The lost child
The group filtered into the room, silence was reigning over the crowd. That however was not all, there was also a stiff undercurrent of rage permeating the room. Those who were members of the order were indifferent to what had been shown on the screen. True they were not happy about it and some even disgusted. This however did not even dent their belief in Dumbledore. The head master always had a reason for what he did, Right?
Albus himself was panicking he had no idea what this MBI was nor the Sekirei. Whilst he was pleased that the child was pliable from his time at the Dursley he was not happy with the sheer level of the damage done. True it would make him distrustful of others which would aid him in the long run it would also cause him issues in the reintegration with his family and society at large. It was something he could work with, what he was not pleased about was the fact that the statute had been broken. No he was not pleased about that at all. True the statute had been utterly destroyed upon occasion by himself, those were all for the greater good. This meant that they were necessary and needed to be done.
Lily had been stewing in her rage. Rage at petunia, at Albus, as well as at herself. Whilst she and her sister had issues, most of which revolved around magic, she would never have thought that she would do this to her own kin. True she had always been a petty and spiteful person but surely there was a limit?
She was also pissed at Albus because she knew for a fact that he knew about petunias feelings towards magic. He had been at their wedding and knew about the fuss that she had caused. She knew there was more to it than 'keeping him safe whilst staying with his family. No there was something else going on. She was also hating herself for allowing such an atrocity to happen.
Hermione was horrified. Such a thing should never happen. It was just wrong. The problem was that despite her naïve and idealistic view of the world she was smart enough to know that the world is not black and white. True her time within the magical communities had made her view of the world and reality to become distorted with the constant going on about The light and the Dark as if they were the only things that existed. She was young and the young are easy to influence.
Her curiosity however won out over her horror. She had heard of a few things that she did not understand. She knew about MBI, it was one of the most powerful companies within the world, hell even her parents used some of their technology in their dental practice. The chance to learn a more about the technologies they have could only excite her more.
She looked over at the woman that looked like a scientist, in fact she was the one that they saw yesterday. Takami was her name, or at least she thought it was.
"erm, miss Takami? Could you please explain some of the things that are going on?" she asked nicely. The fact that the others within the room were looking at the woman probably helped motivate the woman.
"what about?" asked the scientist, cigarette hanging from her lips with one eyebrow cocked. Despite that it seemed as if she had been expecting the question. She probably had.
"how about explaining the terms such as 'Sekirei and Ashikabi. They seem to be of some importance with the direction this seems to be going my dear" Said Albus completely ignoring the tick mark that formed upon the woman's forehead.
"very well," said Takami using her formidable will power to control her temper. She would never admit it out loud but it was times like these that she has had to work with the fool as it has helped her be able to maintain a level head in almost all situations.
"Sekirei," she began " are the last of a alien race, Their home destroyed they evacuated and landed here." she said getting a shocked look from those around her. "naturally as one would expect from a race capable of travelling the stars they had some impressive technology. Hence why MBI is leading the world in its technology as that which was recovered helped advance many fields of science." here she took a draw whilst observing her audience, most of whom looked exceedingly confused.
"An Ashikabi is an individual who had the correct qualities for the Sekirei to bond themselves to, the easiest explanation for that would be ' finding their mate'" she said getting a gasp from lily. Takami could only think that she remembered karasuba saying that she was reacting to harry meaning he was her mate.
Suddenly the lights switched off and the screen started to glow showing that the next part was about to begin.
02
Introduction to the magic world
Harry was sitting in the chair, waiting for the meeting to begin. Apparently, Minaka had already found someone who could tell him more about magic, and seeing as the point was for Harry to learn more about it, he had been asked to attend the meeting. Well, it was more like Karasuba had dragged him there, as she was apparently quite enthusiastic about the idea of learning about humans with powers, saying something about Sekirei, or something like that.
There was the sound of flesh against flesh. This caused them all to turn to the scientist only to see her muttering and cursing under her breath with her face in her palm. This only caused more confusion. However to any one in the know, this was a perfectly acceptable reaction to Karasuba being interested in something.
It had been a week since Harry had been found by Takami, and he still had trouble believing his luck. When he had told Takami, Yume and Karasuba that the bedroom in the swords-woman apartment was way bigger than his cupboard, the two first had scowled while the last one had grinned. For some reason, the grey-haired woman found him fascinating, and spent a lot of time with him, which seemed to puzzle Takami. When he has asked Karasuba why, she had told him that had she not found him interesting, she'd have painted the walls red with his blood, which was what had always happened before. He had no trouble believing her.
This caused the wizards to blanch, The mere thought of such violence was horrifying to them. Even in the blood war there was actually very little blood spilt, even then the blood that was spilt was usually either by accident or from flying debris. The spells that had been used in combat did not leave any physical marks. Takami remark really did not help as well.
"the sad thing is that she is not lying." came the scientists resigned voice much to the horror of those that were their with her.
Takami had made sure that he'd get enough to eat, and had asked a dietician to make sure his meals were healthy enough, and that he didn't damage his stomach by eating too much too soon. She had also started planning the interventions to fix his bones and body, but Minaka had told her to wait, as he believed that the magic users should have what it took to fix his body more efficiently and in less time than MBI. The white haired woman had huffed at that, but Harry could tell that she was curious too.
That was true enough, thought Takami. Yes she would want the boy to be healthy, however she was a scientist and learning new things was part of the job description. She could not deny her curiosity about the applications of magic.
He had spent almost all week learning Japanese, seeing as not everyone understood English in the Tower. That, and he had gotten to learn about Karasuba, who had never been very far from him in the week he had been there. For some reason, she seemed attracted to him like a moth to a flame, and when he had told Takami, she had paled and muttered something about Ashi-something and how he was doomed. Something else of note was that he had visited Yume to apologize once again of having hurt her, but had found that she had gotten a lot better after a night of rest. When he had asked why, she had said it was a secret. He hadn't gotten the chance to ask for more, as Karasuba had barged in and dragged him back to his room. He didn't know why, but it looked like the two of them didn't really like each other. While Yume was nice, he preferred the grey-haired woman's company, as he felt that somehow she was like him. Yume was simply too innocent for him to get along with her.
The door to the meeting room opened, letting a grinning Minaka inside, with Takami following him, as well as a young woman, who looked barely twenty years old. Karasuba had been there with him the entire time, watching him like a hawk. He knew he should have felt scared, but the truth was that he really didn't care.
"Ah, now that everyone is here, we can begin! First of all, I believe introductions are in order! Everyone, this is Haruka Hasegawa, one of MBI's secretaries as of today."
The young woman got up and bowed, something Harry had now learnt to accept as normal, since it was a part of Japanese culture. She was not very tall, barely more than five feet tall, had mid-long black hair, a slim figure and hazel eyes.
"Miss Hasegawa apparently knows of the existence of magic, and can help us."
By now, everyone in the room was focused on the young woman, who looked distinctly uncomfortable. It was understandable, considering that her new boss, the head geneticist of MBI, and an obviously very dangerous woman were focused on her.
"Hello, I am a witch. I work for Japan's Ministry of Magic, and am here as Mr. Minaka has asked me to explain magic to you all. Normally, he would be the only one I would tell this to, but he has assured me that you are all involved and know about magic."
Nods around the table made her continue. Her eyes focused on Harry.
"I suppose that you were the one to use magic, am I right?"
He nodded. No point in lying if he wanted to learn to use his powers.
"And may I know your name?"
"Harry Potter, miss."
The potter siblings groaned at that blunt admission, the two of them tended to, when alone or with friends only use their first names as they were common enough that they could get by without being mobbed for it so they could only sigh as they knew exactly what was coming next, It had happened to both of them, for different reasons, but still.
Ivy it was to try and get into a relationship with due to the fame of her brother. It was only made worse as she was blooming into a beautiful woman. Her twin however had a similar but different problem as he was, with the disappearance of their brother the to-be heir of the family. This meant girls and families trying to get close to him for their families influence.
The woman turned pale white, and rushed to his side, only to be stopped by the blade of a katana casually resting on her neck. A katana held by a grinning Karasuba.
"Now, now. There is no need to hurry like this, is there, Haru-chan?"
A gulp and a nod later, a very pale woman was looking at Harry's forehead.
"So it's true, you are Harry Potter. May I know what the Boy-Who-Lived is doing in Japan?"
"The what who what now?"
This caused a series of snickers to erupt involuntarily from those in the room. It was an appropriate reaction to such a title when one did not have any context to go with it. Unfortunately wizards were not the most logical of people thus there were some who were frowning at the boys reaction to his title.
Haruka looked at him as if he was an idiot.
"The Boy-Who-Lived! You! The only one who has survived the Killing Curse! The one to defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort!
"Umm...Sorry, I don't have a clue about what you're saying."
The black-haired woman just slumped into an empty seat next to him, looking lost.
"You mean you don't know?"
"If you're talking about the fact that I can apparently use magic, I didn't have a clue until I sent someone into a wall with enough force to crack three of her ribs."
Haruka whistled, apparently impressed.
"That's some strong accidental magic. But the fact that you didn't know about magic is what concerns me the most. Let me a second to get my ideas straight, and I'll explain."
Taking deep breaths, the woman went to the head of the table, by Minaka's side, who was looking like he was greatly enjoying what was happening.
"The sad thing is that he probably was" grumbled Takami getting a sidelong glance from the others within the room.
"Okay. First of all, you have to know that magic users have existed since ancient times. There is no exact date, but there is proof that wizards and witches have been around for several millennia, at least since around three thousand B.C. At first, they lived alongside Muggles, which are non magic users, just fine, but eventually, after the great Witches Hunts in Europe in the Middle Age, it was decided it was better to hide the existence of magic. Ever since then, there have been rules enforcing a Statute of Secrecy.
