AN: Pending life or work getting in the way. I'm just going to move to weekly updates on Sundays. I have plenty of room to finish this story without catching up to my progress even if I get busy. Keep the comments coming and let me know what you all think. They really help, since sometimes I honestly don't even see some of the future potential holes you guys bring up in comments or questions. Hope everyone had a good week and enjoy the next chapter!
Chapter 9
"Well, I guess now we need to talk about how this will work," Dora said with a slight chuckle and a minor grimace after they had made it back into their apartment and sat on her couch. "I'm going to apologize in advance. I'm not much of a cook, so I think there will be a learning curve in the transition from me trying to keep food in my cupboards and not eating takeout so much. Unfortunately, there isn't much around this area, so I suspect you'll be pretty trapped here, so we'll try to work out how we can get you out for some fun on weekdays, while I'm at work."
"I can help cook a bit," Harry offered, and she looked at him in surprise at his offer. "My relatives used to make me cook most of the meals."
"Harry, I don't need you cooking for me," Dora protested. "It should be me cooking, not you."
"Dora, this isn't going to be exactly normal," Harry said with a slight grin. "I don't mind cooking, and you're already taking me in. It's not a problem for me."
Dora grimaced, but could concede his point. "Alright, but you're going to help teach me how to cook better so that eventually we can switch off who is cooking. Chores will split as well. If you're cooking, I'll take care of the dishes."
"I don't mind doing all the chores," Harry said, and Dora frowned at him.
"Harry, you're not a burden," she stressed, "and I didn't take you in so that you could be my House Elf. Your relatives may have used you like that, but I'm not going to. We'll split the chores, especially since I'll be cheating and using magic to get a fair bit of my chores done."
Harry nodded, smiling a bit, and that made Dora happy. She cast a critical look at the rags he was wearing."
"Now, we won't be able to get much, but I think we need to go shopping and get you a few pairs of clothes that actually fit," Dora said.
"That would be nice," Harry agreed wistfully. "I can help pay though. You said that you don't have much in savings. I have plenty."
"What do you mean you have plenty?" Dora asked.
"Well, like I mentioned. Mum and Dad left me a lot of gold, and while I'll use it for Hogwarts, it could also be used for this," Harry said.
"I forgot you said that," Dora admitted. "Still, I don't want you blowing through everything they gave you. Do you even know how much is in the vault?"
"No," Harry admitted, "but I know it's a lot."
Dora chuckled. "Alright. How about we go visit Gringotts. We can check out your finances and then maybe get some gold and muggle money. If you have a lot of money, I'll let you help in buying your clothes, but still, there's not a lot of point in you buying a ton of clothes anyway. You're only going to wear muggle clothes for the rest of the summer before you go to Hogwarts and then by the time you get back, you'll have probably outgrown everything. Though, we should probably get you some casual robes too, if we can," Dora muttered, and then smiled brightly. "Alright, let's go! Afterwards, we can go to the Ministry and get your record clear and see about getting your mail to you, or at least stopping this Dobby from continuing to take your mail, though I suspect he won't be able to do it now that you live with me."
"Why is that?" Harry asked, and Dora grinned.
"Just a hunch."
It was a quick apparition and then they made their way through the Leaky and into Diagon Alley before finally making their way to Gringotts. Dora led the way up to a Gringotts goblin, and soon they were zipping away in a cart down to Harry's vault. She grinned seeing how he enjoyed the cart, and thought that taking him flying would be a fun thing they could do on weekends.
Once they got to the vault though, Dora couldn't keep in her gasp of surprise seeing the piles of gold, silver, and bronze in Harry's vault. He'd been right. He had a lot of gold.
She'd known the Potters had been wealthy, but she hadn't really imagined this type of wealth. Still, it was her job to make sure he didn't waste this while he lived with her. She certainly wasn't going to stop him from buying his Hogwarts supplies with this and she should allow him to buy his own clothes, at least for the next year or two until she started making enough money to support the both of them, but she certainly wasn't going to allow him to just buy things for their place. She was the guardian. This money could be used for him, but nothing else, at least that was her mindset.
"How much is in here," Dora asked the goblin, who pulled out a piece of paper and scowled as he handed it to Harry.
Harry opened it up, eyes widening slightly and then handed it to her. She gasped again, seeing that nearly 30,000 galleons were in the vault.
"It's a lot, right?" Harry said.
"Yes, Harry, it's a lot," Dora confirmed. "As an Auror Trainee, I make 4,000 galleons a year. As an Auror First Class, which is the first year I'm a full Auror, I'll make 10,000 galleons, so you have about three years of what will be my pay in this vault, and that's my pay before taxes."
Harry nodded. "That's a big pay jump between Auror Trainee and Auror First Class," Harry noted, and Dora chuckled and nodded in agreement.
"As a Cadet, I would have made 3,000 galleons in a year if I was a cadet for the whole year. Auror Second Class, which is what I should be in a year, makes about 6,000 galleons a year, which is honestly not bad at all in comparison to some ministry jobs. Auror First Class, as I already said, makes very good money. Auror Lieutenants make 12,000 a year. Auror Captains make 15,000 a year, the Assistant Head Auror makes about 17,000, and the Head Auror makes about 20,000 galleons a year."
"How do you go from an Auror to an Auror Lieutenant and beyond?" Harry asked curiously.
"Well, the Auror Department is really small, so usually openings don't occur until someone either gets promoted or retires. The Head Auror really only has a couple options. They often get promoted into the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement or occasionally to the Head of one of the other major departments or they generally retire. There's only two Auror Captains, and six Lieutenants. Each Lieutenant manages four aurors or would if the force was at full strength. So, yeah, not a lot of chances for promotion, so seniority comes into play, distinguishing yourself, and then of course, some don't want to move up, which helps out those who do."
"Why wouldn't some want to move up?"
"The higher you move, the more responsibility. The less you'll spend in the field because Lieutenants have to manage all the intelligence and casework that Aurors produce, and they have to have a thorough understanding of every case in their squad. It's a lot more paperwork and you have to worry about the bureaucracy more," Dora explained. "It gets even worse the higher you go."
"How about distinguishing yourself?" Harry asked.
"Well, some just show their skills with their arrest records and closing high profile cases, but generally it's about qualifications."
"Qualifications?" Harry asked, confused.
"OWLs and NEWTs are qualifications," Dora said with a smile, "but those aren't the only qualifications. People can get Masteries in subjects, which is a level higher than NEWTs. They can publish research papers or create new spells to fill capability gaps adding to a field or giving them special credence in a particular field. Some aurors specialize in certain subjects whether that be certain elemental magics," she said, nodding at Harry, thinking of his Shadow Magic, "or getting Curse Breaking or Warding qualifications. Aurors are always learning, or should always be learning and improving the skills and knowledge with which they can bring to the job. With the amount of advanced defensive magic, charms, and transfiguration we do through Auror Training, it's fairly common for most Aurors to eventually gain masteries in those three subjects. Those types of specialties or qualifications not only can help Aurors do their jobs, but they help differentiate different people, which could be used later on for promotions."
