The Heir of the Western Lands

Chapter 3

Author's notes: Here we are, at chapter 3. I hope you liked the original twist I made with Peter. At first I thought to follow canon and let him become a double agent, but by then, the Potters did have more options in front of them than a Fidelius protected home and be basically sitting ducks. The charm is very powerful and very useful, but it can be stifling to be on house arrest in your own home I can hazard to guess. As you can see, Harry's childhood will be very different from canon. In fact, many characters will likely have a different childhood than what is described as canon. Let's have a look at the stats now shall we? We have 7 reviews, 113 followers, 74 favourites, no C2 communities and 3 427 views. Thank you everybody. Oh I posted a new poll on my profile for The Greek Kunoichi! Be sure to go vote on it please!

Last Edit: May 25, 2017.

A few years passed and the Potters found themselves living a very comfortable life of anonymity in Japan in a medium sized house on Sesshomaru's Keep's grounds. No backward Ministry who want to go back to the middle ages rather than going into the modern era, no Pureblood supremacy bullshit, no civil war and the most pleasing of all, no psychopathic Dark Lord who want to either conscript them into his service or kill them! If the Pureblood supremacy movement could rally some desperate people down on their luck from Eastern Europe countries such as Albania, In Asia, the movement had absolutely no hold whatsoever.

The Middle East's magical population was too sparsely located and too busy surviving in the harsh climate and dodging the wars plaguing those countries to be concerned with outsiders' problems. No place was perfect and prejudice was a part of human nature, but at least it was not as prominent as in Britain. In fact, Voldemort's influence was waning daily; since many of his followers seemingly refused to learn the simple fact that when a company of soldiers or a squad of policemen specially trained to handle Wizards are pointing their firearms at you, you obey the designated speaker's commands, the quicker, the better if you want to live.

You don't start antagonizing them by preening and casting spells carelessly all around and declaring yourself superior to them. Albus, with the help of the Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry, were all working together to dispatch that threat to their lives for good. Wizards of Light and of Dark persuasions were still not friends by a long shot, but both sides in the Wizengamot had agreed that a Merlin be damned civil war was way too extreme to resolve their differences and impose their world view. There would always be some extremist people, but what good did it do for their society to go to war against each others when they could came to an understanding or at least a truce in politicking?

Since the start of Voldemort's bloody campaign, so many families went extinct, culled down to the last child! That mad man had to be stopped somehow and the sooner the better! He was reaping muggleborns and purebloods lives alike! Common sense had finally taken hold in Magical Britain. That event would lead to the one that would be Tom Marvolo Riddle's final downfall not too far in the future, rending a certain prophecy the Elder Potters, Charlus and Dorea, they simply put Potter Manor and the other proprieties of the family under lock-down.

The elder couple had found a nice little house in Jamaica to live their retirement in peace, a long way from the United Kingdom's rainy weather. Of course they kept contact with their son and their daughter in law, they were quite ecstatic to learn of their grandson's birth! It took some doing and cost a pretty penny, but soon enough the elder couple took an international two way portkey to Japan. Of course, Sesshomaru did not invite them in his lands, so James and Lily, with little Harry in tow of course, had to put a front before their arrival and rented a modest house big enough for four persons plus a few guests in Okayama, since the elder Potters would likely stay a few days to get to know their grandson and catch up with their son and daughter in law.

Sirius and Remus did the same for convenience's sake, but they shared a bachelor pad and came around often. Harry had melted everyone hearts in seconds, with his big green and gold eyes and his cherub like face. He was already much more alert than a normal child at that age. A magical child would seem precocious by mundane standards; a Hanyō child was even more, but not to the point of being very out of the ordinary. As much the new parents both loved Charlus and Dorea, they couldn't tell them about Lily's and now Harry's secret. The Supernatural community was hidden from even most of the magical beings for a good reason.

