A/N: So... I've not written fanfic for a little more than three years. In fact, I've not done any creative writing at all in the last three years. I'm a college student and at some point in my sophomore year, I got so bogged down by classes that I stopped writing the fics I was working on at the time. And eventually, the stress from school, as well as all the shitty research papers I had to write just made me lose all passion for creative writing. So in the last few years, the only writing I've done has been for classes that I hate. This summer I decided I didn't want college to ruin something that I used to really enjoy. So I sat down and started working on this fic. I basically spent around 10 hours working on the sort of background lore for this AU, and then I spent a few hours working on this first chapter. In this chapter, I kinda gloss over the explanation for some things. This is on purpose and most if not all of it will be explained in greater detail in future chapters of the story. That being said if you have any questions at all just leave a review or shoot me a message PM and I'll be happy to answer any questions. I really like the world I'm crafting and I think you will too. Also, feel free to ask questions about the greater lore of the AU if you'd like. I'd be happy to answer those as well as I just really like what I've made here.
Also want to note that as I have not done any creative writing in years, my writing skills haven't really gotten any better so I do apoligze if this is crap.
Also Also I got an AI image generator to make the cover image, I think it did pretty good for a free bot.
Basic Summary (This will be expanded on later as more details about the AU are revealed):
When Harry is five years old a mysterious whisper carried by the wind reveals to him the secrets of the magical world and his place in it. As his eleventh birthday approaches he readies himself to rejoin the world he belongs in. The one he was taken from all those years ago. Watch out world, here comes Harry Potter, the zephyrborn.
[Generic I'm not JK Rowling disclaimer]
Zephyrborn
Chapter 1: The Wind
Harry likes being up high. The wind's voice isn't so muffled. It takes less focus to understand what it's trying to say. Usually, he can only pick up a few words. A warning about Dudley and his gang, a hint about a shortcut that'll get him away from Dudley and his gang, when he should duck behind a bush so Dudley and his gang don't see him… it's mostly warnings about Dudley and his gang now that he thinks about it. And when he's inside he can barely hear it at all, just the gentle hum of a thought in the air. But the higher he goes the clearer the wind's voice is. The more obvious is its meaning. Up where the buildings don't stifle its words, he can truly hear what the wind has to say.
The first time he'd heard the wind's voice was at Dudley's fifth birthday party. They were in the backyard playing musical statues when suddenly he heard a whisper in his ear that said, 'Jump!' And he did, more out of fright than for any intention of listening to the voice, and swinging right for where his shins had been was his Aunt Marges walking stick. He'd lost the game as he couldn't stop looking for the voice he'd heard, but at least he hadn't been nursing bruises on his shins for the rest of the day.
A few months later he'd been at the park when he heard the voice again, a bit louder this time, say 'Run!' He stood up to look for the voice, but when he turned around and saw Dudley and his friends walking towards him he gave up on finding the one who spoke and bolted out of there. He didn't find out till later when his uncle beat him for it, but apparently, Dudley saw him disappear in a jet of wind going faster than any boy should be able to.
He'd gone to the park a few days later, when Dudley was playing his computer games so he knew he wouldn't be interrupted, and walked around for hours trying to find the voice. It was when a particularly large gust of wind blew through that he heard the voice again. It said, "Climb!" and so he did. This voice had helped him twice now so he would find it if he could. He climbed the tallest tree in the park, which wasn't very tall at all as there weren't many trees in the park, and when he got to the top he felt a soft breeze against his face.
"Hello!" he cried into the wind. "Are you there Mr. Voice!"
And sure enough, the wind whispered to him, 'Hello…litlle zephyrborn…'
"I-I think you have me confused with someone else Mr! My name is Harry!"
There was a sound then, almost like a laugh. It filled Harry's chest with warmth. 'Oh little zephyrborn you're definitely who we were looking for.'
"Y-you were looking for me?"
'Yes since we could first sense you nearly six years ago The magics around you have been keeping us from you. They could not know our intentions so assumed them… harmful...'
"B-but magic isn't real! Uncle Vernon said so!"
That almost a laugh sounded through Harry again, he liked that sound. 'You have much to learn little zephyrborn. But we can teach you…'
"Wha-"
Harry's question was interrupted by a loud exclamation of, "BOY! What the devil are you doing up that tree!?"
Startled by the screaming Harry slipped from the branch he was standing on and was in a head-first collision with the ground when suddenly his momentum was seemingly swallowed by the wind and he landed softly on his bottom.
