Review:
AlphaFlash1: Sorry, not in this fic.
Musical Dragon Rider: Glad you're enjoying yourself.
WingedNunchucks: Thanks, hope you continue to enjoy.
TimeTraveller-1900: Yes, she is.
Axquiila2: It's randomly I'm afraid since real-life stuff pops up and I can't really promise a schedule, especially when you add in things like writer's block and burnout. I plan to upload a chapter for bonded next but I can't really make any promises. Thanks for reading.
Alexiisn14: I say with full honesty that I came across a video of Roman Reigns while trying to decide on the name for this fic.
Chapter 2 -
"What's that racket?" Dan yawned as he forced himself up and off his bed, he stood slowly and stretched out his shoulders, these rickety old beds were not comfortable at all, despite what his aunt and uncle claimed. He saw Iris waking, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, though she hadn't made any effort to leave her bed.
"You heard that too?" She sighed. He was about to open his mouth when the door to the room opened and in walked Harry with orange juice in one hand, a glass in his other hand and a couple of glasses following after him in the air.
"Thirsty?" Harry offered before the two glasses floated in front of him, he poured some juice into each one before they levitated towards Dan and Iris, both of whom dumbly took the glasses.
"Magic is so cool," Dan said with a shake of his head before taking a sip.
"I know," Harry smirked before stepping into the room, the door closing automatically behind him. "Don't worry, when you get to Hogwarts you can practise magic as much as you like."
"Really?" Iris asked excitedly.
"Yeah, well there are certain areas where you're not allowed to do it, but for the most part you can," Harry shrugged before walking over and sitting next to Iris who automatically leaned against him whilst drinking her juice. "Anyway, any bits of magic happen while I was gone? Between all three of the Dursleys, I reckon there were plenty of opportunities for accidental bits of magic."
"Well, Iris blew up a window and one time she turned Aunt Petunia's hair orange, not to mention the vase she broke," Dan revealed, earning a bark of laughter from Harry while Iris glared at her twin.
"Yeah, well Danny blew up a toilet!" Iris said quickly, causing Harry to stop laughing and stare at Dan for a long moment.
"What?" Harry chuckled.
"I did not blow up a toilet!" Dan said hotly. "I just made the water in the toilet shoot up! It's hardly my fault that the pipe got damaged at the same time!"
"Why did you blow up a toilet?" Harry asked with no small amount of amusement.
"Dudley interrupted him when he was brushing his teeth," Iris answered on Dan's behalf. "Shoved him out of the bathroom before he could finish, Dan was walking around angrily outside of the bathroom for a minute before we heard Dudley scream. We opened the door and he was soaking wet!" She and Harry both burst with laughter and even Dan started smiling.
"Okay, it was pretty funny," Dan admitted. "I was just angry because I hadn't finished brushing my teeth, and I had toothpaste in my mouth."
"I can imagine," Harry nodded understandingly. He knew that Danny was a bit of a germaphobe which led him to want to wash his hands instantly after touching anything that could be even considered slightly dirty, not to mention he had an odd case of OCD. He knew that Dan couldn't give two shits if his wardrobe was unorganised, but he wouldn't be so understanding if someone reorganised his books. "So, what happened then?"
"Dudley started screaming," Iris chortled. "It was hilarious, 'Mummy! Mummy! He splashed me with poo water!'."
"Poo water," Dan repeated as if testing the words.
"You two would fit right in at Hogwarts," Harry snorted, shaking his head.
"Oh wait, there was that time we pranked Uncle Vernon," Iris said quickly. "He ended up going to work in Aunt Petunia's underwear."
"Tell me all about it," Harry said instantly.
As Iris and Dan told him about their rather elaborate prank, Harry couldn't help but look around the room. The room consisted of two beds and one desk by the window along with a wardrobe, all shared by the three siblings when Harry was at home, otherwise it was just shared between the twins. Typically Harry would take turns sharing a bed with either of them, yesterday he had shared with Iris, not that she seemed to mind. There used to be a scattering of Dudley's old stuff, mostly toys. Harry had taken them to Hogwarts in his third year and discreetly sold the ones in working tradition to muggle-borns while sending the rest of the stuff to local charities. Dudley and his parents had not been pleased when they found out about that.