Now, on to you, Harry-kun. Before your birth, there was a Dark Lord, an evil wizard if you want, that terrorized the Wizardry world in England, his name was Lord Voldemort. The fear he and his followers inspired was so great that even today, English people refuse to speak his name, choosing to call him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. One day, for a reason known only to him, he went to your parents house, with the intent to murder you. Your parents were out at the time, and he successfully cast the Killing Curse at you. The Killing Curse is a spell that kills with certainty when it connects with one's body, if you are wondering. Yet, for some unknown reason, the spell didn't kill you, and ended him instead. As you were the first one to survive a Killing Curse, you were nicknamed the Boy-Who-Lived, and hailed as a hero for defeating Voldemort, who is still considered as one of the most powerful Dark Lords of these last five centuries.
Now, the reason I am surprised you didn't know about magic is that the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, our equivalent of the ONU, Albus Dumbledore-sama, had you hidden away, "for your safety", those are his own words. He was the only one to know where you were, and people assumed you were trained to become a powerful fighter of the Light, as Dumbledore-sama is recognized as the Leader of the Light in the Wizardry World. Seeing as your parents supported his decision, nobody tried to pry further, as the Potters belonged to a long line of Light wizards."
There was another groan heard, something that was becoming frequent. Mr Granger could be heard whispering to himself, "this is not going to end well" a sentiment shared by lily and her children and Takami.
At that, Harry snorted. In the short time he had been around Karasuba, he had gained a lot of confidence, as he had tried to copy her way of acting. The woman had noticed it, and encouraged him to do so.
"Actually, until a week ago, I was living with my abusive relatives. It was only because my whale of a cousin was stupid enough to activate some lethal securities that they died, and from then on, that I got to become MBI's guest."
Haruka looked horrified.
"Abusive? How bad was it?"
As an answer, he turned and took off his shirt to show his scars. One of the first things Karasuba had told him when she had seen he was uncomfortable with people seeing them was that he shouldn't be ashamed, but be proud, his scars showed he had lived through things most people would have trouble enduring and had remained sane. Well, she had said he was as sane as she was.
A thump! made him turn and see that Haruka had apparently fainted.
"Well, what about a pause?"
James massaged his head. There were many things that caused him headaches. Managing the family wealth was one. He had not been taught how to do it yet when his parents died and he had been so focused on the defeat of the dark lord that he had caused damage to the lodgers. Even now he was still trying to gain control of the books that looked as if they were written in some sort of code. The next was the family reputation.
If there was one thing his parents had always tried to hammer into his head, and only partially succeeded was that a reputation can be more powerful than any spell. He had found this out with Snape. The feud between the two had irreparably damaged any possible dealings between the two and it was only thanks to his wife that they could work, in a manner, together.
He could just feel the family name was going to be damaged in the duration of this. His instincts, which were normally right as they were the highly attuned instincts of an animagus, Told him that he would not be alone in this.
-Break-
An hour later, a very pale and distraught Haruka was drinking a glass of sake.
"I don't know what Dumbledore-san was thinking when he left you with these...animals, but there has to be something very wrong with him if he thinks that these people would care for you. And you say he never came to check on you?"
"Actually, I remember my Uncle saying something about the 'old freak' and that if he hadn't been threatened, he would never have taken me in. But that's about all."
Haruka took another sip of her sake. When she had been contacted, she had expected to explain some things to a muggle-born, perhaps to need to demonstrate magic, but this! This was certainly NOT what she had expected! She had seen immediately that the boy was not Asian, but she had not expected the Boy-Who-Lived to be the one she had to explain magic to!
She took a glance at the boy. From what she knew, he was seven, and yet he looked like a small five years old, he was unnaturally thin, and then there were his scars. Oh Kami! The scars! She had only seen a glimpse of them before fainting, but it was enough to turn her stomach. How the Boy-Who-Lived could still act like a human being was beyond her. Even with magic, most of the scars were too old or too big to remove.
"Anyway, if you want to learn about magic, I'll take you to Mahou no roji, or as you would call it in English, the Alley of Magic. But I think that before that, you should see a Healer."
A snort drew her attention to the woman with a katana and grey hair. Haruka had no idea why, but this woman scared the ever living shit out of her. It was like she was a prey, and that woman a very big predator waiting to pounce on her at the first occasion.
"Meh, of course he should see one! The faster he is back in shape, the faster I can train him!"
"What!" came a dual shout. Lily and Takami were so in since that they did not even notice the others shout. One was of rage and the other shock.
Lily was enraged about the fact that her boy would even need to defend himself never mind the fact that it was physical combat, a thing so anathema to wizards that it was almost unheard of and those that did were seen as, other.
Takami was just shocked that The Black Sekirei would even consider such a thing as she had very little patience for grown adults never mind that of children. This was just a confirmation that yes she was truly going into reaction and it was just a matter of time before the two were winged.
For a moment, Haruka seriously thought about asking what the woman was going to train him in, but the insane grin quickly stopped her. She was not sure she wanted to know.
-Break-
Harry was amazed by what he was seeing. All around him were buildings in the purest Japanese style, and people were bustling right and left. With him was Haruka, who was leading the way, and Karasuba. Minaka had wanted to come, but Takami had forcefully dragged him back to his office, stating that he had a job to do.
Looking around, he could see that most of the people were wearing what he had learnt was traditional Japanese clothing. The women's clothing often had imprints on it, mostly floral, and he had to say, they looked beautiful, well, beautiful as long as Karasuba wasn't in his line of sight. Though he did wonder how good she would look in one of these clothes. Then again, he didn't think it was her style to wear things like that.
Haruka finally stopped in front of the biggest building in the Alley.
"This is Gringotts, the Wizards' bank. Remember one thing when we come here later: Goblins are a warrior race, so treat them with respect, otherwise they will not be very forthcoming. Most people in Japan have no problems with them now, but when Gringotts was first established in Japan and some Goblins emigrated from Europe, there were several grave accidents. Since they are a warrior species, they never back down when they feel they are right, and their warriors are extremely skilled, so be careful."
"Fantastic she has just given Karasuba ideas" muttered Takami, However Ivy heard her.
"what do you mean 'given her ideas?" asked the young girl innocently and naively. Takami could not help but sigh again , it seemed to be becoming a habit during this.
"For all of her faults there is one thing about her that will never change. She is a warrior." this caught Flitwick attention. "She has been having trouble finding a worthy opponent due to her sheer speed and strength and her confidence is almost at the level of arrogance. From what I can tell she would get along famously with the goblins"
Harry didn't have to look at Karasuba to know that she was grinning. The woman was constantly with him, and it had allowed him to pick up quite a few things about her, the most noticeable being her absolute love of fighting. He may have been at MBI for only one week, but in that time, he had seen Karasuba try to pick fights repeatedly with Yume, who had miraculously recovered from the broken ribs he had given her in less than two days. There had also been one day she had been absent, and had only returned late at night, and when he had asked what she had been doing, she had answered that she had been having fun. The fact that her clothes were stained with blood was a dead giveaway about what kind of fun it was, and a normal person would probably been scared of the woman. However, due to his own upbringing, he did not care. She didn't seem to mean him harm, and he really did not care about the life of people he didn't know. After all, when had anyone other than Takami, Minaka, Yume and Karasuba done anything for him? More often than not, other people insulted him or hit him, so he did not see why he should care about them.
Karasuba, was, well, a mystery to him. He knew she loved fighting, but that was almost all. Everything else he had picked up was by his own observation skills. Takami and Minaka may think he was but a child, but he was a very intelligent and observant one. He had to, considering these two skills had been necessary to survive the daily life with the Dursley's. So it was no wonder that he had picked that both Yume and Karasuba had something wrong with them. It was obvious when you picked up the signs: Yume had healed from cracked ribs in two days, when it took him weeks for that, and he was supposed to be magical, so he had probably used magic to speed up the process. Then there was the fact that whenever Karasuba was talking to the armed men that guarded the building, he could literally sense their terror at the sight of the grey-haired woman. And finally, each time he laid eyes on either Yume or her, his senses were screaming that something was wrong.
"-Harry-kun? Harry-kun, are you listening?"
"Yes, sorry."
"Now, as I said, we are going to see a Healer. I don't know much about how much they can and cannot do for you, but I'm positive that they should be able to heal most of the damage done to your body."
"Is there any way to do more? Like enhancing his body beyond what a human can normally do?" suddenly asked Karasuba.
Haruka gave her a nonplussed look.
"If it was so easy, everyone would do it. There may be rituals for that, but we can't use them yet, Harry's magic is not strong nor stable enough to allow him to live through one. If you really wanted to go through one of them, you'd have to wait until you're at least twenty-one, as the final stabilization of your magic happens at that age. And those ritual always have a price to pay, and the bigger the effect, the bigger the cost for you will be."
Karasuba shrugged, still grinning.
"Oh well, it was worth asking."
"well she is not wrong" said Mr Granger gaining him odd looks "what? Magic has been a highly contested and discussed topic in many different forms of literature, so considering some of the many different books that had some things right, there was probably an equal amount that got wrong." he explained though you could tell that some of the magic users were not pleased about their magic being compared to that from muggle books.
Harry couldn't help but feel she was slightly disappointed. He didn't know her all too well, as his social skills were quite lacking, but that gave him an unique hindsight on Karasuba's character. Strangely, she strongly reminded him of himself, only that she had the means to unleash her resentment and hate of the world upon whomever she wanted with little consequence. It was like looking into a pond, and seeing a slightly distorted version of yourself. He made sure to never voice his concerns to the woman, he was quite sure that if he did, she would have killed him, just for the principle.
A few minutes later, they stopped again, this time in front of a traditional Japanese-looking building. The wood was painted with warm colours, and it gave Harry a sense of peace, though he had absolutely no idea where that had come from. He could see a few people wearing belts over traditional Japanese clothing, with several vials of liquids dangling from them, chatting animatedly before the building.
Haruka paused in front of the steps leading inside.
"This is Japan's magical Hospital, Mahou no Byoin."
A snort from Karasuba made both Harry and Haruka look at her questioningly. The grey-haired woman merely gave them a derisive smile.
"What? Calling a magical hospital, "magical hospital"? Do you people have no imagination?"
