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Chapter Text

Harry stared out the window of the Hogwarts Express as they returned to Kings Cross Station after the completion of his first year of Hogwarts where Dumbledore stole the House Cup from Slytherin. And hasn’t the last couple of days been dizzying for Harry? One moment he was having dinner with his wife to discuss a divorce after finding out that she and his two supposed best friends were stealing from him for years and that Headmaster Dumbledore told more lies than anyone realized. The next moment he was waking up the morning of his first Farewell Feast at Hogwarts. Whether it was all a dream or a premonition, Harry didn’t know. But he was certainly going to take advantage of it and he knew just how to do it. He had found a large, ratty hoodie at the bottom of his trunk that he had forgotten about and made sure to pull it to the top for when they changed out of their school uniform.

As he exited the train, he gave a quick farewell to his ‘friends’ before heading towards the barrier. When he was sure no one was watching, he grabbed the hoodie and wandlessly shrunk his truck before putting it in his pocket. He then opened Hedwig’s cage and told her to find him later that night before walking through the barrier and towards his relatives. He waited until the four of them were in the car before Harry pulled out his wand and poked it at his uncle’s neck.

“I have a deal for you,” Harry stated. “You drive me to one place of my choice here in London and you and Aunt Petunia say that I am never welcome in your home again and you’ll never see me again.” Silence reigned in the car for a minute before Vernon spoke.

“Where are we going, boy?” Vernon asked. Harry grinned and put his wand away.

“Three blocks down, take a left. Drive for another block and take a right. You can drop me off there,” Harry instructed. In his previous life, Harry had found the muggle entrance to Knockturn Alley by accident when he was 26. It was a little library that he ended up visiting and led him to find the truth of his lordships and those he thought he could trust. The four drove in silence until they reached where Harry had told them to go.

“You are no longer welcome in our home,” Vernon stated, Petunia repeating him a moment later. Harry smirked as he felt the wash of magic from their words.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” Harry said before grabbing Hedwig’s cage and leaving. Before entering the library, Harry pulled up his hood to make sure his scar was covered, thankful that no one had taken his picture and pasted it on the Daily Prophet yet.

Harry gave the librarian a friendly wave before heading off to the back and snuck into Knockturn Alley. It didn’t take him long to sneak out and into Diagon Alley and to Gringotts thanks to everyone picking up their kids from the station. Harry sighed in relief when he managed to get to Gringotts without any of Dumbeldore’s people seeing him. He waited in line until a teller was available before walking up to him. He looked to the nameplate to make sure he knew the Goblin’s name.

“ Greetings Master Goblin Gurnok ,” Harry greeted in the Goblin tongue, getting many strange looks from the humans and surprised looks from the goblins. 

“ Greetings, Young One ,” the goblin teller answered. “ How may Gringotts help you today? ”

“ I would like to request a meeting with Head Goblin Ragnok whenever he has an availability to discuss certain events that have recently occurred and a request for him to attend a separate meeting with me and my account manager whenever he is available. For today, though, I would like to request a full medical exam with one of your Goblin healers, please. If I end up not staying overnight in the Healer Wards then I’ll need to get some money to pay for a room. ”

“ Name? ” Gurnok asked, impressed with how well the child spoke. As Harry pricked his finger on the small needle that was at the corner of every teller desk, earning an appreciative glance from every goblin in the room, Gurnok noticed the child using his other hand to rub his throat. “I see,” Gurnok said with a nod, switching to English to save the child’s voice. “I will inform all those needed, please have a seat until they are ready.” 

Harry gave a small bow of thanks before going to one of the few chairs against the wall. Next to him, as he sat down, he noticed an impatiently waiting mother with her bored seven-year-old son waiting as well. With a small smile, Harry used wandless and wordless magic to create embers in his hands and shape them into a dragon, getting the boy’s attention.

“Wow,” the little boy said breathlessly. 

“How old are you?” The mother asked.

“I’m almost twelve,” Harry answered, his voice slightly rasping from speaking the harsh language of the Goblins.

“And you can do wordless and wandless magic? That is unheard of,” the mother said, glaring at Harry.

“Have you ever done accidental magic?” Harry asked, getting curious glances from those listening and an incredulous from the mother. “Accidental magic is wordless and wandless yet everyone does it. It’s just the difference between consciously and unconsciously doing so and getting rid of the habit of thinking that we need wands to do magic. Some types of magic are better performed without a wand while other types of magic are enhanced with the focus the wand brings. Essentially, wands were created to help with our magical focus but over time was forgotten about to the point where wizards and witches started mentally depending on wands to do magic.”

“Really?” The little boy asked.

“Yep, I can show you a first year spell while we wait if you would like,” Harry offered. He gained an enthusiastic nod from the child. Harry got into ‘Professor Mode’ as Luna had liked to call it and started getting into the theory of the Lumos charm, at some point the two made themselves comfortable on the floor facing each other, before moving on to the practical. “Now, I want you to think about a time you used accidental magic. I want you to focus on the feel of the magic moving through your body when you performed the magic.” Harry waited until the boy nodded in understanding. “Now pull that feeling forward.” Harry watched as the boy concentrated on pulling his magic forward and then urged him to perform the spell when he could feel the difference in magic.

“Lumos,” the boy said and gasped in surprise when a small ball of light the size of a walnut appeared floating above his right hand.

“Good job,” Harry complimented. “That’s actually better than what most first years get the first time they try it. Now, I’m going to have to be a downer for a bit and give you rules.” The boy groaned, causing Harry to chuckle. “It’s not going to be that bad and it’s more to protect you than anything else. Now, there is a reason why we don’t start magic school until we’re 11 and that is because our cores aren’t fully developed and can drain easily if used too often. With that said, should you choose to continue practicing magic before you turn 11, keep it to only a half an hour at most and only after you’ve made sure to read through and understand the theory of the spell so you don’t get hurt. If you want to practice for longer than that then you can practice for an hour but you would need a half an hour break halfway through and it would mean that you shouldn’t practice the following day for fear of damaging your magical core.”

“How do you know all this?” The mother asked.

“All of the information is in the National Education and Research Department in the Ministry,” Harry informed. Just then, Gurnok approached Harry.

“ Young One, Healer Naglok will see you now ,” Gurnok said. Harry nodded and got up before helping the boy up and to his seat.

“I gotta go,” Harry told the kid. “Remember what I said.” Harry then waved and followed Gurnok to the Healer ward. There he was surprised to see that the female Healer wasn’t the only one waiting for him but Ragnok and his account manager, Farluff, were there too.

“ Greetings Head Goblin Ragnok, Healer Naglok, and Account Manager Farluff ,” Harry greeted.

“ Greetings Heir Potter ,” Ragnok greeted before switching to English. “I thought we could discuss why you wanted to meet with us while you had your medical exam.”

“That’s fine with me,” Harry answered, pulling off the hoodie and sitting on the bed for Naglok to get started. “It’ll save time that way. I think the best place to start is with an Integram Hereditatem Test and from there I can tell you everything I know from my end.” 

Harry internally smirked when he saw Farluff start to get nervous. It didn’t take long for Ragnok to get the equipment and ingredients from one of the younger goblins and for Harry to put his required ten drops of blood in. Harry watched as Ragnok poured the mixture over the parchment and read the words as they appeared before called the guards to take Farluff to the cells for a trial. Ragnok then handed Harry the test, causing the wizard to stare in shock.

‘Well, that takes care of one thing I wanted to talk to him about,’ Harry thought as he looked over the test.

Harry James Potter

Born: 31st July 1980

Physical Age: 12 years old

Mental Age: 24 years old

Magical Age: 95 years old

Lordships:

Potter (Paternal)

Peverell (Paternal)

Emrys (Maternal)

Gryffindor (Paternal)

Slytherin (Maternal and Conquest)

Gaunt (Conquest)

LeFey (Maternal)

Mangkon (Gifted - Lady Magic)

Mortuus (Gifted - Sir Death)

Heirship:

Black (Blood Adoption)

Blocks:

Parseltongue - 68% Blocked

Parselmagic - 100% Blocked

Natural Occlumency - 85% Blocked

Natural Legilimency - 95% Blocked

Magical Core - 64% Blocked

Beast speak - 92% Blocked

Metamorphmagus - 94% Blocked

Intelligence - 35% Blocked

Talents in Potions, Transfiguration, and Charms - 69% Blocked

Natural Animagus Form - 100% blocked

EyeSight - 72% Blocked

Potions/Spells:  

Compelling charms - Obey Dumbledore - Weakened

Loyalty Potions - Directed to Albus Dumbledore, Molly Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ron 

Weasley, Ginevra Weasley, Order of the Phoenix, and Light Side - Weakened

Hatred Potions - Slytherins, Tom Riddle/Voldemort, Severus Snape, Dark Side, Death Eaters, Malfoys - Weakened

1 Obliviates - Broken

1 Horcrux - Scar 

Submissive Charm- Cannot disobey the Dursleys or Albus Dumbledore - Weakened

Love Potion - Directed at Genevra Weasley - Obliterated

“Is there a reason you seem to be older than you appear, Heir Potter?” Ragnok asked.

“Yes and no,” Harry answered. “The part I do know about is that I’m from the future. The part I’m not sure about is how I came back into my 12-year-old body. Based on the gifted titles from Lady Magic and Sir Death, I suspect them. I also think that my traitorous wife poisoned me in my timeline, which might be what gave them the means to send me back.”

“Interesting,” Ragnok said, staring at the test again.

“I think getting sent back with the knowledge that I have also weakened the spells and potions that the old goat and traitors put on me. Also, I’d like to give you a list of where all of Voldemort’s Horcruxes are as well as information on where my parents' real traitor is, seeing as Sirius Black is innocent.” Harry stopped from saying anything more when the healer started cursing under her breath and handed stacks of parchment to Ragnok, whose eyebrows drew up the more he read. Naglok started casting spells and making Harry drink potion after potion to combat the abuse and malnutrition his relatives subjected him to.

“Well, first off, I think we need to assign you a new account manager,” Ragnok stated. “Is there anyone, in particular, you would like to have?”

Harry thought about the few Goblins he knew from his original timeline and could only think of one goblin for the job. The goblin was kidnapped and used for polyjuice to make it look like the goblin betrayed him. Harry had found him completely by accident and managed to get him back to Gringotts where he was able to out Farluff as a traitor and became Harry’s new account manager who helped him make payments to help repair and enhance Gringotts after the war. It was after the final payments were made that his account manager found Farluff’s hidden ledger and discovered the betrayals. This, in turn, led to a full medical exam and the viewing of his memories, giving him the title of Goblin Ally when they found out he was trying to get a Horcrux out of the bank. Not as high up as Goblin Friend but was still a good title. Together, the Goblins and Harry started to try to work on repairing the wizarding world. However, with Hermione as Minister, everything started to go wrong so the Goblins started teaching him different ways to fight as well as how to speak the Goblin tongue and how to be a lord of the house. A year after he found out about the betrayals, Harry planned to make his move by first divorcing Ginny and then outing Hermione and Ron as thieves. Of course, that’s also when Ginny decided to poison him.

“Heir Potter needs rest,” Naglok ordered, handing Harry a Dreamless sleep.

“I’d like Griphook to be my account manager if that is alright,” Harry answered. “I would like training to rebuild my muscles when Healer Naglok deems me to be healthy enough and take my OWLs and NEWTs so that I can become emancipated early and not worry about Dumbledore trying to take control again. I would also like to give you copies of some of my memories to show that I am truly serious about learning.” It only took a minute to give them the necessary memories before taking the Dreamless sleep and blissfully slept.

Chapter Text

A 13-year-old boy with wavy raven hair that reached his shoulders and a Zaffre blue cloth tied around his head to keep his hair out of his face entered the standard tent. His bright green eyes looked around the room and smiled. It wasn’t much, just the standard room for employees of Gringotts, but it was his. It had little mementos and several books around the apartment-like room with two doors on the other side of the room. One for the bathroom and one for his bedroom, which he headed to immediately. He grabbed his bottomless duffle bag from under his bed and began packing his everyday items, having just finished a mission. As he packed he thought about everything that happened within the last year.

After Harry was released from the Healer’s Wing, Ragnok set up a room for him to stay at while he and Griphook worked with him to get his accounts in order. Including overturning the votes Dumbledore made in his name and changing his proxy to someone more trustworthy. They even pulled in Madame Bones to help get Sirius released by using his parents’ wills that stated the real Secret Keeper, although that has been a slow-going project because Dumbledore kept getting in the way of it. It was really annoying and Harry had half a mind to take up his seats in the Wizengamot, but ultimately decided that Regent Augusta Longbottom should continue as his proxy until he was ready to take his seats. With his accounts, Griphook was able to get all of his money back that had gone out to Dumbledore, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and the Dursleys. They also managed to take the rights of the Harry Potter Children Adventure books that were illegally using his name.

While Harry was going over his accounts, a platoon of Goblin warriors moved to capture and destroy Voldemort’s Horcruxes. The only one they couldn’t get a hold of was the diary, which Harry had to go in and get. Thankfully all he had to do was wait in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom and wait for Ginny to enter. Harry stunned her and took the diary. He then, much to Naglok’s dismay later, went down to the Chamber of Secrets again to defeat the crazed Basilisk, which earned him and the goblins a good profit once the corpse was harvested and sold.

Between going over everything with his accounts and finishing off the Horcruxes, Harry went through intense training to build up his muscles and reflexes. He may have had the knowledge of the movements he needed to perform, but his 12-year-old body didn’t have the memory his 24-year-old body did. When he wasn’t going through physical practices, he was practicing his magic to make sure his magic had the memory his future self did. Three months after arriving at Gringotts, Harry took his OWLs and, a week later, took his NEWTs, becoming the youngest to graduate in over three centuries when he earned straight O’s in the 15 subjects that he tested in. Not that very many know about it since his results were sealed to the public. 

He took Magical Defence, Martial Arts, Weapons, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, History, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Etiquette, Curse breaking, Care of Magical Creatures, Wandless Magic, and Wards. He also got extra credit when he showed them his Patronus and Animagus form, which is an Island Fox. He also created a muggle inspired invention for his Arithmancy and Ancient Runes assignment, which was a mirror that worked like a phone, computer, and iPod all in one without the need to charge it. He ended up getting quite a bit of money for that invention, although a lot of the old pureblood supremacists grudgingly accept that muggles sometimes had good ideas.

Six months later, Harry was finishing his training, much to the Goblins’ dismay due to him pushing himself too hard in their opinion. A week later, Harry was taken in as an apprentice by Erluk, Head of the Assassins and Bounty Hunters Department (ABHD) at Gringotts. Most of what they do is hunting down thieves or bringing in people who owe money but occasionally they work with the DoomsDay Department (3D) to stop the end of the world. Harry and Erluk went as partners the entire time of his apprenticeship, Harry learning to use his young age to his advantage when the job required one of them to get close to the target. Towards the end of the year, Harry going by the code name Obscurus the whole time to prevent anyone from finding him, was given a mission to go on by himself to complete his apprenticeship.

On the side of all of this happening, The day after his 12th birthday, it was announced that Harry Potter was missing. Nobody has been able to find him, even a year later.

Harry was soon brought out of his reminiscing thoughts when his pocket started to vibrate. He pulled his mirror out of one of the pockets on his black cargo pants and looked at the Caller ID before answering.

“How can I help you, Griphook?” Harry asked as Griphook’s face appeared in the mirror. He used his magic to make the mirror float in front of him while he finished packing.

“We have a situation, Obscurus,” Griphook answered. Harry immediately looked to his friend and account manager. The goblin always talked to Harry in the Goblin tongue unless something major happened. 

“What’s wrong?” The teenage assassin asked.

“Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban.”

“Has there been any Daily Prophet article with a picture of the Weasley family on it? Specifically Ronald and his rat?” Harry asked with a frown. He watched as Griphook called in his assistant and started to go through the paper.

“Yes, two weeks ago,” Griphook answered. “Apparently the family won a contest through the Ministry for a paid vacation to Egypt where they stayed with Curse Breaker Bill Weasley.”

“Do you have a record of when the Minister last visited?”

“I thought you might ask that. He visited two days ago.”

“Interesting,” Harry mumbled. “I’m going to finish clean up here and then I’m going to stop at Privet Drive to see if Sirius ended up there. I plan to bring him to Gringotts for healing and a test to see if he has any of the same spells and potions on him that I did.”

“Very well, Obscurus,” Griphook answered back. “I’ll let Erluk know your mission is finished.”

“Thank you,” Harry said. “Oh! Griphook,” Harry called before the Goblin could hang up. “Before I forget again, I remembered that Severus Snape was from the Prince line.”

“Yes, we have been trying to contact him since he turned 17 but he hasn’t come in yet,” Griphook explained.

“Maybe he had a block on his mail like I did,” Harry suggested. “I could deliver the letter for Gringotts after I find Sirius if you would like.”

“I will let the Prince Account Manager know of the offer,” Griphook said. “Thank you, Harry.”

“Of course,” Harry answered. They hung up and Harry moved to the bathroom to finish packing before moving out of the tent and packing the tent up. He shrunk everything and put them in one of his many pockets before apparating to Privet Drive. Changing into his animagus form, Harry hid in the bushes to wait for a certain Grim.

Line Break

Sirius Black, in his Grim form, lurked in the bushes at the edge of the neighborhood where his godson was last seen. He hoped he could mend things with his godson and heal the gap his absence created. Before Sirius could think much more of it, he was startled out of his thoughts by something small leaning into his front right paw. Looking down, he saw a little fox with grey bark-like fur on its back and orange and white fur on its underbelly staring up at him with bright green eyes. Green eyes that reminded him of…

Sirius’ jaw dropped when he realized who was leaning against him. He watched as the fox moved away a little bit before changing into a boy he knew recently turned 13. The 13-year-old boy had wavy raven hair that reached his shoulders and a Zaffre blue cloth tied around his head to keep his hair out of his face. He wore a white sleeveless turtleneck, black cargo pants, a pair of dark blue dragonhide boots, and a black leather jacket similar to his own jacket. His godson was on the short side but still had a slight wiry sort of strength to him. Looking back up to the boy’s face, Sirius could see his brother in all but blood and his fiery wife mixed into the boy with amused green eyes. 

“Hello, Padfoot,” Harry greeted, using a finger to close the Grim’s dropped jaw. “I’d like to take you with me to some friends. They can help heal you and I want you to see a mind healer after all the time you spent in Azkaban. There is a lot you need to know. The goblins and I have been trying to free you for the past year but Dumbledore kept getting in the way. We’re working on some other plans to get you free.”

Sirius stared at the boy with wide eyes at just that small amount of information and the boy said there was more to know. So he did the only thing he could do. He nodded his consent and walked over to lean into the child, who held him tight before apparating to Diagon Alley. Sirius let out a sound of surprise, not expecting someone so young to apparate them anywhere.

“Come on, Padfoot,” Harry gently called, walking towards Gringotts. Sirius followed a moment later and studied his godson as he was ignored by most people.

“Obby!” A little brunet boy shouted, launching himself at Harry who caught him easily and spun them around.

“Hello, Jasper,” Harry greeted, smiling at the little boy. Harry still remembers teaching the kid about casting wandless magic just a year ago. Since then, Harry and Jasper would end up bumping into each other occasionally. Every time they did, Jasper would show Harry a new spell he learned.

“Check this out!” Jasper said excitedly. He grabbed a little handful of dirt from the ground and tossed it on himself, causing Sirius to tilt his head in confusion and an exasperated sigh from the kid’s mother. “Scourgify.” In an instant, Jasper was free of dirt and giving Harry a big smile.

“Great job, kiddo!” Harry complimented. “At this rate, you’ll be top of your class when you go to magic school.” Jasper hugged Harry once more before following his mother to continue their shopping while Harry and Sirius continued to Gringotts. Sirius watched in fascination as Harry bowed at the guards in respect, the guards bowing back, before Harry and Sirius waited in line for an open teller.

“Obscurus,” a goblin called from the other side of the tellers.

“Greetings, Head Goblin Ragnok,” Harry greeted in the Goblin Tongue, surprising Sirius.

“The healers are waiting for him,” Ragnok replied, getting a nod from Harry before following him to the Healer’s Ward. Once inside, Sirius shifted into his human form and pulled Harry into a tight hug.

