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: Striking Out His Way
Posted Date: November 30 2024
Tags: Harry not the BWL, Older Brother Healer Harry, Harry not a Gryffindor, Twin Potter Sisters, Harry Healer, Older Generation, Cult of Dumbledore, Old Guard vs New Guard, Millionaire Harry, Independent Harry, Early 2000s
Possible Challenges: Good Sirius Black / Remus Lupin, Good Pettigrew, Good Hogwarts Heads, BAMF Sprout / Filius, Neutral Snape, Interference Cult of Dumbledore, Bad Tonks
Pairings (Main): TBD
Not to be used: Smut
In the Potter Manor that overlooked the lake and the woods of Hafren Forest, the fire that was burning low in the fireplace suddenly went into a blaze of green fire and shortly after, a shadow appeared in the flames and coalesce into a bigger figure before a figure appeared out of the flames and entered the foyer of the manor. The figure shook his head a bit before closing the Floo connection behind him and preparing the metal grill to block possible intruders.
"Got to be quick about it." One Harry James Potter spoke aloud as he walked out of the foyer and into the general corridor of the manor, walking through the halls that may have once been welcoming, but no longer held any appeal to him as he walked up the stairs to his room that was represented by a regular looking door. He opened it to find a room that was mostly cleared of items and a bed that was barely slept in for the past couple of years. He waved his wand to make the last of the books and clothes rise from where they were and into a trunk that was left there for the occasion, rearranging themselves neatly to fit inside despite it being a bottomless trunk. With a snap, the trunk shut itself, leaving Harry to stand in his old room for what was possibly the last time.
It had been a long time coming, but now that it was here, Harry felt a touch of melancholy at the action he was going to perform. He should not have been forced to do this, but with what had happened a couple of hours ago, it was the final straw that broke the camel's back.
Shaking it off, Harry did a final cursory scan around his room before nodding to himself and shrinking the trunk and putting it into the pocket of his robes before grabbing the duffel bag containing some of the clothes for the trip. It was no use thinking about it too much, he was running out of time as it was and needed to get moving. However, Harry only took a few steps when he saw that one item hadn't responded to the spell he had cast earlier to recall it like all the other items in the room had. Harry slowly moved to the bed and shifted the pillow to look at the silver cloak that was folded neatly beneath it, taking the moment to touch the fabric lightly and watch it ripple under his fingers like it was made of liquid silver that shimmered like stars even in the dim lighting of the room.
The item he was looking at was a Potter Family heirloom, an invisibility cloak that was passed down for generations from father to son. It was quite a curious item given the unusual longevity of the cloak since most invisibility cloaks would lose their spells and charms after 20 years, 50 if they were well taken care of. This heirloom was certainly older than them with some people remarking the original creators of the cloak must have been really skilled to have retained its power after all this time. When Harry first got it, it certainly felt "magical" and he always got the sense that the cloak was more sentient than his father had given credit to. There had been moments when the cloak seemed to want to help Harry get away from more than just schoolyard troubles and hid him completely from spells designed to find him.
Harry had left it on the bed this morning while preparing for the day ahead, and had originally thought of passing it down to his younger brother Nathan who was about to attend Hogwarts in two years while Harry had effectively graduated in all but name since he had completed his OWLs and NEWTs early with an apprenticeship to a well-known alchemist and a healer. He would not really need the cloak to be invisible at that point and merely hung on to it until he was ready to leave.
But given what had happened earlier in the week, and most recently the past couple of hours, and what would happen later, Harry felt he deserved something for all he had done and lost from this family. It was his birthright and he may as well take the one item that would benefit him more.
With a nod, Harry grabbed the cloak and with a twirl, fastened it to his shoulders. The cloak briefly moved like it was caught in a breeze before it settled against his body and turned invisible, making it impossible for anyone but him to detect the cloak unless he took it off himself. Harry had wondered why no one else in the history of the Potter family ever figured out the many skills that the family Cloak had that no other invisibility cloak had but simply chalked it up to laziness since it never lost its powers over the years. And perhaps it was his imagination from all that had happened, but the cloak felt "happy" that Harry took the time to study it and more now that he had decided to bring it with him.