This got a few snickers at the irony of the name and her side comment. However Albus and his order were insulted by it, not even realising that them getting irritated was probably exactly what she was wanting.
Haruka didn't really seem to have an answer, so she scratched her cheek before motioning to Karasuba and him to follow her inside. Harry, for his part, was starting to wonder about the average level of intelligence in the Wizardry World, as it seemed that they tended to be highly unimaginative when it came to naming things.
Luckily, Haruka had already arranged a meeting ahead of time. She had explained that if she had spoken his name to the secretary, there was a fifty percent chance that he would die suffocated in the next fifteen seconds. It had been hard to swallow that he was so famous for something he didn't even remember, and one of the first things he intended to do after shopping was learning as much about his reputation that he could. Seriously, he was only seven, and he was already hailed as a prodigy for what could very well have been an accident.
"he is not wrong" came lilies voice as she was starting to worry about what said reputation would do to her own son when forced to face it. Will it motivate him? Will it drown him? Or will he get an ego like James had due to it? She did not know and was not eager to find out.
"This was why he was to be raised within the muggle world" said Albus in his grandfather tone that had gained its own type of fame/infamy over the years. "he would be able to have a normal child hood away from all of this." he finished with a knowing nod. This however did not last as an angry voice cut through what he thought was a well made point.
" What about when he did have to face it and was not prepared? Would he resent it, love it? Hide from it? His reaction due to not being prepared for it would be unpredictable and I for one am glad that I will not have to clean up." said Hermione mother. This caused some of the wizards to be confused, He was from a light family and defeated the dark lord, of course he would be happy. The thought of him not being so never even crossed their minds.
So the three of them, Haruka, Karasuba and Harry found themselves in a small examination room. Unlike what he had expected, it was not the cold, clinical environment he had sometimes caught glimpses of when Dudley watched TV, but rather an old-fashioned, wooden room. Most things were made of wood, and it gave off a warm feeling, the feeling of being at home (not that he could understand the feeling, he didn't even know what "feeling at home" was), the feeling that everything would be alright.
In front of them was an elderly woman, with a petite build, yet she had the eyes of a hawk, examining the three of them carefully. He had no idea how good she was at healing, but he was willing to bet that she was one of the best in the hospital, seeing how he felt almost naked before her gaze. She had black and grey hair, and while she was indeed old, her face did not give away any indication of how much. Harry prided himself in being observant, but he had no idea if the woman was sixty or over a hundred years old.
"Child, bed, now!" said the woman as soon as she finished her examination.
The hardwired reflexes taught to him by years of abuse kicked in, and before he even realized it, he was lying on the bed, not even recalling he moved.
The woman was instantly next to him, waving her wand in the air in complicated patterns. He could hear her whisper, but could not really place the words as they did not mean anything to him. He watched as light encompassed him, surrounded him, brushed against him. Surprisingly, it did not scare him, and he waited as the magic light prodded him, his body, and strangely something else within him, that he had never known had been there.
It took a long time, but finally the woman stopped chanting, and for the first time since he had seen her, he saw her look at him with respect and compassion. Looking at Haruka, she spoke and made a hand sign towards Harry, and the Ministry employee translated.
"Young one, I have to admit, when I was told that the Boy-Who-Lived needed a medical check-up, I expected an arrogant brat who had fallen over and had broken his arm. I am ashamed to have thought so now. It is no wonder the Ministry asked for old Yuko to get out of her retirement.
Now, I can heal your bones, I can heal your sight, I can heal your body, but there are two things I cannot do. First, there is a block on your magic, which greatly reduces your power.
This was shocking to the magic users , Whilst it was true that parents tended to do such a thing to stop their children's accidental magic from getting out of hand and causing damage. Harry however had already shown immense levels of magic. For his to be that strong and yet still that powerful was a scary thought.
Normally, Healers like me can bring them down, but this one is very tightly bound to your magic, and too complicated for a human Healer to break. However, I believe that the Goblins will be able to fix that, for a fee of course. I may not like the youkai much, but their magic works differently than ours, so it should pose little trouble to them to treat it.
As for the second problem, my scans have picked up Dark Magic coming from your scar, as well as another magical signature. This means that another magic entity is tied to your scar, but it is unlike anything I have seen. I would suggest that you go to the Goblins for that. I believe it is more of the domain of a curse-breaker than of a Healer."
Silence, utter silence. Slowly every one turned towards Albus who was the picture of calm. Inside however he was terrified, one of his greatest secrets might be about to be revealed. This was not a good thing.
Seeing as no answers were forthcoming they turned back to the screen however there were some who were keeping track of things that were not quite kosher.
Harry was stunned, to say the least. Okay, there were two things the lady couldn't do to help him, but she believed that these Goblins would be able to treat him.
Seeing his shock, the woman spoke again, and a relieved yet shocked-looking Haruka translated once again.
"Young one, do not bring your hopes up too much. I can only heal some of your scars, not all of them. Even if magic is a powerful tool for those who can use it properly, it still has its limitations. It can heal the scars you have to some degree, but not make them disappear, nor can it fix your mind. I cannot say how much damage was done to it, but I can tell that most people will probably never be able to understand some of your actions. It is nothing to be ashamed of, but be careful, for people often react badly to what they cannot understand."
Harry slowly nodded. He was not sure he had understood everything he had been told, but he got the gist of it. He would be healed, physically at least, save for some of his scars, but the old lady would not be able to do anything for his mind. Somehow, he preferred that. His mind was the only thing that he truly count on at the Dursley s, and the idea of someone tinkering inside it, even if it was to "heal" it, did not sit well with him.
-Break-
Over the course of the next hour, he was forced to drink foul tasting potions to fix his body, and he grimaced when he learnt that he would have to take some other potions for a month, but considering it was to fix his health, he would gladly do so, even if those things tasted like Dudley's used underwear (or what he pictured what it tasted like). He was then told to close his eyes, as it would hurt him and hinder the process of healing his sight if his eyes were going to constantly focus and unfocus each time his eyesight was slightly corrected. It was not a process done all at once, but by small touches to ensure that the brain did not get confused in trying to suddenly force the eyes to focus less, as the eyesight was fixed.
Finally, he had to take off his shirt to get his scars treated, and he could see Haruka gnawing on her bottom lip so hard that a small trickle of blood had started flowing from a cut. Karasuba's reaction was far different, in fact, she looked pleased with what she saw, as if the scars made him interesting in her eyes. He wondered if it was really the scars, or the meaning of their presence on him. After all, scars, while some people might find them physically attractive, had usually their own story, their own reason to exist, be it an accident or a surgical operation. And Harry was quite sure that the grey-haired woman was interested by him because of the meaning of his scars, not by the scars themselves.
He laid on his stomach, while the Healer put some kind of cream on his back, numbing it. She then proceeded to chant once again, and he spent the next half-hour sporadically feeling liquid trickling on his back, but he never moved, not even once, as he had been told it would make the Healer's job more difficult. He had a few ideas as to what the liquid was, as more than once he heard Haruka stopping a gasp.
It was only after the Healer told him he could turn around that he moved, showing a torso that was far too skinny to be considered healthy, and while slightly less scarred than his back, well enough covered by scar tissue. On this side though, he had more burns than on his back, and those were apparently a little harder to treat, especially the older ones.
In the end, he still had a lot more scars than any boy his age had the right to have, but now they no longer hindered his movements, nor were they overly ugly, like they had been at first. Now they were smaller, but far more impressive.
There was a quiet sobbing in the room. Lily and her daughter both had tears running down their faces at what was being shown, the sheer horrifying extent at which he had been hurt. The grim faces upon the male potters faces was not a pleasant thing as it meant that all of the ingenuity that they generally used in their pranks was now totally focused upon one objective and that the target of that objective was not going to be having a pleasant time.
"Now, young one, I was told you have some business to conduct in the roji, and seeing as the next phase of your treatment needs you to have the bones you want to heal vanished and re-grown during a night, I suggest you finish what you want to do and come back this evening. As for your body, you already know about the nutrient potions, so take them with healthy food, and in a month you'll be as good as you can hope to be. Now shoo! Old Yuko is tired, and needs to rest."
With a nod, he got up, feeling strange now that most of the pain was gone. Seeing his grimace, Haruka frowned.
"Is something wrong?"
"It just feels...weird. I mean, it doesn't hurt that much when I move. I guess I'm just not used to it."
He saw Haruka frown get replaced by a scowl, and Karasuba once again grinned. There was definitely something wrong with her, he mused. Each time he explained something that happened at his relatives, she was grinning. And strangely, he got the feeling it wasn't because she was mocking him. While he knew very little on her at the moment, he could tell that she was not one to take pleasure in hearing what he had gone through. It was more like she was interested in him, and that by hearing his life story, she heard things she liked, though he couldn't understand what she would like about it. Maybe someday he would be able to understand her, but that was not going to be anytime soon.
-Break-
Karasuba was grinning again as they left the hospital. She was once again contemplating how lucky she was to have stumbled upon Harry Potter. While Yume and everyone else who knew her thought she was a psychotic murderer, that was only partly true. She did enjoy killing, but most of all, as all Sekirei, she wanted an Ashikabi to love her. She had briefly thought that Takehito Asama might have been the one for her, but she had never reacted to him, even if she had held some feelings for the man, which was the reason Miya and her hated each other. Unfortunately, she had never found an Ashikabi, as she was searching for someone who could understand her, someone who could stand by her while she was fighting.
Humans, for what she had seen, were far from able to stand against her, which in itself was not interesting, but they were also too weak to even begin to interest her. She had begun despairing that she would never find anyone, or that she would have to settle with an Ashikabi she held no interest for, chosen by Minaka. That had been when Harry Potter had entered her life.
He had been tortured all his life, had never been showed love, not even once, and as such held the world in much the same regard as her. Oh, he was polite, he cared for others, but most of all, she could feel the resentment in him. There was no telling how she could exploit these buried feelings to turn him into a male version of herself.
