July 9, 2011…
Edinburgh, Scotland…
"Ya leavin', boyo?"
"Yeah, Terry, it's about time I hit the road." I grinned, laying a few pounds on the counter between us for the food. "Same time tomorrow?"
"Aye, lad, I hope to see ya then." The pub manager grinned as I stood up. Terry was a good guy, owned a little pub in downtown Edinburgh that I was really coming to love. The Scot (or his wife, rather) made a mean shepherd's pie, gave it to me for free one night after he convinced me to try his Haggis… Considering I came back the next day and ordered the pie again? Well, that said everything I needed to know about this little place.
"Me too. Tell the missus I'm sorry I missed her."
"Aye, lad, she'll be sorry she missed you too." He grinned as I shrugged my coat over my shoulders.
"Later, Terry."
"See you soon, boyo, see you soon." He chuckled as I stepped out onto the streets, wondering where to go next. I'd already bought a condo (outright with cash, courtesy of the Goblins) around the block for a staggeringly low price for downtown Edinburgh but it was good enough to set up a bed in and it had a decent kitchen for a condo as small as it was. But there was something about the town that just had me out and about.
Then again, that could have just been relief that Pettigrew had been sentenced to die. Now he was just waiting for his day with whatever fate had MaCUSA decided on for him. Karah didn't actually tell me how they'd execute him considering she thought they'd toss him into a can for the rest of his natural life, but I wasn't going to complain.
I smirked as I took a pound coin out of my pocket and flipped it absently, glancing into a passing shop. 'Huh… they handmake bagpipes… Interesting…' I thought about going inside just to get a closer look at what they were doing but was interrupted as an owl swooped down in broad daylight and alighted on my shoulder. It hooted imperiously as I swore violently, trying to duck into an alley, but it was too late as a series of pops surrounded me. I bit my lip and only barely kept from swearing as I took stock of the three men standing in a triangle around me.
My older clone with hazel eyes, a scraggly man in a tweed suit, and Gandalf the Gay.
Wow, wonder who they could be?
"H-Harry?" James asked, staring at me (with his eyes occasionally flicking to the owl on my shoulder in disbelief).
"Yeah. That's me." I grunted, looking around. "You know, if you're going to teleport in broad daylight, try to make sure you aren't doing it in a city as big as this." I hissed as I walked into the alley I was so close to getting into with the three startled men following in my wake.
"Mr. Potter, it is so good to see you alive and well," Dumbledore said, obviously unbalanced but relieved as he handily ignored what I said.
"Yeah, yeah, Gandalf, I'm sure. Now who are you people?" I asked, snatching the letter from the owl whose claws were digging into the leather of my coat uncomfortably. After I took the letter, the damn thing immediately flew away.
"I am Albus Dumbledore, and these are Remus Lupin and James Potter."
"Huh, you're my dad then?" James' eyes were wide as I spoke. Obviously I knew who he was but if I gave that away the jig was up. "Yeah, I can see it. Where've you been the last ten years?"
"I… Harry, it's a long story…" James sighed, his eyes still glued to me. Honestly, it was a bit unsettling.
"Well, I've got time." I grunted as I tucked the letter into my jacket pocket and stared expectantly at them. "What?"
"You don't have any questions?"
"Bloody Hell, yes I have questions!" I snapped, staring at the three of them. "You know what? No. I don't have time for this in the middle of downtown Edinburgh, for Christ's sake. I'm going to my place. If you three want to come with, then keep up." I strode back onto the sidewalk with the three of them hot on my heels until my condo came into view. I walked in, nodded to the man manning the front desk (who stared at the Fellowship striding in behind me strangely), and smacked the button for the elevator. The three wizards looked like they had no idea what to do as the elevator chimed and the doors slid open. I stepped in and so did they, hesitantly. I rolled my eyes as I selected the top floor, already fiddling with my keys before the doors even shut.
"So, Harry…" Remus started. "Have you lived here long?"
"About a month."
"And how did you pay for it?"
"Do you really want to know?"
"Er…"
"Mr. Potter, stealing is not the correct course of action."
