1. You Aren't a Wizard Harry

Alteran Mage : HP/SGA Crossover Fic

Rated M for Language (yes that IS a capital "L"), and some adult situations later on. Will be Slash, pairing TBD. (Harry/John; Harry/Rodney; Harry/Carson; John/Rodney are all on the table)

This story will be set starting just after Harry's rampage in Dumbledore's office at the end of fifth year, and in order to get the timelines to properly align, this will be in June 2002. Let's just pretend that Voldemort attacked the Potters on Halloween 1987 and Harry was born July 31st, 1986. Also, we will be using the HP canon (or what I approximate to be canon) timeline for Merlin's character. I think SG1 Canon has Merlin and Camelot based around the 14th Century, I wrote it for the 8th Century since Hogwarts was founded after Merlin's time, and also somewhere in the late 900's. SGA Begins in late 2004 at which point Harry will be 18, and after the universes merge, it won't matter so much what year things are happening in.

All recognizable characters, places, events and ideas belong to the owners of their respective canon. I own nothing and stand to make nothing from this except reviews. Too bad reviews don't pay the bills.

/`/`/`/`

Harry Potter had been wandering for what seemed like hours. Well, it may have been hours, but it also could have only been a few minutes for all that Harry were aware of the passage of time or the bricks under his feet.

_Stupid! STUPID OLD GOAT FUCKER! _ Harry screamed within the confines of his own mind. _Sirius died because that MISERABLE OLD MAN decided that I didn't need to know about the Prophecy. PSHAW!_ _I'm more inclined to trust a tea leaf reading from Dobby than a Prophecy made by Trelawney of all people!_ _Dumbledore seems more than willing to rest the weight of the world on MY shoulders on her word, all without actually DOING anything to prepare me for this._

All of this and an overwhelming sense of guilt for getting the only person in the world who didn't want to use him killed brought Harry to the breaking point. He was about to turn around to give the old manipulative fool a few more pieces of his mind when a voice broke him from his reverie.

"Bad day, childe?"

He spun on his heal to face the portrait hanging on the wall.

"Bay day, sure. Definitely had one of those. Bad week, sure! Why not! Bad year? But of course! BAD LIFE THAT THAT SHITHEAD HAS FORCED ME INTO?! You bet your arse!" Harry was nearly shaking with repressed rage and guilt.

"Well, then. Now that that is out of the way, would you mind terribly following me? I have somewhere very important that YOU need to be."

"Excuse me? I'm not going anywhere with you. Think that I don't know that all the portraits in this place obey that meddlesome berk of a Headmaster? Piss off!"

At this the portrait seemed to be amused which just angered Harry further. Before he could completely blow his top, the portrait hastened to explain.

"That would normally be true, childe. However, I am not just any portrait. Are the history classes being taught now a days so inept that you do not recognize me? Come now, how many wizards carry a staff, childe?" Harry deflated a bit at this while he paused to think. The history classes being offered at Hogwarts really were rather overly focused on Goblin Rebellions and tended to discount historical wizards. However by thinking about the situation logically Harry could only think of one wizard who stood out enough magically to even need a staff. _Merlin._

"Lord Merlin Emrys?" Harry asked with a shaking voice. There weren't supposed to _be_ any portraits of this man, but he was talking to one. Or at least someone who claimed to be him. However upon hearing the appellation Harry bestowed upon him, Merlin's forehead wrinkled (rather a large accomplishment considering how much of it was already in such a state) and he spoke again.

"Merlin will do just fine for now, thank you. The things you wizards come up with! Honestly! Lord Emrys. How ridiculous."

"Sorry, sir. I didn't realize that was a posthumous title. If… uh you don't mind my asking much, sir. What did you mean by 'you wizards'? Aren't you a wizard? And didn't you refer to yourself as one a moment ago?" At this, Merlin began to laugh.

"Oh you are a quick one Harry. I'm glad that I'm finally able to meet you. Tell me, do you know of the Room of Requirement?" at seeing Harry nod he continued, "Well, I seem to have a requirement for a body for a few hours. Meet me there would you?" And with that he exited the frame, but did not reappear in the next like most portraits did when they moved around.

Harry looked around himself for the first time since stopping to talk with the portrait and he realized that he was on the third floor corridor where Fluffy had been kept during his first year. _Good times _he thought to himself, _all I had to worry about then were three headed dogs and _disembodied _Dark Lords. _Harry sighed and started off for the seventh floor.

The door was already present when he rounded the corner of the corridor that house the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy. He entered into a room that was unlike anything he had ever seen before. He expected something from Merlin's mind to have been set out in a small hut, or perhaps a room from Camelot or some such. But this room was large and spacy and seemed to be made out of an almost organic mixture of metal, wood and glass pieces set at strange angles. It almost looked, _futuristic_ which made no sense since Merlin was born in the far distant past. At the end of a large conference table, which looked like an elongated hexagon, sat the man himself. Harry just gaped at him for a long while before finally managing to ask

"How? I mean what? HOW?" Seeing Harry about to have a fit Merlin cast a calming charm on him and then gestured to the chair across from him at the same narrow end of the hexagon shaped table. Harry began again.

"You can still cast magic? Aren't you just… I don't know a portrait body or something?" Merlin's next answer confused Harry even more.

"No. I cannot cast magic. Neither can you. And no I'm not just some portrait body thing" Merlin replied with a wry grin at the end. Merlin noticed Harry was about to call him batty for not believing in the magic he had _just _cast so Merlin cut him off.

"Harry, I know you have a lot of questions, and for once in your life I will give you the complete and honest truth, but I don't want any questions until I'm done and I ask you to keep an open mind. A lot of the things I have to tell you are going to seem completely mad, but once I get to the end I think you will understand most of what I have to tell you. Alright?" Harry's only response was a suspicious half nod. He had been keeping a firm hand on his wand since he realized that whatever this Merlin/Portrait thing was he could cast magic. Not that _Harry_ had any chance if this really was Merlin, he thought grimly. Merlin continued.

"Alright then. First things first, I could not come to you to tell you any of this until you were aware of your destiny. Well, a part of your destiny that is. Destroying Voldemort is very important in the here and now but in the grand scheme of the universe, it's a very small drop in the ocean. The story of my people, or what evolved to be _your_ people starts over 50 million years ago in a completely different galaxy. My people had developed space travel and populated a number of inhabitable worlds all across our galaxy. Those that were not, we made so through the use of advanced terraforming technology. After a while, it became inconvenient to use a ship to travel from world to world so we created the Astria Porta, which opened a stable wormhole between corresponding rings on different planets. This allowed nearly instantaneous travel across the galaxy to any number of worlds, which you could dial using a system not unlike a modern telephone, just with many more options than 0-9.

"Our people flourished for many millennia and then we began to change. Our evolution was progressing to the point where we developed certain abilities. Some were telekinetic, others could heal themselves or others very rapidly. We began to study our own evolution and came to the conclusion that eventually, our brains would possess the necessary power to not only be able to effect the world around us but be able to ascend beyond it into another level of existence. Do you understand so far?"

Halfway through what Merlin had told him so far Harry's eyes had gone wide and his hand dropped away from his wand. It sounded like something that his cousin Dudley would watch on television. Most of the words a wizard wouldn't even _know _much less be able string together into an elaborate lie. He understood what was being said, just now how _Merlin_ of all people would. He just nodded.

"Good. This began what I can only equate to a religious revolution that swept through our people. They called it Origin and they believed that once we ascended we would become gods who ruled over the lower planes. They used the psychic energy that is emitted during prayer to push along the evolution of a few, often breaking thousands of minds in the process when they were left drained, with the promise that they would be saved once the Ori had become gods. That time never came. Some of our people saw this movement for what it was and began to prepare. When the Ori ascended they razed the galaxy of most technology and within a generation a great space-faring race had regressed to simple farmers who worship the Ori and don't understand what they worship. One city-ship out of an armada of thousands survived the purge because it was hidden by those Alterans who knew the threat the Ori and Origin represented. Atlantis, she was called and she fled our home galaxy with all those she could carry away from the madness of the Ori.

"Our people traveled for many years, until they were here, in this galaxy, where they made a new home. We terraformed thousands of planets and seeded them with life that could evolve on its own, and erected a new network of Astria Porta. We made friends with three other races that were nearly as advanced as we were and formed The Alliance of the Great Races. These other species were The Nox, who have a pacifistic society and will not raise a hand against an enemy, even when faced with death by their hands. You might think them naïve for this, but they are a very wise people, and quite capable of avoiding such situations in the first place. The next was a race of beings called The Furlings. They had very different technology than we did, and seemed to experience the universe in more than the usual four spatial dimensions, which affected how they evolved technologically. The last was the youngest race of The Four and they were called The Asgard. They most closely resemble what your culture would associate with the word 'alien' or 'grey' and their weapons and biological technologies are very impressive. The Four Races looked over things both in this galaxy, which we called Avalon and shared with the Nox, as well as the Andromeda and Ida galaxies where the Furlings and Asgard dwelt.

"Things changed again 5 million years ago when a plague struck Avalon. It evaded cure by even our not inconsiderable healing technologies. Eventually nearly everything in the galaxy was dead or dying and Atlantis was the only place that was still untouched by plague. Our allies had been warned to not enter our space until such time as the plague could be eradicated or a cure found. The Nox disassembled their Astria Porta and didn't rejoin the network for many millennia. The Alterans decided to leave this galaxy, but before doing so activated a device which simultaneously dialed every Astra Porta in the galaxy, destroyed all life on those planets and then reseeded each planet with life from an energy pulse sent through the Astria Porta from Earth. It was the only way to purge the plague from the stars. Earth itself was reseeded with a form of humanoid life that the original Alterans descended from. It was their hope that given enough time another great civilization would evolve like theirs did. The Alterans did not travel nearly as far this time.

