Harry Potter and the Game of Life Chapter 2, a harry potter fanfic

A/N: Well then. I got a pretty solid response in the 1 night that the story sat. Motivation is strong! I am not sure how frequent the updates will be. I think I ended up waiting a few days for this one just to make sure that it was a bit better. And I went through and edited the first chapter to clean it up a little after I read through it. I will not be front-loading the information. Skills will reveal themselves as they become applicable, explanations will hopefully be kept clean and concise, and in honor of some of the better written Life is a Game fics out there I will keep a running tally of Harry's Character Sheet and post it every few chapters to refresh everyone unless a more frequent posting is requested. May just put it on my account as it feels like pointless word count bumping to post it in every chapter.

Notifications show up like this. And are accompanied with a soft Ping that only Harry can hear and Tyran's voice reading it out softly.

Chapter 2: Back-Alley Bribes

The first thing Harry noticed when he woke up was the dull, bruise-like pain in his arm, and the bump on his head. A second thud echoed through his body from his right bicep and his head got smacked against a hard surface for what must be a second time.

Cloth Armor skill increased by 1! It is now 33! 1 Skill Boon available!

"Wake up! Mom said to get you into the kitchen working on dinner!" came the unforgettable voice of his whale cousin Dudley Dick, Harry heard it from under the coat he had covered his head with.

"Piss off, you fat fu…" Harry began to say, still a bit drowsy from what must have been interdimensional travel of some sort, before his widening eyes met his cousin's equally widening eyes. A quick glance around showed that he was in the back of Vernon's new car and the pain must have come from his cousin punching him as a form of 'shaking him awake'.

"MOOOOOM!" Dudley's fat behind waddled to the front door of the house and Harry realized that Day 1 of his summer had already gotten off to a fantastic start. With his mind slowly waking up, and the cat now firmly thrown from the bag and into the fire Harry grinned. The changes had already taken place for the most part even if it was a slight miscalculation that the changes wouldn't be retroactive to how he had looked before. It'd be easy enough to explain in a few months to people who hadn't seen him in a while but to people who saw the results like night and day? It was rather alarming. A spark of inspiration hit Harry and he was now doggedly determined to get the heck out of here as quickly as possible.

"I will not stand for this sort of freakishness in my house! Change it back! Change it all back!" Vernon fumed as he stared at a boy that was different enough to the one he picked up from that blasted train station just this morning that without the vibrant and distinct green eyes Vernon would be damned to guess that it was Harry on the first try. It had gotten off to a great start when the freak had dozed off early and not even Dudley's friendly punches could wake him on the car ride home. They had left him in the car simply out of a desire to put off having his presence around for as long as possible. Then the boy walked in the house with a swagger, hair freshly red, cheekbones slightly higher, chin a bit stronger, looking like some sort of superstar's kid. It could almost be mistaken for someone else if they weren't all sure that he looked as normal as one of his kind could look when they picked him up this morning. "Change it back this instance boy or I swear I will call the Yard"

"The police? Uncle how would you explain having a strange new boy in your home from the train station with bruises on his arm and a clear desire to not be here, a room with enough locks on it to keep out a bear, and a cat flap that still has the remains of some cans you left me before I went to Hogwarts?"

Vernon sputtered for a moment as he considered it before turning to glare at his wife, "well he's your bloody nephew you deal with it. I need a drink" and with that he walked over to his decanters and poured himself a hearty 3 fingers of bourbon before plopping himself in front of the telly and turning it to the local news.

"You heard your Uncle boy; you need to change this back right now. We did not agree to have some sort of… whatever you are waltzing about our home!" Petunias voice got steadily more forceful as the red of Harry's new hair along with the green eyes brought back memories she had tried to put away for a long time.

"I can't and I won't. I already explained it, I received a letter about my inheritance before school let out and it warned me of some recent changes to my physique that would be happening. They didn't tell me that it would be so sudden just that I should go to the bank when it happens. And the hair was the result of a last minute potion I was brewing with my friends that we thought hadn't worked initially" The lie came easily to him, a lot easier than it would have previously and he wondered if the new Charisma score had helped with that. He wanted to get out of here and this was enough of a shock to his magic wary relatives that he was trying to twist the situation to his advantage early.

Quest started! Flee the Dursleys! Reward: 1 Skill point, 1 Home Token, 1 Stat point, and 200 Experience points.