He had been merely a fleeting interest at first, but that had changed when he had defended her against Yume when he thought she was threatening her, and the subsequent blasting of her rival in a wall with enough force to break some of her bones. The two of them had fought against armies together, and they had never even received a scratch. To see a child of all things being able to harm a Sekirei where entire armies were not even enough to scratch them, well, she had gotten interested. That was the moment she decided to try and Mold Harry into her perfect Ashikabi.
Rubbing her eyebrows at the on coming migraine Takami could not help but nod in agreement with the internal thought line from the Sekirei.
"yeah, that would do it" her voice echoing through the room. "Do what, my dear?" asked the old codger. Looking up she realised that she must have spoken out loud whilst thinking about the situation that the black Sekirei had found herself in.
"Karasuba is a literal one man army, she has done exactly what she said in order to defend the location of the ship from those that wished to claim it for themselves. The statement that she had not gotten a scratch was also accurate." explained Takami in resignation. They were going to need to understand some things , some that she would need to expand upon and others for context to the situations. Thus she had resigned herself to being exposition woman for the science side of things.
She had to admit though that the look of horror upon the wizards faces at the thought of such a woman being around was amusing considering that She was not the strongest by a large margin. This brought up the musings of how they would react to no.1.
The crux of her problem was simple: she was a Sekirei, and Sekirei, from what MBI had been able to find out about her species, were supposed to be entirely submissive to their Ashikabis. For someone like her, who prided herself on her strength, knowing that only Miya, the N.01, was stronger than her, the idea of being submissive towards someone whom she could kill easily was a blow to her pride. She would never allow herself to be with an Ashikabi that was not at least able to stand against her should he want to. She did not want a snivelling coward who would let her do whatever she wanted to do simply because he was scared of her. No, if she was going to be submissive to someone, it would be someone strong, and Harry had the potential to be that someone.
In the privacy of her room, she had told him that once he was better, meaning when his bones were set and his body healthy enough, she would begin training him, as a preliminary test, to check his resolve, as many humans were too lazy to even do things themselves. To her surprise, he had seemed eager to learn, and had even asked if he could learn some martial arts, explaining that he wanted to be prepared if he had to fight without a weapon. It had pleased her to no end, and she was inwardly rubbing her hands together at the prospect of having an Ashikabi strong enough to fight by her side, and more importantly, an Ashikabi that would understand her. The fact that he could use some so-called "magic" was a welcome bonus, as if he had been able to harm Yume at seven with no training, there was a good chance that he would get even more powerful with the proper education.
She watched as he walked with her behind Haruka towards the bank of wizards, his small frame shrinking on itself. She wondered if the Goblins would be a good challenge for her. After all, humans were no match for her, and relied far too much on their fancy weapons and armoured vehicles. Perhaps another species would be more turned towards honing their own personal skills?
"well that explains her motivation" said lily in a voice that was a mix of rage and sorrow. "Her motivations might not be the best but the fact that she is training him and keeping him safe Is a good thing even if it is for selfish reasons" said Mr Granger he knew that good things can come from bad intentions and bad from good, His father had been an officer in the army and if there was one place a person would learn that it was the military.
"That does not make it a good this, my boy" said Dumbledore in a scolding voice, his pacifism and his hatred for killing cutting in at full force. This however only drew a look on the mans face. He and his wife had both been talking and after seeing the man they were severely considering pulling their daughter from the school. This had just confirmed to them what they had been thinking about their needing to be other schools out there. Maybe one of them would work out much better.
-Break-
Harry couldn't help but shiver. There he was, with Haruka and Karasuba, in front of the building that held the bank of wizards in Japan. It was even bigger now that he looked at him from so close, and though the architecture was definitively Japanese, the doors were made of solid and well kept wood. While he was not sure how well that would hold against a serious assault, he figured that if he could use magic, then perhaps it was sturdier than he thought. There were inscriptions on the door, barely visibly on the wood if you were too far, but he didn't have a clue about what they said. Then again, considering the impressive statues standing in front of the bank, representing giant lions guarding it, and the four armed guards in front of the doors, he was willing to bet it was some kind of warning.
As he followed Haruka through the entrance, he was startled when an alarm went off, and when ten armed Goblins surrounded them. They were holding very sharp looking weapons, which he recognized as halberds, while they wore heavy plate armours.
Haruka screeched something, and one of the Goblins, who was wearing a set of armour slightly more decorated than the others answered her in the same language, and she turned to look at him strangely, before turning back and saying something else.
While they were negotiating, Karasuba had started grinning, again, and this time her grin was one of pure bloodlust. She was already reaching for her sword, when she found a blade under her neck, mere inches away from her skin. He saw her turn slowly to look at the Goblin who was holding the weapon, and said Goblin suddenly started grinning too. He was mildly sure that there was going to be a major fight going on soon, but then the Goblin talking to Haruka said something, and their weapons were drawn back, apparently much to Karasuba's regret, as she was fingering the sheath of her sword.
They were taken to a small adjacent room, with a few refreshments, and after taking a glass of water and downing it, Haruka turned to Harry.
"Harry, the alarm that went off is a Dark Magic's detector. It prevents wizards from hiding illegal artefacts in the bank and then claim that the Goblins are dabbling in forbidden arts. Apparently, it reacted to you. For some reason, the detector sensed Dark Magic coming from you, so you were going to be arrested and interrogated."
"But I don't know Dark Magic! I didn't even know of magic a week ago!"
"I know, Harry, trust me, I know. So I arranged a check-up by the Goblins for what can have triggered the detector. If it isn't an object, it's likely that the Dark Magic is on you, and that can have some bad consequences it stays too long."
Albus was not a happy man. During his time on the wizengamot he had subtly passed laws that whilst he used his public vote for one thing he used his other votes for the opposite. One of these was the banning of privacy intruding wards by the bank. The last thing he wanted was for some of his relics to be caught or some other artefact that needed to be hidden could be stored within the bank. One of the most famous such items was the philosophers stone an item that grants immortality.
No one knew how the stone was created. There were theories however and whilst some of them stated that there was items such as phoenix tears or other such magical catalysts. There was one persistent rumour that says it was lives that needed to be sacrificed. A large amount of them. Albus could not take the chance.
He could not however silently rage at the idea of his secrets being so blandly given away after all of his work to contain them. He was an incredibly famous man yet he had managed to contain many of his secrets and some where only whispered about never spoken out loud. So no he was not a happy man.
He gulped. He had no idea of what could cause that detector to go off, Hell, he didn't even know any magic yet! He just hoped he wasn't in trouble, but he somehow doubted that.
He was already hoping that things wouldn't go wrong when the doors opened, letting three Goblins enter. One was wearing an armour that looked quite effective and at the same time well-decorated, Harry supposed he was the one charged of the security of the bank, or at least someone high up in the ranks. The middle one was wearing a suit that had been tailored for his species, as it was well-adjusted, and since he had no helmet on, he could finally see what a Goblin looked like. He had grey skin, little black eyes that betrayed a keen intelligence, easily on par with a human's, and a wickedly long nose. He had some grey hair, tied in an elegant ponytail, and walked with the grace of someone who knew he had a lot of power. The final goblin was wearing clothes similar to the ones he had seen the Healers wear at the hospital they had been earlier, but he could also see some unpleasant looking metal tools hang from the belt of the uniform.
"Harry, allow to present, from left to right: Master Stone-breaker, chief of the security."
The armoured Goblin hit the ground once with his weapon.
"Hello, sir." said Harry, by reflex.
It was only when he saw that everyone save Karasuba was looking at him strangely that he felt he did something wrong.
"Err...Did I say something wrong? If it's the case, I'm sorry!"
There was a silence, and then the three goblins burst out laughing, while Haruka was looking at them in shock.
Eventually, the one in the middle stopped laughing, and explained, in an oddly accentuated English:
"Harry Potter, usually, wizards rarely ever call us "sir", or apologize if they insult us. That is why we were surprised. Allow me to introduce myself: Master Rip-bone, Vice-Director of this bank. And this is Master Bone-breaker, our chief Healer."
At that moment, another Goblin entered the room, this one wearing a worn brown attire, and looked far younger than both Rip-bone and Bone-breaker. Rip-bone simply nodded to the newcomer.
Bill Weasley gasped at this, Being a curse breaker within gringotts he was allowed access to more information than most. Unfortunately for him however he was under oath not to reveal most of it. He knew who the goblin upon the screen was. He had seen him at work whilst in Egypt. Despite his relative youth for a goblin he was incredibly influential and high in the hierarchy.
"Harry, allow me to introduce Curse-breaker Gash-stone. He will be the one to check if you carry any Dark artefacts, then we will switch to Bone-breaker in case the Dark Magic is tied to you."
Said Goblin had already begun waving his hands towards Harry, and he had no doubt he was already getting some results if the way his eyes were bulging out were any indication.
Less than a minute after having he started waving his hands, Gash-stone stopped, and then said something in a language that made Harry grit his teeth together by the sheer impossibility of the sounds he was making. Apparently what he said had to be pretty interesting, if he could judge by how heated the conversation had gotten between the four Goblins.
Finally, Bone-breaker walked towards him, and started waving his hands, but quickly stopped when Harry saw something black move before his eyes. It looked like a black tendril, and he could tell just by looking at it that it was not something he ever wanted to get close to. Haruka was looking at him in worry, and he was wondering if she knew something he didn't, because she was quite pale now.
"Harry."
He turned to look at Rip-bone, who was looking quite grave.
"Harry, you received this scar after the Killing Curse rebounded on you, am I right?"
"Uh, yeah, well that's what I was told."
"Well, from what Gash-stone and Bone-breaker have found, it seems that it is something that we only have a theoretical knowledge of. You see, it seems that your scar contains the soul, or at least a part of the soul of another wizard, and we are almost sure, considering the circumstances surrounding how you got it, that it is a piece of the soul of Lord Voldemort."
There was a terrified horror that settled within the room. Did that mean that the dark lord was still alive? Was he dead? What does that mean for harry? Is he going to turn dark due to the dark magic held within the scar? The different thoughts that were racing around the wizards heads that they did not notice the reactions of two others in the room.
