2

Harry was having the time of his life. Who knew being in a hospital was great? They gave him a large dinner he could have to himself. It was great food. He was allowed to eat until he was full. The desert was a large treacle tart. He was surprised; the medi-witch even asked him if he needed seconds.

Once the medi-witch removed the remains of the meal, she provided him with a book to read. He was also not punished for actually reading it.

It was a magical book. The pictures moved.

Harry thought this was life. No harsh words. The aches of his body were fading. He was even shocked when his new "aunt" kept her word and came back to see him. She brought someone with her.

Harry stared at the new man. He was the one in the grey robe from before. This time Harry got a good look. The new man was older, with a salt-and-pepper tone to his hair and cropped goatee. Most surprisingly of all was the kind expression he had, a rarity for Harry.

"Are you ready to talk Harry?" Aelia asked.

"Yes, umm." Harry still was not sure how to respond.

"Please call me aunty. This is my boss; he goes by Mister Croaker. He is here to help explain some of the things you need to know and help heal you. Overall; he is a good guy and won't hit you." Harry could just nod.

"My name is Mister Croaker, Mister Doe. I am what is called an unspeakable. I work in the Department of Mysteries. We research all forms of magic. We also do what is needed to be done in the magical world. I am here to help you with your medical maladies."

"Now this is all probably surprising to you. I am sure you noticed that the pictures in that book move. The instant moving from place to place to get here. Our attire." Croaker pointed out. When Harry showed no reaction beyond raising an eyebrow. The boy did not seem to be bothered by all this strangeness.

Croaker thought that was a good sign.

Finally, Harry spoke. "Yes, it doesn't make sense but I know… It seems like magic but Vernon said that there is no such thing."

"Well, Vernon is wrong. Worse, he knows that is bull shite. I did some research after talking to your aunt here. The family you were living with is blood-related to you. Petunia was the sister of your biological mother. So, Vernon, his wife, and his son are on the list of muggles approved to know that magic exists. Vernon knows that you are a wizard."

Croaker left out that Vernon was paid monthly from Gringotts to house and feed the boy. Albus arranged the payment but it took money from Harry's trust vault. Croaker sent a parchment to the goblins notifying them that Harry had left the building for good. He would tell the boy that minor detail later. He would also not tell the goblins where the boy was hiding at. The only way Albus could have set up the automatic payment, one or more goblins had broken their own rules for the chief warlock.

"I am a wizard? That cannot be. I am just Harry."

"Do you remember the other month; when you suddenly were on the roof after being chased by your cousin and his gang? That was magic. Accidental magic." Aelia added. "Thanks to that, Dana told me about you."

"So, once you get fixed up. We can train you in magic until you are old enough to go to the official magic school if you want. Michelle will ensure you have tutors so that you will be able to keep up with your normal education. If you want, she has other talents that she would be willing to teach you. I am sorry, but for your safety, normal school is out. We will have to use tutors." Aelia stated. "Though since your cousin hurt you; not seeing him again at school will be a blessing." She dearly wanted to kill Dudley but knew that would be Harry's option, not hers.

"So, Mister Potter, will you let us train you as a wizard," Croaker asked.

"Will that make sure that I never have to go back to the Dursleys?"

"No, you will never go back. End of statement. If you do not want to be trained, you still will never go back there. Yours returning there is completely off the table. The question that is on the table is, do you want to make sure that you can defend yourself? Maybe even get a little payback?" Croaker pointed out. He was hoping the boy would take the bait. Harry had to be willing for this to work.

"The drawback is if you accept training in magic, you will eventually have to go to a magic boarding school. There is a chance, I do not know how large, that if you train well enough, you may even be able to avenge your parents. So, are you in?" Croaker asked, holding his breath.

Despite his shock, Harry finally nodded. "On to the next part. I have to confirm what the Medi-witch noted about your magical issues. I also have to ensure a couple of other things. None of this will cause you pain though." Croaker then pulled out his wooden stick and waved it around. Croaker frowned. He waived it again muttering in Sumerian.

"Is there something wrong boss?"

"His scar may prove a major problem. I do not know what it is or how to remove it. It is something for the DoM to research. Maybe get the Dverger involved. However, other than that. I can remove his bindings and the other charms on him. His magic core is ready to go. You will just have to have Harry and you do the last part. That will end all of the tracers and bindings." Croaker gave Aelia a look that said later we would talk. Now Harry felt strange. He felt like something was living inside him; making him powerful. He also felt something was keeping him back, like a thin ribbon.

"Harry, Algernon leaves one other issue out. The magical world has issues regarding you. Someone in our world wants you to stay at the Dursleys. So, you will almost never be able to leave the grounds of the Rookwood estate until you go to Hogwarts. You will not have the ability to make many friends. Is that okay?" Aelia asked. She was worried that a friendless boy would demand or need friends. The more people that knew where Harry was, the less safe the boy would be.