"Stole? Gandalf, I think you need to sit down and try to get a condo. They run background checks, lines of credit, all this blah blah blah. Oh, unless you want to pay cash but then there's still about a hundred hoops to jump through."
"And I see you jumped through them all."
"Well, I did pay cash." I shrugged with a smirk. The elevator dinged one more time, announcing our floor. Immediately, I walked out, making a beeline for my apartment as the three of them followed me slowly. I shoved the key in the lock and twisted it, revealing my six hundred square foot, one-bed, one-bath condo to the three at my back.
"Wow…" Remus breathed as he stepped inside. "This is a nice place, Harry."
"Thanks," I said, moving to the fridge. "You three want anything to drink? Oh, you can sit down at the table or in the den, it doesn't matter."
"Oh! Do you have a… Oh, what are they called? Those most excellent beverages that taste of cherries?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes sparkling merrily as he sat down at the small, wooden table I had four chairs around.
"You mean cherry coke?"
"Yes! Would you happen to have one of those? It has been quite sometime since I last partook."
"Was that before or after these two were born?" I snorted as I took one of the few I had in the fridge out, I didn't drink them but… But they did remind me of home. I shook my head slightly behind the refrigerator as I plucked a straight coke and two water bottles out of the fridge next.
"After, I do believe." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as I put the cans on the counter and pulled a few cups from the cabinets. James and Remus looked confused as I popped the tops and let the cokes pour themselves while I took my ice tray from the freezer. Soon enough, the marauders had their waters while Dumbledore and I were sipping at our own drinks. "Ah, that is just as delicious as I remember."
"Glad you like it. So, what's this all about?" I asked, crossing my arms and leaning back in my chair.
"We are here to, of course, retrieve you, Harry." Dumbledore smiled as I raised an eyebrow.
"And?"
"My dear boy, why do you think there's an and?"
"Because you didn't say there was 'no and'." Dumbledore blinked before he shook his head.
"Ah… He truly is his mother's child." He smiled warmly as he gestured to my coat – likely the letter within. "I am here to personally invite you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"Oh? You're a little late, prof." Dumbledore blinked as I reclined in the chair.
"What do you mean, Harry?" Remus asked carefully.
"Well, I've been in America for the past few weeks, Canada the past few years… Best we don't talk about Canada."
"Harry, I… I know about the crater. What was there, son?"
"Again," I said, harsher this time as I stared at James, "it's better we don't talk about Canada. I'd rather just move on. I'm the only one who remembers what was there anyway."
"Alright, Harry," Remus said, "but why are we too late?"
"Because Ilvermorny invited me to attend there."
"Ilvermorny?" Dumbledore questioned. "My boy, I can assure you that that upstart institute has nothing on the history and pedigree Hogwarts has cultivated over the centuries."
"Oh? How so?"
"We have the largest library in the whole of the magical world. Even Beauxbatons and Durmstrang combined cannot compare."
"Beauxbatons?"
"A school of magic deep in the French Pyrenees."
"What the Hell is it about magical schools and mountains…" I muttered under my breath, rolling my eyes before I turned back to the three. "And Durmstrang? What mountain is that on?"
"We… Er… Well, we are unsure as to the specifics." Dumbledore stroked his beard. "What we do know is that it is in a location where temperatures are quite low annually and the majority of the students are German or of Eastern European descent."
"Oh, so does Hogwarts take international students?"
"Occasionally."
"Northern Ireland doesn't count. Hell, Ireland barely counts."
"Then I am afraid to say we do not recruit internationally as other countries have their own schools for Magic. However, anyone is welcome to apply for Hogwarts regardless of nationality, race, or creed. In fact, two of your very own yearmates hail from India."
"Well, you have that going for you at least," I grunted. "What's your curriculum look like?" And so Dumbledore explained the basics of Hogwarts, how there were several core classes that had to be taken until third year at least, two of which could be replaced with one of the several electives Hogwarts offered, and then about the OWLs and NEWTs examinations. "OWLs, NEWTs? Are those approved by the ICW?"
"I am afraid Great Britain and the ICW do not share good relations these days." Once chipper and cheerful, Dumbledore's voice had turned icy in an instant.