The notification had nearly made him flinch as he met his Aunt's unblinking glare, he was surprisingly able to hear it over the TV with no issue as well as read it in the corner of his eye with no problem. That setting was very useful. His rough plan was to get out, get to the Leaky Cauldron and have a thorough thinking session over how he was going to handle living life as a game.

"Fine. Just… Fine. Go up to your room and this will be discussed later" came Petunia's almost disturbingly levelheaded response as she opted against the ongoing staring contest.

"Good, that will give me a chance to brew up a fix for this hair style" Harry said with a disarming grin, knowing that the mention of potion-making would irk his Uncle.

"Now listen here boy. There will be no Bubble Bubble Toil and Bullshit from you" Vernon said with not even a twitch of his moustache as he watched the local weather woman tell them it was going to be hot as hell this week. "And what is this about an inheritance? We didn't receive any notice of that"

Hook, line, time for the sinker.

"I just found out this past week but apparently my father left me a sizeable inheritance, I'm to collect it from the bank as soon as I can" Harry said with an air of innocence.

"Well that's bloody perfect then. You can finally start paying us back for all the freeloading you've done. When does this bank of yours close?" There was finally a gleam of interest in his Uncle's eyes as they turned to glance at the boy.

"I think they said that it was open all day" was all Harry got to say before Petunia cut in.

"Yes and staffed by those disgusting little creatures, if I remember right. Goblins I think Lily called them. Freakish little things" the words were accompanied by a disgusted shake of her head atop the long neck "Is their money even worth anything to us normal people? I remember Lily trading pounds for little coins the couple of times I wasn't allowed to stay home on those horrid trips to that Alley"

Harry hadn't considered it before but he supposed it made sense that his Aunt would have seen a fair bit more of the magical world than she ever let on. This was perfect.

"Last I checked the conversion rate was 5 Pounds to a Galleon" Harry gave the best number he knew to be true, even if it was a bit of a future number "I think they mentioned that I had a couple thousand in my inheritance"

Harry didn't clarify what the couple thousand pertained to, whether it was Galleons or Pounds, but judging from the urgent wiggle his Uncle gave as he got out of the couch it must have been enough regardless. Our young Hero of course knew exactly how much was in his Trust Vault, he had used a bit of the funds when the Golden Trio was on the run and at Hermione's urging had asked for a full accounting.

"Alright boy I'll take you to your bloody bank. But I expect a payment of 500 Pounds a month for this summer's expenses" Vernon said as he grabbed his keys.

"Yes Uncle"

Diagon was unsurprisingly quiet, just a few shoppers looking to pick up welcome home gifts and groceries for their returning family. Harry saw a pale blonde that he was sure was Malfoy Senior disappear into the entrance of Knockturn, presumably to pawn off a few more of his non-desirables before the raids that he remembered Mr. Weasley continuing this summer. Borgin and Burke's must be loaded with all sorts of unique and Dark items as many families were targeted and Harry resolved to at least browse their selection this summer to see what he could pick up. It's a shame though, he would have liked his Uncle to meet the man if only to see the ultimate clash of Wizard and Muggle.

Speaking of his Uncle he didn't know someone could pull of Tough Guy and Scared Witless at the same time but then again, he didn't expect the man to come with him either. Money was a powerful motivator. It required a minor tweak to his plans, but he counted on the Goblins to at least maintain a modicum of secrecy.

They ascended the stairs of the grand Bank and his Uncle was staring up at the massive building in disbelief. Inside they quickly found an unattended teller and Harry began the ultimate gamble.

"Hello, I'd like to talk to someone about my vault please" Harry began, slipping a bit of confidence in voice.

"Key." Was the terse response.

"Right here." Harry said, as he slipped the golden key across the table. Vernon finally paid attention as he eyed the key hungrily. The whole Bank oozed opulence even if the whole setting also oozed Freak. The guards at the front had almost made him jump when he made his way into the bank and their poleaxes banged against the marble.

"Right. And what transaction can I perform today" the teller said with a glance between the large fat man standing over the small boy. Humans all looked weird, but the fat man was the weirdest the teller had seen in a while.

"I'd like to convert the whole lot to Pounds" Harry stated with a bit more confidence. His Uncle whirled to look at him as the beginnings of a grin formed beneath his walrus moustache.

"Understood. The total of that will come out to £122,861 Pound Sterling" and there was a brief pause before Vernon began choking on air. The Boy was rich indeed!

