This story is based off the Harry Potter work which I do not and will not ever own the rights to, but may own a few of the books.
WARNING TO ANY AND ALL READERS, THIS CHAPTER DEALS WITH A SCENE WHERE Harry ALMOST DIES BY VERNON BEATING HIM, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!! That being said Harry Potter lives, he doesn't remember the beating, in fact he doesn't even remember the first few years of his life because it was so bad, the memories nothing but fragmented nightmares when they do come. Vernon isn't all that cruel, it was just the way he was raised, a squib for a father who hated all magic and a mom who drank and hit him. Petunia was not only jealous of her sister having magical power, but knew there was a high chance of her children having magic, her turmoil caused her to lash out with her words mostly. When the boy who lived moved in with his family the wounds they had just suffered caused them to lash out in anger when they should have given Harry love. Or lash out in ignorance following the example of the older people in their lives, not knowing not all the magic mishaps were of Harry's causing, not until after he was already gone the day following his 6th birthday. Now are any of you all still with me? You are, good, stick around, this is the story of a damaged but healing boy, who learns to forgive the mistakes of others, at least for those who regret them. He isn't going to be all sunshine and rainbows though, this story Harry Potter, his friends, and their loved ones will have teeth to fight back, damn what the ministry says. Yes that means to kill those who have no regret for their cruel, evil, and selfish ways, but also to heal those who are suffering, and protect those that need it!
A "sword" for the enemy, a "shield" for the weak, a "salve" for the harmed, and a "guide" for the lost. This story will also include components of pagan rituals/circles, I have done no study in these, they will be used in potions and other types of magic casting including a type of blood magic, nothing dark, just something to tie family more closely together. This includes the traits that would pass through a bloodline, in Harry's case the guaranteed ability is Parsletongue, other potential abilities are based on ancient blood ties. This means even the most muggle of muggles could get a bloodline ability because they join in the ritual done, all tied to dormant ancient magic bloodlines completely unrelated to the Slytherin line, Potter line, or Evan's line. Yes this is another Harry Potter is a Slytherin descendant story, but that's not the only house he has ties to, and not only him in his first ritual he performed in isolation, but the ones who were drawn to copy it inexplicably the same day around the country, seven others, four girls and three boys. Eight descendants of the four noble houses of Hogwarts will end up at the school together, with ties to at least one house each but three with ties to two. Glued to your seats yet? Perfect, now after this chapter there will be dark moments or dramatic ones, but nothing nearly as bad as this, not even by half, mostly because of the pure hands on vs magical power disconnect between the ways of the injury or attack. Just because others hurt you doesn't mean you need to hurt them back, but don't just take it either sometimes not fighting back is worse, but they do say to, "forgive and forget."
CHAPTER 1: A Night to Forget, A View Changed, A Vow Made!
No matter how the wound was infected all take time to heal, be they of the mind, the body, or the soul, if they ever even heal at all. Regret and grief can cause one to make terrible mistakes, but then again they can also lead one to a place of reflection. Love can turn to rage in a moments sorrow, that same sorrow itself and love can cause a wave of compassion, it all depends upon the moment. Joy can turn to horror faster than light, when a dose of loss is added to the equation, or to hope just as quickly. Fear can give way to bravery, with the right conditions being met, but in the same breath can also become despair. Pleasure can give way to pain, be it physical, mental, or spiritual, with just a hand, or to relief. Regret, grief, mistakes, reflection, love, rage, sorrow, compassion, joy, horror, loss, hope, fear, bravery, despair, pleasure, pain, and relief life without all and more than these would be, "but a pale imitation."