"To not have to go back to the Dursleys? No beatings and regular food? I get to stay in the set of rooms you said were mine earlier?"

"Yes, to all that. Plus, a lot of learning." Aelia stated. She was there when Dana told her sister that Harry loved to learn.

"Dudley and Vernon made it so no one was my friend; either in the neighborhood or at the school. Even Dana could not visibly try to be nice to me. I am used to being alone." Harry stated. His eyes darkened. He wanted revenge for his abuse. The Mister Croaker had told him; he would learn how to inflict revenge.

"You will no longer be alone, Harry," Aelia said.

"Yes, then. I will stay and do magic." Harry said.

Croaker saw Harry's eye. He was correct; this boy wanted revenge. Aelia was not stupid. She would not try to train a boy unless he was sharp. From the sound; her sister wanted a successor. He would have to get the circus to give him the file on her sister. Dumbledore should beware.

It was a good day. Harry was done with the hospital. His aunt had checked on him every day. She also brought word from his new sister and mother a couple of times. He found out that muggles were not allowed in this hospital unless they were harmed by magic. That pissed him off. He likes his new mother and sister. They treated him so differently than the Dursleys even if it was only by letters.

It took two weeks for the healers to put his body back together leading up to this day. Last night had been his final night in Saint Mungo's. The night nurse spoiled him with ice cream because she was happy, he was leaving and completely healthy.

He was happy today; he was being discharged at last. Aelia, true to her word, was standing right next to his bed, listening attentively to Healer Spencer as he explained the course of potions Harry would need to be on over the next few weeks to get his health fully back up to where it should have been all along. For the first time in his life; he was free of pain, anywhere in his body. Harry wasn't even irritated that he would have a heavy course of yucky potions for the foreseeable future.

Aelia took possession of the vials. Harry felt strange that an adult cared for him. Spencer also told the pair that some of the potions included his required vaccinations; so, he would get to miss out on shots. That was a plus.

Aelia and Michelle were happy. When Harry was done with the potions, he would physically be the same as any pure blood from a good home of the same age. Spencer gave a grim nod and looked over his notes. "I think that about covers it. Your aunt has provided clothes so you can change into them. Well, I don't have anything else for you. As far as Saint Mungo's is concerned, you are perfectly healthy and free to go. You were a great patient. That said, I hope to never see you as a patient again."

Harry responded with "Thank you for everything you've done for me." With that, Harry went behind a screen so he could change. Once done, he rejoined his aunt.

"Ready to go home squirt?"

"Yes, let us go home." Harry said with a smile. He was going to his home. That was a first for him that he could remember.

"Harry, we need you to do something before we enter the estate grounds," Aelia stated. She was nervous. Per Algernon, Harry had to finish breaking his binding and traces. This would alert Dumbledore that his puppet had cut his strings.

"What?" Harry asked. He wondered why she was looking so nervous.

"I want you to say, here and now, you are never going to return to the Dursleys, and Aunt Petunia's house is not your home and never has been. You have to mean it"

Wondering what was going on, but as they had given him a great room and had yet to hit him, so Harry did what he was told. He truly meant that he never wanted to go back to the Dursleys or felt privet drive was his home. As he started to say what she wanted, he saw the wooden stick which he now knew to be a wand; she was pointed at him and Aelia said Finite.

Harry felt something in him change. He felt more alive, more powerful. Also, like a person who was blind and was now seeing colors. He was changed but the same but more. He was now looking forward to his life.

Aelia saw Harry glow. She could see the bindings and tracers fade; then the glow around the boy faded. Harry was safe; for now. They walked down the path into the warded ground. Both were happy.

When the strange light and sentence ended; hundreds of miles away in Scotland, a group of magical devices shattered in the headmaster's office in Hogwarts. Since he was having a meeting with the heads of houses; it was not a good time.

"Albus?" McGonagall asked, "What is...."

Dumbledore stood up, cutting her off. He strode across to the corner and stared down at the shelf where the group of shattered items had sat. He was scared. This was not good; not good at all. Had Vernon killed Harry? It would not have surprised him; but what to do, hell; what to say to the assembled teachers. He needed information now without exposing what he had done.

"It is a ward monitor, Minerva," He said, not taking his eyes off the debris "It monitors the state of the wards around a specific location" Not wanting to let Minerva know that some of the other devices illegally tracked Harry Potter and monitored his health. Or that the health monitoring devices had saved the boy's life more than once when Vernon had gotten heavy-handed with the boy.

Now it appeared; all of his trinkets for Harry Potter either self-destructed or were no longer working. The only reason for them to react as they did was the boy suddenly died. Was it sudden? Albus had forgotten to check the health monitors for a couple months, so he was worried.

"Which location?" McGonagall turned in her seat "Not Hogwarts?" She was confused. The headmaster could only legally monitor Hogwarts wards.

"No" Dumbledore shook his head "Around Number 4, Privet Drive."

