A/N: Thanks to everyone who read this story and especially those who reviewed, it made me consider things that I initially didn't. Again lots of thanks to my beautiful Beta, withoutthespaces, to who i am basically illiterate without.
I am not going to put a disclaimer in each chapter, please refer to chapter one if you need to read one.
11 year old Harry Potter-Figg sat up in his bed, a giant smile plastered on his face. Today was his birthday! He bounded out of bed and hurtled down the stairs, just in time to knock into his mother at the base of the stairs.
Bella had just been coming up too wake up her son. Bella had long since adopted Harry and had come to think of him as her flesh and blood son. He knew he was adopted but she loved him unconditionally and that was enough.
Harry's eyes went wide as he saw his mother slip and fall and reacted reflex, his arm shooting out and grabbing her by the arm, steadying her.
Bella glared at her son, her hands on her hips. "Harry James Potter-Figg, if it wasn't your birthday, you would be in SO much trouble," she said as the glare transformed into a kind smile, "Now how about a nice big birthday breakfast?"
Harry's smile returned to his face as he grabbed his mother in a hug, reassuring himself that she was ok before running into the kitchen. It was there he stopped and the smile dropped from his face.
"Hello Harry," said the visitor in the kitchen, sitting at the table, eating a piece of bacon.
"Good Morning, Director Ragnok sir" said Harry sombrely.
Ragnok laughed "None of that youngster, I'm only here to give you your birthday present"
Harry gave up the act and smiled at the director, being careful to show as many teeth as possible. It was incredibly rude for teeth to be shown to a goblin but it was considered to be extremely respectful when used with family. The Goblin Leader had long considered Harry family, even going so far as to bringing his family to the Figg's Christmas Parties.
Ragnok snapped his fingers and a large gift box appeared in the air. The first year the goblin had given Harry a gift, he had given Harry a giant black box. The then 2 year old has refused to go near the ominous box until Bella had whispered in the Goblins ear and he had changed the packaging to a bright happy wrapping with a large red bow.
The Goblin had learned from this mistake, his presents were always as gaudy as he could make them.
Harry tore into the present, pulling out a long wicked looking knife with nuak'gyc (Goblin for nephew) inscribed on the blade. Bella went white.
"Ragnok," Bella moaned "Why in merlins name would you give the child a knife. It's practically a sword!"
Ragnok smirked, an odd sight on a goblin. "But my dear Lady, in Goblin culture, a boy is given a sword when he becomes a man, in the wizarding world, children are sent hundreds of miles to go to school, why not give Harry something to defend himself with?"
"Harry James Potter-Figg, if I hear about you using that knife in anything less than a life or death situation-"
"-Or an honour duel-" muttered Ragnok.
"Don't encourage him!" Bella snapped.
Harry laughed as his Mother and uncle bickered and he reflected on his life so far. He had been very happy until he went to elementary school, it was then he found out the truth.
:/Flashback/:
"Good morning class, I am Miss Dalton, I will be your Prep teacher." The Teacher was a young woman with brown hair and a nice smile. Harry thought she looked really nice.
Suddenly there was a snicker up the back. A fat boy with blonde hair and piggy eyes was talking with his friends, not listening to the teacher. Miss Dalton frowned and walked up the aisle, stopping before the group.
"Excuse me, I hope I'm not disturbing your conversation," she glowered at them as the class all held their breath. In trouble on the first day. If there was any sympathy for the fat boy, it was gone with his next words.
"No, you're not. I'll just talk to me friends," the boy sneered.
The teacher was shocked "Well Mr..."
"Dudley" replied the boy smugly "Dudley Dursley"
"Well Mr Dudley Dursley, you can stay in with me after school. I need someone to clean all the desks, and to scrape the gum from underneath."
Dudley's face went red, "No way, I'm not doing it, make someone else do it!"
"No, Mr Dursley you will do it, or you will have detention for the rest of the week," replied the teacher.
For the rest of the day, Dudley sulked and shot the teacher mean looks. And at the end of the day, he tried to leave with the rest of the class but Miss Dalton was standing at the door and caught him.
That night when Bella and Harry were having dinner, Bella asked Harry how his day at school was.
"It was pretty good, the teacher was really nice and the kids were mostly friendly," said Harry as he tried to sneak his veggies to under the table for one of the cats to eat.
