Disclaimer:

I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Mischief Managed Damn It!

Title: Harry's Bucket List Before Becoming an Inferi 2

Posted Date: September 12 2024

Inspiration: Zombie 100

Tags: Survivalist Harry, BAMF Dobby, Semi-Crack Story, Semi Comedy, Harry being free from Hogwarts / Ministry / Dumbledore

Pairings: TBD

Two days after their supply run at the shopping mall, Harry and Dobby were seated by the dining table to look at the map procured from the nearby gas station. Despite having enough supplies to last for the coming winter and secured in their current location, Harry was getting worried with the increasing number of zombies that were now branching out from the towns and city regions and into the outskirts. They may be safe for now but they still need to leave the premises a few times to check on the area for signs of Dumbledore's crew trying to find them.

"Dobby thinks we should try another county." The house elf scratched his head in confusion. "Or maybe an island."

"I am starting to think the same." Harry took off his spectacles and rubbed his eyes. "The question is where to go and how safe that place will be."

"Dobby is wishing we can go to Master Harry Potter's manor." Dobby is shaking his head with the ears flapping with the action.

"Yeah well, with Dumbledore keeping an eye on any possible locations, that would be a big indicator that I am there." Harry answered, recalling the first time he heard about Potter Manor from the goblins after he had enough of the Wizarding World and thought of emptying his vault. It was a shock knowing he had more money than initially thought, since the vault he had accessed thus far was his trust vault, along with an actual home he could go to, only to find the place in lockdown and being watched by Dumbledore through monitoring spells. Any other properties that were still livable were the same with a couple being illegally used by the man's Order of the Phoenix. Harry had tasked the goblins to evict the squatters from the properties and locked them down along with moving the vault contents to new vaults to ensure Dumbledore or the Ministry cannot access the accounts, and recalling all items taken without his permission.

Harry got the impression the goblins were getting a kick out of evicting said people or recalling the stolen items. He overheard one of them making bets on how far the squatters would be thrown out and how many complaints they would get from the Ministry.

In any case, since he had done so, Dumbledore was now tracking all those locations in case he went there, and Harry did not want to risk the guy entering his premises with Fawkes since there were not a lot of wards designed to stop phoenixes from entering the premises, and having goblins around to build them created a big target on their backs. The most he could do was strike his name and those from the Order out of the ward book to ensure they could not enter the place. He had declined adding Sirius's name into the book, wanting to confirm whose side he was on before deciding on the matter ever since he got his name cleared. The same for Lupin since the werewolf had been quite reticent in his fourth year.

His thoughts were broken from the sounds of chiming that came from a wood box emblemed with the Gringotts bank logo, showing he had mail sent to him. Dobby popped over before he could move, taking his safety seriously enough to check all the mail despite the goblin-spelled box helping to remove or deactivate tracking spells, compulsions, portkeys and potions. Once he confirmed them himself, only then did Dobby move the letters to the table without touching them.

"Three from goblins, four Howlers from Howler Weasley, five letters with tracking spells from Miss Bookworm, three letters with tracking spells and compulsion spells from Big Mouth Weasley, one letter from Fangirl Weasley with love potion, one from Wolfy having tracking and compulsion spells, one from Doggyfather without spells, and eighteen from Headmaster Whiskers with compulsion spells, tracking spells, Portkeys and potions. All deactivated." Dobby announced as he rearranged the letters into neat piles based on the names. Harry was used to the naming conventions of house elves based on their liking to the people and the features of said people, but it was always fun to listen to him describing them as such.

Harry put on gloves with iron tips to avoid skin contact before he handled the letters granted to him. He quickly looked through the letters, merely throwing into the fireplace the ones from Dumbledore after a quick glance at the one he opened that the old man was somehow able to convey the condescending tone used in his words to admonish him for "making his family worried" and "having his friends at risk to come out to find him", urging to contact Dumbledore "for the Greater Good".

God, Harry genuinely wanted to hurl.