To add on to that, Sesshomaru had also formerly forbidden it and he didn't forgot to add Remus and Sirius into the orders, so that method of breaking the truth to James' parents was also nixed. James was not a big fan of authority in general and very flippant about rules he didn't like, also he didn't like to keep such a secret from his parents and Lily was always very independent and quite headstrong, but that man was about a thousand years old, so he had the strength necessary to back his orders.

James and Lily didn't fancy being beaten to a pulp in their next training session if they forgo his orders and told the new grandparents the whole truth. Neither Sirius nor Remus fancied to be drafted into said training sessions either. And also add on the fact that they were technically inside Sesshomaru's jurisdiction, the Dog General had also the necessary authority to back the strength of his commands, thus the new parents kept their mouths shut. Charlus and Dorea stayed for an entire week before going back to Jamaica. They had enjoyed their time in the country of the rising sun, but the tropical sun and the sandy beaches were calling them back with insistence.

His wife in an itsy bitsy tiny weenie bikini taking a sun bath on a beach of fine yellow sand was also calling for Charlus. Witches and Wizards aged more slowly than mundane people, so even in their sixties, they both still looked like in their late thirties, beginning forties and Dorea was quite gifted in the curves department. Charlus was a very lucky bastard indeed; even those related to Dorea by blood knew she was very attractive! Now at five years old, Harry James Potter started mundane school like many kids all over the world. His parents and his grandfather made sure he was fluent in both Japanese and English, to not forget his dual heritage and to be able to blend in better with his entourage.

Unfortunately, quite a few things made Harry's short stay in school even shorter. Still very young and still not understanding completely the need to pass as human, young Harry couldn't keep his supernatural traits and animal instincts in check very well. Like running at twenty kilometres per hour in gym class, jumping several metres into the air to catch a launched Frisbee or a ball with his mouth at recess outside in the schoolyard or even jumping through an open window from the first floor to run on all four, thus scoring the family record for skipping class the earlier in their school career, chasing a passing through stray cat once, barking like mad.

Don't even let Lily get started on his bad habit to ditch class without a second thought to chase the local reckless squirrels for hours at end! James and his friends at least waited until their teen's years before skipping class! Or in one very memorable event, Harry had accidentally let go of his glamours applied every day by his parents by flaring at a too high level his youki to create an energy whip to kill a more or less tame racoon dog that was running away after stealing from his bento that his mother had made for his lunch. That one made Sesshomaru very proud of his grandson. The boy had only seen him use the energy whip two times and he could already create his own!

After a month of daily mass obliviations on the entire staff, the students and everybody who could have seen the boy do impossible things, the Japanese Ministry of Magic, which was one of the only magical government of the world in the know about Youkais and other supernatural creatures, requested to James and Lily that Harry stop attending mundane school until such a time he could better blend in, after they had paid the accumulated fines related to the breaks of the International Statute of Secrecy, of course. The Obliviators could hardly blame a Hanyō child so young for his involuntary infractions.

He was still too little to understand completely, but the adults should have had a better control on the kid. So Lily, the more at ease in mundane society, withdrew Harry from school and registered him as a home schooled student. Since she and James were not that knowledgeable or up to date in the mundane education, they had to look elsewhere for a tutor. Thus, Sesshomaru presented them with a female kitsune (Fox spirit), her fur was a light brown and she had blue eyes with five tails. Her name was Yashima, a great granddaughter of Shippo, the little kitsune that Kagome, the miko (Shinto Priestess) his half brother was mated to, had reared when they were looking for the sacred Shikon jewel shards long ago in the Warring States Era.

At first, Harry wanted nothing to do with Yashima and studies, but Lily would not let her son be a lazy layabout. It was her responsibility to make sure he became a productive member of society and God be her witness, she would fulfill her motherly duties!

