1989

Harry shivered as he continued walking through the streets of London. Why was he having such amount of trouble with this? In pop culture, there were abandoned buildings for orphaned kids to move in to all over the place. Yet, now that he was out in the world, there were none anywhere it seemed.

Harry sighed as he moved forward before an idea hit him. Perhaps, he could instead go to an apartment complex. He could hide a room behind an illusion and live there for a while. He hadn't really thought about it until now but he was probably going to have to steal some things too. He didn't know much about it but he was pretty sure he had to pay for things like water and electricity.

He sighed once more but pushed on into downtown London. Might as well make sure the place he was going to be in was nice. He looked at the different buildings and looked for ones that had balconies on the building as he hoped they would be the correct types. There were actually several of such buildings and all of them looked nice. He picked one at random before trying to go into the lobby of the nearest building. As soon as he did, he saw someone who looked up at him, as he made eye contact with a woman, he immediately cast an illusion on her.

Instead of a child entering her building, the woman now saw a man who looked just like his uncle.

"Greetings. My name is Nathaniel and I was wondering if you had any apartments available?" He asked her. The woman looked confused for a moment as she stood up, likely from seeing a man appear where she had thought she saw a child.

"Um… Of course, sir. Let me just check our files for a moment." She told him before going to a file cabinet and opening it. She looked through it for a moment before pulling out several folders.

"Okay, let's see. We have six different apartments available currently starting at sixteen hundred pounds a month, utilities are not included." She told him politely. Harry looked over the several files she brought out. There was a lot of writing on them that he didn't really understand. He did see several blueprint looking papers that gave him the layout of the room.

"And… Do they all have furniture and everything already in place?" Harry asked awkwardly, not sure if he was acting correctly.

"Oh, you wanted one that was already furnished? Okay well then, we only have two of those available. These ones right here. The starting price for those is two thousand pounds not including utilities." She told him, taking the six folders back and putting them away. Instead, she brought back another two. He looked at them and he couldn't really tell what its actual size was though.

"Would it be possible to see this one?" Harry asked as he pointed to the one that looked like it had more rooms and was hopefully bigger.

"Of course, sir. One moment, let me put this away and grab the key." The woman smiled before putting the documents away and grabbing a key that was inside the folder, she then stood and gestured for him to follow him. He nodded and did so. She led him to an elevator and they both got in. She clicked on a button that labelled it as the 17th floor which was the second highest on this building. The elevator ride felt strange since they didn't say anything to each other but Harry just tried to ignore the feeling.

Finally, the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. The woman exited first and it looked like they were in a hallway that was painted a soft white color.

"This way, it's up here on the right." The woman told him holding her hand up and gesturing towards the end of the hallway. Harry nodded as he saw it was a corner room which meant it was the last one at the end of the hallway.

"Alright, here we are. Let me just open it up for you… There we go. Do you want me to show you around or would you like to do so yourself?" She asked him.

"No, I think I can do it myself. Thank you. Just give me a moment." Harry replied.

"That's no problem, I'll just wait here for you." She said with a polite smile. Harry nodded before entering the apartment. He breathed a sigh of relief as the door closed behind him. This was going well so far. If he did this right, he could get the apartment, and even get the utilities turned on. He just needed to time this right.

Harry walked around the apartment. The kitchen in it was nice and spacious which was important since he would need the room to kick. He then looked at the living room. It had a simple white couch that had a nice soft cushion when he sat on it. There was a tv as well though he wasn't sure how often he would be using it. He then checked out the bedrooms. There were two of them and they seemed to be an equal size. They both had an attached bathroom with shower/bath combos. The last room was an office with just a desk, a chair, and an empty bookshelf. It all looked like it would suit him just fine. He nodded then headed out of the apartment.

He went out and saw that the woman was still outside waiting for him patiently. She straightened up when she saw him again.

"Well, sir? What did you think?"

"It looked very nice. How soon would I be able to move into it?" Harry asked trying to contain his excitement.

"Well, it's ready as soon as you want it. As soon as you are willing to put down a deposit and the first month of rent. Of course, a background check is necessary and proof of income…"

"So… That can be done today?" Harry asked her. She looked surprised.

"You wish to move in that fast?" She asked.

"If possible, I just moved back to the U.K so I have to stay in a hotel until I get my own place." Harry tried to explain. Her eyes lit up and she nodded in understanding.

"Of course, well, if we can go back down, we can get you all set up sir."

With that, they made their way back down to the first floor and made it back to her desk. She pulled out several papers and showed them to him.

"Alright sir, I just need you to sign here and here. Then, will need… twenty-five hundred and fifty pounds. This will include your deposit, your first month of rent, and the cost to turn on your utilities." She explained. Harry looked her in the eyes and thought Miran Taz, casting his current most intricate illusion on her. The woman's eyes began to lose focus. In her mind, he just gave her all the money she asked for and signed the contract. She then continued on in her mind with whatever she needed to make sure to do before giving the apartment to him. Once she did that, the illusion ended and she looked back up and smiled at him. The background check could wait but would need to be completed within two days.

