Harry Potter and the Immortal Heritage
by Roff
Chapter Three
"Harry! Where have you been?" asked Hermione loudly. "We've been searching all over for you this morning."
"Yeah, Mate. What happened to you? You were gone when I got up." Ron added excitedly.
"Sorry, I didn't know I had to check-in with my two life managers before I change my routine," replied Harry heatedly. "You guys act like I'm going to disappear or something. Look, it's a big castle and I have a lot to do this year. I was out exercising this morning if you must know. I was running and doing other exercises to increase my stamina when I have to fight."
"Sorry, Harry," said Hermione. "We just worry about you."
"Yeah, sorry mate."
Harry let out a big breath. "No, I'm sorry I snapped at you. Listen, you know I have a new thing I'm doing with Professor Flitwick. I met with him yesterday and we worked through dinner as I told you when I got back to the common room last night. Remember, I'm meeting with him at five again today but he said we would discuss a schedule we can both agree on. After today I should have a better idea of how much time this extra project is going to take."
"What's this extra project you're working on with Professor Flitwick, Harry?" asked Hermione. "I still want to know."
"And I still can't tell you, at least not yet. All I can tell you for now is it comes by invitation only from the Professor and he told me he did the same thing with my parents. Now, this is very important to me so stop asking. I'll tell you what I can when I can."
"I don't like it Harry, but okay," Hermione agreed.
"Great, because I have something I need help figuring out and you guys are just the friends I need to help me," Harry said with a devious smile.
"Oh brother! What is it this time?" asked Hermione.
"Riddle me this Batman!" said Harry. "How is it Vol–"
Hermione laughed while Ron said "Huh?"
"It's from a movie or TV show," answered Hermione.
"Huh?"
"Never mind Ron," Harry replied. "If we keep having to explain muggle terminology to you, I'll never get this out. Actually, I should tell you both later in private anyway. Let's discuss restarting the DA again then as well. There are several who asked about it and I believe Dumbledore wants me to continue it."
"That'll be good," said Ron. "That was a fun way to learn."
"I'm glad you approve Ron," replied Harry as he finished filling his plate.
They completed their breakfast and talked to a few others before it was time to go.
"Come on you two. We have to get to class," Hermione reminded them.
oOo
Dobby had some questions about what they were doing with Potter Place so asked if Harry could come on the weekend to look at it and discuss. Harry had portkeyed over on Saturday afternoon and was talking over some ideas for Potter Place with Dobby and Winky when the fireplace flared green and out stepped a tall man dressed all in black. He stopped and waved his hand at his clothes to clear off the soot wandlessly. That's when he saw the teenager and house elves just staring at him.
He peered out from under his hood and took stock of the situation. He was not expecting to find anyone here, especially a teenage boy and house elves. The house should have been dusty but it was clean. He saw the boy rise from the sofa and walk a few steps toward him. When he was able to see the boy's face clearly, he gasped in shock.
"Who are you?" Harry asked the stranger. "And how did you get in here so easily?"
"Harry? Is that really you?"
"Yes, I'm Harry but I still don't know who you are," he replied pulling his wand quicker than the man could blink.
The stranger held out his hand in front of him in a gesture like he meant no harm, then with the other hand he reached up and pulled back his hood so his face and head could be seen clearly.
Harry's eyes grew quite large as he took in the face and dark hair of the stranger.
"No… it can't be. You're dead… You died," Harry said in shock.
"Harry?"
"It's a trick. It has to be. You're dead. Who are you… really?" Harry pointed his wand at the stranger.
"It's me Harry. It's really me. No tricks, just the truth. I will even swear on my life and my magic."
Harry nodded and watched as the man took out his wand and swore his oath.
"I swear on my life and my magic that I am the person I am about to reveal to Harry James Potter. As I say, so mote it be."
A bright light enveloped the man then faded.
"Satisfied?" he asked.
"Yes, now who are you?" asked Harry anxiously with wand still at the ready.
"Harry, my name is James Potter, …and I'm your father."
Harry stood there for a few seconds in shock.
"Dad?" he finally asked
"Yes, son. It's me."
"But how? They told me you died and they even buried your body."
"I'm happy to explain everything to you, Harry, but before we do that, could your old man have a hug? I know I haven't been there for you all these years, but when you hear why you'll understand. I promise – umph!"