Dumbledore sat in his office stroking his beard as he looked over the summer paperwork, muttering softly to himself, a second later a baby's smiling face one with black hair and green eyes flashes through his mind's eye. Chuckling to himself he says, "hmmm well it has been just about five years or so now since I left him with his aunt and uncle, maybe after the paperwork is done it's time to go check on him, his family must be celebrating his birthday today. Or was that yesterday, hmmmm..." ,trailing off in thought he keeps looking over the paperwork on his desk before mumbling, "bah no bother, I'm sure they are treating him very well." Not knowing just how wrong he was, so very wrong it would shake him to his very core, eyes still twinkling as he finished up the paperwork a hour and a half later he sets it down. Standing up from the desk he holds out an arm and whistles, Fawkes flies over from his perch and croons softly is his musical voice, just before Dumbledore says, "please take me to Harry Potter." With a piercing but musical screeching there is a flash of heat and flame before both are gone from the office, a second later many kilometers away a flash of heat and flame appears in front of NO. 4 Privit Drive. There's a seconds silence before a muffled scream, and sobbing can be heard coming from behind the door, then the crack of something hard hitting something far softer, accompanied by a no longer muffled scream. The fear, heartbreak, and confusion clear in the young boy's piercing screams, his voice slurring as he try's to beg for mercy. "PLEASE UNCLE VERNON, I'M S-SORRY FOR WHATEVER I DID, MY LEGS FEEL SO HEAVY AND COLD, I'M SO SORRY!!!!!!!"
There is another crack and a growl as a man's voice answered the young boy's, "you didn't make it move, it didn't move, say it boy! Now before I get really ANGRY!" ,with the last word a wet crack can be heard and then a gasp as Vernon says, "w-what?!?!" ,the shock clear in his voice. Then he started to scream himself, the first sight Dumbledore had of the living room as he apparated in was of a crying screaming Vernon that was holding the broken and battered frame of Harry's barely still living body to his chest. Spotting the elderly man who appeared from nowhere he begs, "h-help him please, I didn't mean to go this far" ,even before he is done saying help Fawkes is on Harry crying into the wounds. Dumbledore stares at the young boy as wounds that may never fully heal stitch under his skin, bones that broke being mended by the tears. He had made a terrible mistake bringing Harry here, the young boys body was broken, he had almost died, no, that's not quite true he did die, Fawkes just got to him while his dying heartbeats happened. Which in itself saved the boys life as the healing magic nature of the tears kept the boy alive, gently taking the boy he says, "I should have believed her. You have no say in this, he will be coming with me, and won't be coming back here ever again, do not attempt to contact him."
Without hesitation the other man nods, there's a crack as the wizard apparates back to the school making sure to keep Fawkes on Harry's chest as they arrived in the medical wing. Madam Pompfry who was working over a cauldron jumped in surprise, next she saw what he was holding, then just who it was, a split second before noticing the state the boy was in. Letting out a shocked, "h-how?!?!" ,Dumbledore however says, "there's no time Poppy, we need to get to work now if we want to save him!" With no chant he sends out an alarm which will summon all the teachers who can help in this situation, all while starting to use potions along with Madam Pompfry a minute or two later the others arrive. Noticing the situation each of them got to work, doing their best to save his life, not knowing even with how battered his body was now it was better off. Without meaning to Vernon in his anger and frustration had yes killed Harry, but at the same time Fawkes kept his soul tethered to his body, a untethered portion of soul drifting off.
In the small hours of the night a black whisp floated away from the working group, no real intelligence inside it to guide its actions, as it dissolved into nothing. A little over a hour later they finish working on the boy and Snape says, "I thought you told me he would be safe with them, James may have been my rival later on and bully in school but their son didn't deserve this. NO ONE DOES!!!" ,Albus looks at the potions master and then nods, before saying, "I could see the love they had in their heart for him from the day they met. To see it twisted so because his parents had died, I almost couldn't believe it, his own uncle did this to him, not a stranger but his family. The pain they felt after looking at him was unbearable sometimes, I could tell that from just a glance, which in itself is sad."
They kept working on the boy even as they talked now but with his life no longer in danger they were able to discuss a plan for the young boy in the bed before them. Just before the sun rose they had one in mind, the boy would live in the castle, they would all take turns watching him, he in essence would be a pre-enrolled student. They all went off to sleep as the healing was finished, none waking up till noon hours later, Madam Pompfry was the first to do so in her office bedroom. Rising from the mattress she changed into her robes for the day before heading out, walking over to the boys bed she could see him tossing and turning as if having a nightmare. She went to shake him awake while saying , "young Mr. Potter wake up, you are having a bad dream, it's safe here I promise you that."