Harry tapped his chin and looked at his Uncle "Uncle Vernon, let's go over to those tables there while we wait" and the man blindly followed as his mind wrapped around what basically amounted to 6 years salary for him simply sitting in a Bank with the freaks.

They found 2 seats and sat, and green eyes met blue.

"You don't like me Uncle. That much is clear. You haven't for a long time and the feeling is mutual. So when I offer this simply remember that it's the best you can get from me as I'd be more than willing to let the money sit as Galleons and that will do you little good as you need a Wizard to access the Alley. And my key to access the vault. And my signature to finalize the transaction. So I am willing to cut ties if you are. Right here. Right now. I pay you £25,000 flat and you sign some papers, leave my trunk which is still in the boot, and drive away with no regrets" Harry said this all evenly and with little emotion. His plan hinged on the greed and desire to be rid of Freaks that the man before him held.

Vernon met his eyes and almost said no before he remembered the price tag of his new car and thought of a few things he wanted to improve around the house, and a vacation.

"Deal"

Screeeeeee! The tires of Vernon's new car spun wildly as he whooped out the window into the slowly cooling afternoon air. Harry was a shrinking form in the sideview and the new suitcase of money beside him was a much better driving companion. With a racecar-esque turn around a corner Harry finally grinned as the man he hated was finally gone. And he was free. Glancing over his shoulder at the Leaky Cauldron Harry stepped inside and was met with the non-descript but still magical interior. He nodded to Tom and secured a room for the night before turning with a grin and a swish of his wand as he levitated his trunk up the stairs. Emancipation was amazing.

***Flashback***

Harry sauntered up to the counter after the brief discussion with Vernon. The Goblin simply slid over a briefcase of money.

"Before we finalize this I was wondering if Gringotts has access to the forms for Emancipation, Master Teller" To which the Goblin nodded in the affirmative and pointed to a different line. Signing for the money and hefting the briefcase Harry made his way over to the other line and retrieved a copy of the seven-page form and a quill.

Taking these over to his Uncle Harry set the briefcase against the back of the seat, sat in front of it, and set the form between them. With a quick read over the contents he filled out the pertinent magical information such as date of birth and astrological sign and had his Uncle sign and initial the few areas that needed his attendance. The quill was bulky and awkward, but the large man made it work. After verifying the contents at the same line the form came from and two instances of taking it back to the tables and tweaking the information. This part made Harry nervous as he wasn't sure even that sizeable sum of money would keep his Uncle from reneging on the deal at the last minute to spite him.

With the form finally filled and submitted Harry followed Vernon to the car where the agreed upon money was exchanged for school trunk and owl cage. With an awkward stare the two parted ways for good.

***End Flashback***

The Emancipation form was something that Harry had found out about in his previous life. A 4th year Hufflepuff that had gotten knocked up during a midnight tryst had unfortunately felt the pressure from her family to get married and the news of it all had made its rounds in the Hogwarts grapevine. A quick inquiry about it in the summer before 6th year had piqued his interest but it was unnecessary at that point as he had already passed his OWLs.

Now though? Now it gave him options, and a million questions as his ears rang repeatedly with notifications.

Congrats! You have escaped the Dursleys and completed your quest. Reward: 1 Skill point, 1 Home Token, 1 Stat point, and 200 Experience points.

Ding! Level Up! You are now Level 2. 4 Skill points awarded. 17 Skill Points unspent. One Home Token unused. 3 Skill Boons unused. 2 Stat Points unused. 1 Feat Point unused.

Congrats! You are level 2! Inventory Unlocked. Guide Unlocked. Character Sheet Unlocked.

Congrats! You're a free man! The negative effect Trace has been removed.

Congrats! You're a man with influence! And Money! Inheritance has been unlocked, please collect from your nearest Gringotts Teller.

Opportunity! Timed Event unlocked. Fully explore the Alley by the end of the Summer to receive a hidden reward!

Opportunity! Timed Event unlocked. Master 10 spells by the end of the Summer to receive a unique reward!

And thus the reason he was sitting in his rented room, rolls of parchment left over from his school year spread out around him as he discovered one of the most frustrating aspects of his new existence.

Error! You cannot write about the Game of Wizards.

Wadding up the parchment he chucked it against the wall and gripped the sides of his head in frustration. There had to be a better way to organize all of the recent things that had happened when it him it.