Takami raised an eyebrow in surprise. One did not have a daughter who was addicted to fantasy and anime without learning things. Especially when she had to work with Minaka. From how it was described it sounded almost exactly like a phylactery from some fantasy series her daughter had watched.
Albus had only the smallest of frowns as another of the secrets that he had wanted to keep hidden had been thrown into the open. At this rate he might as well post them in upon a banner within the great hall.
"A have a piece of the soul of somebody else in my scar?" he whispered. For six years he had had somebody else in his head? The idea made him sick.
"Indeed. It is rare, but not unheard of, that some Dark Wizards tried to stay alive in case they were defeated by creating object that anchored their souls to this world, preventing them from moving on to the afterlife. Now, your case is a rarity, as putting a piece of your soul in a living being, someone who can think and act independently, is a huge risk, and is usually done with objects. This is why we can't remove it just yet, as we need to look into our archives for a way to remove it safely. Luckily for you, Bone-breaker has apparently an interest in the process, and had searched it in his youth, so it shouldn't take more than a day or two.
Now, what else can Gringotts do for you today?"
As a shaken Haruka explained their reasons to be there, he was already musing on what he had just learnt. The prospect of having the soul, or even a part of the soul, of a raving madman as Haruka had described him, inside his head, made him sick, and he really wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible. He had no idea about how it had happened, but he didn't really care about the how, more about the when. Perhaps it was a secondary effect of surviving the Killing Curse? Considering he was the first to have survived it, it wouldn't be so unbelievable.
"-kun! Harry-kun! "
"Uh? Oh, yeah! Sorry about that."
Haruka smiled.
"Don't worry, I can understand. Learning that you have a piece of the soul of the man who tried to kill you in your head is not exactly an easy pill to swallow, and I don't think I'd deal with it even half as well as you do. Now, I talked to Break-bone about the block, and he can remove it, but we'll need to go to a special room for that."
-Break-
So there he was, strapped to a block of stone, leather straps holding him down. Apparently the straps were to prevent him from hurting himself, as removing the block would be quite painful, since it was not only overly complicated, but was also six years old, and only got stronger with time. From what he had been told, the fact that he had been able to access any magic at all was an achievement, as most wizards would not have been able to even levitate a feather, less even blast someone into a wall.
"Right, we're going to start. Harry, everything fine?"
He simply nodded, as he had a piece of leather in his mouth to stop him from cutting his tongue off with his teeth by accident. He was still clothed, as the ritual didn't need anything been drawn on him or direct contact with his skin.
"Begin!"
At once, several stones positioned at regular intervals around the block of stone started shining a deep blue. The principle was simple: the only way to undo the block was to do in two times: first, there was a need to supercharge it, stretching it to its limits and weakening the link it had to Harry's magic, and then a team of Goblins would start the incantations to break it. The first part was the most difficult, as from what he had been told it was going to be painful, as the block was like a living being feeding off his magic to maintain its existence, and so was not going to disappear easily.
Some of those who were not prejudiced against goblins were leaning forward in interest. It was a known fact that the goblins guarded their magic with a fanaticism. Thus this was a rare chance to see some of it in action. Thus it was that lily, ivy and Hermione were watching with great interest. Trying to work out how said magic worked and if it could be replicated.
At first, he felt nothing but a tickling sensation, as if the atmosphere had been full of static energy, and then, suddenly, his body arched, his mouth open in a scream of pain so loud it could be heard on the other side of the wall separating him from Haruka and Karasuba. It felt as if he had been plunged into liquid magma, his veins were on fire, and his head felt as if someone had stuck a fire poker inside his brain.
He didn't know how long he spent screaming, how long his body jerked and had spasms under the strain of the magic forced into the block, but he was willing to bet it had been several hours. It was strange to feel so much pain after his body had been healed, well, mostly healed. Physical pain, he was used to it, after six years, but this pain he was experiencing was different. It was deeper, and uniform. Physical pain was never uniform, there was always somewhere that hurt more, but this pain was the same everywhere in his body.
Finally, after what felt like hours, he heard a chant start. He couldn't possibly decipher the words, and at this point, he had given up trying to think about pretty much everything, as it only make his head ache. He could say one thing, though, and that was that whatever language was used, it wasn't human. Not that he minded, though, as long as it worked and that it ended soon.
After the chant reached its peak, or what he assumed was the peak considered how loud it had gotten, he felt something, he had no idea how to describe it, something that detached itself from him, and he heard a sound similar to glass breaking, before he finally lost consciousness.
-Break-
Karasuba was once again examining her nodachi, bored out of her mind. She had wanted to see what happened to Harry, she was curious, but the Goblins had been adamant that no one save Harry could be in the room for the ritual. She had relented when they had told her that there would be nothing interesting to watch anyway, and she had opted to sit in the room next to the one Harry was in, and take care of her blade. The interesting thing had been to see the Goblins discreetly examine her blade when they thought she wasn't looking. Apparently the little buggers were quite interested in blade-wielding humans, and from the tone of the Goblin who had told her that, there was little doubt that they had guessed she was anything but human.
She had been there for nearly two hours, when she suddenly sat straight up.
What the HELL was THAT?
That had been unlike anything she had felt in her life. She wasn't the only one to have felt it, as it seemed that Haruka was going to faint from shock, and the two Goblins guarding the door had straightened taken a quick glance towards the ritual room.
"Okay, what the Hell was that?" she asked, turning towards Haruka.
By now, the woman was nearly hyperventilating, and she was seriously considering using her sheath to knock her out. Normally, she would simply have killed her, but she figured that killing someone from a Ministry of Magic in a bank run by Goblins would be counterproductive. Better have the officials on her side if she wanted to convince them to train Harry in magic.
"actually using that brain of yours are you? Well at least that is an improvement, rather than just following instinct your are actually considering the ramifications of your actions and how they will affect harry. Perhaps this is a good thing for you" mumbled Takami, The only other within the room close enough to hear her words being Ivy who was stuck at a cross roads of though about her brother having such a violent and disturbed person teaching him whilst also caring for him. She was having a hard time coming to a decision if that was a good or bad thing.
"That...That was a wave of raw magic, and I think it came from Harry-kun. And it was far too powerful to belong to a child so young."
She couldn't help but grin widely at the news. Turns out that little Harry was getting more interesting by the minute.
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"That...The quantity of magic he gave off in that wave, it would be more realistic if it belonged to a powerful sixth year, a wizard or witch around sixteen, if you prefer. It was already more powerful than some of the wizards and witches I know!"
As Haruka glanced towards the ritual room, Karasuba was inwardly cackling. If Harry was powerful enough to surprise an official, he was going to be even more interesting when he got older. Of course, she would need to make sure he was properly trained in magic, after all what good was a huge potential if you couldn't use it?
"She is correct" said the small charms professor. "If not nurtured all of a persons potential goes to waste." he said nodding, some of the others were nodding in agreement though some were frowning due to the description of the amount of magic the boy had. It was something that should not be possible.
-Break-
It had taken him an hour to emerge from the coma induced by the sudden release of his magical power, and he was still quite sore from the experience. Not only that, but he was feeling strange, as if he was now reunited with a part of him he hadn't known he was missing, as if he suddenly discovered himself a third arm that had been there since birth but had never been used.
When he told Haruka, she gave him a smile.
"Of course it feels like that. Harry-kun, your magic is a part of you, as much as any internal organ or limb. The fact that the block on you left you with only around twenty percent of your power means that you are going to be feeling strange for a little while, as your body will need to adjust to your new level of power. You are lucky that there were no crippling after-effects, the block on you was tied quite strongly to your magic."
He simply nodded. It wasn't as if it would have changed much for him to lose his magic, he hadn't even known he could use magic a week earlier. There was something he was curious about, though.
"Do you know who put the block on me?"
At that, Haruka grimaced, as if she had just swallowed a lemon.
"We don't know for sure, but the Goblins said that whoever it was, was very powerful, and very knowledgeable in magic. That, and the fact that it has been there for around six years leave only two possibilities. The first one is Voldemort, but there was no reason for him to place a block on your magic before he tried to kill you, and even if he survived the night you survived the Killing Curse, the Goblins have assured me that he would not be able to do so. The other option is Dumbledore-san, but that makes no sense. He is the Leader of the Light and a respected wizard."
The potters almost in unison turned and glared at the old wizard. Their trust in him waning at a rapid pace. Albus for his part just kept staring at the screen whilst cursing the turn of events in his mind whilst thanking all of the deities out there that he was an accomplished occlumens, It was the reason that he was able to keep his real emotions from showing. He was going to have to do something about the loyalty of his followers when they get back home. If this many of his secrets had already been revealed this quickly what are things going to be like by the end.
"A respected wizard who sent me to non-magical relatives who hated anything magic related, did not check once on me, and said it was for my safety. I don't really like him, so why wouldn't it be him?"
Haruka sighed.
"If you put it like that, it almost seems believable. It is hard to believe he wouldn't want to know how you are doing, as many people think of you as his successor."
"Does it really matter?" said a voice, and Harry felt something soft press against his head.
Karasuba had apparently heard their conversation and had approached him from behind, before embracing him. Harry could easily tell is wasn't an affectionate hug, even if he had never had one before. The way she was holding him, her grip on his body, all of it made it clear that she was holding him in the way she would hold a treasured possession.
"Of course it matters! That kind of block is dangerous, if it hadn't been removed, Harry would never have been able to access his magic!" snapped an apparently flustered Haruka.
Karasuba just cackled before explaining:
"It's not what I'm saying, Haru-chan. In the end, the block is removed, and Harry will get his revenge, right? That Volde-something, if he's still alive, will probably try to kill him again, so Harry will just have to deal with him. That, and Dumbledore-kun is still alive and kicking, so we can still pay him a friendly visit later."
