-8-
It was weird for Harry to readjust to life after returning home, back to Britain after spending so long in Japan. When he arrived back home, he had gone straight to the Dursleys, shadow-walking inside the old house, but unsurprisingly he found they had gone. There was a new family living there. There was not a sign of where the Dursleys had gone, but as he checked Yvonne, Petunia's BFF still lived there, so if he wanted to get revenge on them in the future, he wouldn't have far to go.
And if she didn't know then Marge would definitely know, and Harry knew how to get to her. It would not be hard to persuade her to talk; a few torture curses and a bit of mind raping would give him his answers before he burnt her home down, with her and those fucked up filthy mutts of hers.
But not just yet.
Harry not only had so much to do, chief of which was dealing with the magical world and getting to his mother's properties and sorting them out in the near future, but he had other things to deal with, namely Dumbledore, and arranging to be educated in a different school. Harry did not want to go to Hogwarts, not after everything that had happened.
Not only was he no longer having to translate Japanese into British and readjusting to eating British cuisine, but he also had to cope with the differences in currency, and other things.
Some things like Japanese etiquette like how to cross the road, and how to cope with the Underground stuck to him, but guided by the memories of his mother, Lily, Harry was able to find his own way to the magical world.
Thanks to Lily, Harry was able to visit the goblins of Gringotts. He had timed his meeting with them for late at night on the very day he had returned home after so long abroad, something which had caused him a lot of pressure as he had to deal with the time pressure, and he had to hold himself up through sheer force of will.
But at the same time, he understood the logic; like himself, Lily wanted to be free.
Harry wanted to be freed from any further manipulations. He knew there was a strong, and horrifying possibility that Dumbledore would once more meddle in his life.
The piece of Lily inside him showed him how to keep himself going a little bit more while the goblins met him.
After passing through Gringott's main hall, Harry approached one of the nearby tellers, who barely even looked up from his work. "Yes?" The goblin said in a clearly bored voice that couldn't have said more plainly he truly didn't care what Harry wanted.
Taking advantage of the fact he was the only wizard here, Harry said slowly and plainly. "I'd like to see Bloodbringer, the Potter family account manager at once, please."
The goblin looked up in surprise. "Do you have your key?"
"No, and I've never had any notice or statement from Gringotts since my parents were murdered," Harry said plainly.
From his mother's memories and knowledge, the goblins were extremely touchy about things like that, and they were suspicious by nature. Anything that they considered or deemed insulting, or a threat, was immediately and harshly punished. Nobody in their right mind would ever get on the wrong side of them, something other wizards refused to see.
"Never?" The goblin's manner tightened. "But Mr Potter, Gringotts always sends regular and clear statements on a monthly basis-."
"I never got them," Harry knew it was dangerous to interrupt. "I recently spent the last few years in Japan, where I was abandoned by my mother's muggle family. I never saw any sign of the magical world, never mind a bank statement. In any case, the Dursleys would probably have tried to steal it."
The goblin snarled, but Harry soon realised it was a snarl full of contempt. "Muggles could never hope to dupe a goblin, nor could they hope to rob us. We would have beheaded them or sent them to work in the goblin pens, where they would spend the rest of their lives cleaning out the shit." The goblin's expression changed, and Harry couldn't help but ask himself if it was meant to be a softer cast, it didn't seem like it.
"Mr Potter, I shall have you sent to your account manager, however there will be a check into your identity," the goblin said, but if he was expecting the young wizard in front of him to be offended, he was in for a long wait; at this point, he would endure anything if it got him his freedom back.
The goblin wrote a brisk note, summoned another, and after conversing harshly with the other goblin in his guttural language, the other goblin led Harry through the corridors of Gringotts until they reached an office door.
Lily's memories reminded Harry of the times his parents had come here, and he was relieved to hear the old goblin's voice call out "Enter."
Briskly, Harry walked inside the office with his goblin escort. The office, too, hadn't changed from what Lily had seen; a dark underground room with the furnishings suited for humans - wizards and witches - filing cabinets, and the like. Aside from the rows of extremely and viciously sharp-looking goblin-made weapons, the place was not too dissimilar to an office in the muggle world.
Out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed that the second goblin handed Bloodbringer the letter from the other goblin from the hall, and was reading it.
After finishing reading the letter, Bloodbringer looked up. "Mr Potter, if that is indeed who you are, would you please put your thumb on this plate?" The goblin held up a thick plate of dark material.
Harry, of course, knew once he put his thumb on it, it would cut a small hole in his skin and remove a drop of blood, confirming his identity. Wordlessly, he pressed his thumb against the plate, feeling a stinging sensation in his thumb as he did, but he removed it with satisfaction, knowing this necessary step would soon be over and done with quickly.
The goblin looked at the results closely and lifted his gaze. "I apologise for the precautions, Mr Potter, however since you do not have your key, and you mentioned you did not receive any of your statements, we had to verify your identity."
"That's perfectly fine, I would have done exactly the same thing in your place," Harry replied, partly truthfully and partly buttering up the goblin.