Bella caught the piece of broccoli as it fell and placed it back on Harry's plate with a look. "Mostly?" asked Bella.
"Well there's this one kids named Dudley Dursley, he kept talking when Miss Dalton was and then he was really mean to her and the teacher gave him detention after school. On the first day!" Exclaimed Harry.
Bella went white at the name. "Harry, I have something very serious to tell you."
Harry turned around in his chair and gave his full attention to his mother.
"Do you remember when I told you that I adopted you?" Harry nodded and she continued "Well I adopted you because I found you on a doorstep," Harry kept nodding, he knew all this. "Well... That doorstep was the Dursleys."
Horror filled Harry's face "Why would someone try and give me to the Dursleys?"
"We don't know Harry," replied Bella "Ragnok tried to find a reason but apart from your mother and Mrs Dursley going to the same primary school, there is no connection."
"But surely there would be a reason." Harry persisted.
"I don't know Harry; maybe whoever did it was insane"
...
Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk in his office. The silence of the office was broken by the steady puffing and clicking. Most people assumed they were knick knacks that he had acquired over his long life, but in reality they were all used to monitor Harry Potter in some way. One showed that he still lived on Privet Drive (he had set it to encompass the entire street just in case the Dursleys made him run errands or to work in other houses.)
One monitored the Blood wards. Blood wards come in two forms. One that were strengthened by a familial blood bond and did not affect either of the subjects. It was created when someone sacrificed their magic or their life to connect two individuals, creating a bond that would actively protect the subjects. The other one used the subjects own blood and magic to create an impenetrable shield that slowly sapped the magic out of the 'victim'. The latter was used in the middle ages by nobles who had magical slaves. They cast the spell on their slave and specified a set of circumstances, such as constantly staying with the lord, and as such the lord had ultimate protection and the slave would eventually have all the magic sapped out of them.
Dumbledore had placed the latter on Harry Potter. He had made up some nonsense about Lily and Petunia being sisters, changed a few Muggle records to show this and then he had the perfect place for his weapon to go, a place where he would be beaten, starved and would eventually come to see Dumbledore as his saviour. Dumbledore smiled and popped a lemon drop into his mouth, thinking to himself 'I love it when a plan comes together'.
...
Back at the Figgs' Harry was just finishing up his pancakes with sprinkles when an owl appeared in the window. Harry having got used to this from the Goblin messenger birds, casually went over to the window, opened it to let the bird in and went back to breakfast, assuming the owl was for his guardian. Imagine his surprise when the bird landed next to his coffee and offered its leg.
Carefully he untied the letter and placed it on the counter.
Harry Potter
Second Bedroom
2 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey
Harry turned the envelope over and saw the crest sealing the letter. It was not the crossed pick and sword of Gringotts, rather it was segmented shield with 4 animals on it, a snake, a lion, an eagle and a badger, surrounding an ornate 'H'.
Harry had heard of Hogwarts from his mother and uncle but had never seen the crest before. He broke the wax seal, opening the envelope and pulling out the parchment. He felt a feeling of relief and excitement come over him, strong and powerful. He tried to think straight but all he could think about was being able to leave his Mother. Harry shook his head, he loved his mother, and she was the best person he knew. Slowly the feeling got less and less powerful, getting to the point where his occlumency re-engaged and squashed the rest of the feelings.
He immediately knew this was one of those compulsions that his mother had talked about. He also knew that this was something that only a really powerful wizard could generate. Bella walked into the kitchen and saw that Harry was holding a Hogwarts letter. She had seen her brother with one just before she was kicked out of the magical world. She was about to speak when she noticed his eyes. They were scrunched up in concentration; he then shook his head and focussed on the letter. Bella had a bad feeling.
"So I see that you got a Hogwarts letter," said Bella, making Harry jump.
"Don't do that," he exclaimed, holding his hand to his chest as if he was having a heart attack.
Bella laughed and picked up the letter, skipping over the main greeting and instead going on to the supplies list. She sighed; all of this meant they would have to go to Diagon alley.
Harry on the other hand was excited to go to Diagon Alley. He only got to go on special occasions, and it was always to do boring things like buy potion ingredients or to visit the bank. This time he would be getting a wand and all the other things he would need to go to Hogwarts. He couldn't wait to get his first wand. However, this was not the first time he was fitted with magical foci.