Harry gulped. His instincts, acquired after countless beatings, insults and unpleasant experiences, were in high alert. The way Karasuba had said a friendly visit was quite the opposite of what she had meant, making it clear that such a visit would finish badly for the old man. And somewhere, deep inside him, a part of him hoped it would end badly for Dumbledore. After all, he had been the one responsible for the Hell his life had been so far, it was only justice that he got punished. After all, when he did something that the Dursley's considered bad, he was punished. So why would Dumbledore be any different? Only this time, he was going to be the one doing the punishment.
Cries of shock and outrage rang out from the seats containing the Magical s. Almost all of them blending into one large babble of noise. There were a few that were understandable. One was a woman's shriek "how dare he suggest such a thing about the headmaster!" whilst another "I knew he was dark, I knew it as only a dark wizard could survive an unforgivable" the potters however were similar if less extreme. The fact that the potters did not open their mouths like the Granger showed how much damage had been done to the faith in the man.
The ensuing silence was broken by a cough. The two women and Harry turned to look at an armed Goblin that was standing at attention next to them. Said Goblin said something that Harry didn't understand, as for what he could pick up it was Japanese, and while he could understand simple sentences after a week of being around people who routinely spoke it, he was nowhere near fluent in the language.
Haruka answered in kind, and then the Goblin strode off.
"Harry-kun, now that you are awake, Rip-bone will receive you. We are going to go over what you possess, what vaults you are entitled to."
"Possess? Vaults? I'm sorry, I don't understand."
And he really didn't. While he was more or less aware of how the banks worked, the very idea of him possessing anything, or being entitled to possess anything was ludicrous. He had never been allowed to possess anything, the Dursley's had made sure of that. Even his clothes were not his own, but some of Dudley's cast off's.
Haruka sighed, probably not understanding why he couldn't comprehend what he had just said, or misunderstanding it completely.
"Harry-kun, all magical families have vaults, and to explain it in simple words: there are tests that allow the Goblins to know what vaults a person can claim. Simply put, by using these tests, we can see if you inherited money, so that you can use it for your shopping."
"blood magic" came a hiss from the magic wielders. The actual talker went unidentified but the look of revulsion was almost universal amongst them only the greasy one and Albus kept their expressions neutral.
"B-but I don't have money!"
"Harry-kun, there are at lot of things you don't know about our world, and it will take time for you to learn, but know that you come from an old family, with a lot of money."
"But they didn't want me...Left me with the Dursley's..." he mumbled.
"Indeed they did, but that doesn't mean they didn't have a good reason to do so."
It was at that moment that Karasuba interrupted the both of them.
"Harry-chan, if you have money, take it. Why do you care? If it's yours, take it, simple as that. And while I doubt they have a valid reason to let an old man ship you to people who didn't like you, for now it doesn't matter, right? You're going to learn magic and show them what they lost when they let Dumbledore-kun take you from them. You're going to become someone great, because you can, Harry-kun, and then you'll make them regret ditching you."
It made sense, he mused. If it belonged to him, even if it came from his parents-the ones who had abandoned him-, it was still his. He would use it, and make sure that he became powerful enough that the family which had abandoned him would beg for forgiveness, forgiveness he would never give. He had come to terms with the idea of his parents following Dumbledore, after all he could understand that in some situations people needed an authority figure to guide them, but what irked was that in six years they had never come to check on him. That was unforgivable.
Looking up to Haruka, he asked:
"So, where do we do these tests?"
The potters and their close friends Sirius and remus were almost ghost like. The fact that the boy would listen to Karasuba was bad enough but the fact that he was going to refuse his birthright was terrifying to them.
-Break-
Haruka was starting to get a little concerned about Harry Potter. The words of the old Healer were worrying, as she had said she couldn't heal his mind, and she had no doubt that the boy's was quite different from most children his age. He was already acting very mature for his age, and while from time to time he seemed to shrink on himself by reflex, he was apparently trying to get out of it. What was more worrying, though, was the influence this Karasuba had on him. She had seen the grey-haired woman eyeing the Boy-Who-Lived, and it had made her shiver. The sheer intensity of her gaze in itself was terrifying, but it was the feelings she could see behind her eyes that scared her. This woman, while not magical, already considered Harry as her property, and she had no doubt that she would protect what she considered as hers.
There was also the fact that the grey-haired woman was constantly carrying a sword with her, a nodachi of all things! And seeing how she treated it, she had no doubt that she could use it very efficiently. While Harry had undergone the ritual to remove his block, she had seen Karasuba examine her sword, tracking any imperfections that would need reparation, lest the blade become too fragile to be used. And she had not missed the nervous glances the Goblins had sent her way. And that in particular was worrying. Goblins had had several wars with wizards, luckily not in the far East, but if there was one thing that wizards had learnt the hard way, it was that an armed Goblin was extremely dangerous, and never backed off, even faced with impossible odds. To see Goblin guards, who had been trained their whole life to be ruthless killers if need be, being afraid of one woman, in their own bank, spoke volume of just how dangerous she was.
Filius slowly nodded at this as he used to work in Gringotts with his kin. He had been trained in a similar if not quite as intense a manner as the others. Hell he even had knives upon his person right now and a sword within his office. He was no stranger to violence and knew how hard it was to rattle one of the soldiers at the bank. This alone gave a meter of just how intimidating the woman was.
And now she was faced with a dilemma: Harry could obviously not return with his parents or even in England, as it was clear that neither them or Dumbledore were suited as guardians, seeing how mistreated he had been at the Dursley's. That would be tricky to resolve, but with some time and the right connections, she was quite confident that the Japanese Ministry of Magic would be able to burn off any leads to Harry. It was purely a political move, of course, having the Boy-Who-Lived educated in Japan, when England and Dumbledore would still be looking for their poster boy, would destroy their credibility on the International scene. That would also allow them to have the Heir of a powerful old family firmly on Japan's side if they ever needed a favour. The tricky part would be to find him a new family, but considering how close he seemed to be to Karasuba, and the apparent possessiveness of the woman, she highly doubted that Harry would agree to ever be separated from her. That would be dangerous, the woman would have a lot of influence on him, and if the Boy-Who-Lived became someone like her, then Japan might suffer the blow instead of England, as it would be their fault that the poster boy turned out as he did.
For now, though, the best course of action would be to let him with Karasuba and hope for the best.
Sirius black was from an old family. An Ancient family and if there was one thing that he took to heart from them it was that politics effects every thing. Every one has a motive for everything they do. Every one has a agenda, and seeing these games interacting whilst his godson was in the centre of the games did not sit well with the man child. He and his cousins had suffered through that and he was the only one that was relatively free. He was damaged by it but no where nearly as bad as some of the others. So no he was not pleased with his god son being at the centre of so many games, not that even if he was still in Britain he could do anything about it as the moniker of the-boy-who-lived was something that would dog him to his dyeing day.
-Break-
"So all I have to do is cut my finger and put some blood on this sheet?"
"Indeed, Harry."
He was sitting in a very well-decorated room, with weapons, tapestries and portraits hung on the walls. In the back of the room was a massive wooden desk, exquisitely carved, and behind said desk, Rip-bone was sitting in a comfortable leather seat. In front of the desk, there was Harry, sitting in a seat a little less impressive than the one the Goblin was in, Karasuba, who also had a leather seat, and Haruka, who was sitting on a comfy chair.
Taking an ornate dagger that Rip-bone was holding out, he cut open his palm and let the blood fall on the parchment he had been given. He then presented it to the Vice-Director, who took it, but not before glancing at him strangely. Apparently, the dagger had been magical, as the cut on his palm had already healed.
They watched as Rip-bone looked over the parchment, and his eyes widened the further he went. At the end of the parchment, he seemed to have taken a blow to the head, as he stayed in his seat, unmoving. It took a few minutes, but when he came to himself, he took a bottle than had been on his desk and took a long gulp of whatever liquid was inside.
"Is something wrong?" asked Haruka, who had probably understood that nothing normal ever happened when it came to Harry Potter.
"No, there is nothing "wrong", however the results returned are quite...surprising to say the least. See for yourself."
This caused everyone to sit up and pay close attention as the potters were a well known family. There was a rumoured connection to Gryfindor as well as the Peverell but other than that they did not see how it could be anything really special.
The Ministry employee took the parchment, and as she read, Harry noticed that she frowned, before giving the sheet back to the Goblin.
"Excuse-me, but what is wrong with this? I can see that he is the Heir of the House Potter, but I do not recognize the other names. Are they really so special?"
"Of course you wouldn't. These names have not been seen for centuries."
"Excuse-me, sir, but can you tell me what is wrong?" he asked, getting slightly fed up that they were talking about him as if he wasn't there.
Rip-bone blinked, and then looked at him as if he had forgotten that he was even there. Considering what had been going on, Harry was willing to bet it was exactly what happened.
"Yes, excuse me, Harry. The results are just a little, well odd. See for yourself."
He took the parchment and read it over.
Harry James Potter
Age:7
Father: James Charlus Potter
Mother: Lily Marie Potter nee Evans
Harry James Potter is Heir to:
-House of Potter (by Blood)
-House of Peverell (by Blood)
-House of Slytherin (by Right of Conquest)
-House of Raven-claw (Right of Conquest-Tied to Heir of Slytherin)
Silence filled the room. Raven-claw? Slytherin? Whilst it was true that the dark lord was rumoured to have been the heir, There had never been any definitive proof other than that he had spoken in parsel. There was the fact that he claimed to be the heir of slytherin and not the lord of slytherin. It was a small distinction but an important one as it meant that he had not claimed the seat of head of his house. Something that few noticed and fewer cared.
He looked up at Rip-bone and Haruka, who were looking at him intensely.
"Can someone explain this to me? I don't understand."
"Of course, Harry." Rip-bone said, as he leaned further towards him." You see, in the Magical World, many families take pride in their ancestry, and usually the older your family is, the more it has influence. Of course, in most countries, the influence of the old families is balanced by the law, but in England, the old families have more or less complete control over the political life. To be brief, the old families control more or less everything."