Everything done, Harry stalked out of his now completely empty room and back to the corridor leading to the staircase, but once again paused outside of a door that was next to him. He took a breath seeing the nameplate on the front, then slowly reaching to touch the handle of the door, pausing as though he was afraid to open it, then turned the handle and pushing it inward to view a room that was clearly meant for little girls based on the number of dolls that dominated one side of the room, and some small items placed here and there. There were books of course, mostly story books but there were some beginner guides for magical theory to break the monotony, and the room colour was a tasteful beige with some pink.
Thankfully it was not overwhelming pink, because he had enough of that from the Toad of the Ministry. Many of the staff there had sworn off the colour completely after meeting the woman who was becoming quite the pest to those who do not meet her ideals about blood purity or loyalty to the Ministry, or her ideal of the Ministry.
Harry dismissed that line of thought and looked to the bunk beds that were empty for the moment. His sisters were out for the night with his godfather and Remus Lupin, and Harry was torn between relief and sadness at not seeing them there. He took out a letter from his jacket while walking to the bed, and placed it on the bed of the top bunk to prevent the adults from seeing it quickly. He then turned to where the cabinet table was, focusing his attention on the photo that depicted him kneeling with two little girls by his side. The photo was moving as per normal, so Harry could see how happy the girls were. He lightly stroked the picture frame with a finger, turning once more to see the room with slightly misty eyes, then left the room while closing the door quietly.
Harry took a few breaths to control his emotions and made his way back to the foyer only to find that he was no longer alone. Three younger children, two girls and one boy, were standing there in their clothes, with two adult males who were surprised to see him there. "Harry?" The man with the neatly trimmed beard and suit blinked at his presence. "You okay? You are looking a little agitated. And why was the fire grill up?" Before Harry could say anything, the fireplace that was missing the protection grill he had placed earlier flared emerald flames and two people ran out of the Floo with harried looks on their faces.
The same two people that warranted the grill in the first place.
The man who came through the Floo first was none other than James Potter, his "father". A tall, thin man with hazel eyes framed with thin round glasses and untidy black hair that stuck up at the back while dressed in dark robes, he was often compared with Harry given how much the latter resembled him outside of a slightly bulkier body frame from his training, his eye colour being green like Lily's, and said eyes not needing any glasses thanks to a healthy lifestyle and a magical optician.
The other person who followed him through the flames was none other than Lily Potter herself, his "mother". Lily was a beautiful woman with thick, dark red hair that fell to her shoulders and bright green almond-shaped eyes only a shade lighter in colour than her eldest son's Harry's, and a body figure that made it hard for others to believe that she was a mother of four despite the facts. She was currently dressed in a set of robes that were not too extravagant while still showing some of her figure that had a few younger boys gaining their first crushes and older boys having wet dreams at Hogwarts.
James and Lily caught sight of Sirius and the others when exiting the Floo, and James quickly spoke without realising Harry was there. "Have any of you seen Harry? We need to talk to him and explain things."
Those words just broke through Harry's restraints on his emotions, his magic reacting immediately to his anger, creating a pressure that descended on the occupants in the room and almost brought the adults to their knees from the sheer weight of it, while the children were somewhat unaffected but aware of the feeling. Releasing one's magical aura to be felt by others was something that only those of certain magical levels could do, but to radiate such an amount while focusing it on the targets was something even Dumbledore in his prime would have issues doing. That he was doing this subconsciously was even more impressive.
All that meant was the group now being aware of his presence as he entered the room, his eyes glowing brightly at the sight of the parents. The loose objects in the room started to shake just from being in the vicinity and only kept from falling due to charms holding for the time being. The flames from the fireplace began to flicker randomly, affecting the lighting which merely added to the effect of him being someone that stood above them all, and was currently upset about something.
Harry was leaking out a lot of his magical aura when he froze at the sounds of familiar whimpering. With some dread, he turned slowly to find his baby sisters shivering in terror at the feel of his anger through his aura. Shame filled Harry at the fact that his beloved sisters, who always came to him for comfort, were now looking at him in such fear like he would lay his hands on them, and that was something he would never do. Harry instinctively dissipated his aura to spare them more pain while simultaneously showing his hands to prove he would not harm them. He had to take a few steps back and some deep breaths to keep his emotion under control and in turn his magic that was going wild at the moment. He had to be calm for them.
