Union Jack: Shield Hero
Ch. 1 Lily's chest
I do not own Harry Potter
That right belongs to J. K. Rowling alone
Positive reviews are welcome
Ch. 1 Lily's chest
Late June 1993
Number 4 Privet Dr.
Little Winging
Surrey, England
The Dursleys were never very good at keeping a tidy home in some time. Instead, they chose to leave that responsibility on their nephew.
Not that Harry Potter cared much as it was expected of him to keep up the house. Of which he did very well if he did say so much himself.
It was his Aunt Petunia that felt that the attic was in serious need of cleaning.
As it was, Harry currently found himself moving things around within the upper inner workings of the ceiling, removing broken objects and placing them in garbage bags. It was as he placed his hands on a tarp covering an oval shaped object and pulled that he found something that would change his life forever.
His eyes widened on what he uncovered. It was a Wizarding Chest. A bit old, but still in good condition.
He gasped as he had taken a step back as the only other chest in the house was the one his Uncle Vernon had secured in his first room, or the cupboard under the stairs.
Taking a moment to gather himself, he stepped forth and knelt before the wooden trunk, running a hand over a name engraved upon a metal plating. A name that he reverently cherished above all others. A name that gave him life.
A name that gave her life so that he may live.
[ Lily J. Potter (nee Evans) ]
"Mum." he whispered softly, swallowing a lump forming in his throat. It took a great amount of willpower just to not tear up at just having something of his mothers here, sitting before him. Had his Aunt known this chest was here? Did she intentionally place the tarp upon it and forget it just to spite him?
And if so, why? What did she have to gain by hiding this from him?
His right hand barely touched the locking mechanism when he heard a click and the chests locking mechanism sprang open with a muffled 'SNAP'.
"Woah" he gasped as he jumped back just barely half a foot, his hands raised in a guarded gesture. Eyes sweeping over and giving the chest a cautious once over before taking the initiative and slightly taking lid of the trunk in somewhat shaky hands and lifting it open.
Inside were a plethora of books and letters. Stacks of them. So many that he couldn't tell where one ended and the other began. There were also a few leather sacks inside. Picking one up revealed the sound of coins. Opening one and dropping a few into his opposite palm, golden coins fell into his hand.
"Goblin gold." he said to himself as he replaced them back into the bags and retied it tightly before placing the bag back into the chest.
Picking up a book and turning it over until he read the title upon the spine, he noticed that it was blank, and yet the cover had his mothers name upon it. A diary, maybe? There were more, some with titles the likes of charms, potions, transfigurations, and more.
One book stood out in a light grayish tone. 'Rebirth' was the title on the front cover.
"Rebirth?" He murmured curiously. He turned it over in his hands and yet did not place it back into the chest as he felt that it too was important somehow. Instead, he set it to the side.
He then noticed there was a satchel, one which if memory served correct was something like what a 'Messenger' carried on them in times of war when needing to quickly send messages to their intended destinations via a courier.
It was tan, the texture rough. As he touched it, he felt a round object within. Pulling it from the chest, he noticed there were straps on two ends of one side keeping it sealed. It took him just a moment to undo both straps.
Opening the flap, Harry's face took on an shocked expression as laying within the satchel was a round disc. But it was no ordinary disc. Harry grabbed the satchel in one hand and the disc in the other and in one smooth motion, removed the object from the satchel.
His ears took in a soft tone of sound, like a barely audible vibratory sound emitting from the object in question.
And yet, it was no ordinary disc, it was a shield. An almost familiar shield. Despite its sixe and length, the only difference was the colors and center pattern. The larger, outer patterns first color was blue, the secondary pattern white, and the third much smaller pattern was red. Then there was the final pattern at the center of the shield.
It was the British flag itself, the Union Jack.
The shields edge felt smooth, and yet so right in his hands. Turning it over, he noticed a double set of leather straps. Slipping his left arm through both, he grasped the secondary strap and ran his right hand over the shields edge.
Though not sharp, if impacted against an solid object, no doubt it would do some serious damage. Be it flesh, more so.