Harry didn't even let him finish. He just ran and grabbed his father, hugging him tight. He wished for so long to be able to do this. The man swore an oath and there was no doubt he looked just like his pictures, which means he looked just like Harry, or rather, Harry looked just like him.
They sat on the sofa while Winky went to fetch some tea and biscuits for everyone. James began his story.
"The first thing you need to know, Harry, is that we're immortal."
"Immortal?"
"Yes, your gift, if you want to call it that, was inherited from me."
"Where did you get it?"
"That will take a little more explanation," he said then took a sip of tea. "I'm the son of Fleamont and Euphemia Potter, your grandparents Harry, only Euphemia, who was my mother in everything that matters, was not my biological mother. You see, she couldn't have children due to a sickness she had as a child. It left her sterile. That wasn't necessarily a big problem when they married because there were other Potters around at that time to carry on the name."
"That's amazing Dad since for the longest time I thought I was the last Potter with a very small chance of survival."
"That's one of the reasons why this came about. You see, as they grew older the other Potters died out. Some were killed during the years of Voldemort's first war. Voldemort actually targeted old families and was killing them off. The Potters were one of those families, among several others."
"I know some of them," Harry interjected.
"My parents were getting older and fearful that the name of Potter would die out and they would be the last. Marrying for love was great for them, but now they felt the heavy weight of continuing a great family name. It weighed heavily on them as they kept getting older. As a last ditch effort, they sought out the help of an old family friend. The Potter family has known her for well over 800 years. She's a descendent of Merlin and, of course, immortal."
"I see. What's her name?"
"Marissa Tanner, but don't get hung up on that name. She has to change it frequently and move around periodically to keep people from becoming suspicious when she doesn't age. In fact, that's not her real last name. It was just the one she was using at the time. Emrys is her true last name and her family is originally from Wales."
"Was Merlin immortal too?"
"Yes. According to Marissa he was. She just confirmed the story as best she could. The legend says he was around 450 years old when he fell in love with the Lady of the Lake, who was evidently a water nymph or spirit of some sort. She had great beauty and refused to return his love until he taught her all about his magic. After he did, she used her power to trap him. The interesting part of the story was that Merlin, or Myrddin, had the power of foresight and could see his own true future. Knowing there was nothing he could do about it; he continued and taught the Lady of the Lake anyway until she used that newfound power against him."
"Is he still alive?"
"No one knows for sure for no one knows the exact location. I'm sure the place is protected by powerful magic."
"Sounds like there's more to that story than just the legend reveals."
"True, but that's likely something where we'll never know all the details."
"You said Marissa had to change her name and move around a lot. Will we have to do the same eventually?"
"Perhaps, but we do have Potter Place where we can hide and we can also disguise ourselves well enough when we go out. I have a limited amount of metamorphmagus ability that allows me to change my hair, eyes, and facial features, but that's about all I can manage without glamours. I inherited that from Marissa. There are other ways we can get around it too so I don't think it'll be that big of a burden. Besides, it might be fun to travel the world and learn new things with you."
"I can see that…. Oh, I'm sorry for interrupting. Go ahead and continue the story."
"Alright…. So Marissa came to the rescue not wanting to see the Potter family name die out either. She gave herself willingly to Fleamont, with Euphemia's blessing, and conceived a male child called James – me. After I was born, she nursed me for a while as she talked to them about immortals. She then left so I could be raised by my parents. She warned them that I could be immortal as well as magical. There were no guarantees, but an immortal child normally has to live past the age of six before that ability fully kicks in. If the child dies before the age of six then there's generally no hope for their survival."
"Really?" asked Harry.
"Yes. They still may heal quickly which will help their survival but death takes a lot more to overcome, which is why it takes about six years for the body to be able to handle recovery from death. This is why I thought you were gone for good even if you were going to be immortal. You were only fifteen months old when Voldemort killed you."
"Right, so you thought I was dead."
"Your mother… Lily," James said tearing up. "I'm sorry Harry. It's a wound that doesn't want to heal…. Seeing you alive helps though… a lot."
"Same here, Dad," Harry said patting his dad's shoulder.