This however proved to be a harder task since James managed to gather himself in the dissipating presence and stood up straight to look at Harry with pleading eyes. "Harry, where are you going?"
Harry's eyes became emerald chips of ice as he turned to look at his father and mother blocking his way to the Floo and escape. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm leaving this place. I've had enough of this and the both of you!"
James and Lily flinched from the obvious venom that was on his tongue before the latter started to speak. "P-Please, Harry. You have to understand. It's for the best. Yo-"
Harry quickly interrupted with a glare. "For the best? FOR THE BEST! For who? For me or for you? I knew you people are always pandering to Dumbledore and Nathan, but today was the last straw. YOU TOOK AWAY MY BIRTHRIGHT!" The magical aura came back briefly to slam on the adult Potters, "Becoming Lord Potter is my BIRTHRIGHT! And you took it away and gave it to Nathan! Who's not even old enough to take over if anything happens to you idiots!"
James tried to console Harry but only succeeding to make the discussion worse. "If something does happen to me, you'd be named regent until Nathan became of age-"
"I shouldn't be named REGENT! I should have been named Lord Potter! As the eldest male, that is my right, not Nathan's!"
The afore-mentioned boy looked uncomfortable from what was being discussed and under his eldest brother's burning gaze of anger, sadness and disgust. Despite the fact that the two boys rarely interacted due to their age difference and because Harry was always busy with various magical projects, Harry had looked out for him with care before as he grew up. He would tell Nathan stories about Hogwarts every time he returned for the summer or holidays, ranging from the general environment to the hijinks of his friends, and even gave him tips for magic when the boy hit 7 and started getting some training from Professor Dumbledore.
But now, Harry was looking at him with barely concealed loathing over the issue of heirship, and it hurt Nathan deeply. He did not know how he hurt his older brother so much to have such eyes placed on him.
Back to the conversation at hand, Lily tried to interject with a question of your own. "Does being Lord Potter mean so much to you?"
Harry became eerily quiet as he seemed at a loss of words at that question, granting Sirius Black the chance to clarify a few questions he had from listening on this. "I don't understand. I know you three were going to the Ministry today to settle the business of the naming of the Heir Primary of House Potter. I thought you guys were going to finally give Harry his Heir ring, which should have been his even if he is just a few months away from turning 17. But instead... you guys named Nathan your Heir?"
Sirius' question went unanswered but the uncomfortable looks on the elder Potter's faces said enough. Sirius personally couldn't understand the decision they had made on the matter. Who wouldn't want Harry James Potter as the Heir Primary?
A legitimised spell-crafter and artificer at the age of twelve.
A boy who had started his OWLs exams at age fourteen, and obtained a mastery for Runes, Symbology and Arithamancy while finishing his NEWTs at age fifteen.
Perfect "Outstanding" grades with distinctions across all subjects in school well above even Dumbledore when he attended, consistently making him the top student for his year group and recently the entire school from which he has just graduated earlier.
Prefect in his fourth year, Head Boy in his sixth, and a prodigy for multiple fields of studies both in and out of Magical Britain.
An apprentice and burgeoning alchemist trained by Nicholas Flamel himself, and the owner to a fast building business dedicated to studying and creating new methods related to the medical fields that saw the creation of a potion designed to transform werewolves into people with wolf animagus forms, something that was totally unheard of.
Harry Potter was the pride and joy of both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw houses where he was sorted, the first student to be sorted into two houses in centuries. Harry managed to bring honour and fame to the house often looked at as leftovers, while ensuring the house of "nerdy bookworms" could also be the most adventurous in their quests for knowledge. Through him, he helped to elevate the two houses that were often overshadowed by the other two houses. He even did the impossible and bridged the strained relations of Slytherin to the other houses, and brought some of the dark houses to work better with the neutrals. Pomona Sprout and Filius Flitwick were practically giddy at having him in their houses and rumored to be fighting for the chance to have him as their apprentice in the future.
