Before Hogwarts
More Lessons for the Dursleys
Harry woke up around 2pm, got up and washed his face, and put his reading material back in his bookcase above the desk and went downstairs to see what he could find to do. Aunt Petunia was nervous when she saw Harry come down the stairs and into her clean kitchen. Harry just got a glass of water and then asked if there was anything she needed for him to do to help her. This was a surprise for Petunia, but she just told him go outside but not to do anything freakish or call attention to himself.
Harry decided to just walk around the neighborhood and see if anything was going on differently than usual. As he walked past one house he saw several cats lying under some bushes and they seemed to be watching him closely. This wasn't that unusual since he knew Mrs. Figg was a cat lover and he could remember his aunt leaving him with her on occasion. Her house just smelled of cats, cookies, and litter boxes. Harry made his way back around to the park and saw a few smaller kids playing on the swings and slides; most of them were some he had seen before.
Harry saw a small boy fall out of his swing and went over to see if the boy was hurt. Harry helped the young boy to get up and asked where his mother was and offered to take the boy to her. About that time a woman came running up and asked the boy if he was hurt the boy just cried. The woman thanked Harry for trying to help and offered Harry an ice cream cone for his help. Harry declined and said thanks for the offer, he just didn't like to see people hurt.
Nothing new here, so Harry headed towards the wooded area to climb some more trees as Rick had suggested. While in the woods Harry found where someone had lost a pocket knife and picked it up and placed it in his pocket. Harry had just gotten up in a tree when he saw Dudley and his gang come into the park again, Harry decided to stay out of sight. The group of boys didn't stay around long, too many adults around who might report their bullying.
When Harry got home it was just in time for supper, if you could call a dried out piece of burned pork chop, a glass of water, and a piece of bread supper. Harry went upstairs to wash his hands and to get his potion before he sat down. Vernon just stared at him with a frown on his face. Just as he sat down the food and his plate disappeared and another tray appeared with a thick slab of roasted pork, mashed potatoes, corn, green peas, two wheat rolls, a glass of milk, and some pudding. Vernon's blood pressure went right up again seeing this "freakishness" at his table. Dudley came in and started to complain that Harry had more to eat than he did. All Dudley had was four pork chops, a big pile of mashed potatoes, and a glass of milk.
About that time an envelope appeared in front of Vernon; when he opened it, nervously, he found a bill for 40 to cover the food that Harry had eaten that day and a note saying the amount would be deducted from the money paid for Harry's care. Then to make matters worse, Petunia handed him an envelope with a return address in the States. When Vernon saw that it was the paperwork to allow direct deposit of funds for Harry's care he got all purple in the face again. Vernon started complaining that Harry was costing too much to feed and that Harry had to do without meals for the next week to make up for what he had cost that day. Dudley tried to sneak some of Harry's food and got a shock for his attempt.
When Harry had finished his supper, and potion, the tray just disappeared again. As Harry got up from the table he heard Vernon say that his sister, Marge, was coming for a visit and that Harry had best be on good behavior or else. Dudley tried to trip Harry but it didn't work, the trip just caused Dudley to be shocked again. Harry went up to his room, and again forgot to close his door.
Dudley came up a few minutes later and stopped outside the door and shouted "How did you get all that new stuff and where are all my things I had stored in there?". Harry just told him that Rick had gotten the furniture for him and had it setup. Dudley wandered off to his room and Harry closed his door and locked it. Even though it was early, Harry went ahead and got his bath and then settled down at the desk to look over some of his new books. Besides the history book and the Fairy tales, Harry found a book on basic spells, one on potions, one on plants, one on magical animals, several on wizarding manners, and one that looked a lot like some real hard math. Harry decided to look over the one on animals, he became so interested in it that when 9pm came he was still reading about the animals, especially dragons, when Twinkie popped in to remind him about his snack. Harry found that his aunt had left him a snack outside his door; wait they weren't supposed to be able to see his door if it was locked. Harry asked Twinkie about this and she told him only witches and wizards could see his door if it was locked. He would ask Rick about this next time.