Dumbledore turned to see Filius and Pomona staring at him while Snape and Minerva were staring at the shelf. At least the only ones staring at the shelf were in the order. "I must leave." He turned to walk into the fireplace. Before he got to it, he threw floo powder into the fireplace and said "Arabella Figg's house." Then he vanished into green flames.

Dumbledore ignored the surprised woman as he strode from the house to look at number 4. It was fine so he strode up to the door. After pounding on the door, Petunia Dursley opened the door.

"What do you want, freak?" She asked.

"Where is Harry?" Albus demanded.

"I have no clue. He was last seen at his school about four weeks ago. That day, the brat had an accident during lunch. My husband had to go by there to pick him up after his work but the freak wasn't there and the school staff had no clue what Vernon was talking about."

Albus was scared, could the accident have killed the brat? Four weeks ago? Why did the school not know Harry went there? This did not make sense. "Where is that school?" He growled.

"Wayfield Primary School. On the other side of town. By the A3. The same one when you asked the last time, the boy had an accident there."

Not asking anything else, Dumbledore quickly cast a notice me not charm on himself and he apparated to the school. Things got worse at the school. All the adults there seemed to have forgotten that Harry had ever been the. Even Harry's records were missing.

He found residue of several spells but no magical signature. So, whoever had cast here did so over three months ago. Had Harry been missing that long? Not the four weeks Petunia said? He checked again. There were no hints of an apparition or portkey. This meant the magic might not even be involved with the boy. Could Dudley have chased hurt the boy off of the school grounds where his accidental magic detector wouldn't spot it? If so, the boy would be at Saint Mungo's.

Albus apparated to the hospital. After an hour of fighting with the staff, he found that Harry Potter was not there. He had not been there. No young wizard had been brought in with an accidental magic flag. So, he apparated back to Privet Drive.

It was far worse than he feared when he returned to Privet Drive; he realized that the wards had collapsed. So, was Harry dead or just missing? If he was missing, someone must be hiding him.

Albus thought, of totally collapsing the wards; either the boy was gone for over six months or he was dead. He forgot that if the links to Harry's core were severed, it could happen in mere seconds. There was a reason he forgot that part. No one would dare to remove his spells once they saw his magical signature. Moreover, he was one of the most powerful wizards after all. Few could rival him and remove his work.

Albus, in his rage, didn't know what he wished for. Either way was problematic. All his plans were either ruined or at major risk. Realizing that he could do nothing at the moment, he went back to Hogwarts.

After a week back at Hogwarts, Dumbledore was in a panic. Harry Potter had disappeared. Or at least that is what he hoped. As for now, no one in the magical world knew where the boy or his body was at. He had the order search for the boy; they found nothing. No magical had seen a scrawny, beat-up boy with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. Albus was sure people would talk about meeting the boy who lived.

Since he couldn't trust the ministry, he would have to find him, himself. Or…

"Severus, you know muggle society, correct?"

"A bit Albus."

"Harry has disappeared. Please try to find him using muggle methods."

Albus' plans were falling apart. All of his monitoring charms on the boy had failed; he didn't know if the boy was gone or dead.

There was no trace of the boy anywhere. Now, if Harry was dead, he would have to find a way to separate Longbottom from his grandmother.

Maybe killing the madam would work? Forgetting Neville was related to the chief unspeakable. The reason he had not tried to kill the old lady before. If Croaker got ahold of Neville, he would never have any influence there.

He needed to create a new plan. If he got control of Neville, whom could he stick that brat with? How could he steel the boy away from Croaker? Would he have enough control over the new family? After all, to fulfill the prophecy he needed a boy born at the end of July. For politics, his martyr had to be from a family of the light faction. Last, for the greater good, the new boy had to martyr himself.

It had been three years since his last day in the hospital. Between his new mom, aunt, and the mysterious Croaker, he felt he would never have to stay somewhere he didn't want too again.

He was taught how to fight with muggles and magical means. He was a good shot. He had a nice lethal spell repertoire. He learned tradecraft and love in equal measures. He made his aunt and mom proud.

Violence was not all he was taught. His other tutors found he had a thirst for knowledge and he enjoyed learning everything.

Today was different. He would learn nothing today. It was also the first day he would get to leave the wards. With no bindings; his core had grown huge; so, he needed a focus to use all of his power. Croaker was going to take Harry via an international portkey to Uvs Lake to get that focus. Aelia had a wand from the same place, much to the boy's surprise. He knew British wizards and witches used Ollivander's. He internally laughed. British magicals swore by that shop. After using both of his aunt's wands, her Ollivander's wand was not as good as her other one.

Croaker agreed with that. There was a special wand maker at that lake. Croaker told him that he was going to get a wand and have a wand made for him. He would have to wait until he turned eleven to get his official wand at Ollivander's.

"Ready Merlin?" Croaker asked.