"But mama, I don't like her scent! She smells odd and makes my nose itch! Human school is boring anyway, playing with my magic and my youki is way funnier. I already know how to read, write and also how to count in English and Japanese. Can I go bother uncle Padfoot now? He's always up for some fun! Maybe we can plan a good prank on uncle Moony or on daddy when they get home? "

He tried to give her the puppy eyes, and since he had some dog ancestry; he was quite skilled with it, but Lily was not charmed at all, since she had so much experience with them. So she marched her pouting and protesting son to his tutor and make sure to convey that he was to listen to said tutor or else. Her husband gave her those eyes every time he wanted something out of the ordinary, like a new trick to spice their bedroom activities or a new toy for his workshop that he was too lazy to go buy by himself. James had fallen in love with mechanics, so he had taken a course on mechanics at an adult school and once he graduated, he opened his own workshop with his pack mates.

And also he started to love buying vehicles of all types and age so he could customize or restore them on his own time. Sometimes it was for his growing private collection, other times it was for some customers, regular humans, wizards and youkais alike. He did not take customers for profits' sake; it was more like something to keep him busy and being the owner, it gave him a very flexible schedule to help his wife educate their son. Both Sirius and Remus had also found their calling with their pack brother, but were still bachelors.

Remus was working with James in the workshop since his werewolf enhanced strength was very useful for things better done in the muggle way, he was also the voice of reason by getting James and Sirius to stick to the monthly budget made by the bankers and with Sirius' openness and business acumen's, he was the public face of the company. Lily, up to recently, was a stay at home mom, but the taste of travelling was getting to her, so she hadn't taken up a profession after getting her masteries in charms and potions. James would follow surely, but Sirius and Remus? She wasn't sure. They could do whatever they please after all; they were grown men, most of the time anyway.

Sometimes she felt she had to deal with four children in place of just one. She would have to talk about her plans with her husband tonight. Japan was great, but she wanted to see the world and show it to her child. And maybe it was time to have another child? Harry could enjoy being a big brother and James always told her that he wished to have a bigger family, having been an only child growing up. Lily also wanted a bigger family, maybe not Weasley big, but one or two more, she wouldn't be against it. She then came back to the real world to see her son try to ditch her tutor when he thought the kitsune wasn't paying attention.

He hadn't managed to make it out of the room; Yashima had sent a few of her tails after the boy to put him back in his seat promptly. Harry did whine after that, pouting all the same

"It's not fair! You have to give me a bit of advance before trying to capture me again! It's in the rules of the game!"

Lily answered then with a stern voice

"Here's an important lesson for you to learn early, life is not fair my son. Now be quiet, sit down and behave for your teacher or you won't have any dessert for a week. Am I clear? "

Properly chastised, Harry's furry black dog ears fell flat on his head and with a rather canine whine coming out from his throat; the little boy reluctantly obeyed his mother. Harry had a little rebel streak that showed sometime, but it was nothing more than childish stubbornness and his sweet tooth overpowered it anyway. The kitsune sent an appreciative smile to Lily and the lessons could finally start anew. Said lessons went without a hitch, but the second they were done a few hours later, Harry bolted away at top speed in fear that they would resume right away. It was Sirius' day off and the dog animagus was still sleeping even at two O' clock in the afternoon.

From the muffled yell and the sound of a body hitting the floor joined with a childish giggle, Harry had likely decided to jump on one of his godfathers to wake him up. Then her boys' voices could be heard out loud, first from Sirius

"Why you little...! Wait until I get my hands on you, little scoundrel! I told you to stop jumping feet first on me Harry!"

Harry's answer was a musical childish laugh and a boost in speed while shouting back a childish taunt

"You can't catch me Siri! You're way too old and fat to get me!"

Sirius' answer to this was an annoyed growl and morphing into Padfoot to gain speed. Harry only accelerated more, still laughing with pure joy. At five years old, he was already faster than a human Olympic racing athlete. He did not have the endurance or the training of one though, but only Lily and Sesshomaru and the other Youkais older than him could catch him easily in a physical manner. Well Padfoot or Prongs could technically, but their godson/son was quite agile and the boy was also quite prompt to use any flat surfaces around him for acrobatics jumps. Thus putting himself out of the dog and stag animagus' range.

