:-[Chapter 44]-:
"The crystal has now bound itself to you." the lawyer continued after the spell stopped. "You now have the power to stop anyone from entering your house. Marcy will also explain all of this to you later on. I will leave you three together. Send Hedwig to me, if you need anything."
Marcy snapped her fingers and all four of them found themselves in the lobby, near the door.
"Always quick with the snaps, Marcy." Theodore said before opening the door. "Please, enjoy your stay, Mister Potter."
"It is Harry to my friends, Mister Tonks." Harry said, holding up his hand.
"Ted, for mine." the lawyer answered, shaking his client's hand.
:-[T.A.B]-:
Once Harry and Marcy were left alone, a comfortable silence fell between the two. The fire was roaring in the hearth, creating a cozy ambiance. The young wizard sat on one of the couches in the living room and invited the house-elf to do the same, but this only made her gasp in astonishment.
"You is like Mistress Lily. You is going to be a good Master." Marcy said, taking up the invitation of her master and took a seat on the same couch.
Being the first house-elf to appear in his life, Harry was obviously curious about her. They spoke for hours about their so-called bond. Marcy was honest with her Master and confessed that while their bond could be seen as slavery by some other wizards, others like the Potters were far more traditional and used the presence of the creatures in their home to reinforce the wards. It was the Potters that found out that house-elves were far more powerful when offered a real home.
"Were you left alone here, Marcy?" Harry asked suddenly.
"Oh no, Master Harry. I is speaking with Master Fleamont and Mistress Euphemia all the time." the house-elf answered.
"My grand-parents? They are alive?" the young wizard almost jumped to his feet before realizing the wards now answered to him and he did not feel any other magical presences in the house.
"They has portraits, young Master Harry. I is going to show you where they are." Marcy said before jumping off the couch and snapping her fingers.
With Hedwig still perched on his shoulder, Harry saw that he was in a room that he had not seen yet. It was obviously a private study within the house. A beautifully crafted desk dominated the center of the room and was made of what seemed to be, dark wood, almost black. Behind it, was a window, giving a splendid view of the green field behind the house. 'Wait, a green field outside like that is way too big for the dimensions of the house.' thought Harry, looking in awe at the large grounds, which contained Quidditch hoops beside a large forest which dominated the field.
"It is a secret Potter technique." a voice behind them said. "Our ancestors managed to create this niche of magic. If you were to go outside and look behind the house, you would see a road where countless muggles pass every day."
Harry turned slowly. A giant family portrait could be seen hanging proudly on top of a hearth, which was centered in the wall opposite the desk. The portrait had a man and woman as the sole occupants. The man looked a lot like him, if he was older and had lighter hair. Except for the eyes. The man's eyes were a striking grey, not unlike the Starks of the North. The woman beside him had kind brown eyes and a smile that'd go with it. She was looking at Harry with unshed tears in her eyes.
"G-Grandfather? Grandmother?" Harry asked, his voice thick with emotions.
"Oh, yes baby, it's us." said the wife of Fleamont Potter, Euphemia Potter. "We have waited so long to finally meet you. We had this portrait made of the two of us so we would be able to help you with your lineage. There is so much to talk about and catch up on, dear."
"Indeed there is, young man." Fleamont said firmly. "First and foremost. Why did it take ten long years for you to come and visit?"
"I did not know of the house's existence until a week ago or so, I swear to you, grandfather." Harry said, almost bowing his head in respect to the man. Even inside of a portrait, Fleamont Potter had authority.
Harry explained everything to his grandparents. Both cried at the terrible story their grandson had to endure. Beatings, insults, being force to feed an entire family without himself having a meal and of course, the loneliness. Euphemia cried mainly for her small baby for having to endure so much all while doing it alone and Fleamont cried mainly of rage about having trusted one man, Albus Dumbledore.
"You need to be careful around him, Harry. I don't know what the man has in mind but it cannot be good for you. You were not supposed to be left with the Dursley's but with either Sirius Black or the Longbottoms." the grandfather said, his voice full of warning.
"Yes, I agree with you, grandfather." Harry nodded immediately.
