The Runes of Fate
By: Chupacabratamer
Disclaimer: The usual. I don't own anything in the Harry Potter Universe. Thank you to J.K. for allowing us to play in your sand box. The characters are just too amazing not to be dusted off and sent on other adventures.
Also, this is totally a stream of ideas that hit me at one point after a few months of living in the fantasy world of fanfiction. This starts a year before JK started with Harry and Hogwarts. What if Harry discovered Runes just before his tenth birthday. I picked the date to match the real calendar so this starts on a Sunday.
Any character you recognize are JKs. Any that you don't are mine and I do hope you like them. Thanks to my muses for help with ideas and plots. Just talking to you has helped me direct the possible story lines. This is just a start and I have no idea how far I will take this. For now enjoy the ride with me.
I do not and would never make any money from JKs world. Your feed back is all I receive. I'm writing this because I want to read it. I hope you do too. Thank you in advance.
Chapter one: Friends, New and Old
July 28, 1991 – Harry turns ten in three days.
Harry awoke to a searing white hot pain from his scar. The pain was so intense he sat up quickly. Something he had remembered not to do since Dudley liked to jump on the stairs to startle him and make him bash his head on the stair above his bed in the cupboard. The twin searing pains from the white hot scar and the impact from the stair above caused Harry to cry out in pain as he hadn't in years.
"AAAAAaahhhhhh" he screamed.
Holding his head he could feel warm liquid dripping down his fingers.
"Shut it boy" came the reply from his uncle in the distance. It was only 7:00am Sunday morning and he knew better than to make any noise until his uncle lumbered down the stairs after 9:30.
As the scar opened it oozed blood and black ichor. Harrys vision swirled and he saw images in his mind. Wiping the blood and black gunk off with his pillow case he retrieved his sketch book under the loose floor board and opening quickly to the next clean page drawing the image he saw in his haze of pain. It looked like two Xs one on top of the other and a line through the center of them extended from the top of the pile of Xs to the bottom.
As Harry was frantically trying to copy the image from his mind he noticed that the page glowed a slight blue when he finished with the drawing. Leaning over to get closer look at the image caused his scar to leak a little more of the black ichor onto the page. The reaction was violent as the black started to sizzle and sputter as if the paper was a hot pan and water had been dripped on to it. Moments later the black goo was gone in a puff and a vile stench nothing like Harry had ever smelled before took it's place. In his little cupboard the smell made his eyes water and after the next breath Harry lost consciousness.
He was rudely awakened when the cupboard door flew open and his Uncle pulled him roughly from the cupboard by the collar of his night shirt.
"Ahh. What" was all Harry got out before Vernon tossed him across the hallway into the other wall. Harry waited for the pain to set in but that didn't happen this time. He laid on the floor and acted like he normally would when thrown about by Vernon but he didn't feel the pain anywhere on his body. That was when Harry noticed he was clutching the drawing he had made of his vision. He must have ripped the page from his book when Vernon grabbed him. He carefully balled the paper up into his palm to hide it from Vernon.
"What are you doing boy?" Vernon spat at him.
"Nothing. I was sleeping." Harry yelled back.
"Don't get lippy with me boy. What's that bloody awful smell?"
"I don't know." Harry thinking fast decided he needed to give his uncle something. "Must be the old food you gave me last night. I heard in health class that bad food can make you smell bad."
Vernon thought hard about that. They had fed him old food last night that even Dudley wouldn't eat.
"Well open the windows and air this place out. Since you woke me up so early get breakfast cooking." Vernon said and stomped out to get the paper. His night coat flapping behind him. His girth had increased to the point he couldn't get the front closed any more so he left it open so if anyone saw it they might not think he was so large. Like they wouldn't notice his immense gut.
Harry hurried to the back and opened the windows and turned on the cooker. He quickly put bacon on as the smell of cooking bacon would over power the other smell quickly.
After breakfast Harry was sent to the garden and started working on Petunias roses. They needed weeding, feeding, and lots of water. As there was a hose pipe ban because of the heat Harry would have to carry glasses of water out and spill them next to the roses. It was stupid but Harry never questioned their decisions as it was safer for him.
