Harry Potter - Superhero
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter works belong to J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 04: The hero gains notoriety
Officer Montgomery stared at his 6-year-old daughter who was sleeping peacefully in her bed. He loved her dearly and wished she would always be this innocent. But he knew sooner or later, she would see the world in all its beauty and ugliness. He just wished he would still be there for her when that happened. He just put her to bed after reading her a story. It was a story of a young hero who saved many lives just the other day and captured the interest of the nation, if not the entire world.
He saw with his own eyes as an young boy, who couldn't be more than 10 years old, save 42 people, many of whom would have died in that fire if not for him. And then he just disappeared. Unfortunately or as he'd like to think fortunately, the TV or the still cameras couldn't catch him. All they got was an over exposed smudge where the boy should have been. This though only added to the mystery and increased the interest the world had on the young hero. Through the many eye accounts the people at that incident were able to describe the boy to the TV cameras. He himself was asked what he saw as he was the only one close enough to place a hand on the boy's shoulder and ask him a question. He answered that he couldn't see the boy's face clearly as a cap was covering it mostly and he looked like any ordinary Caucasian boy. That of course was far from the truth. He also saw a few black hair licks sticking out of the boy's cap and then the boy's eyes and they were glowing a gentle white.
He never told any of his friends or family, but he knew of a world hidden in plain sight. It was a world made of powerful people who called themselves Wizards and Witches. His father told him many stories of this world while he was growing up and when he was 11-years-old took him to see the magical alley, whose name he couldn't remember. It was a wonderful experience for the young boy, that was, until he saw the ugly side of that world. Of hate and bigotry for everyone else than those who were of magic or magical blood. He hated these wizards and witches. He didn't hate them for their magical powers, but for being so short sighted, selfish and for their superiority complex. He was not a hateful man. He knew realistically there would be wizards and witches who were not hateful, but he only met those who showed hate or at best indifference.
He followed his dad and became an officer of the law. To protect and defend those who couldn't fight for themselves. He served for over 8 years in the department and he hoped in the process saved a few lives and helped make the streets safer. But when he realized that it was a young boy, who could only be a wizard, who risked his life to save all those people, he felt ashamed for thinking the worst of that world. Maybe he just didn't see the good in that world and assumed the worst. He prayed wherever that boy was he was safe. He wished that one day he could meet the young hero and thank him for what he did. Not just for saving those people, but for also giving him hope that the hidden world was not all bad. That he doesn't need to be afraid of sending his only daughter, who performed what his father called accidental magic, to that world when the time comes.
Arthur Weasley was a mild man with a good sense of humor. He loved his 7 children and his wife. He was also crazy for everything muggle. He was simply fascinated by that world and wished to learn as much as he could. So he was ecstatic when he was transferred from the Accidental magic reversal squad to the Misuse of artifacts office. He only had Lumberton, a fellow a dozen years younger to him to assist with the office. What very few people knew was, this office not only dealt with finding and destroying cursed muggle objects, but also was responsible for finding out any mentions of strange occurrences in the muggle world. Then the Obliviators would be notified and the memories of those people wiped. Most of the time it was pretty slow in the office and give Arthur all the time he needed to tinker with new muggle stuff.
So he was surprised when Lumberton rushed into the office looking pale. He was carrying the Muggle newspapers in his arm and sweating from probably his run up to the office. "What's got into you, Lumberton?"
The thin fellow with acne-covered face just threw the papers on Arthur's desk. "Just…" he huffed as he tried to catch his breath, "Just read the papers, Arthur."
The redheaded man raised an eyebrow and picked up The Times to see what rattled his fellow worker. "Oh Merlin! This is not good. How could this happen? What happened to the detectors? Why didn't anyone know that magic was being performed?"
He took the paper and ran out of the door toward the DMLE. He charged into the law enforcement department and paused at a desk, where a grumpy looking wizard dressed in the traditional Auror's uniform was doing paperwork. "I need to see Amelia, urgently."
The wizard looked up to give that demanding fellow an earful, when he faltered. Arthur Weasley was the head of a department, even if it was a small one. He gave him a quick nod. He got from his desk, knocked on a door and entered. Arthur fidgeted with the paper as he browsed through the contents quickly.