"Oh, I didn't realize there was so much more someone could do after Hogwarts," Harry said.
"Oh, indeed. Hogwarts is just the tip of the iceberg," Dora said with a grin. "Now, let's get some gold for you and gold to exchange to muggle money and we'll go do some shopping . . . oh bugger. Where are you going to keep your clothes?" Dora muttered more to herself."
"I'll just keep it all in my trunk," Harry said with a shrug.
"Merlin, you should have your own room," Dora muttered a bit sadly. "Don't you have one of those single compartment trunks?"
"Well, yes," Harry said, and Dora thought it out.
"Bloody hell, I'm going to be a terrible guardian," she said and Harry looked at her in confusion, so she explained. "Truthfully, we should consider getting you one of the nice multi-compartment trunks. They help keep everything organized, make it easier to get what you need, compartmentalize your stuff, and give you much more space to utilize. You won't be so cramped if you buy one of those."
"Alright," Harry said, his eyebrows scrunched down. "That makes sense to me, but why does that make you a terrible guardian?"
"Because I'd be convincing you to buy something with your gold that I should be trying to provide myself," Dora said a bit glumly.
Harry shook his head. "Dora, think of everything that I could use for school as something that I'll provide. If my parents were alive, this gold here would have been used to buy those things. If you didn't take me from the Dursleys, this gold would have been used to buy those things. What you just described sounds brilliant, and Merlin knows that being able to better separate my books, clothes, and potions ingredients sounds quite nice. Truthfully, I wish Hagrid would have brought it up when he brought me to Diagon Alley the first time."
Dora chuckled slightly. "Alright, Harry, but in one year, I'm going to make sure you get your own room, and a year after that, when I'm making good money, you're not going to argue with me being the one who pays for things. Okay?"
Dora wanted to smile seeing that Harry didn't really want to agree with that, but he finally nodded. After grabbing a large bagful of gold and exchanging a large chunk of it into muggle pounds, the two of them went and got Harry a multi-compartment trunk. It had five compartments. One was for potions equipment, one was for clothes, one was for books and acted as a magical library storing and documenting books and subjects, one was for more personal items, and the last was general storage.
Afterwards, Dora enjoyed teasing Harry as they got him fitted for a few casual robes that he'd wear in a place like Diagon Alley so that he wouldn't stick out so much, and then, she eagerly took him to a muggle mall where they spent, what Harry felt was, far too long getting him a few pairs of jeans, shorts, t shirts, and one pair of khakis and a button down, just to be safe.
Finally, it was time to go to the Ministry. Harry had to admit the phone booth threw him for a loop before he thought it was kind of cool entering through the guest entrance. A quick wand registration where he pretended not to notice people gawking at his scar and finally Dora was guiding him to the Misuse of Magic Office.
It was a fairly decent sized office, at least to Harry. It seemed to have desks or small offices for roughly forty or fifty people. Dora guided her over to a smaller section that was marked for dealing with underage magic among other things
A short wispy witch with grey hair and glasses saw them approaching and got up to meet them.
"Hello," she said kindly. "My name is Mafalda Hopkirk. Can I be of assistance?"
"Yes," Dora said with a nod. "Harry Potter is now my ward, and thus I would like to update the Ministry so he does not receive warnings when I use magic around him. Additionally, he was recently accused of using a hover charm, but I'm hear to clear his name, since he did not use a hover charm."
"I see," Mafalda said with a nod. "Well, updating his home of record is automatic assuming you went through Wizarding Child Services."
"We did," Dora confirmed.
"Very good," Mafalda said. "Then, it will automatically update eventually, however I will make a note in our own files for reference if the paperwork takes some time to file. Now, as for clearing his record. May I see your wand, Mr. Potter?"
Harry nodded, and handed his wand over. Mafalda quickly waved her wand, and Harry saw images of the last spells he did at the end of the previous year come out of the wand.
"I see, you have not used this wand since the end of the school year," Mafalda said, with a nod. "Indeed, you did not perform underage magic. Now, can you tell me what happened?"
Harry quickly gave an account of his encounter with Dobby, and Mafalda wrote down a few notes.
"Well, with you living in a wizarding home, you should have no issues with that now, and I will make notes of your story for future references if needed, but you should report this to the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures as well as the Department of Magical Transportation. The first will help you deal with the House Elf, the second will help you at least track who has attempted to have mail delivered to you, even if there is no guarantee of retrieving what was sent to you."
"Thank you, Ms. Hopkirk," Dora said, and then she guided him to the DRCMC, who was quite interested to hear about the rogue House Elf, but was unable to do much about him since he wasn't registered with them. However, they were able to place a charm that would prevent him from putting magic on him, and they were able to confirm that Dobby did not have any magic currently on him.
Lastly was the DMT, and while he didn't understand a thing they did, and neither did Dora apparently, the complexity being what it was, they were helpful. They were able to confirm that Dobby had somehow set up a charm that convinced the owls that Dobby was acting as Harry Potter's delivery box, which they were able to break, and then they set up a protection that would stop Dobby from doing so again. They were also able to confirm who had sent Harry letters by somehow interacting with the magic that allowed owls to find the receiver, though they flat out told him recovering the taken letters or packages was beyond their scope and their abilities. They advised him to write to his friends, and hope nothing important was taken. If anything important was taken, then he could file a further report with the DMLE, beyond the ones the DRCMC and DMT would file.
Harry was a bit sad to not be able to get the letters or packages, but he was happy that the situation was at least mostly solved, even if Dobby's family remained a mystery. In addition, Harry was surprised but happy to see how many of his friends had actually written to him. He hadn't been forgotten by Ron or Hermione, as he had expected. Hagrid had written to him, but he had also been happy to note that almost all of his Quidditch teammates had written him letters, with he hoped, invites for pickup games over the summer.
After they were officially done with the Ministry, they hit the grocery store and then finally returned to the apartment to begin their first evening living together.
**HP**
Living with Dora was as good as anything Harry could have expected, in his mind. During work days, Harry was pretty much on his own. There wasn't a ton to explore in their area, so he spent most days relaxing in the apartment, watching tv, reading books, knocking out his summer homework, or knocking out his part of the chores, but occasionally he went out to see the area or caught the Knight Bus that Dora showed him to various places around London, enjoying the freedom that came with being away from the Dursleys. She wasn't super crazy about him going too far, but she never made a big deal about it, which he appreciated.
On weekends, and some days after work if Dora hadn't had a long day, they'd get out and go do things. Sometimes it was simply sightseeing. Other times, she took them to an abandoned range that witches and wizards could fly at to their heart's content. They spent time at the public library, and a time or two she took him to a muggle arcade, and they spent their evening playing muggle videogames, having a blast. Occasionally, they'd eat dinner over at Mad-Eye's place due to the fact Dora felt a certain kinship with the Auror who had mentored her since day one and looked out for her, especially since he didn't have any family either.