"Well, that'll be all, sir. We hope you enjoying staying here. Your lease is a 12 month one. Here are the keys, the maintenance number if something needs fixing in your apartment, and this is your parking slot in our underground garage. I will have your utilities up and working in less than half an hour.

"Thank you so much. I'll need to call my wife about this and have her start coming over. I'll be back soon." Harry said to the woman taking all the papers and keys he had just been given. He then said his goodbyes and headed out of the building. He then went down the street to a nearby department store. It looked to be called Marks and Spencer. He entered and started looking around.

He grabbed a cart and then moved to the clothes section and started looking around. He chose some basic clothes with no designs on them since those were the cheapest. Even though he had to steal, he would only try and take the cheapest things to hopefully not to hurt the companies too much. He grabbed enough clothes for about a week. He then went to the food section of the store.

He looked around and started grabbing some of the basics; eggs, steak, cheese, etc… After that, he just grabbed a few things like a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a few other things. After that, he went to the cashier and easily placed an illusion on the cashier when he got up to the cash register. The man looked so bored he could barely tell when the man went under the illusion. He took the fake money and bagged his items for Harry before giving him his items silently. Harry took them in the same way, silently, before heading out of the store. Luckily this was only two blocks from his apartment.

He easily walked back to the apartment complex. As he entered, he saw the woman who he could see was actually named Janet based on the name plate on her desk. She looked up and smiled at him.

"Hello, Mr. Dursley. Your utilities should be on by now." Janet told him happily.

"Right… I actually have a problem. My wife just informed me that we are actually not staying in the U.K after all. So, I want to go ahead and cancel my contract." Harry told her casting his illusion on her once more. This time, she would cancel his contract, take the fee for cancelling, and then put his apartment back into the open apartment cabinet. She would then take the keys back from Harry and turn off the utilities. After this was done, she would exit the illusion. That way, his apartment would still be marked as taken so she wouldn't put it up when someone asked, he would still have the keys for the apartment and the utilities would still be on.

After that, he would cast an illusion over his apartment door so it could not be found. Actually, he should probably also take the file altogether so it could not be found at all. He could hide it in a static illusion but the more illusions he had the less stable overall they were. It also meant they were more susceptible to being disturbed by his disruptions.

Since the lady was still in the illusion, he walked behind her into the cabinet he had seen her put his file away in and reached to grab it. He then made his way to the elevator and went up while the illusion continued on the woman. Once it was finished it would come to a natural end without him having to do anything.

Several Hours Later

Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he sat down on his new bed. His day had certainly been a long one. He ran away from his relative's house, wandered the streets, tricked a lady into giving him a free apartment and then moved into said apartment. What a terrifying yet exciting day. He would probably still have things to do. The complex would likely notice the price went up for the utilities and might investigate why. He'd have until the end of the month he was pretty sure until he needed a solution to hide that. He would likely have to make another complex illusion.

He needed to find a way to make someone… not want to do certain things. Or convince them to do certain things. Is that possible? It should be. Illusions could influence people's senses. Then there should be some way to make them feel like not doing or doing something. It was all in their head, right? So, maybe he could make it that whenever they were supposed to do something that he didn't want them to do, they would simply lose all their motivation to do it. He was sure it should be possible, he just needed to figure out how to do it.

He sighed again as he looked at the time. It was almost 8 and he needed to get to sleep to meet up with Ciri. He looked at the big king-sized bed with some apprehension. He hadn't ever slept on a bed even half this size before. He went over to his bags that had his recent purchases in it before picking out some pajamas to sleep in. It was a simple matching shirt and pants made from cotton but it was the first pajamas he had ever owned before.

He then looked at the bed and threw the covers back and climbed in. He then reached over and turned off the light before settling down fully. He then tried to get comfortable in bed which should've been quite easy considering how soft the bed felt.

It was strange. The bed was actually very comfortable. He had room to move and everything just felt so soft. Yet, no matter what position he got in, he couldn't seem to quiet his mind. It felt like his mind was analyzing everything around him for some reason. It was setting him on edge and he just couldn't figure out what the issue was. He looked over to a clock on his night dresser and saw it was already 7:50 pm. He needed to get to sleep soon.

He sat up and looked around the room. He then got fully out of the bed and brought some covers down to the floor. Maybe it was just the bed was too soft for him? As he laid on the floor though, he still felt the same prickling feeling all around him like he was being watched or something. He stood up again and looked around. He couldn't see anything strange but he couldn't help the feeling of uneased.

Harry moved around to several places in his room within several minutes and he still couldn't find someplace where he felt comfortable. After basically trying to sleep around the whole room he was about to give up when he noticed one of the doors in his room and he remembers something. He blinked as he slowly approached it. He opened the door and looked inside.

