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Balance Factor Chapter 1

Year One

The Beginning

A/N: I'll try to post more, for those that read this story, but I do want each chapter to be a decent length before I post. This chapter is mainly about the start of the series and the difference between Harry and others!

Parseltongue

Flashbacks/Thoughts

Harry Potter sat up, his green eyes blinking slowly. He glanced around his cupboard and sighed deeply. That had happened years and years ago. He wondered why he was dreaming of it now.

"Up! Get up!"

That had to be Aunt Petunia. He slid to the floor, sighing deeply.

Humans can be kind my ass, Father, he thought bitterly as he prepared breakfast for the Dursleys. They were going to the zoo today, as Dudley insisted. But Harry knew that was only because Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia didn't want Dudley to throw a tantrum. Honestly, if he had acted that way towards Shirogane, Shirogane would have no doubt beaten his ass to next week.

He had always wondered what would happen if the Dursleys knew he wasn't human. They'd probably point and call him a Freak, like they always had.

Harry Potter sat in his cupboard, closing his eyes as he heard the Dursleys eat breakfast. Ryuuko, his kind Father, was gone. Shirogane, his other Father, was nowhere to be found. And this body had harbored a soul fragment for two weeks before he found a way to add it to his darkness. Things had been a mess, really. Harry Potter's life had been extinguished when he had landed in his body. He had possessed a corpse for a while until his Factor had fully integrated in this body. The scar on his head had healed to a thin line, though it was still there.

Harry didn't need to eat. He did for appearances sake, but he didn't need to. The Light and Darkness in the world fed him. The balance kept him alive because it had too. Harry did enjoy eating though. And the flavors of this world were truly unique.

Crossing his legs, Harry closed his eyes to meditate. He felt his Factor pulse once in response to his state, but it didn't make any other sign. Harry sighed, watching the calm orb in his mind.

The Factor was almost alive. It sensed his fathers, their states, as well as the world's balance. Harry had used it repeatedly to shift his state until he was stable in this body.

All souls had a wavelength and a frequency. Most bodies could only have one soul, but Harry knew that it was possible to briefly tune one's magic to that frequency. Using his knowledge, it was just a matter of tuning his own soul to that of this body. This body, having been weakened by some strange curse, had a weak frequency at the time. Kazuki had managed it though.

He had been surprised when he had realized this body had magic in it. The soul may have fled, but the core remained longer. Harry had used his Factor to absorb the core and add it to the balance. As a result, his magic was easily accessible.

Ryuuko had taught him to be careful of his magic. Though humans couldn't see him as a rei, they could feel the influence of his magic. Kazuki never used his magic in the Human World as a result.

Harry Potter opened his green eyes. He was now human. Therefore, he was now able to be seen. He had only used small amounts of his magic; merely to prove to himself it hadn't vanished. The spells he had learned from Ryuuko, the power he had received from Shirogane, and Shisui's teachings were still there. He was grateful that he had learned how to heal his own body, as Dudley Dursley used to enjoy tormenting him.

Exiting the cupboard, Harry walked to the front door, waiting. The Dursleys had finished breakfast and were heading out. Harry was glad Aunt Petunia had done the dishes.

It was a little strange, but Harry suspected his magic had something to do with it. Sometimes the Dursleys would forget he existed. It was especially obvious to Harry when he had been meditating. There was once when Harry had meditated for three days straight. No one bothered him while he was in that state, but when he exited his inner core, they had integrated him right back into their lives. None of the teachers noticed that he hadn't been in class either.

Since then, Harry had been especially careful about his limitation on meditating. He couldn't afford that kind of suspicion. Vanishing off the planet was a bad thing now that he had a human form.

"Come on, boy, hurry up!" Vernon said gruffly. Harry nodded, not speaking a word.

The drive to the zoo was uneventful. Dudley had long learned that trying to provoke Harry Potter wouldn't get a rise out of him so he had stopped quite early. Piers, however, hadn't.

"Hey Harry, guess what? Your mum was so fat, she had to drive two cars!" Piers said, chortling. Dudley laughed outright.

Harry looked at Piers and sighed. "I don't remember my mum, so I can't say she didn't."

Piers laughed again, but glanced over as Vernon stomped on the breaks, swearing about a motorbike. Harry grunted as the seatbelt held him back.

