Chapter 4

Disclaimer:

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners i.e. J.K. Rawlings, etc. the original characters and plot are the property of their author i.e. J.K. Rawlings, etc. this work is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Not for sale or profit but at least I can give it away, maybe? With over 775,000 Harry Potter stories out there I have probably stepped on someone's toes, for that I apologize.

So the world turned as my training continued but then things started to go strange. Clone Harry and Dudley turned right down the narrow alleyway which formed a short cut between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk. It was empty and much darker than the streets it linked because there were no streetlamps. This was not happening in real time and I had not seen this before in the Seers visions that Evelyn had shown me. Somehow this seemed out of character or just not right and got my full attention.

Suddenly there were Dementors! I felt helpless but at least clone Harry handled the situation admirably in the casting of the Expecto Patronum charm.

About two days later, while I was watching clone Harry getting beaten by Vernon once again, Evelyn suddenly rushes in, grabs me and drags me away for a cup of tea.

"Harry, guess what, its graduation time!"

"Evelyn I have to ask, even though I don't think you're going to tell me, what's going to happen when I go back?"

"Not to worry Harry just pack your things up and be ready to leave in two days time. Your physical and magical training and your viewing of the TV cloud is finished. Everyone here thinks you did an outstanding job at learning all the different concepts and skills. We do have a going away present for you that I think you'll find quite enjoyable and very useful."

I wasn't sure whether to smile or prepared to defend myself.

"Now that your training is over we have this medallion for you to wear around your neck. We would recommend that you wear it permanently. When you say, "Boss Evelyn", it will produce a Harry Potter clone that will last for a little over an hour. The clone will seek a secluded place before it dissipates. This will give you a chance to be in two places at the same time. Unfortunately your clone will not be able to transfer any information it has learned to you but will act as a diversion to where you really are. It will also protect your mind from mental intrusion or like you say, mind-reading."

/Scene Break/

I should've known! I was now sitting on the bed in Dudley's second bedroom at Privet Drive looking like clone Harry through use of my glamour charms. Clone Harry was still small and malnourished so the glamour charms hid my years of physical training. I wasn't planning on taking any guff from the Dursleys so I extended my staff as I headed downstairs. I would enjoy giving Vernon a few whacks with my staff. While my wand-less magic could not be traced by the Ministry of Magic I would not be opposed to applying a little physical retaliation for all my lovely years here at Privet Drive. To my surprise I found the house was completely empty. Returning to my bedroom and wishing that Evelyn had explained something or anything I plopped down on the bed. One thing I was sure of, something was going to happen, it always does.

As I lay on the bed I found myself again chuckling at how awful I looked in the dirty mirror here at the Dursley's. I looked like clone Harry with messy shorthair with glasses. They of course contain clear glass as my eye sight had been corrected ages ago. Evelyn swore nobody could see through the charms that made me look like a skinny under nourished runt that the magical world would be expecting to see.

The room grew steadily darker as I lay listening to the night sounds through the open window. The empty house creaked the pipes gurgled as I lay there thinking how useless I felt. I wondered how long it would take before the action started. After all the training that I was provided there is no way I was destined for a peaceful life. I wondered if Evelyn and her crew had prepared me for a huge long battle or a gazillion skirmishes. Actually I was quite bored laying there listening to gurgling pipes.

Then there was a crash in the kitchen below. These intruders were being extremely talkative and not very quiet. Apparently the game was on but with whom?

I snatched up my staff, called out my sword and stood facing the bedroom door. The door lock gave a loud click and the door swung open but the upstairs landing was pitch-black. I moved to the right of the door when I heard…

"Lower that thing boy, before you take someone's eye out," said a low, growling voice.

"It's all right, Harry. We've come to take you away." Came another voice from the hallway. Right...Friends and family… their just stopping by for a visit with the freak at Privet Drive. I got ready for my first fight.

I really am glad somebody lit their wand as I had my sword against the throat of a guy with a weird eye and a partial nose. I then recognized the group as being part of the Order of the Phoenix. I relaxed as they all couldn't be under polyjuice, at least the odds were against it.

"Potter what the hell did you get that thing?" MadEye Moody growled. "Put that thing away, we're here to take you to headquarters."

"Here let me help you pack Harry." Tonks started to waive her wand around. "You have your wand right?"

Right! I thought and retrieved the Hogwarts wand and the invisibility cloak from under the loose floor board where clone Harry kept them. Tonks was confused as there was nothing to pack. I need to get my act together if I'm going to fool these people into thinking I'm the clone Potter. The clone inter-reacted with these people; I only got to watch them on the TV cloud…I had the sudden feeling that this wasn't going to work. The only thing I needed to do now was to perform magic without waving my wand to get them curious and have me locked up somewhere. They had already seen my sword and they were now eyeballing my staff. I slipped the sword into the staff and shrunk the staff. "Self shrinking charm" I muttered. I then put the shrunken staff into my pocket. I had finished with my first batch of rough spots (training) and was looking forward to an average life that came with being Harry Potter. I had the feeling that there was going to be other few rough spots but right now I had these turkeys to deal with. If I could get through schooling and Voldemort, I could get away from most of these idiots and live an average normal life. How wrong could I be?