"Anyway," he continued clearing his throat, "Lily used old magic so that when she sacrificed herself for you, Voldemort's Killing Curse would rebound off you and strike down the Dark Lord instead. Unfortunately, I think her calculations were not quite correct. The spell did bounce but not until it touched you, killing you first. I think the curse from Voldemort was too strong to be completely blocked by magic, so it still killed you, Harry, before it finally rebounded back to Voldemort with extra force, killing him and causing the explosion."
"But what happened to you, Dad?"
"While I am immortal, I haven't always been certain of it. In fact, I never told your mum about it. I knew that I healed faster than anybody else did and I've never had to see a healer for anything my entire life. I think I was given some potions as a child to prevent certain magical diseases, but that was the extent of it. However, until Voldemort attacked us, I had never experienced death. I wasn't sure I would survive. I thought maybe that I had only received some of my biological mother's ability, like healing. Obviously, I received all of it and so did you." James then took another sip of tea.
"Tell me about the attack from Voldemort that night, Dad."
"Okay…. I sent your mum and you up the stairs when I realized Peter had betrayed us. I knew Voldemort was on the property. However, he managed to break open the door before I could retrieve my wand off the side table by the sofa. I had just stepped back off the stairs when he came in. I'm good wandlessly but I wasn't as good as I am now, and certainly not against someone of Voldemort's caliber, especially when that's all I had. I had no other weapons on me."
"That sucks."
"You said it, son. If I would've had one of my weapons, I could've blocked his spells, even the Unforgivables. I usually fight with my wand and a weapon at the same time. Anyway, I fought him as best I could and did a whole lot of dodging but he's something to behold with a wand. Your mum and I could give him a good go when it was the two of us but it took the both of us to come close to matching him. He's just so powerful and talented it's ridiculous. That's not so bad, but why did he have to be evil at the same time?"
"I know. I dueled him after his rebirth. He killed me… again."
"Ouch! Anyway, I was trying to work my way over to my wand but he caught me with his favorite spell, the Killing Curse, and I died. I wasn't positive I was going to wake back up from it. I thought for sure I'd failed and my time had ended. Next thing I know, I wake up wondering where I was and realized I was on the floor of my own house. Then I heard an explosion and the house shook. I grabbed my wand and ran up the stairs as fast as I could go. I saw Voldemort dead in the hall and my heart made a happy leap hoping Lily had succeeded in killing him with that explosion. Maybe a trap she set for him, I thought. However, when I reached your bedroom I realized I was too late and the original plan was executed."
"Your mum was dead and when I found you, there was no heartbeat, breath, nothing. You were gone and I firmly believed that even if my ability had passed on to you it was too late since you were only fifteen months old, never having made it to the age of six. I placed you next to your mother."
"In my grief, I quickly transfigured a blanket into a replica of myself and put an old ancestors wand I had as a spare on the end table to fool anyone who came to the house. I then grabbed your mum's wand to take with me, and disappeared for good. I thought that you had fulfilled the prophecy but your life was taken in the process. I was so lost and grief stricken, I left never to return. I knew that was the best opportunity to make a break since I would outlive everyone I know. It would be easier if my friends all thought I had died too. That way they would grieve for all of us at the same time. It was also preferable to me watching them grow old and die while I remained young, always looking like I'm in my mid-twenties."
"You mean eventually we'll look the same age?"
"Yep, won't that be a kicker? Marissa and I look the same age right now. I ran into her a few years back. When you get older we may have to tell people we're brothers, twins even."
Harry just shook his head in disbelief. They each ate a biscuit before picking the conversation back up. Harry was pacing while thinking it over.
"Why did I survive death even though I wasn't six yet?"
"That's a difficult question, son. I'm not really sure. Marissa never said it was a hard and set rule so perhaps your ability developed early. That would be my best guess. There's a slim chance it could also have something to do with the magic your mother used. Because of it, you were not hit full on by the Killing Curse. Maybe that helped. I can't say for sure."
"Can I ask you another question?" Harry asked turning back toward his dad.
"Sure. Ask me whatever you want. I've missed too much of your life to hold back now."
"Okay. So, where have you been Dad and what brought you back?"