The second her hands touched his shoulder through the sheet he jumps awake and stumbles away, heart hammering in his chest from the nightmare. He is looking around frantically as she says, "it's ok young man you are safe here, this school is one of the oldest and safest places in the world. You were having a nightmare" ,as she was talking he seemed to calm down and turned towards her, just as his eyes met hers she gasped. He asked in a young confused voice, "a nightmare, what's a nightmare?" ,looking at her with one eye permanently crossed, his eyes were staring to water from the strain of trying to see already. Her hands to her mouth she says, "it's a way of saying you had a very scary dream that is faster" ,slightly muffled. He repeated the phrase three times after her, having closed his eyes as he did, opening them he with an insatiable thirst for knowledge asked, "and what's a dream?" His eyes full of hope, wonder, and tears as his eyes started to water shortly, she says back, "a thing that happens when you sleep" ,having already used her wand to summon the others.
As Harry was getting his first lesson at Hogwarts his cousin was waking up in his bed, or to be more precise a good two feet above his bed, before crashing onto it. This caused the bed to break under his weight and startled him awake, sitting up he looked around confused and asked, "whajushappen?!" Thinking his cousin was to blame he knew just what to do he ran downstairs and yanked open the cupboard door, only to find it empty. He went off in search of Harry not noticing his parents in the search, or the fact that as he was doing so his clothes were transfiguring the colors. After not finding Harry anywhere in the house, yard, or neighborhood he asked, "Mum, Dad, where's Harry?" ,a child's happy anger in his tone. His dad replied, "gone" ,the broken way he said it made Dudley blink and then he looked down and noticed his clothes were first red, a mix, then blue, orange, purple, and black gasping softly he said the mantra he had been told to keep. "THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS MAGIC!" Even as he practically yelled that his clothes changed to the Slytherin style in color, then back to normal as if they had never been changing in the first place. He ran upstairs to try and hide from the truth, and to punish himself for being bad, he made the impossible happen, so he needed to be hurt, his parents had taught him that. They however stopped him and sobbing start to try begging to undo the damage both had inflicted upon his psyche by the beating and verbal abuse thrown at Harry. Later that day they had an appointment with a wizard certified therapist and went as a family having used the emergency contact information for Dumbledore.
The next few weeks and months for both boys was very busy, one learning all he could about magic, the other learning to accept magic as natural. In this time both met a few snake's and befriended them, the one in the zoo on a trip, the other a while in the Forbidden Forest. One was able to remember everything he and his parents had done to the other, but the other knew nothing of the pain from before, except in his sleep. Even then they were rare, after each one he would write down whatever details he could, his crossed eye making the writing sloppy but legible. One day while he took a trip through the forest with one of his favorite vipers he noticed he could see even with his eyes closed but his field of vision swung fast. He hissed out in parsletongue, "stop moving please and look straight ahead of us Ash, I uh it's important" ,curiously the snake complies. Harry gasps and says even with his eyes closed, "I can see!" ,Ash turns to look at him and the sudden change makes him nauseous. Covering his mouth he says, "slowly Ash, if I end up getting sick every time you move your head we won't even be able to walk." Ash hissed in reply, "so what would you have me do then Harry?" ,opening his right eye he started walking again while thinking. Then as he approached a student he nodded in greeting to them and says, "I'm not sure, for now if I need to write look at the paper for me please, it will help my writing so much!"
Ash hissed to himself in thought as they walked into the main entrance to the castle then said, "I'd be happy to, for a small fee." Hissing in laughter at the hurt expression on Harry's face before saying, "you let me warm myself with your body whenever I wish to" ,then seeing the smirk grow back. Harry replied saying, "you already do that though, so I am getting the better end of the deal" ,Ash gave his approximation of a shrug. After that point the two were literally inseparable, and less than a month before Harry's seventh birthday a strange urge hits them both, a pair of red headed kids. A young bushy haired brunette dentists child, one blonde haired boy with piercing blue eyes, a dreamy eyed star child who was named after the moon goddess itself. Then another who always seemed to be above everyone else but also couldn't hide her adoration for her younger sister, and a nervous boy who loved plants. Each one went out and despite what may have been a little bit of a dangerous idea each went into a wooded area near them. Most of them drawing the attention of their parents, who followed them and watched as in clearings in the forest each took up a position, seemingly at random. If they all had been together it would have been obvious to anyone, they were facing the cardinal directions, and their half way marks.
Then the chant started and despite the distance between them it could be heard by all, it was soft at first the singing voice, that of a child, one full of hope and love.