It was a closet. A walk-in closet, which was apparently a nice feature though one he didn't really care about. He looked around it and noticed how much bigger this closet was than his closet back at the Dursleys. He closed the door behind him and laid down on the ground. He looked around at the four walls encompassing him and closed his eyes. Finally, the feeling of unease and prickliness on his skin wasn't there. His mind had finally seemed to calm down.

He wasn't exactly sure what it meant that he only seemed to be comfortable sleeping in a closet, unfortunately he didn't have time to think about it now. He was already running late as it where and if he didn't show up, Ciri might freak out.

He finally felt his consciousness fading and he embraced the feeling wholeheartedly. He finally had managed to get to sleep.

Harry blinked and then blinked again as he tried to get the sleep out of his eyes. He was surrounded by darkness for the most part but there was also a source of light which shouldn't have been there. He turned his head and looked directly at a straight line of light that seemed to fill his vision. He looked at it confused for a moment before he realized what he was seeing and bolted upright. He looked around confused and saw that he was still the closet he had fell asleep in.

He panicked as he got up and opened the door only to see that there was daylight streaming into his bedroom windows. He felt his heartbeat almost seemed to stutter as he looked out into the morning sky outside his windows.

He felt his heart drop as he realized that he must've missed the deadline to meet with Ciri the night before. He grit his teeth in anger at that. If only he hadn't taken so long to fall asleep, he would have made it in time. This was the first time that he had missed a rendezvous in a year when they first discovered how to make sure that they could meet every night. What would she think must've happened to him?

He growled in annoyance before taking a breath and calming himself down. It wasn't such a big problem, just an annoying one. He could still see Ciri tonight after all, but he was still upset about missing last night's meeting.

Rather than focusing on something he could no longer do anything about, he decided instead to get ready for the day. He shed his pajamas and moved to grab his day clothes. He pulled out a grey shirt and jeans which he immediately put on with some excitement. This was his first set of his own clothes he had actually been able to wear. Even more, that fit him! He went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror to see how he looked. He twirled for a moment before nodding to himself in happiness. He thought he looked rather good.

With that done, he moved to brush his teeth in the bathroom and plan out the rest of his day. He wanted to go to a library and possibly looking up some things on magic. Even if the books weren't real, he could always get ideas from the books. From his experience, magic seemed to be a strange combination of freedom of one's imagination and a bunch of rules to contain and use it. He needed to improve on so many things now, and it looked like he would need to up the importance of combat. Especially with other magic users being around.

He finished brushing his teeth and finally washed out his mouth before wiping it off. He then walked out of the bathroom and moved to the door to go to his living room. As soon as he did so though, he felt himself freeze as he saw what was waiting on the other side.

There was a man in his apartment. An older man that was wearing very strange and colorful robes and a big hat that was probably pointy at one point but now, had a tip that drooped down and behind the man's head. The man himself also wore half-moon shaped glasses and had a long and white shaped beard that probably made it all the way down to his belly button. And to tie all this up, he was sitting at Harry's dining table and drinking, what appeared to be, tea.

Despite the fear he felt at someone managing to get past his illusions and into his temporary home, he couldn't also help the confusion he also felt at seeing the strange man as well. For a moment, he felt so much confusion, that it even overwhelmed the fear.

"Umm…"

"Ah. Hello, young Harry. It's good to see you are up and about. I hope you don't mind but I brewed up some tea in your kitchen. Would you like a cup?" the old man asked him with a genial smile. Harry blinked at the words and then the question directed at him.

"Uh… Sure."

"Excellent." The man said before moving over to the kettle and fixing another cup of tea. Once poured, he placed it in front of an empty chair that was next to his. He then gestured for Harry to sit in said chair. Harry, despite not wanting, felt his feet seemingly moving towards the chair for him. He still did so at a slow pace though which the man seemed to notice. The old man gave a soft chuckle at seeing it.

"I mean you no harm Harry. If I wanted to hurt you, I could've down so while you slept in the closet. I certainly wouldn't have made tea for us and waited patiently for you to wake up." The old man pointed out to him. Harry could see the logic in that so he sat down but he was still very wary of this man. He could feel all his senses screaming at him that this man was, in fact, very dangerous.

"Good. Now, I suppose you have many questions and I am going to answer as many of them as I can. Is there one you wished to be answered first?"

"Who are you?" Harry started with immediately.

"I suspected that would be your first. To answer your question, my name is Albus Dumbledore. I am a professor at a school known as Hogwarts." The man told him easily. Harry frowned though. He didn't recognize the name of the man or the school.

"Why are you here and how did you find me?" Harry decided to ask next.

"Ah, right down to the nitty gritty then. Well, I suppose I should give you more than the simple explanation. To put it simply, I am, or rather was, a dear friend to your mother and father. When they unfortunately passed on, I was left with the responsibility of your care. I decided then that the best place for you to be raised was with your maternal aunt and her husband." Albus Dumbledore told him. Harry blinked at that before he started feeling a familiar heat rise around him.

"You left me with the Dursleys?" He asked/accused the man. At that, the man seemed to wilt a bit.