The rest of the week wasn't much different, except Dudley seemed to stay away and so did the rest of the gang. Harry spent every night reading either the history or about plants, potions, and animals; there wasn't much sense in reading about spells since he couldn't do any yet. Petunia got a lot better about feeding him, so Vernon wouldn't yell so much about the cost. When Vernon did complain Petunia explained that it was cheaper to feed Harry than to pay for not feeding him. On Friday morning Harry heard a loud noise from the kitchen and when he went to see what was up he found his aunt lying on the floor with broken glass around her. Petunia was unconscious, Harry rang the emergency squad and they came and took her to the hospital. Dudley came in and started crying about his mom and when Harry tried to comfort him Dudley drew away, afraid of being shocked if he touched Harry. But that didn't happen when Harry touched him; Harry ran over to Mrs. Figg's and told her what had happened and she called Vernon.
The hospital wanted to keep Petunia overnight for observation and Vernon wasn't happy, who was going to fix supper for him and Dudley? Mrs. Figg told Vernon she would take care of preparing supper for the family. Rick showed up at the house about 5pm to pick Harry up for the weekend and was told what had happened, this could complicate things for him. Rick was introduced to Mrs. Figg and he saw she was a squib and that she was a spy for Dumbledore, he had no choice but to alter her memory so she couldn't report this to Dumbledore. Rick and Harry left before supper to return to Rick's house.
After a rather nice supper served by Twinkie; Rick, Harry, and Lucy sat in the parlor and discussed what had happened the past week to Harry and answered most of Harry's questions; all except how Petunia had been able to see Harry's door with it locked. Lucy suggested that Rick cast a special spell on Petunia the next time he had the chance, but to wait until she was in better health first. Lucy took the opportunity to check Harry's magic and was surprised to see it was stronger than expected at this stage. Harry was in bed by 10pm and asleep by 1015pm. Rick and Lucy discussed what they thought Harry should study the next couple of days and it was decided that Lucy would instruct Harry in potions and manners while Rick would focus on history, physical fitness, and basic spell work.
Twinkie woke Harry and had him at the table by 7am for breakfast and his two potions. Harry was still adjusting to the large meals he was expected to eat, but enjoying them all the same. Today's breakfast included oatmeal, eggs, ham, toast, juice, and milk; Harry discovered that if he mixed the bad-tasting potion in his juice it was not too bad, the nutrition potion was okay by itself. After breakfast Harry was introduced to exercise regiment that he could use when the weather got too bad to go outside and run or such. Next was Ti Chi to both provide self defense and to promote mental stability (which would later help him learn to occlude his mind).
Harry had a one hour break then Lucy started teaching him about the manners and procedures used by the upper class of wizards, pure bloods, so he would fit into that culture better. After a large lunch, and a one hour nap, Rick instructed Harry on the history of magic, followed by an hour of theory of spell work. Harry was given another break and then it was time for Lucy and potions (which would include some basic herbology). This turned out to be Harry's favorite part of the day since it was so much like cooking which Harry liked anyway. Harry even brewed a very basic potion, with Lucy's help, that turned out perfect, so if he ever had trouble with boils he knew how to treat them.
After supper they discussed the day and then Harry learned some wizard games such as exploding snap, gob stones, and wizard's chess. The next day was much the same except after supper Rick took Harry home. Petunia was home from the hospital and even thanked Harry for calling for help, Vernon tried to blame Harry but Petunia took up for him, this caused Harry, and Rick, to be very surprised. Harry made a quick check of his room but found that it was still locked and showed no signs of being disturbed.
Monday started out the same as the previous week, until Vernon came home with his sister in tow. Aunt Marge, and her dog Ripper, were back for a visit and would be staying for two weeks. As soon as Marge entered the house she started belittling Harry, and Ripper started trying to chew on Harry's leg. Things only got worse at supper when Petunia served Harry at the same table and gave him more than Marge thought he deserved. Petunia explained that Child Welfare was checking up on them and if Harry didn't start gaining weight they could end up in jail, then Marge might have to raise Dudley. Marge got quiet after that. Aunt Petunia's actions were starting to confuse Harry, she had never taken up for him before.