"Yes, Croaker. You still have yet to tell me why?" Croaker held out the portkey which Harry touched. He started to spin. At the end of the trip, Harry had been slammed into the ground which made the queasy Harry empty his stomach. Croaker found this amusing to the embarrassment of Harry. Harry knew better than try to retaliate.

"I hate you; did we have to travel all the way out to nowhere just for two wands?"

"Yes, but you will need more than two wands. Here is a thorn wood wand for you. Thorn wood is perfect for cheap planting or disposable wands. I got you this at Knockturn at the woodworker there. They are usually almost worthless but…" Harry understood. This was part of his life now.

"You are here because you need some real wands. Until you are eleven you are not allowed to purchase or own a wand in ICW territory. I also think you need some special holsters which I cannot give you or let you buy in Europe."

"The wands you get today will not have the trace on them. They will not leave your magical signature. They will not have the limitations that the ministry and the International Confederation of Wizards put on wands. Thus, they will allow you produce more powerful effects."

"Wands that are made under the ICW rules imprint each spell you cast on it so anyone can see what the last spells you cast were. These will only imprint if you want them to do that.

However, you can mentally transfer a "spell" from these special wands to your normal wand when you want to. But you cannot do the reverse. The benefit, no one will be able to prove you cast a spell if you don't want it to."

"Now you will want to know about the holsters. These are better than any you can get; they are even better than the ones the ICW hit-wizards have. These holsters and wands in them are invisible when worn. A regular hit wizard's holster has the same property. ICW hit wizard holsters come with an issue though. They have a charm on them that shows up as a beacon when entering an ICW property. Nothing can remove that beacon without destroying the holster."

"Both types are charmed so by a bit of innate magic from the witch, the wand will instantly appear in the hand. These will have one other charm, not included in the ICW. They are charmed so that the wands they hold are protected from the summoning charms; when the wand is in your hand, not just lying in your holster. Unsurprisingly, they are also illegal to have." Croaker laughed. Harry just smiled at that. Harry agreed with Croaker; most magical laws were just suggestions. Since the DoM tended to ignore laws passed by the Wizengamot.

Finally getting his stomach under control, Harry picked himself up off the ground and looked around. All they could see was a dark spot in the distance. The rest was a boundless field of short grass going off as far as they could see in any direction. He couldn't even see the lake from where they were at. He was surprised that Croaker could get a fix to this spot. It was in the middle of nowhere.

They walked for several minutes, finally coming up on a yurt that had been but the blackspot from their landing spot.

The brown yurt had the flap of a door open. Inside was a shop that was itself, an unassuming little hole in the wall. Inside, however, it contained a small table and a door leading further inside that was behind the table. It was warm and welcoming, if somewhat dimly lit.

"How may I help you gentlemen today?" An Asian man came out of the back door. He was an older man, his hair worn shoulder length and loose, more silver than its former black. He spoke with an unknown accent but his English was excellent.

Croaker just smiled. "Tan, my friend here needs two wands. One hand-crafted. One of your regular-made ones. He will also need two special holsters, one wand, and a double wand. One plain standard hip holster. Before I forget, Merlin, this is Khulan Tan; master wand creator. Even better than Ollivander."

Tan realized who the boy was with just a look. It was too bad that he could never admit who bought his wands. It was part of his amusement. He made wands that were illegal in most places. His biggest purchasers worked for those same governments.

"I see. Very well, if you would please step into the workshop, we can begin." Tan held the curtain aside, allowing all three of them to step through into another room.

"We will begin with the wood. Touch each sample and pull out the one that calls to you." The man placed a series of small wooden blocks on the bench and stepped back.

Harry eyed them, then stepped forward, holding his hand out. Closing his eyes, he allowed his fingers to drift over each of the samples, listening closely to his magic. He was glad a tutor from Croaker had taught him that ability. It took several minutes, but eventually, his fingers went over a block and he felt the heat radiating from it. He passed over it seeing if any other responded to him. One did but not to the same amount of heat. Then he passed over a third. It was also less heat than the first and second. He realized he had checked all the blocks. None of the others responded. Opening his eyes and standing back, he looked at the wand maker expectantly as he pointed to the first block.

The older man looked at him curiously for a moment, before smiling, revealing startlingly white teeth.

"Interesting. Do you know the meaning of the type of wood you have chosen?" Tan asked while looking at Harry with a considering look.

Harry shook his head, not even aware of what type of wood he had chosen. "I am sorry I don't. I don't even know what type of wood it is."

"Australian Buloke, a very hard wood. This block is from a five-hundred-year-old tree." he held up a light brown colored block, "I have never used this before. It should make the base of a very powerful wand. It will be particularly compatible with dueling and dark curses, and will never bond with someone mediocre or timid. After all, since this particular piece is from a tree that has lasted over five centuries; it stood up to everything nature threw at it during that time.

Putting down the block, Tan ushered Harry over to a huge closet of jars. "Now find the core," Harry repeated the process. Then he stopped in front of a locked trunk. He felt something within. Tan opened it up. Harry homed into what appeared an empty jar.