Harry didn't mind though. While the gruff and paranoid old ex-Auror was a bit prickly, he had lots of stories to tell, and some of them included Harry's parents or Dora's parents. He'd also given a few of his Defense books to Harry with a wink, books which had a wide array of jinxes, hexes, and curses as well as their counters.
Another pleasant change was the improvement in his social life, now that he was able to get letters from his friends. Ron, Hermione, Katie, Alicia, and Angelina were all pretty good at sending him letters fairly often, and even Hagrid, Fred, George, and Oliver wrote occasionally.
The biggest change though, was what happened only a week after Harry moved in. He woke up to Dora jumping on him, the couch being transfigured into a bed, and he groaned as she laughed.
"Wake up, birthday boy," she sang.
Harry froze, and then glanced at her in surprise. He'd never had someone celebrate his birthday before, and she saw his startled eyes, and her face fell slightly before she brightened again.
"Happy birthday, Harry," she said, and he smiled at her.
"Thanks, Dora," he said back, and she grinned.
"I've got plans for us today, so you better get up!" she said, hopping off his bed and moving towards the kitchen, and then Harry took better stock of the room, smelling whatever Dora was cooking for his breakfast. It smelled good.
Harry pushed the covers off of him and made his way to the kitchen, and he couldn't help the smile seeing the eggs and french toast that Dora was doing a good job of making.
"It looks great," Harry commented and she flashed him a smile.
"Well, these are some of the few things I can cook," Dora said with a laugh before she dished him up a plate and then herself one and they both dug in.
After they finished up, Dora cast a quick charm so that the dishes would start cleaning themselves and she dragged him back into the living room and she transfigured his bed back into the couch, and sat him down before she summoned over a wrapped gift.
"Dora, you didn't have to . . ." Harry started to say, but Dora cut him off.
"Of course I did," she responded, looking offended. "It's your birthday!"
"Thank you, Dora," Harry said, as he reverently took the package and opened it up slowly, and smiled, seeing the new quidditch gloves that she'd gotten him.
"Of course," Dora responded. "Can't have our star seeker using old equipment," she said pompously, and he laughed with her but that laughter died as a large eagle flew in through the open window, carrying a package.
It promptly dropped the package into Harry's lap and then flew away. Dora glanced at Harry, seeing his surprise, and then she tilted her head.
"It seems to me that someone else wants to wish you a happy birthday," Dora said slowly, and they both saw the letter on top of the package, so Harry grabbed the letter first, and Dora scooted next to him so that they could both read the letter.
Dear Mr. Harry Potter,
To say that my wife and I were surprised to receive your letter would be an understatement, however we greatly appreciated your concern, especially considering that we were most impressed with your actions, and are grateful for what you did for us. For hundreds of years, we have protected the Stone, hiding it from those who would abuse it, from those who would bring harm to the world.
No, you owe us no apology for the destruction of the Stone. It is we who owe you an apology, along with Albus and the other Professors of Hogwarts for using it as bait to lure Voldemort into a trap, and for not being around which forced you to be the one to stop the theft.
You also should spare yourself any concern for its destruction. Eventually, everyone's time comes, and ours is no different. We've experienced much in over six hundred and sixty years, but while our bodies remain strong due to the Stone's powers, our minds start to weaken. The human mind was not meant to live this long, and as time marches on, we forget more and more of our earlier centuries . . . our earliest memories . . . some of our fondest memories, and while we can make new memories, they never quite hold the same sentimentality. We've answered many of the questions that we once had, and while there are always more questions, we are finally ready to see those who have gone before us and face the next great adventure and find the answer to a question that we cannot answer on this plane of existence.
So, we have written this letter to you to hopefully assuage your worries and also to thank you for the service you have done us and the world. We suspect that the world will be in good hands with a person like you in it, and we also are assured that you will go on to accomplish a great many things.
Happy birthday, Harry Potter, and thank you.
Humbly yours,
Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel
"Wow, they wrote you back," Dora said, looking impressed.
" . . . and they gave me a present," Harry said, as he opened up the package and found three books, three large, leather, very old looking books.
Harry looked at the first one, a golden leather, titled: The Dance of the Warrior, which had a note attached to the front of it.
Harry -
If you're going to keep finding yourself in dangerous situations, then a little preparation, knowledge, and training wouldn't hurt. We hope you find this helpful and instructive. This tome was written by one of the best duelmasters in the history of Europe, and includes in depth instruction on various styles of dueling and exercises to improve as well as information on various skills such as Sensing, battle transfiguration, battle charms, nonverbal magic, and best uses of certain defensive and offensive magic. It also includes strategies on how to combat superior opponents, multiple opponents, and even when inhibited by lack of senses like sight or hearing.
"I've heard of this Harry," Dora said in awe, looking at the book. "It's supposed to be extremely rare. Not many of these books have survived, but even to this day, Jason Witcher is still regarded as one of the greatest duelists to ever live. Some of the other greatest duelists in history have mentioned this book as a tool that helped them get there."
"Wow," Harry muttered, looking at the book, and then he smiled. "Maybe this will help you give Mad-Eye a run for his money."
Dora laughed, and she loved that he was already thinking about how she could use the book, even though it was his gift.
Harry turned to the next book, which, according to the note, was a tome on Sensing, which was one of the skills of the dueling book. Another very valuable, but less rare book, which would help him, and Dora, learn a skill that not many learned outside of certain fields. Harry finally turned to the last book, gazing at the book which had a lightning bolt on the cover.
Harry -
Albus tells us that you've picked up an interest in the Shadow Element. That is one of the elements neither of us did pick up. However, someday should you find an interest in learning a second element, or perhaps you'll have someone close to you that has an interest in becoming an elemental or being a mage, we have provided you with this tome, which, similar to the tome you found at Hogwarts, explains how to use lightning elemental magic.
Passing on knowledge is something we have always considered to be of vital importance. We hope that you enjoy these three books and benefit from them greatly. Happy birthday, Harry.
"Harry, these books are all priceless," Dora muttered. "You'll need to keep good care of them."
"We'll need to take good care of them," Harry said, with a grin. "I certainly want you to use them as well."
"I appreciate that Harry," Dora said, and she really did. Not many people would be willing to share the type of magic he was offering to her. "For now though, it's time to get back to your birthday!"
She had told him. She had plans. She took him out to a matinee movie before they went to the range they liked to fly at, then finally ended the night with chinese food and another movie at home.
It was the first birthday Harry had ever celebrated and it was everything Harry could have ever hoped for.
**HP**
Harry looked up from his copied notes from the Shadow Magic book to see Dora coming in with a smile.
"I was just notified that the paperwork finally got through," Dora said cheerfully. "Trust the Ministry to be very slow. Officially, they are now tracking you live with me, and the Improper Use of Magic Office doesn't have to take special note of you living with me to stop from sending you warnings whenever I cast spells. No more negatively affecting the Trace on you."
"How does the Trace work?" Harry asked. "I don't really get how the Ministry seemed to know a hover charm was used at my relatives home, and yet they were sure it was me."