:/Flashback/:
"Now Harry" began Ragnok "In the Goblin Kingdom, children are able to do magic from whenever their magic 'solidifies'. This means when it produces its first aura. For a human child, especially one from a Muggle family, a child can only perform wand magic from age 11, and only at Hogwarts. However, this law only pertains to magic done with a wand. Today we will be fitting you with a magical focus, of which there are almost a dozen styles."
"Ok sir, sounds fairly straightforward" answered Harry.
"Now Harry, we have hidden the foci around the room, under invisibility spells. Close your eyes and try and find the one that 'feels' right magically."
Harry closed his eyes and waited, and waited, and waited until he felt a pull from his left. Following the pull, he ended up in the far corner of the room, picking up a set of rings.
"Excellent" pronounced Ragnok "these will allow you do magic with an open hand, giving the illusion of wand-less magic. These will be excellent. Try them on," Ragnok was getting excited.
Harry put the two rings on to his middle fingers. Immediately a stream of red and gold sparks flew out from the rings, fountaining for almost a minute. When they finally settled on to his finger, the room sat in stunned silence. Ragnok summed up all their thoughts with one word "Wow."
:/End Flashback/:
Harry had been practicing with his ring for exactly 5 years now and could perform all the spells from the first 5 years of Hogwarts, something that he planned never to tell people.
Harry put his coat on, dragon hide with a polar fleece cover (a present from Ragnok), and walked out to the roadside, holding out his ringed hand.
A bang like a gunshot rang out and a triple decker purple bus with 'The Knight Bus' emblazoned on the side. A young man leapt out the door and started speaking in the dull monotone of repetition "Welcome to the knight bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard, I am Stan Shunpike and I will be you conductor for this morning". With that he looked around and spotted Harry and Bella, "Good mornin' Miss Figg, how you doin' this fine day?"
"Quite well, Stan" replied Bella, smiling at the pimple-faced young man, whom she had come to know well as she couldn't apparate and the ministry wouldn't let her use a portkey. The knight bus had been heaven, what with her with a young son.
Bella paid the fee for the bus and settled into one of the chairs; Harry making it a second too late and getting thrown into his chair. Muttering under his breath, he pulled out his book and settled in for the trip.
"Whatcha reading there, Harry?" asked Stan.
"Chronicles of Narnia," replied Harry.
"Whatsit 'bout?" Harry sighed and put down his book, getting ready to explain the Muggle story to the magical man.
It was twenty minutes later that they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, Harry disembarking rubbing his temples and Bella laughing at his expression.
"Talking animals, what will the Muggles think up next, aye Harry?" Shouted Stan, making Harry groan as they entered the seedy looking establishment.
"You could have helped me mum. You could have helped me explain or just told Stan to go away, but no, you actually kept him going. Remind me to take you off my Christmas card list." Complained Harry, to which Bella just laughed harder.
Bella and Harry moved through the bar, to the back room, where Harry tapped his ring on the required bricks and the archway appeared before them. Though Harry had been to the Alley before, he still got a thrill seeing it; it was so different from the Muggle world.
Bella led harry through the Alley to Gringotts. Upon entering the bank, Harry was smiled at by several Goblins, he was very well known in the goblin world, not because of his defeat of Voldemort, but because he was a fair and polite human who had earned his place as the nephew of the Goblin leader. Most of the patrons saw the smiles and mistook them for snarls and grimaces, wondering what the child had done to be treated with such hostility
Bella and Harry joined one of the lines and when they got to the counter, they were surprised to find themselves faced with a familiar Goblin.
"Hello Griphook," greeted Harry, smiling at his Uncle in-law. Griphook had married Ragnok's sister. They had met because Griphook had been Harry's bank manager until the relationship was established. Now Griphook worked in the Crafting sector, a prestigious job, crafting Goblin swords and gauntlets.
"How are you Harry" smiled Griphook affectionately (he had come to care for Harry when he had trained him in the use of his rings and when he managed the Potter holdings).
"Very well Griphook" said Harry in Goblish (A/N: I refuse to call their language Gobbledegook, it means gibberish. Beta Note: you can't just rename a language! But, you're the author, do whatever.) "I need to withdraw some money for school supplies."
Griphook snapped his fingers and a bag of Galleons appeared on the counter "Will a hundred galleons be enough?" asked Griphook.