"Thestral hair. Not only that, but that is a rare hair from the first of their kind. Curiouser and curiouser, friend of my friend. I have a regular thestral hair in the jar over there." Tan pointed to a jar that Harry realized he had passed over.

"Why is it I cannot see it?" Harry asked. He realized what Tan had said. He looked over to the jar Tan pointed out. It also appeared empty.

But his magic did not draw him to that one.

"You can only see those creatures when you see someone die," Tan said.

"Interesting, Merlin, I guess it is proof that Voldemort did not die that night. Also, you did not see your parents die. So, the story of what happened about that night is not accurate." Croak mused.

"May your life be in interesting times," Tan said.

"This is not good for you; not good at all. I am sorry son; your life will get more interesting." Croaker said looking at Harry with sympathy.

"Please go into the last two closets. See if we need any extra for the wand. Then we will go out front to get your pre-made wand." Tan said; also looking slightly stunned.

So, the story of the boy who lived was a lie. That was interesting. Tan also dealt with information. This information was worth making the wand. Since Neither Croaker nor Harry told him to keep it quiet; he would sell the truth of that Halloween night.

Tan would also wonder about the core. The boy seemed to home into the trunk. The boy would be destined to be surrounded by death.

While he was musing, Harry went into the last jar-filled closet. He came out with two jars. Both were stone. Tan frowned. This was a first, never before had Tan used two substances on a core.

"What was your feeling with these two jars?" Harry looked at Tan suspiciously. "Both made my hand feel like it had a burn both inside and out." Harry looked expectantly at the craftsman.

Tan raised his eyebrows and blew out a surprised breath. "Well, this wand will certainly be one of the most unique I have ever crafted! I have never even heard of a combination like this! We will need to apply substances to the core and the final wand."

Harry raised his eyebrows in interest. "Oh?" "Yes, we will need a blood replenishment potion. Basically, because of what your magic told us, we have to bathe the core and the final wand in both basilisk venom and your blood. The container to the right holds my only basilisk venom and the one on the left is for bathing wands or cores in blood. Since you said the heat was both in and on your hand for both; so, must the wand be treated?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with what basilisk venom does." Harry frowned, annoyed at not knowing.

"Basilisk venom is one of the most toxic substances we know of. It is so deadly that only phoenix tears can heal it, and even then, only if the tears are applied in a timely fashion since they will kill you in a matter of minutes. Inside the core, the wand will boost the use of killing magic. On the outside, it will kill anyone but you that handle the wand for long periods without a dragon or basilisk hide gloves. There is one catch; are you a parseltongue? Only a parseltongue can use a basilisk venom coating without being affected by the venom."

"Yes, he is," Croaker said. Croaker had been amused when he heard the story of Harry at the zoo. He had gone to that zoo and stole the reptile (who had been caught soon after leaving the building the first time) and placed the snake in its native rainforest for Harry.

"Your blood being added to the core means that even if you are disarmed or defeated, this wand will never change its allegiance to you. This wand will essentially be less of a tool as it would be for any other wizard and more of an extension of yourself. You may even be able to do some clever little tricks, like calling it to you, no matter where you or it may be. The few wands I have made like that each has unique traits"

"I will be back soon, with the potion so you can create the wand," Croaker said as he left.

Harry smiled, pleased. "Let's use the time until he gets back, and find me my second wand."

By the time Croaker came back, Harry found a 330 mm ebony wand with an acromantula spinneret core. Tan also decided Harry's custom wand would be 240 mm.

Harry was not even put out when his two new wands set him back ten thousand galleons. He smirked though. Tan gave him the holsters for free.

"Headmaster."

"Yes, Severus."

"It has been three years. There has been no trace at all. Potter has not been recorded as dead. It appears he has completely disappeared from muggle society. Either the muggle government has decided to hide him for some reason; he is dead and again the muggle government has hidden that, or, he is no longer in Great Britain, dead or alive." Severus said with a huff. Albus still had him searching for the boy.

"All of those options do not work for the greater good. If he left the island, can you find him?"

"I don't know. I don't have a full understanding of muggle travel. I cannot track someone if they have left the island."

"That is disappointing. Maybe I can go to Madam Bones."

"Can you trust her?" Severus asked.

"No, I cannot, worse, she will ask too many questions. However, I am not sure we have any choice. I made the Dursleys ask the muggle Aurors to try to track him down. The Aurors told them that they did not have custody and never did. The muggle Aurors were blunt, they would not do anything. That is unusual, I think." Albus stated.

"What did you expect with stupid bigoted muggles? Albus. Petunia was jealous of Lilly. They would never really claim Harry. Though considering what Lilly said about her sister, I can see the muggle Aurors telling Petunia to bugger off, even if they normally would have helped." Snape said.

Regardless Severus, the boy must be found. The only reason I have not gone to Amelia, even with her complications is that I am not sure if she would or could keep the search private from the whole ministry. If the death eaters find the boy first; it would be a disaster." Albus retorted.