Later after all the work was done he hid under the shrub in the back of the yard and pulled out the piece of paper to look over the image again. He traced it with his finger which caused a tingling sensation where his finger met the page. He didn't remember pulling the page out of the book but he was happy that he had. At least he thought he should be happy and decided to find out.
He set the paper aside safely under a rock so it wouldn't fly away and he gritted his teeth and grabbed the thorny branch from the shrub above him. The nasty thorns sunk deep into his skin and he gritted his teeth. Yes, he was used to this from working around them for the past two years. He remember that day all to well when Petunia and Vernon brought the nasty bush home and directed him to plant it and refused to let him use the leather work gloves to protect his hands. Vernon threatened him that if that bush died so would he.
Harry pulled his hand away and he could see multiple dots of red forming on his palm. Shaking his hand from the pain caused a few drops of blood to splater on the rock and the paper under it. The droplets speckled the rock red however on the paper the dots of red sputtered and danced like water on a hot fry pan and evaporated like the water and were gone leaving no trace.
'That's strange' Harry thought and moved the rock and picked up the paper. When his hand touched the paper all the spots of blood on his hand sizzled and healed, the blood disappeared, and the pain was gone too. Wondering how far the effect would go Harry reached out and kicked the thorny branch with his shin. He did this knowing from experience it would be almost the most excruciating pain the bush could cause. No pain. No blood. Just holding the image in his hand was enough to keep him safe from the thorns.
After discovering this Harry needed more information. Stuffing the paper in his pocket he snuck away from the house and several blocks away to the Surry Community Library. Harry liked to read and the librarians had taken Harry in as the Library mascot. They would help with any project he was working on for school and with any subject he found interesting. One of their requirements was that Harry do good in school. When Harry had explained that any grade better than his cousins would get him in trouble they figured out a solution for that.
Harry would bring his report card to the Library on the way home and they would praise him for doing so well and he would get treats. Then they would doctor the report card so it looked like Harry was just passing and occasionally put in remarks from the teacher that he should be more like his cousin or that he was a disruptive influence on the other kids. Those remarks would always please Petunia. They would also give her the opportunity to berate Harry for being such a bad influence on her little Diddikins and congratulated Dudley on being such a good boy. If only they knew the truth about Dudley.
Today was Sophias day to work in the back so she would be available to help him in his research. She was cataloging books and typing out cards for the card catalog. It was easy work and she said she liked the solitude of the work. The rest of the library ladies didn't like it so they were happy to give her all the time she wanted in the back without disturbing her.
Harry waved to Patricia (Pat) and Jerry on the way by as he headed straight to the back room. The two ladies looked at each other and smiled. Harrys hurried manor told them that Harry had a new idea or interest and he wanted help from his favorite Librarian. They didn't mind. He had so much energy and thirst for knowledge the two older ladies were glad to let Sophia help him. She was considerablely younger and had a daughter near Harrys age.
Sophia had become his confident and usual helper. She seemed to click with Harry more than anyone else so the others left them to themselves most of the time. There was more going on there but Harry didn't know it. Sophia had encouraged the rest of the staff to let her help Harry as much as possible and even offered to take the jobs no one liked so they would give her time with Harry. Cleaning the lunch room and even the refrigerator was worth it to her. That was why she was in the back making catalog cards for the new books. Yet another reviled job at the Library.
Harry knocked on the back door in the proper pattern, shave and a hair cut, waiting for the response of of the two knocks before he entered. They had established this as Sophia was sometimes working on items that Harry wasn't old enough to see, or know, yet. She never treated him like a bother however she did point out sections of book that were too old for Harry yet. He respected that she trusted him to let him know where they were and would never do anything to jeopardize her trust.
"Hello Sophia Ihadthemostamazingthinghappen" Harry said trying to explain in one syllable.
"Harry. Harry. Breath. Unless there is a fire." Sophia said which calmed Harry down a lot. He also smiled at her humor as she knew there wasn't a fire. She also helped him with a low powered calming charm. That was one she had learned to do wordlessly and wandlessly. He was so keyed up that there was no way he would be making sense anytime soon.