"Yes, I did. At the time, it seemed like a good choice. They were the only blood family that you had left and I believed they would be the right ones to take care of you. Unfortunately, after a visit I was forced to take to your relative's house yesterday, I can see that I was mistaken in such a belief. Your aunt informed me you now know of the magical world and, by those impressive illusions I saw when coming here, I would say she was telling the truth, am I correct?" He asked, though as he said, the answer was rather obvious.

Harry could only nod in confirmation as he realized now why the man seemed to register as so dangerous to him. He was a sorcerer from the hidden society his aunt had told him about and now that he knew that, he opened his senses to the magic around him. With the man so close, it was impossible not to be bombarded by his sheer presence and power that exuded from him. So much so, that Harry flinched a way for a moment before closing his senses once more. Ciri had told him he was quite powerful in magic but he was a mere pond next to a lake compared to this man.

The older man seemed to notice when he flinched as he gave him a curious look when he did so. Despite this though, he seemed to say nothing about Harry's reaction and decided to continue on where they left off.

"As you have likely guessed, I am one such magic user. I am a wizard Harry… and as I am sure you have also guessed, so are you." The man told him. Harry just blinked at the statement.

"A wizard, not a sorcerer?" He couldn't help but ask. In Ciri's world, magic users were usually called Sorcerers/Sorceresses.

"Not quite no." The man answered with a kind, amused smile.

"What's the difference?" Harry asked not being able to help himself. This was the first time he could truly discuss magic with anyone except Ciri and he could already feel the excitement brimming.

"Well, that would depend on who you asked. Most people in our world today would tell you that they are the same thing and that the word sorcerer is just another word for a wizard that is older and has, for the most part, fallen out of use save for a few old titles it is part of. A few, however, will tell you that a sorcerer was a common term for magic users a couple of millennia ago that had a few notable differences from wizards, mainly that they used motions and gestures instead of wands and other focal points to use magic. Once wands became the norm though, the term wizard was instead created and became the more common term. Soon sorcerers as they were known died out and the name simply became synonymous with wizard." The man explained to him with his soft smile still plastered on his face.

If Harry doubted this man was a teacher before, he sure didn't now. It was quite obvious by the way the man spoke and the aura he gave off while doing so that he was someone with an education background. It was far from boring though. In fact, he felt himself become even more interested.

"Was it in the medieval period when wands were introduced?" Harry asked, unknowingly leaning forward towards the man.

"If we were in school right now, I would give you ten points for such a deduction. None the less, you are correct. Wands started becoming a common focus for magic users around the year, 400 AD. By 650 AD they were used by almost the entire western civilized magical population for spell casting. By 700 AD, there were only a handful of sorcerers left in Europe, the Mediterranean, or in Asia. In Africa and the America's many of the magic users already used staffs to perform magic though they were still called sorcerers until nearly 1833 when the International Confederation of Wizards, or ICW, made a ruling that they were to be referred to be classified as wizards due to issues of tension built upon by the idea of superiority. Many however still do use staffs or other focuses to channel their magic rather than wands." Dumbledore finished explaining once more. Harry nodded along as paid rapt attention to what the man said. So, according to him, this planet had wands already in the medieval period but for some reason, Ciri's world didn't. They had some other focuses but they weren't nearly as common.

"I do believe we have gotten off track a bit though I would be delighted to continue this conversation in more depth another time. We need to discuss you're living arrangements I believe." The professor aid. His words knocked the excitement right out of Harry and made him wary again.

"You're not going to try and send me back to the Dursleys again, are you?" He couldn't help but ask. The professor frowned before shaking his head.

"No, I don't think there'd be much point in doing that now with the wards having been broken. Though I don't think it would have been a good idea even if they hadn't from what I saw with your aunt and uncle… Would you mind telling me though what caused the argument that made you run away?" Professor Dumbledore asked. Harry winced.

"I… asked my Uncle why he hated magic and he tried to hit me." Harry told him, leaving out a few details.

"And then you performed magic in front of him… On purpose, I believe, correct?" Dumbledore asked him. Harry looked down but nodded at the question.

"Hmm. Harry, I am going to ask you a question and I want you to be perfectly honest with me. Can you do that?" the man asked him. Harry nodded slowly though apprehensively. He hadn't a feeling he didn't really have a choice.

"Good. Harry, I need you to tell me… Why did you curse your Aunt?" Dumbledore asked him. Harry blinked and stared blankly at the man.

"I didn't actually curse her. I just said I did because I was angry." Harry told him.

"Did you mean it?"

"What?"

"The words you said when you cursed her, did you mean them?" The man's stare which had been so kind a minute ago was now piercing into him. Harry felt frozen like a deer in headlights as he stared back.

"Well… At the time, I guess I did. I was just… I was so angry. It felt like a haze in mind head and all I could think of was how much she had hurt me and how much she lied to me just to make herself feel better. I wanted her to pay for that. To pay for hurting me and lying about my mother simply because she was jealous." By the end of his explanation, he was just whispering. Yet, the professor seemed to hear what he said just fine.