He also threw into the fire the letters from Lupin and Granger, not bothering to read them since the contents were the same as the previous ones in different formats, saying that he was being irresponsible and should contact Dumbledore when he got them, as if the compulsion spells were not enough of an insult. The only letter left to read was from Sirius Black, and this one Harry hesitated briefly to open. With a breath, Harry broke the seal to look at the contents with Dobby watching closely for his reaction. The light dropping of the shoulders and the obvious relief made the elf relax a little.

"Sirius is making sure Dumbledore is not on our tails, and he is trying to get a different safehouse to live in." Harry scanned through the contents before putting it down. "He has also gotten the goblins to recall everything loaned from the Blacks or Potters and ask them to lock down the Black Vaults at least since mine is already being handled differently."

"Doggyfather is a good person. We can approach him in the future." The house elf nodded with a thumbs up. Harry then went to check on the letters from the goblins. Much of it was just the usual correspondence about his vaults and other matters, but one in particular caught his attention.

"Hey Dobby, I think SharpTooth found a solution to our living problem." Harry lowered the letter to look at the elf. "I have a few properties that have been checked over by the goblins, and there is one that may help us a lot. Although it is going to be a little out of the way."

"What is it?" Dobby asked as he looked at the letter, able to read some of the words thanks to Harry taking the time to teach Dobby how to read and write so that they could understand each other better.

"Seems like my great grandmother from my father's side had a small island off the coast of Wales to house a farm for small herbs and other vegetables for personal use. It is currently abandoned with the house elves gone." The both of them paused briefly to look down in silence, knowing what had happened to the Potter elves from the goblins. Both the war and Dumbledore had whittled them down to nothing, but they did all they could to stop the pillaging and the goblins made sure to honour them. "But the wards are still standing and have been strengthened due to the leylines beneath the ocean. The good thing about it is that it is not in the listing of properties so Dumbledore would not know about it, although the goblins don't have a portkey for the time being so we would need to use this letter to get us there before I can hopefully unlock the security. So, what do you think?"

"Dobby is ready for an adventure!" Dobby smiled at his master and friend.

"Right, let's check it out. If it is good, we can mark out the spot and then start packing our stuff." Harry went to the window and pulled back the curtain only to recoil in slight disgust. "And it may need to be sooner than later." Dobby came along to the window to look only to squeak in fright at the sight of two zombies roaming outside of the compound. They were a fair distance away, but the fact they were actually visible from their windows meant that the walking dead had left the edges of the city and town areas, and were now venturing out, and that meant their hiding spot was not as safe as they hoped to be. One thing they did learn was the zombies somehow sensing the presence of people despite being behind wards, and there was only so much repelling they could do before the wards would fail and they would find themselves in the middle of a zombie pileup.

Not a pleasant thought for their situation.

"Yes, Master Harry Potter Sir. We should be going." Dobby snapped his fingers to bring his backpack, and after a few minutes to confirm the location, popped the two a couple of miles away from the specified location and in the air, with Harry's Firebolt already under them so that they could hover in the air to avoid possible Inferi on the ground which was an unfortunate necessity to do for some locations that were infested with them. Thankfully for this occasion, there appeared to be none in sight, and with checks from the both of them, confirmed none were hiding in the soil.

They still stuck to the air and glided to the coastline while enjoying the air and watching their surroundings. Once they reached the coastline, Harry guided them to where he could feel something calling out to him. It was a rather worrying distance to take as the coastline was getting further away behind them and the weather was picking up, and for a moment he wondered if they should approach the goblins for a general portkey when the air about them shifted and the two found themselves over a small island that had a small cove facing the west. With a smile, Harry guided the broom down and they landed on the sandy beach.

"Dobby feels a lot of magic." The house elf looked about while wiggling his toes, a sign that the elf was experiencing a lot of magical feedback.