"Dumbledore is a master Legilimens and you need to learn Occlumency as soon as possible." Euphemia continued. "We have books here that can help you get started. It will help you tremendously with magic. Do you know the term photographic memory?"
At her grandson's nodding positively, she continued. "You will basically learn to do that. It will be very useful for your exams at Hogwarts. Speaking of, how is school going?"
"Not great, grandmother. Last year, I was in the bottom three of my year. Yes, I know I know!" Harry said, waving his hands up in a surrendering manner. "I promise you, I will change. I have already taken measures towards that. You have my word, the both of you."
"I certainly hope so, young man." Fleamont said, his eyes squinting dangerously, not unlike Rickard Stark. "Explain to us how you got rid of the Dursley's. That could not have been easy to do."
"Oh it was, in a way. Our lawyer, Theodore Tonks, has been reminded that he works for us and not Dumbledore. Once he understood that, he acted pretty quickly for me to be declared of age. Ted told me about the Veritaserum and I used this fact to get dear Vernon and Petunia arrested for abuse against a child. They might even lose their guardianship on my cousin Dudley but I do not care in the slightest about what happens to them. If I never see them again, it would be too soon."
"I see. Well, good job in using their hate against them, the monsters." the older man in the portrait said. "You'll be safe here, inside the Potter wards. It would take an army to take down our wards here at Potter Manor. You can also do magic and the Ministry would never know about it, as long as you do it inside."
Harry nodded, happy to do magic in his world once again. Wanting to show off a little of his new powers with his grandparents, the young wizard casted a Lumos spell wandlessly, making a small ball of light appear in the palm of his hand.
"You can do wandless magic?" Euphemia said, clapping her hands in excitement. "How is this possible?"
"I've practiced a lot." Harry said, not wanting to divulge his adventure in Westeros just yet. "Can we continue on these ward things? Marcy explained them to me, but I want more details. What can they and can't they do."
"Of course, grandson, take a seat and I'll explain it all to you." Fleamont said, himself taking a seat inside his portrait.
:-[T.A.B]-:
:-[Many days later, after shopping]-:
Harry Potter was beyond happy. His new house, Potter Manor, as it was called in the magical world, was truly a fortress. The building was so old, that the young wizard suspected that it was built during the same time of Londinium itself, making his family extremely old. In the crypt under the manor, the young wizard saw the tomb of many of his family members but no ghosts, not that he minded. Potter Manor was now a fortress of solitude. If his grandparents were right and Harry was pretty sure they were, no one could come inside without his consent, even with the Floo Network.
The only thing Harry needed to learn now was Apparition and he would have freedom of movement. He had to give his word to both his grandparents that he would not attempt it without proper supervision, however as it was extremely dangerous to attempt alone.
Now with the help of his grandparents, Harry had started his work on occlumency. Having already mastered the art of mediation, the young wizard had already completed the first part. Now, he had to empty his mind every single day before going to sleep and after waking up. The goal was to at least offer him some protection against legilimency attacks.
Harry was coming back from Diagon Alley with a bunch of stuff. He bought books on many subjects and made sure to re-read his first-year books also. After all, if the basics worked in swordplay in Westeros, it was logic to think the same about magic.
His grandfather had flat out refused to give him the password to the Potter Library. Fleamont had insisted particularly on that, saying that every Potter needed to prove themselves first before gaining access to it. While slightly annoyed, Harry took it as a personal challenge and decided to do his best to obtain the right to enter his family's library. The young wizard tried to argue with his grandmother that doing wandless magic at the age of eleven was enough but no, apparently one of his ancestors had managed to do it sooner than him.
So, he trained every day in a special room inside Potter Manor, the training room. Harry used the fact that the wards protected him from the Ministry and their pesky rules about not using magic outside of Hogwarts for minors.
Suddenly, a small sound was heard in his mind, indicating that someone was trying to contact him from outside his house.
"Fuck, I completely forgot about the auror's first visit to check on me. I smell like shit." Harry said aloud.
"Master, you are a wizard, remember?" Hedwig sighed.
Harry avoided Hedwig's gaze in shame and cast a Scourgify spell on himself. The young raven-haired boy went to the door to open it. The same female auror that came with the wizengamot member was outside his door.