“I missed you too, Padfoot,” Harry said, returning the hug.

“What’s going on, pup? How are you so friendly with the Goblins?” Sirius asked.

“I promise I’ll explain everything after you’ve rested,” Harry reassured. He then pulled away and nudged him towards Healer Naglok.

Line Break

“Obscurus, may I speak with you for a moment?” Erluk asked, having just arrived at the Healer Wing.

“Of course, Master Erluk,” Harry answered, following the goblin to a secluded corner. Harry could see Ragnok getting everything he needed for an inheritance test.

“We have gotten a request from the Egypt branch for one of ours to go and take care of some treasure hunters,” Erluk said. “ The Weasleys are still there for another week. Now may be a good time to get the traitor.” The two were distracted by shouting from farther in the room. Looking over, they could see Sirius loudly cursing at an inheritance test.

“Roughly how long would you say the mission is going to take?” Harry asked, trying to come up with a timeline and when it would be best to talk to Sirius about everything. 

“Knowing you, probably two weeks to a month at most,” Erluk said with a chuckle. The goblin didn’t like how his student had very little self-preservation skills but was still impressed with how well he returned to full health and how quickly his fighting skills. Many of the goblins believe that his recovery was aided by Lady Magic herself. He saw Harry check the time before answering.

“Alright, I’ll head out in two hours,” Harry said. “ I want to make sure my godfather is settled and has a way to contact me. I also offered my assistance to Griphook earlier.” Erluk nodded and left to let the Egyptian branch know. Harry walked over to Sirius, who had finally calmed down. He picked up the inheritance test and took a look at the blocks and spells and potions that were in Sirius’ system. “Pretty much similar to what the old man put in me.”

“Harry, I’m so sorry I didn’t-”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Siri,” Harry interrupted. “Dumbledore is a manipulative old coot who doesn’t know when to stop. We’ll talk soon. I have to go on an errand and then I have to get to my next mission but I’m going to give Naglok something that will allow you to contact me.” Sirius looked sad at the fact that Harry had to leave so soon.

“You know you don’t have to work, right?” Sirius asked. “Your parents left you a lot of money.”

“I know, but I already passed my OWLs and NEWTs and I enjoy my job,” Harry said with a smile. “It’s kind of like being a hit wizard. The only difference that I know of is that I trust the Goblins more than the Ministry.” Sirius just stared at Harry, looking for something. He then smiled and pulled him into a hug.

“You do know I’m going to spoil you, don’t you?” Sirius asked, making Harry laugh. “I have 12 years to make up for.”

“If you must,” Harry said with fake exasperation and a grin on his face, causing Sirius to laugh. They said their good-byes and Harry handed Naglok one of his premade mirrors for Sirius. He then stopped by Griphook’s office to pick up the letter for Severus Snape before walking out of Gringotts and apparating to Hogwarts. 

From there he shifted into his fox form with the letter in his mouth and walked straight to the castle, up the front steps, and towards the Great Hall where he knew the few professors who stayed during the summer would be for lunch. He jumped up onto the Hufflepuff table and stared at the professors. He could see Hagrid, Filch, Hooch, McGonagall, Dumbledore, Remus, and Snape at the table for lunch. He noticed, as he jumped from the Hufflepuff table to the Slytherin table, that they were all watching him as he moved. As he got closer to the table, he saw Dumbledore’s eyes widen at the sight of the letter and stood to try to intercept. Harry, having seen his movement, jumped down from the table and darted underneath before running under the Head table just as Dumbledore rounded the corner. Harry quickly found the Potions Master and peeked out from under the table to give the letter to him. 

Once the letter was out of his mouth, Harry jumped onto the table to keep an eye on Dumbledore. He made sure to stay close to Snape and away from Remus, knowing the werewolf would be able to place his scent. Snape tried to give him a bit of sausage but he didn’t want to risk taking his eyes off of Dumbledore. The Potions Master seemed to realize this and placed the sausage down in favor of opening the letter. Harry immediately began to growl at the Headmaster when he noticed the Elder Wand summon into his hand.

“I’ve never seen a Fox so well behaved,” Dumbledore stated, stopping his movement. Every gaze except for Harry’s moved to Filius Flitwick when he gasped.

“That isn’t just any fox,” Flitwick stated. “What does the letter say, Severus? What is so important that a Goblin trained Assassin would deliver it?” Everyone froze and stared at the fox, who was gently wagging his tail in enjoyment of the astonishment. Except for Snape who was glaring at the letter.

“Apparently someone has been getting in the way of my mail,” Snape said in a growl. “Someone has been denying my place as Lord Prince for the last decade.” He then looked up to the fox. “Thank you.” He received a head nod from the fox, who still hadn’t removed his gaze from the Headmaster. “Would you mind escorting me to Sliverfang? He wants to see me as soon as possible.” The fox nodded and jumped towards Dumbledore, making the old man back away, and shifted in midair.

“Oh, sweet Circe, that’s Obscurus,” Flitwick whispered. Harry turned around and looked at the Charms professor.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Duel Master Flitwick,” Harry greeted with a bow. “I’m surprised you know of me so soon, considering I only finished my apprenticeship yesterday.”

“You are very well known among the Goblin Nation, Master Hunter Obscurus, being that you are the youngest to ever finish the Assassin Apprenticeship Program,” Flitwick explained.

“How old are you?” McGonagall asked, seeing how small he was.

“I’m 13, ma’am, but finished 15 OWLs and NEWTs with straight O’s when I was 12, if that is what you’re worried about,” Harry answered before turning to the shocked Potion Master. “We will go whenever you’re ready, Potion Master Snape.” Snape nodded and stood up to follow the 13-year-old, who he noticed wouldn’t look in him in the eyes. He waited until they were outside before he spoke.

“Is there a reason you won’t look me in the eyes like everyone else?” Snape asked.

“Yes, you’d recognize me too easily and would end up making this more difficult,” Harry said. “I have my suspicions that you are under several potions and spells that are hindering your judgment. I suggest that you ask Sliverfang to give you an Inheritance test. He’ll probably give you one anyway to ensure you are who you claim to be but if you go with the Integram Hereditatem Test, it’ll show if you are under any potions or spells and who put them there.”

“How could you possibly be sure that there are potions and spells?” Snape asked.

“I’m not sure, I just have my suspicions based on my own experience.”

“Your own experience?”

“Yes,” Harry answered. He then pulled out a ripped piece of paper and handed it to Snape. “That’s my Integram Hereditatem Test last year. The Goblins helped me get it all out of my system. I keep it with me now just in case the old man tries something with me again.”

Blocks:

Parseltongue - 68% Blocked

Parselmagic - 100% Blocked

Natural Occlumency - 85% Blocked

Natural Legilimency - 95% Blocked

Magical Core - 64% Blocked

Beast speak - 92% Blocked

Metamorphmagus - 94% Blocked

Intelligence - 35% Blocked

Talents in Potions, Transfiguration, and Charms - 69% Blocked

Natural Animagus Form - 100% blocked

EyeSight - 72% Blocked

Potions/Spells:  

Compelling charms - Obey Dumbledore - Weakened

Loyalty Potions - Directed to Albus Dumbledore, Molly Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ron 

Weasley, Ginevra Weasley, Order of the Phoenix, and Light Side - Weakened

Hatred Potions - Slytherins, Tom Riddle/Voldemort, Severus Snape, Dark Side, Death Eaters, Malfoys - Weakened

1 Obliviates - Broken

1 Horcrux - Scar 

Submissive Charm- Cannot disobey the Dursleys or Albus Dumbledore - Weakened

Love Potion - Directed at Genevra Weasley - Obliterated

“Potter?” Snape asked. Harry finally turned and looked him in the eyes, causing the Potions Master to stiffen at seeing the familiar green. Hatred and anger grew at the same time worry and understanding grew, causing a strange look to form on his face.

“What you’re feeling right now, the mix of conflicting emotions, that is what started my suspicions,” Harry stated. “From one abuse case to another, we should have recognized each other but didn’t. Why?” Snape looked at the test again with wide eyes as understanding took hold. He handed the parchment back to his former student, who took it and returned it to his pocket.

“Let’s get to Gringotts,” Snape said, walking through the wards, and the two apparated. Just like with Sirius, Snape studied Harry as he interacted with the Goblins. Erluk and Sliverfang met Harry in the entrance hall this time. Snape followed Sliverfang to an office while Harry followed Erluk to the International Portkey room.

“Professor,” Harry called before they separated. Snape looked to the boy and nodded for him to continue. “If you ever want to get in touch with me, contact Gringotts. They have a way to contact me.” Snape nodded and entered the office. Harry stopped by Naglok’s office to check on his godfather, who was asleep, before heading over to the International Portkey to start his next mission.

Chapter Text

Obscurus, in his Fox form, patrolled the Campsite, checking his wards around the campground and the artifact tent. So far the treasure hunters only came close enough to look at his wards, not yet attempting to try to break through them. The night was warm and Harry enjoyed the quiet that fell over the snoozing camp as he thought about the past week.

Bill Weasley was the one to pick him up at the International Portkey room, greatly amusing Harry when Bill seemed unsure whether Harry was being truthful about his identity as Obscurus or not. A day later, Harry got a message from the Prince account manager with thanks from both the manager and the new Lord Prince. He also got a call from Sirius later that day and the two talked for an hour before Harry had to do a midday patrol. Sure he had alarms for when someone even attempted to try to break through the wards but he still made sure to patrol around every mealtime and once more in the middle of the night. He slept around his nightly patrol with a nap after his midday patrol if he didn’t feel like he got enough sleep.

Unfortunately, his wandering around during the daytime patrols in his human form took the notice of one Molly Weasley, who decided to unofficially adopt him again. Every time she went and mothered him, which he always tried to keep the disgruntled look off his face, he could see Bill shaking with concealed laughter. Harry always managed to glare at the Curse Breaker, except for one memorable dinner.

Molly had just finished filling Harry’s plate for the third time, much to Bill’s amusement. Harry looked around the table and took note of where everyone was sitting before smirking at Bill. Bill gave him a wary look, the twins noticed the silent exchange and kept a close eye on the new boy to see what was going on. Bill, Fred, George, Percy, and Arthur sat at one side of the table with Charlie in front of Bill followed by Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Molly. Harry waited until Charlie was in the middle of drinking his pumpkin juice before leaning over to whisper in his ear without Ron hearing him.

“Sooner or later you’re mother is going to realize I’m the assassin that the goblins,” Harry whispered. Charlie inhaled his juice wrong before spraying it all over Bill, making the twins jump back at the wet projectiles. Harry smirked at a yet Bill before going back to eating his food while Charlie coughed to clear his airways. The twins started laughing while Molly got back up and went to help her second oldest. Bill used his napkin to dry himself off while he glared at Harry.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Charlie shouted, turning to stare at Harry.

“I’m deadly serious,” Harry answered.

“What’s going on?” Ginny demanded.

“Obscurus just told me he’s the assassin that the goblins sent to protect the camp,” Charlie answered. Everyone except Bill turned to stare at Harry, who didn’t acknowledge them and continued to eat.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Charlie,” Molly scolded.

“Mom,” Bill called, getting her attention. “It’s true. Obscurus is actually the assassin assigned to the camp.”

“He’s just a child,” Molly tried to counter.

“Mrs. Weasley, I stopped being a child the day my aunt and uncle decided I would be the equivalent to a House elf when I was four. I took my OWLs and NEWTs when I was 12 when it became apparent that school held too many strings attached. Out of the 15 subjects I tested in, I got straight O’s in both my OWLs and NEWTs. I have spent the last six months apprenticing under Master Erluk of the ABHD in Gringotts. In fact, I had just finished my first assignment just a day before getting assigned here.”

Harry mentally cackled at their stunned looks. Even Ron was stunned enough to stop eating and stare at him. At least they’re staring at him for something he did instead of surviving when his own parents didn’t.

“And what do your parents have to say about you going off to kill people?!” Molly screeched, getting over her shock first.

“I wouldn’t know,” Harry answered, his voice turning monotone. “They died when I was a baby and my relatives hate magic enough that when I gave them the option to get rid of me for good, they immediately took it.” An awkward silence fell over the table as Harry wiped his mouth, only finishing half of what was on his third plate. “Thank you for the meal, Mrs. Weasley, but I must get to patrol.” Harry then waved at Bill and walked away to patrol.

That had been three days ago and now Molly insisted he joins them at every meal to get to know him, although he kept certain facts vague with the excuse that he doesn’t want anyone to recognize his true Identity. It’s more for his privacy and his goblin friends than anything else, but still, it was nice to have his surrogate mother again.

Harry stopped when he noticed movement nearby and crouched low to keep hidden. If his Fox form could smirk, it would be. For a little farther ahead, a certain rat decided to have a midnight stroll. It was easy for Harry to sneak up on him and catch him in his mouth before darting to his own tent. Harry shoved him into the cage he had set out earlier before shifting into his human form and locking the cage before he could escape. He then moved the cage to the table and gave the rat a feral grin.

“Hello, Peter Pettigrew,” Harry greeted. “You’re going to pay for setting up my godfather.” Harry then took out his mirror and took a selfie with the rat and sent it to Ragnok, Griphook, Erluk, and Sirius before returning to his patrol.

The next morning, Harry joined the Weasleys for breakfast again and heard Ron whine about his missing rat between bites of food. Harry winced when food kept spraying out of the 13-year-old’s mouth.

“I saw him over near the artifact tent during my patrol last night,” Harry said. “You might want to try over there, but he might have already moved on to a different location.”

“Thanks, mate,” Ron said, his mouth full of eggs. 

Harry just nodded with a grimace before going to grab his water. Harry noticed Fred and George subtly watching him and decided to have a little more fun. So he smirked at them, making them instantly go wary, before bringing his cup to his mouth, but not drinking it. He also noticed Bill, Charlie, and Percy all took notice of his smirk to the twins and decided to watch what Harry would do to them. Harry pulled the cup away from his mouth and turned to Ron.

“Hey, Ron. Can you try this, please? I think it tastes a little funny,” Harry asked, sounding innocent. Harry giggled when the twins’ eyes widened, realizing what Harry was doing.

“Sure,” Ron answered, taking a large swig. A second later, Ron grew a beak and patchy feathers of various colors. Harry hummed in thought as Ron began to freak out. It only took a moment to realize that this was the beginning stages of the Twins’ Canary Creams.

“You two might have better luck making it consistent if you made them into biscuits,” Harry suggested as Molly started to fuss with Ron. “Maybe something similar to custard creams.” The older Weasley boys stared at Harry in shock.

“Did… did you just help the twins make their prank better ?” Percy asked, wary of Harry.

“Hm? Oh, yes,” Harry answered. “My father and his friends were pranksters, even had their own codenames and Group name.” Percy’s horror grew as he thought about all the new products Harry could help the twins with.

“Really?” The twins asked.

“Yep, they went by The Marauders. My dad was Prongs and my godfather was Padfoot. I think, if I remember hearing right, Moony might be teaching defense at Hogwarts this year.” That reminded him, he needed to get Moony tested at Gringotts. Neville too.

Harry was quickly brought out of his thoughts by loud gasps from the twins. Then he remembered who he got the Marauder’s Map from in his first lifetime. He mentally groaned, realizing he might have just made the twins into his groupies. Fred and George suddenly frowned, in thought.

“What happened to Wormtail?” Fred and George asked at the same time.

“Wormtail was a Death Eater and traitor,” Harry sneered a sneer that would have made Snape proud. “It’s because of that sniveling coward that my parents are dead.” The twins and older Weasleys winced at Harry’s harsh tone. He then shook himself out of thoughts of the rat before being distracted by his pocket vibrating. With a quick glance at his mirror, he saw they were excited replies from his goblin friends and godfather. Harry then turned to the twins with a smile. “You should know that all four of them were Gryffindors and three of the four were animagi. I can see if Padfoot will pass on their pranks.” Harry then got up and said his goodbyes before going on patrol again. He intended to get his patrol out of the way so he could meet up with the Weasley family for final goodbyes before they left for England. He also made sure to slip the twins his Animagus book with all his notes in it for them to try while he was saying goodbye to them.

Line Break

Harry stared at the dead bodies in front of him and winced, accepting he went a little overpowered with his severing charms. With a sigh, Harry pulled all of the loose limbs and torsos from the three different bodies into a pile with his magic before pulling a note out of his pocket. He was about to stick the note on the top torso when a gasping curse caught his attention. Still on high alert, Harry quickly pinned the intruder into the sand with his before looking at the person and wincing.

“Sorry Bill,” Harry said, releasing the Curse Breaker from his magic.

“It’s alright,” Bill answered, getting up. The eldest Weasley brother stared at the pile of limbs. “You know, it’s one thing knowing about you being an assassin, it’s another seeing you in action.” Harry winced a little.

“I went a little overpowered with my severing charm,” Harry explained. “They were going to die anyway, but I didn’t mean to be so…”

“Serial Killer-ish?”

“Close enough.” The two chuckled before Harry used his magic to send the deceased back to their own camp. He then used a strong scourgify to get rid of all the blood left over.

“Where did you send them?” Bill asked.

“I found the treasure hunters’ camp a few days ago,” Harry answered. “So I sent them there as a warning to the rest of their group.”

“Was that the day Mum scolded you for missing lunch?” Bill asked, amused at Harry’s grimace.

“Unfortunately.” Bill chuckled at his reply. “What are you doing up so late anyway?”

“I heard the fighting and wanted to make sure everything was okay,” Bill answered. “By the time I came around the tent, you were finishing up.” Harry nodded in acknowledgment before walking Bill to his tent and heading to his own afterward. It wasn’t until a week later that the treasure hunters made another attempt at the artifact tent, which Bill watched in fascination.

“I’m going to head to their camp to make sure we aren’t going to have another wave,” Harry told Bill.

“Alright, I’ll let the team know if you aren’t back by dawn,” Bill told him. Harry smiled and nodded to him before apparating away with the dozen bodies. Harry returned half an hour later to tell him that there wasn’t another wave coming. Harry then cleaned up the blood again before they both went to bed. As Harry fell asleep, he had to wonder why they kept attacking at night.

Chapter Text

Harry was bent in half, laughing at his godfather who was currently laying flat on his back heaving breaths. They had just finished running two miles around Potter Manor’s training room when they decided to take a water break. Instead of drinking water, Sirius decided to just flop onto the floor.

“How are you not dying right now?” Sirius asked.

“I’ve had a year to get used to it,” Harry answered, holding a hand out to help Sirius up. They walked over to the magically powered minifridge that was Harry’s latest muggle-wizard hybrid. Harry sipped his water but winced when Sirius gulped his water down. “You’re going to get sick doing that,” Harry warned just as a knock came to the door. Harry waved his hand to open the door and Ragnok walked in. “ Greetings Ragnok ,” Harry greeted.

“ Greetings Obscurus ,” Ragnok answered back. “ Some of Gringotts’ other account managers were hoping you could deliver some letters to some of their customers since they don’t seem to be getting them. ”

“ Not a problem ,” Harry said, nodding his head and happy to help the race that took him in. “ Have them send the addresses to my mirror organized by student and non-student. I will do the students first since they only have a week before Hogwarts starts. I’ll be over at Gringotts after I clean myself up. ” Ragnok nodded and they said their goodbyes before Ragnok left.

“What’s going on, pup?” Sirius asked.

“It sounds like there are mail wards around more people,” Harry said. “I’m probably going to spend the rest of the week delivering letters since I’m able to go through wards thanks to my animagus form.” Sirius nodded to this, remembering how Harry said he had a mail ward because of Dumbledore. “ You , however, will be having your hour of exercise with Nismey.” Harry smirked at Sirius’ groan. Nismey was one of the younger Potter elves that took health and exercise to an almost extreme level. The Goblin trainers almost looked like cuddly teddy bears compared to Nismey.

Harry made his way out of the training room before calling Nismey, setting her on Sirius to finish his exercise for the day. Harry snickered when he heard a yelp from his godfather before running to his room to shower and change into his uniform. His uniform consisted of black dragonhide under armor and boots with black flame and spell repellant soft cotton turtleneck and jeans. As always, he wore his Zaffre blue headband to not only keep his hair out of his face but to hide the faint lightning bolt scar that was still just slightly visible. Thankfully, with a Goblin strength scar cream, his scar should be gone in another few months. With a Floo travel later, Harry found himself in front of Ragnok in the lobby. Ragnok handed Harry the two large stacks of letters before sending him off with his mirror buzzing with the list of addresses. It was going to be a long week.

