Chapter 8: the start of a new adventure
Harry was awakened from his slumber by the creaking of the steps of the stairs. Keeping his eyes closed and focussing on his hearing, the incessant trembling give the culprit' identity away.
'So the baby whale already awake? Ah, right, the birthday.'
Not bothering with Dudley attempts to pass through the stairs, yelling like a monkey, he pushed his body out of bed. Exiting the smaller room and climbing down after his ablution was done, he nimbly dodges the meaty fist who smack against the wall. Seeing his attempt fail, Dudley smile turn into a frown. He would have tried to hit Harry again, if not for his mother calling.
"Popkin, breakfast ready!"
"Coming mommy!" Yell him from the corridor, before turning to Harry."Your lucky today, freak!"
Shaking his head at the false act of the fat boy trying to be tough, he exits the house.
On his way to the park no far, Harry remiss of the last years. Like he was thinking, he had ended with the Dursley's. The same cupboard that would have been Harry's chamber was his too.
~~~
This was as far that the similitudes stop, however. Unlike the canon Harry, he hadn't taken any shit from them. When they had tried to force him to work in the house from four, he had refused. This was the first and only time that Vernon had raised his hand on him. He had been confined in the cupboard for three days for this, but the second he was out, he had bolted to the nearest police station, and tell everything.
This had led the constables to visit Little Whinging after he had been brought in front of medics. When the injuries have been confirmed to be done by a large and adult person, they immediately escort him back.
What ensues had been a shameful sight that had Petinua nearly turn hysteric. Having her husband to be arrested for child abuse in the middle of the street in the morning had destroyed their face in the neighbourhood.
Vernon, after being fired from his job once it was reported, now enjoyed a penitential lodging pay by the crown. Condemned for 10 years straight after Harry testimony, and forensics investigation. Further investigation had lead to the discovery of Vernon fraud from his position at Gruning and the abuse of the crown stipend for Harry care. This had led to a heavy fine, 6 other years, and the creation of an account for Harry.
Since then, the child service had established a weekly visit, forcing the now single mother to relocate her nephew in the smaller chamber. Without Vernon interference, the state had also discovered that they were actually stealing from Harry inheritance left by his parent.
This had stirred a storm when the news broke. Petunia social life had died a painful death and had forced her to found work. Unwilling to leave them any change, Harry had asked the social worker to stop the stipend he receives from the crown, saying that his parent inheritance would be more than enough to survive.
In doing so, he had cut Petunia last chance to live on his money. She had then cut Marge's allowance herself, paid by Vernon assurance, to feed her and Dudley, barely working to stay a housewife and maintain their living condition.
~~~
From this, Dudley stays a bully, putting the situation on Harry back, from the influence of his mother and aunt, when she was still alive. The cow of a woman had drunk herself to death after hearing that her brother will pass at least 10 years in jail.
At now 6, soon to turn 7, Harry was nothing like he would have been otherwise. With healthy nutrition, he had kept his striking features. Tall of 125 cm for 25 Kg, he was the epitome of healthiness contrary to Dudley small and large frame.
A regular amount of exercise had seemed him starting to form a lithe frame hiding a surprising strength for his age.
He had received his mother delated portkey as she had programmed, allowing to offset the damage the Dursley's where starting to inflict his body. He touched neither the Galleons and pounds full trunk. He didn't attempt to enter the wizarding world yet, and the stipend from the Potter Vault was more than enough to keep him well feed and decently clothed.
The only other expense it was used for was for books. Since Harry requires the presence of his social worker to retrieve the money, not discrepancies was possible, being the principal reason Petunia fail to extort him.
Until now his only introduction to the wizarding world was the collection of book Lily had hand-picked for him. There wasn't much, but it was more than enough not to leave him completely ignorant.
He had put Snape gift to good use, and thank a beginner book on salves; he had accumulated a small collection of hand-made balm from a common plant found in the wild. They were nothing like their magical equivalent, but it had given him and head-start on the proper step of harvesting, cutting and preparation. Some had an even better result than mundane medicines.
~~~
"Only 38 days before my seven years, then I will finally awake my Bloodline." Softly sight him while making his way in the forest.
~Flashback~
Woken by the brush of the cold breeze of August night, Harry difficultly surface. Feeling his body restricted somehow, he tried to stay calm and analyse the situation. Looking straight, he could outline a doorstep. Knowing that it wasn't that long since the night from the still numbing pain on his head, he understands that he was indeed on the Dursley step.
It was at this moment he sees that one of his two ongoing Objective icons was shining softly.
{[Objective: Side "Fuck the timeline!"]
Dumbledore wants a pawn to create his self-fulfilling his prophecy, make in sort that it doesn't happen.