The man continued to look at him, and despite wanting too, Harry couldn't seem to look away. His eyes seemed to be searching for something in Harry's own. After a few moments, he seemed satisfied and nodded.

"I believe you. I did what I could to undue it but I must admit, it was quite powerful. I know some of it will continue to stick with her unless some counter can be found. Though, she should at least not die from it." Dumbledore told him honestly. Harry looked down in shame. Sure, he had been mad but he truly didn't want to kill his aunt. Though he did hate her.

"Will… will someone make a counter?"

"Unlikely. I probably could but I decided that with her behavior these past few years, young Petunia perhaps should learn to deal with the consequences of her own actions… Do not take that as to me condoning your actions though Harry. We should never strive to lower ourselves to the level of our adversaries lest we become just as terrible as them." The man lectured. Harry just nodded in understanding at that.

"Good. I understand you seem able to perform your own magic. Are illusions the only thing you can do?"

"Well… mostly. I can also form a protective shield around myself. That's pretty much it though." Harry admitted. Dumbledore nodded at that though looked curious.

"That is quite impressive Harry. Illusions are an extremely uncommon field of magic to go into, most simply being integrated into already created spells. I have not seen an illusion on its own be this strong before, I daresay you should be quite proud of yourself." Dumbledore complimented. His words did perk Harry back up.

"Thank you, sir." He said back. Dumbledore simply waved the thanks off though.

"Well deserved. I have never seen a child with such control over their magic either. We normally don't start schooling until the age of 11 because that is when there magic has calmed down enough start actively performing it." Harry couldn't help but nod at those words.

"Yeah, I had to practice a lot to get that under control."

"Do you care to explain?"

"Well, what you just said. I mean, my magic use to shake and vibrate a lot messing up my illusions. I couldn't count on them to not drop at random moments. But I practiced to get those under control until the shaking turned from making waves to simple stutters and then they started happening less and less. They still happen, but they're not strong enough to break my illusions." Harry told the man. He felt a little more at ease knowing he wasn't going to be sent back to the Dursleys.

"Most impressive. I remember speculation that children, if pushed, could be capable of getting their magic under control earlier. However, when put into practice, many children didn't have the willpower to stick with the regime, and in some cases, the children would become… volatile. As such, it was made illegal to have them undergo such practices." The man replied looking down on him. Harry blinked.

"Wait, I have been doing something illegal?" Harry asked, panicking a bit.

"No, nothing of the sort. The illegal part comes from when parents or guardians try and force children into such a path. Even evidence of encouraging children to try and do it on their own is strictly forbidden and carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison." Dumbledore told him.

"So… if I do it on my own, it's legal?" Harry asked.

"Technically yes. Though I cannot legally encourage you to continue, if you ever have any questions about magic, feel free to ask me." The professor said with a smile as the man gave him a wink. Harry blinked at that; he wasn't sure what that meant.

"Okay… So, I assume I cannot stay here?" Harry asked quietly.

"I am afraid not. Though, I think I have in mind a place you could stay."

"Oh? I don't mean to be rude, by the way, but do you have some sort of proof that you are in charge of me?" Harry finally asked. The old man seemed… nice, he supposed. But that didn't mean he was just going to go with him.

"Ah. I do have some paperwork saying such. If you wouldn't mind stepping back for a moment, I can go retrieve it to show you." The man said straightening up. Harry looked confused for a moment but followed what the man said as he stepped back. He then saw the old man pull out a wooden stick from his sleeve. Harry's eyes lit up.

"Is that your wand?" Harry asked.

"It is indeed." Dumbledore said as he held the wand out so Harry could examine it. He looked at the stick. It was a dark wood and seemed to have several beads going down it.

"Do all wands look the same?"

"No, they're quite unique. We can speak more on this. I will only be a moment. Would you mind staying put until I come back Harry?" The man asked. Harry looked at him for a moment.

"Since you most likely have ways to find me through magic, would it matter if I said no?" Harry asked politely. The man seemed to find the question amusing.

"You're quite an intelligent young man. So, I suppose, no it wouldn't matter. But then, by that logic, what would be the point of proving to you that you are in fact my ward? I could simply take you and you could not technically stop me. Sometimes, it's simply about the principle and precedent of an action. You're trusting me to prove myself legitimate and I return that but trusting you not to run away."

"That's… Okay. I shall wait here for you to return."

"Thank you, Harry. I shall only be gone for a moment. Do not be alarmed by the noise, it is normal." The man said with a smile. Then, with a swift move his wand, the man seemed to disappear right before his eyes. It looked like the very air had sucked him into it and took him away with a loud crack. Harry stared for a moment at the spot before looking around. What in the world was that?

Just as soon as he had disappeared another loud crack sounded and with it, bringing the man right back in front of him. Harry just looked at the man for a moment before shaking his head.

"What just happened?" Harry asked.

"I performed a magical technique known as apparition. It's the favored method of quick travel to faraway places for wizards." The professor explained to him.