"Miss Bones, a pleasure to see you again." Harry said politely.
"Likewise, Mister Potter. Auror Amelia Bones." the older woman said. "I'm here to check if you're doing well as we discussed earlier with the wizengamot's official."
"Of course, Auror Bones. Please, come in." the young wizard said cordially.
Harry let the auror enter his house while authorizing her to pass through the wards. As soon as the older witch was inside, a black blur suddenly appeared out of nowhere and slammed itself into the young wizard's chest, making him stumble.
"Master Harry has a visitor. Master Harry forgot about the number rule one!" the house-elf almost shouted.
"Yes yes... always be alert." the wizard said, rising up to his feet, before seeing the auror chuckling. "Something funny, Auror Bones?"
"Quite, I see Marcy has not changed since the last time we saw each other." Amelia laughed.
"You know Marcy? Did you know my parents?" Harry asked, suddenly eager to know more about the relationship between her and his parents.
"Yes to both, young man. Your father James was an auror recruit back in the day. I never saw a wizard that had learned that many spells in my life but I swear, your father could learn them all, just give him a book and it was done." the female auror said, remembering the man before his departure.
They spoke to each other for a while, losing themselves in the past. Marcy brought them a plate of refreshments and with Harry's pressing, the house-elf stayed with them.
They met weekly throughout the summer, meeting and talking about nothing and everything. During their talk, Harry learned that his classmate in Hufflepuff, Susan Bones, was Amelia's niece and she had been raising her like her own ever since Lord Voldemort killed her two brothers and their wives. Young Susan was the only Bones' survivor with her aunt, making Harry understand her shy nature even more.
:-[T.A.B]-:
There it was, his twelfth birthday. The end of July came faster than Harry anticipated. He had been training or studying strenuously all week but today, he allowed himself some rest. After all, his two friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, alongside many other people were coming to celebrate this day with him in Potter Manor.
Marcy was over the moon, to have this many guests at the same time. It had been a long time since the diminutive creature had worked this hard. The young wizard was happy for her.
"So, house-elves are not slaves?" Hermione asked for the umpteenth time to Marcy.
"Oh no Missy Grangy." the elf said calmy and patiently. "House-elves loves to work and I is needing a family to survive with magic. The Potters are the best family!"
"Give it a rest, Hermione." Ron said while eating, or more accurately shoveling chips into his mouth. "House-elves are bloody useful if you ask me. My mum tried for years to get one but they cost too much. Must be nice having one at your beck and call."
"I is be doing my best to help my Master." Marcy said, seeing the small sadness in her master's eyes.
"That you do Marcy, that you do." Harry said, a kind smile on his face.
The house-elf knew her Harry was missing his parents terribly, even if he did not show it at all, even to his grandparents or her.
"Still...do elves have rights? Salary or vacation?" Hermione said, still sounding unconvinced.
"Marcy can have all the time off she wants, she just has to ask me, but I see your point, Hermione." Harry said, rubbing his chin. "Marcy, you told me earlier this summer that not all house-elves are as lucky as you. What did you mean?"
"Way to kill the mood, Harry." Ron whined, while continuing to eat.
"Some bad wizards and witches forces us to hurt ourselves." Marcy said, her ears down, showing that she was sad for her brethren. "House-elves is be sometimes forced to do things that we don't want to. Magic is bounding us to our masters' will."
"That's utterly barbaric! Harry James Potter, if you ever..." Hermione started before getting interrupted by the subject of her ire.
"If I what, Hermione? If I ever ask Marcy to hurt herself? I would never, ever do that." Harry said, squinting his green eyes dangerously. "I thought you knew me better than that."
"I-I'm sorry Harry. No, of course you would never do that. It's just... those poor house-elves, forced to hurt themselves simply because they are bound to bad wizards is so sad." the bushy-haired witch said, her voice sounding apologetic.
"I understand Hermione and you are right." Harry said, adjusting his shirt while walking around the living room. "We should do something about that but what?"
"I can do some research in the library at Hogwarts." the young witch said.