'Pause' he thought to himself. Nothing happened. He tried a few more times and still nothing happened. If not for the recent very annoying notifications and the physical incapability to even spell the word Magicka. He threw his hands up in frustration.

"aaaaagh why didn't I let Tyran explain this shit?" He grumbled to himself. Then he twitched. And twitched again. Looking down he saw a miniature version of Tyran walking on his leg.

"Hello again, Chosen" came the voice which did not seem to be affected by the being's size. Amazingly it jumped off his leg and grew to the normal size that he first encountered it at.

"Pause" Tyran said with conviction and suddenly the world grayed out except for the two of them.

"How did you do that?" came the whisper of our raven-haired bespectacled well-meaning nincompoop of a hero.

"I told you before, you have to think it with intent. In my case my voice is your thoughts. Only you can hear me" Across from him was another chair that Tyran took for itself "Are you enjoying yourself so far? Fate was laughing so hard when you got yourself emancipated 2 years early. She thought that it might happen, but her money was on 4th year"

"Wait I thought Fate was all knowing?" Harry asked as he examined the motes of dust in the air. His arms and legs went through anything that he meant to touch which he played around with at the table for a moment, but the chair seemed to still work normally.

Tyran smiled with unmistakable fondness, "She usually is. In the interest of giving you a fair swing of things though she has chosen to remain a little further away from meddling with your life this time around. Certain events will still happen as I'm sure you saw with your Chosen One Disadvantage. Now, I can only be with you in the tutorial level. This Diagon Alley as it were. So there isn't much time and we still have much to go over hence why I chose to Pause the world while we discuss a few basics"

"What do you mean? Tutorial?" Harry scratched his head as he propped his feet up on the table

Tyran smacked his feet off the table before responding "Yes, the Tutorial. Here you will learn what it means to be living life as a game, we will go over some of the advantages and disadvantages of this life and I will answer any and all questions as best as I can"

With a motion to continue Tyran said aloud and with conviction "Character Sheet" and a large parchment unfurled in the air in front of Harry, causing him to make an odd eep noise and tumble backwards.

Chuckling Tyran pointed at the sheet. "This is you. Literally everything that the game governs, or affects is on this sheet. It won't tell you how many pimples you have but it will let you know if there's an Active Effect that is causing an extreme growth for example"

With a hum of acknowledgement Harry's eyes roamed the sheet, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Well, as ordinary as a 7 foot by 4 foot sheet of parchment floating in a grayed out world and detailing a disturbing amount of information can be. Scratching his head in frustration, he looked back at Tyran "Help?"

"Certainly. At the top you will see basic numbers. Your name of course, your class and level. Your Health which is the total amount of life force remaining in your body, your Magicka which is the total amount of magical energies within you, and your Stamina which represents a tangible number to the amount of physical effort you can exert at one time. Below that are your stats and any current modifiers. If you see next to Perception you have a +10 symbol to represent the bonus from poor eyesight as your glasses are on. Take them off and it will change to a -8. Similarly you will see your Magic boosted from your various perks. These numbers can and will change as you grow and train but take the most time to change. For example, your strength is currently 5 as you have grown some since the First-Year sheet you saw in the Options. If you were to focus on the skill Weightlifting which is a purely strength-based skill, then as you increase in levels of that skill you will see benefits to your Strength, and perhaps even your Constitution depending on the method of training up to a certain point. It is a very fluid system. But Mastery of the skill will not make you the strongest man alive. It is the same reason that even the best Weightlifters are not necessarily the hardest hitters. Strength needs skill to be guided. Also each skill offers diminishing returns at each Rank of the skill; Apprentice for 1-25, Journeyman for 26-50, Expert for 51-75, and Master for 75-100 but offer bonuses at each rank." Harry paid apt attention to the description. He needed to, as he knew that he would be working diligently to level everything as quickly as possible in order to defeat Voldemort.

With a flourish, the Character Sheet shimmered and rolled up "You will also discover skills as you progress through the world, either from books or from sheer force of will, or even secrets buried throughout the world. What I mean by force of will is that if you were to braid someone's hair it would not confer a bonus as there is currently no Hair Styling skill on your Character Sheet. Certainly there are skilled people of that vocation. If you were to braid hair 50 times, you might unlock the skill. Once the skill is unlocked it becomes much easier to get a few more levels in it. True mastery of a skill takes immense time and effort as I'm sure you will see"

Tyran stood up and stepped onto the table, beginning to shrink again the Construct reformed into a bracelet covered in the dizzying arrays of Runes that Harry remembered from the Center before zooming through the air and securing itself around his wrist. "Now let us begin with the basics Chosen and renotify you of the Accomplishments you have already achieved so that you may receive your bonuses accordingly. We may not change the events of previous years, but Fate felt that you could benefit from the bonuses, and as it stands even a basic 2nd year would beat you until these are added"

Congrats! You have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. +2 to Magic. Access to Hogwarts Granted.