"That sounds extremely useful. Could you teach me?" Harry asked.

"I cannot, unfortunately. It is required that apparition \ only be taught to wizards who have reached adulthood at the age of 17. This is because the technique can prove dangerous and even fatal if performed incorrectly." The old man told him.

"Dangerous how?"

"Well, sometimes not all of your body goes with you when you use the technique. This results in some being left behind in a mishap known as splinching."

"Oh. I don't think I want to learn that technique after all." Harry said with some nausea at the thought of what the man suggested. In Ciri's world they used portals and she had told him the only real danger with them was you might end up in the wrong place.

"Yes, it might be best to wait on that. Anyway, here are the previously requested forms." The man told him while giving him several papers. Harry looked down on them confused. The paper wasn't like normal paper, it was thicker and a slightly different color.

"Why is the paper like this?" Harry asked.

"In the magical world, we don't use normal paper. Instead, we use something called parchment and since you will find out later, we also you quills and inkpots." Professor Dumbledore told him. Harry gave him a queer look at that.

"Why? Aren't those much harder to use."

"Indeed, they are. You will find that many things are rather old fashioned and outdated. Many wizards look to hold on to tradition and don't want to use the more modern equivalents." Dumbledore explained to him.

"That… doesn't seem smart."

"Yes, well, wizards like other people are varied, some are quite intelligent and some… well, aren't." Dumbledore tried to explain.

"Hmm." Was the only noise Harry made to show how unimpressed he was by the man's words. In the meantime, he looked over the papers. He couldn't read it very well with the way the letters seemed to be made. He could identify his names in parts and Professor Dumbledore's. he saw some signatures as well at the bottom of the page of people who he didn't recognize.

"I… I don't really understand what this says…" Harry admitted.

"Would you like me to explain?"

"Well… If you wouldn't mind." Harry answered.

"These are the standard papers for a transfer of guardianship. Most of the first page list the responsibilities that I would have as your magical guardian. The next page goes onto any punishments I could incur should I abuse said position or mistreat you as my ward. The rest is basically forms from witnesses to the event. I have my name in several places, of course. I then have a signature from the Minster of Magic at the time, as well as several names of colleagues of mine here. Then, there is the signature from the Department of Child Welfare right here. Is that satisfactory or would you like me to go more in to detail?"

"No, that's alright. Thank you… Well, I guess I can trust you, then." Harry said quietly as he handed back the papers to the man.

"Excellent. I'm truly glad to hear that. Now, maybe we should discuss your future living arrangements." Dumbledore suggested. Harry could feel some tension come upon him at those words. While he was happy, he wasn't going back to the Dursleys, he didn't really want to be shipped off to live with anyone else either.

"I understand that your experience with the Dursleys was… less than pleasant. For that, I wish to truly apologize Harry. I want you to know I left you with your relatives for several reasons, but most important was that I truly believed you would be the safest there. I had someone watching the house to make sure of it and while they reported that you had some incidents of you and your cousin not getting along, they didn't know the true extent of what was happening inside the house. This was a failure on our part for not being more diligent in your protection and safety. Can you ever forgive me for my mistake Harry?" Dumbledore asked him with a bowed head as he got down on one knee to be at eye level with Harry.

Harry frowned at the man's words. In truth, he didn't blame Dumbledore for his part at all. I mean, he wasn't dumb. He knew how other families acted with and treated their family. He knew that he was an outlier rather than the rule, he knew that logically. That being said, it did happen to him and Dumbledore did leave him to his relatives without checking on him, at least, not in person. He apparently had someone watching him. Which was strange since he had never noticed anyone. Perhaps they used magic to hide from him.

Still, Dumbledore hadn't made the Dursleys hurt him and although he hadn't known the man long, he seemed honest and knowledgeable. He couldn't see the man acting deliberately malicious with him. Besides, what would be the point in the first place unless the man had some sort of grudge against him.

"It's… It's okay. I can't blame you for the actions of my relatives. Though, I have to ask. Why didn't you just raise me yourself?" Harry asked.

"A good question, there are several reasons. The first and most important reason is that when your mother passed on, she activated a powerful magic that could be used to protect you. The magic is known as Blood Magic. Because your aunt was directly related to you by blood, I was able to extend the protection around you to around their whole home. Blood magic is extremely powerful, so powerful that even I cannot replicate its full effects and I am quite experienced when it comes to such protections. Blood magic is often hidden in mystery. It is known about but it rarely able to be performed because of how little is known about it's creation and, even further, it is outlawed as dark magic by our government."

"Dark magic?"

"Yes. The term has two meanings, the one I am referring to at this moment means it is illegal. As I was saying, I wished to make use of the Blood Magic protecting you and the best place to do that was with your aunt. Unfortunately, the wards around the house collapsed when you left. I assume you no longer considered the place your home which was a requirement to sustain them." Dumbledore explained to him. Harry processed those words before nodding. He, surprisingly understood what Dumbledore was saying.