"They ended up in a dwarf galaxy not far from here where they once again erected a new version of the Astria Porta Network (APN) and seeded the galaxy again with a slightly more advanced form of humanoid life than they left behind on Earth. This had an unforeseen repercussion. On one world in this dwarf galaxy, life had already evolved when our people arrived and when the planet was seeded, these two disparate DNA profiles, one humanoid/one insect, merged into one being. A Wraith. They are vile creatures who over the course of a few thousand years developed a form of interstellar travel and who feed on your very life-force by sucking it out of your chest with their hands. A particularly horrible way to die, if you ask me. In any case, our people naturally felt responsible for the thousands upon thousands of humans that we had seeded these planets with dying every day, so we waged a long a bloody war with the wraith. We had superior technology, but the Wraith are part insect, which means they have a hive mind and are quite capable of producing Drones in huge quantities. We simply could not keep up with how quickly they were reproducing and they laid siege to Atlantis, which was for the third time our people's only safe harbor, where before there were hundreds of settlements and research outposts. When the future was hopeless and the war already lost, what was left of us sank Atlantis to the bottom of the ocean and left through the Astria Porta to Earth to live out the remainder of our days. That was 10,000 years ago. If you'll remember, a few million years had passed since we seeded life through this galaxy, so while we were still more genetically advanced, we could and did marry into the local population. That is where your so called magic comes from. 50 million years of evolution culminated in us, and then later you to produce the abilities you have now, abilities which remained even after a few generations when all of the technological knowledge our race once held was lost. Now do you have any questions?"

Harry's eyes rolled up into his head as he lost consciousness. The only question on his mind was _I'm an alien?! _

/`/`/`/`/`

Sometime later a very groggy Harry lifted his head from the couch he was laying on and immediately shut his eyes and slammed backwards onto the couch. _No. Had to be a dream. Still obviously dreaming. Only dreams here!_ He continued this mantra in his mind for a while before a chuckle broke his concentration. He sat up suddenly.

"Would you mind! I'm trying to forget you exist at the moment and your chuckles certainly aren't helping matters!" yelled Harry.

"Sorry lad, but I can't just cease to exist because you say so. And I couldn't lie to you if I wanted to so trying to convince yourself the truth was a dream is a fruitless exercise"

"You were reading my mind?!" After the disastrous year with Snape on Occlumency Harry was very wary of anyone penetrating what measly defenses he _could_ muster. Merlin however seemed very nonplussed about Harry's indignation, which only made him angrier.

"Of course I was. It's nearly impossible for someone like me not to read an unprotected mind. Asking me not to read your mind is rather like asking me to stop seeing the color blue. It just isn't going to happen." Merlin replied.

"Someone like you?" Harry posed in response.

"Yes Harry, someone like me. I'm sure you can puzzle it out if you think about it long enough based on the information I've already given you." Once Merlin had said that it only took a moment for Harry to put it together.

"You're ascended?"

"Of course I am. Although the branch of the Alterans that we hail from denounced the fanatical ways of the Ori, we still sought ascension. And we managed it in our own way, without sacrificing others and raping their prayers."

"So when did you ascend?"

Merlin laughed. "That's a rather impertinent question Harry. You should never ask someone their age. But to answer you I ascended just before the siege of Atlantis." This answer however, just raised more questions for Harry.

"Then how were you on Earth during the eighth century helping Arthur to raise Camelot to glory and all that?" At this point Merlin actually began to look a bit sheepish and glanced around to a few corners in the room, almost as if he was asking someone permission to answer Harry's query. After another moment he replied.

"Well, you see our branch of the Alteran race call themselves Lantians because of their long history with the city ship Atlantis. When the Lantian people began to ascend they agreed on a set of rules that we would live the rest of our existence under. Most of them don't apply to you, and wouldn't make sense to you if I was to try to explain them, but the biggest one is a non-interference policy. We are not allowed to interact with or alter the mortal plane without permission from all of the other ascended Lantians. This permission has never really been given before. You see, I was on Earth during your 8th Century doing research the others didn't want me to do into how to eradicate the Ori. But that is an entirely different tale for a different time." Again, his answers only seemed to deepen Harry's confusion.

"Aren't you interfering right now by telling me all of this?"

"No. Because while we have sworn not to interfere with the lower planes, all of us agree that certain steps must still be taken. There are many enemies that the Lantians have left in their wake, and all of them will eventually move to take Earth. We may not want to interfere in the affairs of the lower planes but we have no intention of letting the Ori raze the galaxy either. The Ori are unaware of this galaxy or its neighbors, but it will not always be that way. The others have agreed to interfere, as you say, at this time because we believe that the only way to save this and nearby galaxies from total destruction or subjugation of the harshest kind is to raise the Alteran Empire from the ashes in which it has lain in for the last 10,000 years."

"And you what, want _me _to do this? Are you mad? I only just found out that I have an entire Wizarding World depending on me to become a murderer to save them, mere hours after I lost one of the only adults who ever gave a shit about me. I can barely handle the pressure of saving 100,000 wizards and witches in Britain, much less what must be TRILLIONS of people spread out across three goddam galaxies! This is impossible!"

"No Harry, we don't expect you to do this. That weight is too much for the combined people of Earth to bear. It will take the concerted effort of many peoples and many species to bring about peace in this corner of the universe. What we _are _asking you to do is to learn. To allow us to transport you somewhere where you will be able to train to harness your powers as they were meant to be harnessed. We can give you the tools to be able to defeat Voldemort without much issue. I honestly wouldn't worry about it. But what we would like is for you to begin the process of awakening our people from their slumber. Every year thousands of people register as being 'magical' enough to warrant a place in a school like Hogwarts. If only a small percentage of those genetically advanced individuals decide instead to embrace their Alteran heritage, then it will not take very long to repopulate Atlantis with enough people to begin clearing the way for war."

"So you are still asking me to fight a war and free three galaxies!"

"Not directly, not right away. Hell, probably not during your lifetime will those galaxies be completely free. However I think that helping your people to walk amongst the stars again is an admirable goal, and that is all we seek from you. Return the Alterans to the stars, and drag the Wizarding World kicking and screaming into the 21st Century, and then beyond."

To Harry it still seemed like they were just piling people to save in front of him, but he was willing to get Merlin the benefit of the doubt for now, especially if he could receive training. _This _manipulative bastard was at least willing to give him the tools to accomplish the goals he set out. That was enough to put Merlin several steps ahead of Dumbledore. He could just imagine how having technology that wouldn't explode at Hogwarts would be incredibly useful, alien technology to boot. That technology that would give him a definite edge against old Moldy-Voldy.

"What kind of training would I be receiving if I agreed to go with you to wherever it is you want to take me?"

Merlin stood and began making his way towards the door and out into the hallway. Harry quickly followed. He was still amazed by the level of detail that the room was producing at the moment. He had never seen it create a series of rooms and staircases before. It was almost like it was recreating a whole building. He supposed that since the Room responded to the person who required it, and Merlin's mind was literally too large for his body, the complexity the Room was showing made a certain level of sense.

"The Room is currently taking the shape of Atlantis. To come here will be your eventual goal, but many things must be accomplished first. The very first of which is for you to understand the basics of our language, both written and spoken, as well as a crash course in physics and mathematics so that you can begin to understand our technology. Understand that everything we have created up to this point had 50 million years of science and technology behind it, so it might be awhile before you can catch up."

By the time Merlin had spoken they had left the conference room where they began talking and moved down three levels. They entered a room that was empty except for the large, glowing blue chair in the center of the room.

"Now the Room cannot reproduce this place so exactly that this chair would be operational, but it will still do for an explanation. These chairs are how our people control quite a few of the systems that we have designed. It allows one person to take the place of many crew members by interacting with the system mentally, but it is also able to reverse the flow, and instead of receiving commands from you, it will download information directly into your mind. This obviously must be done in stages so that your mind can absorb the material that it is presented with, but you will find that it is a useful learning tool. Would you like to receive this training?"

Harry thought about the war that he was going to have to fight. Not the intergalactic one, the jury was still out on if he would take up the mantle of returning his people to the stars. But he was destined to fight one with Voldemort, and any help he could get would… well… help.

"Yes I'll go with you to receive this training."

And with that Harry Potter disappeared from Hogwarts in a flash of white.

AN: Well… that's chapter 1. I know it was mostly really dry, but I wanted to set down my own canon history right at the beginning. I know some of the Alteran history is inaccurate and over simplified. So are the origins of the Wraith, exactly what kind of life got seeded where and when, and some other things, but they will not be all that significant to the story, and if they become so I can edit them later. I'm also just completely turning HP canon on its head at this point, but that's ok, because Harry won't be in England for very much longer ;) . I have Chapter 2 ready to go, and with enough reviews I could be convinced to post it before I have Chapter 3 done.


	2. Ignorance is Never Bliss

See Chapter 1 for Disclaimer and AN

Previously:

"_Yes I'll go with you to receive this training."_

_And with that Harry Potter disappeared from Hogwarts in a flash of white._

When Harry next opened his eyes, he saw a chair very like the one that the Room had shown him. Besides that it would appear that he was in a cave. _A very cold cave _he thought bitterly. Merlin appeared from a glowing ball of light a moment later, and gesturing with his hand, warmed the air of the whole area to a comfortable level.