"We'll… talk… again…" was the last Harry heard from the wind before Uncle Vernon stomped up to him grabbed him by the arm and hauled him to his feet.
Vernon glanced around, and after seeing no one was around to see what had happened looked down at Harry and growled, "What have I told you about this freakishness boy?"
"B-but I was just talking to…the…" part way through his sentence Harry realized the absurdity of what he was about to say and stopped. If he told Uncle Vernon he was hearing voices his punishment would be even worse. Harry looked down and said, "Sorry Uncle Vernon it won't happen again."
Uncle Vernon hmphed and said, "You're damn right it won't. You'll be on the streets if I see any more of this foolishness, mark my word."
And Harry did mark his words, after spending a week in his cupboard that is. After that, he was careful not to bo be seen up any trees, but that didn't stop him from talking to his only friend... the wind.
Nearly six years later Harry awoke to the screeching of his aunt, "Up! Get up! Now!"
arry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again.
"Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. Over the years Harry had learned to more easily understand the wind. Even now, inside his little cupboard, he could, if not hear the wind, at least understand basic thoughts. And right now it was thinking one thing, 'Bitch'.
His aunt was back outside the door.
"Are you up yet?" she demanded.
"Nearly," said Harry with a smile, even in this dark cupboard the wind could make him smile.
"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."
Harry sighed and whispered to the wind, "Of course. Dudley's birthday. How could I forget?"
'Cause he sucks.'
Harry chuckled softly at that.
"What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.
"Nothing, Aunt Petunia."
Harry got up and walked into the kitchen. The table was covered in presents for Dudley, it looked like he'd gotten all the things he'd asked for. Including a racing bike. Although Harry didn't really understand why Dudley had wanted a racing bike. It's not like he'd ever use it, he pretty much hated all forms of exercise. 'Except beating up smaller kids, I guess.' Although in recent years Harry had been able to get away from Dudley's beatings, when he was younger and wasn't always able to hear the wind's warnings he would sometimes get caught. Not often though. While he may look small being a zephyrborn had its perks, like being the fastest kid in school.
Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon.
"Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.
About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way. A few adults had referred to the look as windswept and he decided he rather liked it.
Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother.
Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell.
"Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."
"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy."
"All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry could tell a tantrum was coming on so decided to scooch back a smidge in case his cousin decided to flip the table.
'He's gonna blow! 'whispered the wind to Harry.
Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?"
Dudley thought for a moment, then he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty... thirty..."
'Earthworm.'
Harry had to hold back a chuckle at the wind's colorful insult.
"Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.
"Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."
Uncle Vernon chuckled.
"Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair.
At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap his presents. He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.
"Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him." She jerked her head in Harry's direction.
Dudley looked horrified, while Harry rose an eyebrow in interest. Every year the Dursleys went on some excursion for Dudley's birthday and left Harry at Mrs. Figg's house. An old elemental inept who lived two streets away. When the wind first told Harry Mrs. Figg was part of his world he was excited. That is until the wind told him she was an elemental inept, or a squib as they were more often known in the magical world. She might know of magic, but she was barely more connected to it than Uncle Vernon. And while he liked the kneazles, they were better conversationalists than Dudley at any rate, he'd honestly rather do anything else than hear about all the kneazles Mrs. Figg had ever owned.
"Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this.
"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.
"Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy."
"What about what's-her-name, your friend-Yvonne?"
"On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia.
"You could just leave me here," Harry said. He could climb to the top of the local church. It was the highest spot in Little Whinging, but he normally didn't have the time to climb up there what with all the chores they made him do.
Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.
"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.
"I won't blow up the house," said Harry with a soft chuckle to himself, but they weren't listening.
'Nice one.'
"I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "...and leave him in the car..."
"That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone..."
Dudley began to cry loudly. It looked fake as shit to Harry, but no one ever accused his relatives of being smart.
"Dinky Duddydums, don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.
"I ... don't ... want ... him ... t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms.
Harry rolled his eyes. As if he gives a shit.
Just then, the doorbell rang-"Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically-and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother.
Half an hour later was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life. His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.
"I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, "I'm warning you now, boy-any funny business, anything at all-and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."
"I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly..."
Of course, Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. Although Harry couldn't blame him as he wasn't being honest anyways. He and the wind would do whatever they thought they could get away with, and some things they couldn't if they thought they were funny enough.
Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry. Harry had snuck into his room at night, completely silent as his dominion over air allowed him to be, and cut off large chunks of Dudley's hair. He'd laughed his ass off in the morning when he heard Dudley's wails from the bathroom. He'd gotten his ass handed to him then, made worse by the fact that his hair had managed to grow back overnight like it always did after a haircut.
Another time he'd gotten into trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens…again. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when suddenly there he was sitting on the chimney. The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings again without permission. All he'd tried to do was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump. That might be a dumb thing for a normal kid to think, but he was zephyrborn, it was totally possible for him.
So today he'd get away with what he could. And meet some cool animals in the meantime.
It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop. It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought.
Harry had a nice morning. He walked as far ways away from the Dursleys as possible to not be associated with them. He didn't want any respectable people here to think he was as moronic as his relatives. They'd seen some bird who Harry was happy to talk to. They were beings of the air just as he was so he could understand them, and by way of the wind's tongue, they could understand him. They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.
After lunch, they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. He even saw some "flying" lizards that he could wondrously understand fairly well, if not as seamlessly as the birds, and muffled by the glass enclosures.
When he asked the wind if it knew he had this ability its muffled reply was, 'Nope.'
'Weird, I'll have to ask it about that later.'
Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, venomous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can-but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. It was fast asleep.
Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.
"Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge.
"This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.
Harry moved up to the tank. He pitied the poor creature. His life wasn't the greatest, but at least he could leave his cupboard and climb tall trees. At least he had the wind to talk to. The snake had none of this. Forced to sit around all day with morons tapping on its glass.
The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's.
It winked.
The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly: "I get that all the time."
"I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "I've just got my Aunt Petunia banging on my cupboard, I can't imagine having all these morons bothering me all the time. It must get annoying real quick."
The snake nodded vigorously, and Harry heard a low, muffled hissing voice say, "Yeah, this placccce sssucksss."
"I-I can understand you?" This surprised Harry.
'The fuck?' and the wind.
At least the other reptiles he spoke to could, in some sense, "fly". They may not be as of the air as he, but at least they lived some of their life in it. This was a snake. Not even a flying snake, just a normal slithery earthy non-flying snake.
The same low, muffled, hissing voice said, "Ghah, a sssspeaker! I never thought I'd meet one here."
"The hell can I understand you for? You can't fly, right?"
"Fly? Amigo, I'm a boa consssstrictor, of coursssse I can't fly."
As Harry went to question the snake further, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"
Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.
'Sideste-'
"Out of the way, you," Dudley said, punching Harry in the ribs unknowingly interrupting the wind. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened so fast that no one saw how it happened-one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leaped back with howls of horror.
Harry sat up and had to stop a laugh from coming out; the glass in front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.
As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry heard the snake say, "Brazil, here I come... Thanksss, amigo."
"Uhh, yeah no problem."
The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.
"But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"
The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. Harry knew for a fact the snake didn't do shit to them, but they were acting like they'd stared death in the face and come out stronger for it. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"
'Fuuuck,' Harry thought.
'Rock bastard,' said the wind.
Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go-cupboard-stay-no meals," before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.
Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later. What felt like hours passed before the wind whispered a thought into his head, 'now.'
He focused for a second and the air around him stilled. It took him a long time to learn this skill, but he had lots of opportunities to practice. Sound needed a medium to travel through, and as he could control the air, he could stop it from transmitting sound and make an area around him silent. So it was that when he opened the cupboard, the creaky hinges and floorboards were completely silent. And as he snuck into the kitchen and got himself some food, no one was the wiser. The complete silence was fairly ominous actually, you never realize how much ambient sound there is until it's gone. Hopefully, in the future, he'd get enough control to pick which sounds get in and out of his little bubble and possibly refine the area that is made silent so it doesn't have to be around his entire body.
When he returned to his cupboard he got in bed and began to think. It was moments like this he wished he had a window. At least then when he couldn't sleep he could speak to the wind in sentences longer than a few extremely muffled thoughts every few minutes. He'd been here for near on ten years now. He knew it wouldn't be much longer though. The wind told him that he should get his letter any day now, and when that happened he'd be out of here. Gone in a flash never to be seen by the Dursley again. He'd be gone with the wind.
A/N: Don't forget to leave a review with any quesiton or thoughts, or feel free to pm if you want a more direct answer to any quesitons you have about the series, the lore, or really whatever.