"Is this about that Pettigrew scandal? I heard a bit about it before I came over here but not too much. I do know he betrayed you though." I nodded at James whose face went stormy.
"No, Black betrayed us. Lily cast the spell, I was the binder, and Peter was the witness. Sirius had to be the Secret Keeper," James said, shaking his head fiercely. Obviously getting angrier with every word. As the three of us watched James carefully, I felt my eyebrows draw together.
"Uh, okay? You always this defensive or is this a special case?"
"James and Peter bonded after that night, Harry. I wasn't around much." Remus said, looking at me intensely. "But I finally found you…"
"We found him, Moony," James said, looking at me again. "And one day we'll have Peter back and everything will be right. Amy… Merlin, she's been heartbroken. It was all that damned cat's fault, too." James swore as he clenched his fists. "I thought it was ridiculous that a cat could have broken Sirius out of Azkaban but then it went and kidnapped Peter and handed him to the Yanks… And then there was that way it disappeared…"
"Yes, it was quite extraordinary," Dumbledore sighed. "I myself have seen this memory and yet still have trouble believing it."
"A cat?" I asked, my eyebrow in my hairline as they outlined the ridiculous story I was the key part in. "A cat broke a man out of prison and kidnapped your friend? That's just a bit…"
"Ludicrous." Remus supplied and I nodded. "Are you sure it was just a cat?"
"I scanned it myself, it wasn't an animagus but it was magical." James sighed, putting his face between his hands.
"So what are we dealing with here?"
"The way it disappears is strange, I have never heard of anything like it before."
"How?" I asked. The three of them glanced between each other and then shrugged.
"It disappeared with a crack of apparition louder than a cannon shot."
"Like thunder?" I asked.
"Yes!" Dumbledore nodded excitedly. "Exactly like thunder!"
"It was exactly like thunder?" I asked, crossing my arms with a lifted eyebrow. "Could be a Raiju. They're supposed to be tricky things but I don't know what James would have done to one if it's been doing all this." James stared at me flatly as Dumbledore steepled his fingers.
"Hm… Perhaps. I have contacts in the Orient. I shall see what they have to say on the matter." Dumbledore nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Potter. I will look into this."
"No problem." 'Now go chase that wild goose for a few weeks while I'm right under your nose.' "So, are we done talking about the body-snatching, disappearing cat or what?"
"I believe we are, Mr. Potter."
"Great. Back to what we were talking about earlier? If your tests aren't approved by the ICW, why should I give a damn about them?"
"Language, Mr. Potter, but to answer your question? You are required to have your OWLs if you want to work in Britain above a shopkeep or entry level clerk at the Ministry, Mr. Potter, and your NEWTs will allow you to go into the research fields should you score well enough."
"What're on the tests? And if I can pass the NEWTs could I pass the OWLs?"
"Certainly. The OWLs are standard examinations for all fifth year students while NEWTs are far more advanced and taken in seventh year."
"Alright then. I have a perfect memory, you get me a full book list and I'll probably be able to take my NEWTs this time next year."
"Mr. Potter, I assure you, that is quite impossible."
"You don't know until you try." I shrugged as Dumbledore blinked. "So, that book list?"
"I… I will compile the list and owl it to you, Mr. Potter. Will you be staying here?"
"Dunno, will I?" I asked James who was sitting there stunned. He snapped out of it and shook his head.
"You can stay at Potter manor until term starts, if you'd like."
"Great." I said, standing up and taking my empty cup to the sink. "I'll need to go out for a few, I'm friends with the pub manager just 'round the block. If I don't show up tomorrow, he'll probably call the cops and then thing's will just get really messy. James, if you want to come with me, come on. You two? Feel free to the TV and whatever's in the fridge, I'll end up having to throw the food out if I'm leaving for awhile so feel free to it. Bathroom's in the bedroom, second door. First door's my closet, you won't find anything in there except a shirt and a pair of jeans."
"You only have two changes of clothes?" Remus blinked as I shook my head.
"Nah, I'm doing laundry right now." I threw my thumb over my shoulder at the slatted door next to the main entrance. "Washer and dryer set, pretty nifty, right?"