"A magic user's blood as the catalyst for magic… I am surprised there is even a way to use that for protection in such a way, I would much more expect it to be used to curse others trying to hurt one and their family." Harry muttered to himself. He knew such a thing was possible in Ciri's world and it was often used for powerful curses.

"How did you come to such a conclusion?" Dumbledore asked. Harry frowned.

"Well… Isn't it logical? Magic is inside everyone and based on the way I can feel it move inside them; I would assume it is in their blood. Magic takes a lot to control in my experience so blood magic must be extremely dangerous since it has magic but it's already outside of you meaning you're basically shaping it outside of your body. That means you're using blood for power and not precise results. It's likely pretty crazy in most cases, right?"

"And you came to this conclusion on your own?" Dumbledore asked him seriously. Harry nodded. Which is technically true. Ciri had only told him the results of blood magic, he had made the theory about it on his own. He assumed it was the same here.

"Hmm, interesting. Very interesting. You also say you can feel the flow of magic around you?"

"Well… yes. It feels like this heat surrounding me and also inside of me. I then shape it and do what I want to make it cast into certain ways. If I try to mix it with the heat on the outside though, it gets pretty dangerous and I can't control it very well."

"How spectacular. I don't think I have ever met a child with such sensitivity too magic at such an early age. I daresay it surpasses even my own now and I have been refining it for years. That in combination with you above average magical reserves… I daresay you will grow up to be quite the powerful wizard Harry. Quite powerful indeed. As far as your theory on blood magic, I would say, based on my own knowledge, that you are right. Blood magic takes extreme precision to control in any meaningful way. It's often used to curse because hate is such a powerful and easy emotion to draw upon. But you're also right in once cast, you don't have much control over it. It's more like a rabid animal that you let off a chain at your enemies. You know the animal is going to attack and try to kill your enemy but you don't actually have control over it." Dumbledore suggested to him. Harry nodded slowly as he thought on the metaphor.

"You said my sensitivity to magic is extremely high? How high?"

"Higher than any other I have met save for perhaps one man. The man grew up to be an extremely powerful wizard as well."

"Oh… How does that effect my education?"

"Well, I imagine you will likely be able to pick up magic at a much faster rate than any of your peers. Even more so when you have the magic demonstrated for you first hand since you will be able to more easily mimic the way the magic acts to create spells… It would seem we have gotten quite off topic. Perhaps we can talk more about this some other time. In the meantime, let's get back to what we were talking about, shall we?"

"Alright."

"Good. Now, as to the second reason I did not raise you myself. It may not look it, but I am actually quite busy myself. I, in essence hold three main positions of influence in our society. I hold a position of Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and Headmaster of the school of Hogwarts. Two of those positions are governmental. One is part of the magical equivalent of the United Nations, the other is a high position in the Magical Britain's government. The final is the leader of the only school in the whole British Isles." Dumbledore told him. Harry could already feel a headache coming just thinking about what the man had just told him.

"How… How could you possibly manage to do all that?" Harry asked. Dumbledore chuckled softly but almost sadly at his words.

"You are one of the few to ever ask me that. In truth, the responsibilities weigh rather heavily on me and leave me with little free time. That being said, I do them because I believe myself, and I don't mean to sound arrogant, am the best person to do them." Dumbledore replied. Harry tilted his head.

"Why would you think that?"

"Well… To put it simply, I am widely regarded as one of the most powerful and wisest wizards currently alive today. Although, I maintain that it isn't true, I have even been compared to Merlin of old." Dumbledore told him with a chuckle. Harry blinked at that.

"You… I… Huh?"

"Rather shocking is it not? Don't let my old looks fool you though, my boy. I was quite the foe in my heyday." Dumbledore told him as he nudged his side as if they were in on some sort of joke. Harry was still shocked at the news. Though it did mean he now had some sort of scale to compare wizards to. If Dumbledore was truly the most powerful then perhaps he wasn't so far behind the average wizard. That was a comforting thought.

"I understand. And… Thank you for telling me. I am happy that you at least had a good reason not to raise me yourself."

"That is kind of you to say but you could still be upset with me Harry. You have every right to be…"

"Do you want me to be upset with you?" Harry asked finally.

"I do not but I do wish to make sure that you are not simply bottling up your emotions to not hurt my feelings. It is okay and would even be expected for you to be angry in such a situation."

"I'm not angry at someone who didn't have any direct part in my pain. You even apologized already. That's already better than most adults that I know." Harry told him meaningfully. Dumbledore smiled at his words.

"That is a very mature outlook to have young Harry. Since we have cleared that up, why don't we talk about where to go from here. You know, I thought quite a bit about where to place you after this whole mess. As you probably guessed, I still can't directly raise you myself. I had several people I thought of who could be trusted to take care of you but… I have a feeling you'd prefer not to be placed with more new strange people. Is that correct?" Dumbledore asked him. Harry nodded very quickly at that. The last thing he wanted was to be shipped off to some new people. Even if he knew there was a low chance of them being like the Dursleys… He just wasn't ready for that.