Line Break

Obscurus, in fox form, padded into Longbottom Manor, looking for Augusta Longbottom’s office. It had been a long two days and this was his second to last stop to make for the day to finish off the letters that needed to be given before September 1st. Harry was just about to pass the dining room when he noticed that the two Longbottoms were eating dinner. So Harry changed direction and trotted over to the elder Longbottom and gently pawed her knee to get her attention. Augusta looked and gave him a small smile when she noticed who it was.

“Hello, Obscurus,” she greeted, getting Neville’s attention as she took the letter from his mouth. “Would you like to join us for dinner?” Neville gasped when Harry morphed back into his human form. 

“I would greatly appreciate that, Regent Longbottom,” Harry said, giving her a bow. “I seemed to have forgotten that it was dinner time while working on my most recent mission.”

“H-Harry?” Neville asked.

“You were always perceptive, Neville,” Harry said, giving the shy boy a smile. “I’ve been going by Obscurus lately to ensure no one knows it’s me.”

“Have you finished your apprenticeship, then?” Augusta asked.

“Yes. I finished it earlier in the summer, not long before getting sent to Egypt for a mission. Did you know that Ron didn’t even recognize me? I think the Twins suspected something was off with me, other than the obvious young age to be traveling alone.”

“Wow, what do you work as?” Neville asked, gaining confidence.

“I’m an assassin in the ABHD at Gringotts. Although, lately, I’ve become a delivery boy for letters from Gringotts that have been blocked.” At this statement, Augusta’s focus turned to the letter he delivered to her.

“Do you know who’s been blocking them?” Neville asked.

“If it was the same person who blocked my mail, it’ll be Dumbledore.” 

“Do you know why the Goblins would want my grandson to take an Integram Hereditatem Test?” Augusta asked.

“Probably to see if there are any blocks or compulsions on him. I had several myself.”

“Please let them know we’ll be there at 9:30 tomorrow morning.”

Harry took out his mirror and sent a message to Griphook, who would get it to the Longbottom account manager. He did the same thing throughout the day when he had to shift into human form for the Muggleborns and their parents, with the exception of the Grangers.

“What’s that?” Neville asked, fascinated by the mirror.

“It's kind of like a two-way mirror except it has more options to it,” Harry explained. He showed them how it works and how they could get them at Gringotts. After dinner, Harry promised to visit again when he is finished with the rest of his deliveries before apparating to Hogsmead.

Line Break

Remus walked into his office to double-check his lesson plans when he saw a familiar fox sitting on his desk with a letter in his mouth.

“Hello, Obscurus,” Remus greeted before cautiously reaching out for the letter. “Thank you,” Remus said when the letter was in his hand. 

Obscurus nodded before hopping off the desk, leaving Remus to read his letter. Harry had just exited the front doors of the castle when Remus came skidding to a stop beside him. The 13-year-old waited for the werewolf to catch his breath before he spoke.

“Can you take me to Algor, my account manager, please?” Remus asked. Harry stared at Remus’ desperate and shocked look on his face and nodded. They made their way to the gate before Harry shifted into his human form and grabbed Remus, apparating them to Gringotts. Remus watched in fascination as Harry bowed at the guards in respect and the guards bowed back. As they walked into the bank, Remus realized that Obscurus made sure that he was positioned in a way that kept his scent away from the werewolf’s strong nose. It didn’t take long for Harry to reach the Healer Wing, having sent a message to Griphook to get Algor while they were walking. Healer Naglok took overlooking over Remus while he waited for Algor to show up. Harry whispered into Naglok’s ear before leaving the room, getting a curious look from the werewolf.

An hour later, Obscurus returned to the healer wing to check on Remus’ progress, finding the same spells, blocks, and potions on him as Sirius with the added block to merge with his inner wolf. Remus, having just finished his cleansing, glared at the results with glowing gold eyes only to be distracted by Sirius Black rushing into the room and surprising Remus with a hug. As Sirius caught Remus up on everything that’s been happening, Harry took a seat in a nearby chair to await his own introduction.

“Sirius, we need to find Harry,” Remus said after Sirius finished telling him about his escape from Azkaban. Sirius started snickering at his friend, stopping the werewolf’s rant before it could start.

“Hi Moony,” Harry greeted, smirking as the professor began gawping at the teen.

“Harry?” Remus asked, getting nods from both Harry and Sirius.

“He’s so smart, Moony,” Sirius gushed, making Harry blush at the praise. “He’s already finished his OWLs and NEWTs with straight O’s in his 15 subjects. He’s also been experimenting with Muggle devices to try to convert them to Wizarding devices. He also finished his apprenticeship in about half a year for the Assassins and Bounty Hunters Department in Gringotts. He’s brilliant, Moony.” Harry fidgeted in embarrassment, not used to this treatment, before pulling out two mirrors.

“One of these is for Snape,” Harry said, handing them to Remus. “I’ve added extra runes and spells to them. So long as you keep them on your person, they will ward off any and all harmful and mind-altering spells with the exception of the Killing curse. It’ll even slowly purge your systems of anything but what would take a 15-minute purge here would take a full 24 hours with the mirror. They can also be used as a two-way mirror but there are several differences.” 

Remus took the two mirrors as Harry took his own mirror out and sat on the bed, his side pressed next to Remus’ side while Sirius scooted his chair closer to them. Harry smiled and relaxed as his family surrounded him. Harry showed Remus how to use the Internet, Music, and Contacts apps to call or text on the mirror. He also showed Remus how to use the recently developed app called Books. All they would need to do is open the app, place the mirror face up on the book they want to save, and push ‘Record’. Depending on the size of the book, it could take anywhere from five seconds to an hour to save the book to the mirror. It also allows the user to find passages based on references. Harry hoped that one day each student would have a mirror the size of a single book with copies of their school books saved onto their Mirrors so they don’t have to carry so many books and they can’t lose their books when using the mirror.

After showing Remus how to work his own mirror, Remus gasped in surprise when the platinum back of the mirror engraved itself with ‘RL’. Harry just smiled and hugged Remus before the werewolf said his own goodbye to Sirius and left for Hogwarts.

Line Break

‘I Love Rock ‘N Roll’ by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts played from Harry’s mirror as he tinkered with his latest project in his workshop at Gringotts. He preferred using his Gringotts Workshop purely because if something went wrong, Harry would have help sooner than if he used his workshop at Potter Manor.

Harry’s most recent project is supposed to be used as a sort of security camera for homes that show potential abuse. The project was commissioned by the head of the DMLE a few days after Regent Longbottom managed to push through his reforms of getting abused magical children from their caretakers, using his own case as an example. They’re still working on getting a primary school set up so that Muggleborns could learn about their world earlier in their life. It also had a side benefit to reducing house rivalry and making sure all of the students were on the same page, theory-wise, when they reached Hogwarts. 

However, Dumbledore was being a pain about it and refusing to allow it to go through, claiming that Harry Potter doesn’t agree with it and that everything is fine as is. Harry really was tempted to show up to a Wizengamot meeting just to show that he fully supports the Magical Primary school. However, Harry decided to call in his own ‘weapon’ to get Dumbledore to move out of the way and get the people involved.

“ Ring Ring. Ring Ring. ”

Harry stopped what he was doing and stared at his mirror as it cut off ‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’ by Blue Oyster Cult to… talk… to him.

“ Ring Ring. I’m really ringing down here. If you could just pick up the phone if it’s not too much trouble. Please. Thank you. Ring Ring. In case you forget. ”

Harry picked up his mirror and saw that it was Griphook calling him. Harry’s brow twitched in annoyance.

‘ Dammit, Sirius! ’ Harry thought, already coming up with his own retaliation prank. “ Hello, Griphook. Is it time for the meet already? ” He asked in the Goblin tongue.

“ Yes, Obscurus. Meeting room 8 ,” Griphook answered.

“ I’ll be there momentarily ,” Harry said, then hung up. He washed his hands before checking his white button-up and black dress trousers before pocketing his mirror, turning off the lights, and leaving the workshop. It didn’t take him long to reach the meeting room and smiled when he saw Rita Skeeter sitting patiently in one of the chairs. “Hello, Ms. Skeeter.” Harry greeted, holding a hand out for her.

“Hello,” Skeeter returned the greeting. “I’m afraid I never caught your name.”

“I’m Harry Potter, ma’am.” Harry internally laughed as her eyes widened and tried to see past his fringe. “Now, before we get to the fun part, we need to talk business. Specifically, a certain, shall we say, bug problem?” Skeeter reeled back as if she was slapped. “Now, don’t worry, Ms. Skeeter. I don’t intend to reveal you to the ministry. However, you should know that within the last year, one of the things I asked my account manager to do was get a majority of shares from every publishing company in Wizarding Britain. Keep that in mind should you choose to write something about me without my consent.”

“I understand, Mr. Potter,” Skeeter said warily.

“Good. Now we can get onto the fun part.” Harry gave her a shark-like grin.

Chapter Text

Is It Really for the ‘Greater Good’?

My Dear Readers, yesterday I was called into Gringotts to perform an interview for one of their employees. Imagine my surprise when none other than Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, walked into the meeting room for the interview. That’s right, Readers! Our Boy Hero has been willingly hiding with the Goblins for the last year and let me tell you, what I found out in this interview was truly shocking!

On the day the Hogwarts Express returned to London, Harry Potter refused to return to the way he lived before getting his Hogwarts letters. This confused me because we were told by Headmaster Dumbledore that Harry Potter was treated like a Prince by his relatives and was learning everything he needed from a young age.

It turns out that none of that was true!

Mr. Potter shared with me his memories and his medical scan from the Goblin Healer he’s been seeing since he escaped to the wizarding bank. He was starved despite being the one to cook all of the meals and treated like a house elf! His ‘bedroom’ was the cupboard under the stairs! He was punished for getting better grades than his cousin, who didn’t even try to do his own work! It was Mr. Potter’s cousin, Dudley Dursley, that was treated like a prince. And that’s not the end of it!

Blocks on his magical abilities, blocks in his natural abilities, 64% block on his magical core, blocks on his eyesight, compulsion charms, Loyalty Potions, Hatred Potions, a submissive charm, an obliviate, and a love potion! All of this was on Mr. Potter’s person.

“I’m just thankful that most of them were weakened enough for me to get to the Goblins,” Mr. Potter said. “It just hurts that Dumbledore, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and the Dursleys stole from me. It hurts finding out that those who I thought were my friends or looked up to or, in Ginny’s case, didn’t even know would steal from me. I’m grateful to the Goblins for fixing everything when it became clear that I didn’t authorize anything.”

When asked about what he’s been doing for the last year, Mr. Potter informed me just how busy he has been. Not only was he busy healing and reorganizing his accounts, but he also worked on his OWLs and NEWTs in all Fifteen subjects that he took them in, emancipated himself, and, earlier this summer, finished his apprenticeship for his chosen department at top speed. When he found out about his seats on the Wizengamot, Mr. Potter changed his proxy to Regent Augusta Longbottom and changed his votes that Mr. Dumbledore voted that Mr. Potter didn’t agree with.

I then asked Mr. Potter, now that he is Lord of his house, if there was anything he wanted to inform the public about his views on the laws. 

“Yes, actually. The reason I even asked for this interview was because of what Dumbledore has been saying. He is not my Magical Guardian, nor does he have any form of authority over me. He does not, and will never, be my choice of speaker purely because of the crimes he has committed against me and mine. 

“With that said, it is my idea to create a primary school for magical children. They wouldn’t be learning to do any magic but they could start the theory for most subjects. They could learn how to properly prepare ingredients, basic care for plants in Herbology, Maths, History, and Literature, just to name a few subjects.

“This way, we could introduce Muggleborns into the Wizarding world earlier and allow them to adjust more than just the summer before their first Hogwarts year. It also has the side benefit to reduce some of the house rivalries that happen at Hogwarts. The biggest problem that Regent Longbottom has been having with getting this through is the location of the school and Dumbledore saying that I don’t approve of my own idea. The first part is easy: Should the Wizengamot approve of the primary school, then I will donate the use of one of my Properties. The second problem I’m clearing up now with this interview.

“Another thing I’m hoping is getting fewer restrictions on creatures. Most of the ‘dark and dangerous' creatures that have restrictions on them, like Werewolves and Vampires, only started attacking or causing problems after the restrictions. Sure, there are some bad ones out there like Fenrir Greyback, but not all of them are bad. Are all wizards bad just because Voldemort was? I know some people think that all Slytherins are bad because of Voldemort but that’s not true. Merlin was a Slytherin and he is known as one of the Greatest. Andromeda Tonks used her Slytherin ambition and cunning to marry the man she loves and get out of her parent’s view of her future. Regulus Black defected from Voldemort’s side and gave the future generation the ability to get rid of Voldemort for good, which the Goblins and I did. Severus Snape is the youngest Potion Master ever and he protects the students. He protects the Slytherins from a lot, if not most, of the bullying that happens. He hates me because of my father but he still protected me when I broom started jerking around. 

“If so much good can come out of Slytherin when others think there is no good there, then we owe the magical creatures the same courtesy. Everything is not Black and White. There are shades of Grey too.”

Mr. Potter also asked that I give a blanket apology to any and everyone who was offended by his behavior when he returned to the Wizarding World. He didn’t know that magic even existed until his Eleventh Birthday, let allow that he was an Heir, now Lord due to his emancipation.

Mr. Dumbledore told us that it was for the ‘Greater Good’ that our boy hero stayed ‘safe’ with his muggle relatives. He said it was for the ‘Greater Good’ that he was made Magical Guardian of Harry Potter and several other children. He said it was for the 'Greater Good’ that we did so many things. But is it really for the ‘Greater Good’? If so, whose ‘Great Good’ is it for?

For more on Harry Potter’s life before Hogwarts, turn to page 3.

For more on Harry Potter’s time at Hogwarts, turn to page 5.

Hogwarts

Dumbledore leaned against the closed door of his office and heaved a sigh. He’d barely managed to make it back to his office before his irate staff could get their hands on him. Minerva in particular. It might be a good idea to hide in his office for a few days. That was his last thought before waves upon waves of owls delivered an endless stream of Howlers into his office that continued until he was buried alive.

Meanwhile, in the Great Hall, Remus smirked at Snape, who had a constipated look on his face. Snape didn’t know what to think of the article. As a whole, he was angry at Dumbledore and his manipulations. On a smaller scale, he didn’t know how to react to Potter’s complement of his person. The Potion Master waited until the werewolf returned to his breakfast before pulling out his mirror and sending a text to Potter.

Brat -SS

You’re Welcome. -O

He rolled his eyes at Potter’s answer. Snape had to wonder if the Headmaster would be able to make it away from all of the Howlers in time for the Welcoming Feast that evening.

Malfoy Manor

Lucius Malfoy choked on his morning tea as he read the paper. When he finished reading, he cackled and handed the paper to his wife. Narcissa began reading the paper out loud for her and her son. Draco’s face became an odd mixture of amused, shocked, jealousy. Amused that Wonder Boy stood against Dumbledore, shocked that so much had happened to him, and jealous that Potter already took his OWLs and NEWTs.

“Well, It would seem Lord Potter is making his move,” Narcissa stated.

“He must have been upset when he heard that Dumbledore was trying to stop the primary school from forming,” Lucius said with a smirk.

Diggory Residence

Cedric stared at the Prophet in shock, glad that his family had checkups with Gringotts every year and that Dumbledore never set his eyes on their family. Cedric missed going up against Harry in Quidditch, the only one who has a chance of beating him now is Malfoy.

“Cedric, I got you an early birthday present!” Amos Diggory said, pulling his son out of his thoughts. He put a small, wrapped box in front of Cedric, who smiled at his parents.

“Thank you,” Cedric said before unwrapping it. Inside was a rectangular mirror in confusion before it dawned on him. “Is this one of those communication mirrors?”

“Yep! I got one for each of us,” Amos stated proudly. “This way you can keep in touch without having to use all of your parchment.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Cedric said, getting up to hug his parents.

Longbottom Manor

“Well, that’s one way to get Dumbledore to stop,” August said as she read the Prophet at the Breakfast table.

The trip to Gringotts was enlightening. Dumbledore had managed to get ahold of Neville when he was younger and block 53% of his core. After getting it unblocked, Augusta took Neville to get his own wand and watched Neville practice his magic in the manor’s Practice Room so he could adjust to the new power levels.

“What is?” Neville asked. Having his magic unblocked and a new wand, Neville grew more confident than he had been before. Augusta handed over the Prophet for Neville to read.

“Of course Harry would be able to make Skeeter write something honest,” Neville said with a smirk before digging for his mirror.

Great job. -NL

Thanks, Nev. -O

Neville put his mirror away and finished his breakfast so he could double-check that he had everything for school. 

The Burrow

The twins and Percy were hiding in their rooms, listening to their mother yelling at their two youngest siblings. Even their dad was yelling at them and that was nearly unheard of! The twins looked at each other for a second before agreeing to write to Harry to let him know that they didn’t know about the thefts. They would ask to use Lee’s owl when they get back to school and hope they could at least be friends with Harry still.

Potter Manor

Harry replied to both Neville and Snape while Sirius cackled at the article Rita wrote.

“That’s brilliant, pup!” Sirius cheered.

“Just think about how many Howlers Dumbledore will be getting now,” Harry suggested, making Sirius laugh again. “He’s probably drowning in them by now.”

Harry and Sirius would get a call from Remus later that day, informing them that Dumbledore was unable to attend the Welcome feast due to Howlers blocking the door to his office and floo. Neville also texted Harry telling him how Ron and Ginny showed up looking like neon clowns thanks to Fred and George. The Next morning, Neville sent Harry Pictures of Hermione sporting beaver ears, tail, front teeth, and nose; Ginny sporting bunny ears, tail, front teeth, and nose; and Ron sporting boar ears, snout, tusks, and tail.

Chapter Text

September was an interesting month for Harry. He regularly wrote letters to the Weasley Twins as Harry, he wrote letters to Bill and Charlie Weasley as Obscurus every other week or so, he would text Neville and Remus often while they were at school, and occasionally he would text Severus Snape. He would take missions from Erluk, but the rest of the time would be put towards his Muggle-Wizard hybrids in his workshop or spending time with his Godfather. However, during the whole month, out of countless opportunities, Harry had not retaliated yet for Sirius changing his ringtone. 

Until today. Saturday. 2nd of October, 1993. 2:30 am. The day Remus was supposed to have Breakfast with them and spend the day together, just the three of them.

Harry smirked evilly at his peacefully sleeping godfather as he stood next to the bed. Harry set Sirius’ Mirror back on his nightstand before quietly making his way to the ensuite bathroom to have some fun. First, Harry stopped at the toilet and placed an invisible magical wall over the bowl to prevent Sirius from properly using it. Next, he changed the water coming out of the shower and sink to melted candy. He then conjured a large pile of feathers and had them floating above, only to be triggered with a drying charm and spell-resistant so Sirius couldn’t banish them away.

Harry left the bathroom and over to Sirius’ wardrobe, shaking with silent laughter. He changed the color of every piece of clothing, including the 3  underwears, into Neon colors. He made sure to set it up so that if Sirius tried to change the color back to normal, it would just change to a different neon color. Harry then used a strong sticking charm on all of Sirius’ shoes and set out a pair of slippers for him. Bright pink bunny slippers with sparkly purple bows on top.

Mentally cackling, Harry quietly left the bedroom and set up the final touch. When Sirius opened the door to leave his room, he would have spell-resistant glitter dumped on him.

Harry went to his room to get four and a half more hours of sleep. As Harry laid down, a satisfied smirk graced his lips and stayed there the rest of the night.

Line Break

Remus exited the floo and hugged Harry, who launched himself at Remus.

“Good morning, Moony!” Harry cheered. Remus stared at Harry warily before sighing.

“You look like your father when he successfully pulled off a prank. What did you do?” Remus asked.

“ Someone decided to mess with my ringtone on my Mirror. I merely retaliated,” Harry told him with a grin. “Come on, I’m sure the elves have finished breakfast already. Although, I should warn you that Siri seems to be having a slow morning today. He was supposed to greet you with me.”