Still, the room was better than the cupboard, Harry could remember spending a few years in there when he first arrived, he had to share the cupboard under the stairs with his two siblings for about three years or so before the Dursley family had 'graciously decided' to allow them to live in Dudley's spare bedroom which the young Dursley had only really used for a storage room for toys that he had played with maybe twice. Though, truth be told the Dursleys had not gone near the cupboard in years thanks to a bit of accidental magic from Harry which resulted in the inside of the cupboard doubling in space.
Harry was not entirely sure why they avoided the cupboard, perhaps the stupid idiots thought that magic was contagious or something. To be fair to them, some of the dumber purebloods from school also suspected that muggles were taking magic from them. Still, what they didn't know was that the cupboard had returned to normal years ago. Harry often considered telling them about it, but ultimately decided he wouldn't, mostly for his own amusement.
"I'm hungry," Iris yawned after telling her rather funny story. "Time for breakfast then," She said, standing up before pulling Harry up to his feet. Harry stood up with no protest and soon followed the twins downstairs. Once they reached the kitchen, they saw Aunt Petunia standing by the sink while Dudley sat down at the table, staring at the second TV that Vernon had brought and put in the kitchen so that Dudley could watch while he ate. Vernon was not here, meaning he was probably at work, either that or fixing his car at a garage.
"Oi," Dudley said upon seeing Iris and Danny. "Hurry up and make breakfast! I'm starving!" He ordered.
"Oi brat! Who the hell do you think you're talking to?!" Harry growled, causing Dudley to squeak and nearly fall out of his chair. "Have you been talking to these two like that when I was gone?" Dudley opened his mouth to deny the accusation when Dan and Iris cut in.
"Yes,"
"Yep,"
"I see," Harry stared hardly at his fat cousin. "Apparently I've been too nice to you, perhaps some tough love will get through that thick skull of yours."
"You will stay away from my son!" Petunia shrieked, lifting up a frying pan.
"And just what the fuck do you think you're going to do with that?" Harry asked, almost amused by her actions. She let out a scream before stepping forward with her pan high in the air, intending to slam it right across Harry's head, though she stopped right in her tracks when Harry pulled out his wand and aimed it right at her. Aunt Petunia stared right down at it with a frightened expression on her face as all the occupants took a good look at it.
A raven-black handle lay in Harry's hands, the handle had a curved shape, allowing it to fit easier into Harry's hand. The end of the handle was shaped like the head of a horned dragon, and sprouting from its mouth was a long, smooth, pointed wand of the same colour. "Give me a reason, I beg you," He said with a grin.
"You...you said you weren't..." His aunt gulped, lowering the pan and stepping back.
"There are self-defence laws, you know," Harry let out a long, suffering sigh. "It's a shame that you didn't have the guts to swing that pan. I would have enjoyed being allowed to blast a hole through your neck and getting away with it in court. Ah well, maybe another time then, eh?" He said optimistically, causing his aunt to turn rather pale.
"I can't wait to get my own wand," Iris said, her eyes gleaming. Petunia snapped out of her shock and glared at Iris.
"You will not be getting one of those things! Either of you!"
"Don't worry," Harry told Iris, ignoring his aunt as he and his siblings headed over to the table and sat down while Dudley stared dumbly at the three of them. "This is the year that you two get yours." He told them before snatching the TV remote out of Dudley's hands and turning it off since it was on far too loud for what was probably healthy.
"Hope it's as cool as yours," Dan grinned as Harry casually tossed the remote away. "I've always wondered, what's it made of? I mean, I know it's made of wood, but what is it? Pine? Oak?"
"Don't ever ask that question," Harry told him seriously. "It's alright to ask me, but don't ever ask anyone when you get to the wizarding world."
"Neither of these two is going to be part of your little freak world!" Petunia tried to cut in but was ultimately ignored by the three.
"Why not?" Dan frowned.
"Traditionally, usually only doctors or wandmakers and sometimes teachers ask about wands as it can be part of their jobs. Aurors as well, I suppose."
"The magical police?" Iris asked.
"Yep," Harry confirmed. "In high-up society, asking about a wand can imply that you wish to duel and are interested in taking your opponent's wand from them. Trust me, don't ask, I learnt that the hard way in my first year and ended up duelling a second year." He told them before he placed the wand on the table, allowing the others to get a good look at it. The tip of the wand was a very sharp point that looked like it would easily be able to stab a person, the curved handle was carved not just so it had a dragon's head at the wand base, but also so that it had a dragon's body, everything from its wings to tail were carved into it. "It's made of a combination of woods, 'Aspen' for the wand itself with 'Blackthorn' for the handle. The guy who gave it to me, Mr Ollivander, told me that the wood has been hardened by dragon fire, to make it extremely strong."