The boy even presented a lecture to the Wizengamot with evidence about the falling birth rates in Magical Europe in his third year, and showed several ways of helping the families have children that won't be Squibs, thus earning the gratitude of plenty of families who wanted magical children without defects and helping to strengthen the family magic, especially when a few followed his advice and were now having heirs that showed great magical potential without illnesses, restoring their family lines in the process.
Harry Potter was the crown jewel of Magical Britain, earning multiple awards and putting the country on the international stage in a good light compared to their previous standings in recent years. People from abroad were no longer viewing the British with derision and perceived pity, now they could tell there were genuine gems waiting to be shown.
The populace would be flabbergasted, and possibly outraged, at the idea of him being knocked down the totem pole for the Potter heirship for someone much younger and deemed not as great, even if it was Nathan who had been dubbed the Boy Who Lived.
Sirius shared a look with Remus Lupin, both having a sinking feeling in their stomachs that it had to do with Dumbledore, if the familiar wand clenched and sparking in Harry's right hand was any indication. The man had been unusually nosy towards Harry for some time after he started racking up awards, and Sirius knew Harry had been getting irritated with the manner the man was poking into his business and how his parents were listening to the wizard for matters that were normally house-related. Even Remus, normally the advocate for Dumbledore, had some misgivings about the man's behaviour towards the Potter children, especially in regards to the sons. Even his burgeoning business into the medical fields had been met with some resistance that came from the wizard's politicking with claims that the methods were not suitable or Dark in nature only for Harry and his crew to pull out the countering evidence, souring the relations even further.
The silence was finally broken as Harry finally calmed down enough to speak, although the tone was one of quiet flatness that may be worse than the raging fury earlier. "It's not the title that matters to me. I prefer earning my titles on my own either way." Harry continued before Lily could speak. "This latest stunt that you guys pulled this afternoon is just another sign that you favour Nathan over me and my sisters."
The room was silent as Harry spoke in a deathly angry whisper. "For almost a decade, ever since Nathan was named the Boy-Who-Lived, I watched as you slowly started to pay more attention to Nathan over me. I stayed silent when you convinced me to start learning magic early so that I could protect Nathan from attack instead of playing with kids my age like I should."
"I stayed quiet when I became the first student in many years to be sorted into two houses, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, and watched your blatant favouritism becoming more obvious all because I wasn't sorted into Gryffindor 'like all Potters were', despite the family history saying otherwise." The last part was said mockingly and scornfully as his parents flinched at his accusations, especially James since the man was quite vocal about it when news of the sorting reached him, calling Harry for becoming a "nerdy duffer".
"I stayed quiet as I won award after award, won accolades and respect from the entire magical community, bringing advancements to the world and helping to bridge gaps, yet you two couldn't even be bothered to bring yourself to care. Too worried about some far-off future to even be aware of what was happening around you, much less what was happening to your son not sorted into Gryffindor. But that was fine, I more or less understood that you just did not care that much." The adult Potters wanted to refute his words and the manner he just shrugged his reaction, but his face suddenly turned dark, and they knew the next set of words was going to be bad.
"I stayed quiet when I, not either of you, had to comfort and basically raise Rose and Camellia on my own with help from Sirius, Remus and the others, because you were too busy taking Nathan all over the world to be either trained or seen by so-called specialists about what power he could have that allowed him to defeat Voldemort." Harry started to look particularly angry at this point, a point that Sirius and Remus were familiar with since he was very protective of his younger sisters, more so than his brother now that they were thinking about it since their births. "I was forced to learn Apparition at thirteen so that I could sneak out of Hogwarts and come home to make sure my twin sisters are being well looked after. Contrary to what some might believe, there is only so much house-elves can do to raise human children, and toddlers need human contact. Or do you need reminders about Anton Nott?" That certainly got the non-Potter adults surprised since it was hard for young children to perform Apparition so early and consciously. And of course they knew the cautionary tale of the child who was raised only by house elves and ended in tragedy. It was practically headline news at the time.
Harry started to step forward as he continued to hurl accusations, barely restraining his tone. "I had to stay quiet when I heard you discussing the ridiculous notion of leaving Rose and Camellia with those bastard Dursleys during the school year, because for some bloody reason, you guys claimed you had no time to take care of them." That got Sirius and Remus to do a double-take and looked at the adult Potters with disbelief as they have not heard of this before, and in the case of Sirius, increasing anger due to the uncomfortable similarities with his personal childhood. While Remus could not help the cold fear in his gut at the thought of his god-daughters being affected so negatively.