"Wicked." he breathed. However it happened, a second later, the shield shrank in size until it was the size of a wrist watch attached to his wrist via two brown toned, mini leather straps. As it did so, he instinctively jerked his arm forward as he also quickly leaned back.
"Wha..?" he pulled his arm back towards himself, turning his wrist around to and fro, looking at it from different angles. "How in Merlins name?"
His head suddenly snapped back to the book lying next to him. "Wait a minute. Rebirth!?"
Harry remembered having had read Dudleys comics when his relatives weren't around or wasn't paying attention. Dudley had the habit of discarding his belongings when they no longer interested him. One of those comics now came to his mind.
A story about a character who was described as being born sickly after World War One, and living during the period of World War Two, underwent an experimental procedure that transformed him into the pinnacle of human perfection.
The name of the Program was 'Project Rebirth'. The Super Soldier to be was Steve Rogers who the world had come to know as Captain America.
"Captain America?!" Harry toned softly.
In the comics of Marvel, at the top of the first pages, was always a brief explanation of the characters in which the stories were created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, and later more stories were told by newer generations of authors and story tellers. Which is one of the reasons he knew all about Captain America.
'Mum was a comic nerd!?' he mused to himself.
Opening the book, he barely glanced at the pages as they had formulas both mathematical and not. It was something even he with his limited intellect, could not decipher. There was only one person he knew who could probably make out the scribbles that was apparently his mothers handwriting.
And she had more than readable and not so readable script. There were scribbles of various equations, of viable potion ingredients, what worked and what didn't, all of which went right over his head.
There were drawn sketches of what looked to be a metal, human adult sized tube of some kind. Words like 'Rays or Vita Radiation' as well as energy of a magical nature, radiation that apparently could be substituted with donated or freely given magical energy.
Something called a 'Patroni', the pure magical energy recommended in place of the original Vita Radiation as used in the comics to both stimulate and activate what could be construed as the magical equivalent of a Super Soldier Serum.
'A Magical equivalent of a Super Soldier Serum?' alarm bells ringing in his mind. 'Did Mum really create a magic based Super Soldier Serum?'
This was a goldmine. And yet, now that he knew this, his heart raced with dread as he also knew that if someone should get their hands on this information, it could prove to be dangerous, especially in the 'wrong' hands.
He replaced the book into the satchel, returning it to the chest and made to close it when a manila colored object caught the right corner of his eye. His eyes fully turned to the object as he slowly reached in and grasped it.
It lied beneath the sacks of coins of which were several. Grasping it, he held it out an envelope, seeing it made out to himself, his name in plain English lettering.
The hairs on the back of his neck rose as he figured that someone was approaching the ladder leading into the attic.
"Boy, you done up there yet?" the loud voice of his Uncle hollered out from below.
"Almost Uncle." Harry shouted back as he made to quickly hide the envelope in the front of his pants, hidden by his oversized castoff of a shirt. Like most of his clothes, at least his non magical made, were hand me downs that once belonged to his cousin.
With the tarp once more covering the chest, he casually made to descend back down unto the second floor.
Later in the day, while sequestered in his room, nibling on scraps of food as was natural while living with his relatives, sitting at his old and worn desk, he pulled on the chain connected to his desk lamp.
Now with a light in which to read while the houses other occupants were quiet, he silently pulled out the envelope hidden in his desk beneath a fake compartment he'd discovered early on.
Plopping it before himself, his hands shook nervously. Just what was in this envelope that was so important that his mother had to hide it within the chest that was then hidden within the attic of his Aunts home?
Ever so slowly, he broke the wax seal that kept the envelope just that.
There was what seemed to be a light glow as the seal broke, but as quick as it came, it vanished almost as if it didn't happen. But Harry knew better.
In the envelope, Harry pulled out a stack of parchments and then a singular letter separated from the rest of the documents by color coded tabs, one red, the other yellow.
The red one contained three sheetss of parchments, the front stating ' Last Will and Testament of James Charlus and Lily Marie Potter-nee Evans'.
'A Will?!' Harry thought to himself.