Condition: Create an event strong enough to deviate the original timeline.
Reward: a life changing oportunity.}
~Flashback~
The cryptic message had puzzled him, but soon forget about it.
Somewhat lose in his thought, he didn't see that he was now quite deep in the little wood surrounding the community of Surrey. By the time he regains his spirit, he was facing a small opening in the side of a small rock formation.
~~~
Stopping for a moment, he takes out one of his four trunks. Swiftly opening it, he retrieves his iron potion knife, before returning the chest to the link. Carefully making his way in the crack large enough to let him barely pass, he cautiously advances.
Thankfully, the morning daylight was enough to give some light. After tens of meters, his suspicion grow, when feeling the smoothed walls of the narrow rock corridor. Humans had visited this hole enough to feel the need to smooth the walls, either by the necessity of pure aesthetic; he was leaning for the second.
After what could be around a good hundred meters, the corridor abruptly twists on the left, nearly perpendicular, and go down rapidly. Seeing the step craved in the rock surface, he quickly was discarding human action. They were too perfectly carved and maintained to be human.
The fact that a magical species had dwell here was raising bell in his mind, stopping him for going down. Thinking of the fact present, and his meagre knowledge, he could think of a few possibilities.
First, they have to have been humanoid and possess a certain amount of intelligence, and more importantly, magical might of some amplitude. From this, the only possible being he could think of was three race. Wizards, goblins or dwarves, those were the only race he knows of the HP universe able of such thing and willing to go underground, even if he had some reservation for wizards.
The problem with this reasoning was, wizards would never debase themselves to dwell underground, he wasn't even sure goblins would allow another race to breach in their territories on the isles. From the same thoughts, Goblins and Dwarves would never allow human settlement to stay near them and would have used wide-area wards to be sure of this.
This sent him back to zero, useless it was another dwelling race he was unaware, but then again, goblins, so...
Looking at the step, he could see that they seem a little too large for what goblins would use, the fact that they were perfectly geometrical didn't mix with his idea of a goblins' dwelling.
The only left possibility he was thinking, was a hermit wizard. If that was the case, there was the possibility of a particular legacy sleeping there for who knows when.
~~~
A little giddy at the possibility of such adventure, he takes a deep breath, tightens his grip on the blade, and cautiously made his first step.
The moment his foot weighted on the step, a small pale blue flame light up at the edge of the steps and each side, near the wall. With the new three steps lighten, he slowly made in the way down.
Looking back, he was relieved that the enchantment in place seems to maintain the fire until he was around ten or so step far. Keeping a glance on his watch, he has been going down for the last ten minutes and still hadn't seen the end.
He didn't know how far he was underground but had surely pass tens of meters.
Twenty minutes later, he finally was at the end of the staircase. From the straight and slight twist, he wouldn't be surprised to be far from Little Whinging by now. Like the stair, the moment, he steps into the room at the end of the stair, fire lit up, bathing the surrounding into a soft blue light.
~~~
From the torch on the wall, he could make that the looby like space was around the size of his room in N°4, what was surprising was to see a completely smooth wall on the three sides, bare empty four-pointed heaters on the front wall.
He put his hand on the craved surface, inside the shield. After a few second, he could feel a slight draining-like sensation as a soft and nearly imperceptible 'humm' was heard.
The drain on his magic stop as a flash of white light encases the shield, before the Evans crest appears, the side of the wall soundlessly caves in, giving access to the room behind.
Like the last time, light gradually appears, allowing his sight to acclimate slowly. This time the space was as large as the entire ground floor of the Dursley's house. In the middle of the room, an extensive array was craved in the rock itself. In from of what he thought a ritual circle stood a pedestal.
Making his way to it, he found two items resting on the marble-like column raising hip-height.
The first was a single edge thin and long knife made of an unknown metal for him. The sheer numbers of runes running the length of the handle and blade were making think of some ritual blade.
To its side was an engraved message surprisingly spelt in English.
'For those searching to attain unfathomable height, the travel started by nothing but the first step. Life started in its most natural form and end by the return of origin. Like the pure newborn, you must cleanse yourself of any dreg before starting your travel.'
Looking at the ceremonial blade, the circle and the message, Harry ponder for a moment before taking a decision. Returning his potion knife to his case, he respectfully takes hold of the ritual knife.
The second he had the blade in hand, a rush of pieces of information invade his mind, imparting with a single ritual, a cleansing one, the one referred in the message. Absorbing the meaning of the ritual, Harry was more than willing to undergo it.
Having no reason to distrust the knowledge imparted after everything that had to happen until now, he returns the blade on the pedestal the time he shades off his clothes. He would have done for his bracelet to if he wasn't made aware that any heavily attenuated items must be worn. After having worn it for nearly six years, the bracelet had been heavily bathed in his magical imprint during the years.