"You can go in, Mr. Weasley." Said the assistant.
Amelia was surprised to see Arthur pale faced. Not much rattled that man and that fact alone concerned her. He gave her the paper. "It's all over the paper, Amelia. I don't think we have enough people to obliviate the whole country. I'm sure the news passed across the pond by now."
The head of the DMLE read the paper in silence. "It says a 10-year-old boy saved all these people from a burning people. Some of them described exactly what Apparition feels like for a first-timer." She screwed up her face in thought. "It must be an adult under a glamour. Does explain why the cameras didn't work."
"But why didn't we detect the magic?" Argued Arthur.
Amelia Bones tapped her fingers as she thought about the answer. "We can't track apparition. But we should have picked up any wand magic that was done and whoever it was clearly did at least the notice-me-not and shield spells."
After a couple of minutes of thought she looked up at Arthur. "Thanks for bringing this to my notice, Arthur. I will assign Auror Schaklebolt to investigate further. Please work with and help him on the muggle side."
Arthur nodded. "Of course Amelia." He hesitated wanting to say something.
Amelia smiled at him. "What is it Arthur? We are colleagues here."
Arthur smiled back and gave her a nod. "Who ever it was saved a lot of lives…"
Amelia nodded back in acceptance. "True and that will be considered in the punishment. This is not a case of a few muggles knowing about us, Arthur, but the whole country knows that there's at least one person who with magic out there. How long before they know about our entire world?"
Arthur Weasley sighed. "I know, I know and if it was for any other reason other than saving those people I would agree with you readily… but…" he left it unsaid.
Prime Minister John Major was in a happy mood. A disaster was averted and many people were saved by an unlikely hero. He of course knew of the wizarding world as he was introduced to it on the second day of his term by the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. He chuckled imagining how he might have looked. True, he was very skeptical even after a painting talked to him and a man stepped out of a fire that burned green. It took some convincing including the minister performing some simple tricks with his, err… wand.
Soon he forgot about them, as he got involved with running the rest of the country. So he was surprised when he was notified by his Secretary of the incredible incident. This kind of action needs to be appreciated and the person honored.
He stood in front of the talking painting and coughed a couple of times. "Err… excuse me, but can I talk to the Minister of Magic? It's rather important." The man with a silver wig and a frog like face didn't respond for a few seconds. Then, he gave the PM a quick nod and walked out of the painting. "Amazing," he muttered to himself.
It was 15 minutes later that the Minister of Magic, a short pudgy man with a bowler hat stepped through the fire with a smile. "Ahh, Prime Minister, I was just notified of your request. What can I do for you?"
The PM gave him a big smile and shook his hand. "Thanks for seeing me on such short notice, Minister. It was brought to my attention that someone with amazing powers saved a lot of people yesterday. I wanted to thank that… wizard myself. Do you know who that was?"
Fudge felt lost. He didn't know what the PM was talking about. "I say dear chap, what are you talking about?"
The PM then showed the paper to fudge, who quickly lost the color he had on his face. "He's a hero minister. You didn't tell me children that young could perform such amazing feats?" He patted the minister on the shoulder. "I envy you minister. Any society that can inspire such bravery in someone so young, must be a great society to govern."
Seeing the minister nod, the PM chuckled in his mind. Oh he could play this man so easily. "Wouldn't you say this hero must be rewarded? How about hundred thousand pounds? What's that in you currency then?"
"Twenty thousand galleons," answered Fudge absently. He was lost in his thoughts, how could this have happened?
"Excellent. So you find out who this boy is and we can have a private ceremony in this office."
Fudge nodded again, and stepped into fireplaces face burning with anger. He stepped into his office and hollered to his assistant. "Get me Amelia Bones."
Harry Potter was slumped in his chair. Hi eyes were dull and he looked grumpy. He was waiting for the bell to ring so that he could escape the confinements of the class and the children within. Everywhere he went all everyone talked about was the super boy. Harry snorted slightly and cringed when the teacher gave him a stern look.
Even the Dursley's who hated anything abnormal talked about him, even if it was criticize that he was only getting in the way of proper officials who could have done a better job. Harry agreed. Maybe if there was a better super hero, he could have saved that man's life.