The other was a stack of two sheets of parchment, From what his eyes could make out, it was a letter. A letter that just so happened to be addressed to him.
My Darling Harry,
If you are reading this, then we, your father and I, are not with you. No doubt for some time. For this, we are sorry.
The reasons for this are several. We have been betrayed. And should our verbal wishes not be met, and the copies of this will 'not' followed to the letter, than it's a good thing your father and I always planned ahead.
'Hold on!' his head tilted to the side with a thought, 'If that's true, then they would still be alive and I with them. Somethings not right. I need to read more.'
As for the first, the one to betray us, his name was Peter Pettigrew. He was a friend once upon a time with your father and I, but towards the end of our schooling at Hogwarts, I began to feel uneasy around him.
Your father thought differently at first, maintaining that Peter was as solid a friend and brother as your Godfather Sirius Black and our dear friend Remus.
Yes, you heard that right, Sirius is your Godfather. No doubt Dumbledore has kept you apart for whatever plans he has for you as I and later, James have felt that he has had a growing, unnatural obsession towards you, and not just you, but your Godbrother Neville Longbottom.
Neville was my Godson, and should you meet her, Luna Lovegood was the Goddaughter to your father, making her your Godsister.
As to Peter and your father things began to not add up over time in regards to Peters activities. His comings and goings on has left good friends and loved ones vulnerable at times when they and by extension, 'we' needed him most.
Second, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore has an unhealthy fascination towards you and Neville. The reason being due to a 'Prophecy'.
Yes you read that right, a Prophecy. In it, it has stated that one of you two will face Voldemort in final combat and decide the fate of Magical Britain, or die trying.
Because of this and the choices that he has made under the guise of being the defacto leader of the Order of the Phoenix, the opposition that stood against Voldemort, were questionable, Dumbledore will undoubtedly go against our wishes and place you with my sister Petunia.
Fortunately, I planned ahead.
I've made plans to even the playing field since the Dark Lord has had years to master his craft. Your father and I's sacrifice may have temporarily banished him and gave you some protection, but knowing Voldemort as we do, even we know that with as many times we have fought and wounded him with our unpredictability and outside the box thinking and tactics, he won't be gone long and with an ego to match his power, it would be just in that I have taken strides to help you survive and defeat him.
As for Dumbledore, he had handicapped us in ways that have left us scrambling to maintain the high ground and now with this prophecy hanging over your and Nevilles heads, I can't take any chances. I simply won't.
Yes Harry, undoubtedly you've found my chest containing everything you will need to finish the project I started.
There are those within a close knit group of people I was closest too whom have kept my secrets regarding my own interpretation of 'Project Rebirth'.
But first, find Sirius and in turn, he'll help you find those within the Wizarding Worlds secret Intelligence that in a way, works somewhat alongside MI-5, but is an Intelligence Cell all on its own.
Though they prefer to call themselves Unspeakables, the British Government has given them some leeway under the designation of MI-6.
Despite the many good deeds he has done in the past, it is Dumbledores choices in the here and now that have been called into question and your father and I feel he can not be trusted. Our Deaths proves this.
In the three sheets of Parchment connected to this letter is 'OUR TRUE' Last Will and Testament. Should Sirius find himself in a spot of trouble, seek out Amelia Bones. She'll know what to do.
I leave you now Harry with the knowledge that you are loved. We have never stopped doing so, and even in Death, we never will
Goodbye My Son.
With Love
Your Mother,
Lily.
Lady Potter of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter.
The next Parchment was undoubtedly his father with how his handwriting was worded.
Progslet,
I'm sorry I could not be by your side my son. I've watched you do many amazing things with what time we've had together. Just know, there was plenty a time where you've nearly given your mother grey hairs.
From riding your toy broom and chasing her familiar, or in this case your favorite and only cat Mr. Minx, all over the house, to as your mother would put it, subconsciously, whatever that means, 'Apparate' all over the house.
This gave your Godfather and I many a moments of great joy, yet stinging backsides from the many stinging Hex's your mother caught us with and somewhat disapproving stares courtesy of Remus.