"At least we are allowed on the beach." Harry slowly moved to check his surroundings and to let the wards test him for intent. From what he was told from the goblins, Dorea Potter, a Black from the main branch, was a woman who could be downright terrifying with her ideas on security, and since she was gone before he was born, the wards may not recognize his blood immediately. He could only hope he was accepted.

Thankfully for him, Harry could feel the wards settling before the trees ahead of him appeared to warp and distort themselves into oblivion, revealing a simple house that was still in decent shape despite the years wearing out the paintwork. The front courtyard was simple but tasteful with small bushes and trees placed neatly in rows, and then there was the bricked off area which upon their inspection revealed the open-air garden for some plants that had overtaken the area and in major need of trimming. Further back was a greenhouse that was at least double the size of those used at Hogwarts, and there was a fair amount of edible vegetables that had been in stasis since.

Harry and Dobby looked about in obvious approval of the place, with the house being given the thumbs up once Harry gained access through a blood lock and they inspected the place which was still in good condition despite the light layer of dust on the furniture. After checking the greenhouse and other parts of the area, Harry and Dobby went about the island to see what else was available for them, eventually heading to the cove that was a lot bigger than initially thought of and some crazy rock formations around it. Harry slowly flew through the gaps and into the cove that was sheltered from the elements, finding a spot where they could build a small house if needed with space to plant a garden, and then there was a small cave that provided much cover from the elements and could provide a secondary storage space for winter or even a place to hide out if they were invaded.

The human and the house elf looked about a bit more before sharing a look with each other and nodding at the collective thoughts they were likely having with a smile on their faces.

They found the next spot to stay in and hide from the war. And it came with a seaside view that was far from the mainland to stop those damn zombies.

Check off "Living on a paradise island" from the bucket list!

~ooOOoo~

(Hogwarts)

Albus Dumbledore growled as he glared at the silver contraptions that laid in ruin before him on the table. He was alone in his office, his rage having scared off the past headmasters and headmistresses from the portraits, and Fawkes having gone away with a sad thrill.

Not too long ago, they were tracking the status and location of one Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, helping to ensure the boy was tucked away in Little Whinging over the summer each time school let out and behind the wards that were powered by his own magic, ensuring he was protected while weakened at the same time. He did it in order to keep the boy humble and under his thumb so that the boy would not have ideas of leaving the house and to protect the Dursleys with his lifeforce.

But shortly after Hogwarts ended for the holidays with the tragedy of the Triwizard Tournament, the devices had started failing and stopped tracking the boy. He would have checked on them earlier but someone had sent Dementors to Little Whinging, with the end result of a few muggles having their souls sucked out and the Dursleys getting attacked as well. When the Aurors arrived to deal with them, an owl came with a letter expelling Harry for using the Patronus Charm which the Aurors knew was wrong since they were the ones casting it, so they went to check the premises while two others returned to the Ministry to check who sent the Dementors. That led to the arrest of Dolores Umbridge who had done so to silence Harry for supposedly telling lies about Voldemort.

An effort deemed stupid since the Aurors checked on the residence and found Harry's snapped wand and stains of blood in both the small bedroom and the cupboard beneath the stairs, which started a lot of uncomfortable questions that needed answers, and got Kingsley into trouble because he attempted to wipe their memories when he arrived on the scene only to be stunned by someone playing possum.

An unintended effect from this was Cornelius getting the boot when Umbridge was questioned further and revealed some of his dealings. That included the minister neglecting proper procedures and using Dementors on people that would disrupt his time in the office. Having him out of office gave Sirius Black the chance to clear his name against Dumbledore's wishes, with Amelia Bones heading the investigation on why he had not gotten a trial and why Dumbledore did not grant him one even before his ousting from the Wizengamot and the ICW.

