscription etched into it and painted red, 'TOP SECRET: Permitted to Raymond Prospero Carcnacki's, ICW Spec. Investigator, Eyes Only'. He pulled of the top and poured the contents into his hand; a rounded object in the shape of an egg wrapped in paper strips. Ray pull open one of the strips, revealing a hole. From the box, he took a pen like instrument with a hook or a scoop at the end of it. He pushed the scoop/hook-like end in to the "egg" and pulled out a rolled up and folded piece of parchment; a letter.

Ray unfurled the parchment and read the message within. It was encrypted, but Ray decoded it as soon as he read the first letter. It read, 'Operation: Muckraker was greenlighted by ICW oversight committee last night. Supreme Mugwump Dumbledore was unsurprisingly absent. That man is on thin ice with a lot of people here in Strasbourg, Ray. The only reason Albus got the position was because of his victory over Grindewald and that was because the man surrendered. We will begin the vetting process for reliable assets; that alone should take two years. We're interested in Hogwarts students graduating in '92 or '93 planning on getting entry level positions into the British Ministry of Magic; someone with lofty ambitions the smarts to pull them off. My sources tell me a certain professor has recently… "Passed on," one would say, and named you his replacement; you'll be getting a letter soon. Keep an eye out for worthwhile assets and send reports, please. The operation's budget is 5 million Galleons. While acceptable, we should speak to Director Ragnok at Gringotts about funding us a further 2.5 million. An impossible task, I know, but we have to try, seeing as borrowing Orichalchem would be too risky, not to mention inconspicuous. Send a reply ASAP.

Your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated,

Serpico

Dep. Director of the Dept. of Mysteries, Intelligence Division

At the Ministry of Magic, London'

"Who is it from, Ray?" Sparrow asked curiously. Harry nodded, just as curious; wanting to know more about it.

"Serpico," Ray answered her as he finished reading. At that, Sparrow raised an eyebrow in, intrigued.

"Oh? And what does he want?" Ray looked at her with a bit of exasperation.

"You know I can't talk about it," Ray replied as he wrote his reply. "The man is the Deputy Director of the British Dept. of Mysteries' Intelligence Division. You know how secretive he is; he encrypts his messages, anyway."

Sparrow sighed, defeated. "Alright, I'm sorry. It's just you get so quiet and business-like whenever he sends you something and it makes me worry." Harry nodded in agreement. He remembered catching a glimpse of the man named Serpico a year ago, when Ray was on a case in Barcelona, Spain. They were talking about things Harry couldn't understand; bribery, embezzlement or something he really had no idea about. When the boy tried to get closer, he was caught by the mysterious director from behind. Serpico apologized, but Harry learned to keep himself on guard when the man was around; not to say he wasn't a nice guy or anything, just someone you didn't enjoy having as an enemy.

Ray's mouth turned up into a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it," he said "I'll talk to him about giving you clearance in my reply. I am helping him out a lot. It helps a lot that he recruited one of my friends." Sparrow's eyes widened in surprise as Ray just said he could get her clearance without so much of a fuss.

"Ray, you don't need to do that for me," Sparrow said, shocked. Ray smile went from reassuring to somewhat challenging.

"Why not?" he asked. "You have every right to know. You are officially my partner, you know that right?" Sparrow realized she was. The ICW gave her a badge and everything after Ray's first case.

"What about me?" Ray and Sparrow looked to Harry, who looked a little annoyed about being ignored. It was something he hated, from the time with the Dursleys. Ray smiled messed up his younger brother's hair.

"Sorry bro, you aren't old enough. You haven't even started school," Ray said with a laugh hidden in his voice. Harry dipped his head down in defeat; you could almost hear the silent 'awww, maaannn!' he was emanating from his nearly eleven-year-old frame.

Ray was about to point out the bright sides, but he was interrupted by clacking noise at the window. The three of them turned to see a Great-Horned Owl with letters in his beak, knocking one of its talons on the window, as if to request entry. Ray snapped his fingers, igniting a flame on his left index finger. He held Serpico's message over the flame and the parchment quickly burned to ashes. He turned to Harry first.

"Harry, get the owl treats, please," Ray instructed the boy to his left then turned to his girlfriend to his right. "Sparrow, get the window."