The next morning Harry was downstairs and starting breakfast when Ripper came and once again acted like Harry was a chew toy. Twinkie happened to pop in and saw this and sent Ripper running. It wasn't long before Marge was downstairs and getting ready to assault Harry, Twinkie once again took care of the problem then promptly left to inform her master what was going on at the Dursleys. Around noon Rick showed up and asked to speak with Harry, Marge had to open her mouth and Rick pulled an ID out showing he was with Children Services. When Ripper started to pull at Rick's pants leg Rick said the dog was a menace and needed to be put down if Marge couldn't control him. Rick then offered to have Marge arrested for endangering two children, Harry and Dudley. Marge became very irate and even more so when Rick pulled out a pair of handcuffs.
"I warned the Dursleys that we would be keeping an eye on this household and it seems that they didn't pay attention, Mrs. Dursley that will cost you 100 in fines for allowing this dangerous animal around a child. Also I will be sending animal control around to pick up this animal", then looking at Marge, "And I assume you have the required documents showing that this animal has had all of his shots; if not then the animal must be destroyed. I would like to see those documents now please", Rick concluded.
Marge was able to produce the required paperwork, much to Rick's dissatisfaction. But he did warn her that Ripper should be better controlled or paperwork or not the animal would be removed and she would be fined severely. When Harry came in for lunch, Rick quickly motioned for him to be quiet. Ripper immediately charged in and began to worry Harry's ankles. "That is it, the dog will have to be removed from this household or at least confined to a cage and not allowed within 10 feet of any child under the age of 16. Also when out of his cage he is to be on a leash", Rick said as he booted the dog away from Harry. After examining Harry's legs, Rick tuned to Marge and asked for her full name and address for his report. When Marge was hesitant Rick told her she could give the information now or down at the police station, she gave him the requested information. Rick stayed just long enough to see that Harry got a good lunch then left saying he would return as he felt was needful.
Harry knew that it wasn't going to be very nice around the house when his uncle got home. Vernon was outraged when he heard what had happened to his sister and was going to take it out on Harry when he saw him. Vernon's anger got even worse when he saw an animal control vehicle drive up, the officer came up to his door and asked if they had seen any stray dogs running around as the office had received several calls from this neighborhood. By the time Harry returned for supper Petunia had calmed Vernon down, and Dudley didn't seemed too upset that Ripper wasn't chewing on him either. Supper was very quiet, except for the noise Ripper made from upstairs because he was locked in Marge's room. After supper Harry went to his room and made sure to lock the door before getting his bath.
Harry was reading when Twinkie popped in with a note from Rick telling Harry that everything would be okay and not to worry about Marge or her dog. Rick explained what had happened before Harry came in for lunch and Harry had a good laugh and wished he could have seen that. Rick reminded Harry to continue his Ti Chi every morning and to study the books he had been given, but most of all "BE A KID".
It was raining the next morning when Harry got up so he knew he was trapped inside until it quit. Harry was finished with breakfast before Marge even came downstairs, so he went back to his room to read and to do his exercises. It rained all day, but Harry enjoyed the time reading his books and wondering how it would feel to do magic. As it turned out Marge left after only one week, "Ripper is unhappy" was her excuse for leaving early. Harry took his last bad-tasting potion (he hoped) the morning just before Rick came to pick him up again two weeks later.