The two made it to the family dining room and sat down with two cups of tea and chatted about some of the students at Hogwarts. Harry turned to the door when the wards told him that Sirius finally exited his room and poised his Mirror to take pictures when he finally arrived. Remus, seeing Harry getting ready, turned to stare at the doorway just as Sirius entered and promptly started laughing. Sirius was a mess!

The older animagus was covered in feathers and rainbow glitter. He wore a Neon Green t-shirt, Neon Purple trousers, and Neon Yellow socks with his bunny slippers. His clothes would also occasionally stick to the little bits of skin that weren't covered by feathers and glitter. Harry smirked wider when Remus fell to the floor still laughing.

“Pup?” Sirius asked with an edge to his voice.

“You shouldn’t have messed with my ringtone,” Harry said in an innocent voice with a look to match. Sirius’ eyes grew wide as he realized what was happening.

“That was a month ago!” Sirius protested, making his way and sitting down in his chair, Remus following suit after he calmed down.

“Yes, well, the best pranks are thoroughly planned out,” Harry said, getting ready to send Sirius’ picture to Remus, Sirius, Snape, and Neville. “That and making it unexpected.” Harry waited until the food arrived and Sirius took a bite before sending the pictures.

Remus and Harry stared at Sirius with raised eyebrows when a female erotic moan came from Sirius’ direction, making the older animagus nearly choke on his eggs.

“Sirius?” Remus asked.

“That wasn’t me!” Sirius shouted. Neither man noticed one of Harry’s hands under the table, texting Sirius. They did, however, notice when Sirius’ area moaned again. That was also the point when Sirius realized what was moaning at them and took out his Mirror. There he had received texts from Harry. One was a picture in his messy state, the other a message with a semicolon and half a parentheses to create a winky face. “Fine. You win, pup,” Sirius said with a pout.

“Of course I do,” Harry said, smirking at his godfather. Remus snickered where he sat. 

Harry and Remus were the first to finish eating and Harry offered to show Remus the changes since James’ years living at the manor. Sirius tried to get up and follow him but could seem to get out of his chair. Harry and Remus were long gone before the semi-sticking charm finally let up.

Line Break

Severus rolled his eyes as he felt his Mirror vibrate. Only two people message him through the Mirror: Lucius Malfoy, who usually calls instead of text; and Harry Potter, who usually texts instead of calls. Pulling out his Mirror, Severus noticed it was Harry and opened the message only to almost spit out his coffee. He stared out at the students, trying to control his amusement at the picture Harry had sent him. 

Over at the Gryffindor table, Severus could see a violently shaking Neville Longbottom bent over his Mirror and a hand over his mouth. The Gryffindor, Severus noticed, had gained a lot of confidence since the last school year and his grades showed it. He no longer blew up his potions, all of his other class grades have been consistently EE’s or O’s, and Severus wouldn’t be surprised if Longbottom was one of the top students by the end of the year.

Severus took a deep, fortifying breath before looking back at the picture Harry sent him. Of course, the contact name was actually Obscurus to protect Harry. With a smirk, Severus saved the photo of Sirius Black’s demise by his own Godson to his Mirror.

Line Break

Harry stood in the back of the Wizengamot Atrium a week after getting back at his Godfather. He used his Metamorph ability to make himself look more like his father with his mother’s eyes, although he didn’t change much. It’s a wonder how much glasses can change a person’s look. His hair was in the Potter bird's nest but he had the tips of it red to make him look more different from his Obscurus looks. He wore traditional black robes with red stitching to show that he was still the ‘good little Gryffindor’. 

Three days ago, Regent Longbottom informed him that Dumbledore was giving her troubles when it came to pulling back the Creature Restrictions and getting Sirius a wizarding trial. Now Harry was here to present the counterargument to Dumbledore’s and Augusta still holding his proxy seats for when the votes come in. Two days ago, Ragnok went to the higher-ups to get Sirius a Goblin trial to use for today and found him innocent. Harry couldn’t wait to rub it in the Wizengamot’s face. Augusta, of course, knew that Harry was hiding in the shadows, waiting for his moment to enter the conversation.

“Next on our agenda,” Minister Fudge announced, “is the investigation into the trial of one Sirius Black by Madame Amelia Bones.” Murmurs could be heard among the Wizengamot members.

“Surely that isn’t necessary,” Dumbledore stated. “Everyone knows that Black was guilty.”

“How can we know this for sure?” Amelia asked, interrupting Dumbledore before he could go much farther. “Sirius Black never had a trial and I have evidence that shows Mr. Black is innocent. Including a willing interrogation with Mr. Black under Veritaserum.” Many members started shouting around the room, Dumbledore could be heard trying to deny that a trial for Sirius was necessary.

“Well, this certainly reminds me of why I prefer to stay with the Goblins,” Harry stated loudly, getting everyone’s attention. Harry practically glided to the center of the room.

“Who are you?” Fudge asked, looking the teenager up and down.

“I’m Harry Potter,” he answered, mentally smirking when it caused an uproar.

“Harry, my boy!” Dumbledore shouted, taking the teen’s new looks in.

“I am NOT your boy , Headmaster,” Harry nearly hissed at the old man. “You were the binder of the Fidelius Charm and yet, you allowed an innocent man to go to Azkaban without a trial. You knew Sirius Black, my godfather, was innocent, my godfather was even proven innocent when he went through a Goblin’s trial where they used a high-grade Veritaserum to get the trials over with quickly. So the question is, why? I asked you not to send me back to my relatives over the summer, that I would pay to stay at Hogwarts, anything to not return to my muggle relatives. So why did you force me to return to them?”

“Harry, my boy, it’s for the greater good that you return to your relatives,” Dumbledore tried to soothe. “The blood wards protect you from Voldemort and his Death Eaters.”

“Falsehood,” Harry stated. The entire Wizengamot stayed silent to listen to the two most famous men in the room. “I’ve spent well over a year with the Goblins and have learned a lot in that time. One of which is wards. Blood Wards in particular need the recipient, which in my case is me, to feel loved and cared for in the house and must consider the place Home. I grew up in a cupboard while my cousin got two bedrooms. I worked as a house elf while my uncle worked, my cousin either played games or with his friends, and my aunt was too busy trying to get gossip from our neighbors. Meanwhile, I was mowing the yard, gardening, doing the dishes, cooked every meal, and cleaned every inch of that house.

“I thought my name was Freak and Boy until I was five years old and started primary school. My cousin and his friends chased me around in a game called Harry Hunting where they would beat me up once they caught me. My relatives, despite the fact that I was the one cooking all of those meals, refused to feed me anything but a slice of bread and a glass of milk once every three or four days. I would also get punished for getting better grades than my cousin, who didn’t even try. 

“Finally, I stopped considering that place my home as soon as I started staying at Hogwarts. Hogwarts became my home. Tell me, does it sound like I was loved and cared for in that house? Does it sound like that house was my Home? No, to both questions. Thus, the Blood Wards are nonexistent. Not only that, but according to my parents’ wills, I was never to go there because they’re magic hating muggles! They punished me for doing accidental magic!” The members were whispering loudly at what they’re hearing but Harry ignored them in favor of finishing what he started. “My parents’ wills also stated that their real secret keeper was Peter Pettigrew, who is still alive! And don’t you dare tell me I’m exaggerating Dumbledore. My healer was appalled at my health as a result of my relatives. My Goblin friends have done more to help me in the last week than most of the wizards and witches in the Wizarding World have in my entire life! 

“And I know why you wanted me with those people. I know you wanted me to die in the final battle with Voldemort. Well, too bad, Dumbledore. Thanks to the Goblins, we’ve destroyed all of his artifacts that kept him alive, including the accidental one we took out of me. So now the Dark Lord Voldemort, also known as the Halfblood named Tom Marvolo Riddle, is officially dead and all of his lordships and everything that goes with it goes to me by right of conquest.

“However, I do seem to have gotten off-topic,” Harry said, ruffling the back of his hair in a teenage fashion and looking suitably sheepish. The Wizengamot was shocked and Dumbledore looked furious that all of his plans were blasted into smithereens by one teenager. “What I meant to talk about was getting Sirius Black a trial under veritaserum. It shouldn’t be too hard to see that he is innocent of all crimes. After all, the Goblins were able to see that he was innocent.” Harry noticed a few well-known Slytherins giving him appreciative looks, seeing that he was trying to manipulate them in a gentle way compared to Dumbledore’s method.

“Another thing that I’ve heard you’ve been having troubles with is the Creature Restrictions,” Harry said.

“And why you haven’t taken your seat as Lord Potter,” a lord from the Dark Sect called out.

“Yes, well, I’m only 13 and didn’t grow up with the proper training like your heirs thanks to someone .” Harry turned to glare at Dumbledore. “Not only am I working for the Goblins as an inventor but I am also taking lessons on how to run a Lordship. In the meantime, Regent Longbottom has been doing a great job speaking for me. Now, for the Magical Creature Restrictions: Take them down. Seriously. Why did so many side with Voldemort? They were promised basic rights. How would you feel if your government said you weren’t allowed to marry or have children or have a job. In some cases, you lot even forbade them to eat. Just imagine yourself in a world where you weren’t allowed to live your life freely. Wouldn’t you revolt?

“You can’t win this argument by saying these creatures are Dark and that all of the Dark should be wiped out,” Harry said, stopping the arguments before they could start. “At the same time, I’m not saying I agree with everything that is Dark. All I’m saying is that there is a balance to everything. There is no Light without Dark. What is always present when you light a candle? Or when you go outside on a sunny day?” Harry paused to see if anyone would answer.

“Shadows,” Amelia Bones answered.

“Exactly!” Harry grinned at the Head of the DMLE. “Even in Nature, you can see the balance. Did you know that in South America, they’ve already discovered a cure for Lycanthropy?” Harry asked, accidentally going into his DADA tutor mode from when he was teaching the DA. “Instead of them being insane wolves on the night of the full moon, the potion needed changes the curse of the wolf into more of an animagus form. The werewolves not only keep their minds but can also willingly change into wolves anytime they wish like an animagus. 

“The only things that are different between a Werewolf and an animagus is that the werewolves still need to be wolves during the full moon and they can still infect others. However, with them retaining their minds better than the wolfsbane potion, that number is nearly nonexistent in other countries. Even the few who are infected, are infected because they wanted to and have gone through a series of tests before they’re changed to ensure they won’t do stupid things after they are changed.”

“If this cure is so great, why don’t we have it?” A Lady in the back asked. Dumbledore opened his mouth to try to stop Harry from continuing but Harry beat him to it by flicking his wrist. Duct tape appeared over Dumbledore’s mouth and wrapped around his beard.

“Because,” Harry said, fighting a smirk at Dumbledore’s disgruntled state. “Instead of Regulating what type of Blood magic people are able to use, you’ve banned the whole thing. There are so many things that Blood Magic can be used for and most of it is in the medical industry. In Japan, they found a spell-potion combination that can cure Dragon pox completely but is banned here because it's Blood Magic. There is also one that originates in China that can reverse mental breaks. Who here has heard what happened to Lord and Lady Longbottom 12 years ago?” Harry raised his hand in the air and every Lord and Lady and most of the elected officials raised their hands. “That Blood Magic cure in China? That can reverse their conditions and bring them back to their right state of mind within two months. But that can’t happen here because that magic is banned.

“And another thing, since we’re in this general area of topic: The Olde Ways. Does anyone know what the Olde Ways actually do? Or why they were banned?”

“Because they are Dark Rituals that can hurt people,” one of the elected officials said.

“Wrong. They were banned because the Ministry wanted to make muggleborns feel more comfortable. When you visit another country, do you expect them to change their ways to accommodate you?” Harry saw several people shaking their heads ‘no’. “Exactly. So why are we changing for the Muggleborns? It’s part of the reason I want to get the Magical Primary school up and running, so we can integrate the muggleborns into our world sooner and have less conflict in the future.

“What the Holidays mean isn’t bad at all. The ritual for Samhain was a gift from the Deity, Death, so that we can spend time and talk to our loved ones that passed away for one night a year. Yule symbolizes rebirth and the return of the fertile season. The only ritual for that is to ‘sacrifice’ a small portion of your food into the Yule fire. Beltane marks the first day of Summer and rituals were performed to protect the cattle, crops, people, and to encourage growth. Special bonfires were kindled, and their flames, smoke, and ashes were deemed to have protective powers. This is just 3 of the 8 holidays and not a single one of the 8 holidays is dangerous. In fact, I’ve participated in some outside of the country just to see why we banned it. And I don’t see why we banned it at all. Every single one that I participated in made my magic stronger and sing with joy. When I took my NEWTs months ago, I still had to use my wand for everything. Now, after attending 3 of the holidays, I can cast every single NEWT spell wandlessly and at least half wordlessly.”

This got a lot of gasps from the crowd.

“On another note, Purebloods.” Harry looked mostly to the Dark Sect for this part. “I know you want to keep your blood ‘pure’ but really, by continuously marrying into more pureblood families instead of diverging, you’re not only weakening your magic but also killing off any chance of having more than one child with any sort of magical prowess. Now, listen to me before you get angry because I might just have a solution to that as well. My mother was a Muggleborn. But where do the Muggleborns get their magic? Before the beginning of this school year, the Goblins called in a lot of Muggleborns to get an Inheritance Test. In my own test, I gained 3 lordships from my mother. Every Muggleborn that got a test also got at least one lordship or was in line for a lordship. Can anyone guess why?”

Everyone was quiet for a long time. Harry opened his mouth to state the answer when Lord Nott raised his hand.

“Go ahead, Lord Nott,” Harry said.

“They’re descended from Squibs?” The lord asked unsurely.

“Correct! Every Muggleborn is a descendant of a Squib. Imagine Magic is like a river, always flowing and moving and the different family bloods are sticks and stones floating in the river. When Purebloods produce with other Purebloods, the more sticks and stones there are in the river until a dam is made, a Squib. Muggleborns are the sticks and stones that were loosened over time and allow the magic to flow freely. 

“Voldemort was powerful because his pureblood mother created him with his muggle father. Now, I’m not saying that you should all go and marry every muggle out there. Not all muggles are kind, just like not all magical people are kind. I’m just saying that you should loosen up a little when it comes to Muggleborns. It’s fine if you allow your heirs to be with Muggleborns. Not only will it replenish the magic of their offspring, but it could also bring in new blood to the families and potentially new titles, if that’s what your heirs are after.” Harry paused and thought about what he told everyone today.

“Oops,” Harry mumbled. “Sorry for taking up so much of everyone’s time today,” Harry said, a little louder for everyone to hear. “I seem to have gone into tutor mode again.” Harry gave a weak chuckle over this and ruffled the back of his hair again. “Anyways, I mostly came here today to see if you all would give Sirius Black a proper trial and to make sure my thoughts on the Creature Restrictions are clear since some didn’t believe the prophet.” Harry then moved back into the shadows to watch the rest of the Wizengamot.

By the end of the meeting, Harry was smiling. Not only did he get Sirius to have a wizarding trial, but he somehow managed to get all of the Creature Restriction laws disbanded. Harry was also happy to note that Dumbledore had to use severing charms on his beard to get the Duct tape off. After the meeting, Augusta invited Harry to lunch, which seconded as a getaway from Dumbledore, before parting ways for the time being. Harry thoroughly enjoyed watching Sirius’ howl of laughter when he told him about Dumbledore’s beard.

Line Break

“What did you do to his beard?”

Harry blinked several times in surprise at his Mirror. He still had his pajamas in one hand and was about to change into them when his Mirror started ringing.

“I didn’t know you two were getting along now,” Harry answered. The picture his Mirror was showing him was Severus Snape sitting in the Defence office with a snickering Remus Lupin in the background.

“What’d you do, Brat?” Severus asked again.

“All I did was magic some muggle Duct tape on his mouth and beard,” Harry answered. “It’s not my fault that he decided to use severing charms instead of just pulling them off.” Remus gave a full belly laugh while Severus just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, his lips twitching in an amused smirk.

Chapter Text

“He what?!”

“Yes, Obscurus,” Erluk said. “Dumbledore requested you personally to look for Pettigrew at Hogwarts. His reasoning was that you were best suited to fit in with the least amount of questions.”

The Wizengamot, not to be outdone by another magical race, gave Sirius a trial two days after the meeting, which was a week and a half ago now. Sirius was now an innocent man and the two of them and Remus celebrated when it was announced while the Ministry started a manhunt for Pettigrew, who was being held by Ragnok until they were ready to hand him over. Several Wizengamot members were also looking into the advancements of other countries and Harry sent Rita Skeeter to look through the National Education and Research Department (NERD) to find her next story, knowing she’ll find several Hogwarts classes that were terminated due to ‘Lack of Funds’ or because they were ‘Dark Classes’. It was a subtle ploy to pull the rug from under Dumbledore’s feet.

“Do you know when I’m going to be announced as a new student?” Harry asked.

“Yes, Samhain, if you choose to accept it and have given your name for him to use for the sorting,” Erluk informed.

“Like I’m going to give him my actual name,” Harry snorted. “I’ll probably go with something like Hunter Nilbog or something.”

“Did you just use Goblin in reverse as a fake surname?” Sirius asked, having just walked into the sitting room with two cups of hot chocolate.

“I’d use Assassin if I could but Nissassa just doesn’t work well,” Harry said, getting a laugh from Erluk and a chuckle from Sirius. “But in all seriousness, I’ll only accept it if I am allowed to have access to the wards and can upgrade them. If that is accepted, then I will come up with a new name for me to use while at Hogwarts.”

“I will let him know,” Erluk said, smirking at the extra charges he could add to Dumbledore’s request thanks to Harry. They hung up and Harry turned to his godfather as they both drank their Cocoa.

“We already have Peter, why would you need to go to Hogwarts?” Sirius asked.

“Hogwarts was the first place I remember really calling home and the wards allowed a Troll and a possessed teacher in. I want to update them and make them stronger. It also gives me a way to get rid of the curse on the DADA position or, if there is no curse, to expose Dumbledore as someone who is terrible at hiring people,” Harry explained. “On an unprofessional side, I’ll be able to hang out with some friends and mess with Dumbledore the entire time too.”

“How did you not get sorted into Slytherin?” Sirius asked, a smile forming on his lips.

“Dumbledore’s manipulations to turn me into his Golden Boy Weapon,” Harry answered.

Line Break

Apparently, Dumbledore was desperate enough to look like the hero to agree to Harry’s conditions. Either that or he foolishly thought that he could get Harry to agree to not look at the wards. Either way, Harry, in a Hogwarts uniform, stared out the window of the Headmaster’s office. His trunk, filled with the necessary clothes and supplies for school, shrunken and in his pocket to await for after his sorting.

“Excited to return to the Lion’s Den?” Severus Snape, the person Dumbledore sent to escort him when the time came to re-sort him, asked after making sure all of the portraits were gone from their frames for the time being.

“I wasn’t supposed to be in Gryffindor the first time,” Harry told him, moving away from the window so they could head out. “I was supposed to be in Slytherin but thanks to Dumbledore, I ended up in Gryffindor. Even with this new sorting, I can’t go to my true house. Dumbledore would throw too much of a fit.”

“So where do you think you’ll end up?” Severus asked, curious as they made their way out of the Headmaster’s office and towards the Great Hall.

“If I can get the hat to agree, Hufflepuff. I’ll be less suspicious there,” Harry said, smirking. “You do realize that most of the rumors that actually end up true are because of Hufflepuffs, right? Everyone always underestimates them and doesn’t really think about them while they’re walking down a hall talking about this and that. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them made great spies.” Severus stared at Harry, jaw slightly slack as he realized the truth of that statement. “Most Ravenclaws could probably make good spies too, especially if they make it look like they’re reading when really they’re listening in on conversations. Most Gryffindors would make terrible spies because of their brashness and dependency to be reckless. So, if I were to rate them all with 1 being the best, I would have to say it’s Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and then Gryffindor. Don’t get me wrong, you were a great spy when the war was going on, and there are always exceptions to the rules, but I find that people tend to underestimate Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws.” 