Harry gave Ray an 'OK' and got out of his chair and walked over to the pantry and pulled out the requested owl treats. Ray cleared some space in the middle and manipulated the wood in the table to grow a branch there to act as a perch for their new arrival. Sparrow moved herself to the window, making way for the owl as she gave it passage. The owl flew inside, making a pass over its preferred landing zone, turning around and landing as Harry put down a bowl of owl treats and another full of water before it. The owl leaned down to take a treat, but was stopped by Ray's hand. It looked up at the offender as if to say "What? I'm here, what more do you want?"

"Do you know where this place is?" Ray had to ask; from what he could tell, there's no trace of his home on any map. There's a chance that it literally does not exist. If he can't find it anywhere, how do the owls? The Great Horned Owl lifted its right wing to its beak and made a motion that looked like zipping it closed. Ray attempted to continue his interrogation, but Harry punched him in the arm. It didn't hurt, thanks to his tutelage under Guru Damayanti in India, but the message was clear.

"Fine," Ray said, defeated again; he really couldn't win. "But next time, you and your feathery friends will tell me what I want to know; mark my words! Now give us our mail."

The owl dropped the three letters it held in its beak on the table and Ray lifted his hand out of the way, giving the hungry courier free reign to glorious nourishment. Ray looked at the address on to letter.

Raymond Carnacki

?

?

'The day I die is the day I figure out my own address, I swear to God,' Ray thought as he shook his head. He turned the envelope over to reveal a wax seal. It was a shield with a lion, a snake, a raven and a badger surrounding the letter H. Looking over at Harry and Sparrow's letters, they came from the same place; Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and History. Ray raised an eyebrow at that.

"Huh; speak of the Devil and he will appear," he remarked. Harry turned to him with a confused look on his face.

"What does that mean?" Ray waved a hand at him.

"Don't worry about it, boyo." Ray could understand Harry's letter; it told him the he was going to the school for the next seven years. Harry's excitement was evidence of that as he shouted 'WHOO-HOO!' did a victory dance. Sparrow and Ray congratulated him; Sparrow more happy than Ray. But Ray told her of the bad blood him and the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, or Brian, as Ray loves to call him, share.

Sparrow then opened her letter. She barely got half-way before she squealed loudly; Ray and Harry had to cover their ears. Afterwards, Ray picked at his ears, as if to try and stop the ringing; Harry shook his head. Ray looked at her, exasperated.

"Warning, next time! Please," Ray begged her. Sparrow had a real set of lungs when she got excited. His girlfriend blushed in embarrassment, and emitted a quick and quiet 'sorry!' Ray continued, bemused. "What's up? What did your Letter say?"

"Poppy Pomfrey accepted my request for apprenticeship," Sparrow exclaimed excitedly, jumping up and down like a schoolgirl. Ray's eyes widened behind his shades and his already proud grin grew into an equally excited smile as he began to laugh and engulf his girlfriend in a bear hug, spinning her around. Madam Pomfrey was Sparrow's role model since she was a little girl, the month before her mother died.

[xXx]

Before she was the Hogwarts' matron, Poppy was the chief Medi-witch at St. Mungo's Hospital. During Grindewald's Invasion of Europe, she personally led a contingent of medics into warzones, fighting back attackers and healing the wounded right there in the line of fire. Pomfrey was awarded the Order of Merlin, 1st Class for her service during the war. Afterwards, she taught many others how to heal. Her favorite student had to be Chumani Ravenfeathers, Cole Roundtree's future wife and Sparrow's mother. Poppy was intrigued by Chumani's methodology. Instead of potions and spells, Chumani was taught to use creams, balms and stews made from natural herbs; there was no need for a spell if nature could provide a treatment just as good, or even better.

The two of them became great friends and colleagues, even after Chumani returned to America and Poppy retired to Hogwarts. They sent letters constantly. Poppy even traveled to Utah to visit her pupil as Chumani laid on her death bed surrounded by her husband, Cole, her daughter, Sparrow, age 13, and her two sons, Ohanzee, age 6, and Yahto, age 2. Poppy stayed with Chumani and her family until she died on the 28th of January, 1984. She stayed for the funeral, as well.