"Of course she will." Ron snarked. "I am sure she did her homework in a week's time, right Harry?"
"In fact, I did mine also in the first week." Harry said, proud of himself.
"What! You hate homework!" the redhead said, scandalized.
"I used to hate it yes, but I see now they are only assigned to make me a better wizard." the raven-haired boy said, to the pride of his friend Hermione. "You should really take them more seriously, Ron."
"Whatever! What is with you anyway? New attitude, new clothes," Ron said, pointing at the black and gold jacket Harry wore. "and now you speak of doing homework early!"
"The clothes are a small gift to myself after wearing Dudley bloody hand-me-down's for over ten years." Harry started. "The attitude is me maturing and understanding that life is not only Quidditch and chess, Ron. It is me taking my future into my own hands. You're going to have to accept that."
Ron grumbled something unintelligently and Harry ignored it but kept it in the back of his mind for later.
"This is very good, Harry." Hermione said quickly, wanting to put her indiscretion behind them. "I can make a study schedule for the both of us!"
"That would be great, Hermione, thank you." the young wizard said.
Marcy reappeared with a pile of gifts beside her. Her masters inside the portrait had asked for her to buy said gifts for them. The house-elf had been over the moon to do so, loving every second of it. She watched as her young master opened his gifts with his friends, a huge smile on his face. Harry didn't smiling often, except when he was with his family or with his friends.
The small being watched as her master was surrounded by his guests and friends. Neville Longbottom and Susan Bones were also present, having come to the house a few times during the summer. Missy Bones always came with her aunt and it was the first time she came alone without her. Young Neville came a few times without his grand-mother.
"Open my gift, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, clearly excited about her choice in gifts.
Young Master opened the bushy witch's gift and revealed a book. "Hogwarts: A History." Harry said, smiling at his friend.
"Yes! I just thought you would like your own copy of it." the young Gryffindor witch said, excitement spilling out of her voice.
"That is perfect, Hermione, thank you." the raven-haired wizard said, initiating a hug with his friend which she gladly answered.
:-[T.A.B]-:
:-[August 31]-:
Inside Harry's personal solar, a heated discussion was taking place. It was the last day before the young wizard had to leave for Hogwarts and the talk between him and his grand-parents was not going well.
"You will listen to me, young man!" Fleamont all but screamed inside his portrait with Euphemia wisely saying nothing.
"With respect, grand-father, why would I do that?" Harry said calmy.
"You just said it! I am your grand-father and you owe me your bloody respect!" the older 'man' said.
"Grand-father, I am sorry to remind you, you are a magical portrait, not a real wizard. While I highly respect your opinion and the one's of grand-mother, I am my own man. I was declared of age and I will not be controlled by anyone anymore. For too long my life was controlled by someone other than me and that will never happen again." Harry said, his voice like the lord of Moat Cailin.
"All I said was..." Fleamont tried to continue.
"Trying to turn me into my father. I am not James, I am me, Harry Potter." The young wizard said.
"I know who you are, grandson. It just, James never was rock bottom in his bloody year! No Potter ever was." the portrait continued, still insisting on the matter.
"Enough. I have told you I have changed as a person and I will prove it to you this year by being the best student. You're going to have to trust me, grand-father." Harry said firmly.
"It's not as if we have any other choice." grumbled Fleamont.
"That's enough, the both of you." Euphemia said, trying to be the voice of reason. "Harry, I am glad that you want to listen to our advice. Fleamont, our grandson is right. We are a portrait, not the real people."
"Fine, fine! You better be honest about all this, Harry." the older man said, still irritated about the situation.
"I am. Don't worry. I am not the same Harry that I was at the beginning of the summer." Harry told his grandparents with finality.
:-[T.A.B]-:
"Master Harry is needing to be up, now!" a black blurred figure yelled, two inches from Harry's ear, effectively waking him up.
"Bloody Merlin, you crazy house-elf!" the young wizard said, falling out of his bed in a fright.
"Master is needing to be alert at all times." Marcy said, posing herself in a fighting stance. "You is never knowing when an enemy is coming to attack you."
"Wise words." Harry said, deadpanning.