"The Trace is applied to the international borders of the United Kingdom," Dora explained. "Basically, it works in that it is able to detect magic that happens around any underage witch or wizard within the country. The Ministry sensors can't tell who actually cast the spell, but underage witches and wizards have a file that describes their living conditions, as you learned, which sets the precedence of who might have done the magic. Living in a muggle home, the Ministry assumed all magic cast at Privet Drive was done by you. They should have investigated, but a hover charm is just the sort of thing a student might try out, so I guess they just went with it. Budget cuts have affected much of the Ministry, so I wouldn't be surprised if they just don't have the manpower to explore first infractions."
"So, wait," Harry said. "Does that mean that Ron, because his parents are magical, could in theory get away with using magic, since they might assume his mum or dad cast the spells?"
Dora grinned. "Yes it does. The Ministry relies on parents to keep their children in check and observe the law, but yes, purebloods and half bloods can technically get away with using magic, however, if they get caught attempting that, they could be expelled on the spot, without the warning, though that is unlikely. In addition it's a very severe punishment if it's found that a student was casting magic with permission from his or her parents, so many pureblood families don't take the risk."
"How severe?" Harry asked in interest.
"5,000 galleon fine, suspension or possible expulsion for the student, and up to six months in Azkaban prison for the parent or parents," Dora said, and Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, yes, it was decided long ago that purebloods and half-bloods should know better, and thus they actually can receive harsher punishments for attempting to circumvent the laws for something trivial like underaged magic. It's one of the few areas that muggleborns arguably have it better, though of course, if they get expelled, their chances of even making it in the magical world are slim to none, and they are often obliviated of their knowledge of the Wizarding World, so there's an argument for the punishments being even in a certain morbid sort of way."
"So, I guess I shouldn't take advantage of living with you to do magic," Harry mumbled, and Dora laughed.
"Probably not," Dora said with a grin. "Though I guess I could just loan you my wand and you'd get away with it."
"You seem to know a lot about getting around the Trace," Harry said in amusement. "Any other ways?"
Dora laughed. "We actually had a block of instruction on this recently . . . and I might have experimented a bit growing up. As for other methods of getting around the Trace, there are three others I know of. One isn't really getting around, but more just nullifying the Ministry and that is getting emancipated or getting married. Then, the Trace will still detect you, but you'll be considered an adult by law and thus not subject to the Trace, so the magic won't even notify the Ministry. The second is very much similar to the concept of using magic around your parents. If you go to a magical place, like Diagon Alley for instance, the Ministry does detect magic around an underage person, but relies on others to enforce it if it was underaged magic, since there are too many people there, though they obviously do have people who roam the alley, but not rooms in the Leaky, for instance. Lastly, extremely powerful protective wards can sometimes mask an underage witch or wizard's magical presence. Though, that would obviously mean the person could only use magic while under the wards. Otherwise, they'd still be under the Trace."
"Hmm, I can't decide if I'm impressed or disappointed in how many ways someone can fool the Trace," Harry said. "It doesn't seem all that powerful."
"It's not really meant to be," Dora said. "It is powerful in a lot of ways, but after all, it's only meant to keep school children in line and keep the Statue of Secrecy in place. It's not trying to do much else."
Harry nodded. "Well, I guess I should get started on dinner, before you try to cook and poison me."
Harry grinned as Dora scowled at him. "Oh, you're asking for it, Potter."
"Whatever you say, Nymphadora," Harry drawled and then laughed and took off running as Dora shrieked and rushed after him.
He raced through the apartment, barely managing to avoid her hands, and made a rush for the front door.
"Oh, no you don't!" Dora yelled, and then Harry groaned in defeat as he felt her arms circle around him and pick him up, throwing him down onto the couch.
He tried to squirm away, but then she straddled his chest and held his arms down, grinning dangerously down at him.
"H-hey, Dora, no need to do anything rash," Harry said nervously and a bit breathlessly, though he was still laughing a bit as well.
"Oh, no. You have to pay," Dora said evilly, devil's horns growing on her head.
He started gasping as she removed her hands and started tickling him mercilessly, and he tried to squirm away, but the bigger girl had strength and size on her side, as she continued to get her revenge
"No . . HAhA . . . n-no m-more . . AH g-gross!" Harry gasped out as Dora continued to tickle him and then started raining little kisses all over his face, leaving bits of saliva all over. "I g-give . . .hahahaha . . .I give!"
Dora finally stopped, and Harry started wiping off his face in disgust, completely out of breath, and struggling not to keep giggling.
"As long as you know who's boss around here, little brother."
Harry grinned up at her, loving every minute of having her as a pseudo sibling, loving that their familial bond was everything he'd ever wanted from family and from a sibling. His grin became a tad mischievous. It wasn't smart, but sometimes you just had to poke the bear.
"It's definitely me . . . Nymphadora."
"Oh now you're just asking for it you little twerp."
**HP**
"Shit, shit, bloody hell, and oh yes, shit," Dora cursed again and again.
"What? You hate the field that much?" Kelly asked with a grin. "I mean, it's not my favorite place either, but we are going to be Aurors, and it kind of comes with the territory."
"I know," Dora moaned, "but we weren't supposed to go back to the field for another month. By then, Harry would have been back at Hogwarts, and now we'll be in the field for two weeks!"
"And that's why parents rarely survive being Aurors," Kelly said flatly.
"Plenty of Aurors have families," Dora retorted. "They just don't usually have families while they are going through Auror Training."
"Perhaps, but not many are single parents," Kelly said. "This type of thing is going to happen a lot."
"Yeah, but he's at Hogwarts a lot of the year," Dora said. "It'll only be a problem during the summers, and honestly after he gets done with his OWLs, I wouldn't even feel bad leaving him home alone for stretches of time, but the timing for this exercise is bad."
"I guess you're going to have to find a babysitter or something," Kelly responded with a shrug.
"Yeah," Dora muttered glumly, knowing that Kelly didn't realize that Harry was Harry bloody Potter and she couldn't just find any sitter.
Dora was trying to think about who she could do, and unfortunately, she didn't have many options that she could think of, since all of her good friends were currently out of the country. She briefly entertained the thought of asking Mad-Eye, but eventually shot that down, figuring it was in Harry's best interest not to spend two weeks living with Mad-Eye. Unfortunately, it might be her only option, and that was even assuming Mad-Eye would agree
Dora sighed. She'd just have to talk to Harry and see if he'd be okay staying at Mad-Eye's place. She finished up her work, made her way through the ministry and then apparated back to her home. She entered the apartment and took an appreciative sniff at whatever Harry was cooking for supper. He was a godsend in that department. She wanted to feel bad, but he seemed to enjoy cooking, at least for her, since he said he got to experiment a bit more, and she certainly made sure that she took a fair share of the other chores, and he was a very good cook, so it was really hard to feel bad about letting him cook their meals more often than she did.
"Honey, I'm home!" she called out, with a grin, morphing herself to look like a middle aged man. "What's for dinner?"
"I don't know. Whatever you brought for yourself," Harry remarked snarkily, as he dished up a creamy stew into a bowl, smiling back.
Dora morphed back, and then snatched the bowl of stew out of his hands.