“Interesting,” Severus said, eyeing the teen before smirking. “And what year did you arrive from?” Harry stared at the Potion Master in confusion. “You finished your OWLs and NEWTs far too quickly, even with 35% of your intelligence blocked, you finished both tests far too quickly. You also speak far too well for even the pureblood thirteen-year-olds.” Harry heaved a heavy sigh before casting a moving privacy charm so they could talk and not have the portraits hear them. Harry then answered.

“I was 24 when my wife poisoned me. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in the tower a few days before we left the school. I’m glad to have this second opportunity. I’ve already managed to get rid of Tom Riddle’s immortality and he is gone for good.”

“Tom Riddle?” Severus asked.

“The most recent Dark Lord. By the way, I think I know how to get rid of your mark if it’s still there,” Harry offered.

“I will consider it.” Severus, seeing that they were getting close, decided to ask one more question. “How bad were the casualties?”

“They… they were bad. So many people died during the Battle of Hogwarts. Both adults and students. You survived longer than the Marauders by a few hours. Sirius had died towards the end of my fifth year. I used the Life Debt Pettigrew owed me to kill him off when I was 17 and captured by Death Eaters. Remus and his wife died during the Battle of Hogwarts. You died when Tom sent Nagini to attack you. I got to you right after the attack. You gave me some of your memories. Specifically the ones about my mom and the conversation you had with Dumbledore and how he was raising me for slaughter. We’ll have to continue this conversation at a later date,” Harry said as they reached the door. He then turned and smiled at the Potion Master. “You know, you’re the only human who knows.”

“I’m guessing the Goblins also know?” Severus got a nod from the teen before the privacy charm was taken down and the two entered the Great Hall. Severus led him up to the front before taking his own seat at the head table.

“Mortuus, Anak,” the Deputy Headmistress called unnecessarily. Harry made his way to the stool and sat down as McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on his head. Everyone flinched in surprise when the Sorting Hat started laughing loudly before settling down again.

‘ Well, Mr. Potter, you have certainly come a long way from your last sorting, ’ the hat teased.

‘ That’s putting it mildly, ’ Harry answered back.

‘ The Headmaster is trying to make me put you in Gryffindor again. ’

‘ Of Course he is, ’ Harry mentally grumbled. ‘ What do you think of my plans so far? ’

‘ Very good, but if I may add a suggestion? ’ Harry nodded for him to continue, knowing he was being a Hat Stall. ‘ I think some twin tricksters could help you torment the twinkly-eyed one. And, should you use someone from each house, you could destroy the old man’s attempts to tear apart the houses. ’

‘ A better way to unite the houses is to create a club, like the DA in my first life. Except instead of just doing Defence work, I could help tutor in other subjects that Hogwarts doesn’t have. If I label it as just a Study Group, I wouldn’t need Dumbledore’s permission to start it, ’ Harry considered thoughtfully. He ignored the whispers that were starting up from the students and the concerned voices from the Staff about if the hat will sort him at all due to his already graduated status.

‘ Good luck, Mr. Potter, in… ’ “HUFFLEPUFF!”

“No way he’s a Puff!” Ronald Weasley shouted from Gryffindor as the Hufflepuffs cheered. Harry gently placed the hat on the stool and noticed that all of the staff had surprised faces with the exception of 3. While the Headmaster looked angry and annoyed that he didn’t get his way, Remus and Severus gave him amused nods, both knowing Harry’s plan. Harry then turned back to the hat.

“Thank you, Mr. Alistair, for your time,” Harry said with a bow to the Hat, getting everyone’s attention.

“You are very welcome, Mr. Mortuus,” the hat answered back before Harry moved to sit with the rest of the third year Hufflepuffs.

“Seriously! How is he a Hufflepuff?!” The youngest Weasley man shouted. “He’s a bloody-” Harry raised an eyebrow when the boy couldn’t make noise all of a sudden. Harry smiled and nodded to the Weasley Twins when he noticed Fred putting his wand away and gained grins from them in return.

“You know the Weasley’s?” Cedric Diggory, a fifth-year Prefect who sat across from him. 

“Yeah. We met in Egypt,” Harry answered. “Their two oldest are pretty cool and Percy seemed a bit scared when I helped the twins improve one of their pranks. Ronald apparently doesn’t know how to chew with his mouth closed and their sister is very demanding from what I’ve seen.” Harry grimaced when he mentioned the two youngest. “Bill found it very amusing when Mrs. Weasley kept filling up my plate during meals.” This made Cedric chuckle.

“So why were you in Egypt?” Justin Finch-Fletchly asked. “Do your parents work as Curse Breakers?”

“No, my dad was an Auror and my mum was in training to become an Unspeakable before they died,” Harry answered, making everyone go awkwardly silent. Sensing the awkwardness, Harry tried to alleviate it. “I don’t really remember them, but I do know they died saving me. Anyways, what can you guys tell me about Hogwarts? I was tutored by Goblins after my relatives left me at the Alley entrance and never came back. What are the classes like here?”

The students around him shifted awkwardly and stared at him in concern before Cedric pulled up his courage and started telling him about Hogwarts and their classes. The food arrived a moment later and they ate the Halloween feast before them before going to the dungeons and to the Hufflepuff Common room. Harry sat through the other students asking him question after question when he noticed that Cedric had one of the Mirrors that he made so he took out his own Mirror and texted Cedric. Being the Creator of these types of Mirrors had its benefits sometimes.

I need to talk to all the Hufflepuff prefects once everyone else is in bed. -Mortuus

I’ll explain how I’m able to text you then too. -Mortuus

Line Break

Cedric stared at his Mirror in confusion before looking over at the teen, who seemed to be teaching the younger years how to start learning wandless magic. Sensing Cedric’s eyes, Anak turned slightly to look at him. Cedric nodded to him, letting him know that he’ll gather the prefects. It was an hour later that Cedric and the Prefects met Anak at one of the study tables.

“How were you able to text me without me giving permission beforehand?” Cedric asked. Anak didn’t say anything yet, just waved his hand for a privacy charm that caused the two Seventh year prefects to gasp.

“That’s a Goblin Grade privacy charm,” the male Seventh-year prefect, Treville Hudson, stated. “Even masters that aren’t Goblins have trouble making this.”

“ You’re the creator of the Mirrors, aren’t you?” The female Seventh year, Eva Maynol, asked.

“I am. The Goblins call me Obscurus. I basically do a little of everything but my main job is for the Assassins and Bounty Hunters Department,” Anak answered.

“Well shit,” the sixth-year male Prefect, Du Lan, said. “No wonder Weasley was shouting about you being in the wrong house.”

“Just because my life sounds like a bunch of adventures, doesn’t mean it is,” Anak scolds lightly. “I have to do Ravenclaw-worthy research to make sure my Hufflepuff hard work doesn’t blow up in my face. I have to have Slytherin Cunning to keep myself alive in a fight and use Gryffindor Bravery to fight when I’m up against a large group of enemies. Every house has its good and bad. Pettigrew, the Death Eater who betrayed the Potters was a Gryffindor. But, we are getting off-topic.

“What I’m about to tell you, you are only allowed to tell the other Prefects and the Head Boy and Girl.” Anak waited until all three of them nodded before continuing. “I’m not technically a student. I’ve already finished my OWLs and NEWTs and finished my apprenticeship only a day before I met the Weasleys. Dumbledore hired me to look for Pettigrew here at the school and to upgrade the Wards of the School and ensure that they are in proper working order.

“I still need to appear to go to class but the staff already knows I’m not actually a student. With that said, if anyone needs help, I’m more than willing to help. I want to start a big study group to help tutor those who need it and to teach anyone who wants to learn a few things that Hogwarts doesn’t have. I’ve got my NEWTs in DADA, Weapons, Martial Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Herbology, Ancient Runes, History, Arithmancy, Etiquette, Curse Breaking, COMC, Wandless Magic, and Wards. I figured I’d mostly make it during the weekends for the group study and anyone can ask me questions throughout the week.”

“Shouldn’t this be labeled as a club?” Maynol asked.

“It could but it won’t,” Anak said, starting to get lost in his thoughts of how to set up the study group. “Calling it a club would mean that I need Dumbledore’s permission but a study group does not need permission. Especially if I use one of the many unused rooms. You don’t work with Goblins as closely as I do without finding reasons to not trust Dumbledore. Case in point, The Headmaster should have informed all Prefects and Head Boy and Girl of my presence in the school before the school year started, either by letter or in person. As it is, no one but the staff knew.” The prefects stared at him in shock, slowly realizing he was right. Cedric stared at the boy for a moment longer before asking his next question.

“Anak Mortuus isn’t your real name, is it?”

“Nope,” Anak said, smirking. “Dumbledore wanted me to give my real name for the sorting and what I’ll be going by here but the whole reason the Goblins call me Obscurus is to protect my friends and family. So I gave him a fake one. I have no doubt that he’ll call me to his office at some point to confront me about it.” Anak stood and stretched. “Now that you’re all informed, I’m going to head to bed. Tomorrow, I’m going to get signed permission from all relevant professors to start the study group this weekend just to make sure Dumbledore can’t stop it and so they know where all of the students are during the weekends. I’ll have to make sure to plan for lighter lessons for Hogsmeade Weekends if anyone ends up wanting a lesson during that time. I’ll also need to think of how to get the word out about the study group and how to keep my identity a secret so no one tries to get me into trouble…” Anak thought for a moment before shaking his head. “No, that last one won’t be an issue, especially if I go by Obscurus. The only problem I might have is with the youngest Weasley with his shouting and his temper. Then again, he might not even attend based on what I’ve seen.”

“And you’ll be able to get everything ready by this weekend?” Cedric asked.

“Oh, yes,” Anak said without hesitation as he took out his Mirror and texted Remus and Severus in a group chat, giving them a list of professors and a meeting place for after dinner the next evening. “Since I’m not actually a student the homework will end up being busywork. Once I put up all of the hidden monitor runes, which will only take two and a half days by myself or less than a day with the house elves’ help, it’ll be a waiting game until Pettigrew is captured. Then I’ll only have the wards left, which will be done over the Winter Hols. The most difficult part about the whole thing will be getting lesson plans ready in time, but even that shouldn’t be difficult. So really, starting up this study is more of a personal project and a way to help the students.”

“I think you’d make a great teacher if you ever decide to retire from Gringotts,” Cedric said with a smile.

“O-oh. Um… Thanks,” Anak said, surprised by the compliment. “I’ve never thought about that line of work before.”

“Seriously?” The female sixth year, Jessie Butler, asked. “I saw how you were teaching some of the younger years. You had their full attention, even some of the older years were hanging on you every word.”

“I was just showing them what I learned during my studies,” Anak said, embarrassed. Anak checked his Mirror that started vibrating before breathing out in relief. “I have to take this. Goodnight, everyone.” Anak took down the privacy ward and ran to the dorms.

“I don’t think his relatives were very kind to him,” the fifth year female Prefect, Cora Porter, stated. “I think they made him not have confidence in himself.” The others agreed. Cedric silently decided he wanted to get closer to Mortuus so he could build up the hidden assassin’s self-love.

Line Break

Harry sighed in relief the next morning when Professor Sprout delivered his schedule and he saw COMC, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy as his electives. Dumbledore must have decided to not try to control him yet. Harry was about to take a bite of his everything bagel with evenly spread cream cheese when his magic warned him something was off. He zeroed his gaze on his bagel to see what was amiss. He used his magic to poke at it and realized that it wasn’t the bagel he was sensing but the cream cheese. Poking around some more, he found that whatever it was wasn’t harmful, nor was it something that wanted to control him. Harry’s eyes immediately moved to the Gryffindor table where he saw the demon twins quickly looking away. With a smirk, Harry banished the bagel into Ronald’s plate. 

Ronald, not really paying attention to what he’s eating, ate the bagel and was suddenly covered in Hufflepuff Yellow fur. With a little wave of Harry’s fingers, Ron was wearing a short-sleeve red shirt and had a Honey pot stuck to his hand. This made several muggleborns start laughing as they recognized the reference to Winnie the Pooh.

“And the twins strike again,” Cedric said as he sat down next to Harry.

“Sort of.”

“Sort of?”

“The twins tried pranking me by dosing my cream cheese. I banished it to Ronald’s plate. He didn’t pay attention and ate it. I just added the shirt and honey pot. It’s a reference to a muggle’s children's book,” Harry explained.

“I didn’t peg you as the prankster type,” Hannah Abbot said, having heard Harry and Cedric.

“Normally I’m not,” Harry said, taking a drink of his tea. “However, I do think it’s about time I retaliate. The twins need to stop pranking me. My godfather was the last person to prank me and it didn’t end well for him.” Harry pulled out his Mirror and showed them the picture of Sirius, thankful that enough feathers and glitter stayed on his face so no one could really tell who it was.

“What did he do to deserve that?” Cedric asked, hiding a laugh behind his hand. All of Harry’s Hufflepuff year mates scooted closer to see, several burst out laughing.

“He changed my ringtone into a really annoying one,” Harry deadpanned. “He was a prankster when he was a student. If I didn’t retaliate he would have continued to prank me. Don’t get me wrong, I like pranks. They’re fun and you’d be surprised how well prank spells can be used as a distraction technique in a duel. But he shouldn’t have pranked me while I was working.” The others chuckled at that. “I think I know just the prank to pull on the twins.” Harry smirked and kept an eye on the twins, his wand hand moving in a circular motion as he gathered his magic before releasing it towards the twins.

Both twins felt the magic hit them but, seeing as nothing happened, they weren’t sure what to make of it. Then George started growing Moose Horns. Nothing happened to Fred, much to their and their classmates’ confusion. Harry noticed McGonagall making her way from Ron to the twins.

“Wait for it,” Harry whispered to those around him. McGonagall reversed George’s antlers but then Fred grew Elk horns. When McGonagall fixed him, George grew blackbuck antlers. Every time one twin was fixed, the other would grow antlers that alternated animal designs.

“Oh, that’s brilliant,” Ernie Macmillan said. The twins suddenly stood up, McGonagall having to dodge Fred’s reindeer antlers, and began bowing to the school, making sure to only look at Harry once so he knew they were talking to him.

“We concede to the awesome power of the descendant of the prank gods!” The twins said in unison, Fred nearly falling over due to the extra weight. Harry snorted but subtly waved his hand to end the prank, getting cheers from the twins. Harry mentally rearranged his schedule so he could spend some time with the twins to help with their inventing.

Chapter Text

Harry looked around the Room of Requirement with satisfaction. There were two doors on opposite sides of the room from where he was currently standing in the ‘Study Room’, one led to the rest of Hogwarts while the other led to the classroom he planned to use for the different focused lessons. There were 10 round tables in the study room that could hold up to 12 people for group study and then 12 single tables scattered around the room for a single study. Bookshelves filled to the brim hugged three out of the four walls. 

The only wall free was the wall with the classroom door. On the free wall held a notice board, which only has the current study schedule until the first meeting after the Winter Holidays and a list of age restrictions for certain classes, sat to the left of the door. The schedule didn’t take long to work out and he made sure to leave an hour on Sundays for any questions and gave the students an hour for lunch both days.

Saturday Schedule: 

9:00 am - Herbology (Years 1-7)

10:00 am - Potions (Years 1-7)

11:00 am - Transfiguration (Years 1-7)

12:00 noon - Lunch

1:00 pm - Charms (Years 1-7)

2:00 pm - DADA (Years 1-7)

3:00 pm - Ancient Runes (Years 3-7)

4:00 pm - Arithmancy (Years 3-7)

5:00pm - COMC (Years 3-7)

Sunday Schedule:

9:00 am - Martial Arts (Years 1-7)

10:00 am - Weapons (Years 6-7)

11:00 am - Etiquette (Years 1-7)

12:00 noon - Lunch

1:00 pm - History (Years 1-7)

2:00 pm - Wards (Years 5-7)

3:00 pm - Curse Breaking (Years 6-7)

4:00 pm - Wandless (Years 1-7)

5:00 pm - Office Hour

On the right of the door, about six feet up the wall, was a wheel with four colors on it and a needle pointing at the top to show which one was active. He had seen something similar in a movie trailer in passing when he was tracking down a dark wizard in Japan in his old life. Harry thought it would be a good idea to use it so the other students would know which room they were working with that day. At least the ones that needed the indication. There were 4 colors: Green, Blue, Yellow, and Red. 

The Green section of the wheel represents the classroom, which will end up being the main room he uses. The only classes he won’t use it for are Martial Arts and Weapons, for obvious reasons. Inside the classroom was a wall of books to the left of the door against the wall, filled with several copies of different books for the students to learn from. Around the room were close to 50 desks for the students to sit at with a cleared section on the opposite side of the room from the door with a chalkboard for Harry to use when he teaches. Some of the classes needed a second room to separate Theory from practical, Potions and DADA mostly. Herbology and COMC didn’t have an extra room but he was hoping that the professors would allow them to have ‘field trips’ to the greenhouses and stables if the students needed it, which was another reason to keep the study group on the weekends only. The rest will be mostly theory-based with the less dangerous practicals.

The Blue section of the wheel represents the potions lab. This is where Harry will mostly be showing them how to prep ingredients for potions and he will have them work in groups if they need to have the class in the lab. He made sure that the lab looked similar to the dungeons so the students had a familiar place to work.

The Yellow represents the Duel room. The duel room will be used for DADA’s practicals and Martial Arts’ lessons. The entire room was covered in gym mats and cushioning charms to minimize injury. There was also a cupboard in one corner with extra workout clothes for those who don’t have any. There were also two more doors in the room, one leading to a girl’s locker room and one leading to a boy’s locker room. Both Locker rooms had showers and loos for the students. The Red represents the Weapons room. It was a no-brainer for Harry to make the Duel room and the Weapons room into two separate rooms. Not just because they’re different age groups, but because he didn’t want any of the younger years to be tempted by them. The Weapons room was very similar with the exception of all the weapons hanging from the walls in every available space. Harry made sure to personally check the weapons so they couldn’t hurt anyone and would only leave behind bright yellow paint to show the injuries they would’ve had.

“Dear Merlin!” A voice shouted, interrupting Harry’s inspection.

“Cedric?” Harry asked, turning to the other Hufflepuff. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” the prefect stated. “I noticed you were muttering a lot today and it’s just the first day.”

“Oh,” Harry said, smiling. “Thanks, but I’m fine. I just wanted to make sure everything was ready when I met with most of the staff to talk about the study group.”

“With how much work you’ve put in in only a day, I’d say it’s more of a club,” Cedric teased.

“It’s not a club,” Harry deadpans, not amused by the older teen. They stopped their conversation when most of Hogwarts’ professors entered the room. The only ones who weren’t there were Dumbledore, Trelawney, Madame Hooch, Professor Sinistra, and Professor Burbage. Harry then turned to Cedric to see if he’ll stay or return to the Hufflepuff dorm. Cedric answered by sitting at the group table that had two stacks of parchment, the larger of the two stacks had parchment stapled together into Packets. “Alright. Welcome, teachers, to the Room of Requirement. When paced outside three times, it can turn into any room you need. In this case, I’ve turned it into a Study Room.” Harry then proceeds to give everyone a tour, explaining that he might take the students on a ‘field trip’ to the Greenhouse or stables if the students need help with practicals, before leading them to the table. “These,” Harry held up the smaller stack of parchment, “are the schedules for the study groups. Please take one and pass it. As you can see, each lesson is only an hour-long with an hour for lunch. Students are not required to go to every class and have the option to pick and choose as they want. With the way I’ll be running most of the classes, it’ll be more of a question and answering session. I do, however, have a tendency to rant in my ‘Professor Mode’, as an old friend liked to call it, and so the hour will probably be used to full capacity. The students will not have homework for me because, as I said before, it is more of a study group than actual classes.”

“It sounds like more of a club,” Severus said, interrupting Harry.

“It’s not a club,” Harry said, eyebrow twitching just once as Cedric hides a snicker behind his hand. “A club would require me to either make it a secret club or go to the Headmaster for approval and I’m almost entirely sure that he won’t approve of this.” Harry held up his hand to stop protests. “I’m not saying Dumbledore is a bad guy,” Severus and Remus shared a look that said they believed otherwise, “I’m just saying that he is such a busy man that I’m sure he just forgot to add certain books.” Harry then handed out the packets.

“What are these letters in the corner for?” Professor Babbling asked.

“Blood status,” Severus answered. “P for Pureblood, WH for Wizard raised Halfbloods, MH for Muggle raised Halfbloods, and M for Muggleborns. These are the supply lists for the first years.”