"It was me, who became worried about the lack of contact for a week and returned here to find them missing, and kept searching only to find those filthy muggles treating my sisters like fucking slaves and not having eaten or bathed in two days!" Harry exploded at them, forgetting for the moment that young ears were around, and thankfully Remus spelled their ears to filter out the curse words. But the adults were also a little worried about the manner Harry referred to the Dursleys along with the wild burst of magic that made the windows explode outwards from the force and was making the room shudder from his rage. "They were only 5 years old for Christ's sake and you two never bothered to check on them when they were suffering inside a cupboard underneath the staircase that was their shared room!"
Harry closed his eyes and took another deep breath before opening them and glaring at his now sobbing mother and the pain-filled face of his father. "So tell me, father," asked Harry scornfully, causing him to flinch from the venom forced into the title. "Why did you not name me Heir? Was it because I was not sorted into Gryffindor like 'all other Potters' simply because I value loyalty, knowledge, and honest hard work over reckless bravery and honour?"
He took a small step forward, the seemingly simple act made more prominent with his eyes glowing the infamous green colour of the Killing Curse. "Was it because I wanted to be a Healer like grandmother, someone who could bring together the muggle and magical fields to ensure the people will not lose their lives, but you considered it a weak profession? Rather than being an Auror that goes around hunting dark wizards and going about beating others with a legal license?"
Another step, and the temperature seemed to drop like a Dementor was present in the room. "Perhaps it was because my little sisters consider me more of a parent than either of you and you're jealous of that? Which must be why you've been spending more and more time with Rose and Camellia these past two years when you finally realised what you had done? It can't be because of your acts that were caught on camera and the potential backlash." That had the adult Potters wincing while Sirius and Remus wondered how bad things got to warrant what sounded like blackmail.
Another step, and Harry sneered in a manner that was similar to the potions professor of Hogwarts. "Is it because one of my friends happens to be a Malfoy, someone whose family is supposedly dark and Potters should never be friends with them, despite having Sirius Black as our uncle? Or how about Greengrass? Someone who kept on getting threats from James here to stay away despite the fact we are supposed to be in an alliance?" Sirius and Remus looked at the adult Potters with agitated expressions from that revelation.
One more step and he was just five steps away from them, but there may as well be a chasm between them. "No, those are probably tame when compared to the real reason you did all of this. It is likely because I don't follow Dumb-as-a-door like a loyal dog and that offends your fanatical sensibilities? I bet he was the one who gave you the idea, probably saying something about me not being ready for some stupid reason, or saying that Nathan needs this title more, wasn't it?" His parents' flinches told him that Dumbledore had been the one to give them the idea, cementing Harry's utter hatred for the meddling old man forever. Sirius and Remus were also looking at the adult Potters in a new light that painted them badly in their views, and they would know that Peter Pettigrew, the girls' unofficial uncle and godfather, would have a bad reaction to this once he heard of this.
"Oh, and perhaps the other reason happens to be the fact that I am actually bridging the two worlds, helping to bring forth actual innovations to benefit us all, not to the exclusive 'Light' Faction?" The expressions on their faces made it clear that this was definitely a reason.
"So that's it. All because I am the only one actually bringing the family lines together, and even saving them from extinction, not to mention actually bridging the gaps between the house factions and our two worlds together, Dumbledore decided to interfere with the ascension. Wow, he must be so envious that I did all that he kept promising but did not bother doing. So sad." The flat manner he spoke that was what got Lily trying to explain the situation.
"It is not like that, Harry. We are proud that you are able to get the Dark Faction working with us well. But the current climate with the muggle government is not good and you are moving too quickly for others to adjust. There are still a few families from the Dark Faction who are resisting the innovations and even some from the Light Faction are wondering if the progress is too quick. If we install you as the heir, we are risking alienating the others as some may be thinking we are pushing the muggle innovations too hard. We need to slow down and also to monitor those who have gotten away with the Imperious Curse Defence if they are close to us."