"I call to those of my circle who are here yet not here, my name be Harry Potter, the one who guards all knowledge with fang and venom, the one who with the Librarian shall archive all knowledge, yet not horde it from those we trust. My life is not as precious as our knowledge, yet more freely given, my pledge is thus, for as long as my lungs do draw breath and heart beat our library is safe, so mote it be! "
As his voice faded away the next one took up the call, a soft but dulcet young tenor tone, singing to a melody all could hear but not hear as there was no music.
"I call to those of my circle who are here yet not here, my name be Neville Longbottom, the one who guards our castle when not needed for battle, the one who with the Gatekeeper shall hold all enemies at bay, yet let innocents and allies take shelter. My life is not as precious as our castle grounds, yet more freely given, my pledge is thus, for as long as my lungs do draw breath and heart beat our castle is safe, so mote it be!"
Again as the young voice started to fade away another came in, this one a had an air of superiority to it that made you want to ignore it, but also hang on every word.
"I call to those of my circle who are here yet not here, my name be Draco Malfoy, the one who guards our treasury from all thieves, yet makes every deal profitable ,the one who with the Accountant shall keep all balances. My life is not as precious as our treasury, yet more freely given, my pledge is thus, for as long as my lungs do draw breath and heart beat our treasury is safe, so mote it be!"
As this voice now faded away a young but slightly older voice starts to ring out, this one had a playful air to it that you almost wanted to laugh because of the sound.
"I call to those of my circle who are here yet not here, my name be Fred Weasley, the one who prepares our weapons and traps, the one who with the Alchemist shall prepare all munitions. My life is not as precious as our defenses, yet more easily broken, my pledge is thus, as long as my lungs do draw breath and heart beat our defenses shan't fall, so mote it be!
Then just as the last of his voice faded away a young female voice, one that sang with a thirst for knowledge of any and all kinds, yet not to cause undo harm.
"I call to those of my circle who are here yet not here, my name be Hermionie Granger, the one who guards all knowledge with blade and wand, the one who with the Healer shall archive all knowledge, yet not horde it from those we trust. My life is not as precious as our knowledge, yet more freely given, my pledge is thus, for as long as my lungs do draw breath and heart beat our library is safe, so mote it be! "
The exact moment the last echo faded, a new voice picked up, this one having a dreamlike quality, one that made you feel tired, but also well rested.
"I call to those of my circle who are here yet not here, my name be Luna Lovegood, the one who guards our castle when not needed in battle, the one who with the Knight shall keep all enemies at bay, yet let innocents and allies take shelter. My life is not as precious as our castle grounds, yet more freely given, my pledge is thus, for as long as my lungs do draw breath and heart beat our castle is safe, so mote it be!"
With the last dreamy bell like tinkles of her voice another voice picked up, this one with the same air of superiority as the blonde boys, if wrapped in a softer tone.
"I call to those of my circle who are here yet not here my name be Daphne Greangrass, the one who keeps the treasury well funded, yet makes all the contracts ironclad, the one who with the Teller shall keep all balances. My life is not as precious as our treasury, yet more freely given, my pledge is thus, for as long as my lungs do draw breath and heart beat our treasury is safe, so mote it be!"
Just as it had happened six times before as the soft but haughty tones fade a happy, and again playful voice sound out, once again bringing laughter to mind.
"I call to those of my circle who are here yet not here my name be Grace Weasley, the one who prepares our weapons and traps, the one who with the Archetect shall prepare all munitions. My life is not as precious as our defenses, yet more easily broken, my pledge is thus, as long as my lungs do draw breath and heart beat our defenses shan't fall, so mote it be!"
Then all the voices rose as one and sang together, voices interwoven into a song of love, hope, strength, friendship, and more, as they sang the last rather short refrain.
"We call to our circle those who are here yet not here, our lives have been pledged, our roles have been given, the coven is formed, let this circle now be broken, so mote it be!"
As the last word fades away all of the parents who had been unable to get to their kids rush forward and start asking questions about what happened, all except for the teachers who adopted Harry he offered everything freely. It was simple, they felt something needed to happen so they did it, but won't be able to do it again for at least five years as that's when they will all be in the same place, Hogwarts. They set up a floo call to talk about having the kids go in early like Harry but that idea is quickly shot down by Harry and the other kids instead asks them to stay home. Not wanting to question why the adults agreed, figuring there was some mystical reason for it, in truth the kids were all waiting for the right time, but before he turned 11 the circle was whole in the castle hall. Luna was the last to show up and she seemed very eager to meet them all.