"I was in America, mostly. The Potters keep wealth in the Muggle world too, millions of pounds, or dollars in the U.S., so I lived off that and worked when I wanted. The money is invested well so continues to grow. I kept away from the magical world completely, although I never stopped training. The memories stayed fresh and it hurt too much. Then I came across an article about Padfoot that was in the Muggle papers after he died and it mentioned you as a surviving godson. First, I couldn't believe Padfoot was ever thought to be a murderer, but then I realized that you must be immortal too and survived, so I set out to find you. Coming back home was my first stop and here you were."
"Lucky me!"
"Me, too, son."
"You know, Dad, Voldemort is immortal too, but his ability works differently from ours."
"Tell me what you know about him."
Harry sat back down. "Well, he becomes a wraith after he dies that can inhabit other people or animals but if he wants his own body again he has to go through this ritual to get it. The body he receives is magical and more powerful than his original body."
"Hmm, I did a lot of reading and studying about immortals and immortality over the years. I was curious once I knew I was truly immortal. And that's the key Harry. Voldemort may have made himself immortal but you and I are true immortals. There's a difference."
"Explain please."
"Voldemort had to drink seven Dark potions and perform seven very Dark rituals over a seven year period to become immortal. The rituals involve the murdering of seven innocents each time one is performed. That's why the ritual is so Dark. However, that does not make him a true immortal like you and me. As you mentioned, he has to go through a ritual simply to regain a body after his is destroyed, and he travels around as a wraith until then. To kill Voldemort completely, you have to sever his head from his body. His immortality will end if he loses his head."
"That's it? I just have to remove his head from his body like in the Highlander movies?"
"Yep, very similar but I don't think removing Voldemort's head is going to be that easy."
"Probably not."
"I was told an immortal gave some advice to an author who wrote that original screenplay for the movie. Of course, it only works completely against a pseudo immortal. Now, don't get me wrong. Losing your head is a very bad thing."
"I can imagine."
"We can lose our heads but if someone puts it back together with our body then it will repair itself and we live again, at least that's what I read and Marissa confirmed it. Either way, losing your head is not a good thing. If your body and head are burned to ashes before they can be reattached, then the immortal will die."
"Let's make a deal, Dad. If you lose your head, I'll put it back on for you. Will you do the same for me?"
"Absolutely," he said with a smile.
They both enjoyed another biscuit and some more tea after that was settled.
"By the way, I'm training with Filius."
"Now that's fantastic news! I'd love to help with that."
"Absolutely," Harry smiled back.
"What's your weapon of choice, Harry? Mine was sword."
"Battle-axe."
"Nice. Now, it's your turn to fill me in about your life, Harry. I also want you to tell me what you know about Padfoot and what happened to him."
Harry turned to his dad and looked him in the eyes. "I can't promise you'll like everything you hear, Dad, but I'm happy to tell you all about it."
oOo
Harry was finally off to a good start, he thought. His dad was back but staying hidden for now. He was hoping he could help better from the shadows. They were thinking about bringing Remus in on it but they were still giving that some thought. Also, training with Filius should get him a lot closer to his goal.
Continuing to teach the DA should help others as well as keep him more on his toes. Potions class was a lot better, thankfully, with the new professor this year. Of course, Harry's beloved Defense class was now taught by Snape but you can't win them all. At least Snape knows what he's doing and the real Defense lessons would be coming from Filius anyway.
Harry continued Runes and Care of Magical Creatures as his electives after his OWLS. He did well in both classes and liked them so he continued on to get his NEWTS in them. Of course, he still had the core courses that he continued, except for History of Magic that is. He could not see taking anymore of Binns.
What he did have though was Astronomy, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, and Transfiguration. When all done he should end up with eight NEWTS total, unless he took the Muggle Studies exam just for the extra NEWT.
If possible, he wouldn't mind getting a mastery in Defense or Charms or maybe even both. With help from Filius and his father now, Harry felt he had a good chance of attaining that goal.
oOo
While studying with Ron and Hermione in the Common room, Harry noticed that Hermione would occasionally look closely at his hands. Ginny came in, sat next to Harry on the couch, and pulled out her own material to study. After a couple of minutes, she noticed Hermione's strange behavior as well.
"Hermione, why do you keep doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"Looking at Harry's hands."
"Yes, please enlighten us. I've tried to ignore it but you're making it quite difficult," added Harry.