Harry visibly took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Sophia brushed her long jet black hair back out of her face placing it firmly behind her ear. The accidental magic from Harry had cause a small tornado to swirl everything around the office. Fortunately Harry hadn't noticed as Sophia had waved her wand under the desk and froze all the papers in place. Some wisps of her hair had been pulled out of her pony tail with the Harry induced mini tornado and she smiled. With her hair pushed back she could see the excitement in his eyes.
"Ok. Now. Slowly." Sophia prompted.
"You won't believe what happened." Harry said as he showed the piece of paper to her. She recognized that rune immediately. She was second in runes in her graduating class at Hogwarts.
Sophia knew this was coming from the first moment she saw Harry running into the Library in terror. His cousin and his gang had chased Harry in here hoping to find a dark corner to cause the poor boy some harm. That time she had put on her Librarian face and voice and shut the boys down quickly as Harry disappeared into the shelves. She stopped the large boy by demanding his library card. That stopped the group dead in their tracks. She could tell by the looks on their faces the only thing they would ever do with a book was abuse it or use it to abuse someone.
He grumbled something about not needing a stupid library card. However in those couple of moments where their addled brains tried to come up with a response Harry was safely out of sight. Now this woman was standing between them and their fun so they tried the only thing they knew to do.
"Move we need to find my cousin." Dudley said trying to shoulder his way around her. This usually worked with most people. Even at ten Dudley had enough bulk that a simple shoulder nudge would knock most adults out of the way. Dudley met a totally immovable shoulder in the tiny asian woman. Dudley tried again and again failed to even budge her. Worse yet it hurt his shoulder and she didn't seem to be effected.
"You and your friends need to leave right now." Sophia had said. She also added a little compulsion to that command and an underlying slight fear of her and the Library. She also said it in a low menacing voice that surprised the boys enough to have them rushing out the door and looking back in fear. To this day they stayed away from the Library.
Sophia looked a the piece of paper Harry had dropped in her hand and listened to his explanation. Nodding as he explained how he had tested it with the thorns from the roses. She could see in his eyes that he wouldn't let this go. It was time she let him know about his heritage. She didn't know why it had been kept from him but she couldn't believe Lilys son didn't know about magic or who he was.
"Harry sit down. Breath. I believe you and furthermore what you saw is real." Sophia said.
Harrys eyes eyes opened so wide that she was afraid that Lillys green eyes would pop out of his head. So like his mother when something she thought was impossible turned out to be not so impossible.
"You believe me? This isn't something freaky?" Harry asked.
"Freaky. Why would you think that?" She asked.
Looking sheepishly Harry replied "That's what my relatives call it."
"Does Petunia call you a freak?" Sophia asked. Deciding to play her hand. That had Harry looking for a way out. She could tell that he was afraid of his Aunt. She could see Harry thinking about running then that amazingly smart part of his brain took over and he stopped.
"Wait. How do you know my Aunt?" He almost whispered.
"I don't. I know of her. I graduated with her sister from a special school." Sophia said and waited for Harry to make the connection. He had proved he was very smart and in moments his head snapped to look her in the eyes.
"You knew my mother?" It was the question Sophia had been waiting for him to ask. With that she had permission from the ministry to tell him everything.
"Yes I did. She and I graduated the same year. She was the only one to beat my scores in Runes."
Harry gapped at his Librarian friend for the longest time. She could see the questions forming in his mind and morphing to more questions. Finally he decided on the most important one.
"Why didn't you tell me before now?" He finally asked. He looked a little annoyed at her.
"Until you asked about your parents I wasn't allowed to tell you anything." She said. Harry could see a tear forming in the corner of her eye.
"Why?"
"It's the law. You live with muggles and I couldn't risk you telling them if they didn't know. I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you two years ago the first time you ran in here. I could tell you were Lily and James son." Sophia confessed.
"Muggles? What's that?" Harry asked. Sophia smiled. She knew she was leading him to ask the right questions so that she could tell him everything. She was also hoping to not cause more accidental magic by spreading out the more delicate and difficult to swallow information.