"Honestly Albus; must I waste my time searching for the Potter brat?" Severus asked nonchalantly. 'Wherever the boy is, it's better than being with Tunie."

"Severus, you know as well as I; that it is imperative we find him. Or in the worst case; verify that he is dead."

"Fine", Severus sneered before turning with his cape billowing and leaving the office.

"Dam you, Harry. Where are you?" Albus barked.

His plan for Longbottom hadn't progressed. Matron Longbottom had too much security to kill. His few attempts to do so had failed. He could not figure out why.

So, it was essential that Harry comes to Hogwarts so he can mold the boy himself into what the greater good needs. Even though that path would end with the boy being a corpse. One of the two possible boys must die after all at Tom's hand.

"So, what is so exciting that you had me cancel my son's classes today, Mister Croaker?"

"Before I can discuss this with you. Aelia and Harry must make an oath never to discuss this with anyone but us. Also, I need your word."

Harry turned to his aunt and mother. They both nodded. "This should be good."

"As you know, Harry's scar is an issue. Our research has gotten results. Unfortunately, I wish

I did not have to say what we found out." Harry's scar, is inhabited by a soul fragment of Voldemort's. The bastard was prepped to create a Horcrux when he was destroyed. Since that is a rare piece of magic, let me explain what it is. Then we have to do more research because I am not sure how it happened." Croaker started.

"Here is what I know about the Horcrux magic. It is foul magic. Herpo the Foul came up with it. A wizard uses murder to harm their soul. They then rip part of their soul and put it in some other object. They do this to gain quasi-immortality. Until all the fragments are destroyed; the wizard cannot die. The soul fragment makes objects harder to destroy." Croaker said.

"So, the question is how many of those foul things Voldemort created? For him to survive long enough to create the one in Harry, he would have had to have two or more. That is an issue for another time." Croaker continued. "Before you ask, it turns out there are but two choices to destroy the one in Harry's head. One way, we kill Harry." Croaker said sadly.

Aelia drew her wand and pointed it at Croaker.

"Ease down, I will not try to kill him. I am quite fond of him. However, I agree with you that if certain people in the ministry find that out about his scar and horcrux, they will find a way to push the boy through the vale." Croaker said. He wondered if that was Dumbledore's plan for the boy. He was sure that the bastard knew about that Horcrux. Sacrificing a child would be nothing to that bastard.

"I repeat, don't worry, I don't care. I care even less; as it turns out that there is a second method. The Dverger has a method. It is a ritual that will destroy the Horcrux but not Harry." Croaker said.

"What is the catch, Mister Croaker?" Harry asked. He was sure there would be a catch.

Unfortunately, the ritual is illegal in magical England. It would be illegal in any ICW territory." Croaker answered the boy.

"Even us unspeakables cannot do it?" Aelia was shocked. The DoM could do many rituals most people could not because they were labeled dark.

"The crux of the ritual, three humans must be killed; sacrificed with a knife, heart, and blood. Yes, before you ask, Harry, any three humans; even muggles. The blood will be used to bind seven magicals to Harry. Then Harry will have to kill them with the killing curse. There is no way I could get approval to have the ritual done in any ICW areas." Croaker flatly stated.

"Isn't Gringotts sovereign territory; and outside of ICW control?" Harry asked. He knew Croaker would not bring this up unless there was a way, they could do the ritual.

"We would never violate the law. We should not speculate on something like that. However, since we are talking in the hypothetical, I can answer, yes, you are correct; Gringotts isn't in ICW territory, by treaty." Croaker smirked.

"I have also found out some information, you should know Harry. One of your prior neighbors, Miss Arabella Figg is a squib. Why this is interesting, she is receiving money from the chief warlock. I assume the money she was paid was to watch you and report back to the bastard. As an aside; the Dursleys also received money from Albus to house and feed you. Arabella has a blood-based charm at her home that detected your health. That might explain some of the partial magical healing you received. Getting back to the charm. It would show that you were not wholly healed; though there is no real excuse that you were only partially healed. Now to be nice, in case you ever want to ask her about it personally, her house is connected to the floo network. Arabella Figg's house is the address. Squibs having floo access is normally illegal. She is protected by the chief warlock." Croaker said.

On Harry's tenth birthday, Merlin Doe flooed directly inside Gringotts. He found it amusing that he had another identity whenever he was not behind his house wards. It was also a luxury to leave the estate. Despite that he loved living there, he occasionally wanted to see more and get away from his sister, but he would never tell her that.

He walked up to an open teller. Once the goblin looked at him, he said, "Greetings Goblin, may your hoard ever increase."

The goblin was shocked that a wizard of any sort would greet him properly. "May your enemies fall before you. What can I do for you, wizard?" The goblin replied. It wasn't in the same hostile tone normally used on wizards.