"There, much better. Now, to see about getting this place up and running."

Merlin started busying himself by pulling out trays of what looked like crystals from the wall before examining each one for defects or blackened areas. Some he stared at for a moment before putting them back in their trays, others he barely glanced at. A few got thrown over his shoulder. Harry assumed those were broken. After about half an hour of dithering with the small blue crystals from the wall, Merlin finally approached the chair and after leaning down revealed a hidden compartment and a large orange crystal. He pulled it out, frowned at it for several minutes before closing his eyes and holding it at arm's length in front of him. There was a blinding flash of white, and when Harry's vision cleared, he wasn't sure if it was the after effects of the flash of light or just his imagination, but the crystal now seemed to be glowing with an inner light. When Merlin pushed it back into its spot at the base of the chair, the entire complex light up like a Christmas tree, and equipment that had not been active in five million years whirred to life as if no time had passed at all.

"Now Harry, we are currently in the Antarctic, quite deep under the ice fields that cover that continent in this day and age. This used to be the location of Atlantis, and this defensive base is the last Alteran outpost on this planet. I think today we will begin with something light before you begin you actual studies once school ends. I took the liberty of copying every book within the walls of Hogwarts, including those in the Professor's private libraries, onto a data crystal which is housed within the chair at this moment. I think we should finish your Wizarding education before we begin your Alteran one. After a few days, once this information settles into your mind you will find yourself a Master in all of the fields of magic taught at Hogwarts, as well as the more esoteric forms of magic that some of the professors study. Shall we?" he asked gesturing to the Chair in the center of the room.

Harry gulped. He was going to have the Hogwarts Library downloaded into his mind? Surely there wasn't enough space. How could he hope to cope with all of that information? It seemed that Merlin was once again reading his mind when he supplied the answer.

"Normal humans at this stage in their evolution use between 10 and 13% percent of their brain, Harry. Currently you are using nearly 40% of yours, and once you begin learning, other portions of your brain will… come online for lack of a better term. You needn't worry about running out of room for things in your head. I've also had the computer sort the subject matter so you will absorb the information on Occlumency and Legillimency first. This will help you organize your mind. All you need to do is sit in the Chair and allow the information to come to you. You don't have to reach out to it, or try to understand it as it comes, your brain will sort it out for you over the next few days. Are you ready?"

Only slightly reassured Harry moved toward the chair and sat down gingerly on the edge. Instantly the chair started to glow at the place where his hands and head would rest.

"The Chair will recline to keep you comfortable Harry and your head must touch the back for this to work. Just relax. You'll only be in the chair for a few hours."

Harry closed his eyes, and with an explosive sigh, relaxed into the chair.

Immediately his senses were assaulted with a swirling mass of color and sound and smell. He couldn't have slowed it down or tried to reach out to it like Merlin told him not to even if he wanted to. He didn't understand how this process was adding to his knowledge, but if he woke up tomorrow the same, at least he wouldn't have wasted more than a couple of hours. Eventually the whirling mass of sensation became too much for Harry's consciousness, and he fell into a deep sleep while the chair did its work.

/`/`/`/`/`

When Harry regained consciousness, he was still in the Chair; however he had to have rolled onto his side at some point. The Chair, not being designed to be slept in in such a fashion, was digging into him at awkward angles. He stretched and looked around for his newfound mentor.

Merlin was watching the young lad get the kinks out of his back with fondness. _So much depends on him. So many. We must aid him in destroying that cancer he walks around with in his head before the end of summer. To delay longer would be disastrous. _

Meanwhile Harry was examining his new occlumency barriers. The chair decided that since master occlumens do not have to consciously keep their shields up, it stored all of that information and the ability it conferred into his subconscious. The result was an instantaneous and extremely powerful shield around his mind. Harry could still call up the salient details about the procedure most go through to learn Occlumency and its effects if he needed to, but mostly those details never entered his mind, his mind just absorbed the information and _did it._ It was almost like he learned it long ago and now he just understood it.

Things were still rather confusing for Harry. He suddenly knew a spell for just about everything. He didn't necessarily need all of this information, and it kept popping up at odd intervals, as if each fact that had been downloaded was trying to get his attention all at once.

"Easy now Harry, don't try and recall too much of the data all at once. Your thought patterns for the next three days or so are going to be rather all over the place. Almost like you have a severe case of attention deficit disorder, but it will pass soon enough. The next time you use the chair the process will take less time, and so on, until it will get to the point that the moment you stand up from the chair, it is as if you always knew these things that were in fact just placed in your mind. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I think strangely enough that I did in fact understand that. What about things that definitely require practice? For instance I can recall nearly every facet of the animagus transformation, but I have no idea what my form is."

"Ah, well there is always the animagus revelius potion if you insist on becoming one. The form can be quite useful, depending on your animal. But to your general question, those magical gifts that you have not already been taught how to do subconsciously like occlumency will simply require you to actually try them. But not until your mind settles completely. It wouldn't do to exhaust your body and your mind all in one go, would it?"

"No. I suppose not." Harry grinned. It felt good to smile. And he actually felt good despite the fact that Voldemort was out to kill him. Despite the fact that he had just lost Sirius. It was like all of the information he had wouldn't allow for emotions to engulf him. He hoped that once his mind settled his normal emotional responses would return. With the spell arsenal of the whole of Hogwarts at his fingertips, he was already extremely more prepared than he was six hours ago. Perhaps he was not prepared enough yet, but he was a lot closer than he would've been if Albus Dumbledore had anything to say about it.

Thinking about Dumbledore had the unfortunate side effect of bringing to mind everything he had learned from the Headmaster's Library and Dumbledore's own journals. Horcruxes. Bits of Dark Lord scattered all around Britain, perhaps the world, hiding in who knew what objects. Voldemort was immortal. The diary he destroyed in second year was a HORCRUX and the old man had never told him. He lied again even though he swore he would tell Harry everything when he told him the Prophecy. Most disturbing to Harry was one particular journal entry made at the end of his second year.

"_Fawkes has just returned with the Potter boy and his friends, along with that imbecile Lockhart, from the Chamber. On my desk before me are the remnants of what I believe to be one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. I have long suspected that Tom chose the darkest of paths possible to obtain his immortality, but now there is proof. This also casts a rather large shadow on young Harry. His parselmouth ability was frightening enough by itself, but when looked at in conjuncture with this evidence of how unstable Tom's soul had to have been when he was cast out of his body I now believe that Harry's scar itself is a Horcrux, and he will have to die to rid the world of Voldemort."_

Holy shit.

Dumbledore wasn't just not preparing Harry, he was doing everything in his power to make sure that Harry was weak when he faced Voldemort, so that he would die, and hopefully by then be the last Horcrux, rendering the bastard mortal. Dumbledore must've had his suspicions about Harry's scar right from the start, why else would he place Harry in a home that he knew would be and was abusive?

"_**You had suffered. I knew you would when I left you on your Aunt and Uncle's doorstep. I knew I was condemning you to ten dark and difficult years…"**_

Not only that but in an effort to keep Harry week he had sabotaged a whole generation of magical children. Harry now understood why every Defense professor they had ever had was completely incompetent except for Lupin, and he was only there during third year because Sirius had escaped. If the  
Marauder you cannot control escapes from prison, get Harry close to one whom you can control. Speaking of Sirius, Dumbledore was Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump in 1981, how exactly was it that he was unaware Sirius Black had never had a trial? Had he allowed Sirius to spend those years in Azkaban so that Harry would have to go to the Dursley's home and become the malleable little orphan that Dumbledore wanted, no, needed Harry to be? It seemed that he had room for emotion after all, and all he could feel at the moment was rage. Seeing that Harry was about to lose his temper and control of his magic in a serious way, Merlin transported them to the surface.

Harry gave no mind to the suddenly below zero temperatures as he screamed. Much like it had in Dumbledore's office, his magic rose to the surface of his skin, only this time it exploded out from him in a sphere of heat that vaporized the ice and snow for ten feet in every direction. His rage spent and his magic exhausted, he collapsed into the bowl shaped depression he had just carved into the ice and Merlin took them back below the ice so that Harry could rest again. At least this time Merlin could place him in a conjured bed instead of having to leave him in the Chair.

When Harry next awoke he felt as if he had been run over by a lorry, but his mind seemed to be in much better shape. Good enough shape that he must've been unconscious for several days. He sat up slowly, and reached over to the table beside his bed for his glasses. He put them on and spotted Merlin sitting in a chair a few feet away from the bed with his eyes closed. He was muttering under his breath and Harry assumed he was either meditating or speaking with other ascended. He soon opened his eyes though and noticed that Harry was awake.

"Well then Harry. Feeling better? You've been asleep for four days sleeping off the exhaustion from your magical outburst. I had to put this station in a time dilation field so no one would miss you. Couldn't have you missing for more than a few hours from Hogwarts, could we?"

"Yeah, I feel much better thanks. I guess my mind was still processing while I was unconscious because I think I've got a pretty good handle on my new knowledge. It's no longer like I memorized every word from every page anymore, it's more like I read all those books over that last few years and now I just… understand. This is great!"

"Very good. Now, you'll find that with that knowledge comes quite a bit more power. You still have the same amount of magic that you did before but you'll have a lot more control over it now. You won't waste energy you don't need on spells or charms any longer, and with your improved brain functions you'll find nonverbal and wandless magic easier than most wizards since they require a large amount of concentration. You had quite a bit of power before, but now you'll be rather formidable Harry."