When Harry and Rick got to Rick's house Lucy did the diagnostic spell again and found it was time for her to finish removing all of the blocks on Harry's magical core. The four of them, Harry, Lucy, Rick, and Twinkie, went to a room that was warded strongly to prevent spells escaping and to contain magic. Twinkie added her own magic to the wards to strengthen them before Lucy started removing the final bindings. Once the final binding was removed there was a large discharge of magic from Harry that almost took down the wards. When Lucy checked Harry's magical level it was at 45, with 50 being the normal for an adult, as compared to Rick's score of 75. "Harry you are one strong wizard, I would have expected you to score around 20 to 25 max at your age. Rick you had best put up newer and stronger wards before Harry reaches his majority or else your house might not survive." Lucy said with a smile. Lucy then told Harry he would still need to take the nutrient potion for a while longer, Harry said he didn't mind that one.
At the Ministry of Magic an underage magic alarm went off registering a moderate accidental magic burst. In the headmaster's office at Hogwarts a silver item spun very rapidly for a few seconds then slowed back down; neither incident was noticed as the headmaster wasn't in and the person on monitor duty at the MOM was in the restroom. In a hidden mansion not too far away, a single gem glowed bright red for a few seconds and then dimmed a little, this was noticed by a passing elf who ran to tell the head elf, Gustus, who was the majordomo for The Ancient and Noble House of Potter.
Harry asked Lucy since they were already in the dungeon could they do his potions training now. Lucy didn't have a problem with that, and Rick was busy checking the wards after Harry's magical discharge, they weren't in the best of shape either. Twinkie went to start on lunch, while Lucy and Harry went into the potions lab. Lucy told Harry to copy the potion ingredients she wrote on the board down and then to gather them from the storage cabinet and the two of them would prepare them and brew a very special potion. It took Harry almost an hour to copy and gather the ingredients listed, the potion was that complicated, while Lucy was reading a very old book and making notes. Once Harry had everything gathered he informed Lucy and she checked each one to make sure it was correct and fresh, as she told him if some of the ingredients weren't fresh or correct the potion could explode. Lucy found that two of the ingredients were too old to use and she would have to go get some fresh ones, but this wasn't Harry's fault as these two weren't used that often in basic potions. Lucy told Harry that he had done well and they would have to wait until after lunch to continue; she suggested they review his public manners and actions.
The two of them spent the next hour reviewing and having Harry practice some of the things and saying some of the phrases he would need in the future. When they went upstairs to lunch Lucy asked Twinkie if she would fetch a few potion ingredients from the apothecary for her while them ate. Twinkie was more than happy to take care of that task, so Lucy gave her a list and some money; but Twinkie said she wasn't allowed to have wizard money especially American money in London. Rick just told Twinkie to charge it to his account and they would take care of it later.
After lunch and after Twinkie returned saying she'd had a hard time getting fresh ingredients, Lucy and Harry returned to the lab to prepare the ingredients and start the potion which would have to brew for 24 hours and have special stirrings done before it would be ready. Once the potion had been started Harry went with Rick to work on some very basic spells and wand techniques, Lucy didn't want Harry doing any real magic until the next day so his newly unbound core could stabilize. So even though he couldn't use an actual wand he got to practice "swish and flick" and a few other movements with a practice wand, i.e. a plain piece of wood that looked like a wand but no core.
The next morning Lucy, who looked really tired, asked if might be possible to keep Harry one more night as he needed to have one more potion and she needed to be able to observe the results, but the potion wouldn't be ready until around suppertime. Rick didn't see as this was a problem, but he needed to let the Dursleys know just in case. Since he was from America, Rick had a cell phone that would work around magic if it wasn't too strong. Rick went outside, away from Harry, and called Petunia to let her know that Harry wouldn't be home until Monday around lunch. Harry's day went pretty much as usual until supper when Lucy, who had taken time for a long nap, gave him the potion they had started yesterday. Lucy explained that this would help stabilize his core quicker and act as a "battery charger" for his core overnight. Harry had one question, "Do all magical potions have to taste bad? The vitamin potion is okay, but the rest taste awful!". Lucy and Rick just laughed and said as far as they knew most potions tasted bad, maybe it was the way they were made and the ingredients.