"I have a meeting with Hooksnarl in ten minutes. Could you please assign me an escort to his office, sir?" Getting another shocked look from the goblin. Wand waivers never showed up early. Nor did many arrange an appointment in advance.

Still surprised at this polite wizard, the teller summoned over a runner. "Griphook, take this wizard to Hooksnarl."

"Follow me wand wielder," Griphook stated.

He followed the goblin. As Harry entered into the office of Hooksnarl; Hooksnarl waved him to a chair. The goblin did not look like he had good news. Harry hoped the news wouldn't be terrible though.

"Greetings Hooksnarl, may the blood of your enemies fill your coffers with gold."

"May your coffer ever overflow, Mister Doe," Hooksnarl replied.

"To start, Mister Doe, the goblin nation has not been able to fulfill all your requests. The mail ward is backed by ministerial decree. We cannot break it because of that. Another decree sealed your parents' wills. It will take a two-thirds vote of the Wizengamot to change your magic guardian; the same requirement to remove the mail ward or open your parents' wills."

"There are two ways you can fix both of these problems. Have a member of the Wizengamot, put the request to a vote. I doubt that way would work; you would not get enough votes unless the same person that started this perfidious dealing changed his mind. The other option is you turn seventeen and become head of house Potter. There is nothing but your death to stop this method. So, we think your magical guardian wants you to die before you are seventeen."

"Any other information? And is there anything I can do at all?" Harry whined. He was more than pissed at the chief warlock. That shagger must stop meddling in his life. If there was one more item where the animal slag interfered; he would put Albus Dumbledore on his to-kill list. No matter how powerful the wizard is, a double tap to the back of the skull will seriously mess up his day. Nor would two bullets care that he was the chief warlock of the Wizengamot.

"Yes, your magical guardian has the Potter trust vault key. As a warning, he is still looking for you." Hooksnarl stated. He agreed with his client; Dumbledore was Harry's foe.

"We have not been idle though. We have made some progress. We know who your magical guardian is. It is Albus Dumbledore. We do not know why, but at least we were able to all tie it back to him." He said with shame.

That explained it all to Harry. It was Dumbledore who sealed your parents' wills. He was behind the mail ward. He used his office as the chief warlock to fuck with Harry's life. Such an abuse of power. The bastard had to die.

Waiting for a response and getting none, Hooksnarl continued. "We can handle the key. To do this, we had to work with the solicitor we have set you up with. They will also be on retainer starting midnight September first."

Harry smiled. "Leave the key issue for now, I don't want to give any forewarning. Now, the other major issue, I will provide one hundred thousand galleons, so that we will rent out a ritual space in the bank. I want to do the ritual you discussed with Croaker. It will cause issues with my magical guardian; I was told." Harry had an issue with the bastard. He was sure that Dumbledore knew and had done nothing about the Horcrux in his scar. So, removing it would screw up whatever plan Albus had regarding it.

"Excellent Mister Doe. You will just need to provide the volunteers. It can only be done on either Mid-Summer or Mid-Winter Day. If you promise it will hurt Dumbledore; we will cut the price in half."

"You can take mine and Croaker's word that it will. So, I have a year to come up with a lot of money. And my ten ritual helpers, hmm. I can do that." Harry said while he laughed.

"I can't wait to let the bastard know. The look he will give me when he learns I did such a ritual just to bite him in his arse." Harry had an evil grin now. "How much funds have my family accrued in my Rookwood trust vault?" "One thousand gallons." Hooksnarl evilly grinned.

"Shit." Harry sounded downcast. "How much is left in my Potter trust vault?"

"Fifty thousand galleons, for now. The vault paid your entire Hogwarts tuition. So, you should not expect any major deductions. Though, I am sure your solicitor will increase your vault size soon. You know all the Harry Potter books. I doubt that they got approval from you to use your name." Hooksnarl laughed. He loved when wizards fucked each other over, and this boy was planning on doing a lot of shagging.

"Let me guess, you as my account manager, get a percentage of the spoils." Harry laughed.

Hooksnarl nodded.

"It should be more than enough. So next midsummer's eve." Harry stated. Harry stood and started to the door. "Have a pleasant day Hooksnarl. And may your hoard ever grow."

"Before you leave. We did find something you need to know about. You have a marriage contract with Ginevra Molly Weasley. It was signed by Molly Prewet and Albus Dumbledore." Hooksnarl expected an explosion; instead, he saw the young wizard look thoughtful and amused.

"When was it created?" This was disturbing. The game started before he even knew. Was Albus the reason his parents died? It looked like it. With this; he was sure that bastard had something to do with their deaths. Or at least; Dumbledore didn't save them.

"It was signed on November fifth, 1981. The day after Dumbledore got himself assigned as your magical guardian by orders of the chief warlock. Albus was the chief warlock at the time. The girl's mother signed not her head of house.

"So, I have until I turn seventeen to take care of that issue, right?"