James stepped forward and nodded. "It's true, Harry. Dumbledore says that Voldemort is still out there and I believe him. There was no body when Nathan defeated him and Snape's Dark Mark hasn't disappeared. Faded, yes. But not disappeared as it should have if Voldemort was dead. We need to gain as many allies as possible for when he returns and having those who had served him in the war so close to our side puts Nathan at great risk. That is why I am telling you to stay away from Malfoy and Greengrass. They are supporters of Voldemort based on what Dumbledore has stated despite what you might think. This isn't about you or our personal feelings, Harry, and you should understand that. We're sorry about how we've treated you in the past and we'll try to make it up to you but that doesn't change our decision. It's for the best."
Harry gave a mirthless chuckle. "Don't you mean 'for the Greater Good'?" asked Harry mockingly. Harry shook his head and scowled at his parents. "Of course it's not about me. It's never about me. My entire life has been about other people. Nathan, the wizarding world, the Potter family. You guys dictated my life around other people, never once thinking about what I wanted. Not once considering how your actions are affecting the other families allied to us, those who have been getting frustrated with the level of interference by Dumbledore. Not once considering the fact that the magical world is more than just Magical Britain. Not once thinking about Rose and Camellia unless they factor somewhere in your master's plans." His eyes narrowed while the fire behind him reacted to his magic to get bigger. "Something I will not let him do. I am done listening to you or his orders especially if it hurts them."
"Now listen here, Harry James Potter." James started to get angry himself. "This childish tantrum has gone on long enough. You don't have to like it but this is final. Nathan is now the Heir Primary and you will protect Nathan as you are supposed to. You will do as you are told or I will call family judgement on you and decide your fate." The other adults were startled by that statement, but the reaction from Harry was also not expected. Instead of anger or fear, scornful laughing was not the reaction they expected as the boy held a hand to his face. "What's so funny?"
"Typical James Potter." The words that came out of his words sounded like Severus Snape was speaking out with his voice as Harry lowered his hand to look at them. "Threats to force me to do your work if explanations don't work, that was how you did it in the past."
"Harry." Sirius spoke out while watching James warily, hoping to deescalate the situation only for Harry to raise his hand.
"Good luck with that. I had the feeling you were going to do this at some point because I don't follow your precious Dumbledore. So I performed an inheritance test shortly after third year and got myself legally emancipated to take care of myself and my sisters if needed." Harry snorted derisively at James as he held his arms wide with eyes daring the older man to do something. "And if I am right, you calling for the family totem will not work that well."
James snarled and raised his hand that had the family ring glowing on his finger. "James, no!" Sirius stepped forward but got blasted away by the magic that swirled around the patriarch of the family. The sisters went to Sirius and Remus while Lily held Nathan close to her. Despite the possible danger, Harry was as cool as a cucumber.
"Heed my call! I, James Charlus Potter, hereby call forth the Family Totem to cast judgement on the member named Harry James Potter for his actions and words towards his own blood. Let thy magic decide his fate and punish him accordingly! If found wanting, cast him out of the Potter Family" The family ring shone brightly and the sounds of an eagle was audible even with the howling wind messing up the room more. Then the light came off the ring and reformed itself into the shape of a gryphon, the Family Totem of the Potter Line. The totem let out a shriek as it turned to Harry who lowered his arms but still kept looking at it steadily. The totem let out another shriek and rushed forward to raise one of its front arms in a manner like it wanted to slash at him, with Sirius, Remus and the children shouting at it to stop.
Only for the claw to stop an inch away from his forehead.
The gryphon let out another shriek, one that sounded confused as it lowered its claw and peered at him. Harry in turn raised his arm to pat the gryphon on its beak with a sad smile.
"Sorry old friend, this is how it is." Harry spoke as the gryphon let out a softer sound like it was sad. "It is not your fault, it is what it is." The totem let out another whine as he stopped to look at James Potter who looked flabbergasted.
"What are you doing? Judge him now!" James demanded the family totem who ignored him for the moment. "What did you do!" James directed that question at Harry who sighed.
"I wanted to see if you had common sense, but clearly that is not the case." Harry looked rather solemn as he turned to Lupin for the first time. "Remus, you have read up on history. What happens to a child of a long family line if the family head does not truly acknowledge them over many years?" Remus blinked at the sudden question but considered it mentally. After a few seconds, his eyes went wide and looked at Harry who merely nodded.