He rubbed his eyes to clear the slight ache in them. After he got back home and cried his heart out, he slept. When he woke up there was a burning sensation in his eyes. He forgot to pull back the power from his eyes before he slept and they were aching with strain. They got better over the last couple of days, but there was still that tiny itching ache. He won't be pushing his power into them anytime soon.
When the bell rang, he was one of the first to step out of the class and walk outside. He spotted Jess waiting with a scowl on her face. He hadn't seen her since that night couple of days ago. He couldn't show his face to her. He didn't want to see that disappointed look.
As Harry stood before her, Jess tapped her foot, waiting. "So… got anything to say Harry?"
Harry stood there silent, sulking at his feet. Jess sighed and put a hand across his shoulder. "How are you, Harry? Mike and I were so worried. You didn't call or come to the home and we knew it was you when we heard the news."
Harry still didn't answer. "Come on, let's go for a walk. The doctor says I need to get some exercise and god know Mike's as lazy as they come."
They silently walked to the nearby park. "So what happened Harry?" asked Jess.
Harry couldn't stop himself anymore and told her everything. "He died in my hands Jess. I wish I could have saved him. I am a bad superhero."
Jess ruffled his hair. "Oh Harry… Don't say that. You saved so may lives that day. They would have all died if it wasn't for you. If anyone deserves to be called a hero, it's you."
"But, he…"
"Yes, that man died. But it wasn't your fault. You did all you could and no one could have asked for more. Even with all your powers, you simply can't save everyone Harry." She took out a paper she was carrying and showed him the front-page. It had photos of all 42 people Harry saved and beside the photos; they thanked the boy for saving them in their own words. Harry focused on the wife who lost her husband, and she still thanked him for saving her and her son Thomas.
"I still wished I saved him."
"There is nothing wrong with that. But just remember Harry, at the end you are still a nine year old and you cannot save the world."
"Yet," murmured Harry softly.
"What was that?" asked an amused Jess.
"Nothing." Harry refused to rise to the bait.
Jess laughed. "You know, we dropped by your relative's house on Sunday. I asked your aunt if I could talk to you about a change in your help schedule. She went up to call you and then came back down saying she needed to cook lunch. I knew you were behind a forget-me and left not wanting to cause a scene with your aunt."
Harry scowled remembering that spell. "There's something wrong with forget-me. After those people saw me, it wouldn't work on them anymore."
"We'll figure it out. Now, why don't we walk to the library? Mike was supposed to pick me up 10 minutes ago and you can teleport to the house."
That night after having dinner, the family of three sat down.
"So, superboy, eh?" asked Mike asked with an amused smiled.
Harry scowled at him. "I hate that name."
Mike laughed again and Jess pinched his arm. "Ow! Ok ok… So why didn't the forget-me work?"
Harry shrugged. "I know it was very weak when I was trying to save that man. But even when I increased the power on it, that officer just shook his head and continued looking at me. So did the rest. I don't know what went wrong. It always worked before."
Mike and Jess thought about it for a while. "Well, lets see if we can find out how forget-me exactly works. We know you are not turning invisible. What do you ask your energy ball, Harry?"
Harry frowned in thought. "Make anyone looking for me forget-me for that moment."
Jess nodded. "So the power doesn't effect you, but effects the people around you. The few times you tried it on me, I always kept thinking of something else to do at that moment."
"So it somehow affects our minds." Pitched in Mike. "Makes sense. It pushes finding you to the back of a person's mind and makes it unimportant."
Harry thought about it and nodded slowly. "Okay, I got it. So… so the reason it didn't work was that these people wanted to find me so badly that it became very important to them."
Jess smiled at him with pride. "Always knew you were a smart boy. Yes, the power wasn't enough to make them forget something they considered so important."
Harry gave her a smile. "So next time I must try and become invisible," he said with conviction.
The wife and husband glanced at each other. Mike sighed and looked at the young boy affectionately. "You really are bent on becoming a superhero aren't you?"
Harry gave him a serious nod and Mike laughed. "Well, I can't really ask you to stop without being hypocritical seeing as I was one of the persons you saved. So the next best thing to do would be to make sure you can survive what lies ahead of you. I don't want you to go after a mugger only to know you can't protect yourself from bullets."