"I thought not. In close to a year and a half, you will be invited to attend Hogwarts as is custom. Since it is so close, I thought I would be open to allowing you to live on your own, at least partially. That being said, either I or someone I trust will come check on you throughout the week. From what I have seen, you seem to know how to take care of yourself adequately. Your family has a manor that I was hesitant to allow you to live in when you first came under my care. Its protections are strong but it's location was known, meaning an all-out assault could break through it leaving you in danger. That being said, it is known you do not live there so perhaps it could be safe to move you in."

"Really, you mean that? You'll let me stay on my own?"

"There will be rules, of course. First, I will need to comb the house to make sure there is nothing dangerous to you inside of it. There are likely some book topics inside you are not ready for until you are a little older. It is all technically yours though so the books will be returned at a later date, either when I believe you are mature enough to view them safely or when you reach magical maturity and become an adult, whichever happens first."

"Okay, that seems fair."

"Good, next, I will need you to allow me access to the house warding scheme. I will add some onto it for more protection as well as add some people to its access list. Is that acceptable?"

"Well… I would like to meet the people you add before you add them."

"A compromise I can agree with. The last is one I already stated in that at least once a week, someone will come to check on your wellbeing. You will also be brought groceries and anything else you might need." Dumbledore explained.

"Yes! I agree." Harry replied back excitedly. He was going to be able to live in his own home and…

"Wait… Did you say my family owns a manor?"

"Indeed. Potter Manor is one of the oldest family homes left in magical Britain. It is updated every hundred years or so I believe. Your grandfather had it updated around forty years ago or so..." Dumbledore said easily.

"Wait… Is my family rich?"

"Well… Yes. The Potters are one of the richest families in Magical Britain. Your fortune has dwindled a bit since the death of your parents but you're still quite up there." Dumbledore replied.

Harry blinked and then he blinked again. Rich? He was rich? How was that even possible? How could he suddenly just become one of the richest people in Britain overnight?

"…How much money does my family have exactly?"

"Now now Harry… Money can accomplish a lot but you shouldn't let such things go to your head. Despite what some think, money does not make you any better than any of your peers." Dumbledore lectured.

"That's not it… I just… I have literally no money and now you're telling me I am once of the richest people in Britain…"

"Ah, I see. Well, I have not seen your finances recently but I would estimate your family's wealth around fifteen to twenty million galleons. You also have quite the diverse stock portfolio and several properties all over Europe." Dumbledore admitted.

Harry felt his head swim for a moment and he reached out to the table to steady himself. He just heard a huge number.

"You mentioned a galleon…"

"That is the largest magical currency and used as the standard. One galleon is the equivalent of 15 pounds I believe." Dumbledore told him. Harry blinked as he tried to do the math in his head. He knew his multiplication tables already.

"You're saying I have a fortune worth two hundred million pounds at minimum?" Harry asked.

"Indeed. The magical economy is quite a bit smaller than the muggle one so that is quite the number. Your family has muggle investments as well though I am not sure what they are worth at the moment."

"I… okay. I think I am ready now. Let me just… go get my things." Harry said as he went back to the bedroom in a daze. As he put all his stuff into a bag he couldn't stop thinking about the fact that he was apparently extremely rich. He was also apparently about to move into his own mansion.

"All ready?" The professor asked.

"Yes, I think so… What's going to happen to this place?" Harry enquired

"You don't have to worry about that, I have already taken care of it." Dumbledore stated to him. Harry just nodded. He shouldn't be surprised that she had already taken care of it.

"Now, why don't you grab my hand. I won't lie to you, the first time you side-apparate, it'll likely feel very uncomfortable and make you feel nausea. Do you think you will be able to handle that?" Dumbledore questioned. Harry nodded at that. In truth, he was really curious to feel what apparition felt like.

"Alright, now, grab onto my arm if you would." Dumbledore told him as he held down his arm for Harry to grab onto. Harry took it easily enough.

"Prepare yourself young Harry." Dumbledore said. Harry nodded and held his breathe.

The next thing Harry knew he felt like his whole body was being squeezed through an extremely tight hole or a tube or something. He wasn't sure if it hurt or not but it certainly didn't feel good. Just as suddenly as it started though, it was over. Harry immediately collapsed and fell to his knees. He started breathing heavily as his body got reuse to not being squeezed on all sides. He took a moment to get his breathing under control.

"Are you okay?" Dumbledore asked politely. Harry shakily nodded as he got it under control and stood back up. He held his hands on his waist as he tried to maintain himself.

"You will be pleased to know that the first time is always the worst and that the more you do it, the more used to it your body gets." Dumbledore explained.

"Thank God." Was all Harry could say back.

"Well, what do you think, of your new home Harry?" Dumbledore finally asked. Harry blinked and finally realized what was in front of him. His eyes widened as he looked at the beautiful structure before him.

"Welcome young Harry… To Potter Manor."