Forcing them to revert to human form and use magic to get him. Moony was the smartest of the three Stooges, bribing the boy with sweets to make him stop or a threat to his toys. Then the front door opened and James was home, which drew immediately little Harry's attention, ditching his dogfather without a second thought. With a strong shout of

"Daddy! Daddy! Tou-san! ("Dad" in Japanese) Otou-san (another way to say "dad") is home!"

Little Harry took hold of the banister with his little clawed hands once he was near it, swung his little legs over it and let himself fall on the ground floor. The house was built with adult Youkai abilities taken in account, so they would not break unless Sesshomaru or another ancient Youkai was using more than his passive strength. Landing on a roll, he was on his feet a few seconds later, enough time for James to take a knee to the floor and receive his beloved son into his arms. When James was sure of his hold on the boy, he stood up, Harry still in his arms with his son's arms around his neck, with a big smile on his face he said after kissing his boy on the forehead

"Well, you're very active today, squirt! How was your day?"

While Harry started to babble about his day, James walked over Lily and kissed her a few times, she was quite happy to kiss back. Inside Sesshomaru's lands, no glamours were needed, so Harry and Lily were in their natural forms all the time. The fact that almost no regular humans came here also gave the wizards permission to use magic in broad daylight with no consequences most of the time. Harry tried to have James on his side for not having to learn "boring stuff" as he called it when he talked about his tutor, but even the carefree prankster the man still was knew that education was very important. With his most serious voice he had learned from his own father, James said to his son

"My boy, you will do as your kaa-san ("Mom" in Japanese) says. I know it's not fun and that you had rather do something else, but those lessons are for the future. We do this for your future, Harry. So you will be nice with your tutors and you will listen to what they say. When you're older, you'll understand, I promise. You know we don't do this to punish you, but it is something that everybody needs to do."

Harry listened to his father, but he was quite sceptic about the fact that everybody had to learn what he was calling "boring stuff". His dad was playing all day long with cars and motorcycles! He was not forced to learn things he already knew or see no use to! He already knew his alphabet; he could talk fluently in Japanese and English since they were almost always speaking English at home, he could count to thirty in both languages and he could already swear quite well in English, Japanese, Spanish and Portuguese! He was always winning when he and the other Youkai children had swear-a-thons! (Children always pick up words they should not know faster than the rest.)

Not that he would repeat those words near his mother! Harry had a very high survival instinct and even if it was Uncle Moony who got to eat soap for swearing after he found out the hard way Uncle Padfoot switched his after shave with his mama's perfume, he had no intention to get the same treatment! Uncle Padfoot was punished for his part in that stunt too. He was locked in dog form and he was put outside, tied on a chain, said chain tied to a loop in his collar, for a few days, with a dog house and fed dog food!

That was the day that Harry learned that his mama didn't like pranks on her toiletries and was quite vindictive when wronged. After a few sessions with Yashima, Harry had finally learned that home school was not an insult on his growing intelligence. He still didn't like it and tried every once and again to give the slip to the female kitsune, without success.

Later that night, when everyone had retired to bed and after making sure Harry and the rest of the pack would behave; James and Lily did try for another baby in the sanctity and privacy of their heavily warded bedroom. It's not like they minded the practice after all, not at all! Practice was always good! Why though going through the pain and time consuming task of warding their bedroom against escaping sounds and unauthorized intrusions before letting their passions run wild? Harry was quite inquisitive and parents really didn't want to be forced to give him The Talk before puberty set in because he caught them going at it.

And they didn't want Sirius or Remus barging on them, it would be quite awkward. Now cuddling together, resting after a quite vigorous love making session, their nakedness protected by the blankets of the bed, Lily explained the wanderlust that took hold of her to her husband.

"James, I really like Japan, but I would really like to see the world beyond. I would like to experience other cultures, met new people. We're still young and I guess Peter had a good idea, to go on a trip, looking for himself. I am pretty sure I know who I am, but I'm getting really bored of the day to day routine."