Over the next few weeks Mike, Jess and Harry made a list of all the skills Harry would need in his hero career. They divided the list into five parts. Offensive skills. Defensive skills. Concealment skills. Transportation skills. And finally Support.
"Why support?"
"Because Harry, as Jess said, however powerful you are, you can't save the world by yourself. You need help, even if it was someone to give you ideas. You have transportation pretty much nailed down. As for concealment, the best thing for you to work on is becoming invisible for those times forget-me wouldn't work," Mike said as he wrote it down in the list.
"The only defensive skill you have is your power shield. But it's not infallible. Like with the fire incident, we know it will fail if you use too much of your power. So we need something that's not linked to your power and that can defend you."
"What? Like a real shield?" asked Harry.
"Exactly," agreed Mike. That's one thing he liked about Mike and Jess. They gave him ideas on how to improve, but let the how up to him. And then when he was done, they would give him critical feedback on how to further improve it.
And so Harry started working on a physical shield. He didn't like the idea of covering himself completely with metal like Iron Man. It simply didn't feel right to him. He preferred a hand shield. And so he went to work designing it on paper, not knowing it would be first of many products, which would revolutionize the world.
For the material, he wanted something beautiful, powerful and strong, like the legendary metal Mithril from Lord of the Rings. It wasn't until the end of June that he made a breakthrough.
The whole superboy issue died down to the back pages with no more sightings of Harry. The wizarding world had no clue who he was and they tried to subtly make the "news muggles" forget about the incident. Jess gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on June 25th 1990, who they named James after Harry's father. Harry was literally jumping with joy. He couldn't wait to go and see him after school. He was a big brother and he's going to spoil his little brother.
But when he went to see the baby for the first time, he was surprised by what his sensory field told him. For many months now, he could feel the people around him and for a lack of a better word also feel their energies. He observed that children had more energy than adults and the older they got the less energy they had.
So he was not surprised to sense more energy from little James than he did from the adults around him. But what surprised him was that Little James also had that special feel only he ever felt within him. It was like a secondary energy on top of the primary energy. Harry's were very closely linked with each other, but not completely merged. So Harry could still feel the difference. When Harry wondered about how his own energy felt and looked, he remembered something he forgot for many months now. He wanted to kick himself for forgetting that he could push power into his eyes.
And so as the adults fussed over the just born child, Harry asked his energy ball to slowly push the power into his eyes. And his energy ball as always obeyed and pushed it slowly. And when it reached a point where Harry could see the colors around him without tuning out the real world completely, Harry asked it to stop.
Harry was ecstatic. He was right, little James indeed had an energy ball just like him. It was small, but Harry knew it would only get bigger as little James got older. Because, unlike the primary energy, the secondary energy is getting stronger with time. He waited patiently until the doctor and the nurse left them.
"What do you think, Harry? Like your little brother?" asked Mike as Jess cooed to the just born.
Harry jumped up down in joy. "He has the power too, this is so cool…" rushed out Harry.
Mike and Jess froze. "What do you mean he has the power?"
Harry pointed to his eyes, which if someone observed closely were twinkling a little. "I could push my power into my eyes… I did that the first time when I lost my glasses during the fire. But I forgot about it."
"What does that have to do with James having power?" whispered Mike.
"You see, I could sense people around me for a while now. It's like I could feel their energies. But they were all different to mine. It was like I had a second energy, which was very closely linked with my first energy, but still, you know, different."
Mike and Jess nodded slowly. "I felt the same with James. His second energy is not that closely linked and its small. But I bet when he gets older it will be just like mine," said Harry with a laugh.
"Are… are you sure?" asked Jess with shocked wonder. Never in a million years did she think her baby would have the same wonderful powers like Harry.
Harry nodded brightly. "Yep. When I pushed power into my eyes, I could see the world in colors. I think they are energies. Even the air has energy, though it's all over the place. Same with ground, trees, animals and humans. I could see the energies in you and Mike. And I can also see the dual energies in James. This is so cool."
He leaned back and floated in the air in happy exhaustion.
"Harry," hissed Mike.
Harry looked up confused. "Oh I put up a forget-me on the door."
The adults nodded. Jess glanced at Mike with a smile. "We have two special boys, Mike."
Mike sighed in mock tiredness. "And I can already feel the white hair they will give me."