By the way, I've loved every moment of this and even have the pictures to show it in this chest we are leaving you with.
But then there are moments when you've shown how much of a joy you've been when we've had quiet moments together.
We even have pictures of when you've slept with Sirius in his 'Padfoot' or animagus form. I hope you'll discover your animagus form one day from wherever the Fates send me just so I can say how proud of you I was to have seen it, even if it was from the other side.
If you've been placed with 'Tuney' as I've come to know her and her Walrus of a husband Varn or was it Vernon, I can never remember, then if you've come across Peter, give him a good kick in the nether regions for me. Oh, before I forget, he too is an animagus and his form if that of a brown rat. Hopefully wherever he's hidden himself and if he's still alive, Karma and Lady Magic hasn't been kind to him, Merlin knows, he deserves it.
Never let it be known, but womens intuition can be spot on Prongslet. Of course you didn't hear it from me.
Find Neville and Luna, find Sirius and Remus if he too isn't around, and remember, sow a little discord for this ol' Marauders sake. This is Prongs, signing off.
Love
Your Father
James
Lord and Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter
P.S. Punch the Merlin Wanna-be in the nose for me, I'll rest easier.
A few droplet of tears fell upon the letters as Harry finished reading the words of his father and mother. With these words, he felt closer to them now than he ever had before.
He took a moment to gather himself before he re-read the the letters addressed to him. The Names Amelia Bones, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew were unknown to him though he could have sworn he knew of a girl in Hufflepuff named Bones in the same year as he.
A girl with red hair if he remembered correctly.
But it was Sirius Black that stuck out like a sore thumb.
Wasn't there an All Point Bulletin for a man with that name blasting about on the telly for the last week or so? It wasn't a coincidence as far as he was concerned. And the fact that they had lost faith in Professor Dumbledore, the current Headmaster of Hogwarts, too many things just didn't add up.
In the corner near his desk, Hedwig was pruning herself when he suddenly had a thought, "Hey Hed, fancy delivering a letter for me?"
The moment he said her name, she snapped her attention to him and "Precked" as if to say, "Silly Boy, did you expect me to sit here all day and clean myself. I'm bored."
He chuckled of course and took out a bottle of ink, a slip of parchment, and a quill and wrote out a short missive that he then wrapped up and tied off. Once he had it secured to a now outstretched leg, he opened the now bar-less window and aided her until she launched from her boys outstretched arm. Once she was out of visual range, he returned to his seat and blew out a breath he hadn't noticed he was holding.
'I won't let your trust in me be misplaced mum. Dumbledore has much to answer for.' he thought as he ran his right hand over the Will. If he lies to me and or Ms. Bones, I'll do more than punch him in the nose father, count on it.
In the meanwhile, a scraggly looking dog cautiously padded itself towards Number Four Privet Drive. Once he made it to the said street that was Privet Drive, he laid in a set of bushes within the darkness of the shadows, waiting, biding his time. He'd waited to return to his Prongslet this long against his will of course, he'd wait a little longer as was necessary if he wanted to stay alive.
In another part of the country, a little more than half an hour later found a young red haired young woman named Susan Bones tending to some schoolwork within the Main Study of the Bones Ancestral House when a set of 'pecks' on one of the windows of the study drew her attention.
Seeing the snowy white owl and thinking it familiar to her, she walked up to it and lifted. The owl took the invitation and flew in, It circled the room before landing on the now outstretched arm of the redheaded girl.
As there was an rolled parchment attached to its leg, she asked, "Is this for me?"
It 'precked' as if to say no.
"My Aunt then?"
It bobbed its head and gave a few 'hoots' as an affirmative.
"Oh,...well then, let's go see her shall we?"
The owl ever so gently walked her way to the girls shoulder where she tenderly nipped her ear with affection. Susan giggled as she walked through the ancestral halls of her home until she finally came to where her Aunt Amelia resided.
Within the main Office, Amelia Bones, now in her mid to late forties with short brown hair with a hint of grey and a monocle in one eye, was going over some last minute paperwork when a knock at the door drew her attention.