"Really?" Dan asked, sounding more than a little bit intrigued.
"Oh yeah, making wands is a really complicated process, but from what I understand, there are tons of ways to make them, depends on the wand maker. The core is a dragon heartstring, specifically a 'Hebridean Black'. A really big dragon with horns, it's what the handle is designed after."
"Wicked," Iris whispered, staring at it.
"What does it matter what the core is?" Dan asked, staring up at Harry. "Does it change how the wand works?"
"I'm not really an expert on wand-making," Harry said apologetically. "You can ask Ollivander, but I reckon it's just like how you have different engines in different cars, you know. They all do the job, but some are better suited for specific cars or in this case people. The three main cores that are used are 'unicorn hair', 'dragon heartstring' and 'phoenix feathers'. If I remember right, the unicorn cores make the most consistent magic, dragons have the most power and phoenix ones have a greater range of magic or something. I don't know, you can ask Ollivander when we get your wand."
"I said that these two are not joining that freak school of yours!" Petunia screamed. "One of you is bad enough! I will not have my home be an orphanage for a collection of freaks."
"We'll need to get your other things as well, like your brooms and such," Harry told the twins, once more ignoring Petunia.
"I can't wait to fly," Iris grinned, picking up easily on what Harry was doing.
"What will they be teaching us this year?" Dan questioned him.
"You'll be learning the basics of all of your subjects, then you'll slowly learn more and more advanced magic as the years go by."
"Like what?" Dan asked, hanging off of his every word.
"Well, for example, I've been studying ahead and I'm working on human transfiguration, the study of changing the human body," Harry explained. "For example, I can and will turn Dudley into at least half of a pig if Aunt Petunia doesn't stop trying to sneak up on me with that frying pan." He said so calmly and casually that the twins had to take a moment to digest what he said, once they had their heads snapped towards the direction of their aunt who was less than a meter away with a frying pan raised in the air. She dropped the pan as if it had burnt her and quickly stepped back.
"How...how did..." She stuttered as she stared at the back of his head.
"I can see your reflection in the TV," Harry said honestly, pointing to the small TV that the Dursleys had fitted. Dan snorted and Irius burst into giggles. "Anyway," Harry said to the twins. "We'll just wait till you two get your letters and then we'll be off to get your stuff."
"Can't we go early?" Dan frowned.
"No point," Harry shook his head. "The school year just finished, and a lot of shops are still stocking some of the stuff we need. Besides, I need to finish up my homework and take care of a few things before we go."
"When we go, can I get a unicorn wand?" Iris asked hopefully.
"I don't know because apparently that's not up to us," Harry told her. "The wand chooses the wizard according to Mr Ollivander."
"Oh...then...can we get a unicorn?" She asked, sounding even more hopeful than before.
"No," He told her bluntly, causing her to pout. "But if you be good then I can get you to meet one,"
"Yes!" Iris cheered. Harry smiled at her and opened his mouth to speak when he heard his aunt move from behind him, she shoved his shoulder with her arm and quickly grabbed his wand. Harry was not quite sure what the crazy woman had been planning, perhaps to break it, but it hardly mattered as she had found herself shot up high into the air the second that she had touched it. She had bounced off the ceiling and fell back down to the floor.
"So kids," Harry said calmly as if his wand had not just blasted his aunt into a hospital-worthy state. "Little lesson about wands, they typically don't like to be messed around with by someone beyond their owner. Some woods and cores are more fussy about it than others. For example, the Blackthorn wood in my wand can help create a very loyal wand." He told them, choosing not to mention that the 'blood-binding' ritual he had used had probably helped with matters. They were a little too young in his opinion to start thinking about rituals.
"Screw the lot of them," Harry whispered to himself as he lay on top of the Dursley roof, hands behind his head and one knee over the over, enjoying the feel of the wind and sun on his skin.