"Oh, okay. Like the nobles in the Middle Age, right? But what does it have to do with me?"
Mr Granger was liking what he was hearing less and less. The government was run by old families. There was a possibly still at large murderer. Then there was the fact that his daughter was subject to the whim of, from what she told him, highly prejudiced nobles who were disconnected from reality. No he was not a happy man. His family did not fight in the military only for them to be treated as if they were dirt. No he was resolved to have a talk with his wife when they got home. This had shown the magicians of the UK for what they were.
"Harry, the Potters are one of the oldest families in Britain, and that alone gives you a lot of political influence, but the three other houses you are Heir to are even older. In fact, the Peverell House was supposed to have died out around 900 A.C, and the Slytherin and Raven-claw Houses disappeared after the construction of Hogwarts, the English Wizardry school. Each of these three Houses give you more power than any other family, and the three together means that you basically control around half of the British Magical government, the Wizenmagot."
Harry sat there in silence. It was starting to get a little much for him, he mused. Not only had he discovered that he was some kind of celebrity for stopping a supposedly unstoppable Dark Wizard, but he now discovered that he had a piece of the soul of said wizard in his head, which proved that said Dark Wizard was still alive, and now he discovered that he basically controlled the British Magical Government.
Finally, after a few minutes of silence in which he tried to weigh his options, he decided on a course of action.
"Is there a way for me to take only some of these names? I mean, can I chose not to become the Heir to House Potter, but be the Heir of the other three?"
Rip-bone looked pensive for a moment, but a surprised Haruka was the one to speak first.
"Harry-kun, you want to abandon your old family name?"
"Simple question: what did my family do for me, save for abandoning me on the word of an old man? "
His question was met with a chuckle from Karasuba, and silence from Haruka.
"So why would I want to still keep the name Potter? If these three families are so old, they must have more than enough money together for me to live off it until I get a job, and abandoning the name Potter will let me avoid unnecessary attention, so long as I hide my scar, since it is apparently the only other thing people know about me. I don't want attention, I want to have a normal life, or as close to normal I can get. So if it means I have to abandon my old name, I'll gladly do it."
There was shocked silence at this. Dis owning oneself was something that none of them was sure had ever happened. No one from such powerful families had the motivation to do so, then there was the fact that it would be a blow to them and the one doing it as they would be seen as tainted due to the families values already having been taught by the point it was allowed.
Albus knew for a fact that it was possible but it went against all of his plans. The political and fame of the potter name would make the boy renown throughout the magical world. Fame that could be leveraged to aid their cause. Then there was his plan to 'Suggest' a marriage between the boy and the Weasley girl. This would give him access to the vaults and artefacts through her. Now that all went out the window unless he implemented some laws, laws that would be questionably legal due to interfering with the house matters, these could also back fire upon him making that the last option. It made him so angry that more and more of his plans were being destroyed without the boy even meaning to. What would the boy be like if he is actively working against him.
"A very mature decision, Harry. And as to answer your question: yes, you can chose to not claim the Potter inheritance. It will however need to be recorded at Gringotts' English branch, in Diagon Alley. And do not worry about it becoming public knowledge soon, typically Gringotts' procedure in these cases is to send an owl to the concerned party, in this case your family, at your eleventh birthday. There will be no information regarding where you live, and if the Ministry passes a law to force Gringotts to tell them where you recorded your decision and when, they will be notified it was at Gringotts' English branch and the date of your decision, nothing more."
"Which means I will not need to worry about someone tracking me down."
"Indeed. And as for having enough money to live by yourself until you get a job, do not worry about that. I do not remember exactly how much these three vaults are worth, but I can tell you that you are rich enough to buy an entire country for yourself with the three of them."
"What?!" he shouted.
The very notion of having money of his own was already quite difficult to swallow, but now he discovered he was famous, politically powerful and rich? His thoughts came to a screeching halt as his brain shut down, unable to process all the life-changing news he had learnt since that morning.
Those that worked in the ministry cringed at the explanation. They all hated having to deal with the labyrinthian bureaucracy that was Gringotts. There was a protocol for everything, as well as thousands of different treaties. They were obscure and unheard of unless a person needed to look up for a specific reason. This however only gave the goblins more rope with which to hang the poor unprepared wizard.
-Break-
As she caught Harry's fainting form, Karasuba was grinning so wide it was threatening to split her face in two. She was already using all her willpower to fight back the pull she was feeling for the young boy in front of her, and the fight was incredibly difficult. She did not want to wing herself on him while he was still the pathetic weakling he still was, she wanted to wait at least until he was strong enough to be able to defend himself against other humans. But she really had hit the jackpot when she had reacted to Harry. He could understand her suffering, he was a very powerful wizard, he had a lot of political influence, AND he was rich. While the idea of her future Ashikabi being rich wasn't that important to her, she had to admit that it was a good point for him. She had no love for the material world, but it was still nice to be able to enjoy the best the world had to offer, she had gotten used to it after living at MBI tower. And the idea of her Ashikabi being able to control the political life of an entire nation was more than appealing in her eyes. True, it was not pure power, but it was power nonetheless. Oh, her life was going to be so fun in a few years of time!
Pushing her future Ashikabi back into his chair and making sure he was comfortable, she turned towards the Goblin, who had been eyeing her actions with curiosity.
"Well, while Harry is out cold, I'd like to open a vault in your bank. I trust it is possible?"
"Indeed, though you will need to convert some yens to our currency if you desire to do so."
She grinned, and reached into one of her pockets, taking out the little package Minaka had given her before they departed from MBI Tower. As it turned out, she wasn't the only one interested in Harry, the lunatic director of MBI had apparently taken a shine to her little pupil-to-be, and had the firm's whole legal team on the matter of adopting Harry, a task that had been quite easy, as he didn't even have a birth certificate.
"he does have a birth certificate" Protested lilly whilst wondering what they were on about. "a magical one or a mundane one "blandly asked Takami having already seen where this was going.
"what do you mean" asked James getting a sigh from the scientist. The gangers had seemed to have worked it out and surprisingly so had the potter girl as she seemed to be silently cursing.
"Well did you have a magical one registered with the magical authorities?" She asked the man trying not to sound as condescending as she felt. These magical s were seemingly very oblivious.
"Yes of course. Though it was done early it was not needed to have been registered until they were eleven due to some of the families charters having been around since child deaths in the early stages was common." was James reply. Takami could understand that as there had been a time where not only birth but the early parts of life were more likely to kill you than being shot today.
"OK," she said before continuing as the man looked smug at this. "Did you also register it with the non-magical government or did you consider it as unimportant?" the look of confusion was clear on his face. He knew every one had done what he did but then again they also did not go into the muggle world. Did the birth certificate not count in the muggle world when filed within the magical?
"It is as I thought you were blind to the muggle side, and due to this lost your child." said Takami exasperated by the man. True he seemed smart in his own way but he was also childish and naïve to certain things. Like how the government truly worked. So no she was not surprised in the slighted. It appeared that having magic does affect your mental capacity.
The papers for his adoption were already drawn, and all that they needed to be perfectly legal was Minaka's signature. Why he hadn't signed them yet, she didn't know, as she knew him well enough to understand that he wouldn't care about Harry's opinion on the matter. If she had to guess, she would say it had something to do with the fact that he could use magic and that Minaka was waiting for his confirmation because he saw his possible involvement with the Plan as a "gift of the Gods", or some crap of the same order. Well, it was her he had asked to tell Harry about it, as they were for a lack of a better term, quite close, something that still baffled Yume and Takami whenever they saw the pair.
Putting the bars of gold on the table, she leaned back on her seat, happy to see that she had the full attention of her interlocutor. Good thing that Minaka had asked about the wizards' currency.
"I'd like to open a vault under the name Minaka, using this gold as a start. The only one I want to be able to access the vault will be Harry."
"Understood. As for the security, do you desire a low-security, or a high-security vault?
"What are the security measures for a high-security vault?"
"High-security vaults are keyed the users' blood, and enchanted by our best curse-breakers to be impervious to any form of magic and magical travel. We have patrols in the area twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. And every three vaults, there is a Nue standing guard."
"Then a high security vault. Wouldn't want Harry to get robbed, now, would we?"
She saw Haruka stiffen and Rip-bone look offended for a second, but with a grin she let her hand rest on the sheath of her nodachi, and she had the pleasure to see the Goblin pale slightly. Good. Magical people or not, she wasn't going to let anyone control or intimidate her.
"Good. Now that we have an agreement, as soon as Harry wakes up, we'll be going shopping. I trust that when that happens you'll already have converted this gold into your currency?"
-Break-
It was a bemused Harry Potter who walked out of Gringotts' Japanese branch an hour later. In his hands was a pouch linked to a vault Karasuba had created on Minaka' orders, as the man apparently wanted to adopt him. He was not stupid, he knew that MBI's crazy CEO had very little interest in him as a person, but probably wanted to keep an eye on him an see for himself what wizards could do. But the idea of having a place to stay and call home, even if it did not hold the warmth of a loving family, really interested him. That, and between the option of being adopted by a magical family in the off case he refused and being adopted by Minaka, he would pick the second any time. At least there people would see him as Harry, not as the Boy-Who-Lived. He didn't even want to think about the sheer stupidity the magical community must exhibit at large if they gave him that silly nickname, as well as calling Voldemort You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
Albus was quite annoyed at the boy. Not only does he not seem to accept his role but he was questioning everything about the magical communities. This was a dangerous path he was on. It could lead him to places that stray from the light and he was worried about how he would deal with such a situation. He also happened to be slightly insulted by the insults to the monikers that he had voiced. He had created them as a focus for those within the magical world. The more fame that they gave them the more leverage that he would have once the boy was at his side.
Shaking his head, he decided to focus on something else. He was going shopping, and Karasuba had heavily insisted that the next day they went to shop for muggle clothes. Which meant she actually simply stated that it was what they would do, and nobody said anything. After all, he didn't have anything against it, rather he was rather enthusiastic at the idea of being able to have clothes that actually fitted him instead of wearing Dudley's cast off's, and Haruka was more or less going along with what he wanted. That and she seemed to be terrified of Karasuba.