Congrats! You joined the Gryffindor House Quidditch Team. +2 to Broom Handling, +10 to Quidditch +25 Reputation with Gryffindor House

Congrats! You have become the youngest Seeker in a Century! +5 to Broom Handling, +5 to Quidditch

"What would be the difference between Quidditch and Broom Handling?" Harry asked as the Notification sounded in his head.

"Quidditch is the basic ability to catch, throw, and block a Quaffle. It also determines strength and accuracy when hitting a Bludger, and the way that a Snitch might react around you. It's also a Unique skill in that if you were to play Keeper or Beater your skill level would change accordingly to allow growth in that Position. It is this way with many sports." Tyran explained helpfully.

Congrats! You have passed the Philosopher Trials. +5 to Chess, +1 to Broom Handling, +2 to Potions, +1 to Alchemy.

Congrats! You have won the House Cup! +75 to Reputation with Gryffindor House. -25 to Reputation with other Houses.

Congrats! You have dueled with Malfoy! Must have felt great to have indulged in childish rivalries right? +1 to Dueling, +1 to Parseltongue. -1000 Reputation with Hogwarts.

"Wow… 1000? Its amazing that Gryffindor didn't hate me too…" Harry mumbled.

Tyran felt the need to respond anyways, "Well classifications like Hogwarts or Ravenclaw apply to the nameless of that Faction, people you have not interacted with enough to be warranted their own Reputation ranking"

Congrats! You have discovered Lockhart's Lies and given him his just desserts! Obliviate Spell Learned. Hair Style Spell Learned.

Congrats! You have discovered the lost Chamber of Secrets! Access to Chamber of Secrets Granted. New Save Point discovered. New Instance discovered. +10 Parseltongue.

"Instance? Save Point?" Harry inquired.

"Yes. There are places in this world where you can enter an Instance. This is one of the things only a Chosen can do, where they enter a pocket plane much like the Center that exists outside of Time and where you can do some training" Tyran elaborated.

Congrats! You have destroyed Tom Riddle's Diary. +5 to Parseltongue. +10 to Dark Arts. Life Debt with Ginerva Molly Weasley earned.

"Whoa whoa whoa, Life Debt?" the young hero asked the Construct.

"Yes. If in enough risk of losing Life or Magic, then a Life Debt can form between the savior and the one they saved. Their Magic views yours as superior and will bow in subservience to you. Basically if you activate this you pretty much own young Ginerva until such time as you release her or her magic reestablishes its independence. If you do nothing with it then it may go away, but if memory serves her desire to be with you activated the debt on its own" the red and black Runic being tapped its temple a couple times as if in thought but let the listing continue.

Congrats! You have defeated Salazar Slytherin's Legendary Basilisk. +40 Parseltongue. Parseltongue Language Mastered! 4 Skill Boons available. +5 to Dark Arts. Sword of Godric Gryffindor added to Inventory. Basilisk Materials added to Inventory. +5000 Galleons. +10000 Exp.

Ding! Level Up! You are now Level 6. Skill points awarded. 85 Skill Points unspent. One Home Token unused. 8 Skill Boons unused. 12 Stat Points unused. 3 Feat Points unused.

"I will explain Feats, Skill Boons and Stat Points when we level you up" Tyran supplied before the inevitable questions.

Congrats! You are Level 3! Feat Screen unlocked. Class Specialization unlocked.

"Fucking hell… That was a lot" Harry stated bluntly. There was a soft thud as he flopped back into the seat behind him and the world regained color.

-Fin-

A/N: Well there is chapter 2. Working on 3 now but wanted to give you guys a small taste as a lot happened in this chapter despite the lower word count. Harry is Emancipated and Trace free! Simplistic approach but everyone always made a big to-do about what basically every witch or wizard got once they passed a few tests. At the age of 15. 2 years doesn't seem so impressive now does it?

Til next time!

Patch 1.0.2: Put the Skills system and Tutorial intro into this Chapter as it felt clunky without.