"That makes sense, I guess. You keep referring to magic as magic. Didn't you say at Hogwarts that was we can do isn't really magic?"

"Ah. Well that's just semantics I suppose. Technically speaking, no you aren't _magical_ as in supernatural. You are an Alteran/Human hybrid with the ability to focus zero point energy through your body and modify the exotic particles contained therein to perform a function based on your will. But that is an awful lot to say every time I refer to your powers. Magic works nicely instead. Also when I refer to the level of power a witch or wizard has, it isn't really that they have that much magic in them waiting to be used. When you cast magic you draw energy directly from the universe itself, from all around you in every dimension. So it would be more apt to say that a particularly strong witch or wizard actually has a very large capacity for channeling exotic particles. It is more about potential power than actualized power. Again, it's easier to say that they have a lot of magic. In a lot of ways, your people have taken what the Alteran race can do to new heights. Since you have forgotten your technological history, you have focused strictly on defining and expanding your power in a non-traditional way. For all intents and purposes, it really is magic. Do you understand?"

"Right. No need to alter my world view then. Magic is magic. I'm just going to start actually learning why, which not many wizards seem to be bothered with."

Merlin laughed. "Exactly"

"Right. So what's the plan then? I can't allow Dumbledore to continue on like he is or he might get desperate and try to off me himself one day. I'd rather not have to kill him back, barmy old codger or not."

"I believe that Dumbledore can be reasoned with once we remove that bit of filth from your forehead. He'll be able to scan you and see that the soul piece is no longer there. He might believe it had migrated and taken you over, but an oath on your magic that you are Harry James Potter-Black will set his mind at ease. Your soul carries your name and if Tom Riddle had taken you over then magically speaking your name would be Tom Riddle, and your magic will not allow your soul to lie during an oath."

"Potter-Black?" This had Harry a bit flummoxed. Why would his soul be carrying Sirius' last name?

"Yes Harry. Sirius left a will with the Goblins of Gringott's. They don't really care for Ministry edicts about the guilt or innocence of someone, especially when that someone is Lord Black. You see your godfather was blasted off the family tree, yes, but he was never formally disowned by his Head of House, his still living grandfather. When the world thought he betrayed your parents to Voldemort, the then Lord Black went to his grave happily knowing that his heir was a Death Eater after all, and when Voldemort returned the new Lord Black would rise from Azkaban. It was rather unfortunate from him that Sirius was in fact innocent but he never learned that fact. Sirius in turn left everything to you, including the Black Lordship. It will require a blood ritual to join you to the family, but the benefits of being a Lord twice over are rather large in your world."

"Lord twice over? Are you telling me there is a Potter Lordship I didn't know about as well? I'm a Lord?!"

"Yes Harry, there is quite a bit that Dumbledore did to weaken you that you are still unaware of. I think it's time for another session in the chair. A very short one this time. You need to learn Alteran. When you awake you will be in your bed in Gryffindor. Enjoy the rest of the week at Hogwarts and try to relax. Grieve for Sirius, for your life is going to be picking up speed during the summer. I will visit you again after you have met with the Goblins. I'm sure that you will be able to give your minders from the Order the slip for long enough to get to Diagon Alley. You must remain unseen though; it wouldn't do for you to be caught out and about just yet. Do you recall the ritual to remove the trace from yourself and your wand?"

Harry nodded. He was already planning on doing that the very first night he was back at Privet Drive. He wasn't fool enough to think he could gain enough sway over Dumbledore in a week to put a stop to this particular summer of hell, but he would make it as enjoyable as he could. And by this time next year he wouldn't need to have anything more to do with anything named Dursley. He was only missing one ingredient for the ritual. One phoenix tear. He would have to try calling on Fawkes when he got back to Hogwarts.

"Good. Visit Gringott's after you have cleansed your magic. It'll deal with not only the Ministry Trace but also any tracking charms Dumbledore or whoever else might have on you. I think you will find the Goblins particularly useful if you greet them in Alteran."

"You're telling me the Goblins are aliens? Anything else that exists in the magical world that is not from this planet?"

"Yes of course there are. There isn't really anywhere else on earth that such beings could blend in like they can in the magical world. Phoenixes are born in the heart of a star, and only live as long as that star burns. Granted, stars burn for billions of years, so to you they are quite immortal. So Fawkes is from incredibly far away, as are all phoenixes. I think you will find Fawkes incredibly helpful once he smells the awakening Alteran in you."

"Why is that?"

"Fawkes will recognize that you must know at least a little of your true history if you have begun to interact with Alteran technology. Your brain is changing biochemically as a result of interacting with the Chair, and will continue to do so until you reach your maximum capacity which could be anywhere from 75-85% activity of your total brain mass. If you seek ascension when you are older, that number will continue to increase then, that is if you are successful at all. I think that Fawkes will be excited to know that the Alterans might one day soon walk amongst the stars again."

"So the phoenixes knew our people when they were still colonizing worlds?"

"Yes Harry, and it heartens me greatly to hear you call them our people. The phoenixes and Nox were the only life forms to survive the purge our ancestors ignited to rid Avalon of the plague. The Nox had long since quarantined their worlds and the phoenixes lives are tied to their stars. They were not susceptible to the plague in any case, even though their tears could not heal it."

"Wow. Phoenix tears cleared my blood of basilisk venom, so that must've been one serious plague."

"It was."

It seemed Merlin didn't want to discuss anymore history at the moment, so Harry took it upon himself to wander over to the Chair to learn Alteran. Before he sat down he turn around again to face the man… being… whatever… that had radically changed the course of his life in the last four days… few hours… who could tell anymore… and found he didn't quite know if he should hate him or fall at his feet in thanks.

"Merlin, you may have set me on a course in life that will be a long and bloody struggle, but you also saved me from being a pawn in this petty war between wizards. I can't help but feel that whatever happens from this point on, my life will be more rewarding in the long run. So thanks, I guess." Merlin smiled.

"You're quite welcome, Harry." So Harry sat down in the Chair for the second time, and immediately fell into a trance like that allowed the Chair to fiddle with his mind without overloading his senses and causing him to black out. This was thanks to his new skill in Occlumency and would greatly reduce the amount of time it took him to incorporate Alteran into his language center. With any luck he would be fluent by the time he woke up, and no longer breaking out in Alteran when he didn't know it. After all, all he ever heard when he spoke to a snake was English.

AN: So, how do you like my ties of magical theory/ZPE manipulation? Any guesses on why exactly the Goblins would be able to speak or even recognize Alteran? Review Please! Also, the bold/italicized section where Dumbledore admits to Harry just what an evil bastard he is contains JKR's words, not mine.


	3. Lord Potter-Black

Previously:

_With any luck he would be fluent by the time he woke up, and no longer breaking out in Alteran when he didn't know it. After all, all he ever heard when he spoke to a snake was English._

A week has passed and Harry had returned to Hogwarts, and ridden the Hogwarts Express back to London with his classmates. For the last week Harry had been doing a lot of thinking. His friends, once they had been released from the hospital wing, thought that his quiet mood was depression caused by the loss of Sirius and so left him to his grief. While it is true that Harry was grieving, and he would feel Sirius' loss keenly whenever his thoughts turned to the dog animagus, Harry's thoughts were mostly on his future.

He used the week had before returning to his relative's house to plan out the course of his summer. As soon as he was back he would be performing the cleansing ceremony to rid himself of the Ministry Trace on his magic thanks to the tears that Fawkes had given him. Merlin was right in that he had found an ally in the phoenix. Fawkes was waiting for him when he awoke from the session in the Chair that taught him Alteran. He greeted the bird in that very same language and Fawkes had immediately begun singing a joyous refrain and wept into a whole vial of tears for Harry, which could hold up to thirty tears. Harry had way more phoenix tears than he needed for the ritual, but with their healing capabilities he thought that they would come in very handy.

Once he had completed the ritual he would be able to cast magic. After that it wouldn't take all that much to _convince _his relatives to leave him to his own devices for the summer. He would then wait until nightfall before leaving his relatives house under his invisibility cloak and calling the Knight Bus to take him to Diagon Alley. He had business with the Goblins that he didn't want to wait on any longer than he had to.

He was currently in the back seat of Uncle Vernon's car, smashed against the door since Dudley was fat enough to take up three quarters of the backseat. Uncle Vernon was nearly purple with rage from the warning he received from Mad-Eye Moody to treat Harry with respect this summer. Harry doubted that Vernon would be able to keep his rage in check forever, but he should be wise enough to not take it out on Harry until after his first three day check-in. Since Harry planned on being able to cast magic at that point, he was not shaking with terror at the thought of his Uncle's retribution like he would have only a few weeks ago. Sometime during Harry's musings the Dursleys had arrived back at their home at #4 Privet Drive, a house that seemed to not just be made _with _a cookie-cutter but out of one. It was the most perfectly normal house on the block; a fact that the Dursleys were well proud of.

Harry got out of the car, and after dragging his trunk past his glowering relatives, he immediately took it upstairs to his room before Vernon could lock it up under the cupboard. He needed the potions ingredients within it for the ritual he had to perform.

