Chapter 4

"That was quite the story, and if I hadn't seen proof, I would have been hesitant to believe it. The question that remains is what do you plan to do now?" Dumbledore said with a tired tone as the sun's first rays rose over the distant hills.

It was late afternoon when the story began, and it seemed they had stayed up all night, caught in Daroth's captivating tale.

"I don't know, really. I'd like to reclaim my family assets, for starters, and see to it that the man who killed my parents meets a slow and painful death. I'd like to learn more about magic, as well." He replied sadly.

"I am curious; can the procedure you mentioned give magic to humans as well?" McGonagall asked.

"No. It requires a degree of regenerative ability that humans don't have. The body would tear itself apart trying to adapt." Harry replied shortly.

"Headmaster, I…" An extremely large man burst in, only to freeze at the sight of the two other people. "I'm sorry for barging in."

"That's quite alright, Hagrid. We were finishing up anyway. Let me introduce Harry Potter. Harry, Rubeus Hagrid, our Care for Magical Creatures teacher." The large man's eyes bulged comically when he saw the boy before him.

"Merlin's beard, it is. So good to see you Harry. I never stopped hoping you were still alive." Harry grinned as the man's eager handshake threatened to dislocate his arm. His accent took a bit to get used to, but nothing he couldn't follow.

"You shouldn't fight it, you know." Harry's next words surprised the trio. "I can see the battle lust in your eyes."

"Not many know about that. How?" Hagrid's exuberance quickly shifted into seriousness.

"I have seen it many times before. I can help you with it." Harry grinned. It was not ideal, but the man looked like he could pack a serious punch even though he didn't look very fast. Still, it would give him a sparring partner, and as long as he kept his restrainer active, he wouldn't hurt the man.

"I don't want to hurt you." Hagrid replied, knowing how stronger he was compared to even adults, let alone teenagers.

"Don't worry. Here, punch me as hard as you can." Harry stood firmly before him.

"He won't be harmed, Hagrid. You have my word on it." Dumbledore assured the man.

With a heavy sigh, Hagrid balled up a fist and slugged Harry in the face. Harry stumbled slightly backwards, but did not collapse. McGonagall flinched when she saw how his jaw hung limply and a small trail of blood dripped from his mouth.

With a loud crunch that drew winces from the trio, Harry reset his jaw and pulling his wand, quickly vanished all traces of blood.

"Convinced?" Harry grinned. Hagrid could only nod dumbly.

"Hagrid, would you be as kind as to escort Harry to Diagon Alley? I daresay he will need a great deal in order to catch up with his peers in time for the start of term." Dumbledore gave them all a serene smile.

"Wait, let me get this straight. You want ME, to attend classes with CHILDREN?" Harry gave him a look that clearly questioned the man's sanity.

"Everyone expects you to be a normal teenager. While you're here, it might also be a good idea to sort you." Dumbledore handed him a tattered old hat which Harry quickly put on.

'Your mind is unlike anything I have ever seen. I am quite curious about this Great Link of yours, but at the same time, I am terrified to approach it.' The hat spoke in his mind.

'It is not something you should attempt. It might destroy you.' Harry replied.

'I believe it is very likely. Now, on to the sorting. You are indeed a difficult one. You would thrive in any of the four houses, of that I have no doubt, but still in your heart, you are a warrior. I'd say you'll do well in Gryffindor.' The hat spoke the last part out loud.

"I still question the sanity of your plan, old man." Harry handed him the hat back.

"Consider it as a mission. You never know where you'll be able to find useful information. Just one more thing. No killing." Dumbledore did not forget the fact that Harry had served in both the military and the Order of Death.

"Don't worry; they'd have to be REALLY annoying for me to do that. On one condition, though. I get a private room. That is not negotiable. Shall we go, then? I can show you some fighting moves when we get back." Harry turned to Hagrid, who nodded dumbly and went down the stairs, followed by the boy.

On the walk to the nearby village of Hogsmeade, Harry gave Hagrid a very abridged version of his story, mostly focusing on what he was. To say that Hagrid was shocked would be an understatement.

Ten minutes and one uncomfortable floo trip later, the pair walked into Gringotts where they were led to their inheritance department.

"Mr. Potter, can you explain to me why your blood test says you're six hundred and thirty six years old?" The goblin who tested his blood for the validity of his claim exclaimed at the results.

"I'm a vampire." Harry shrugged.

"Good enough for me. Here are your keys, Mr. Potter. You may access your vaults at your leisure. We hope that we can do business with you for many years to come." The goblin replied calmly and handed him a pair of keys.

After retrieving a sizable amount of money, they made a brief stop to a trunk shop, after which Harry blazed through the alley, buying dozens of books, all sorts of potions ingredients as well as enchanted items. Finally, they stopped before the wand shop.