“Correct,” Harry answered.

“When did you get those?” Cedric asked.

“Earlier today,” Harry said with a shrug. “It’s what I was muttering about most of the time. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get enough.”

“Where are the supplemental books for the muggleborns and raised?” Remus asked, getting the other professors’ attention.

“No wonder they’ve all been incompetent,” Severus growled out before his eyes brightened. “That’s part of the reason you want to start this, isn’t it? You want to get all of the students caught up to where they’re supposed to be.”

“Yes. I’m hoping that between this new knowledge on your part and the study group, we’ll be able to bring the students up. This might even awaken some hidden patients among the students,” Harry explained. “It also allows me to give basic training in classes that Hogwarts doesn’t offer that other schools do.”

“This is all well and good, but the students think you’re a third year,” McGonagall said. “How are you going to get them to respect a third-year enough to teach them?”

The staff and Cedric watched in awe as Harry changed from his normal look to an adult-looking man with dark blue hair and with the traditional Black family grey-blue eyes. Harry had borrowed most of the look from Brendan Fraser’s Rick O’Connell from the movie ‘The Mummy’, which he saw in his previous life.

“Oh, splendid!” Flitwick cried with joy. “No wonder you’re one of Gringotts’ top assets in ABHD!” 

“Thank you, Duel Master Flitwick,” Harry said before moving on. He pulled out another parchment from his pocket. “I would appreciate it if you all signed this. It basically just says that you’ve given me permission to tutor the students. If all of you sign and Dumbledore tries to shut the study group down, I can just present this and he won’t be able to do anything about it.” They all signed, although Hagrid did hesitate for a little bit before he did. Harry then handed each of the Head of Houses a parchment to advertise the new weekend Study Group. Once the last of the professors left, Cedric walked Harry, who was back to looking like himself, back to Hufflepuff domain where the other five prefects were waiting.

“Looks like we’ve got a study club on the weekends now,” Cedric said with a smirk.

“It’s not a club!”

Line Break

Harry dyed another rat blue as he exited another branch of the Dungeons Friday evening. It’s something he’d been doing between Classwork and pretending to be a student so he could keep up the pretense of looking like he was looking for Pettigrew for the last week. The dye was only temporary and would wear off in a year but until then, the blue dye will allow Harry to not feel the runes’ pings whenever the little guys move past them.

“Mr. Mortuus, my office, now,” Snape called, walking right past him.

“Yes, sir,” Harry answered, following him. The walk to Severus’ office was silent. Once they were seated and tea was served, Severus started to talk.

“What did you mean by being raised for the slaughter?” Severus asked. Harry sighed and put up extra privacy charms to ensure Dumbledore couldn’t listen in.

“What do you know about Horcruxes?” Harry asked.

“They are soul magic that is considered the darkest of the Dark Arts.”

“Yes. They split the user’s soul in half in an attempt for Immortality and are created after the user killed someone or something,” Harry explained. “By the time the final battle rolled around, Riddle had made 7 Horcruxes and I had destroyed all of the inanimate ones. There was his Diary, Hufflepuff’s Cup, Ravenclaw’s Diadem, Gaunt’s Heir Ring, and Slytherin’s Locket.”

“That’s only five,” Severus said after Harry paused for a little bit. “That means two of them were animated, living beings?” Harry nodded and Severus began to pale as realization hit and he stared at the Zaffre headband covering where his scar should be.

“Yes. After his return, Nagini was turned into a Horcrux too. The night my parents died, I became his accidental Horcrux with 1/64 of his soul in my scar. Since I came back, with the Goblins’ help I’ve managed to destroy all of the soul pieces without damaging the containers. Apparently, the Goblins have no problem with studying soul magic.”

“He is truly gone?” Severus asked, getting a nod from Harry. “Do you ever plan on telling Lupin and Black about coming back through time?” Harry stayed silent for a little bit before answering.

“Maybe one day, years from now,” he said. “I only got to spend a few years with them last time and even then it wasn’t consistent. I want the opportunity to spend more time with them and just act like the teenager I never could be with them for a while longer.” Severus nodded in understanding before changing the subject a little. 

“Why blue hair?” Severus asked, getting a sad smile in return.

“My godson, Remus’ son, was a Metamorph like me,” Harry said. “He liked blue so he always had blue in his hair. He was five when I died. I don’t know if he’ll ever be born now, especially with Remus and Sirius flirting all of the time. Like, seriously, just get together already!” Severus nodded, a smirk playing on his lips at the last sentence, and changed the subject again to prevent the teen from dwelling on the darker parts of his past life. They talked a little bit more about Harry’s current mission before the teen left his office. It didn’t take Harry long to exit the dungeons and start heading to the library to finish his homework.

“Obscurus?” Twin voices said unsurely at the same time. Harry turned around and found the Weasley twins there with the active Marauder’s Map.

“Figures,” Harry mumbled before waving the twins over and into an empty classroom. Harry put up strong privacy charms before turning to the still shocked twins who still had the map out. The younger teen walked over to them with a smile and took out his wand, pointing it to the map. “Mischief Managed.” The map deactivated. “You two can’t tell anyone,” Harry told them. “Professors Snape and Lupin know who I really am for various reasons and my godfather and the Goblins know but no one else. No one can know who I am. Especially Dumbledore. He actually started to dose me with a mild love potion directed towards your sister towards the end of my first year.” The twins looked horrified. 

“We’ll keep your secret,” the twins said at the same time.

“Thank you,” Harry said.

“Now, we have,” Fred started.

“A question,”

“For you,” They ended together.

“You already captured,”

“Peter Pettigrew,”

“Didn’t you?”

“Yes. He was hiding as Scabbers,” Harry said, making the twins blanch. Harry took down the privacy charm and led the twins out of the room, Fred and George decided to bookend him. “So, are you two planning to go to the study group this weekend?” Harry asked. Harry saw two sixth-year Hufflepuffs who were known for their gossip just up the stairs from them, meaning they’d end up passing them when they made their way to the library.

“Yeah, we want to see if we can,” George started this time.

“Get any tips on Runes and Arithmancy,”

“Since we’ve been doing independent study.”

“We also want to try out the Martial Arts,”

“And the Wards, and the Wandless lessons.” 

“We think Ronnikins needs to

“Take the Etiquette lessons.”

Harry nodded, easily keeping up with their twin speak, much to the surprise of the gossips. Then Harry had an interesting idea and mentally smirked.

“Have you heard the rumor that the tutor that’s teaching during the Weekend Study Group is an assassin from Gringotts?” Harry asked innocently. The twins looked at each other and then noticed the gossips nearby before grinning and deciding to play along.

“No!” Fred said.

“Tell us more!” George insisted.

“Well, apparently, at least according to rumors, he is the youngest assassin ever and human to boot. Apparently, the Goblins were impressed enough by him to take him in and he finished his apprenticeship in less than a year!” The three looked over their shoulders as they heard loud stomping feet and saw the two Hufflepuffs running off with excited whispers. The three muffled their snickers before continuing on to the library.

Line Break

Harry, in his Blue-haired Rick O’Connell disguise, leaned against one of the group tables at 8:45 am on Saturday, November 6th. Sitting at the table beside him, already studying, was Cedric Diggory.

“Why are you here anyway?” Harry asked. “Your grades are perfect and you’re literally just using this time to do homework.”

“I wanted to make sure you were going to be okay during the tutoring,” Cedric said. “Besides, some of the Prefects volunteered to show up and help all the ones in the Study Room behave while you’re teaching. There is going to be at least one from each house at all times so no one plays favorites.”

“That was your idea, wasn’t it?” Harry asked, smiling at the older teen.

“Perhaps,” Cedric answered, returning the smile before frowning. “Although, I think you’re only going to have the older years and maybe some of the braver younger ones to tutor this weekend.”

“Oh?” Harry questioned, smothering a smirk before it could show up.

“Yeah, apparently Hayes and Anderson heard you talking to the Weasley twins about the tutor being an assassin.” Harry refused to look at the other teen and bit the inside of his cheek to stop from grinning. “Anak?”

“I might have seen the two as we were passing and the twins are infectious,” Harry relented with a grin, earning a snort from Cedric. “So, from what I’ve heard and witnessed, how much do you want to bet that Malfoy will come in tomorrow and demand to be in one of the upper-year lessons?”

“When you deny him, he’s probably going to tell his father and get your group shut down,” Cedric said with a sigh.

“Not unless even the other Slytherins protest against Malfoy.”

“And how are you going to do that?”

“By treating them equally to the other students and answering as many of their questions as I answer other house questions. By treating them like actual human children rather than trainee Death Eaters. With any luck, I might be able to lessen the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin so it’s not a near-constant war between the two,” Harry explained.

“You really think that’ll be enough?” Cedric asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I hope so. It was usually enough for me,” Harry said, reminiscing his past life before shaking his head to clear it. He waved his hand and called up the time. 8:58 am. 

With a wave of his hand, the door leading to the hallway opened and would stay open during the Study Period. The first to enter was the other three prefects followed by several of the older years and then some of the younger years. Harry smiled at them as they took in the room with awe. He waited until everyone was in the room before speaking, getting everyone’s attention. Harry also noticed a disillusioned Severus Snape and Remus Lupin sneaking into the room to watch him.

“Welcome, everyone!” He greeted. “This room is going to act as a sort of Common Room for the study. Here you will have access to just about any school appropriate book. However, keep in mind that these books cannot leave this room. Literally. Lady Hogwarts won’t allow them to leave and if you attempt to take them they will just pop right back on the shelf. Around the room, you’ll see two different types of tables. 

“For those who want to study in groups between lessons or in general, then there are the large tables here.” Harry tapped the table he was leaning on. “For those who want to study by themselves, there are the single tables.” Harry pointed to the nearest single table, which was still large enough for them to spread their work out if needed. 

“For the Single tables, there is a rune on the corner of each table that will activate a sound barrier so you can have silence while you work, if that’s what you want. Now, if you’ll all follow me this way please.” Harry got up and moved to the back where the classroom door was.

“This is the notice board,” Harry said, gesturing to said board. “It will have the schedule for all lessons. Keep in mind that during Hogsmead weekends, the lessons will be a little lighter so that those who go to Hogsmead can come by at any time. On those days, I will probably open the study earlier so those going to Hogsmead can ask their questions before they leave. Either that, or I might turn those days into a free-for-all study where I’ll sit at a group table and anyone can come by and ask for help.

“Finally, we have the door and wheel. The cheat sheet for the wheel is posted on the notice board in case you forget what eat color stands for,” Harry explained. “Most of the time it will be on Green which will be the classroom setting. Blue is the potions lab, Yellow the Dueling room for DADA and Martial Arts, and Red for the Weapons Dueling room. Keep in mind that if there is no one in the room, it will automatically revert to the classroom for the protection of all students. Also, Lady Hogwarts knows the schedule for the lessons and has warded the door appropriately. Meaning, unless you meet the age requirement as stipulated on the board next to each lesson, then you are not getting in. Those age requirements are for the safety of the younger students who either aren’t responsible enough or haven’t developed their magic enough for that sort of magic.” Harry looked around and noticed that everyone, including the two hidden professors, had their full attention on him.

“Now, any questions?” Harry asked, having finished the tour. Several people raised their hands but Harry chose a first-year Slytherin girl that Harry remembered was the younger Greengrass sister. “Go ahead.”

“Are you really an assassin?” She asked.

“Yes I am,” Harry answered. “But I don’t just work as an assassin. I also work as an inventor, turning Muggle items into wizarding items to make home living easier. How many here have a Mirror communicator?” Harry held up his own Mirror. Roughly half raised their hands, most of which were Slytherins. “Those are one of the things I created. I didn’t create the Two-Way Mirror, but by combining a Two-Way and several different ideas from muggle devices the most recent line of Mirrors are out there.” The students oohed at that. “Any more questions?” Harry picked a fifth-year Gryffindor boy next.

“How many people have you killed?” He asked.

“Ah, I’m afraid most cases are classified,” Harry answered. “Just know it’s more than what you’d be comfortable with probably.”

“Wicked!” Several boys said.

“Any more Questions?” No one raised their hands. Harry opened the door to the classroom with a wave of his hand. “Alright, everyone here for an Herbology lesson, go ahead and take a seat. Please allow the younger students to sit towards the front, they are shorter than you older students. Everyone else, feel free to study and look around.” Harry noticed both professors sneaking their way into his class. “Prefects that are monitoring the Study Room while I’m in lessons, please make your way over here for a moment.” Everyone moved in different directions. Most went into the classroom while a handful went to look at the bookshelves. Cedric Diggory, Marcus Flint, a Ravenclaw he didn’t recognize, and Percy Weasley stood before him.

“Firstly,” Harry started, “I’d like to thank you all for monitoring the other students during the lessons. Secondly, do you all mind giving a tour of the room like what I just did to any newcomers?”

“Not a problem,” Percy and Cedric said at the same time Marcus and the Ravenclaw nodded.

“Thank you,” Harry said before heading into the classroom.

“Have fun with your club!” Cedric teased.

“Not a club!” Harry shouted back as he closed the classroom door. This weekend was going to be more of an introductory for all of the lessons since everything was new.

Chapter Text

Harry watched all of the COMC students leave the room and waited until it was just him and the professors, who were still disillusioned. He thought the lessons went well and all of the students were able to ask and answer questions easily enough. The only problem he had was from Granger. She would periodically interrupt his lectures with quotes from the books she read or answer a question when he had called on someone else. Harry ended up having to put her under a silencing spell when he didn’t actually call on her. He had to do the same thing for Potions and Transfiguration. Suffice to say, she didn’t return after lunch.

“So, what do you two think of it all so far?” Harry asked, staring at the two professors.

“What gave us away?” Remus asked as they took off their disillusionment.

“Nothing really, but with the way I’m trained, I can detect disillusionment charms and can make it so I can see through them,” Harry answered. “It’s especially easy when I am familiar with the magical signatures.”

“I think you are doing well,” Severus said, changing the subject and getting a smile from Harry.

“You really are,” Remus agreed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if one day, if you ever retire from Gringotts, you became a professor.”

“Thank you,” Harry said with a chuckle. “The Hufflepuff prefects said the same thing about me one day being a teacher when I first brought up starting the Study Group.” Harry and the professors left the classroom and took in the dozen students and four prefects. “Alright, everyone,” Harry called, getting everyone’s attention. Thankful that the prefects were getting the attention of the few students who were working at the single tables. “It’s getting close to 6:00, meaning it’s dinner time. Please wrap up and go feed yourselves. Keeping yourselves healthy is just as important as learning.” He gained a few smiles for that as the students packed up. Remus and Severus said their goodbyes and left as Cedric made his way to Harry’s side. Harry waited until it was just him and the prefects before changing back into his normal look.

“So that’s how you did it,” Flint said.

“Yep,” Harry answered. “Now let’s go have dinner and then I’m going to go back to work for a little while longer.” The five made their way out of the room and towards the Great Hall. “So, how long do you think it’ll take before Dumbledore tries calling me into his office?”

“A week,” Percy answered.

“Wednesday,” The Ravenclaw answered.

“Lunch tomorrow,” Marcus guessed.

“Before the day is up,” Cedric answered, seeing the Headmaster moving towards them from behind as they neared the Great Hall.

“Mr. Mortuus,” Dumbledore called.

“Looks like Cedric was right,” Harry whispered to them before turning to the Headmaster and waving to the others to go on ahead of him. “What can I do for you, Headmaster?”

“Are you aware, Mr. Mortuus, that you cannot start a club without the Headmaster’s permission?” Dumbledore asked, annoyed.

“Of course, Headmaster,” Harry answered, mentally smirking. “Why do you ask?”

“Is there a reason you started a weekend club?”

“I didn’t start a club. I started a study group for any and all who wanted to join.” Harry gave him an innocent smile. “I even got permission and signatures from the related professors.” 

“Be that as it may, I’m going to have to ask that your ‘study group’ is shut down,” the headmaster said.

“For what reason?” Harry asked before going on to shoot down any possible complaints. “All students are welcome to join, I answer as many questions as possible from every house and age group, and I’ve set age restrictions that Hogwarts herself has backed up. I don’t give or take house points nor do I give out detentions or homework. It is merely an extra place for students to study and where they can ask questions if they need help so that most of your staff has a break.

“My job here at Hogwarts isn’t affected by this new aspect either. I’ve got Monitoring Runes hidden all over the school that will ping me if Pettigrew is inside the corridors in either form. I also patrol during the evenings to make sure all of my Runes are working and that they haven’t missed anything. The rest of the time, I’m going to classes and acting like a normal teenager to prevent the majority of the student body from finding out about the real reason why I’m here. And finally, the wards. You agreed to allow me to fix the wards, but only during the Winter Hols. So, until I can finish my mission, I am stuck trying to make sure my brain doesn’t rot from boredom. I can’t train the way I normally would, so the next best thing is to help those who need it.”

Harry stood straight and crossed his arms, staring Dumbledore down and waiting for his comeback.

“While all that may be true, my boy, I can allow you study group to discriminate,” Dumbledore replied, the twinkle appearing in his eyes as he thought he won.

“I don’t discriminate,” Harry answered back. “I don’t take sides when it’s house vs house or purebloods vs muggleborns. I, myself, am a halfblood. If you asked anyone who was in the classroom during the study group, you’d find that I am fair with my charges. The only person who caused trouble was Granger and that was because she kept answering my questions even though I picked someone else to answer or would interrupt me during a lecture. The only reason I never called on her was because of her rude interruptions. So, I dealt with her the same way my tutor dealt with me when I would interrupt. I put her in a silencing bubble. It would only deactivate if she was no longer in my class or I called on her.”

Dumbledore and Harry held a staring contest, trying to get the other to back down. Dumbledore’s twinkle no longer shone in his eyes.

“Fine, Mr. Mortuus,” Dumbledore said with a sigh before leaving for the Great Hall. Harry hid a smile and followed to sit by his Hufflepuff year mates and Cedric.

Line Break

“Are you done being dramatic?” Harry asked as he leaned against one of the dungeon walls, having just finished his routine rat hunt. 

“But Pup! I’m not like you and Moony!” Sirius complained. “I can’t just sit and read all day.”

“Then don’t. You’re a free man, Padfoot,” Harry reasoned. “Why don’t you go to Gringotts and claim your lordship and renovate some of your family’s houses? I’m sure you could even rent them out once they’re redecorated and get some new income into the family vaults. That’s what I’m doing with some of my smaller properties.” Harry smiled and watched Sirius think for a bit. “Or, you know, you could get a job.” Harry chuckled when Sirius wrinkled his nose. “I mean, it’s kinda weird that your 13-year-old godson has a job and you don’t.”

“I think I’ll look into renovating Grimmauld Place first,” Sirius said quickly.

“You do that. I need to head to the dorm before it gets much later. I do have a schedule to keep track after all,” Harry said.

“I still can’t believe you started a study group,” Sirius grumbled. “How did you not end up in Ravenclaw?”

“Because the first time I was manipulated into Gryffindor and this time it was safer for me to hide in Hufflepuff,” Harry answered before smirking at his godfather. “Both times the Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin.”

“What?!”

“Goodnight Padfoot!” Harry said cheerily.

“Wait. Wait. Wha-”

Harry hung up on him with a snicker before putting his Mirror away and leaving the hallway. He knew he would get pranked as soon as he visited home again. Harry was just about to enter the main hall when he heard whispers around the corner.

“Do you think you can help him, sir?”

“I will see  what I can do.” Harry peaked around the corner, having recognized Severus’ voice, and saw Theo Nott handing him a curled up snake. Before Theo could walk away, Snape spoke again. “Is there a reason you’re lurking around the corner, Mr. Mortuus?” Harry shook his head in exasperation.

“Not really,” Harry answered as he came around the corner and over to the snake. “I was just making my way to the Hufflepuff dorms when I heard whispering.” He walked straight to the snake and started stroking it awake. “What’s your snake’s name?” Harry asked Theo without looking at him.

“Nexus, why?” Theo asked.

“ ~Hello, Nexus,~ ” Harry hissed, making the two Slytherins gasp.

“ ~Speaker! Help. Human hatchling with snow on his head made me drink something awful,~ ” The snake replied. Harry didn’t say anything for a moment, trying to translate what the snake was saying.