First off the idiots are leave Privet Drive on brooms. Of course flying above the cloud levels would be too smart so they led me down the Thames River. We were only a few yards above the river as we speed right by tourist boats full of partiers and revelers. The invisibility charm only worked if you remained still and we were defiantly not motionless or invisible on speeding brooms. Some of the drunks actually waved at us. Then we passed Parliament and Big Ben. Even though it was night I wonder how many people saw us flying on brooms.

Evelyn had said that it was a given that sooner or later the timelines would change. What I didn't realize was how quickly that would happen. Upon entry into Grimmauld place a number of people decided to ask me twelve questions all the same time, and all the females had decided to squeeze me to death all at the exact same time. I can only reason that my self-control was in effect and not my physical fight response training.

"You lot leave Harry alone! He looks like he can use a good meal." This was said by Mrs. Weasley as she dragged me into the kitchen and tried to ruin my adoration of food by trying to stuff twice what I could hold onto my plate and said…"I expect you to have a clean plate young man."

I was saved from the food on-sloth by the arrival of Albus Dumbledore. "Harry My Boy, did you have a good summer? Hogwarts is going to be quite busy for you this year."

If he thought I was going to jump in and ask what he was talking about, well he was sadly mistaken. Evelyn was way more adept at baiting me into asking and me not getting a straight answer in return. However I never found out why I was going to be so busy as Dumbledore was apparently waiting for me to ask just that and I definitely wasn't going to ask. I filled my mouth with some of the bland food and waited. I figured he was baiting me so he could give one of his standard replies like, "All in good time My Boy" like he did with the clone Harry. Evelyn at least changes the subject with finesse.

From the corner of my eye I watched Hermione and Ron whispering at the other end of the table. There were periodic glance in my direction which led me to believe they were talking about me. Keeping my straight face as I was chuckling to myself over how they were going to get some surprises. Dumbledore finally tried to bait me a bit more by saying, "You should enjoy yourself here at Black Manor for the rest of the summer as your training will commence on your arrival at Hogwarts" It appeared he was not going to leave it alone but then…I thought to myself, yeah right! Wasn't Hogwarts a school for training? While I had plenty of power my repertoire of spells I was still in a learning process. Anyone who thought they knew everything was in for a rude awakening at some point in their life. Voldemort had not dumped, into my brain, seventy years of learning when he made me his equal in power so I had much to learn. As Evelyn had stated, there was a number of ways to interpret Dumbledore's prophecy which of course I was not to know anything about being a weak little boy. But since Dumbledore wasn't going to leave me alone…

"Harry My Boy, what's this I hear about you having a staff?"

About that time I felt Evelyn's medallion heating up.

"It just something I've been working on in between beatings from Vernon and his family. Completely non-magical, it's just super at giving whacks to loud mouth jerks. Speaking of which, didn't you just say that this was Black Manor headmaster?" I just love playing dumb as I thought; this place has been or will be sold in accordance with Sirius Black's Will. But in the meantime regardless of the status of this manor or Dumbledore trying to read my mind…

"Indeed My Boy this is Black Manor, why do you ask?"

"I would never think the new Lord Black, being the loud mouth slime-ball that he is, would let you use this as your headquarters."

"What are you talking about My Boy?" Dumbledore's eyes started twinkling but before he had another try at getting into my head…

"Did you not receive notification that the new Lord Black is Draco Malfoy?" Panic cross Dumbledore's face which got me to wondering. Was that panicked look over my having the information, the medallion blocking his mind reading attempt, or was it that I just told him his little hideaway has been compromised…he, he!

I maintained a straight face as I was laughing hilariously inside. Dumbledore started shouting orders to evacuate Grimmauld place. I was hustled off to the Burrow but no sooner that I step out of the floo then I was leapt upon by Ginny Weasley who placed a lip lock on my lips that someone once said, that it could launch thousand ships. I however was not part of a naval fleet and was having problems classifying this maneuver.

"Get away from her Harry!" The next thing I knew I was pushed backward several feet. Apparently Ron had wedged in between us and pushed between us sending both of us backwards. Ron then turned on me sending his right fist towards my face. Now while Ron was a lot taller, and had a long reach, he was nowhere in shape to take me out. He thought he was firing a knock out punch at a physically challenged clone Harry, and while I was glamour charmed to looks that way, I was not clone Harry.

I leaned to my right and as his fist wheezed by my head I grabbed his arm pulling him toward me and with a little hip check, Ron went flying through the air and landed at the feet of Molly Weasley. She was not happy as she dragged him by the ear into the kitchen and started yelling with a deafening voice.

"How dare he! We have a marriage contract, he has no right to interfere." The little redhead screamed.

Oh well! That's another thing I needed to do away with at the Goblin bank.

Even after all that I found out that I had to share a camping cot in Ron's room. Seems there wasn't enough magic around the place to transform the cot into a real bed. But alas Harry Potter was meant to suffer regardless of where he lived. I'm sure it was written somewhere.