"Now we've proven your identity, could you please explain yourself?"
Harry spent the next two hours explaining everything; how the Dursleys abandoned him in Japan, how he had lived, how he'd survived so long while he'd come up with plans to return home at some point although he'd done a half-arsed job of it since a part of him actually enjoyed the freedom before his mother's spells revealed the magical world's existence, and he learnt how to get back before he'd come here.
Harry explained what he wanted to do with the goblins tonight; he wanted to cut off his placement at Hogwarts and he wanted to transfer it to a different magical school after he'd had the time to look through the prospectuses and any reports about what the schools were like before he moved to the country.
He had it in his head.
He didn't want to go to Hogwarts. He had been hit by the idea when it just sparked off, now he'd given the matter some thought, he knew it was what he wanted to happen. But first, he wanted to be examined, he wanted to hand over any memories of his life to make sure everyone knew he could look after himself.
But with his mother's help and her insight, Harry was positive someone had magical guardianship over him, and if that was true he wanted out. And he was positive any other magical government would be more proactive rather than lazy about it.
Bloodbringer listened calmly, only interrupting a few times. Finally, when Harry had finished, the goblin nodded.
"I can see the logic behind your requests, and we can grant them. I shall arrange for you to receive the prospectuses and reports. You should know that occasionally the Ministry of Magic and Albus Dumbledore come here, to check on your accounts, and in some cases to remove them from you for their own ends," he said.
"Why?"
"It appears after your disappearance, Dumbledore became agitated. He had to resort to coming to us for answers, and to see if you were alive," Bloodbringer scowled, his lips curling and showing his teeth. "Dumbledore spent years telling us about how he knew you were healthy, only to come forward with that lie because of his desperation."
Harry didn't care what Dumbledore was doing, but he was annoyed by the implication the old wizard had spells on him, he wondered why they had broken. In the end, he decided it didn't make any difference. "I'd like to be examined of any leftover spells, curses, and enchantments," Harry said, and then he remembered something. "Voldemort's attack. I want to know what it did to me."
"Yes, that can be arranged," Bloodbringer agreed.
-8-
Harry was forced to spend a week at Gringotts as the goblins worked to heal him. The good news was the time he had spent in Tokyo had allowed him to experiment with different foods, so he was much healthier than before, especially after all the sushi he had gained a taste for, and the fruits he had sampled over time.
The training he'd had when he was kidnapped that time had also helped.
Harry had always been fast thanks to the training he had forced himself to go through to cope with the 'Harry Hunting' games, but because of where he had lived, Harry had pushed himself to be really fit.
But that didn't mean he was a hundred percent okay, as the goblins proved. They had discovered there was a small piece of Lord Voldemort's magic stuck and attached to his own, and that it was a piece of his soul. The goblins wasted no time, they removed the soul fragment from his scar, and they drained the magic out of it. He had received a bit of a growth spurt, which made it hard for his centre of balance, but he'd recovered.
In the meantime, after sorting out any of his health issues, Harry was given free reign of Bloodbringer's office, as long as he didn't disturb the goblins, and he began reading up on the different magical schools.
He didn't want to go for Durmstrang or Koldovstoretz; both were in cold climates, and Harry did not like reading about their reputations.
Beauxbatons was a possibility, as they were higher on the international level, but Harry didn't like how close it was to Britain. Mahoutokoro was an idea, and Harry came close to going for it since the school was Japanese, recruitment started at the age of 7, which meant he had enough time to go there and catch up quickly and be ready for his time at the school until he left, but the only reason he decided not to go there was because of their strictness towards dark magic.
Uagadou in Africa was a definite possibility.
The moment he read up about it, Harry came to love it, although it was one of three he had liked the sound of, and liked the look of even more. It was just a matter of time before he made his decision.
According to the prospectus, magic for wizards appeared in Africa, so wizards and sorcerers in that continent had mastered many forms of magic, and they were largely taught at Uagadou, and they also taught wandless magic.
The other two possibilities were Castelobruxo in Brazil, nestled in the Amazon rainforest, and Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in America. Both schools were on the other side of the school, both were top schools worldwide. Ilvermorny was a possibility, as the Potters had a branch of the family living in America.
But he was torn between one of them or Uagadou. The idea of spending 7-8 years learning something like alchemy, wandless magic, appealed to him, and with Voldemort gone, he could go and do anything he wanted. And after everything that had been discovered about Dumbledore, who hadn't just dumped him on an abusive family, he had actively been making plans to steal from him.
The old wizard had set up an illegal marriage contract between Harry and a girl called Ginny Weasley; Lily had memories of the Weasleys, and picturing the obnoxious Molly Weasley and the cowardly Arthur Weasley who let his wife get away with every single one of her loud tantrums made it easy for him to believe especially after Harry was told of how they had trafficked refugees 200 years before from France, wizards and witches from families persecuted in France and unwilling to trust the muggles.
The Potters had led the charge in helping them, and given how they had been one of the largest families involved in real estate, they had made a small fortune in selling homes, but the Weasleys had demanded family spells and they had tricked many a family into marriage and then committed acts of line theft by killing the family, so they owned the spells.