"Hey, Harry," Dudley said. "Your mum was a drunkard, wasn't she?"

"Maybe she was," Harry replied, shrugging. He couldn't recall this body's birther, so he had no idea who she had been. All he knew was that she had been Aunt Petunia's sister. He was fairly certain that the story about the car crash and his parents dying in there was made up; as he could recall that he had woken up in a crib as a baby. He assumed the women on the floor had been his mother, but magical and physical exhaustion of long distance travel from the Light Palace to the Human World had worn him out. He had slept.

When they had finally arrived, Dudley and Piers rushed to see the animals. Within twenty minutes, however, they started complaining how boring it was and how they wanted to go home. Petunia urged them to see more of the animals.

Harry stayed in the reptile house, relaxing against the glass. He didn't really appreciate getting dragged into this, but Vernon had insisted he come since he didn't want to leave him alone in the house and no one could babysit him.

"Child?"

Harry turned a little to see the snake perked up. Then he turned, leaned against the banister and looked at it fully. It was a beautiful creature, he had to admit, but he wasn't really interested in snakes.

"Yes?" Harry replied, running a hand through his short hair. He had wanted to grow it out in memory of Ryuuko, but Aunt Petunia had been appalled at the idea.

"You speak."

Sighing, Harry nodded. "Yes, I do. But not with words."

The snake tilted its head and then rose up a little more. Dudley ran over and shoved Harry to the floor, amazed and awed at the snake.

"Look Mummy! The snake is awake!" He cried. Harry rubbed his bruised arm and sighed. Well, there went his conversation partner.

"Ugly creature!" The snake seemed to be highly offended. "Move your ugly face! Let me talk with the one that walks the path of Light and Dark!"

Harry snorted. Animals could sense his presence, it seemed.

All in all, by the time they arrived home, Vernon was furious. The lion had padded over to the wires next to Harry and sat down. Several birds had landed on Harry's shoulder while he was walking through the birdhouse. The lemur had given Harry some unidentifiable fruit, to which the zookeeper apologized profusely. Harry didn't seem to be bothered by it though, which only enraged Vernon even more.

Vernon pointed to the cupboard.

"Boy. Go. No meals." He growled out, his voice shaking. Dudley sniggered and Harry sighed.

-0-

By the time he had been let out, it was already summer break. Harry didn't mind though; he had been meditating for quite a while, only stopping several hours each day. Petunia had passed him meals, but had locked the cupboard door after. This gave him room to practice his magic.

"Boy! Get the mail!"

Harry walked over to the doorstep and picked up the mail. Instantly, he dropped it, a brush of foreign magic touching his senses. Oh? So there were other magical beings in this world?

He carefully picked up the mail again, looking for the source. An envelope, slightly heavier than the other letters echoed to him. He read the address.

Cupboard Under the Stairs.

That was an interesting way to greet someone. He slid the letter away into his pocket and moved to the dining room, placing the mail in front of Uncle Vernon. Vernon snorted at him.

"Took you long enough, boy!" He growled.

Harry sighed and cleaned the dishes. As usual, he was given a list of chores to do by Petunia. So he set out to paint the fence, wash the car, and mow the grass.

Oh, Fathers, if only you could see your precious son now. Harry thought, wiping sweat off his forehead. He had no doubt Shirogane would be furious to see him demined to a housewife, but he wondered how Ryuuko would have reacted. Perhaps Ryuuko would have been pleased to see him working. Perhaps he would be just as furious as Shirogane. Harry honestly didn't know.

Working into the afternoon, Harry only stopped briefly for a drink of water. He scrubbed the car carefully, working his back into a particularly tough stain before wondering if his magic would help. It was dangerous, yes. With so many humans around, Harry had no idea if it would shift the balance to Light or Darkness. He hesitated, but then placed a hand on the rag he was using to clean.

The rag gave a soft glow and then the stain vanished. Harry looked surprised, but then smiled a little. Interesting.

It wasn't until Harry stepped into the house did he feel something different. The balance of his core had changed, but while he had been preoccupied with work, he hadn't noticed.

"Here, Boy! Eat." Aunt Petunia's shrill voice called him. Harry hurried over to grab the bread and cheese before vanishing into his cupboard. She sniffed in distain, but didn't stop him.