"What is he talking about?" Lily asked as she looked between the men.
"The family magic is normally open to the members of the family from the moment of birth." Remus started explaining. "The magic is then distributed accordingly based on the level of connection. Depending on the situation, the magic may not recognize the member for a multitude of reasons, either because they are thrown out of the family, justifiably punished for something dangerous to the family." Remus paused with sad eyes at Harry. "Or in some cases, the member does not feel truly connected to the family at all, thus losing the connection over time."
"And that would be the answer." Harry spoke quietly. "As I have been watching you over the years, the disconnection with the family magic has been growing. One of the reasons I did all my research and did an inheritance test is because I knew at some point that I won't have any access to family magic." He gestured to the gryphon that stood there in sad confusion. "And when James Potter attempted to use the Family Totem on me for his idea of a family judgement, the last connections broke away. The Totem cannot judge me because it cannot recognize me as one of his broods."
"In other words, I no longer belong to the Potter Family. This is the proof."
The silence that came from that proclamation was almost suffocating. Remus may know the theory of it, but Sirius understood the ramifications of this happening, more so since he himself almost experienced the same thing in his youth before Arcturus Black made him the primary heir of the Black Family. There were several ways for one to lose access to family magic, but to lose it gradually from family neglect was considered a tragic issue as it painted the family in a bad light, and the process was something that some considered to be worse than family abuse because the latter would still have granted the victim access to some of the magic.
"And you still wonder why I am upset." Harry shook his head. "I have read the charter, I read the history, and I have to ask. How on earth are you still retaining your magic when at least one of the actions you did would have broken all the oaths you have taken as the Head of the Potter House?" He paused as he looked at James's face and then to the family totem before he realized it. "I see, you didn't take all of them, only the ones needed to take up a position a step above Regent."
"James." Sirius's voice sounded quite stressed and angry as the man got back to his feet and looked at his friend. "Did you only take half the oaths?"
"It won't matter if he did or not. As you can tell, this does not affect me. And honestly, I've had enough of this mess. I'm done doing everything for a family that I won't be able to inherit anymore." Harry took a breath while stepping away. "From this point forward, I'm looking out for myself and those I genuinely will care for. The rest of the world comes second."
Lily looked pained at his words and spoke while James tried to think of something. "Is there nothing we can say to change your mind? We're your family."
Harry's eyes flashed angrily and the house shook violently as Harry's anger caused his magic to escape his usual iron-clad control. "Other than Rose and Camellia, and perhaps Nathan, I have no more blood family. You made sure of it." Before they could react, Harry flicked the two wands to stun the adults and Nathan, letting them fall to the floor like puppets without their strings. And if he needed more proof that something was wrong with the Potter family or James at the least, the totem did not attack him for this action.
"That is finally done." Harry lowered both arms and let out a sigh, not really sure how to feel about it. He knew he should feel some guilt about this, but it was more from stunning Sirius and Remus, and Nathan to some extent, but for his "parents", he felt nothing. He turned to the gryphon and smiled sadly. "I guess this is it." The gryphon let out a sad whine as it came forward and humped its head with his, prompting him to stroke its neck like it was solid. "I know, I will miss you too." Harry meant it as well, recalling how the totem had appeared before him in his youth when he was alone before his sisters came along. He had his doubts when the totem did not appear as much over the years, and got final confirmation from this night.
He was truly not a Potter by magic anymore.
He heard some shuffling of the feet and he turned to find his little sisters looking up at him with teary eyes. "Are you... really leaving?" Rose asked while Camillia sniffled. "Leaving us?"
Harry closed his eyes in pain but nodded slowly. "I'm sorry, Rose. I have tried, but I can't stay here any longer. I might commit patricide if I stay and I don't think either of you want that, do you?"
Rose shook her head sadly before Camillia spoke up while looking up at him in determination. "Then take us with you."
Harry smiled sadly and shook his head while kneeling to look at his sisters at the same height. "Believe me, I want to, but I can't right now. Even with my business raking in the money, I barely am able to support myself, let alone the three of us. And even then, some people will make some noise about you being with me." His glance and minor pause made it clear who said people were. "But I promise to come back for the both of you someday. And if you ever need anything, you know you can always contact me, right? No one can stop me from coming to you."