"Well, I didn't want to mention it since it wasn't a pleasant experience," Hermione said eyeing Harry, "but I recall you telling us last year that Umbridge made you write lines with that cursed quill of hers. I was looking for any scars or marks on your hand from it. After all, you spent more time in detention with her than anyone else. Since others she abused had scars from it I expected you would have them too but I can't find any."
Harry held out his hands palms down so they could all see them.
"That's because I have no scars or marks from it. As a matter of fact I have no scars whatsoever even after many beatings from my uncle when I was little. He even accidentally broke my arm once when I was three." Harry's friends all cringed. "For some reason I heal quickly, too quickly for scars to even form. Even my broken arm healed on its own. According to Voldemort, in the graveyard, he hit me with a Killing Curse when I was 15 months old that bounced back onto him. There was an explosion when it hit him that blew out a whole wall but yet I didn't have a mark on me when I was found."
"That's amazing Harry!" said Ginny.
"How could you not mention this before Harry?" asked Hermione indignantly.
"Maybe because it never came up? Maybe because it's personal? Maybe because it's just another thing where I'm different and I'm tired of always standing out and being gossiped about. If I suddenly hear the rest of the school talking about this, then I will know you guys are no longer my friends for spreading information I didn't want known. Be thankful I even told you."
"I uh...um…I'm sorry Harry," said Hermione.
"I will never, ever reveal any of your secrets Harry. I swear to you!" said Ginny earnestly.
"No worries, Mate. Thanks for letting us know," said Ron.
"I'm glad I can count on you guys, so thanks. I don't know if I was born this way or if it's a by-product of the protection my parents put on me. They both sacrificed their lives for me so I could've received extra protection. Either way, it worked and still works."
Harry wasn't ready to tell them the whole truth but it would be easier to have friends running interference for him if he ever needed it. Ginny sure was filling out nicely, he thought. Mighty pretty too. She had the most beautiful hair… wait! Where did that come from?
oOo
The training with Flitwick was going really well. Harry was his only student so received some very specific and individualized attention that just made Harry's progress proceed even faster. Harry really liked training with his wand but if he had to admit it, he would say working with a battle-axe was most likely his favorite.
The weight had been adjusted so it was just right. It was light enough not to cause early fatigue but had just enough weight so it handled well. Of course, during pure training Filius had Harry's axe weighted extra heavy so he would build up stamina and strength.
After working long hours with such a heavy axe, Harry could handle the properly weighted one with ease, making his strikes quicker and with deadlier force. Filius was quite pleased with his student. He seemed to be a natural warrior and picked up everything he was shown quickly. After several weeks of training, students were starting to notice how well Harry was filling out. He certainly was gaining some muscle.
Harry finally convinced several of his friends in the DA to start running with him in the morning and when they saw him in shorts and a tank top they could not believe the shape he was in. The girls especially noticed. The guys just realized they wanted to look like that too so re-doubled their efforts.
The DA was definitely different from last year. Harry was more focused as a teacher and tried different tactics to get them to learn. He would taunt them with promises of special spells he could teach them if they would just hurry up and learn the ones he already had them working on. He would sometimes demonstrate one of these advanced spells just to get them motivated. Of course, he would cast it silently with small wand movements to keep it secret but the result was very motivating.
As it neared Christmas break, Filius was so impressed with Harry's progress, especially with a battle-axe, that he brought in a goblin warrior to spar with Harry so he could watch and give pointers after he observed the session.
The goblin Harry had to face looked almost as wide as he was tall and it was not due to fat. The double-bladed axe he wielded was almost as tall as the wielder. There was a very nasty scar that ran down the face of the goblin. It started above his left eye and ran down until it connected to the left side of his mouth. The left eye was a slightly milky-white color like it had been damaged by the blow that caused the scar. The goblin didn't look like someone you would ever want to fight, or run across in a dark alley for that matter.
"Harry, I would like to introduce you to Bladescar," said Filius making the introductions. "Bladescar, this is my current and favorite student Harry Potter."
Bladescar bowed to Harry, making his axe blade come within a breath of touching the floor. Harry reciprocated in kind and bowed back looking a bit wary at his soon to be opponent.