They were found out and put on trial, but they never apologised. In fact, the more brutal members of the family spouted their greed off and claimed it was their right. After that, they lost everything and were labelled as Blood Traitors. The Weasleys had barely recovered. Some of them had left the country to find their fortunes and spouses abroad, but since many of the families in Britain remembered what they'd done, few would have anything to do with the Weasleys.
That was one of the reasons why a family called the Malfoys despised the Weasleys, they were one of the families the Weasleys tried to rob, but they hadn't gotten away with it.
What Harry could not understand was how they expected to get away with it, but now they wouldn't. On top of that, Harry now remembered all the time he had nearly escaped the Dursleys, only to fail. Some people whom he recognised, again, thanks to Lily, as being members of Dumbledore's Order, one of them being Remus Lupin, a known werewolf and once a friend of the Potters which made it more painful, had wiped his memories and dropped him back to be abused.
Harry truly did not know what was going to happen to the Weasleys, the Order, and Dumbledore, but he truly hoped that whatever happened to them, they paid for it.
But what he truly did not like the idea of was how Dumbledore had put so many spells on him to keep track of him, yet they'd broken because he had gone to Japan, and he had spells to monitor his mail. The invasion of privacy had shaken Harry, and he'd had the goblins remove it. The residual spells on him had been removed instantly, but what he couldn't grasp was why Dumbledore had come to Gringotts if his spells had told him he was still alive.
What annoyed him the most was how Dumbledore kept him from his American family, which was one of the reasons he found Ilvermorny a close contender, but he didn't like some of the rules behind the MACUSA. Another thing he didn't like was how dependent he could be on a wand, so Uagadou had a lot of appeal.
-8-
One of the benefits of having Lily Potter's memories in his mind was that he knew of some of the properties she owned thanks to her muggle father. Moving into one and getting it sorted out was easy enough, and he soon moved in. The townhouse was in a really nice part of London, and it wasn't long before he developed a routine.
After a couple of weeks, Harry began making a choice. He would be going to Uagadou, and he went to Bloodbringer while the magical world was hit by the scandals of the Weasleys once more attempting line theft, especially against an orphan, and how Albus Dumbledore was involved right up to his neck, and many of his Order had attacked a minor.
The DMLE had taken his memories and he had also given them to a few magical media outlets so then the more corrupt members of the magical world would not interfere, and the guilty could not escape justice.
Already three of the Order were lynched, the Weasleys attending Hogwarts were expelled, Bill Weasley had been kicked out of Gringotts, and Arthur Weasley had already been arrested. Dumbledore was currently on trial, but he was not going to get off. His phoenix-familiar bond had already been broken.
"Good morning, Mr Potter," the goblin greeted him.
"Good morning, Bloodbringer. I've made my choice. I would like to do my schooling in Uagadou," Harry said.
"Certainly, we can arrange that. Why Uagadou?"
"I put a lot of thought into my choice," Harry said. "I have experience with wandless magic, and I don't like the dependency of using a wand; if its snatched, I'm doomed. Also, they are high on the ranking and many of their subjects look fascinating."
Bloodbringer snorted at his melodrama but approved of his choice. "I approve, Mr Potter. Have you given any thoughts about your American family?"
"Yes, I would like to meet them, maybe even live with them, although I want it made clear I would be attending Uagadou and not Ilvermorny."
"I think they will accept that," Bloodbringer replied, privately speculating they would be proud of him regardless.
-8-
When Harry met his family in the MACUSA, they were upset he wouldn't be going to Ilvermorny, but they respected his choice and decisions. Regardless they quickly formed a strong bond, and Harry was asked to see a mind healer from time to time to help him get over the abuse he had taken from the Dursleys.
In the meantime, he heard from Bloodbringer what was happening in Britain. The Weasleys had been decimated with Arthur and Molly thrown in prison. Dumbledore had been given the Dementor kiss because of his many crimes. It was discovered the man had not only committed line theft, he had also helped Grindelwald, the dark wizard before Voldemort.
At first, they had planned to make the world think that Grindelwald was a monster while Dumbledore was nothing like him, but it would come out that Grindelwald was supposedly under someone else's control - the idea was so contrived, insane, that it made no sense, and over time both men had seen flaws in it and liked their positions they had fallen out, and Dumbledore had betrayed Grindelwald. In secret, Dumbledore was responsible for hundreds of deaths, so his fate was welcomed.
Remus Lupin was executed as well, and all of the Death Eaters were dead, including Peter Pettigrew, the true betrayer of the Potters. With his death, Sirius Black was discovered innocent, but Harry wasn't sure he wanted anything to do with him.
In the meantime, he was going to look forward to Uagadou. He never once looked back on the chaos he was causing to Britain.
-8-
Author's Note - I started this series a long time ago, but I stopped because I lost sight of what I wanted to do with it. And since I'm soon going to stop writing Harry Potter fanfiction, I felt it was fitting to end it.