The two girls looked conflicted but nodded tearfully before the two leaped forward to hug him tightly, almost sending him to the floor with their sudden burst of strength. He held on to his footing and returned the hug firmly, his own eyes getting wet from the impending farewell. He pulled back from them reluctantly and stood to look at the gryphon once more.
"I know it is a given, but please help me watch over them." Harry formally requested the family totem of the Potter Family. "I ask that they are not dragged into whatever plans that Dumbledore or James Potter have for them. And also watch over Nathan if you are willing." The gryphon clawed at the floor and let out a shriek, before it went down on its haunches to bow formally. With a flap of its wings, it vanished into sparkles of light, some of which hitting the others and making them groan into consciousness.
Knowing his time was short, Harry took another breath as he turned to look at his sisters once more with a smile to calm them down, openly showing that he was crying out of one eye. "Take care, I will see you soon." With that, Harry grabbed the Floo powder from the urn and cast it into the fireplace, the sudden flare enough to gain adult Potter's attention as they opened their eyes in time to see him vanish into a flare of emerald flames.
"Harry!" Harry ignored the cries from his former parents and went through the familiar tunnel of spinning fireplaces and flames, and within seconds stepped out of the Floo gantry of Gringotts where two goblin bank managers were waiting with their respective guards. One of them looked keenly at Harry and let out a sigh, a rarity for one done so openly to a human.
"So the fools actually did it." He spoke as a matter of fact, Harry could only reply with a nod. "So you won't be the Head of the Potter Line."
"And after what happens here, I won't be a Potter by name or blood anymore." Harry spoke softly.
"Are you certain of this action?" The second and much larger goblin asked.
Harry took a breath to contain his emotions. "I have no choice, this has been a long time coming. That Dumbledore actually came in person to convince them to ignore me in favour of Nathan is proof enough that he will interfere in many areas, and I can't do the other tasks if I am still a Potter even if in name and biologically linked. And in some manner, this will help my sisters."
"Very well." The first goblin nodded before another goblin appeared with robes dictating his position as a spell caster. "We will begin the ceremony of casting yourself out of the Potter Family. The time is closing in and time is money." The goblin paused before speaking. "I may no longer be able to discuss Potter Family business after tonight, but you can still talk business with me. You are still a valued friend, Harry."
"And you to me, Manager Ripster." Harry bowed to the goblin manager that had served the Potter Family for generations and interacted with personally when he had the chance in school. He was the one who had helped him with the inheritance and the process of emancipation, and had quite the humour in his opinion. Harry then turned to the second goblin. "I have some memories for the day, I believe you may want them for certain transactions, Lord Ragnok." The large goblin bared his sharp teeth with a scary smile.
"I knew when you first walked in, you would be one interesting human." The goblin then turned to gesture at him. "Come, we need to perform the ceremony." Harry nodded and followed the goblins to a chamber where he saw another two goblins dressed similarly as the one that had entered earlier with the bowl meant to invoke an inheritance test or to cast oneself out.
There was no turning back for him.
Harry had promised himself that he would never allow himself to be hurt like his parents hurt him again.
No matter what it took, or who the enemy was in his path.
And he would make sure that his sisters would not be harmed or taken advantage of in the future.
And if Dumbledore attempted to set his eyes on them, he would make sure the old wizard lived long enough to see his reputation, Hogwarts, and all he had built crumble to ashes before he ended him for good.
Author's Notes:
For sharp-eyed readers, this is based from an abandoned story I found while surfing FF called Arcane Supremacy, a HP x X-Men Crossover. It was one that may have some potential but in my opinion, was ruined by the overly used trope of describing women as supermodels and large portrayals of smut. It seemed to be the common thing when X-Men gets used in a crossover for some reason. And there was the one chapter that had suggested the younger brother slept with another girl, at the age of thirteen / fourteen.
I was like "What~"
This version I did up, I removed the X-Men element, and tried to include my take on why Harry would want to leave the Potters. The Harry from the other story seemed a bit of a dick if I had to be honest.
What do you think?