As much as he hated the man's freedom, Dumbledore tried to capitalise on the moment and asked (ordered) Sirius to request (demand) Harry to come back for his safety (imprisonment). As if it was In response to that, the boy somehow managed to evict the members out of the Potter properties and locked them down. When he checked why, he found out to his dismay that having been made to go into the tournament, Harry was declared by magic to be emancipated and he was no longer bound to a guardian, and even if he could remove that, Harry had managed to activate the will left by his parents, which also stated he was to be granted some emancipation rights by the age of eleven if they were no longer among the living, and to be done before Hogwarts. No one would remove that right even if they wanted to since it was enforced with magic, and attempting to do so would open up a precedent for others, an act none would do. And with it publicly announced by the goblins, everyone knew or suspected Dumbledore's hand in suppressing the will.

On top of all of that mess, he had to deal with the sudden appearance of Inferi that had appeared from the muggle cities and near key locations like the Leaky Cauldron and the Ministry. According to Severus who looked like he had tangled with a Nundu, Voldemort had been experimenting with a few bodies that came from the local muggle hospital, and he said something about them exposed to some virus before their deaths, so they were supposedly infected with muggle viruses before their passing that necessitated them to be burned for proper disposal, only for the Death Eaters to acquire them. As a result of whatever experiments he had done, the Inferi were a lot stronger, faster, and much, much deadlier.

What worried him was the unusual speed of the outbreak and the unusual ability to infect others through bites not unlike werewolves but arguably worse since it targeted all living creatures, even said werewolves. Albus never thought he would fear an undead werewolf more than a living one, especially when it was rushing at him with half a skull and an eyeball dangling out of the socket. But that was what had happened and it drove the populace to much fear over what was going on.

Because of the outbreak and all that went on, Hogwarts was forced to play host to families and others escaping the plague, and he had to make sure the wards were at their strongest, his hand being forced by those who would not take his words about the wards being at their best and gotten those with curse-breaking experience to check them. The colourful language demonstrated by them revealed the wards being on the poor end of the scale, which explained the incidents that had occurred in the past few years once told by the students who were wondering why their letters were not answered by their parents or guardians previously.

And everyone ended up hearing about the troll, a dangerous third floor corridor, petrifications of basilisks and other stuff he had thrown under the rug.

The only reason he was not thrown out of the school was on account of Voldemort appearing to try and grab the prophecy early in the year since the Ministry was in disarray from the happenings and the boy having gone missing. His failed attempt was what allowed Dumbledore to stay on but with a few conditions that shackled him to his annoyance, one of which was him stepping down as the headmaster. Minerva would have been his chosen replacement, but the board members had asked around and found her too obedient to Dumbledore to be of use, and decided to choose Professor Septima Vector as the headmistress instead. When asked, they pointed out the current heads of houses have been negligent with discipline and choosing to ignore instances of bullying, with Harry's treatment being the most obvious. And they reinforced the notion by stripping the four of their head posts and handing them to others who were in the castle and needing a job in light of events.

Dumbledore wanted to protest but could not deny the facts that he had swept under the table because they were not conducive to his plans, and Septima was one of the few who had argued for enforcement of the rules since her employment. That was more evident during her first month as headmistress that she suspended 2 Ravenclaws for bullying the Lovegood girl, and stripped the prefect badges from Misters Weasley and Mister Malfoy for abuse of power, and then sent plenty of students to detention for both present and past mistakes from the previous year.

He would give them this small victory; he was more focused on finding the Boy-Who-Lived.

Unfortunately, the time spent to deal with the other matters meant the trackers were no longer working, and his attempts to reactivate them with vials of stored blood did not work that well as the blood immediately vanished which indicated the use of a recalling ritual, prompting him to blast the devices to smithereens to vent his frustrations.

The only upside to the mess would be Voldemort being unable to do anything because of the Inferi invading London and overrunning the Ministry. Whatever experiment he did have rendered the Inferi incapable of following orders as they normally would, which only made them more unpredictable. With that said and done, Dumbledore needed Voldemort to do something so that he could take back what was rightfully his, and for that to work, he needed Potter who had managed to escape his net and evaded him for this long.

Where the bloody hell was that boy!