“ ~Did the Hatchling look like this?~ ” Harry used his magic to create a temporary mini replica of Draco Malfoy.

“ ~Yes.~ ” 

Harry nodded as he vanished the replica and started casting spells at Nexus. He then took the snake from the professor and walked right into his office, leaving the door open for the two other Slytherins. Harry placed Nexus on Snape’s desk before rifling through the nearby potions cupboard. The two Slytherins slowly followed him and watched as he found what he was looking for and returned to the snake. They watched as the two hissed at each other before Harry used a pipette to give the snake some of the potion. Harry wandlessly spelled Snape’s paperwork away from the snake, leaving one blank parchment for easy cleanup. While they waited for the potion to work, Harry turned to the two Slytherins.

“Is there a reason why Malfoy has an interest in Nexus?” Harry asked them. Snape raised an eyebrow and turned to Theo.

“Malfoy wanted Nexus as a pet but Nexus is already my familiar,” Theo said.

“Does Malfoy know he is your familiar?”

“Yes. I told all our dorm mates at the beginning of the year,” Theo answered. “It was the only way Dumbledore would allow me to keep him.”

“Okay. Then I need to know if you intend to press charges on Malfoy.”

“Press charges?” Snape asked.

“Yes. It is against the law to kill or attempt to kill a known familiar. Malfoy poisoned Nexus,” Harry paused as the snake started to regurgitate. “And now Nexus should be fine. As a Parselmouth, I can talk to any snake and most reptiles. Even some dragons. All I did was greet Nexus and he instantly asked for help. Nexus said ‘Human hatchling with snow on his head made me drink something awful’. Has Nexus ever left Slytherin territory?” Theo shook his head ‘no’. Harry saw Severus pinch the bridge of his nose.

“Mimsy,” Severus called as Harry cleaned up the snake and spoke to it in whispered hisses. The elf appeared a moment later. “Please tell Mr. Malfoy, Lord Malfoy, and Lord Nott in my office as soon as humanly possible.”

“Yes, Master Snapey,” the elf squeaked before popping out.

“Is Nexus okay?” Theo asked anxiously. “He hasn’t moved much.”

“He’s fine,” Harry reassured, guiding the young Slytherin to a chair. “He is still recovering and I thought it would be a good idea to make Malfoy think he won before we pull the rug out from under him.”

“Why aren’t you in Slytherin?” Theo asked. 

“Because Dumbledore wouldn’t pay as much attention to me if I was in Hufflepuff versus Slytherin,” Harry answered with a smirk before changing his hair blue and returning it to black once he knew Theo got what he was saying. “Secrets can be great things, can’t they?” Theo smiled at him and nodded. “All the professors and prefects know about me.”

“You were hired to look for Pettigrew, weren’t you?” Theo asked.

“Yep,” Harry answered right before Malfoy entered the room without knocking. Theo and Harry immediately put up their neutral masks. “Well, that was rude. Not even knocking, just entering as if you own the place.” Malfoy glared at the Hufflepuff before noticing the still snake on Snape’s desk and getting a smug look on his face. Ten minutes later, the two lords had joined the three of them.

“What is this all about?” Lucius Malfoy asked.

“If it’s alright with you, professor, I’d like to head this meeting,” Harry asked.

“Go ahead, Mr. Mortuus,” Snape said without hesitation, curious about how the boy will handle it.

“Hello Lord Malfoy, Lord Nott. I am Anak Mortuus. I’m going to start this by asking Heir Malfoy a couple of Questions,” Harry stated before turning to the smaller blond as he got raised eyebrows from the two lords. “Heir Malfoy, are you aware that that Nexus the snake was Heir Nott’s familiar?”

“Yes,” Draco answered, not sure where this was going.

“And when did you find out about the familiar bond?”

“The first night back to school. Theo was talking about how he needed the familiar bond in order to keep him at school.”

“What are the penalties for murder and attempted murder of a familiar?”

“Are you accusing my son of murdering Heir Nott’s familiar?” Lord Malfoy asked, having connected the snake on the professor’s desk.

“I am not, Lord Malfoy. Please allow me to finish my questioning,” Harry stated and waited for the older Malfoy to calm down. “Heir Malfoy, what are the penalties?”

“There are none,” Draco answered.

“Wrong,” Harry answered. “In 1706 a nine-year-old boy became jealous because his younger sister had a familiar and he didn’t. He murdered her familiar and was imprisoned for 10 years. Over the course of time, that punishment has only increased due to the rarity of familiar bonds. Now the penalty for attempted murder of a familiar is 10 years in Azkaban. Murder of a familiar is The Kiss.” Harry saw that blond heir pale further and his eyes flicking back and forth between the snake and Hufflepuff.

“Today,” Harry continued, seeing everyone’s attention was on him, “I was walking around the dungeons and came across Heir Nott asking Professor Snape to help make his familiar feel better.” Harry then turned to the snake and hissed at it. “ ~Would you like to return to your Wizard?~ ” Harry asked Nexus, taking joy in the paling of both Malfoy men and the intrigued look from Lord Nott. Nexus gave an affirmative and slowly slithered into Harry’s waiting hand. Harry gave him to Theo. “He’s going to be a bit slow for a day but if you keep him close, the familiar bond will help heal him a little quicker.”

“Thank you, Mortuus,” Theo said. “Please call me Theo, you did save Nexus after all.”

“Then call me Anak, or my other name if it’s just us, the prefects, and the professors.” Harry then turned to the three that were summoned to the office. “As you can see, I’m a Parselmouth. Before you decide to make a fuss,” Harry interrupted the oncoming rant from the Malfoy Heir. “My mother was a muggleborn who was a descendent of a squib line from the Slytherin family. With that said and out of the way, let us return to the problem at hand. Nexus told me that the ‘Human hatchling with snow on his head made him drink something awful’.”

“Nexus never leaves the Slytherin Dorms,” Theo said. “The closest he comes to is the Common Room and that only happens when I’m there too.”

“So the question is, which child has white on their head. It could either be a hat or hair. Seeing as I don’t know who wears a hat in the Slytherin common room, I made my best guess and showed Nexus a replica of Heir Malfoy.” Harry demonstrated for them the mini replica. “Nexus confirmed that this was the person to give him poison. I did some scans and went about healing him. Nexus may be immune to certain levels of Snake poisons, but not plant poisons. A Belladonna mixture that could have killed him if he wasn’t saved quickly.” Harry then cast a Tempus. “Now that you’re briefed on everything, I’ll let you all work on an agreement. I need to head to Hufflepuff territory before curfew. Good even, everyone.” The Notts and professor return his sentiment while Draco glared at Harry and Lucius glared at his son.

“Oh!” Harry said before he left, getting an idea to head off a couple of problems. “Before I forget, do either of you have the communication mirrors?” Both lords nodded. “I’d like to send you the weekend Study Group schedule. It started today, actually.” Harry pulled up the schedule on his Mirror to show them. 

“The Tutor is an assassin from Gringotts!” Theo said excitedly.

“He got straight O’s on his NEWTs,” Harry added. “Those classes are the ones he tested in.”

“What are the years next to each class for?” Lord Malfoy asked. 

“Who is allowed into the class,” Harry said. “For today, everyone was allowed to go to the sessions except for Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and COMC. Those were for the Third Years and up. Tomorrow, Martial Arts, Etiquette, History of Magic, and Wandless Magic are for everyone. The ‘Office Hour’ just serves as a free-for-all question and answers extra help for homework. They still have to do their own homework but at least they would have help finding the answers. Wards are for Fifth Years and up and Curse Breaking and Weapons is for Sixth and Seventh Years. The age requirement is more to protect the students. In weapons, there is a spell that won’t allow the weapons to do any actual damage to the opponents and leaves behind paint instead to show the damage.”

“I will explain the rest,” Severus said before Harry could continue. “I also have a copy of the schedule so I will send it to them as well. You need to return to your dorm.” 

“Yes, sir,” Harry said before waving goodbye and heading to the door. “And it’s not a club!” Severus smirked as Harry left.

“What was that about?” Theo asked.

Line Break

Harry left the door open for the Weapons Students to go in while he answered a couple of questions for the other students at a nearby table. He noticed Theo at a nearby single table with the silence rune off. The Slytherin had his Mirror in his hand and looked to be recording something.

“Move it, Malfoy,” an older student said from by the door. Harry held in a sigh and moved over to the commotion.

“Shut it, Larcher!” Malfoy countered. “I have a right to be tutored in any subject I want.”

“That may be so outside of school, Mr. Malfoy,” Harry interrupted before it could get too heated. “However, this is a school, first and foremost, and as such, I must make sure the students are safe. Despite the safety parameters I have in place, I still prefer only the Sixth and Seventh Years to work with the weapons because they, in general, take the class more seriously than most younger years. The same goes for Wards and Curse Breaking. You, Mr. Malfoy, are a Third Year and as such does not reach the age requirement.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Malfoy nearly shrieked. “I bet the Weasley Demons would be welcome there and they are known pranksters!”

“If they met the age requirement, then yes. I would let them in because I know the twins will take the class seriously enough not to hurt anyone,” Harry countered. “They can be serious when they need to and they showed good discipline during the Martial Arts session. They did crack jokes but they didn’t actually interrupt the class or throw anyone else off. In fact, they worked well as a way for me to see who had good focus and who needed work.” Everyone who was listening started listening while said twins sat at a table with Lee and some other Fifth Years and stared at the instructor in shock at the compliment.

“My father will hear about this!” Malfoy shouted.

“I’m sure he will, considering several students are recording your current temper and will probably send it to him or to someone who can get it to him,” Harry said. Draco looked at everyone who had their mirror out in horror before glaring at Harry and storming out. “What an exciting morning,” Harry muttered, getting a few snickers, before leaving a room to start his Weapons session.

Chapter Text

It was Wednesday the 22 of December, the day the students would be returning home for the Holidays, when Harry walked into his first-ever Board Meeting in his Blue-haired Rick O’Connell disguise from his desk in the ABHD in Gringotts. From what Harry could tell from the letter he was sent, the board wanted to talk about the weekend study group. Apparently, Dumbledore wanted to disband the Study Group while Lord Malfoy was for the Study Group. This meeting was to determine whether the Study Group will be continuing in the new year or not.

This meeting was held in a secure meeting room at Gringotts so it was on a more neutral ground. In Harry’s arms, was a copy of Hogwarts past classes, which he found in the public section in NERD at the Ministry. He planned to use his findings to help promote continuing the study group and maybe even accomplish in either hiring more tutors for independent study or adding more classes to the curriculum.

“Good morning, Lord Malfoy,” Harry greeted as they both reached the meeting room door.

“You must be Obscurus, good morning,” Lucius greeted, sizing him up. “How can you work so well with… them?” The blond asked, referring to the goblins.

“Oh, that’s easy on several accounts,” Harry said as they entered the meeting room. “Goblins take care of all wizarding money, so it would be a terrible idea to treat them disrespectfully. Plus, they are more likely to help customers who respect them in more ways than those who are disrespectful. Another reason is that they’re actually more willing to befriend and be kind to those wizards who respect and attempt to learn their culture. I surprised a lot of Goblins just by speaking their tongue alone. Also, Goblins don’t ban certain magics as Wizards do, so there is always more to learn from them. 

“However, I think the biggest reason that I can work with them so well is because I understand that all wizards and witches come from a union of magical creatures and muggles. If you look back far enough, you’ll find at least one creature in your family line that is the reason your family now has magic. It’s very similar to how Muggleborns are descended from Squibs.”

“I thought the Muggleborn fact was just a rumor?” Lord Nott said, having heard what they were talking about on the other side of the table. Harry looked around and noticed that he had everyone’s attention. He checked the time and noticed that they still had ten minutes left and that Dumbledore was the only one left to arrive.

“It’s true. I helped deliver most, if not all, of the letters to the Muggleborns because someone decided to put up a mail redirection around most of their homes,” Harry explained. “Those have all been taken down now but Gringotts has scheduled a random, routine checkup just to make sure they don’t go up again.”

“You certainly have interesting views, Obscurus,” Xenophilius Lovegood said.

“I’m sure I’m not the only one,” Harry countered with a smile. “How have you been, Mr. Lovegood?”

“Oh, very well, very well indeed. I’m excited to have Luna home. She’s told me all about and how happy she is to hear that you’re not so covered in Nargles anymore,” Xenophilius said with a smile, causing Harry to chuckle.

“I am as well. They were a handful to get rid of, but thankfully the Goblins helped,” Harry replied, smiling at the father of one of his old true friends.

“Not surprising with all the corrupted wisps that seemed to want to lead you down the wrong path. We truly are grateful that they are no longer an issue.”

“I’m sorry, but what?” Asked a short stubby man, one of the members Harry wasn’t familiar with. Harry gave him a confused face.

“Don’t worry too much, Obscurus,” Xenophilius said, getting Harry’s attention again.

“Don’t they know? I mean, it’s public knowledge,” Harry wondered.

“What is, Obscurus?” Lady Longbottom asked, curious.

“The Lovegoods are descended from a Seer who was cursed to never be believed,” Harry explained. “All of their ‘false creatures’ are actually codes for something real. For example, Nargles are the most used one because they can hold all sorts of meanings. In general, Nargles represent something bad. It can be a bad thought, bullying, nightmares, and so on. All of their cures or talismans are meant to make the user or wearer happier to ward off negativity.” Harry watched as several people around the room begin to understand and started connecting the dots to past encounters. Harry then looked at the time again and noticed it was five minutes past the meeting time.

“Well,” Harry said, returning the attention back to him as he switched to business mode. “I do believe it’s past time to start.”

“But Dumbledore isn’t here,” Lord Doge, a strong supporter of Dumbledore, said.

“Then he should learn to be here on time,” Harry countered. “As it is, we are already five minutes behind. Dumbledore can add what he wants when he gets here.” Harry then passed out sheets of parchment to everyone. These are the list of classes Hogwarts is supposedly currently holding.” He passed another round of parchment to the board members. “These are lists from each year of what classes are available to each student.” Harry passed another set around. “These are a list of supplies for First Years with indications of blood status in the top corner. While you all look those over, I’ll explain my current position at Hogwarts.

“In about Mid October, Dumbledore hired me to look for Pettigrew because he had suspicions that he was in Hogwarts. So, on Halloween night, I was introduced to the school.”

“No, you weren’t,” a blonde female Harry didn’t know interrupted. Harry changed into his regular look for a moment before changing back.

“Anak Mortuus, a Hufflepuff student that was introduced at the end of October as an exchange student,” Lucius informed the others. “Isn’t it counterproductive to use your name as a disguise?”

“Mortuus is one of the family names I inherited, however, it wasn’t the name I was born with,” Harry said.

“How old are you really?” Doge asked.

“I’ll tell you all at the end of the meeting,” Harry answered, not wanting them to question his logic because of his physical age. “We are getting off-topic. Since I’ve been at the school, I’ve placed monitoring runes around the school to keep track of anyone with Pettigrew’s magic and any rat that passes them. I also plan to check up and update the wards of the school tomorrow to ensure all of the students are properly safe.” Harry passes another round of parchment. “These are the wards that will be attached as well as any updates that are needed. On top of all of that, I’ve been going to classes and turning in schoolwork to make sure I still look like a student to everyone else. So, I was bored and decided to help out the other students and give them independent study subjects that they can learn on the side.

“Now, back to the first three sheets I passed around. Can anyone tell me what is wrong with them?” Harry asked.

“There are no preliminary books for the Muggleborns to help them adjust to our world and culture,” Regent Longbottom started. “Some of these books are out of date as well.”

“Correct. Anything else?”

“There are classes missing on the student list,” Lord Nott added. “And I’ve never heard of some of these professors before.”

“Correct. Those class and book lists haven’t changed since Dumbledore’s seventh year as Headmaster,” Harry informed. “The subjects that I’m teaching or tutoring in are subjects that every single magic school has. What I am attempting to do is not only bring the Muggleborns and Muggle raised up to par with the Purebloods and Wizard raised, I’m also trying to bring them up to the standards of the other schools. However, I can’t do all of it all the time so I only do it on the weekends.” Harry then passed out the Study schedule. “As you can see, with how many subjects I’m trying to help with, I can only spend an hour per subject on the focused study.”

“Why didn’t you get Dumbledore’s permission to start this club?” Doge asked, a smug look in his eye.

“Because it’s not a club, it’s a study group,” Harry said, pulling up the copy of the room with his magic. Before Harry could say anything more, Dumbledore finally arrived.

“I’m terribly sorry for my late arrival, I had to stop a fight from occurring outside the Great Hall,” Dumbledore said with a grandfatherly smile.

“Falsehood,” Harry said, pulling out his Mirror. Everyone turned to Harry in surprise. “You see, Headmaster, I’ve heard about your tactic to be late to meetings, even meetings that you, yourself, set up. As a result, I asked six students to message me when you left the Head table and what your mood was when you did. All six of them told me that you calmly left the hall about ten minutes ago. I should also mention that there is at least 1 person from each house in the group of six. It takes ten minutes to jog to the Apparition point, I’ve tested it in several sizes and that was the average. However, you are the Headmaster, which means that you can apparate directly from the castle. Not only that, but Hogwarts has several gossips, so if you broke up a fight, I’m sure I would have heard about it from one of the six. So, unless you want to tell us why you were actually late, I suggest you sit down and refrain from lying while we go over the Study Group.” Harry took a deep breath and turned to Doge as Dumbledore sat down.

“Lord Doge, as I was saying, it’s not a club, it’s a Study Group. I do not need Dumbledore’s permission to start a study group and I don’t actually teach; I just help the students study. Most of the time all I do is pick students so they can ask their question and then pick another student to answer the question.”

“That may be true, but what about your discrimination?” Dumbledore asked.

“What discrimination? I can’t assign or take away points so there is no favoritism. I literally have a system to choose who would speak next. It goes from Slytherin to Gryffindor to Hufflepuff to Ravenclaw. I also mix it up on race, blood, and gender for the sole purpose of eliminating discrimination. So what discrimination are you talking about?” Harry asked.

“You are discriminating against Ms. Granger,” Dumbledore pointed out.

“Falsehood. I thought you might try that route, so I asked the Goblins to give us one of the meeting rooms with a large screen for you all to see.” Harry got up and started setting everything up. “Keep in mind, I did not ask anyone to record my sessions. Some of the students prefer to record the sessions so they could pay more attention to the discussion and write notes for it later. At the end of each class, I picked a random student to send me the recording. I only did it this last weekend purely for this meeting.”

Harry sat down and let the others watch the Transfiguration session, it was the best session to show Granger’s attitude. Harry watched Dumbledore as it played out and enjoyed the sight of the twinkle dying out as the old man realized he wasn’t going to win against Harry’s strong case. Harry mentally smirked as he thought about the rant the old man would have about being beaten by a 13-year-old again.

“Was the silencing charm really necessary?” Dumbledore asked.

“Yes,” Harry answered. “She was given warnings, both in this session and in past sessions she attended. This was how my own mentor shut me up whenever I would interrupt. The only difference is that my mentor would leave the silencing charm on all day and I only leave her’s on for the duration of the lesson. She needs to learn patients and to allow others a turn to speak. If she wants to be a minister when she grows up, then she needs to learn to hear other people, not just herself.” He watched some of the others nod their heads in agreement while most looked pensive. 

“What about all of the students in the common study area? How do you keep all of the students from fighting each other? Especially Slytherins and Gryffindors?” Doge asked, annoyed that the assassin kept shooting down everything. “You can’t take points or give detentions.”

“Good question!” Harry said with a smile. “I actually had to break up a fight between a Ravenclaw and Slytherin a couple of weekends ago. They are both my History of Magic fanatics and started to argue as I was releasing everyone to lunch. Basically, the argument was about one of the laws that passed about a decade or so ago. They agreed with each other but it was the way that they were saying it that made the other think they were being opposed. 

“After I sent everyone else to lunch and held the two back, I called a house elf to get us lunch while I talked with them. I made them sit down and eat their lunch, giving them time to calm down before we let the elves clean the table and start talking everything out. Once we finished lunch, I broke down everything they were saying until they realized they were saying the same thing. Once that was done, I asked them why they were yelling at each other instead of talking it out. 