Once he was in his bedroom, Harry drug a chair over to the door and wedged it underneath the doorknob to keep out his relatives while he performed the ritual. All in all, Harry was surprised by the simplicity of the ritual that would remove so many specialized spells from his wand and his own magic. He started by drawing a circle of powdered bicorn horn that was three feet in diameter. He then inscribed a pentagram within the circle in chalk and placed a small sample of each ingredient the ritual required in the five triangles around the center of the pentagram. Starting from the top and moving clockwise each section contained a measure of a specific ingredient; crushed ashwinder egg in the shape of an infinity symbol, a feather from Hedwig (the ritual called for a token from the familiar of the wizard being cleansed), a piece of root from an adolescent mandrake, a sliver of griffin claw and in the last section was the rune Sowilo written his Harry's own blood from a cut he made on his finger. It was the same shape as his scar, which he found apropos, and was the rune of Success as well as Potential Energy and Expansion. The phoenix tear that Fawkes has gifted him went into a different vial with three drops of natural spring water and one drop of hellebore and was placed in the center of the configuration. All told it took Harry nearly two hours to complete the preparations required for this ritual and the sun was beginning to set when he was ready to begin.

He stepped into the center of the pentagram and picked up the vial containing the potion made from phoenix tears. Without further ado he downed the potion. Almost immediately the circle sealed itself around him and the ritual magic began to do its work. To speed along the ritual Harry began a chant under his breath

"Illud quae alii collocavit intra me. Fugiat peregrinarum magicae et expiabis omnibus infra hoc circuli."

He had just finished his twelfth repetition, when there was a flash of warm golden light, and he knew the ritual had been successful. He opened his eyes and looked down at the circle he had drawn and was shocked to see that the circle and all of the ingredients he had laid out were gone. This ritual was not designed to actually consume its constituent parts when performed to rid someone of magical forms of tracking, but would consume them if the person who underwent the ritual had had their magic bound. Since there was no powdered bicorn horn or Sowilo written in his blood on the floor, Harry was nearly positive that Dumbledore had bound his magic, and not removed the blocks when he turned 11. Blocks on magic were quite common amongst Wizarding children, especially the more powerful ones, to prevent them from losing control of their magic in a fit of emotion and leveling a building. But those blocks were ALWAYS removed once the child began their magical education. To perform magic with a bound magical core could permanently remove a person's ability to cast magic at all, and it was a miracle and a testament to the strength of his magic that Harry had made it to 15 without becoming a squib.

_One more sin to lay at Dumbledore's feet. _Harry was beginning to question whether he wanted to attempt to reason with the old man at all, or if he just wanted to eliminate him altogether. With his knowledge of the prophecy, the way he had conducted himself in regards to Harry was definitely criminal, and Harry had no doubt that if he brought everything to light that the old man had done, he would be condemned to the Kiss. But still, if he could be convinced that there was another way to eliminate Voldemort without having to sacrifice Harry on the altar of necessity, he could make a very powerful ally. For now though, he was firmly in Harry's 'enemy' column and would remain there for the foreseeable future.

Having his magic unbound unexpectedly had tired Harry considerably, and he decided he would take a nap before sneaking out of the house that night in order to visit Gringotts. The Wizarding bank was open all through the night in order to accommodate their vampire customers, so Harry wasn't worried about over sleeping. He fell into his bed in a heap and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

/`/`/`/`/`

Several hours later Harry groaned as he began to rouse from slumber. His body was still adjusting to the magic that had been released within him earlier and he was quite sore. Based on what he could intuit from his magic, Harry approximated that 35% of his magic had been bound, most of which was linked to his ability to perform wandless magic including what he thought might be the metamorphagus ability. It would certainly explain why he had never needed a haircut, and the one time his Aunt had tried, it had grown back by the next day. He didn't dare depend on it yet to keep him hidden however, since he had no idea how to control it, so he after casting a tempus charm which showed it was nearly three in the morning, Harry donned his invisibility cloak and headed downstairs. He looked around the backyard through the kitchen door and spotted the Order member who was supposed to be guarding him. Supposed to be would be the operative phrase, because Mundungus Fletcher was currently sat on the ground against the garden shed, passed out with a bottle of Firewhiskey between his thighs. _Perfect _Harry thought. He wouldn't even need to try very hard to sneak past this man.

Harry slowly made his way out of the house and through the backyard, being careful to make very little noise in case there were other Order members around. He was initially going to take the Knight Bus, but upon further consideration he decided that the bus picking up an invisible passenger in Surrey would be a rather obvious hint if anyone were to discover he was missing during the night. He decided instead to try his hand at apparating. He had never done it before, but he understood all of the theory involved from his time in the Chair. This combined with the not so small power boost he had received earlier assuaged any fears he had about splinching himself. Taking a deep breath, he pictured the steps outside of Gringotts and turned on the spot, and disappeared from #4 Privet Drive.

Harry fell like he was being squeezed and pulled simultaneously from every direction and for a horrible moment he thought it would never end. With a crack he reappeared on the steps on Gringotts and sat down on the granite steps to catch his breath and calm his protesting stomach. There were very few people in Diagon at this time of night, and the ones that were wandering around gave no mind to the crack of apparation that was not accompanied by a person. Eventually Harry felt well enough to stand and made his way up the granite steps and into Gringotts.

It was much less busy than the last time Harry was here. Instead of the dozens of Goblins escorting wizards to and fro, or counting gold behind large desks, there were only about 10 in the whole lobby. After making sure that there was no one else in the bank to see him, Harry removed his invisibility cloak, and instantly several pairs of eyes landed on him. He walked up to one of the tellers who didn't seem to be busy with anything else at the moment and introduced himself.

"Hello, Master Goblin, my name is Harry Potter. I apologize for entering your establishment while disguised. Know that it is not from the Goblins that I wished to hide my presence." This seemed to relieve some of the anger Harry could see swimming in the Goblin's eyes. Harry had gained quite a bit of knowledge of Goblin society from his time in the Chair, and he knew they hated magic that could hide people from their eyes. They took security _very_ seriously, and an invisible wizard was a threat.

"Mr. Potter, I understand that you of all people must take certain precautions in these uncertain times. Think nothing more of it. I am Skullwit, how may Gringotts serve you today."

"I would like to discuss my accounts and holdings. I have recently been informed of the Potter Lordship and that I stand to inherit the Black Lordship. It is my intention to claim both of these titles and review all of my investments. Will you be able to assist me, or should I schedule an appointment with my account manager and come back at a later date." When Harry was finished, what seemed to be the permanent scowl on the Goblin's face got deeper.

"Mr. Potter, what of the letter you sent to Gringotts last week? The one that stated that you would not be claiming the Black Lordship or be taking control of your accounts from your Regent until such time as you came of age? It is no trouble to do it now, I assure you, but I am curious about your change of heart."

"I sent no such letter."

"I assure you sir, Gringotts received the letter you sent and it was impressed both with the Potter crest and your own magical signature."

"Are you calling me a liar, Master Goblin? I swear upon my magic that I sent no such letter." Harry's oath was sealed in a burst of golden light, and the Goblin immediately back pedaled.

"No sir, I am not calling you a liar, simply conveying my confusion about how we could have received a letter that contained your magical signature if you did not sign it."

"I have a theory about that, but could we, perhaps, talk in a more private setting?"

"Of course, sir. If you would follow me please."

The Goblin hopped of off his stool and made for a bank of doors behind the counter. Harry followed him through the gap that appeared in the counter, and through the doors behind it. What followed afterward was a twisting maze of hallways and identical doors. Harry tried to keep track of the turns that they made as they moved deeper into the bank, but soon found himself completely turned around with no idea which way was out. He guessed that that was the point. Soon enough that Goblin opened a door seemingly at random and led Harry into an office. Once the Goblin and Harry sat down the Goblin opened the meeting.

"You may or might not be aware, sir, but I am the Account Manager of the Black Estate. When the former Lord Black's will was read and it was found that you stood to become Lord Potter-Black, Griphook and I began to exchange information to better facilitate the joining if these two Most Ancient and Most Noble Houses. So while I might not be as well versed in the Potter Estate as Account Manager Griphook, I do have a working knowledge of all of your holdings."

The name Griphook stirred a memory for Harry of the first time he set foot inside Gringotts. "Griphook is the Goblin that escorted me to my vault, and Hagrid to the Philosopher's Stone before my first year." Skullwit seemed shocked that this young wizard would remember the Goblin who took him to his vault by name. Not many among their kind would put any thought into the fact that Goblins even HAD names, much less remember them by one.

"Yes, sir, that is correct. He has been the Account Manager of the Potter Estate since your grandfather was a young man. He insisted on escorting you to your vault that day so he could meet the Heir to House Potter. Upon further consideration I now believe that the mail that Gringotts thought they were exchanging with you was actually being exchanged with the Regent of House Potter."

"Lemme guess. Albus Dumbledore named himself Regent of House Potter and sealed my parents will so that anything that happened to me could suit his own machinations and not what my parents would have wanted for me."

"Yes I believe that to be the case. Excuse my forwardness sir, but it is not often that a Light Wizard refers to Dumbledore in such a fashion. Is there a reason for your distaste for the Headmaster?"

"Yes, Skullwit there are quite a few reasons for me to hate that meddlesome old goat, and I'm sure I'll have a dozen more at the conclusion of this meeting, but for now let us focus on what he's been doing with the Potter Estate while he had control of it."

The Goblin nodded and removed several boxes and folders from the depths of his desk. He handed Harry one of the boxes and a small silver knife.

"Of course, sir. First you must claim the position of Lord of the House of Potter before was can discuss anything. Banking matters may only be discussed with the Lord of a House or his Regent. Please place one drop of blood on the Potter crest on the ring, and then place it on your left index finger."

Harry did so, and once it was on his finger, the blood sank into the ring which resized itself to fit on his finger.