"I guess this is what I brought," she said with an innocent look while Harry chuckled and dished up another bowl.
"How was training?" Harry asked as the two of them moved to her small table.
"It started out fine," Dora said with a sigh, "but we got told today that we're going back into the field for two weeks starting Monday."
"Oh," Harry said, seeing what she was saying. "Maybe I could stay with the Weasleys? Ron did say in his letter on my birthday that they wanted me to come stay with them for a bit."
"Two weeks is longer than most people want friends to stay," Dora said solemnly, but then nodded. "Still, it's either them or I try and beg Mad-Eye to do it."
Harry shrugged. "I can't promise you won't find me cursed when you come back, but I wouldn't mind staying with Mad–Eye," Harry said with a grin.
Dora laughed at that. "Alright, we'll go talk to the Weasleys tomorrow. I'll send them a letter tonight so they'll expect us around lunch time," she said before groaning slightly. The Weasleys weren't aware that she was now Harry's guardian. Molly was a very nice woman, and she'd always been welcome at the Burrow as a friend of Charlie's, but she was also fairly traditional and probably would have a bit to say about a twenty year old being the guardian of a thirteen year old.
She glanced at Harry, seeing a mischievous grin appear on his face, and he asked, "So, how many times did you fall on your face during stealth training today?"
**HP**
The next morning breezed by and soon Harry was holding on to Dora's arm as she apparated them to the Burrow, appearing not far from the Weasley home, looking in the direction of Ottery St. Catchpole.
Harry turned around and looked at the Weasley home, noting the garage, shed and the home itself, which looked like a stone pigpen that had extra rooms added here and there as it continued to grow upwards. Five chimneys were perched on top of the red roof, and a lopsided sign stuck in the ground near the entrance read, THE BURROW.
Harry smiled while looking around, and she knew that he liked anything that was completely the opposite of Privet Drive. They made their way up towards the door when it opened and out came Ron.
"Harry! I thought I heard someone apparating in, but I thought the muggles would have had to drive you here. Blimey, you've filled out a bit," Ron said, before seeing Tonks. "Oh, hey Tonks. Good to see you again."
Dora grinned, both at his assessment of Harry as well as Ron's greeting. It was true. Harry had lost a lot of the half-starved look he'd had living with her for a month and taking a regiment of potions, and he'd even grown two inches. He was still skinny, but not ribcage showing skinny, and he looked more average height for his age rather than short. "Good to see you too, Ron. Is your mother here?"
He nodded. "She's in the kitchen."
Dora nodded. "Good, you little sprites can go off and play, and I'll go talk with the grownups," she said and preened as she started to walk, only for Harry to oh so innocently and obviously accidentally trip her, causing her to almost faceplant into the dirt.
She looked up with a scowl and saw Harry trying and failing to hide a smirk. Ron was just barely hiding a chuckle.
"Oh, I'll get you back for that later, you little twerp," Dora muttered, and Harry shrugged, doing his best to look unconcerned, before he ran off with Ron to get the tour.
Dora grinned, now that he was gone, loving how much more playful and open he'd become with her, both over the past year, but especially since he'd moved in with her. She made her way into the Burrow, seeing Harry just now escaping a hug from Mrs. Weasly, who looked up and noticed her.
"Oh, Tonks!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed happily. "It's wonderful to see you again. I don't think I've seen you since Charlie moved away."
Ron used his mother's distraction to pull Harry with him and they made their way up the stairs.
"That sounds about right," Dora admitted, realizing that Charlie had been gone for over a year now.
"I was surprised to get your letter," Mrs. Weasley continued. "I didn't realize that you knew Harry. I was sure that we were going to have to go get him from his muggle relatives. Merlin knows how they could have gotten him out here for a visit."
"Well, Harry's parents and my parents were very good friends," Dora said. "We're basically family, or at least to us we are. He and I reconnected when he came back to the Wizarding World."
"Oh, that's nice dear," Mrs. Weasley said. "So, I'll admit I'm confused about why you needed to talk to me. Something about Harry staying here for a few days? I would think his relatives would want to ask."
"Well, that's the thing, Mrs. Weasley -"
"Oh, please just call me Molly dear," Mrs. Weasley interrupted, and Dora grinned sheepishly before getting serious.
"Well, Molly, Harry doesn't actually live with his muggle relatives anymore," Dora said.
Molly frowned. "Then where does he live? Did something happen?"
"His relatives weren't very good to him," Dora said slowly, hoping Molly wouldn't press.
"Oh, that's horrible!" Molly exclaimed, looking horrified. "That poor dear. So is this about finding him a place to live?"
"No, I'm actually his guardian now," Dora said with a smile. "He lives with me."
Molly frowned in confusion and Dora decided to head her off.
"I'm aware I'm unmarried, and have no family, so I'm probably not who most people think should be raising him, but to me he's my little brother, and I wanted him to live with me. If my parents had gotten their way back when Uncle James and Aunt Lily were killed, they would have been his guardians and then I would have been his default guardian when they passed."
"Well, if you're sure, dear," Molly said a bit hesitantly. "As long as he's happy and cared for."
Dora smiled. "He is and we are. I'm entering my second year as an Auror Trainee, so the pay isn't great yet, but it's enough for us to get by, and his parents left him funds for his schooling."
"So, what's the issue you need my help with?" Molly asked.
"Well, I wasn't supposed to go back into the field for training until September, and by then Harry would have been back at Hogwarts, but they just hit us with a two week field exercise," Dora said with a sigh. "Being who he is, I can't just get some sitter, nor could I afford one, honestly, but most of my - and Charlie's - friends scattered to the winds after graduation, so I don't really have many people I could ask. My go to for help is Mad-Eye, and while I love that gruff man, he is not exactly who I want to leave Harry with for two weeks, even if Harry is okay with it."
"No, you can't leave Harry with Mad-Eye Moody for two weeks," Molly said in agreement. "What does he even know about caring for children?"
"Honestly, I'm not too concerned about that," Dora admitted and Molly frowned. "Harry's very self-reliant, a side effect of his relatives, and Moody's been a bachelor forever, so he knows how to care for himself and others, honestly better than most men. He's surprisingly good with Harry, honestly. Really the issue with Mad-Eye is that Harry would be really trapped in Mad-Eye's home until I got back, since Mad-Eye is so paranoid and I highly doubt he'd really take Harry out to many places. Plus, Mad-Eye tends to send hexes and curses when he's startled."
Molly looked a bit worried so Dora hastened to calm her worries.
"Oh nothing too harmful!" Dora said quickly. "Still, I'd rather he still have fun. He was locked up all summer by those vile relatives of his and I don't want him to feel imprisoned on his summer break, even if it's only temporary. I know he had an invite over here as it was, and I was hoping you might be willing to let him stay with you for the next two weeks, starting either monday morning or sunday evening?"
"Oh, of course dear, that's no problem," Molly said with an easy smile. "We'd love to have him, and are more than happy to help."