"Yeah, nifty." Remus muttered as I opened the door, gesturing for James to follow me out.
"Right. You can stay here whenever you'd like, Remus." I shrugged, tossing him the key. He snatched it out of the air with a dumbstruck expression plastered over his face. "James is already insisting I stay with him, even if he isn't making it sound like it, and I'd hate to see the place go to waste. Especially since I'm paying taxes on it. It's paid outright so if you stay here, all I ask is that you cover the utilities."
"Harry, I… I can't take this…"
"Sure you can." I shrugged as James looked at the two of us in shock. "Seriously, I won't be using it. Alright, James, let's go tell a barkeep I've found my dad."
Thankfully, Terry understood I was going to be gone for awhile. His wife wasn't happy about me leaving but she was elated I 'found my dad.' I'd came back to my condo to find Dumbledore and Remus had cleaned it up, taken out the trash, thrown out the perishables, and even bleached the toilet while we were out. Dumbledore smiled and handed me a bag and a shoelace when we came back in. He said the bag was full of my stuff and that the string would take us to Potter Manor. I swallowed but grabbed hold of the portkey, not looking forward to what was about to happen.
Boy was I right.
"WE ARE NEVER DOING THAT AGAIN!"
'Are all your kinds' forms of transportation so… off putting, fledgling?'
'Radin, I totally agree. And Sol, I think so and really fucking hate it. Cars aren't too bad though…'
"They're rolling death machines. Ask yourself."
'Low blow.' I thought darkly as I staggered back to my feet.
"You okay there, Harry?" Remus asked as he steadied me with a hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Wow, that was bad." I blinked to clear my vision as Remus nodded.
"First time?"
"And last."
"Hah, I doubt that." Remus smiled and patted my shoulder comfortingly. "Just wait until you apparate for the first time."
"Wait until you side-along for the first time." A new voice parroted Remus as footsteps came running in from the side. "Harry! It's about time you got here!" The voice said as a ginger blur crashed around my midsection. I caught the kid and took us to the floor as easily as I could, trying to keep him from hurting himself. What? It's not like I could break a bone anymore, was it?
"Uh, who're you?" I asked the kid squeezing my midsection like a vice.
"I'm your brother, John!" He squeezed tighter but I still wasn't even breathing hard. "Didn't dad tell you about me?"
"No, we were a bit busy talking about other things."
"Like what?"
"School."
"So you're coming to Hogwarts!?" John let go and looked into my eyes excitedly. My body tingled slightly, which was strange but I ignored it, just grinned as I pushed his shoulder to try to get him off of me. He staggered upright while I turned to the side and did a kip up. Everyone looked at least a little surprised as I rolled my neck and shrugged.
"Why not? I've got a library to pillage, apparently." I grinned as John groaned.
"Ugh, you're going to be a Ravenclaw, aren't you?"
"He's claimed he will be able to take his NEWTs by this time next year, Johnathan." Dumbledore sighed as he looked at me curiously. "Though I fear he may be right. An eleven year old taking the Hogwarts graduation exam… No, that has never happened." Dumbledore sighed as John looked at me with wide eyes.
"What? I have an eidetic, autobiographical memory. I remember everything that's ever happened in my life." I said, tapping my chin.
"You'd be an asset to whatever house you find yourself in, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore said as John practically buzzed with excitement.
"Oh! We could be on the same quidditch team! I could be a chaser and you could be a seeker!"
"Yeah, maybe, no promises though." I shrugged as John grabbed my wrist.
"Come on! I'll show you around!" John said excitedly, already dragging me away. And I wasn't about to complain about it.
"You have a library around here?" I asked, thumbing the straps of my backpack idly. I'd already pillaged the Black Library, and it was currently sitting in my newly expanded pack (courtesy of Andy) since no one else would be using it in the foreseeable future. Sol had a nasty habit of taking control of my body when I was sleeping and speed reading like fifty or sixty books a night. It was honestly ridiculous, I couldn't use any of the magic Sol read about (Hell, I couldn't even do a lumos yet) but the Chronicle apparently just wanted the knowledge…
"We do, but I never use it," John said. "But we do have a Quidditch pitch! Do you know how to fly?"