"Harry, since goblins don't use wands then you'll not be allowed your wand in this sparring session." Harry nodded then stepped over and placed his wand on the table. "I would like you to fight with your axe since that's apparently your weapon of choice. Fighting different opponents will be good for you." Harry walked over and picked up his axe. "Bladescar specializes in battling with an axe so he should be able to teach you a few things during this session."
Harry nodded but thought for sure the goblin was grinning at him when Filius made that last statement.
"Pretty much anything goes during this sparring session. Just try not to kill anyone," Filius instructed.
Harry was not sure what he was thinking ever to agree to anything like this. This goblin, Bladescar, looked like not only could he carve Harry up into tiny pieces but would gladly eat him with mint sauce on the side afterwards. Nevertheless, he followed his trainer's instructions and squared off against the worrisome looking goblin.
When Filius said 'start' Harry was still trying to figure out what he was going to try against this goblin but Bladescar leaped all the way to him so quickly that Harry barely had time to get his axe up to block the attack. Then the power that the goblin had behind his swings was practically overwhelming. Harry was barely keeping up.
As he blocked attack after attack he started feeling like he was doing all right for now even though he hadn't used any offense yet but at least he was able to block everything the goblin threw at him. But then he wondered if the goblin was simply holding back.
That would be bad.
Harry decided it was time to up his game and try some offense.
On the goblin's next swing, Harry sidestepped quickly out of the way instead of blocking it and came around with his own swing. He thought he was going to land a blow but at the last second, the goblin's blade appeared and blocked Harry's shot. Harry continued with more attacks but the goblin easily blocked each and every one.
They started trading blows back and forth for a while with neither gaining ground until the goblin suddenly stuck out his hand and used magic to fling Harry backwards where he landed on his back hard. The goblin leaped high in the air toward Harry with his axe poised for a strike while his opponent was down.
Harry had been getting into a good rhythm fighting the goblin but he thought for sure that he was just being played with. When the goblin used wandless magic on him to throw him backwards onto his back, he knew for sure that he'd been suckered and he should expect the goblin to try to finish him off while he was vulnerable. Only when the goblin landed his axe was successfully blocked by Harry who also threw out his other hand and sent the goblin flying back across the room where he rolled and came back up on his feet.
Suddenly the goblin was laughing and clapping. Filius called a halt to the session.
Harry couldn't figure out what the goblin found so funny but he was glad the session was over. That took a lot out of him. Harry sat down on the floor breathing heavily and laid his axe beside him, trying to catch his breath.
"Harry, you never told me you could do wandless magic!" Filius exclaimed.
"Actually, I didn't know that I could either. I was just so upset for letting myself get suckered that I responded in kind."
While they were speaking, Bladescar walked over to Harry and offered his hand to help him up. Harry took it and stood up as the goblin pulled him to his feet.
"Thanks for taking it easy on me Bladescar. Filius was right. I did learn a lot and you never even had to break a sweat."
"It is true Harry Potter that I tested you at your level but if you are this good after only a few months of training, I fear I will not be able to hold back in another year's time and I've studied this practically all my life. You are a natural."
"Thank you."
"You are also a powerful wizard and I was wondering if you could accomplish wandless magic so I pushed you a bit and low and behold you did just fine."
"We will definitely be exploring that more Harry," added Filius.
"Looking forward to it, Filius."
Bladescar discussed a few things he noticed I was doing and offered some tips to help before he had to leave.
"I must be on my way," Bladescar announced. "It was a pleasure sparring with you Harry Potter and as always a pleasure to see you again Filius."
"You too my friend. Thanks for your help."
After Bladescar left them, Filius took Harry back through the sparring session so they could discuss the tactics used and the perfect form Bladescar had with his axe. He was most impressed after Filius took out a pensieve and showed him the session with Bladescar from his trainer's perspective.
His form was not too shabby since Filius drilled it into him, but to watch Bladescar was like watching poetry in motion. There was no wasted movement, he exuded confidence and power in his stance, and was effortless and swift with every swing. He was simply amazing.
After Harry's training session, when he returned to the Gryffindor common room, he could still feel the tiredness in his muscles from all the blocks to the attacks. His arms were so tired now especially since the adrenaline had worn off. He had a feeling he would sleep soundly tonight.