"Muggles are non magical people. Like your cousin and his friends and probably like all the other kids at school. It also sounds like your relatives are muggles too." She dropped the bomb on him. Before he could ask anything else she continued. "What I'm telling you could get me, and you, in trouble if you tell anyone. Can you keep a secret from everyone. I do mean everyone no matter who they are. You will need to lie to the Bobbies and even the Queen if necessary. Especially about these Runes." She pointed to the figure on the piece of paper.
Harry looked back and forth between the paper and one of the few trusted adults he knew. Sophia watched his brow furrow under his messy fringe. She could also see the moment when he made the decisions.
"I promise I will not tell anyone." he said.
"Good and thank you. I was pretty sure I could trust you but I had to ask. Now to start with magic is real." She said and paused.
Harry looked at the piece of paper. "Like this symbol right?"
"Yes, that is a Rune. If it was drawn by a muggle it wouldn't do anything. Since you have magic it was powered by your magic as your drew it and it protected you. It's a Norse Rune for protection." Sophia reached into her satchel under the desk and pulled out a journal. Opening the front cover she showed Harry the same rune was written in the upper left corner. There were other Runes written on the inside of the cover below the protection one. They tickled Harrys mind but he didn't recognize any of them.
"This is my personal journal that I keep my magic ideas in." She said as she turned it to Harry so he could see it right side up. The first few pages contained recipes. They looked like she had copied them from one of the books in the library. She flipped to the middle of the book and all the pages after that were blank.
"It looks like recipes. I've made the first one before. I found that sauteing the veggies first make it better and releases the flavors of the parsnips." Harry said.
"Good to know. I'll have to add that later. But the recipes are just a smoke screen." Sophia said.
"Smoke screen?" Harry asked,
"Have you read any books or learned about wars?" Sophia asked. Harry nodded no.
"A smoke screen is what the military will do to hide their actions. If the enemy can't see what you are doing it makes it difficult for them hurt you." she said. Harry nodded understanding the concept in a war.
"I put recipes in the front of all my journals so that if anyone opens it there is something there. Not that anyone in this building would invade my privacy but it's a precaution I take. My real journal are in the second half of the book."
"Smoke screen. The recipes are the smoke. I get it. But the rest is blank." Harry said.
"Not all of it." She placed her finger on the first blank page and muttered something under her breath. Harry watched as words started to cover the page he was holding. It filled and Harry flipped the next and there were more. He could see all kinds of Runes covering the pages and their meanings and other notes. On the third page he recognized the protection Rune he had drawn on the page from his sketch book.
"That's the one." Harry said as he pointed at the rune.
"That's correct. It's for protection. I always add that one first to any journal of mine. Prevents any damage from water, fire, or kids coloring on the pages." She looked pointedly at Harry.
Harry was reminded of a time soon after his introduction to the Library that he was hiding in this very room and saw her book on the table. As a thanks to her he had opened it to an empty page and drew a picture of the two of them with little Harry holding her hand and Sophia with a shield protecting them both. Harry blushed at the memory.
"Sorry. I didn't know." he said sheepishly. Truly sorry to have colored over her notes.
Sophia chuckled and turned the page to the very end of the book. There was his drawing.
"I moved it back here so that I could always have it." she smiled. Harry smiled back.
"Now some ground rules. 1. Never talk about this around anyone else. 2. Never use these when someone else can see. That will be the hard one for you. But it's very important. 3. If I say you need to wait for some knowledge you wait. No pushing. I will let you know why if I can but know that if I say you can't know. Please drop it." Sophia laid out the rules to Harry.
Harry nodded.
"Please say that you agree in words Harry. It's about intent and I need to hear it."
"I understand and I agree. But what about the protection Rune when they are hitting me?" Harry asked not wanting to go back to feeling the punches or hitting the wall. Only after it was out did he realize what he had said and covered his mouth. It was too late the cat was out of the bag.
"Who hits you Harry?"
"Umm. I don't want to get in any more trouble." Harry said.
"It's not you who will be getting in trouble Harry."