Harry knelt on the floor, closing his eyes, the bread and cheese on his bed. He would eat later, but for now, he needed to re-stabilize the balance within himself. He touched his core and gave a small start as he realized that his core had darkened a little. That was sure strange.

He circled around the orb to try to see if there was a reason for this sudden change. But the second time around, the balance was back. Harry furrowed his brow. Had a shin been created? It hadn't been his father, that much he knew, but there had definitely been a creation. Was it the other Shadow King?

Harry touched the orb again, but nothing happened. He gave a low sigh and nodded slowly.

Whatever that was, it's gone now. He thought.

It wasn't until late into the night did Harry remember he had the letter. He sat up and turned on the small light in his cupboard, reaching into his pocket for the letter.

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

That was as far as he got before he placed the letter down. He took several deep breaths and looked back at the letter, staring at the parchment paper.

A school. These magic folks wanted him to go to school for his magic.

The thought had never crossed his mind. An entire school? There were enough magic in this world that there needed to be a school for students to learn it? The idea was mind-boggling to say the least.

His magic didn't need to be trained. It didn't need to be controlled. But perhaps, this school taught things that he didn't know. Harry was no expert in magic, but he did know that his magic and the magic in this world were different. His magic came from his Factor. His Factor would harness magic that existed in this world's core, balance it, and give it to him to use. Kazuki's magic was both Light and Dark by nature. The magic he could use in his rei form was only limited to the world he was in.

Harry's core, on the other hand, had been weak. The core had a set amount of magic in it that drew magic from the air. When magic was used, the residue could be absorbed by the core and harness for use through an instrument. If a magical being was transported to the Light Palace, it would be very likely that they would be powerless once they used their core up, as there was no magical residue there for them to reabsorb. Harry had noticed that he had been unable to absorb his own magical residue and had concluded that it was likely impossible.

In the Human world, there was magic in the air. This is due to the constant existence of humans and creatures. Any being with a soul would give off magical residue for magic users to harness. But entities like both his Fathers, did not have souls.

And neither did he.

Harry looked at the parchment, continuing to read. He had no idea what they meant when they said to send an owl, or where he would get these materials, but he did know that this was a serious offer. He paused and laid down in bed, thinking about the letter.

It would be interesting, to say the least.

-0-

Harry paused as he stared at the ground. It seemed the owners of this school had no idea he had received his letter, as they sent him twelve more. Uncle Vernon growled and snatched the mail out of Harry's hand, immediately taking them to be burned in the fireplace. Harry blinked.

Perhaps Uncle Vernon was angry about the amount of letters. Postage was expensive these days, after all.

-0-

Thirty six letters arrived in the mail the next day. Since Vernon had boarded the mail slot up, they had been shoved under the door, pushed through bathroom windows, and, to Dudley's dismay, landed in his room.

"Who on Earth wants to talk to you this badly?" Dudley asked Harry, watching his father storm around the house, sealing up every crack he could find. Harry sighed.

"Some school for the gifted," Harry said. He had learned at an early age "magic" was a forbidden word in the household. "I think they're desperate for a reply."

Dudley stared at Harry in wonder.

-0-

Letters flew out of the fireplace one Sunday morning. Harry stood in the middle of the living room, watching them rain down on his family. Uncle Vernon looked furious.

"Ten minutes! We're leaving!" He growled.

Harry thought he looked a lot like a beet on a body.

-0-

The little shack was miserable, but Harry barely felt the cold. His magic warmed him, so he had no reason to complain. Dudley was snoring next to him on the couch and Harry only briefly glanced at him. Then he bent down and drew a picture in the sand.

Harry drew the face first, then the hair, then the eyes and nose. He paused as he stared at his sandy picture of Ryuuko.

"Father, I'll be eleven tonight. Watch me from above, won't you?"

He spoke softly and brushed away his sand picture. Then he drew a picture of a cake.

"Happy birthday to me, I suppose." Harry spoke quietly, trying not to wake Dudley, even though he thought that was an impossible task. Dudley was a sound sleeper and nothing, in short of a cannon, could wake him up.

BANG!

"Where's the cannon?!" Dudley cried stupidly. Harry suppressed a snort of laughter.

-0-

A/N: Read and Review!