"Congratulations Lord Potter on your ascension to Head of House Potter. The ring will continue to change shape as you grow, so you needn't worry about it becoming too small. It will only be visible to people who already know that you wear it, so you also don't have to worry about everyone realizing all at once what you have done. The ring acts as a portkey to all of the traditional Potter homes, and you need only twist it so the crest faces inwards and press down on the crest while saying the name of the property you wish you travel to. It will also protect you from minor jinxes and hexes by deflecting them back at their castor." Harry nodded to show that he understood how the ring functioned and so that the Goblin would continue.

"Onto reviewing the Potter Estate then" he pulled one of the files he had removed over to him and opened it. He glanced down at it for a moment before continuing.

"The Potter Estate has a current net value of 6.8 million galleons, of which 4,389,600 galleons 12 sickles and 18 knuts is available as a liquid asset. The remainder of the Estate is comprised of four properties and assorted treasures and investments. The properties include a house in the town of Godric's Hollow that was destroyed the night Voldemort attacked your family, Potter Manor in Wiltshire, a villa in Tuscany, and a townhouse in Colorado Springs, USA. In the main family vault there are many books, jewels, and portraits of former Lords and Ladies Potter, including your parents. Do you have any questions?"

"My parents have a magical portrait?"

"Yes, it is a requirement of House Potter that Lord Potter commission a magical portrait upon the occasion of his marriage. The portraits are currently all asleep, but will awaken once they are hung on a wall in a Potter property."

"Are there any house elves bound to the House of Potter?"

Skullwit checked the file again before answering.

"Yes, Lord Potter, there is a family of house elves bound to House Potter. Currently there are only two elves that have names and will respond to your call. Your parents died before they could name the progeny of their house elves, but there are three different listings of the name 'Elfling' which is how unnamed house elves are referred to. The two named elves are Wispy and Tilly. Why don't you try summoning them now?"

"Wispy? Tilly? I have need of you." Harry had just finished speaking when there was the sound a two small pops, and suddenly his knees were being engulfed by two extremely elated elves. It took a few moments before Harry could even make out any words, but eventually one of the elves exhausted itself and fell silent. It was easy to hear what the other elf was saying at this point.

"Oh Master Harry! It is so good to be seeing you, sir! I is Tilly master and the other elf is being Wispy. We couldn't find young master until he called for us, but we thinks that master wasn't being knowing our names since he was being so young when Master Jamesey and Mistress Lily was being taken away. Did the good Goblins tell you our names Master Harry?!"

"Er… yes. They did tell me your names. They also told me that you have three Elflings who need names. Could one of you bring them here please?" Wispy spoke up at this point.

"Yes Master Harry, I's be bringing our little elflings for you name." Wispy disappeared and in the space of a single breath was back, this time surrounded by three scared looking elflings.

"Hello little ones. My name is Harry and I'm the new Lord Potter. Do any of you have any preferences on what I call you?"

Two of the elves looked scared at being asked for their opinion, but the smallest of the three looked at him directly, and squarely in the eye while he asked in a quiet voice.

"I would be liking the name Blitzy if Master is liking that name enough."

Harry liked the fact that at least one of his elves had a little bit of backbone. He'd have to introduce the others to Dobby. The free elf might be more than a little mad, but he was also a great friend. And that was what Harry wanted, friends, not slaves.

"I like that name very much, even more since you picked it yourself. Would you other two like to choose your own names? No? Alright then, in addition to Blitzy, these other two elflings will be called Mitzy and Kitzy. Now I know that you are bonded to me through my signet ring, but I don't want you to call me Master. I don't want to be your Master; I want to be your friend. I want us to help each other, not have you serve me. Do you understand?" All five elves nodded enthusiastically. They would serve their new Master all the more loyally since he didn't seek up abuse the bond of servitude that they required to keep their magic and bodies healthy. "Good. Skullwit, is it possible for my elves to enter my vaults?"

"Yes. Since they are bonded to you the magic on the vault will recognize them and allow them to enter."

"Good. I have no intention of living with my relatives past tomorrow morning, so if you five could go to vault and gather the portraits of the last five generations of Potters and take them to Potter Manor I would very much appreciate it. After that if you could get at least the master bedroom and kitchen ready to use at Potter Manor, I will be following you all there in the morning." The elves nodded and popped away as a group.

"Skullwit, I would now like to go over any and all actions that Dumbledore took in regards to the Potter Estate since the time of my parents death."

"Of course, sir. There have been yearly withdrawals of 10,000 galleons per year which Dumbledore had converted into muggle currency and given to your relatives for your upkeep." At this Harry saw red.

AN: So Dumbles has been paying the Dursleys who in their gratitude berated and abused their nephew who was the source of their livelihood. Lovely people, no?

Illud quae alii collocavit intra me. Fugiat peregrinarum magicae et expiabis omnibus infra hoc circuli. –Meaning - Take that which others placed within me. Banish the foreign magic and cleanse all within this circle. I used the Latin translator from Google and messed around with the words a bit. We'll call it Alteran and ignore the errors.


	4. Taking Control

Previously:

"_Of course, sir. There have been yearly withdrawals of 10,000 galleons per year which Dumbledore had converted into muggle currency and given to your relatives for your upkeep." At this Harry saw red._

"Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME? All my life I've had to sleep either in a cupboard under the stairs or a bed with a broken mattress. All my life I've been told that I'm a worthless freak who isn't worth the money that they spend on me. They barely fed me because of the expense and never ONCE bought something specifically for me. And all this time they've been spending MY MONEY on enough food to choke a horse for their fat-ass son. What is the exchange rate between the galleon and the pound Skullwit?"

Skullwit was glad that he wasn't the one at the receiving end of the young Lord Potter's wrath. In order to continue to avoid such a fate he hastened to answer.

"It varies, but averages around ten pounds per galleon."

"So I've been giving them more than Vernon makes at Grunnings great every year. Is there a way that I can sue them since they definitely didn't use that money for my upkeep."

"I can remove that recurring expense from your account, and since the Dursley's do not get paid until your birthday each year, we can deprive them of this year's money. Unfortunately, unless they were stupid enough to keep records of the fact that they purposefully spent your money elsewhere, then we cannot reclaim what has already been paid out to them."

"That's a real shame for them. If I can't get the money they have stolen from me then I'll find something else of theirs that I can take, and I assure you they will miss it a lot more than money."

"If Gringotts can be of any assistance in your vengeance then please do not hesitate to inform us, Lord Potter."

"I appreciate that Skullwit. Are there any other transactions to go over? Besides expenses at the beginning of every school year for supplies I didn't withdraw any money."

"Yes, Lord Potter there is. 100,000 galleons has been placed into two separate vaults under the names Ronald Bilius Weasley and Ginevra Molly Weasley. I assume you did not authorize this transfer?" Harry shook his head. "Well, I can tell you that they were opened in October of your first year, and at the same time a marriage contract was submitted to Gringotts for Ginevra Weasley and yourself."

Harry was astounded. He had already suspected that running into Molly loudly asking about the train platform was a setup, but he thought it was simply Dumbledore wanting to get him close to a family he had in his pocket. He didn't think that they Weasleys were complicit in Dumbledore's actions, until now that is.

"Are the Weasleys aware that those vaults have been opened in their name?" Harry asked hoping the answer was a big fat 'no'.

"Yes, both Ronald and Ginevra have been in to sign forms for the vault to be keyed to them. Since they are underage, their mother's signature also adorns those documents, and in fact she has a personal vault that is rather similar. When you left your key with her she started making withdraws of small amounts of galleons which got larger when she thought she wasn't being noticed. We noticed and sent you a letter, but the response which was probably from Dumbledore told us to ignore it and that the Weasleys needed money but were too proud to ask. As long as it wasn't more than 100,000 galleons a year, it was to be ignored. The younger Weasleys have since been withdrawing funds rather regularly from their accounts, so much so that they are nearly empty. Another transfer was scheduled for your birthday this year. I shall also cancel that along with the Dursley's disbursement and seize the personal vault of Molly Weasley. Besides that there are only a few irregularities in the charitable donations that the Potter Estate has made over the years. Some of that money surely went to line Dumbledore's pockets, but the tax deductions received actually made it a profitable enterprise, so moving against him there would be detrimental to the Estate."

"I understand. Now what's this about a marriage contract? I'm not interested in women in general and especially not in Ginny Weasley."

"Fortunately for you the former Regent of your house was the one who wrote it up. Only the current Head of House can issue or agree to a marriage contract for those in his family. If you had not discovered that Dumbledore had written one for you by the time you reached your majority it would mean that the contract had your implied consent and it would then become a requirement of your Lordship to fulfill it. Since you have now objected to it, the contract will automatically be dissolved. In fact it should already have disappeared from the Potter Estate Ledger in Griphook's office."

"Good. No need to worry about that then. That also explains why Dumbledore didn't want me to be in control of my accounts until after my majority."

"Indeed. You should know though that the contract contained the signatures of both Molly and Ginevra Weasley. Since Weasley is a minor house, marriage contracts are not so strictly controlled on their end. I doubt that Head of House Weasley would agree to such a thing."

"Alright, so Dumbledore isn't alone on my shit list anymore; Ron, Ginny and Molly have joined him. Is there anything else pressing that needs to be addressed about the Potter Estate?"

"No, Lord Potter, there is not anything else. Shall we move on to your Black inheritance?"

"Yes, please."

"As you may or may not be aware the Black Lordship is a patrilineal line, this means that only those of Black blood may inherit more than monetary bequeathals. We will need to use some of Lord Sirius' blood in order to join you to the family. Magically speaking you will have three parents after this ritual is completed. Do you understand?"