After that day Harry took every chance he got to look at the energies around him. It was simply brilliant. He was also confused to see a red bubble like shield that surrounded #4. He channeled power into his hands and reached for the red bubble, asking his energy ball to analyze it.
It took a while, as this was a first experience for Harry and his energy ball with something like this. What Harry understood was that the intention of that bubble was to protect the house from all who meant them harm and it was very powerful. Harry was shocked at first and wondered who put it there? Did he put it by accident? He simply didn't know. But he also got a wonderful idea and he asked his energy ball to understand everything about the red bubble shield.
But now that he got an idea as to what the colors around him were, he wondered if he could use these colors to make the metal, because his own power wasn't enough to make a metal like Mithril. He tried many times unsuccessfully. A few times he thought it worked, but at the end whatever he created turned to dust and then into nothing. A couple of times it lead to complete exhaustion, which he was not a big fan off as it felt like he was trampled by a Hippo.
So one night when everyone slept, he crept out with a forget-me and went looking for a source of power he could try and take the energy from. He didn't want to take the energy from the red bubble as it was meant for protection. And trying to take energy from the air wasn't such a huge success. He could take some but it was really small. It was really spread out all over the place.
He ported to the park, as that was the closest place where he could access earth directly in large quantities. If the ground was covered with road or cement, then he had trouble seeing the power unless his eyes were at a full blast with the energy, and he guessed it would be difficult to get the energy lying far below.
Once he reached the park, he flew up into the air and looked around for the best concentration of energy. He could see that it was very uneven and areas with the most energy were almost always covered with trees. Harry didn't want to take the energy from the trees. They were living creatures weren't they?
So every night he flew around the area trying to find the best source of energy, which he could use without having to kill something. It wasn't until September of that year that he found what he was looking for. His fifth and final year of primary school just got started and he was bored. Over the holidays, since Jess and Mike had the baby and couldn't take him on a holiday like last year, he finished the first half of the year's course work with Jess tutoring him, when needed.
Harry sat at the back of the classroom with a forget-me on him and looked out the window at the energies floating around. He was asking his energy ball on what they could do to find the right place. Then he felt as if the energy ball was excited about something and he felt it release a tiny tendril of energy from his hand into the air, where the energy hung around. That was when Harry saw it. The energy from the air started swarming around the tendril and he felt a pull on it.
It was as if the air energy was asking him to follow it. He asked his energy ball what was going on and he got an answer back in emotions and pictures like he always did, saying his energy ball asked the energy in the air for the answer.
Harry sat up shocked. Of course, if his own energy, which was only 10 years old can communicate back with him, the energy in the air and the ground can too. After all they are like billions of years old, aren't they!
That night Harry followed the pull from the air energy and flew to where it was leading him. He really didn't have a sense of direction as to where he was going. He crossed London and was still flying. After all these months he could stay up in the air for a couple of hours with all his skills up. So he flew for close to 90 minutes before he felt the pull get stronger.
A few minutes later he could see in the distance a brilliant intersection of energies in the ground. The area where all these lines intersected was shining like a sun. As he came to stop, he immediately recognized the area. It was Stonehenge.
Harry laughed as he flew a few feet over the lines. He could feel their energies as his own energy ball interacted with them.
He landed right at the intersection and sat down. He laughed again as the energies felt like they were tickling him. The hair on his body was standing on its end.
Harry put both his hands in the ground and allowed his energy ball to communicate with the energy intersection. When his energy ball communicated with the energy intersection, he got back what felt like joy and… and curiosity. So he sent it back memories of himself, his life, his energy ball, his family, his power and his desire to be a superhero.
Then he sent out what he wanted to create and why he wanted it. Harry understood a long time back, that if he wanted something done with his energy, he needed to not only tell it what he wanted but why he wanted it as the underlying need identifies his intentions and feelings and they are very important.
It took a few minutes, but suddenly energy started erupting from the ground. Harry lifted his hands a few inches from the ground and the energy arched like lightning. His own power started mixing with the external energy and it was a sight to behold. All he could do was stare at the brilliant bolts of lightning as they slowly separated Harry's hands by a couple of feet. Then energy started to pool between his hands.
If anyone were to notice that incident they would say it was Zeus himself, who came back to earth with his lightning.