"The train is leaving in two hours. You is needing to be ready." the house-elf said, her tiny fists on her hips.
"Everything is ready, don't worry Marcy. We've finished everything yesterday, remember? I only need one of your breakfasts and we are ready to Apparate to the station directly." the young boy said.
Harry quickly got dressed once he was left alone. He put on his new favorite black and gold jacket with a shirt and tie under it. Happy with the way he looked, the young wizard put his wand holder on his wrist. The holder was a gift from Susan and Auror Amelia Bones for his birthday and he was practicing with it every day. Even if he was able to do wandless magic, his spells with a wand were still stronger than without. Once Harry put on his shoes, he left his room.
Walking into the kitchen, the raven-haired boy saw his meal already on the table with Marcy cleaning the kitchen. Harry ate the delicious food on his plate and leaving nothing behind, not wanting to offend his house-elf. They spent their last time together until Christmas talking about everything and nothing as they usually did in the morning.
An hour before the train was set to leave King's Cross for Hogwarts, Harry and Marcy got everything ready for the wizard's departure. The trunks were put in a pile near the foyer and would be brought in by the house-elf when they arrived at the station. For the occasion, Marcy wore her best tunic with the Potter coat-of-arms on her shoulder.
"Are you ready to go back to Hogwarts, Master Harry?" Hedwig said mentally, waiting patiently on her perch.
"Oh absolutely. I think the professors are in for a big surprise this year." Harry answered, a smile smirk on his face. "Are you sure you want to fly all the way to Hogwarts?"
"Yes, I shall never be in a cage again. The freedom that Kalvyn gave me in Westeros was truly a gift. Being that direwolf was revealing, in a way." the white owl said, blinking her amber eyes slowly.
"If you're sure, girl. I'll make sure you are registered as a familiar in Hogwarts as soon as we arrive. Hermione's little gift on my birthday was really... inspiring. Did you know that familiars are allowed to stay with their master?" the young wizard asked.
"The time is now, young Master Harry." Marcy said suddenly. "We is needing to get to the Red Train for you to get to Hogwarts."
"Yes, thank you Marcy." the raven-haired boy said.
After leaving a window open for his owl to take, Harry took Marcy's hand and both Apparated to King's Cross where very few families were present.
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay for company, Master Harry?" Marcy asked, just to be sure.
"Yes Marcy, I am sure." Harry said kindly. "I'll simply wait in a compartment for the others. We have written to each other about this during the summer and everyone should stay together on the train."
Marcy nodded to her Master and simply snapped her fingers to Apparate back home, leaving the young boy by himself.
"How bloody sad, Potter." a sneering voice said behind him.
Harry looked at the source of the voice and saw Draco Malfoy with two adults. One was a gorgeous blonde woman, tall and slim. She was looking at Harry as if he was a piece of shit on the sidewalk. The man had a pale pointed face, just like the younger blond. He had long pale blond hair with equally pale grey eyes.
"This is the great Boy-Who-Lived? How... disappointing." the man said, sneering in the process.
"Yes, Father." Draco said, toothily smiling. "So, Potter, you only have a sad little house-elf to accompany you to the station? Pathetic if you ask me."
"The only difference between you and me, Draco, is that at least I give my parents something to be proud of." Harry remarked. "Have a good day, see you at school."
Harry took his leave without waiting for an answer from the Malfoys. If they were to treat him as such, the young wizard would answer back without remorse. Walking towards the Hogwarts' Express, Harry received the help of one of the magical employees who helped the young children put their trunks inside their compartment.
Taking only Hogwarts: A History with him for reading during the trip, Harry climb aboard the train and went into a compartment, waiting for his friends to arrive.
:-[T.A.B]-:
Thank you everyone for reading Chapter 44 of The adventure begins! Please let a review in the comment, letting me know what you think about my story or what you would like to see.
Criticism is always welcome as long as it is constructive.
Thank you to abarai72 for his amazing help in developing this story!
To Blaze1992: Were they brainwashed? Not in this story. Thank you again for reading.
To Ptool: Thank you again for reading my friend!
To rajeshkont: Most of the answers about your questions are in future chapters. Thank you for your time!