"No, I've never been on a broom." I shrugged as John stared at me in horror.
"You've never been on a broom!?"
"I was raised as a nomaj." I shrugged as John squinted.
"What's a nomaj?"
"No magic, non magical, normal, whatever you want to call them."
"Do you mean muggle?"
"Uh, sure." I shrugged, if I was going to live in Britain I might as well use their terminology. "But yeah, I was raised without magic."
"That must have been terrible."
"Yeah, it was." I nodded, thinking about Harry's life, not my old one. "So, besides quidditch, what do you do around here?"
"Dad has a sensei for me, he wants me to learn Karate but if I have my wand I won't need Karate to defend myself." John pouted as I felt my eyebrows climb into my hairline.
"He has a point, John. Anything you can do to surprise someone attacking you is always good."
"Ugh, you agree with him?"
"I think everyone should know how to fight." I shrugged as John rolled his eyes.
"Fine…" John pouted as he kicked the hardwood under his feet.
"Don't be that way, John. Come on, I'll spar with you."
"But I've been doing Karate for four years now, Harry, I'm a brown belt."
"So? If your fancy punches and kicks can hurt me then I really need to get back into Judo. Oh, and I do a bit of boxing too." I said, letting Sol pull up Harry's memories of both as I felt my muscles tense slightly. So I still had Harry's muscle memory, eh? Cool.
"You asked for it." John grinned as I smirked. This was going to be good.
"John? Harry? What're you two doing?" James asked as he stepped into the room he had converted into a dojo for John. I was bare chested in a pair of John's gym shorts seeing as I hadn't bought any for myself yet while he was in a white gi with his brown belt tied around his hips. I shook myself loose, bouncing on the balls of my feet as John knelt with his glutes on his heels. I winced when he went directly to the position and sucked in a deep breath, I never liked it but apparently he was used to it already.
"Harry wanted to spar, dad. I told him I'd been doing Karate for a few years."
"And I promise not to hurt you too bad, Johnny." I smirked as I stopped bouncing and turned to James. "I know Judo, Boxing, and a bit of Jiu Jitsu, John's just trained for Karate. If he's really earned that belt, he should know how to throw a punch and a kick at least."
"I know how to punch." John huffed, his eyes still closed as he sucked in another breath, held it, and let it go. "Will you referee, dad?"
"Sure, kiddo." James smiled as he took off his shoes, stepping onto the map. "What are the rules?"
"Typical MMA rules should be good." I said, sitting down on the bench tucked against the wall. John was still meditating so I had a bit of time to wrap my hands properly while I explained what the hell MMA was to James.
"What's MMA, Harry?" John asked.
"Mixed Martial Arts. It's basically what we'll be doing today. You have a wrestling circle on the mat already so that'll be the boundary. We stay in the ring for… Let's say five minutes. First one to give in or tap out is the loser automatically. If we time out, we call it a draw."
"Tap out? I don't want you to hurt each other." James said, concern obvious in his eyes as he fidgeted.
"Then neither of us can use submission holds today." I nodded. "John, you won't hurt me, don't hold back."
"I won't." John's face was blank as he rose to his feet gracefully, falling into an easy, ready position as he stood on his mark. I felt my eyebrows climb as I finished bandaging my hands.
"You sure you don't want gloves? Or bandages?"
"I never use them."
"You'll regret that one day." I said, taking the other mark as James stood a couple meters away with his wand in his hands.
"On my mark." The man said, flicking his wand as a timer appeared over his head. "In three…" John tensed up a bit as I loosened even more. He was going to go for a kick to my chest if his eyes were any indication. "Two…" I smirked as I shifted my weight. Let's see him go for a kick on a target that isn't there. "One…" John's front leg tensed as James barked: "Go!"
John exploded into motion, his right leg arcing around in a pretty solid roundhouse. I took a step back, letting his foot pass through the air in front of my chest. I bent my knees, lowering my weight and rotating my hips before driving everything upward, snapping a hook into his undefended liver as the force of the kick threw him sideways. He gasped and staggered to his left, his hands still up but his stance was basically gone as he blinked from the shock of actually getting punched. Hard. I gave him a few seconds to recover, smirking as I fell into a boxing guard. He stared at me for another second then his face shadowed over as he returned to a guard of his own.