The next morning before breakfast even, Lucy did another measurement of Harry's core and this time the score was 48. Lucy repeated the test and got the same result twice in a row. "Harry are you sure you are only seven years old? At this rate you are going to blow the scale to pieces when you turn 17. As I said the other day you are one strong wizard and I can't wait to see you try an actual spell even a basic household spell that most kids raised in the magical world know at your age.", Lucy commented as they went to breakfast. After eating the three of them went down to the special room again so Harry could try his first spell.
"Now Harry this spell is called 'repairo' it is used to fix simple things, for example to fix your glasses you would say 'oculus repairo' and point your wand at the glasses. Now what I want you to try is point your wand at a broken glass and just say 'repairo' while thinking you want the glass to be whole again.", Rick instructed Harry. Rick tossed a glass on the hard stone floor and of course it broke. Harry took his wand out, pointed it at the mess of glass and said "repairo" quietly and nothing happened. He did it again a little louder and with more force of voice and the glass snapped back together in a split second and glowed. When Harry looked he saw Rick shaking his head and staring at the glass, while Lucy was staring at the glass with her mouth open.
"Harry that was amazing; not only did you put the glass back together but you made it twice as strong too. The first time you just didn't have enough force in your voice, you sounded hesitant; but the second time it was perfect and I guess Lucy was right, YOU are a STRONG wizard! I want you to try something else for me if you feel like it", Rick said. Harry nodded as if to say he felt fine.
Rick conjured an egg and dropped it then ask Harry to try the repair spell again on the egg. The result was a perfect egg that showed no signs of having been broken and when Rick cracked it into the glass it looked fine. As they studied the shell they could find nothing to indicate it had ever been broken except right then. When Lucy dropped the glass by mistake it bounced instead of breaking. Rick said it was time for Ti Chi, but they were going outside this time as Harry needed fresh air.
Lucy joined then for the first time and all three went through the basic movements, or Kata as it is called in martial arts terminology, then Lucy asked Harry how he felt after complete the forms. Harry said he usually felt relaxed and calm now that he was used to it. Rick explained that was the goal of the forms, to relax and center yourself. He said it was time for Harry to learn how to center himself via meditation and had Harry sit down, close his eyes and take several slow deep breaths.
"As you exhale imagine blowing all the tension out of yourself with very little effort. Slowly take in a deep breath, hold it for a second or two then let it out slowly feeling any tension in your body flowing out with your breath. If this is done correctly you will feel almost the same as after the Ti Chi forms.", Rick explained. "Try to clear your mind, by that I mean to push everything out of the way so you aren't thinking about anything. Just feeling very peaceful and relaxed. When you can do that let me know. I don't expect you to accomplish that today but maybe have a handle on it by the next time you come over. But there is no rush, just try to meditate every night before you go to sleep and get yourself relaxed.", Rick continued.
When Harry opened his eyes again he said he felt like he had just woke up he was so relaxed. Harry was sitting there and practicing some of his wand movements when suddenly Lucy just floated off the ground and had a very surprised look on her face. "Harry, let me down, but do it gently so I don't fall." "Harry, keep your wand pointed at Lucy and think about her slowly settling to the ground", Rick whispered in Harry's ear. Lucy slowly settled to the ground then Harry moved his wand away and tried to apologize to her but she was having nothing doing. Instead she was happy, "Harry, that was amazing, I didn't even hear you say anything. Did you say the spell or just think it?", Lucy asked. Harry said he was thinking the spell and practicing the wand movement. "Harry, that is called silent magic; and it takes a lot of strength and concentration usually. The fact you did it without much effort says a lot about your magical strength. But, until I can get some more wards up on Privet Drive I ask that you not take your wand home with you yet. But I want you to practice with the plain wand at least an hour a day until you have as many wand movements down as you think you can handle or understand just from reading the books I gave you.", Rick said.
Harry just nodded and was staring at Lucy and Rick. "Rick, why is your aura so bright; it is brighter than the other day, so is Lucy's.", Harry asked. "You can see our auras? And you haven't taken the aura potion either have you?", Lucy asked; then she cast the aura spell on Harry. "Harry, how do you feel right now? Are you dizzy or anything?", Lucy continued.