"Will the ritual change me physically or magically to a noticeable degree?"

"To a degree, yes. You may exhibit some of the physical characteristics that are inherent in the Black line, you may also inherit some of the Family Magic, but I think you are already a metamorph, which would be the most likely gift to be conferred."

"How could you tell that I'm a metamorph?" It hadn't been apparent to him until his magic had been unbound that that was the reason his hair never needed cutting.

"When you learned of how Dumbledore had been paying your relatives with your earlier and your rage got the better of you, you shifted for a moment. You hair gained a red hue, and your eyes looked like shattered green glass. It faded when your anger did, but it clued me in to your abilities."

"I see. Well, I have no other questions. Shall we?" The Goblin nodded before getting up gathering several things from a nearby armoire. There was a large vial of what must be Sirius' blood, a silver dish with two separate bowls attached to it (also made of silver), and a wicked looking knife that looked to be carved out of a dragon tooth.

"Now, in order to add Sirius to your bloodline, without simply having him replace James as your blood father, the blood must be mixed with your own outside of your body, and then returned. This will make you Lord Harold James Potter-Black, instead of just Lord Harold James Black. The knife will be used to cut your wrist so you can give your sample. The wound will be healed when you have given enough, and the magic in the silver of the dish will take care of putting it back in your body. Do you understand the procedure of the ritual?" Harry nodded, so Skullwit passed him the Dragon Tooth knife and poured the vial of blood into one of the bowls. Harry placed his arm over the other and nicked the edge of his wrist. Blood flowed for a few minutes until it was equal to the amount in the other bowl. The wound on Harry's wrist sealed itself, and he pulled back his arm. Harry watched in amazement as the silver seemed to become liquid as the bowls moved toward each other on the dish. Once they touched they began to merge and soon there was only one bowl swirling with twice the amount of blood Harry gave.

The silver began to drink in the blood and the magic in the room became thick and cloying. Once the bowl had consumed half of the blood, it was fully charged. The rest of the blood rose up out of the dish in a thin stream. Quicker than his eye could follow, the blood shot forward and burrowed into his wrist where he had previously cut it. The magic that the dish had absorbed flashed into Harry, sealing the new blood and magic into his body. Soon the bowls were empty and once again separate on the silver dish, and Harry was left slumped back in his chair panting like he had just run a mile.

"Congratulations on your ascension to Head of House Black. There is a lot less for us to go over in regards to the Black Estate. I would suggest we get through them quickly so that you may retire for the evening."

"That sounds good Skullwit, why am I so tired?"

"Blood magic is always rather exhausting. You will feel completely normal after you sleep. You will need to repeat the procedure from earlier and place the Black Signet ring on the same finger as your Potter ring. The Black ring works the same way as the Potter ring as far as its portkey capabilities, however it has some much heavier protective magic and will protect from most things short of the Unforgivables"

"I understand" Harry did so, and after another bright flash of light, the two rings became one. Where he once had a sterling silver ring and a pale golden one, he now had a braided ring of both metals which showed both family crests on it.

"Good. Now, House Black, unlike House Potter, still has living constituents. Narcissa Malfoy, Draco Malfoy and Bellatrix LeStrange are all still members of House Black with all of the rights and benefits that affords."

"Which are what exactly?"

"Each member of House Black is given a vault and a stipend. Narcissa and Bellatrix both brought large dowries until their marriages and Draco is currently the only person who qualifies as your Heir unless you specify another."

"How would I go about removing those people from House Black and reinstating Andromeda Tonks and her daughter?" Harry wouldn't say the word Nymphadora out loud at all, just in case she should over hear him. Her reaction last time he had done so had scared him out of ever doing so again.

"Well they would have to be guilty of treason against House Black to be cast out of the family."

"Would working for the organization responsible for the death of the former Lord Black qualify? Or in Bellatrix's case she was the one that murdered the former Lord Black."

"Yes, Narcissa and Draco being Death Eaters, since Death Eaters killed the last Lord Black would be enough. Bellatrix murdering the former Lord Black allows for an even harsher punishment. Not only can you cast her out of the House of Black, you can call on the Family Magic to remove her magic. Once Narcissa and Bellatrix are removed from the family, their dowries will be returned to the Black vaults, which might not affect LeStrange all that much, but should cripple Malfoy. This will cancel their wedding contracts since those contracts are with House Black and cause Draco to become a bastard who cannot inherit the Malfoy Lordship."

"I'd like to do that then."

"Then simply state your full name and your intention towards the members of your House."

"I, Lord Harold James Potter-Black do hereby cast Narcissa Malfoy, Draco Malfoy and Bellatrix LeStrange out of the House of Black for crimes committed against my predecessor Lord Sirius Orion Black. He died by the hand of Death Eater Bellatrix LeStrange and for this I call her magic home to the House of Black and sentence her to live as a squib for all the rest of her days. I welcome Andromeda Black-Tonks and Nymphadora Black-Tonks (he hoped she'd forgive him, but this was in a way a ritual) back into House Black with all of the rights and privileges therein. So mote it be."

When Harry was done, five bolts of magic raced out of the room. Two were headed for the Malfoy's to strip them of the name of Black, one was headed to Bellatrix to do the same with the added benefit of claiming her magic, and the last two were headed for the Tonks women to restore the name Black to them.

"Most of the Black fortune has remained idle since the imprisonment of the former Lord Black, but there are still a few active investments. The stipend vaults we just closed will be transferred to the Tonks once they are cleared of Dark artifacts, and a dowry vault will be opened for Nymphadora. Those Dark artifacts will be moved to the Black Family vault until such time as you can inspect them and decide what you do with them. Would you like me to list their assets for you?"

"No thank you Skullwit, they can remain inactive for another day or so at this point. I would like you to send me a breakdown of the newly formed Potter-Black Estate including an itemized list of any magical artifacts and the like, whenever you and Griphook and can that assembled. Which one of you has been in their position longer?"

"I have, my Lord."

"Well, then. Let me be the first to congratulate you on your ascension to Senior Account Manager Skullwit. Now, before I take my leave there is one more subject we must discuss now that my finances are settled."

"Oh? And what is that?"

Harry focused on speaking in Alteran when he responded.

::I have been set upon the path of returning the Alterans to the stars. I was told that your people could help me in this endeavor.::

Skullwit looked completely and utterly flabbergasted, which was an interesting look for a Goblin. His eyes rolled up in his head, and he fell backwards out of his chair in a dead faint.

AN: The plot thickens, and the Weasleys are out for Harry's money. How will Skullwit react to the knowledge that Harry is an awakening Alteran? Find out next time, but for now, leave me a review.


	5. Potter Manor

AN: So I know it's been a minute since I update. Sorry about that. But Chapter 5 is the longest chapter so far, so enjoy!

Previously:

_::I have been set upon the path of returning the Alterans to the stars. I was told that your people could help me in this endeavor.::_

_Skullwit looked completely and utterly flabbergasted, which was an interesting look for a Goblin. His eyes rolled up in his head, and he fell backwards out of his chair in a dead faint._

Harry was quickly around the desk and bent over the unconscious Goblin. Not wanting to give him another scare, Harry gently shook his shoulder. It was enough. Skullwit shot into a seated position and looked up at Harry with both awe and befuddlement in his eyes.

"Lord Potter-Black, was I hallucinating a moment ago or were you speaking Alteran?"

"You were not hallucinating Senior Account Manager Skullwit. And please, just call me Harry outside of formal settings. I'm not used to the Boy-Who-Lived title, I certainly don't need to be reminded of the others every time you say my name."

"Just Skullwit will do then. And what you said? Is it true? You seek to awaken the slumbering Alteran race?"

"Yes Skullwit, it is true. Before the end of the school year I was visited by an ascended Lantian . Perhaps you've heard of him? His name was Merlin Emrys."

"Yes! Of course. The Goblins knew what Merlin was, and some of what he was doing on this plane of existence. He informed you of Wizarding kind's true origins?"

"He did. But he did not tell me your true origins. He merely said that I would get an interesting reaction by greeting you in Alteran. I wasn't even sure that you would recognize the language, but if you did I decided it would be best to wait until the end of our business to try it. I think your reaction would've garnered too much interest in the lobby."

"I trust you will never mention my… interesting reaction, when this story is told?" Skullwit looked mightily embarrassed that he had fainted, and in front if a wizard no less! No, he corrected himself, an _Alteran. _That was simultaneously better and worse as far as he was concerned.

"Of course not. Though if Ragnok faints when we tell him what I know, I just might have to in order to soothe his pride."

"Being compared to me will not soothe Ragnok's pride."

"True enough. You still haven't told me the history of your people. What planet are you from? What are your people really called? I doubt an alien race would name _themselves_ goblins."

"Indeed not, wizards gave us that name when we arrived on this planet some 8,000 years ago. You see, just as you are a Child of the Alterans, the Goblins are the Children on the Furlings. Our forefathers also sought ascension, but due to some physiological difficulties we had along the way it took us much longer to achieve as a people. Much like the Alterans they did not want to leave nothing behind of themselves on this plane, and so they created us. We are a more primitive form of the Furlings just as you are a more primitive form of the Alterans. Our people were placed on another planet in this galaxy 8,200 years ago, sometime after your forefathers returned here. We walked amongst our Furling ancestors for a time and they taught us the rudiments of their technology and society for two centuries before they ushered us through the Astria Porta for Earth and left this plane permanently. We have been waiting since that day for the ascended to contact someone from your race. Together we are to reform the Alliance of the Great Races and bring stability to this and neighboring galaxies."