"The last time I told a teacher they were gone the next day. I even checked the address where they told me to come if I needed help and it was empty. I don't want to lose you too." Harry said almost crying.
Sophia put her arm over Harrys shoulder and gave him a one sided hug. It had taken a year before he would allow this without tensing up so she had an idea what was going on. An idea is not knowing so she could never do anything. That was till now.
"How many people have you told and what happened?"
"I told the school nurse about the broken wrist and the next day she acted like she had never seen me before. My teacher I just talked about. I really liked her and believed she would help. I also went to the police once when I was really badly beaten and they promised to do something. The next thing I remember I was back in my cupboard and waking up the next morning. I checked the police later that day and they had never heard of me. When I was there before it sounded like the entire station was ready to go and do the same to my relatives." Harry confessed.
He wasn't sure why he was telling all this to Sophia as he had learned to keep quiet but it just kept coming out. He also didn't realize that with a little wand waving under the table Sophia had loosened his tongue and gave it a mild truth nudge. She frowned a he finished. Upon seeing the disappointed look on Harrys face she quickly schooled her features.
"I'm not mad at you. I'm angry for you. No one should ever hit you. If they do you should leave there and probably never talk to them again. I realized that is hard as you think you have no where else to go." she said.
"Huh?"
"Remember number two in Runes in my year. If not for me being muggle born I would be running the Ministry by now. At least that is what your mother and I planned."
"And it was my mother that was the only one better in Runes than you. Right?" he asked.
"Go ahead and rub it in." Sophia pouted which made Harry laugh.
"Just so we are clear I'm glad that she was better than me. I think because she was better at Runes is the reason you lived that night." Sophia said.
"Lived that night? What happened? I was told they died in a car crash and were jobless drunks."
Sophias eyes flashed completely yellow for a moment which caused Harry to jerk back and away from her. She got it under control and her eyes returned to they normal steel gray.
"What? Not in a million years would either of those statements be correct. James was from an old family with money. He had his family holdings and businesses to run. Lily was." She paused "Your mother was amazing. I can't say what she did and you may never find out but she was amazing. Even I didn't know really. I have my suspicions but I will not be sharing those with you at this time."
Harry looked hopeful but Sophia put her hand up. "No. Please don't ask. This is one of those that falls into the 'you need to wait and don't push' category."
Harry nodded. He was happy to know that his relatives were wrong and his parents weren't drunks and unemployed."
Softly he asked "How did they die? You said that night like it has more significance than them dying."
Before she could answer Harrys stomach growled loudly. She looked at him and the time. It was after 3:00. Have you eaten?
"Sure."
"Lunch?"
Harry looked sheepishly at her. "No. I had breakfast and then was gardening. By the time I was done lunch was over and I knew there wouldn't be any food left for me."
That yellow flash returned to Sophias eyes but this time it was there longer and Harry could feel the temperature in the room drop at least ten degrees. It took longer this time for her to calm down but he wasn't afraid either. He believed it was Sophia angry for him. He put his hand on her arm to help calm her and it did.
"What's your phone number Harry?" She asked.
"Please don't it will be worse when I get back." He begged.
"Do you trust me?" She knew she was asking a lot of him but she wanted to help. "I promise I'm going to help and I won't forget. I will also make sure it's not worse."
Harry thought for a full minute and then another. Finally he nodded that he trusted her and told her his phone number. Sophia was about to dial the number when she stopped. She reached into her bag and pulled out what looked like a green biro.
"Want to listen in to both sides of the conversation?" She asked with a gleam in her eye.
He nodded and watched and she pulled his head towards her and tilted it away so she could get to his ear.
"I'm going to show you something else Runes can do. I found this in the magical version of The Art of War. It was dead useful in school with the mean girls." she said as she was drawing on the skin behind Harrys ear. When she was done she pulled out a pocket mirror so he could see it.
It was a beautiful work of art and Harry loved it.
"I'll never wash it off." Harry said which caused Sophia to laugh. "You better wash behind your ears young man. It will wear off in about a week. Now I want you to power it. Put your finger on it and try to mentally push power into it."
"Huh? Mentally push?"