Raising her head and towards the double doors, she called out, "Come in Susan."
"Auntie, you have a letter." came Susans reply as she had already taken the parchment from the owls leg. Passing it off to her Aunt, it was accepted and unfurled.
The Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcements brows furrowed as she read the missive. They then rose as her eyes widened.
"Dear Merlin." she proclaimed as she quickly jumped from the chair in which she sat and ran to the fireplace. Kneeling before and sticking her head in after throwing some floo powder within, she hollered, "Kingsley Shacklebolt."
The tone of how she called out to the man she knew to be one of her Aunties Aurors, Susan discreetly tuned out what she would normally hear as she knew when her Auntie needed some privacy. Taking a step back, she waited until her Aunt stepped back and rose to her full height.
Taking that as her cue, "Auntie, is everything alright?"
"No Susan, everything is not alright. Despite the lateness, I'm going to be gone for an undetermined amount of time, but I promise you, when I get back, I will tell you what I can."
"O-Ok."
"In the meantime, I need you to remain in your room until I return. But I'll need the owl in order to submit a reply to her Master, alright?"
"Yes Aunt Amelia."
Director Bones nodded with a faint smile as she then summoned a house Elf to fetch a bowl of water and a small plate of bacon as the letter had stated that the owl known as Hedwig had a taste for the meaty treat.
Seeing her niece tend to Hedwig, familiar of whom she now knew to belong to Harry Potter if the letter was true of which she suspected it was, Bones then quickly wrote out her reply that she and members of her staff and possibly the Minister would come calling on him in the morning after she gave a good verbal lashing in repealing the 'Kiss on Site' order for one Sirius Orion Black.
If the Will in Harry Potters possession was both authentic and 'Original', and could be confirmed when compared to the apparent copies within both Gringotts and the Ministry the next day, a whole can of worms will be opened as the muggles say, this followed by an aggressive amount of questions that would need to be answered.
Of course this would also need to be followed up by how in the Hell the Headmaster had any right to appoint himself as Magical Guardian of James and Lily's son, to seal the Will within the Ministries records, and appoint himself overseer over any and all things regarding House Potter.
Once Mr. Potters familiar was refreshed and rejuvenated by the treat and water, Amelia Bones then approached her niece and kindly asked the owl whom acted as if waiting patiently, if she could tie her reply to the owls leg.
Hedwig didn't waste time as she extended a leg that the Head of House Bones then tied the returning parchment to and with a hop, skip, and a jump, it was upon the Directors now outstretched arm.
Susan was allowed to preen the creature with a bit more of affection before her Aunt took it towards an a now opening set of patio doors as she made to step out and release the owl. Both watched it leave before Amelia turned back with Susan following her. Whereas Amelia returned to the 'Floo' to commit to an 'Emergency Situation' that needed rectifying, her niece did as she was told and went to her room.
She would learn some of what her Aunt was allowed to share come morning. As for Amelia Bones, she was head hunting and most assuredly, heads will roll, She will get her answers, even if she had to get her hands dirty and destroy a few reputations with a whole slew of secrets that others thought she didn't know.
And she knew a lot.
As for Harry Potter, he wouldn't have long to wait until he was finally free of the Dursleys with the promise of a new beginning that would follow.
Hey guys, I am so, so sorry it has taken this long to update. My computer crashed along with the battery within it being damaged, everything I had was lost, so I had to scrap everything and start fresh.
This is my first update and I promise you, will not be the last. So please stay tuned as thanks to my old man and this wicked computer he bought me, I am now 'Back in Action'.
Also, I wanna give a major shout out to the family of John Erwin, the voice behind the original He-Man of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe's passing. My heart goes out to his family, friends, and past colleagues who worked beside him and in whom knew him best.
Hopefully, the upcoming movie will do his past work justice as stills from various clips of the movie have already surfaced online and look somewhat ok.
Give me a shout out and let me know what you think. Remember, keep it civil please.
In the words of He-Man, "Until Next Time."
John Erwin
Dec. 5, 1936-Dec. 20,2024
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