The energy pooled for more than 2 minutes before it subsided back into the ground, leaving Harry to hold what looked like a large white blob of glowing metal ore shining with a soft inner light. Harry was surprised by how light it was. An ore of that size should weigh at least a few hundred kilograms.
He was also surprised to feel his energy was back up. He thought he would have to rest before he flew back again. But it seems the ground energy gave his energy ball some of its own energy. Harry smiled and Whooped with joy. He kneeled and sent out his the thanks to the ground for helping him. He got a warm welcoming feeling back from it and he shivered in joy.
He concentrated on the metal, wanting to make it invisible. And he was again surprised for… he didn't know how many times this night, to see it become invisible much easier than any object he ever made invisible, including himself. He shrugged guessing one of the properties of this metal would be for it to be very conductive of his sentient energy.
It was Christmas of that year when Harry was set to unveil his masterpiece. He didn't get to spend much time with James until now, as he was so little and couldn't even crawl. He would often carry him around in the house and James always liked Harry.
But now, in the last couple of weeks he started crawling a little and Harry enjoyed showing him some of his powers like making his toys fly and changing the colors on them. He couldn't wait to show James some of the more exciting stuff they can do with their powers. Jess asked Harry to promise not to do anything in regards to the power and James, until he was much older and Harry agreed.
After having a good Christmas dinner, Mike, Jess, Harry started opening the presents as James played around with the bright gift paper, which changed colors. Unlike other families, Harry couldn't come in the morning especially on Christmas day, as his aunt would need his help. So they made it a habit of opening the gifts the preceding night.
Harry got a certificate for a year worth of eye contacts from Jess. He knew how costly they were and also how useful they could be in the future. Even though when he pushed power into his eyes, he could see like a hawk, after a few hours, it always gave him a headache. He hugged Jess and thanked her. From Mike he got a large envelope. When he opened it, Harry was mesmerized with what he saw. It was a drawing of a boy, his size, in a hero costume.
"Thought you might like it, superboy. You should change the design and make it your own. And once you are happy, I will help you make the costume."
After a moment of staring at it, Harry whispered. "Every superhero needs a costume."
Mike nodded. "That they do."
Harry hugged Mike hard and laughed. "This is great Mike, thanks."
Then he jumped back and grinned at them. "What?" asked Jess. "I know that smile of yours. What did you do now?"
"Wait, wait… first your gifts."
He took out two small boxes and one large box from his bag. He gave the two small boxes to the adults. Jess opened her box to see a beautiful otherworldly ring. She stared at it shocked. "What is this, Harry?" she asked in a whisper.
"It's a ring I designed out of Mithril. It has a permanent and a very powerful shield charm on it and will always protect you as long as you wear it," he said before opening the large box. "I got a necklace for James as well. Thought he wasn't old enough to wear a ring."
The adults stared at the gifts, lost for words. "This is the best gift you could have given us, Harry. Thanks," said Mike, before he ruffled Harry's hair. Jess gave him a silent and heartfelt hug with tears running down from her eyes.
James scowled. "Hang on… Did you say Mithril?"
Harry laughed. "Caught on did you?" He then explained his adventure at the Stonehenge. "We should go there on a trip this summer. You should see it, there so much power there, its breath taking."
The adults nodded. They gave up trying to stop Harry from taking these nightly trips. He did promise them that he wouldn't go trying to be a hero unless it was life and death, until he was ready and he kept that promise. The only time he was involved in a dangerous situation since the fire was when he stopped a mugger from attacking a family of three, and that to because he was flying close by when he heard the screams.
"So what else do you got?" asked Mike, "You said gifts first? And I can see you are clearly excited about something…"
Harry gave them a broad smile and lifted his hand. "Lo and behold, I give you Thor."
AN: Thanks for the reviews guys. I know many wanted to see how the world will react to Harry and i delved on it a little. But anything beyond that doesn't support my story line. Harry will have quite a large exposure in the normal world... just wait and see. Most of your questions on how Harry will react to violence, the DE's and Voldemort will be answered in the next few chapters. As for those wondering if Harry will be a super power in the magical world... he is different but can he defeat Voldemort now? No. But the q will be answered in greater detail in later chapters. Until next time.