He was a bit more careful now that his opening (and likely favorite) move didn't work. Worse, it left him wide open to a hit that hurt like Hell. He wasn't eager to repeat it anytime soon, either. He stepped forward, sending a punch toward my stomach in retaliation for the one I got him with. I caught his arm, putting a flurry of three into his ribs. He grunted as I let go, making him stagger forward. He turned around and glared at me as I settled back with a blank face.
I had nothing against this kid but I sure as hell wasn't going to let him get off easy. Maybe he'll even get into Karate even more if I kick his ass hard enough here and now. With that in mind, I smirked as the boy's face clouded over. He was silent as he launched a snap kick that took me in the stomach. I caught his foot but he surprised me when he jumped, using the foot in my hand as a fulcrum to launch himself into the air. His free foot slammed into my face with his full weight behind it. The kid actually went horizontal in the air as his foot crashed against my temple. I dropped his leg and staggered backward as he managed to stick the landing.
It didn't hurt, Hell, I barely felt the impact at all. It just surprised the shit out of me that he not only went from Karate to full on WWE in the blink of an eye but that he actually had the athleticism and sheer audacity to execute it perfectly.
"Where did that come from!?" James and I asked simultaneously, looking at the boy who had a grin plastered across his face.
"I've always wanted to try that!" He dropped back into a fighting stance and instantly I could tell something had changed. My face blanked as I held up my hands, feinting with my right hand. He dodged right into a devastating hook I might have thrown just a bit too hard. The punch took him right in the temple, staggering him but not knocking him out. He went to a knee and tried to get to his feet until James got between the two of us and put his hands on his son's shoulders.
"John? John, are you okay?"
"I… I'm okay dad… Why are there two of you?" He asked, blinking a few times. "Oh, nevermind. Yeah, I'm okay. Harry hits really hard…"
"I was holding back." The Potters looked at me like I'd grown a third head at that little proclamation.
"That… You could have taken his head off!"
"Probably." I nodded. "But he could have taken mine off with that kick."
"Speaking of which- John, where'd you even learn that? Sensei Blake certainly didn't teach you."
"Actually, dad, he did." John, who had fallen to his rear on the mat, said as he rubbed his temple. "He's been teaching me Ninjutsu for a while now."
"I don't pay him to-"
"It works." I cut James off. He glared at me but I went on. "I've been boxing for years, I could have broken his ankle when I caught his kick but he could have spun either way I twisted. If I were anyone else, that kick would have knocked me out."
"Why didn't it?"
"I have a hard head." I said simply, not wanting to get into what the Weapon X program did to Harry with these two yet.
"Just like your father." James sighed, shaking his head as he sat down on the bench. "Alright, son, I'll let you keep learning this… Nine-judo?"
"Ninjutsu, dad."
"Right, I'll let Blake keep teaching you since it seems to work. Not that I like it." James sighed, shaking his head.
"Dad, you know why I have to learn."
"The whole Boy-Who-Lived nonsense, I know." James sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as I felt my eyebrows climb. "I daresay that kick would be a nasty surprise to anyone who thinks they're going to kidnap a helpless firsty. But I think it's time we got you your wand, sport." James smiled weakly as John's eyes widened in surprise.
"Really!? I thought you were going to make me wait until my birthday!?"
"Consider it an early present and Harry's welcome home gift." James smiled at us while John tackled me into a hug.
"You hear that, Harry!? We're getting our wands!"
"Yeah, I heard." I laughed as I tried to pry John off of me. "Now let go of me, would you?"
"Oh, right, sorry." John blushed as he let go, falling back to the mat in front of his dad. "So when are we going? Right now? Can we go now? Please, please, please!?"
"No, John." James laughed, musing John's hair slightly. "We'll go tomorrow after breakfast. Sound good?"
"Yes!" John nodded.
"Harry?"
"That's fine with me," I said, only for us to be interrupted by my stomach rumbling. "Er… What's for dinner?" John and James laughed heartily as I scratched the back of my head.