Dora sighed in relief. "That's great, Mrs - er Molly. I honestly will be back the next friday, so it's not even a full two weeks, but still. Perhaps, assuming they get their Hogwarts books lists by then, we can all go do their school shopping together and I can treat your family to lunch as a thank you."
"Well, there's no need for that," Molly responded. "We'd love to join you for school shopping, but there's no need to treat my family to lunch. We're just happy to help."
Dora chuckled, well familiar with Weasley pride. "You won't allow me to thank you for helping me? Not in a way that would make me feel better?" Dora pleaded, turning her hair Weasley red, making herself look younger and pouting.
Molly snorted. "Unfortunately dear, my children have ruined that game for you, but I guess I see your point. We can at least talk about that when we get there."
Dora grinned, knowing she had her right where she wanted her.
"Thanks for this, Molly. It'll be a real help."
"Of course, dear," Molly said, "and don't hesitate to keep us in mind if situations like this come up. Merlin knows it was a struggle for us to find someone to watch the kids sometimes if we needed to go somewhere, and Arthur and I have a lot of relatives!"
Dora laughed at that, knowing that the amount of children probably didn't help matters.
"Now, how about a cup of tea and we can catch up? I'd love to hear how Auror Training is going."
"That would be wonderful."
**HP**
Dora smiled as she saw the Weasleys appearing by Floo into the Leaky Cauldron. Dora had gotten back from the field the previous night, but she'd found several letters from Harry describing the good time he was having, but also mentioning that he had gotten his letter so they wanted to do Diagon Alley the next morning. So, Dora left him at the Weasleys for one more night and agreed to meet them at the Leaky to do their shopping. Her smile faded though as she saw the Weasleys looking around for someone else. She walked up to them, wondering what was going on and where Harry was.
"Harry stuttered while using Floo powder," Molly said, looking a bit panicked. "I'm sure he can't have gone too far, but still, he obviously didn't get off at this grate. We need to go look for him in the alley."
Dora felt a small bit of apprehension, but she knew this sort of thing happened. Molly was right. If he said something similar to Diagon Alley, then he should have appeared near the area. They all made their way into Diagon Alley and started running, looking for signs of Harry.
It didn't take long before they found Harry with Hagrid and Hermione in front of Gringotts, and Dora saw Harry smile as she ran up to him, and she caught him in a bone-crushing hug.
"Wotcher, little brother," she greeted, breathing a bit heavier due to her run, glad to see him okay.
"Wotcher, Dora," Harry responded, before looking her over. "Huh, here I thought you'd still be covered in mud and dirt from all your tripping in the field."
Dora scowled at him and pinched his arm as he laughed and backed away from her.
"Alright you little rascal," Dora muttered before the rest of the Weasleys joined them, looking glad to see he was fine, and then she grinned at them. "Hmm, all this red hair."
She morphed her hair so that it was black like Harry's. "There, now you can really see the difference."
"Yeah because we couldn't see the difference beforehand," Fred replied.
"I always mistake you with Ginny, so this really helps," George added, and Ginny laughed, though she was blushing a bit.
Dora morphed herself so that she looked like a twin of Ginny, her body shrinking and becoming more dense. Ginny looked at her in surprise.
"Sweet Merlin, one Ginny is enough trouble," Ron muttered, and both Ginny and Dora glared at him, causing him to flinch and the rest of his brothers, Harry, and his mother to laugh before Dora returned to normal, though with dark black hair. "Where did you come out?" Ron asked, turning back to Harry with interest.
"Knockturn Alley," said Hagrid grimly.
"Knockturn Alley!" Molly exclaimed, looking horrified.
"Of course you did," Dora said with a sigh, though she shot him a fond smile.
"Excellent!" said Fred and George together.
"We've never been allowed in," said Ron enviously.
"I should ruddy well think not," growled Hagrid, but then he looked at his watch. "Well, gotta be off," he said. "See yer at Hogwarts!" And he strode away, head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the packed street.
"Well, let's get into Gringotts so everyone can get some funds," Dora said, and started shuffling Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys up the steps of Gringotts.
They separated for a bit while everyone took trips to their vaults to gather what gold they would need for the day, which Harry was a bit grateful about, knowing he would have felt a bit bad and embarrassed for all the Weasleys to have seen the gold in his vault, when he knew they didn't have very much.
Once they regrouped on the marble steps outside of Gringotts, they once again separated. Percy muttered vaguely about needing a new quill. Fred and George went off with their friend, Lee Jordan. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny went off to a second-hand robe shop, and Mr. Weasley insisted on taking the Grangers off for a drink so he could learn more about muggles.
That left Harry, Dora, Ron, and Hermione to catch up while exploring the Alley, happily window shopping or picking up things that they needed like Hermione who needed more ink and parchment. Dora enjoyed hanging with Harry and his friends, even if she was the adult with them, it certainly didn't feel like it for the most part, but it made sense since she and Harry didn't have a parent-child relationship even if she was the guardian. Finally after an hour of exploring Quality Quidditch Supplies, Gambol and japes Wizarding Joke Shop, and other miscellaneous stores, they made their way to Flourish and Blotts to meet up with everyone else and get their books.
When they got there though, they were surprised to see a large crowd jostling outside the doors, trying to get in. The reason for this was proclaimed by a large banner stretched across the upper windows:
GILDEROY LOCKHART
will be signing copies of his autobiography
MAGICAL ME
today 12:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.
"We can actually meet him!" Hermione squealed. "I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!"
"He's good eye candy," Dora said to Harry, causing Harry to grimace in disgust at her, but she just winked, "however I personally have never been a fan of his work."
The crowd seemed to be made up mostly of witches around Molly's age. A harassed-looking wizard stood at the door, saying, "Calmly, please, ladies... Don't push, there... mind the books, now..."
The four of them squeezed inside. A long line wound right to the back of the shop, where Gilderoy Lockhart was signing his books. While Harry and his friends started grabbing some of their school books, Dora made her way to the advanced defensive section and browsed for a few of the books that were on her reading list for Auror Training, and found one that she figured she could fit into the monthly finances. She made her way back to their little group as Lockhart came slowly into view, seated at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing dazzlingly white teeth at the crowd. The real Lockhart was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue that exactly matched his eyes; his pointed wizard's hat was set at a jaunty angle on his wavy hair.
Her interest in Lockhart faded immediately as he looked towards where Harry was, and shouted about him before seizing his arm, and pulling him to the front. Dora saw how uncomfortable Harry looked, and she felt irritation rise up at the man not even asking for Harry's permission to be in photos that were being taken.
Harry tried to make his way back to her and the Weasleys, but Lockhart threw his arm around his shoulders and clamped him tightly to his side.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he said loudly, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!
"When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography - which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge -" The crowd applauded again, and Dora sighed, at least knowing that Harry was getting something out of his embarrassment. "He had no idea ," Lockhart continued, giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip to the end of his nose, "that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me . He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
Dora frowned at that, thinking about how so many Lockhart books were required for this coming school year. School books were already expensive, and Lockhart certainly seemed to be looking to make a fair bit of money off that fact, which she thought was distasteful, even if she couldn't fault the business sense.