Years later, Poppy was surprised when Chumani's daughter contacted her about an apprenticeship. She accepted Sparrow's request hands down and the rest is history.

[xXx]

Ray and Sparrow were still hugging. Harry squeezed between them and gave Sparrow a hug, too. Finally the let go; Sparrow had a question she had been holding in:

"So, what about your letter," Sparrow finally asked Ray. 'Dammit!' Ray shouted inwardly. He would of face-palmed himself, but then it would give away the fact that he was holding back the contents of his letter. He really couldn't win today.

"I haven't opened it yet," Ray admitted, foiled again. Sparrow gave him a look of exasperation; the kind of look that said 'really?' Harry laughed at the couple; it was always funny when their conversations took this turn. Ray turned to Harry and gave him a look that said 'watch it, you; this is you in ten years.' Sparrow opted to speak.

"Well c'mon then," she ordered her boyfriend. "Open it. Harry and I told you what was in our letters. Now it's your turn."

Ray sighed the broke the envelope's seal. He pulled the letter out, unfolded it and began to read. He read and read some more. For a minute, Ray kept silent and his face uniform straight; he wasn't going to give away anything until he was good and ready.

Finally, Ray's mouth pulled into a grin; a grin that usually associated him with mischief and chaos. He began to snicker. That snicker grew into a chuckle. And that chuckle transformed into an uncontrollable belly laugh.

"What does it say," Sparrow asked cautiously. Ray's hysteria began to scare her. Still laughing, he gave the letter to his girlfriend. Ray dropped down into his seat, laughing into his hands. She read it and then she began to laugh as well. Now Harry was curious, too.

"What does it say," asked Harry. He really wanted to know. He hated to be left out of the loop; a quirk he got from living with Ray. Ray's laughter finally died down as he looked at his young charge, wide smile plastered onto his face.

"That…" Ray began, "is a surprise! Sorry, little Bro." Harry gave ray a look of shock; his expression said 'WHAT?' Then he got an idea. Harry turned to Sparrow and gave her puppy dog eyes. She flashed a look of shock and tried to resist. After a long battle, she let out a strangled cry.

"I'm sorry, Harry, but I can't!" She exclaimed. "It's too good to spoil! But trust me, you'll love it!"

Harry turned sullen and the 'awww maaannn!' aura came back. Harry just couldn't win either, it appeared. Ray was all smiles.

"Alrighty-then! I gotta go write some messages. One going to Amelia," Ray said happily and turned to Harry. "With your birthday coming up next week, I'm going to see if we can take Susan with us when we go shopping for your school supplies."

At that, Harry's cheered up considerably. It's been awhile since he seen his best friend. Ray chuckled at his reaction.

"I knew you'd like the sound of that, Short-Round," Ray remarked as he lightly slapped Harry on the shoulder, a smirk adorning his face. Sparrow approached Ray from behind and leaned closer to his ear.

"You know," Sparrow began, whispering, "With all of this good news today maybe we could, oh I don't know, celebrate." Ray's eyebrows jumped as he turned around to see Sparrow's lustful smile.

"Harry," Ray addressed the boy, which Harry answered with a 'yeah?' "Do me a favor and go watch some TV, ok? Don't look for us unless of fire or a similar emergency."

Harry was confused but he shrugged and went off the TV room to watch a DVD. How Ray got a Television to work in a magical area is a secret to only be shared between him and Arthur Weasley, his best friend's dad.

Sparrow pulled Ray by the hand up to their bedroom, smiles plastered on both their faces. When they made to their destination, Ray threw Sparrow on to the bed. Ray jumped on after her and the couple shared an intense kiss and began to remove each other's clothes

There was only one thought on Ray's mind: 'WINNING!'

[xXx]

Woah! Hey what, where did this come from? Oh, I know; I just became the Flash! SHAZAM! Look at me, I'm back like 8-Track! This chapter presented to family dynamic between Harry, Ray, and Sparrow. I felt it needed a little humor. Unfortunately, I don't know how to write Harry. Christ, I need a Beta. Help me out here, guys! Read and review! Don't forget to vote if you're for or against giving Ray his own spin-off story!

NINJA VANISH! I'M GONE LIKE MEGATRON!