As the summer ended they all got ready to be officially sorted except the twins who were a year older than everyone and Luna a year younger, even going so far as to go home for the train ride, except again Luna. She stayed in the castle learning its secrets that Harry had been showing the others, including the yearly roll book, as they were reading the names Harry saw one that, if he hadn't taken to walking everywhere with his eyes closed, then he would have opened them in shock immediately. Yes it was there written on the page was the name of his cousin, the one whose dad had sent him to this wonderful place, even if it was in a violent way. A honest smile graced his lips and he happily said, "Luna my cousin Dudley will be in school with us" ,she frowned and glanced at the name. Then she said, "Harry I know you don't remember it but the photos, you were laying there so broken" ,he looked at her and said, "what photos?" ,she said, "the ones that show any injuries in the hospital ward while protecting privacy?" ,as if it were obvious. Harry sighed and said, "I saw them, and I'm grateful, for having to gotten 5 extra years here, Luna we found something out after that something dark that affects us all. I can't tell you everything but the adults are doing their best to handle the problem if they can't we will have to" ,she nodded firmly.
The day of the sorting ceremony Harry joined the students getting off the train at the station, having been told it's tradition every year when he was asked why they do it. One relatively short boat ride later, had them all standing in the entrance to the great hall, while most of the new students looked up at the castle around them in awe Harry looked around for his cousin spotting him talking to Malfoy, he walked over. His once rather loud and violent cousin seemed rather timid, but still looked like he could throw a mean punch, as Harry's arm reached out. Tapping the young man on the shoulder, he says, "hello there Dudley, it's nice to see you" ,both his eyes being closed as he said this. Dudley didn't react at first not turning seemingly too scared or worried to meet Harry's eyes, and Harry resolved this by stepping into his field of vision. Dudley seeing his eyes closed and the snake looking at him from Harry's shoulder, he now pales even further and he says, "n-no not your eyes Harry. Not your eyes, they were so much like hers, he is so sorry, he tried to kill himself you know" , even as he stumbled out the apology Harry could tell it was real. He opened both his eyes and let his cousin see the problem, the left eye sat unmoving but also unbroken, then he shook his head and said, "I forgive you both and aunt Petunia. In fact, I owe your dad my thanks, because of what he did something not right was fixed in me" ,which drew a rather confused look from Dudley. Harry closed his eyes again and said, "well now I don't need glasses, with my very own seeing eye viper" ,which made his cousin blink then guffaw. Before he started to cry, even as he cried he pulled out his new wand and said, "I Dudley Dursley vow on my magic and my life to be life long friend, protector, and supporter of my cousin, so more it be! Lumos" ,his wand tip lit and he bowed his head saying almost reverently, "Nox" ,explaining how he waited till now after his vow to cast his first true spell.
When he heard that Harry not only returned the vow and made sure to give his cousin a hug, telling him to send a letter to Vernon with Harry's thanks and that he accepted the apology. Immediately following that they were lead into the great hall, the list was read after the school song had been sung and the sorting began, a new table sat near dead center in the great hall this year. The eight sided table had a chair for each side each with a different symbol on them to show who sits where, not that they minded. In the first few weeks of class everything went rather smoothly till the time for their first Samhain came to be, that was when some idiot teacher decided to let a troll in.
Well that seems like a good place to stop if I say so myself, this is one of two HP AU's I will be doing, in this one the change is obvious, Dumbledore checked up on Harry. He made a big mistake by leaving Harry with them, either that or it was outright malicious intent, this DD is still greater good focused, but now that good has shifted to protecting people from danger not sending out literal child soldiers to fight for their lives. That being said he still will make mistakes and some cannon events will still happen, just maybe in a different order, and some won't happen at all, Dobby and Sirius. I will be starting the second story AU sometime in the next few weeks, hope you all like the story, this will be a M themed story due to the first scene but also some characters death, and future events, I plan on doing a story ending around the time the movies and books would have, as in detailing the married lives of them and their loved ones. Same will be done in the other AU, "now I feel the siren call of bed,
I shall lay down my head,
to dream as if I were dead."