The first store they went was the trunk store, and Harry immediately bought the largest trunk available to him, a seven-room one. When Karasuba asked why he wanted a trunk so big, he shrugged and said that since he could afford it, he was going to buy it, as he wanted to buy a lot of books, that and he wanted to separate the books about the magical world from the ones he intended to buy on muggle science and technology. Haruka was apparently pleased with his answer, and told him that English wizards tended to look down on the muggles, believing them to be beneath their notice. The Japanese world was far different, however. They were indeed quite conservative, but they certainly were not suffering from the Head in the Sand syndrome the British suffered from, as having two cities wiped out by nukes in the late hours of the World War 2 made it quite hard for them to ignore the growing threat that technology posed to the Wizardry World. That meant that even children from old families knew about the basic muggle technology.
"What is a nuke?" asked Ronald looking at those around him for an answer only to get head shakes. Even James who spent time in the muggle world from time to time due to lily wanting their children to be able to function there in case something happened was shaking his head, not knowing. Lily decided that she would explain after this part was done. She really did not want to put up with their reactions, even then her knowledge was out of date and they could have created something entirely more dangerous and powerful compared to what they used to have. Unfortunately for lily MBI has created a new weapon. Something that could be truly devastating but that was not for her to know about.
They disregarded the book store, as Rip-bone had told them that he had reasons to believe it would be better for them to wait until the piece of soul in Harry's head was extracted, even if he didn't really state these reasons. So instead they went directly to get Harry's wand. Haruka had explained that it was irregular, as magical children usually got their wands when they were eleven, as they entered Japan's magical school, Mahoutokoro, but considering his status and his life so far, she didn't see any reasons for him to wait until then. After all, he was probably far more mature than most eleven years old, and the only reason people waited until then to get their children wands was for fear of them accidentality hurting themselves while using it, or exposing the magical world. Considering that Harry, with a block limiting most of his power, was still able to send someone in a wall with enough force to break some bones meant that it would be far better for him to start training in magic early, as accidental magic now would be dangerous for him and his entourage.
The shop looked positively ancient, unlike the other buildings, which, while adopting the old Japanese architecture, were more recent. The wand shop, however, looked like it had been there for more than a few hundred years. The paint, while still holding, had still seen better days, and while overall the state of the shop was correct, there were more than a few blemishes on the wood it was made of. There were a few wands displayed in the shop's window, but otherwise, without the blemishes on the structure, the shop would have been totally unremarkable.
As they entered it, he felt his hair stand up from the ambient magic. True, he did not know about magic much, but even he could tell that the air was filled with mystical power. He was about to call for someone, when he felt the rush of something moving at a high speed, and he turned to see Karasuba with the blade of her nodachi on the throat of an elderly man, who for some reason didn't seem fazed at all, and merely curious.
"And who might you be?" asked the grey-haired woman, her tone jovial, though Harry could tell that she could very well kill the man if she wanted to.
"I am merely an humble wand crafter. And may I know your name, as well as the one of the child with you?"
"A wand crafter" moody shouted in surprise "what is wrong Alastor?" asked Arthur.
"Wand crafters are rare, Whilst Ollivanders is one he doe not do so often he tends to create simple and generic wands under contract from the ministry hence why they all have the trace. A crafted wand is more personal, it is created specifically for the user matching their temperament and magic getting the best results." said the former auror shocking the room. None of them knew this. It would explain why a wand was usable by many other people than its owner. It might be slightly more difficult but it was still usable.
The blade taped the man on his cheek. Haruka was looking alternatively between Karasuba and the old man, while Harry was simply watching the scene. He could tell that his bodyguard or whatever she wanted to be called was in a good mood, so the old man would probably live, so long as he didn't deliberately try to anger her.
"I'm Karasuba. The child" and she pronounced child as if she found hard to believe he was one, " is Harry Potter, and you're going to find him a wand." she said, as he withdrew her blade from the man's neck, and made a gesture towards Harry.
The man simply glanced at her curiously, before he turned towards him.
"Aah, Harry Potter-San. I am honoured to receive someone so famous in my humble shop. Though if I may, I had expected you to get your wand at Ollivanders, in Britain? After all, you are British."
"It's...complicated. But I'm sure your wands are as good as the British ones?"
The old man nodded with a neutral expression, but Harry could tell that behind the stone façade, he was quite pleased with his answer.
"Indeed, indeed. Now, Potter-San, would you mind coming with me? Your friend can come too, as well as Miss Hasegawa. I trust your wand still works properly? Thirty three centimetres (i.e.:13 inches), cherry wood, and a Yatagarasu's feather it was. A wand with a vast potential, though slightly more focused on Healing magic."
"Yes. It still works wonderfully, thank you."
As the old man was leading them towards the back of his shop, Harry couldn't help but feel curious.
"Excuse-me, sir, but how did you know English?"
"In my profession, Potter-San, there is always some interest in travelling, though I heard that most European wand makers do not wander out of Europe, or, for the most adventurous, Africa. I spent a few years in America after the end of World War II, I wanted to see how different their magical world evolved when working in concert with the Muggle government. That is where I learned English."
"Ah, I see."
They had arrived in a room filled with shelves, which were separated into three separate groups. The one closest to the left wall was covered with wood blocks, the one in the centre was covered with countless jars, and in right corner of the room was another group of shelves, far smaller than the previous two, with around twenty boxes lined on it.
Gesturing for Karasuba and Haruka to stay where they were, the old man led Harry towards the shelves holding the wood blocks.
"Now, Potter-San, I want you to close your eyes, and feel the different wood blocks on this shelf. If one or more of them feel right to you, please give them to me."
Doing as he was told, he touched the different items, and when he finished, he had given two blocks to the old man.
"Tell me, Potter-San, what you felt when you touched them?"
"I'm...not sure. The first one, well it felt warm, I don't know how to describe it better than that. And the second, it felt as if I was getting back something I missed. It's weird, I know, but..."
"Now, now, Potter-San. We are looking for the wood that will make your wand, of course it may feel strange. It is unfortunate, but few people can understand that the wizard doesn't choose the wand, it's the wand that chooses the wizard. Magic made you attuned with these particular woods, and there must be a reason for this.
As for the wood we are going to use, am I right when I say that your reaction to the second block was stronger than for the first one?"
"Yeah, you're right."
"Good. This is the wood of a Japanese Cedar. They are often used as sacred trees in Shinto shrines. Now that we have picked up the wood, may you tell me if any of these jars call to you? Remember, close your eyes, it will be easier."
For a long time, he kept his eyes closed, but after a few minutes, he opened them again, disappointed.
"Sorry, I don't feel anything important. There are a few that feel slightly better than the others, but that's about all."
Far from looking disappointed, the old man frowned, before taking Harry to the last shelf. He pointed the boxes to him, before explaining.
"Potter-San, please try again. Usually I do not ask my clients to try with these, as they are rather unique, and most find their core with the ones on the shelf we saw earlier. However it seems that your magic did not call to them, so we can try."
Frowning, he closed his eyes again, and he almost immediately felt something, probably magic, pull him to two of the boxes. One was made of wood and looked quite worn, though well-cared for, while the other was made of what looked like some opaque glass.
Pointing them to the old man, he explained:
"These. This one feels like it's calling for me, and this one wants to be a part of me."
"Interesting...Indeed, very interesting. Would you like to see the contents of these boxes?"
As he nodded eagerly, the old man chuckled, and opened the wooden box. Inside was what looked like a strand of golden-white hair.
"This, is something one of my ancestors managed to coax out of a kyûbi-no-kitsune, a very powerful fox youkai. It is some fur coming from its nine tails."
Carefully closing the box, he then picked up the one that looked like opaque glass, and opened it. Inside was a small bottle made of glasses, or at least what he assumed was glass. Inside was a crimson liquid, and he was willing to bet it was blood.
"This, while not as rare as the fur of a Kyubi, was extremely hard to obtain. This is some blood from a Yuki-onna, a Snow Woman. It was given willingly to a traveller that had spent the night with her as a token of appreciation for his kindness. It eventually came into my hands when the family it had been given to gave birth to a magical child as payment for the best wand I could make for said child.
What is most interesting, however, is that Kyubiare fire-related beings, while Yuki-onna are beings of ice. For two cores so opposite to be willing to bond with you, Potter-San, is very telling. The wand I will make with these cores will be as suited in the arts of destruction as it will be in the arts of protection and Healing. It will be very powerful, as long as you can balance its dual nature. Come back tomorrow, I will have your wand ready."
With that said, the old man ushered the three of them out of his shop, leaving them in the alley, puzzled about the experience.
Finally, Karasuba asked, looking torn between respecting the man for manhandling her and the need to chop him to pieces:
"Are all wand makers this bad?"
"I'm not sure, from I've heard, yes, they are. I think it comes with their branch of work. I heard someone say once that the stranger the wand maker, the better the wands made."
Harry saw the grey-haired woman eye the shop longingly, her hand twitching over the hilt of her sword. Finally, she calmed down, and let her hand fall to her side, before turning to look at Haruka.
"So, where do we go now?"
At this the screen blanked. The wizards were still in a kind of shock at the wand that was being made as they all had one wood and one core. While they worked well for them they did not know nor understand the significance that the boys wand would have. They did have to agree with the ministry woman's statement about wand makers.
The potter parents were on the verge of tears as they saw what was happening. To see their son considering cutting himself off from the family was a tragedy to them. They failed their son. They had failed their family. The children were however curious about what was going to happen in their brothers life, would they meet him, how would he react? There were many questions that they wanted to answer.
Takami was not a happy woman, or at least she felt bad for her alternate? The fact that the woman had a reacting Karasuba with a damaged child. There was also the willing enabler in the form of Minaka. So no things were not looking good upon her end of things. Well she could only wait for what the future would hold and hopefully things did not get to far out of hand. Hopefully.