The crowd cheered and clapped and Dora saw Harry being presented with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart. Staggering slightly under their weight, she saw him make his way over to where Ginny was standing next to her cauldron. Dora made her way over there as Harry dumped his books into her cauldron, and then grimaced as she got close seeing that Draco Malfoy was now speaking to Harry, and it was clear that harsh words were already being spoken.
"Famous Harry Potter," said Malfoy. "Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."
"Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" said Ginny.
"Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend!" drawled Malfoy. Ginny went scarlet, and Dora finally made it to them.
"Are we going to have a problem here, Malfoy?" Dora asked, scowling at him. "Do I need to consider fining you for disturbing the peace and trying to incite a fight?"
Malfoy scowled. "You can't do any of that," he responded with a sneer. "I'm a minor and we're just having a friendly conversation."
"I'm afraid I can fine your family for your actions, despite your age, Draco," Dora responded with a smirk. "You are Hogwarts age and can be punished by the Ministry for breaking infractions in public. This isn't Hogwarts. This is the real world, and you can't just do what you want."
"Did you just threaten my son?" a cold voice said, and Dora turned to see her uncle, Lucius Malfoy glaring at her with a look of disgust.
"I'm informing him that he can't try to start a fight here in a public forum, and that as an Auror Trainee, I do have a right to fine your family or detain him if he continues to act in a manner unbecoming of a Hogwarts age teenager, especially one from a reputable pureblood family. I would think that you would have taught him better, uncle," Dora finished, knowing that title would annoy him.
"You're no niece of mine," Lucius spat but then someone else caught his attention.
"Lucius," Arthur greeted coldly, having finally joined them.
Malfoy sneered and looked at Arthur with derision.
"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Lucius. "All those raids... I hope they're paying you overtime?"
He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted, from amid the glossy Lockhart books, a very old, very battered copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.
"Obviously not," Mr. Malfoy said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"
Mr. Weasley flushed darkly, and Dora scowled at the man.
"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," Arthur replied.
"Clearly," said Mr. Malfoy, his pale eyes straying to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who were watching apprehensively, and then glancing contemptuously back at Dora. "The company you keep, Weasley... and I thought your family could sink no lower."
There was a thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron went flying; Mr. Weasley had thrown himself at Mr. Malfoy, knocking him backward into a bookshelf. Dozens of heavy spellbooks came thundering down on all their heads; there was a yell of, "Get him, Dad!" from Fred or George; Mrs. Weasley was shrieking, "No, Arthur, no!"; Dora shielded Harry and Ginny as the crowd stampeded backward, knocking more shelves over; "Gentlemen, please - please!" cried the assistant, and then, louder than all–
"Break it up, there, gents, break it up-"
Dora sighed in relief as Hagrid waded through the crowd and then pulled Arthur and Lucius apart, effectively ending the fight and the panic. Arthur had a cut lip and Lucius had a black eye, and he was still holding Ginny's old Transfiguration thrust it at her, his eyes glittering with malice, and Dora intercepted it before putting it back in Ginny's cauldron.
"Here, girl - take your book - it's the best your father can give you -" Pulling himself out of Hagrid's grip he beckoned to Draco and swept from the shop.
Dora helped herd everyone up to pay for their books while Molly scolded Arthur, and then finally, with eyes on many of them, they quickly left the shop, though Dora could see that the shop assistant looked as though he wanted to stop them. She was glad they didn't. Things had gotten out of hand on both sides, and she really doubted that anyone on either side of the conflict wanted the MLE to get involved.
It wasn't long before everyone was saying goodbye, and then Dora got Harry and side-apparated him home while the Grangers drove off and the Weasley's used the Floo network. Once they got back to their apartment, Dora was happy to see Harry move over to the couch and drop down with a contented sigh.
Dora grinned and then moved and sat down right next to him, making sure she leaned all over him, causing him to to push her off him with mild protests, but a smile on his face.
"What an exciting day," Dora remarked sarcastically, and Harry chuckled
"I'm a bit bummed though," Harry admitted and Dora looked at him. "It wouldn't have happened with Lockhart there anyway, but I was really hoping to browse Flourish and Blotts a bit longer. I was hoping to maybe find a book on Shadow Magic."
Dora snorted. "Harry, I doubt you'll find anything better than those notes you've got from that book in the Restricted Section. Shadow Magic is not common, and you found a fairly comprehensive book. It's a hard branch of magic, and at this point I think you'll just have to muddle along unless you decide to petition Hades to become your patron."
"What?" Harry asked in confusion and Dora looked at him, confused by his question herself.
"What, what?" Dora asked.
"What do you mean, petition Hades to become my patron?" Harry asked with a frown.
Dora looked at him in surprise. "I mean, it's not something most people really consider until their NEWTs or after Hogwarts, but you could petition the God, Hades, to become your patron, and if he accepts, then you probably would find your shadow abilities increase. Didn't the book talk about this?"
"I mean, I just thought that was nonsense that came from being a book that was very old!" Harry said with a protest. "Are you saying that gods are real?"
"I'm sorry, Harry," Dora said sincerely. "I sometimes forget that I should consider you muggleborn when it comes to your magical knowledge, and these sorts of things aren't talked about until you're a bit further in your magical studies. Yes, gods and goddesses are real, though they aren't really like how they are in those muggle stories."
"So, what are they like?" Harry asked, fascinated. "Can we meet gods or goddesses?"
"No, you can't meet them, at least not physically, but you can petition them and if they agree, you'll generally have a vision or hear their voice in your head and can talk to them. It's not like the various mythologies that the muggles have, which have basis in truth, but are often just entertaining stories. Historically, some do believe that witches and wizards were the first to worship these gods and goddesses and we were granted magical powers that then continued on, though there is no proof to that theory. There are hundreds if not thousands of gods and goddesses known in the world, though many have theorized that all the gods and goddesses of various pantheons are actually the same, but just chose to portray themselves differently. What we think we know is that they are beings outside of this plane of existence that can grant gifts to those that devote themselves to them. Most people stick to a single pantheon, and here in England, the Greek Gods, Goddesses, and Titans are generally worshiped, though there are quite a few within the country that worship the Norse pantheon as well. Some even worship both."
"What powers can they grant?" Harry asked. "What do they get out of it?"
"Well, powers or gifts can vary from person to person, from god or goddess to god or goddess," Dora said. "Sometimes they simply grant greater understanding and proficiency in some art or ability, whether that be a branch of magic, or even skills like being athletic or musically talented. Other times they gift magical weapons, armor or clothes, magical items, and sometimes even familiars. For instance, Professor Dumbledore has Fawkes as a loyal companion due to his devotion to Apollo, and he is considered the world's greatest fire elemental, which likely comes from gifts of power from the Lord of Fire, Hephaestus, who he also has patronage from."
"The gods gifted Fawkes to him?" Harry asked in awe and surprise.