"That will be sufficient" replied Harry, taking the surprisingly light bag of gold and attaching it to his belt. Harry bowed once, dropping his eyes to the floor before turning on his heel and walking out the doors, without saying goodbye, a goblin custom. There was no point in wasting time on pleasantries when business had been concluded.
The Figgs' first stop was Madam Malkins for Hogwarts robes. Harry had a couple of robes at home, but only for formal events, like the wedding of his Aunt and Uncle in law. Harry had the Potter crest magically woven into the hemline, meaning that anyone who stole his robes could be identified.
The Figgs' quickly finished most of the shopping before lunch, so they reviewed the list of supplies over fish and chips at the Leaky Cauldron.
"All that I have left is to buy a wand," said Harry excitedly.
"And a pet," replied his mother, smiling at the look of excitement on Harry's face.
"You mean it, I can get a pet?" Harry had wanted his own pet for a while but Bella had been concerned with how he would care for it. But now he was going to Hogwarts, Bella supposed he was old enough to care for one.
Harry started wolfing down his food, almost chocking when he tried to swallow a giant mouthful. Bella just shook her head, she had tried to get Harry to pace himself at the dinner table but Harry was like a garbage disposal. Oh he had table manners and was very polite usually but the amount of food he could put away was staggering.
When Harry was finished, he dragged his mother to the magical menagerie to pick out a pet. He walked up and down the aisles, looking at the unusual pets on display, before he came to the owl section. He was about to settle on a Brown owl with black eyes when a snowy white owl came down from the rafters, settling on Harry's shoulder. A man came around with a broom and upon seeing the owl on Harry's shoulder began apologizing, "Oh I'm sorry sir, I had just opened her cage to clean it and she just shot out. I don't know what happened..."
"That's ok," replied Harry, stroking the feathers on his companion. As they connected a spark shot between them. Harry stiffened but Hedwig began what looked like the owl version of a victory dance, hooting excitedly. "I think I'll take her."
The shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief that this child was not one of the stuck up rich kids who would have struck the owl and then had their parents sue the shop. He was so relieved that he ended up giving the kid a perch and food for free.
Harry paid for the owl and walked out the door. It was here he began to bounce again, he was getting a wand. The universal symbol of witches and wizards all over the world.
Harry and Bella walked into Ollivander's squinting into the gloom which seemed so much darker after being out in the sunshine. A bang startled both of them as who they presumed was Ollivander came sliding along one of the rack on a rolling ladder.
"Ah hello there, here for your Hogwarts wand?" said Mr Ollivander "Well if you will, please hold out your hand."
Harry held out his hand and Mr Ollivander began measuring him, the tape moving on his own.
"Now I hope you will forgive me if I am a bit energetic, I so love to fit children with their first wand"
"First wand?" queried Harry "I thought you only had one wand"
"No no no, a witch or wizard only keeps their first wand for the Hogwarts years, then their given their true wands. It has to do with magical development, not to mention some people come into magical inheritances on their 17th birthday."
Harry ran his hand through his hair as he processed this information. As his scar became visible Ollivander stiffened and lost all of his original friendliness and energy, and was replaced with a soft spoken man with eyes that never blinked.
"Ah Mr. Potter, I had wondered when I would be seeing you." Ollivander scuttled of the aisle muttering "I sold you your parents their wands you know. Your fathers was pleasantly springy, good for Transfiguration, while your mothers was good for charms, not to mention offensive spells.
Harry looked baffled, what had happened to the man?
Half an hour later and harry could swear that Ollivander was trying to draw out the wand choosing. Finally Ollivander picked up a wand from a box and harry got the response Ollivander was looking for.
"Curious Curious." Muttered Ollivander
"What's Curious?" asked harry.
It is curious that the wand that chose you has a core that is from the same phoenix as You-Know-Who. It seems you are destined for great things..."
Well yes thank you for that but I think we best be going" said Bella putting her hand on Harry's shoulder.
Ollivander quickly wrapped and packaged the wand, the Figgs almost running out of the store. As they left, Ollivander had the strongest urge to owl Professor Dumbledore about Harry Potter's wand.
By this time the Figgs were exhausted so they made their way to Gringotts, so that Ragnok could provide them with a portkey home.
A/N: Sorry about the long time between uploads, I changed internet providers and they were dragging their heels. I promise to have one out at least once every two weeks.