“Basically, they were just stressed about their midterm exams so, since one is in Sixth and the other in Seventh Year, I suggested that they attend Martial Arts and/or Weapons since most students find the focus of both sessions help them to relax. After the sessions this past weekend, they came up to me and said they left lighter than before. I suspect to get more OWLs and NEWTs students attending those sessions to help destress.” Several looked thoughtful, not having thought about using those activities to destress.

“How do we know you aren’t teaching anything dark to our children?” Dumbledore asked, trying to get the Board to change their minds.

“I don’t teach the children anything illegal, as I’m sure you’d be aware of since at least one professor is always sitting in the sessions to make sure I am handling the students appropriately,” Harry explained. “As for anything dark, I’m a firm believer in magical balance. I am also a firm believer that knowledge holds power. So long as the students know the potential dangers and are at the proper age, I see no reason for them not to choose for themselves. They are our future and beginnings with their own free wills and deserve to know what their options are and the consequences behind each option.

“Currently, anything relating to the dark arts that they learn from me is to lead up to how to counter it for Defense. It is difficult to fight against something when you don’t have any knowledge behind it. For example, how to counteract the different curses that could be used in battle, what makes up the curse, how the curse was created, and what was the best way to counter it.” Harry addressed a few more safety concerns before it was decided that Harry would continue the study group and be hired as a tutor for the next several years once they work it out with Erluk. It was also mentioned that the board would be meeting after the Holidays without outside interference (read: Albus Dumbledore) to discuss other topics that Harry brought up at the beginning of the meeting.

“I will see you tomorrow for the warding, Headmaster,” Harry said as he made sure he didn’t forget anything.

“I’m afraid I’m busy tomorrow,” Dumbledore said. “Minerva asked me to join a meeting and isn’t sure how long it will take.”

‘ Clever woman ,’ Harry thought. “Very well. Good day everyone,” Harry said as Harry walked towards the door.

“So how old are you really?” Dodge asked before Harry could leave.

“I’m 13 years old,” Harry answered, giving them a smile before leaving the room. All of the board, except for three of them, looked gobsmacked that someone so young could act so grown up.

Line Break

Harry and McGonagall had tea together in the Headmaster’s office while they waited for the Headmaster.

“I have to compliment you on setting up the headmaster, Professor,” Harry complimented. “It was very clever.”

“Thank you, Obscurus,” the deputy said with a smile.

“You can call me Obby when we aren’t on official business if you want,” Harry suggested. “A kid I know calls me that whenever he sees me.”

“Then you must call me Minerva, Obby,” the professor returned. Moments later, Dumbledore walked through the floo with a smile to greet his deputy but it turned into a grimace when he noticed Obscurus drinking tea. “Albus, I’m glad you could make the meeting.”

“Of course, my dear,” Albus said. “Now what could this meeting be about?”

“Obscurus asked that I help him enter the Ward Stone Chamber should you not be available for it during the winter holidays. So, I took it upon myself to make sure you were available for it,” McGonagall said, giving him a kind smile that hid her smirk. Harry brought his teacup up to hide his own smirk at the annoyed look on the old man’s face.

“Don’t worry,” Harry reassured. “If it’s just an update to get some of the newer wards in place then it should only take an hour or two at most. However, if it’s more than that, I’ll have to make an assessment of the Ward Stone and send it to Rankor, the head of the Wards Department in Gringotts, for approval before I can do anything. It’ll probably take a week at most for approval since he is also in charge of England Branch’s Curse Breakers.”

“I see,” Dumbledore said with a frown before walking over to one of the gadgets on the bookshelf. He played with it for a bit before a compartment opened with a Rune in it. He activated the Rune and the Fireplace turned to create a passageway to the Chamber they needed. Harry entered with McGonagall and Dumbledore; the older man looked like he was pouting.

Harry took out his Mirror and activated the recording app before making it float beside him. Harry took in the magic surrounding the stone and started talking to his Mirror about what he’s finding and what would be the best way to go about it. One of the annoying parts about the whole experience was that he could understand what the assassin was saying because he was speaking the Goblin Tongue the entire time. Once Harry was finished with his assessment, he placed his Mirror on the stone to record the magic the Stone was emitting. Once everything was done, he stopped the recording and sent it to Rankor.

“That’s it,” Harry said, getting a relieved look from Dumbledore and a concerned look from McGonagall. “There are some problems so I’ll make sure you both get a copy of my findings later today. I think I could get everything done if I start early in the morning, probably 8 or 8:30. I’ll have to bring in a couple of friends to make sure everything stays stable throughout the updating. I’ll let you both know when I have the approval and we can figure out a time for me to get everything up to standard.”

“I didn’t realize it was that bad,” McGonagall stated.

“I was the same,” Harry agreed. “I’m going to put a stasis charm around the Stone so no one is tempted to try to fix this without me. It could end disastrously if someone without experience tried.” Harry made sure to put several layers of Goblin Grade Stasis charms on to ensure Dumbledore couldn’t change anything. Harry noticed Dumbledore glaring at him for putting an obstacle in his way.

Harry made a mental list of things he needed to do before the end of the break.

1: Give McGonagall and Dumbledore each a copy of his findings on the stone.

2: Finish Yule/Christmas shopping.

3: Ask for a meeting with the board based on the Ward Stone findings.

4: Spend time with Goblin Friends.

5: Spend time with Human friends.

6: Find at least one day to relax.

Line Break

Harry stared at the letter in his hands as he ate his breakfast with Sirius and Remus in Potter Manor. The letter was from the twins inviting him to a Christmas party they convinced their parents to have. Apparently, they also invited the Diggory’s, Lovegoods, and Longbottom’s too and didn’t inform their parents that Anak Mortuus and Obscurus were the same people. The party was scheduled for the afternoon on Christmas Eve.

“What do you have there?” Remus asked Harry as he and Sirius paused their flirting for the moment.

“I’m being invited to the Weasley’s Christmas Eve party that the Twins convinced their parents to do,” Harry said.

“Are they the pranksters you were telling us about?” Sirius asked.

“Yes, why?”

“I could get them a copy of our Marauders Book of Pranks,” Sirius suggested.

“Actually, if you’ll allow me to copy them onto the Mirrors I have set for the twins, it’ll be easier for them to hide it than it would be to hide a book,” Harry suggested.

“Good idea,” Sirius said with a smile. “Although I fully expect you to be here for Christmas morning.”

“Of course,” Harry said with a roll of his eyes. “Like I would miss my first Christmas with my Godfathers.” Remus and Sirius smiled at him. Harry then frowned down at the invite and sighed. “I’m going to have to go shopping again.”

Line Break

1: Give McGonagall and Dumbledore each a copy of his findings on the stone.

Check.

2: Finish Yule/Christmas shopping.

Almost check. Have to finish the Mirrors for the Weasleys’ gifts.

3: Ask for a meeting with the board based on the Ward Stone findings.

Check. The meeting is three days before the return of classes.

4: Spend time with Goblin Friends.

Yule Work Party.

5: Spend time with Human friends.

Weasley’s Christmas Eve Party.

6: Find at least one day to relax.

Hopefully Boxing Day.

Harry sighed at his list as he finished setting up the Mirrors for the Weasleys. Really, the most time-consuming part of the whole thing was bookmarking information on each individual Mirror for each person.

For Molly, he made sure to set up an app for recipes and filled it with every recipe he could find. For Arthur, he added a muggle dictionary and every information about everything Muggle that was offered. For Bill, he saved some books on different theories and myths about all sorts of ancient civilizations and hidden cities. For Charlie, he saved rare books on rare dragon species and their strangest habits. For Percy, he saved every rule from every social structure he could find, from how to behave in the ministry to how to fence. For the Twins, Harry copied the Marauder’s book of Pranks as well as add in Muggle pranks to help give them ideas. For Ron and Ginny, Harry really had a hard time because he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to add anything to theirs so he just added Quidditch magazines for Ron and Fashion magazines for Ginny.

With that done, Harry put them into each box and carefully labeled them, and tied them up with red and yellow string. He then placed them next to the wrapped medical books and kit for Cedric and some family board games for his parents so they could have Family Game Night and make it a tradition by the time Cedric leaves Hogwarts in two and a half years. Harry got Neville a Dragon’s-Blood Tree to experiment with and got Augusta several little crystal animal figurines for her hidden collection. For the Lovegoods, Harry got Luna a charm bracelet with little versions of all of her creatures and covered in protective and anti-theft charms on them while Harry gave her father a locket and put a picture of Pandora Lovegood in it. He found the picture in his family vault along with his mother’s things.

Harry took his own Mirror when it started ringing and answered it while he made it float so he could push the presents in a bottomless bag.

“Anak, where are you? Fred and George said you’d be here,” Cedric enquired from the Mirror. Confused, Harry looked at the time and cursed. Loudly. He then rushed to put the rest of the presents in the bag and ran out the door only to return and grab his Mirror.

“I’ll be there is, like, ten minutes,” Harry told the older teen as he rushed through Gringotts’ caverns. “I didn’t realize it was so late.”

“It’s okay, An. I’ll let everyone else know. Travel safe,” Cedric said, getting a grateful smile from the time traveler before they signed off. As soon as he was outside of Gringotts he apparated to the Burrow and nearly tripped rushing to the door to knock on it. He was suddenly pulled into the house by a pair of excitable twins and paraded into the house.

“Sorry I’m late, Mrs. Weasley,” Harry said when he was finally in front of the Matriarch. “I was finishing wrapping up some presents.”

“Obscurus?” Molly asked in shock.

“Yeah. I was hired to look for Pettigrew at Hogwarts,” Harry explained.

“Then why are you in all of the classes?” Ron asked.

“Because I was specifically hired to blend in with the students and Dumbledore insisted that it would look strange if I didn’t show up to classes.” Harry then started to pull out presents. “Uh… Neville,” Harry said, pulling out the plant with the instructions on how to care for it stuck to the side of the pot and handed to the shy Gryffindor. Neville and Harry shared a smile before Harry stuck his arm in again to pull out another box. “Cedric.” Harry made a surprised squeak when the Hufflepuff pulled him into a hug.

“Thank you,” Cedric said before taking the present. It took almost 10 minutes to get all of the presents passed out, half of which was having to comfort a tearfully happy Weasley mother for his thoughtfulness. They then started to make their way to the dining room for dinner.

“It’s a Mirror!” Ron cried excitedly. The youngest male redhead had opened his present.

“Ronald Weasley!” Molly shouted. “You’re supposed to wait until after dinner to open presents!” Harry watched in amusement as Ron argued with his mother as she placed the phone back in the box and hid it on the top shelf of one of her cabinets. Several of the children hid their laughter as they sat at the ‘kids’ table that all those still currently in Hogwarts sat at while everyone else was at the main table. Cedric sat to Harry’s left followed by Neville, Luna, a pouting Ron, Ginny, Percy, George, and finally Fred.

“So, a Mirror?” Fred asked.

“Well, obviously it was supposed to be a surprise, but yes,” Harry answered. “I got your family each a Mirror. What makes each of them different is that I added something to each of them and had the backs engraved with your initials.”

“You must be bloody rich!” Ron added, a gleam appearing in his eyes.

“Not necessarily,” Cedric said. “Anak was the one who upgraded the Mirrors from the Two-Way Mirrors to what they are now.”

“Yep. I get a discount on them because of it,” Harry said.

“So, what’s in all of ours?” Ginny asked, batting her eyelashes at him. Harry decided to try to thwart her flirting attempts right away.

“Are you okay? You know, the best way to clean any dirt or dust out of your eye is to run some water in your eye or use eyedrops,” Harry said innocently. Ron gave him an incredulous look between bites of food and Ginny pouted while everyone else at the ‘kids’ table tried to hold in their laughter. Percy being the most successful. “As for what is on them, that’s a surprise. I wasn’t completely sure what to put on for some of you, so I went with my best guess.”

After that, everyone chatted amicably for the rest of the diner, Ginny kept attempting to flirt with Harry but he continuously ended each attempt. After dinner returned to the sitting room to open presents. Harry explained to the Weasley adults what he told the younger Weasleys and guests earlier about the Mirrors. Harry received the customary Weasley Jumper with an A on it from Molly, prank items from Fred and George, a set of daggers with emeralds at the end of each handle from Cedric, a cork necklace from Luna, a subscription to the Quibbler from Xenophilius, and a snake and all the things needed to take care of it from Neville and Augusta. The snake he was given was a Yellow and Black Atheris Hispida, otherwise known as a Hairy Bush Viper.

“Wicked!” Harry cheered, remembering the shocked looks on Augusta and Neville’s faces when they learned of his Parseltongue ability about a month or so ago. “ ~Hello, what is your name? ~ ” Harry asked the snake, getting several gasps and a shiver from Cedric.

“ ~A Speaker? I was named Daffodil, ~ ” the female viper answered.

“~ I go by many names but you can call me Harry if you’d like. ~ ” Daffodil agreed.

“Cool,” Fred and George said at the same time. Almost everyone else just stared at Harry in shock. Ron and Ginny gave him horrified looks and he noticed Cedric’s eyes glaze just slightly as he shifted but still looked surprised.

“Thank you, Neville and Augusta,” Harry said with a huge smile.

“You shouldn’t use such an evil trait!” Ginny shouted. Everyone but Ron stared at her.

“Parseltongue isn’t an evil trait,” Harry said after an awkward moment.

“Yes, it is!” Ron disagreed. “Salazar Slytherin and You-Know-Who had the trait and they wanted to get rid of all of the muggleborns!”

“One: Slytherin never wanted to get rid of Muggleborns. He wanted to get the Muggleborns away from their abusive muggle relatives. And that’s information from Godric Gryffindor’s journal that I was allowed to read. Two: Parseltongue isn’t evil. It’s just a magical ability that was gifted to me. In fact, it’s seen as a sacred ability in some Asian countries,” Harry informed as he put Daffodil around his next.

“Not a world, Ronald,” Molly said before Ron could say anything. “If you and Ginny continue this, I’ll ground you from your Mirrors.”

Everyone went back to opening their presents and Harry received another hug from Cedric when he opened the medical books and kit.

“Thank you, darling,” Cedric said sincerely, making Harry blush at the nickname.

“You’re welcome, pretty boy,” Harry returned.

“Aw, you think I’m good-looking,” Cedric teased.

“Everyone thinks you’re good-looking,” Harry countered, glaring at the twins when he saw them snickering at his predicament. He wasn’t used to people flirting with him. Or maybe he was just too oblivious in his first life to notice it.

He did find it annoying that Ginny was glaring at Cedric for flirting with him. This time, Harry was saved by a notification from his Mirror and nodded when he saw it was Rankor confirming his choices on the wards and informed him that Bill Weasley will help him before returning to the Egypt branch. His attention was then taken up by the twins, who tackled him in a hug and repeatedly thanked him.

“Alright! Alright!” Harry shouted, much to the amusement of the others. “Now get off of me.” Harry pushed them off and accepted Cedric’s hand to get back to his feet. Which the older Hufflepuff took the opportunity to pull Harry closer to him.

“We are unworthy-” the twins said, bowing to Harry with their Mirrors still in hand. “-to be friends with such a-”

“Kind,” Fred said.

“Generous,” George followed.

“Perfect.”

“Wonderful.”

“Friend!” They finished off together, getting a few chuckles around the room.

“What are they doing?” Ron asked.

“I think they’re showing their gratitude over the book I copied into their Mirrors,” Harry answered, making several people become concerned.

“Oh Merlin,” Percy whispered. “You gave them a prank book, didn’t you?” Harry just smirked, making most of the Weasley clan groan.

“Not just any prank book either,” Fred said, stars practically shining in his eyes.

“He gave us the ULTIMATE Prank Book,” George finished, equally awed.

“I am so glad they can’t do magic outside of school yet,” Ron said. Several of the students shivered at that.

“That doesn’t save you from them when you get back to school,” Harry countered, smirking when he got several loud groans from most of the students and a snicker from Cedric. The Hufflepuff then leaned into Harry to whisper into his ear, his breath brushing Harry’s ear.

“You like to cause trouble, don’t you, darling?”

Harry shivered and weighed his options quickly and decided to go for it. After all, he did still have Gryffindor tendencies.

“Oh, no,” Harry whispered back, leaning into the older teen. “Trouble likes to follow me.” Harry then moved away and started saying his goodbyes to everyone, leaving Cedric for last. “Bye, Sweetie~,” Harry said in an almost sing-song voice.

“See you later, Darling,” Cedric answered back, getting some teases from the twins after Harry was gone.

Chapter Text

Hey!

Sorry this isn’t a new chapter. My laptop decided it didn’t want to work with me for a while so I only have my iPad to write with at the moment. That being said, I do have some updates for the stories but it’s going to take a while for me to retype them from my laptop to my iPad.

In the meantime, I do have several story ideas that I’ve been typing up so I don’t forget them. However, since it’s going to take time to move over the other stories, I thought I’d let you all choose which story I’d post until I can start posting the others again.

1. What If: A sort of Harry Potter Version of Marvel’s What If… series, which I’ve already got 9 story ideas for, most of which has Dumbledore Bashing, if anyone is interested in that. 
2. The Return of the Dragonlord: HP story were Harry is the reincarnation of Merlin and a Dragonlord and wakes up the other reincarnations. The Other Reincarnations being 5 knights, 4 Hogwarts Founders, 1 Seer, 1 Sister, and 1 well known King. I should also mention that this particular story will be Tom/Harry and that Tom will be de-aged when they eventually get together. Mainly takes place during 4th and 5th year. Dumbledore and other bashings.
3. Neo Emrys: Harry goes back in time and ends up raising his younger self with 2 friends. He also has a Dragon familiar. The pairing for this one was Older Harry/Severus, Younger Harry/George, and Neville/Luna as the main ones.
4. Radio Stars: Starts off in 2nd year when Harry is revealed to be a Parselmouth. Fred/George/Harry platonic relationship for most of it, I haven’t decided on a romantic relationship yet (or if there will be one). In short, everyone (including Hermione and Ron) turn their backs on Harry except Fred and George. The three become inseparable and, with a mix of Runes and Muggle tech, start their own radio show under codenames and voice changers. They call themselves the New Gen. Marauders and starts taking Dumbledore down by using the show to tell the truth to everyone and making Dumbledore look bad. They’re show gets so popular that they start selling mini radios that are turned into their broadcasts.
5. Time, Space, and Magic: This one is a Doctor Who/Harry Potter Crossover. Ashildr ‘Me’ and Clara ended up accidentally going to another dimension and decide to stay there since the Raven can’t follow them there. In that AU, they kind of travel for a little bit but find that it wasn’t that much different from their own with a few exceptions (No Doctor, Magic is real, and Aliens haven’t visited Earth yet). So, with both of them essentially immortal, they land on earth and start their own organized crime group out of boredom. 
1. The Dursley’s are an organized crime group family (mob or mafia) and have been competing with Ashildr and Clara. One day they find Clara and try to assassinate her (it doesn’t really work but she does end up in a healing chamber for a while). Since Clara was her Moral Compass, Ashildr goes and kills the Dursley’s with a few of her people.
2. That’s when she finds Harry in the cupboard and adopts him (she has a few people in the Magical world so she recognizes Harry.) Harry ends up growing up with knowledge of the Muggle, Magical, and Alien worlds. He is also taught history by being allowed to travel with his Moms through time.

If you’re interested in any of these stories, please let me know in the comments. The title for each story is in bold. This isn’t even all of the stories I’ve thought up either. These are just the ones that are most planned out due to my mind not staying on one storyline at a time.

Thank you for enjoying the story so far and hopefully I’ll be able to move the stories over soon. Once I can, this Author’s Note will come down and be replaced with the chapter. Until then…

Happy Holidays!

Update!!

Hey! So I’m going to end the voting here and show you the scores. I’ll get the new story up hopefully within a week ish.

1. What If: Vote Count: 12
2. The Return of the Dragonlord: Vote Count: 15
3. Neo Emrys: Vote Count: 23
4. Radio Stars: Vote Count: 34
5. Time, Space, and Magic: Vote Count: 6

Final Update of this Authors Note!

Just wanted to let you all know that the first chapter to Radio Stars is up.

Thank you all for the support. I will eventually write all of these story ideas (I have a lot more than what’s listed) when I have the time. I hope you all enjoy!