"Think about pushing a heavy cart. Do you just do it with your arms and legs?"
"I guess not. Now that I think about it?" he said.
"Same idea. I'll help this time." She put his finger on the Rune and hers on top.
"Now push with your mind like you are trying to move that heavy cart." she said.
Sophia could feel the jolt of the unfocused magic. "Push into the Rune Harry."
The magic focused better than most fourth years could do and she could feel it power up. Pulling his finger away she told him to look at it again in the mirror. It was glowing a brilliant orange color and while he was watching slowly faded away.
"Did I do something wrong?" he asked.
"Nope. You did everything perfectly. Almost a little too much power but we can work on control later."
She picked up the phone and dialed the number.
"Hello. Mrs Dursley. This is Miss Marsh at the Library."
"Yes. We gave you people money the beginning of the year." Said Petunia which Harry could hear perfectly. He had to cover his mouth to stop from saying something.
"Yes. You did and we appreciate it very much. I'm calling about your nephew, Harry."
"What has the horrible boy done this time?"
"He accidentally knocked over a book shelf and I was wondering if I could keep him here later to have him clean it up? We close in a couple of hours but I'm sure he will need at least until 8:00 this evening to get everything done. It was a lot of books."
"It figures he would be causing problems. You can keep him as long as you need. If he needs more punishment my husband can provide that."
"Actually I would like to punish him myself. I have a nine-year-old and I understand how unruly kids can be. I promise he will not like it. I also have several tasks that he can do everyday for the rest of this week to make up for the damaged books." She winked at Harry.
"As well he should pay for the damage. He has chores around here but I can have him there by noon each day." Petunia offered.
"If he can't be here until noon than I will need him the following week too." Sophia said.
Harry almost chuckled knowing this would be the easiest punishment ever.
"That will be fine. Noon every day this week and next. I hope that will cover it?" Petunia said. Harry could hear her not wanting to lose her slave labor.
"We will see later next week. I have yet to assess the damage to the rare books that were on the top of the shelf. Unless you would like to replace the books. I was hoping we could work something out that wouldn't require me to contact the Bobbies and have them show up at your house to talk with you." Sophia countered.
Harry was silently laughing. The Bobbies showing up at the house would be the worse thing any of them could imagine. Vernon and Petunia as it would mare their perfect image with the neighbors. Dudley because he might be recognized.
"No. That will be fine. If he needed to work longer to cover his clumsiness then it's his own fault."
Petunia slammed down the phone and Harry could see Sophia holding the phone away from her ear.
"What a pleasant woman." She said with a smirk.
"That was brilliant. I've never seen anyone work her over like that. How did you know?"
"Bullys are all the same. I also saw were you lived on your application and drove down the street when you first started coming here. It had the look of the perfect street. Which means it's as far from perfect as possible. I think the police part was particularly fun to add. All the neighbors would gossip about them if the police showed up I guess." She said.
"Very true. Mrs. Barnes had her daughter brought home in the police car two years ago and I still hear Petunia mention it to anyone that will listen."
"So you like the Rune?" Sophia asked.
"That is really cool. I could hear as if I had the phone to my ear." he said.
"If you concentrate on a conversation you will be able to hear it perfectly and at almost any distance. With the power you pushed into it the ability will probably last for a couple of weeks."
"Do I need to see the people or phone to hear them?"
"No you just need an idea of where they are."
"So I could be out back and I would be able to hear them talking around the table after I left?" Harry asked.
"Yes. Think about listening to the front desk and concentrate."
Harry did and in seconds he could hear Pat and Jerry talking. He stopped as soon as he heard their voices not really wanting to listen to their conversations. That in his mind was all kinds of wrong but if it was about him he wouldn't have any problem listening in.
"I could hear but I tuned out quickly. I didn't want to listen in."
"You're a better boy than most Harry Potter. Now let's get you home."
Harrys face fell as he looked at Sophia. When she turned to see that look she realized the problem.
"To my home that is. I live about a ten minute walk from here."
His smile returned and collecting everything they made their way out of the office and out the front door. Waving to Pat and Jerry on the way.