~~~
Making his way inside the centre of the ritual circle, knife in hand, he takes a deep breath before releasing his hold on it. Joining his two arms, wrists above, he takes another breath and closes his eyes.
Before he could even react, a burning sensation run at the base of his hands. Blood rapidly leaks for his slashed from the hovering ritual knife, which bolts away, out of the circle before the first drop rejoins the ground.
Gritting his teeth at the burning sensations, the circle starts to light-up of an ominous blood-red colour.
'Blood magic!'
The sudden pain wakes him up from the compulsion he was unaware of being subjected for the second he had takes the blade. Already done, he could only grith his teeth and hope that everything would turn alright, knowing what could happen, should he attempts to put an end to the ongoing ritual.
As the light brightens, he finally realises that the pain had vanished from the cut, leaving only a disturbing sensation a the feeling of the blood rushing out of his body. The moment the entire circle was lightened up, he feels the rush of magic entering his naked sole, making it way up.
Slowly the magic fills every cell of his body, cleansing any foreign bodies and magics out of his system. As the magic progress, he could feel it purging his body of any last drop of blood in him, leaving him alive only due to the magic coursing through his veins.
Reaching his head after passing through his legs and torso, he feels it rushing in his arms, the back of his and before turning away, toward his open wrists. As the last drop of blood was extracted, a wild wave of magic pulsed from the circle, eradicating any trace of the past blood.
~~~
In a castle in Scotland, in one of the highest tower and office of the Headmaster, a vast set of trinkets start to give out, their target lost, before blowing up from the transmitted blast of wild magic. The damage done by the explosion wrecked a good part of the office, obliterating an entire collection of phials containing silver thread, and damaging a hidden pensive beyond repair.
On the wall, the closest portraits were peppered with countless shrapnel, shredding them while their occupants still present, eliminating the last trace of the previous headmaster and headmistress. The side of the massive desk facing the shelves wasn't spared too, like a large pile of documents on it. Adding to the destruction, an untouched phial of the same blood contained inside say desk blow up the other side, finishing the piece of furniture, and a large number of essential documents, and a large stash of sweets.
While the rest of the portraits descend in utter pandemonium, the actual holder of the office wouldn't discover the disaster before quite a time yet.
~~~
In the middle of the ritual circle, Harry, suddenly awoken by the strident wailing of another piece of magic being cleansed. As the cries end, the last of his active Objective lit up, shortly followed by a new one.
{[Objective: Side "The right name for the right mind."]
Due to the machination of both James and Dumbledore, you had been, unknowingly deprived of a part of your heritage. See to the restoration of your name!
Condition: Take another identity with your second magical heritage as a name.
Reward: The full awakening of your Evans Bloodline.
[Completed.]}
{[Objective: Main/Side "You resist?! I shall persist!]
Voldemort will come after you no matter what, it only up to you to shape of thing develop afterwards.
Condition: get rid of the soul shard from the after effect.
Reward: A blank soul.
[completed]}
He barely finishes reading the prompt before two sensations assault him at the same time. First, his body morphs into another form the second feel like a flare going out.
*Crack!*
As if some barrier had broken through his mind, he became aware of the previously trapped presence. At the same time, he could feel something else change. Like the fog lifting from the ground, he feels his mind becoming sharper, fully able to support his actual speed of though unhindered. Memories he didn't know have been restricted, resurface, memories that weren't completely his own.
Closing his eyes, he 'feel' and 'revive' everything that had to happen when he enters the HP world. Like this, the identity of the second presence he could feel was revealed.
To say the least, he was astonished from its identity. It wasn't an already existance having hijacked his mind, but a result of Vegapunk experiment. Under the mix of the Neko Neko no Mi, Shinka Shinka no Mi, and his damaged mind and the Shugi Shugi something extraordinary had happened.
From his fractured soul, the Shugi Shugi no Mi had worked on a sliver of it, turning into a fully functional, if infantile soul. The two other Fruits had them act. Using the physical matter of his destroyed body, the SHinka Shinka no Mi had somewhat turned the Neko Neko no Mi into it proper existence. Mixed with the newly born soul, and then with Harry's one, it creates something similar to the 'wolf' of the werewolf.
From his memories, the soul had overtaken the burden of passing into the new world while he was healing.
After his birth, and complete healing, his companion, had been sealed under the world laws until he was able to bring it back on his own.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Linrim
Linrim Sorry for the late chap. Thank you all for your kind words and comment. I'll like to prevent you all now. I don't think that I will make him stay more than the fourth year to the HP world, other than that there few surprise ahead and I like to think, while a little similar that the first, it still unique in it own way. All in all, enjoy and see you on Monday!!
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