"I feel fine, just that the glow around you both is so much clearer today than the other day. When I look at myself the colors are brighter and clearer, there are no bands just a bright gold glow surrounded by bright red", Harry answered. Which was what Lucy was seeing around Harry as well, except for the black area above his scar. As she started to say something Rick motioned for her to be quiet and mouthed "later". Twinkie popped in and said that lunch was ready and when Harry looked he saw a grayish mist around her. When Harry mentioned this both Rick and Lucy stared first at him then Twinkie, but they saw no "grayish mist" around Twinkie.
After lunch Rick, and Lucy this time, took Harry shopping for school supplies since it was that time of the year. They did most of their shopping at a small shopping center close-by, but Lucy said the next time they were going to a large mall in London and take in a movie also. From the shopping center they went to Privet Dr. to take Harry back to the Dursleys, Lucy wanted a word with Petunia, woman to woman so to speak. As they drove past the park near Harry's home they saw Dudley and his gang being questioned by the police, so Rick stopped and asked if he could be of help as he was a barrister and knew one of the boys. It turned out the boys were suspected of shoplifting a few hour earlier, Rick lied and said that at the time Dudley was with him and couldn't have been involved and that he would take Dudley home - if that was okay with the officers.
As soon as they were in the car Dudley asked "What about my friends, they don't have anyone to stand up for them?". To which Rick replied that Dudley's friends were on their own and that he was just helping Harry's "family" out, but he could always take Dudley back and tell the police he had been mistaken about the time. Dudley had a change of heart about his friends.
When the four of them got to #4 Privet Dr. Vernon was upset that Dudley was riding with the "freaks". Rick suggested that Dudley, Vernon, and himself have a little talk; Lucy said she wanted to speak with Petunia anyway about Harry's school. Lucy convinced Petunia for the two of them to have a cup of tea in the kitchen while the "men folk" had their talk and Harry put his supplies up in his room.
As soon as the two women were alone in the kitchen Lucy puller out her wand and cast a spell on Petunia to confirm her suspicions. The spell revealed that Petunia had a little magic, her score was a 2 as compared to Harry's 48. "Mrs. Dudsley, did you know you had a small bit of magic in you? I suspected as much when Harry told us you seemed able to see his door when nobody without magic couldn't. I know how you feel about magic, or 'freakishness' as your husband calls it, but thought you should be told. I don't want to alarm you and of course this is between you and me; I won't mention it to anyone unless you say it is okay, not even Rick or Harry. I know you have some knowledge about the magical world from your sister, Lily, but I would be glad to answer any questions you may have.", Lucy explained.
Petunia just sat there for a few seconds with her mouth open, then said "If I had magic then I could have gone to school with Lily, but they said I didn't have any. Why are you saying I have magic when I don't"? Lucy explained that the little bit of magic she had detected was too small to be noticed unless a special spell was cast to detect it. Just about everyone had a small bit of magic in them, it is called life. But Lily, and Harry, had more than most people so it showed easier to those who looked and knew about it. The two women talked about Harry's school and such for a few minutes more then joined the men in the living room.
Meanwhile in the living room Rick was explaining that he had done Dudley a favor in that if he hadn't stopped Dudley would have either ended up at the police station or would have been brought home by the police. "Now that would really cause your neighbors to talk, wouldn't it?", Rick added. Rick explained that he really didn't like Vernon or Dudley due to the way they had treated Harry. But, he would help Harry anyway he could and Harry had seemed stressed to see Dudley in that much trouble.
By the time Harry came back downstairs and the women had come into the living room, Vernon's face had lost some of the purple coloring and his blood pressure had decreased some. Dudley ended up being grounded for a week and Petunia actually thanked Harry, Lucy, and Rick for saving Dudley. Just before Rick and Lucy left, Rick made it a point to tell Harry to remember to practice what he had been taught.
Well, there you have chapter 3. Please push the green button below and tell me what you think, good, bad, or indifferent.