After his aunt had been injured, Harry had contacted the necessary magical authorities and explained what happened. A minute later a couple of wizards had arrived at the Dursley house, mumbling about 'stupid muggles'. Harry did agree that these particular muggles were stupid, but was too annoyed by his aunt to defend the rest of the muggle race and had allowed the two men to do their jobs. A healing spell and a couple of obliviation spells later, his aunt and cousin were okay and had no idea what had happened.
The twins were in their room, they were playing a board game when Harry had left them. He decided he'd check on them soon, but for now, he would like a moment or two of quiet. It was not the first time he had climbed onto the Dursley rooftop, he liked being out of the house whenever possible.
"I see you've had an eventful morning," A voice said from his right.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, masterfully hiding his irritation at his peace being interrupted, especially by his headmaster of all people. Sitting right at the top of the roof, was Albus Dumbledore, looking exactly like he did the night Harry and the twins had been left here, except for maybe a wrinkle or two extra, though thankfully this time his robes were a rather plain blue instead of his usual flamboyant colours.
"I was visiting some old friends at the ministry when I heard of some trouble here, I thought I would come and see you, my boy," He said kindly, one hand running through his long beard.
"I'm sure," Harry snorted. "You've been monitoring us, haven't you?"
"Why would I do that?" Dumbledore asked, sounding completely confused.
"Yes, why would you?" Harry wondered, staring up at the sky. "We're fine here, Dumbledore, you don't need to be here."
"Are you sure?" Dumbledore asked. "It's hardly a bother to me to help the children of James and Lily,"
"You've helped more than enough," Harry said, straining to keep his voice calm. A part of him wanted to scream and rage at the headmaster, to tackle him off the roof and toss him down to the ground. He kept that part bolted and locked up tight, Slytherin was the house of cunning and he knew that following through on his desires would lead to nothing beyond short-term satisfaction. He could and would wait.
"My dear boy," Dumbledore said, sounding mildly disappointed with Harry. "You cannot still be harbouring a grudge against me for placing you here. It was for the best,"
"I'm sure," Harry scoffed.
"Harry, several different wizards and witches have tried to attack this very house ever since you were placed here," Dumbledore told him in a patient voice. "Not long after your father's death, many other witches and wizards had lost their lives at the hands of remaining death eaters. Putting you here has been what has kept you alive, what has kept your siblings alive."
"And perhaps that's true, but it doesn't change the fact there were other options. McGonagall had offered to take us in," He reminded him. "Between you and her we could have been safe."
"Minerva also spends most of the year at school, as do I, it was not possible for either of us to raise children while not being there for the majority of the year. Not unless we could take you to live in school, which was unfortunately not an option." Dumbledore said apologetically.
"Even if I believe that there were no other options, you still left us here with these horrible pieces of flesh, masquerading as humans," Harry growled.
"Harry, they are your family," Dumbledore replied calmly.
"Family, family," Harry repeated mockingly. "Change the record every now and then please, it's getting boring."
"I'm quite sure that you hear nothing but the ramblings of an old man," Dumbledore chuckled. "But I assure you, Harry, that love is a power all on its own. One that many, including yourself, underestimate."
"Don't you dare talk to me about love, I've loved deeper than you ever have, old man," Harry said coldly. "When my parents were attacked, I was the one that stepped up and cared for my family. When the time came I forgot myself in order to focus on them, because I loved them. Clearly, more than you loved your sister,"
"What?" Dumbledore asked sharply, for the first time looking taken by surprise. "What did you say?"
"Your brother, Aberforth, he is so much more interesting to talk to than you," Harry smirked, staring up at the sky with a thoughtful look on his face. "Probably because unlike you, he doesn't live up high in a castle with the whole magical world worshipping his ass. No, your brother lives down here with us mere mortals, and he hates you. Like really hates you. You want to preach about love to me, Dumbledore? When it was time to show that love to your own family, you shirked your duties so that you could spend time with your boy-toy, Grindelwald. I - at the mere age of five - proved my love when you couldn't, you didn't love your own family more than you liked the idea of being arm-in-arm with that madman. You abandoned your own sister, and left your poor brother to look after her? You talk about love, for all we know it was you who snuffed her out." Harry looked back in Dumbledore's direction, wanting to see what reaction the old man had. Would he maintain that calm look of his? Would he be angry? Would he attempt to give Harry a disappointed look? Unfortunately for Harry, he didn't know as the old man was no longer there. "Well," Harry chuckled. "We'll consider that nerve touched."