"Yep, though there are some noted instances of people earning a phoenix's loyalty without a god or goddesses input, but it's just as rare," Dora said. "Most people also think that they gifted him with youthful vitality, which would explain why he's always so mobile and powerful, despite his age, though he's never confirmed that. As for what they get out of it? Well, nobody's really sure. Some people believe that worshiping different gods and goddesses makes those deities more powerful, but I've always felt that's just our mortal way of trying to reason it. I've always rather enjoyed the theory that we're like storybook characters to these deities, and helping us is just them having fun influencing how a story will turn out."
"So, I can just petition a god or goddess for aid in something and they'll grant it?" Harry asked.
Dora laughed. "If only it were so easy. No, you can't just petition a god or goddess out of the blue . . . well I guess you could, but they don't have to help you, and the level of help that they provide can fluctuate, and some believe that is due to the level of devotion, though there's no definitive answer to that. First, not any god or goddess can grant any power. Each god or goddess has control over certain domains, so you have to know who you are looking to seek patronage from. You certainly can seek patronage from more than one deity, but be careful because their gifts aren't free."
Harry frowned. "What do they cost?"
Dora shrugged. "It depends, partially on whether you've asked for anything specific or whether you're just asking for patronage or guidance, or perhaps aid in some task or in life. Sometimes the deity might ask you to accomplish a goal or task or make an oath. Maybe they want you to defeat a certain beast or gather some rare item. Maybe they require you to prove your loyalty to them by having their symbol tattooed on your body. Maybe they require some sort of sacrifice or proof of dedication and hard work."
"Sacrifice?" Harry said, a bit concerned. "Like human or animal sacrifices?"
"Well, I have heard of some of the nastier deities that have domain over violence and things like that that have required those types of sacrifices, but they're very dark. No, most of the time it might be sacrificing an important item, or some of your time or maybe even memories of something, or something you recently earned. A lot of people use a specific ritual spell to donate a portion of their food to deities each meal, which is a pretty standard sacrifice, one that deities seem to enjoy and doesn't really ask for much on the part of the witch or wizard. Keep in mind, it has to be a portion of your meal though," Dora warned. "For instance, at Hogwarts, load up your plate, and then sacrifice a portion, but you can't just then load up a new portion because then it's not a sacrifice. Privileges given for food sacrifices are minimal, but many witches or wizards will do it either for some minimal support or to simply show their support or devotion, regardless of whether they need anything. Many even sacrifice food simply to the gods and goddesses as a whole, rather than an individual one unless they have a patron or matron.
"Wow," Harry said.
Dora smiled. "Yeah, it can be pretty cool. You can certainly petition any god or goddess for aid, but the step above that is petitioning for patronage or matronage, like what Dumbledore has. Patronage doesn't stop you from making requests from other gods or goddesses, but it does make it less likely they will be answered if your patron would have been able to fulfill the request. In addition, your patron may require things of you more often, however the powers or gifts given are much greater, and you may get gifts just for performing acts that the deity approved of, even if you never asked for anything. They also tend to aid those they favor in times of great struggle"
"Wow, that's really cool," Harry said. "So do a lot of people worship the gods?"
"Well, yes and no," Dora said with a thoughtful frown. "Not a ton of people go all the way for a patron, at least not until they find a specific career or start learning a specific craft or skill that is within a certain god or goddess's realm of influence. For instance, most healers and mediwitches or mediwizards have a patronage with Asclepius, the God of Health and Medicine. Musicians might have a patronage with Apollo or a matronage with the Muses. Most people do small worship here and there without patronage. Nearly all marriage ceremonies offer blessings to Hera either beforehand or during the ceremony. Couples trying to have children might give worship to Rhea or Leto, but most of those people don't petition or appeal for patronage, though healers in a maternity ward might. You'll find that in your fifth and sixth year as you learn about this, many people will offer up prayers or sacrifices to Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom and Strategic Warfare, or to Mnemosyne, the Goddess of Memory," Dora grinned. "Not like it necessarily helps anyone though. Those two goddesses actually do provide a lot of aid, but only to people willing to do the work, which means that the average procrastinator and student at Hogwarts isn't worthy of their aid."
Harry grinned at that.
"Do you have a patron or matron?" Harry asked.
"Not currently, but I have thought about appealing to Athena," Dora admitted. "She helped me when I dug deep after I decided to be an Auror, and she's helped me a lot through Auror training. Even if she provides me no other gifts compared to what she has so far, showing my gratitude for her continued aid is not a hardship."
Harry nodded in interest. "So, did you say Hades is who would be the patron for me for Shadow Magic?"
Dora sighed. "Yes and no. Erebus is the god of shadow, but only shadow, so appealing to him would help with learning parts of Shadow Magic but not all of it. However, he is one of the deities that falls under Hades, the God of Darkness, the Dead, and Riches. Hades, as the God of Darkness, has true power over Shadow Magic."
"Falls under Hades?" Harry asked.
"Many deities have others that fall within their realms," Dora explained. "For instance, Hera is the Goddess of Marriage, but Hymenaios is the God of Marriage Ceremonies. Getting Hera's favor generally yields his favor as well, whereas gaining his favor does not gain Hera's. Hades has power over Erebus, the God of Shadow, Thanatos, the God of Death, Nyx, the Goddess of Night, and I think a few others. Many of the gods that have dominion over the magical elements have Gods or Goddesses whose realms fall under theirs. For instance, Zeus holds dominion over all the wind gods."
"So, if I get Hades favor, I might have some favor with the deities under him?" Harry clarified.
"Perhaps," Dora said with a shrug. "I think it depends on if you needed something that only that deity could help you with and whether Hades would interfere on your behalf. Hades doesn't grant favor often though, or at least not the type of favor you would be looking for. Granted, I don't know many people that attempt to gain favor with him, but still. If Hades doesn't grant you favor, you could appeal to Erebus or Nyx for aid in Shadow Magic, but there's no guarantee. Besides, you might want to think a bit more before you try and gain a patron. Like I said, it can be costly because you won't know what Hades might demand in return for his favor, and you might not be able to pay the price, and if you lose favor with him, he could get you blacklisted from favor with other deities as well."
Harry's eyes widened in shock, and then he felt a bit bummed at that.
"Hey, it's honestly incredible that you can even do any elemental magic," Dora said comfortingly. "Most people don't pick up elemental magic until well after Hogwarts, or at minimum their NEWT years, so there's no need to hurry on trying to get a patron."
"Can you at least show me the spell that will allow me to sacrifice a portion of my meal?" Harry asked with interest. "That won't harm anything, right?"
"No, it won't," Dora conceded. "Plus, with how well you've managed with Shadow Magic, maybe Hades is the patron god for you, and Merlin knows that many of the purebloods probably already do rituals themselves." Dora sighed. " Alright. I'll teach you the spell so that you can start when you get back to Hogwarts in a couple weeks. I've got a book around here somewhere on the various deities, but we'll try and find a day to go back to Flourish and Blotts to get another book or two, since you're so interested in this."
"Thanks, sis," Harry said happily, and hugged her, and Dora beamed at him, returning the hug. It wasn't always easy, but she loved Harry being here with her.