"Correct. Only Albus can cancel it before then. The contract is iron-tight. It even has a penalty clause for infidelity; your infidelity, not hers."

"What if she doesn't survive?"

"That would also cancel it, Mister Doe," Hooksnarl responded with understanding. "Just to let you know, there is a bride price of one million galleons, due when you marry her. I will be honest. That is beyond an extreme amount. Just so you know, it would take the deaths of both her and her mom for you to avoid paying any of it. You have already had to pay a fifty thousand galleon down payment when Dumbledore signed it. Plus, the ten thousand signing fee from Misses Weasley. These sums only affect your family vault. Not your trust vault."

"If the girl died, would her family have to pay the fifty thousand part back?"

"Yes; only after her mother legally acknowledges that there is no female to replace her. Minus her signature fee. If both die; just as soon as their life crystals go black you would get the entire amount back. That family is poor; to be blunt; if her family could not refund you; your solicitor will need to deal with them." Hooksnarl said.

"Interesting, and good day, Hooksnarl," Harry said as he left.

"Are you sure you are ready, Harry?"

"Yes, Mister Croaker."

"First, just Croaker. Second, if we do this, once it starts, any hesitation will get all three of us killed. So again, can you kill?"

"Do I have enough hate to cast the killing curse, no, I am sure I cannot, reliably. Can I cast any other spell that will kill someone, yes; easily even."

"What about slitting a throat?"

"If they are evil, yes. Or to save my life. I would prefer not to for my first kill. However, if it is necessary, I would."

"Good enough; the targets are death eaters that the ministry thought low enough level to do nothing against them. Unspeakable Mace here will help with this mission."

"Is this a kill on sight; or do I need five for ah, something or other?" Harry asked.

"There will be eleven of them. If we kill too many, we can find others for our needs. They only have to be put out of action, dead, captured, disappeared, whatever is easiest." Croaker smirked. Harry smiled at that.

Croaker was wondering who the other five targets would be.

"Mace will bring up the wards to prevent our friends from leaving. We then cast in tandem. My bombarda maxima will hit the door. Yours will go inside and cause mayhem. Then we kill any that are still up casting." Croaker whispered. "When Mace drops his hand, cast. Put as much power as you can into it."

The unspeakable named Mace, dropped his hand. Croaker was surprised at how powerful Harry's bombarda spell was. It made this easy, only three wizards came out of the door. Each was killed before they could do anything.

Harry dropped his with a piercer to the heart. Mace and Croaker used the killing curse.

Harry smiled after entering the room. Most were stunned; not dead. "Mace, heal, and bind all of them. Please take two back and question them. We will take the others." Harry smiled.

Once Mace left, Harry bent over and threw up.

Croaker looked shocked.

"What, I found a spell that causes me to vomit at will. I can cast it both wordlessly and wandlessly. You fell for it. I want to give the Aurors what they will expect. Since I will have never killed before, a good person would react. That will be my reaction. After all, I plan on getting lucky on the express."

Croaker started to laugh. "Just to give you the right mental perspective, for say you want to cast an unforgivable, all these death eaters were servants of Augustus. So, they cheered your adopted uncle on when he raped and beat your aunt. They have raped and killed other young girls."

"All of them?" Harry asked, Croaker just nodded. Harry face turned harsh.

Harry turned to look at one of the bound death eaters. This one was scowling at him. "Avada Kedavra," Harry said. A green light left his wand. He saw the death eater he targeted die when the green light hit him.

Croaker patted Harry on his arm. "You are ready for the ritual, good job. Technically, you just earned a one-way trip to Azkaban." Harry beamed with pride.

Things had been going well, his solicitor had gained him almost a million galleons from the stupid book publishers. Better still, Dumbledore had heard nothing about it. Time to get the last two participants. Now that Croaker taught him glamour, he could get the bastard he wanted.

He had two debts to pay.

At the same time in Scotland, Albus was pacing. His plans for the greater good were not going well. Madam Longbottom had kept Neville from him. The only good was that Albus had gotten the old bitch to require Neville to use his father's wand.

The news on Harry was bleak. Albus was sure the boy was alive. Once, when he was at the ministry, he came across a document stating that the boy was allowed to enter the DoM. He could not find out why the document existed or who approved it. The only reason for that document was that Harry was still alive; there could be no other explanation. When Albus asked the head unspeakable; the man denied any knowledge of Harry or the documents.

This was further proven when Albus had gotten Cornelius to order Croaker to allow him to go see the hall of prophecy. The orb holding the prophecy between Tom and Harry was missing. It was another thing that Croaker denied having any knowledge about the orb either.

This was a mystery when Albus asked the welcome witch office at the ministry; none of them recognized Harry or had any record of the boy coming into the ministry.

This left questions. Was the boy alive? Did the DoM know about the prophecy? Did they somehow destroy it? Had Tom somehow retrieved it? Had it been completed? None of the options were likely. Worse; none of them worked for his greater good.