Once she was done, she cuddled her head on her husband's torso, basking in their shared love, almost purring since his hand attached to the arm against her waist was stroking her shapely hip absently. She knew to not press for an answer, in those last few years, his patience had greatly improved and he tended to consider both the pros and cons of a situation before committing. Not that he wasn't still spontaneous, but for a big decision like this, he had learned that if he didn't want to sleep on the couch, he better consult her and think properly about it. On one side, it would be a great adventure, but how would they educate Harry by travelling?

Magic could help, but raising a child on the road was not something he had envisaged. The kid had his little friends here and he could be himself, not forced to hide his supernatural nature. But, he too was getting bored with the routine. His workshop was easily closed since he didn't take many projects or maybe Sesshomaru had a few people willing to look after it while they were gone?

He also had the need to do something different while he was still young. Don't get him wrong, he was over the moon! He had a beautiful wife, the woman who was his better half and together they had funded a family. He loved his son with all his heart, sometimes it was terrifying on how much he could feel for his little boy. But was it selfish to desire to do something for himself? But what about his pack brothers? He couldn't uproot them but he also couldn't abandon them. Magic would make travelling easier and technology was getting better for long distance contact. This "internet" thingie was getting popular. He was about to say "no".

He was a father now and he had responsibilities now. As much as he wanted to be a bit selfish, he couldn't. And they were trying for another baby. Wouldn't it be better to stay in Japan where there was a hospital for the Supernatural for the regular checkups and the birth? Harry could also attend high school when he would be old enough at the famous Youkai Academy he heard so much good things about, where youkais of all type learned to blend in among the humans. Okay, it was kind of a Darwinian environment, only the strong survives and the weak perished. But with Sesshomaru training him, Harry would be strong enough as a teenager to survive.

Especially if they followed the tradition of gifting him with his own demonic sword at fourteen years old. Sesshomaru did tell them that Harry would need a stabilizer for his mixed blood. But logic went out of his mind when his vixen of a wife decided to "convince" him to make him fold to her point of view when she disappeared underneath the sheets after a saucy smirk. James' eyes went cross-eyed from Lily's idea to prepare him for a round two. Oh yeah, he was totally sold now. Other countries, here they come! After round two though...maybe after round three?

Back in Britain, Voldemort was cornered, his back to the wall. His more intelligent supporters and followers had left him the first chance they got when the winds turned after the ultimatum given to the magicals by the muggle government. It was either to shape up or be annihilated. He was left with only the more zealous to his cause, but not many had the power to help him, be it financially or otherwise. Now Tom Riddle was on the ground, in a no name town in Suffolk, bleeding from being shot in the arms and legs. He had been bested. Not by Dumbledore, not by the Potters or the Longbottoms, but by a task force of Aurors and Hit-Wizards intensively trained in magical and muggle combat.

A squad of elite Aurors and Hit-Wizards that could manipulate guns as well as any well trained mundane soldiers were his Vanquisher. He was done anyway, his wand had been taken from him and the few followers he had left alive were in the same situation as him. Not taking any chances, the wizards closer to the Dark lord put as many restricting spells as possible. It was nearly over; they didn't want to comb the isles again for the final showdown. Ironically, it was a "mudblood" and a woman who put the "final blow". A little slip of a girl with golden blonde hair in a pixie cut and hazelnut eyes dressed in a soldier fatigues approached the downed Voldemort.

In her hands was an old style oil lamp, like the ones in the old stories coming from the Arabic an incantation chant in a tongue he didn't understand, which was taken by all the squad one after the other, his crippled body lost his solidity and became smoke like. The chant became even louder and he was absorbed into the lamp, like a genie in one of those silly muggle stories! Soon, he could no longer feel indignation, for he was lulled into a dreamless sleep. Tom Marvolo Riddle has been vanquished at long last! Now, the Wizarding world could clean up the mess left behind and let itself heal. The prophecy given by Sibyl Trelawney was not put into play.

The magical society of Britain would not have to put all their hopes of salvation on a child's shoulders, for they had saved themselves. The Blood war of Tom Riddle would soon be over and a bad memory.