Despite the fact he had a wand, explaining what it was made of was not something he wanted to do, which meant, he had to get a new one for public use.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. I was wondering if you would ever come to my store." Mr. Ollivander, the wand maker was a most peculiar individual.

After a lengthy selection, Harry was finally matched with a wand that according to Ollivander was the brother wand to Voldemort's. What exactly that meant for Harry, he had no way of knowing at that time.

"Well, we still have time. How about that spar I promised you?" Harry grinned after he stashed his new trunk in Hagrid's hut.

For a man of his size, Hagrid was surprisingly fast, and showed experience in his movements. During the spar, Harry learned that Hagrid would soon travel towards his mother's people, the giants to convince them to stay out of the coming war.

"Theoretically speaking, what would happen if you killed the current gurg?" Harry asked.

"The gurg is the strongest giant in the tribe. Killing him tells the other giants that you're even stronger, which means you become the new gurg. I can't use magic though, and I'm no match for a fully grown giant." Hagrid grinned at the idea, his blood pumping again after decades of suppression.

"Well, I'm not telling you to do it, but if you're forced in such a situation, it might be beneficial. I have something that might be useful for you. I'll want it back when you return, though. It's not something I can replace." Harry tapped his watch, and the device opened like a fold out map large enough to stick his hand into it.

"Long sword." Harry said, and a hilt pushed forth from the flat surface. He grabbed it and pulled a long blade from the watch before he put it back as it was.

"No giant would protest against you using a sword. The blade is processed to a monomolecular edge. It can cut through anything. Don't worry about chipping it. Only an identical blade has an edge thin enough to parry it. I think I can teach you a few moves that would help you against a much larger opponent." Harry grinned as he demonstrated the sword's sharpness against a nearby tree.

The sword simply passed through the trunk like it was air, regardless of how it was struck. Seconds later, the tree collapsed, a section of it turned into kindling.

"This will be your room, Harry. Just tell the portrait on the door what you want the password to be and it will let no one pass without it. Not even I can pass through without it." Dumbledore led him to a rarely used visitor's room.

"Good. I need to setup a generator and charging station. You're welcome to observe, I guess." Harry put the watch on the ground, opened it again, but this time folded it to the size of a bed.

"Generator one." Slowly, a machine almost as big as a small car was pulled from the watch.

"I expected something smaller." Dumbledore commented.

"We have antimatter generators the size of a trunk, but they don't last as long as this type and their antimatter tanks need to be refilled periodically. I doubt you have an antimatter factory." Harry grinned.

"What does this one use?" Dumbledore asked as Harry now pulled two devices from the watch. One had sixteen metal-capped cylinders in slots, while the other had over thirty square blocks arranged in it.

"There's a small black hole inside it. The generator creates a special field that draws power from the hole and also counteracts the high gravity field it produces." Harry replied calmly as he connected the two devices to the generator.

"What is it that you're doing now?" Dumbledore asked curiously as Harry began scratching strange letters around the corner where his devices were.

"Just making sure no one sees them. Any human that looks this way will not see the devices and will in fact ignore the corner completely." Harry finished the markings after several minutes.

"I have never seen a ward constructed like this." Dumbledore observed curiously as Harry began pouring magic into the marks, making them glow a faint blue.

"Like I said, we discovered that imbuing certain words and phrases with magic gave them power. Done. So, do you see anything in the corner?" Harry asked with a grin.

"Just an empty corner." Dumbledore shrugged, his eyes quickly moving away from it, before they suddenly snapped back in surprise.

"You know what's behind the ward, so it doesn't work on you for long. Well, Headmaster, it's been a very long day, and I'd like to have some sleep. I shall meet you for breakfast tomorrow, if that's alright." Harry turned towards Dumbledore after taking a very long drink from one of the metal cylinders.

"Of course, Harry. Just ask a portrait for directions towards the Great Hall once you get up. Sleep well, Harry." Dumbledore walked out, leaving him alone.

Feeling mentally exhausted, Harry's jeans and T-shirt changed into a pair of silk pajamas and he jumped into the large four poster bed.

AN: Well, another chapter done, this one was mostly a filler. Next chapter, Harry meets the rest of the Order, his new classmates, as well as our favorite Potions Master and a certain pink toad. On another note, I don't think anyone has given a reason as to why exactly is Hagrid obsessed with dangerous critters. I hope you like my idea. Second, I want to offer you two ideas for a future crossover fic. The first is like Discovery, taking a concept from Naruto as well. The first character of Naruto Harry sees is Hidan and later that night, manages to forge a pact with Jashin, gaining those same skills. The second idea is a Warhammer 40k cross, in which a Space Marine Battle Barge goes off course and reaches Harry's Earth, where their psykers discover that Harry is the God Emperor reincarnated. Tell me what you think, and I'll see if I can manage to write something.