"That's rather terrific news Skullwit. I'm glad to find I will have strong allies in what is sure to be a monumental struggle to get the wizard's collective head out of the sand."

"Indeed."

"I think I will take me leave now. If you could setup a meeting between us and Griphook once you have that itemized listing? Perhaps even an audience with Ragnok? I understand if you have to tell him about the knowledge I have in order to get me in to see him, but if you can keep it a secret I'd appreciate it. I would like to see if his reaction matches yours."

Once again embarrassed for fainting Skullwit merely nodded and got up to lead Harry out.

Once Harry was outside he spun his Potter Signet ring around, and pressing down on the crest, called out 'Potter Manor' and immediately felt the familiar pull from behind his navel that always accompanied Portkey travel.

/`/`/`/`

He arrived in the foyer of the Manor and stood rooted to that place in shock for nearly five minutes. The space around him was absolutely gorgeous and he couldn't believe that all of this belonged to him. All his life he had had _this, _and because of Albus I-wanna-save-the-world-but-not-its-children Dumbledore he had spent his childhood with bleeding fingers from working in the garden, a bleeding back from his Uncle's ministrations and stuffed into his cupboard without food.

The floor was marble with elegant flowing veins of dark grey and a deep blue. The walls were also made of marble, but with far less veining than the floor. The fifteen foot ceiling was surrounded by ornate but understated crown molding in a medium shade of wood. The doorframes and doors were made of the same wood, but the doors were more stained glass than anything else. There were doors leading of off the foyer on both sides and directly in front of him was a huge staircase. It stopped halfway to the second floor on a small landing, before continuing upwards both to the left and the right to different wings of the house. Harry was brought around by two of his elves, Tilly and Blitzy popping into the room.

"Harry Potter-Black is being home! Welcome to Potter Manor, sir! Would you like to be seeing the house and grounds or will you want to be seeing your bedroom first?"

"I was exhausted before I arrived here, but now I am struck with the need to explore my new home. But first, can you tell me who controls the wards here?"

"You do Harry Potter-Black sir! All of the wards are being inactive exception for the Master Ward which hides the house when no one is being living here. A formal statement of who is allowed and who is not, including us elves sir, will raise the defensive wards and lower the Master Ward."

"And if someone like, Dumbledore wanted to break-in anyway?" At this both of the elves started to laugh. He had never heard a house elf laugh before. It was a high trilling sound, almost like phoenix song that had gone just a bit wonky.

"Sir is being funny! Bumblebore may be a strong wizard, by you are being stronger sir! Much more so! And these wards being very ancient sir, and they collect power over time, Bumblebore is not being reaching us here sir!" It seemed that his elves had replaced the word 'Master' with the word 'Sir', but he figured it was a huge improvement already. They must've picked up on his dislike of a certain Headmaster since they were calling him 'Bumblebore' which was in his opinion, hilarious. He was also relieved that said Headmaster wouldn't be able to reach him here. On the flip side, the Manor wards were one more nail in his coffin. If Dumbledore himself couldn't breach them, why couldn't he have stayed here? _You wouldn't look at him like a savior from the hell of the Dursley's if that had been the case. _He decided that for now he would bar entry from every except his elves. That done he asked them to give him a quick tour that ended in the suite they had prepared for him.

Both elves trotted off encouraging him to follow. They started at the first door on the left in the foyer. It opened into a well-appointed sitting room that contained the main floo and an area in corner done in the same marble of the foyer that served as an apparition point. Potter Manor was never taken off of the Floo Network when his grandparents had died, so that was one less thing he needed to worry about. The rest of the room was done in a thick cream colored carpet and the furniture, surprisingly enough, was done in green and brown with accents of silver. It was almost Slytherin, but in an understated way. They moved into the next room through an adjoining door and Harry found himself starring at a dining room table that could seat at least 150 people easily.

"This is being the formal dining room, sir. We's only be using it for either very large or very formal things. Not much on the first floor gets used for things other than greeting guests and parties Harry Potter-Black, sir!"

"That's certainly a relief Tilly. I couldn't imagine eating at this huge table with just the six of us here." He figured he would get this one out the way quickly. It didn't take long for Tilly and Blitzy to both put it together and begin to both cry from thanks and horror at the same time.

"Really guys, I must insist. I told you at Gringotts that you would be my friends and not my slaves. That will be true. I know you guys like to work, and do things for me, and that's fine. But I will also be working, and I want to do things for you in turn. Ok?"

He just got two reverent nods before the elves grabbed a hand each and pulled him into the next room by another adjoining room.

This one led into a massive ballroom at least the size of the Great Hall at Hogwarts, and from where Harry was standing it appeared all three of the remaining doors on the first floor led to this room, which had dividers that could be brought down to split the room in two. He thought it was a useful function for such a huge room. It wouldn't do for your party to look sparse, and changing expansion charms around was time consuming and expensive, so just cut the room in half. The whole of the room seemed to be made up of glass. There were mirrors that lined an entire wall and glass and crystal structures and sconces everywhere. The whole room was a palace of reflected light and splashes of rainbows from the crystal. The effect was such that Harry wasn't sure the room would actually look any smaller if the dividers were closed. It was hard to see the boundaries of the room through so much light.

The elves took him out of the second door and back into the third door from the front door, this time on the right side of the hall. They explained that the first room was just a coat room and was currently empty; all of his grandparent's things had been put into storage. And the second room was another semi-public sitting room much like the main floo was. The third room turned out to be his public office. This is where he would meet with people who were relative strangers or those who were calling on Lord Potter-Black. There was no adjoining door this time, so they had to go back into the foyer to enter the fourth door, which was the kitchen. When they entered Wispy, Mitzy and Kitzy all greeted him enthusiastically before returning to their work. They seemed to be making enough food to feed an army, but he would leave them be for now. If they hadn't slowed down in a few days he would have to talk to them about wasting food and portion sizes. The last door on the right led out onto a beautiful veranda that overlooked the gardens as well as two greenhouses that were as big as those at Hogwarts.

"Have the greenhouses been kept up?"

"Of course, sir. The gardens and the greenhouses is where Tilly is doing most of his work. Blitzy is being rather good at fixing things and the other three all love to be cleaning and cooking all the time. So everything has been kept ready for sir's return. There is also a potion's lab on the second floor and Tilly is keeping all of the supplies that can spoil over time fresh for sir's return and the rest is being under preservation spells."

While Harry of three weeks ago was a terrible potions student, he now had access to all of Snape's private library, as well as his journals. Turns out that Snape had been purposefully changing recipes so that his students would always produce sub-par potions. With all of the correct formulae now swimming around in his head, things that used to confuse him because they were counter-intuitive or seemed contradictory to what they had been taught previously didn't anymore because he knew to simply ignore those incorrect formulae that Snape had been 'teaching' them on purpose. Harry was excited to see just what kind of potioneer he could really be.

"Can we continue the tour later Tilly? A lot of the initial excitement seems to have left me and I'm suddenly asleep on my feet."

"Why isn't sir being saying he is so tired? Of course we is taking care of Harry Potter-Black sir! Come now off to bed with you sir!"

It was the most commanding thing that he had ever heard a house elf say. Ever. _It seems they take the health of their bonded rather seriously, and are willing to cross a few more lines in pursuit of my health than they would otherwise. Perhaps being obstinate about eating meals or going to bed would make them more willing to speak to me as their equal and not their Master. _He still heard the word 'Master' every time one of the elves called him 'Harry Potter-Black sir!' All of his musings had distracted him quite thoroughly from seeing anything as he followed the elves through the house. He didn't even really look around his room, or more accurately suite of rooms, except to locate the bed and fall into it. He had been awake since just after dawn the day previous and with all of the emotional upheaval of his meeting at Gringotts he was soon deeply asleep. And he would remain so for the next three days.

/`/`/`/`

The sun was just beginning to set on the third day when Harry finally regained consciousness. When he had finally cleared the gunk from his eyes and put on his glasses he was confused by the fading light outside.

_Did I sleep the entire day away?!_

Just then Blitzy popped in, having sensed Harry's awakening.

"Oh you is finally being awake, sir! We is being very worried when you would not wake up for three whole days, sir!"

_Three days? What the bloody hell?_

Harry thought back to all that had happened to him in the last week and could only assume that a combination of stresses put him in a healing sleep. He had unbound his magic, which was very draining since it had been bound for so long, and then found out that most of his life up until this point was a complete lie. It was enough to drive anyone to the edge. Harry considered himself lucky that he got off with only having slept for three days. _Someone from the Order will have noticed I've gone missing by now._ Soon Tilly, Wispy, Mitzy and Kitzy, the former two with trays full of food which were quickly consumed, all arrived in his rooms as well to tell him how worried they were about him and how glad they were that he was awake now. Having all of his elves in one place made an unpleasant thought occur to him. _These aren't all of my elves. If I inherited everything else from Sirius I'm assuming I inherited Kreacher as well. _He decided to prepare his elves before summoning the nasty little blighter.

"Thanks guys. I feel very refreshed after such a long sleep. And the wonderful food helped as well," Wispy and Kitzy blushed at this so he assumed they cooked, "But I think it's time we start dealing with some things. First things first, I inherited the title of Lord Black from my godfather as you know. Since I inherited everything else I'm assuming I also got his house elf, would that be correct?" His elves nodded warily.

"Good. His name is Kreacher and he is a terrible house elf. He never cleans, he insults guests of the household and he disobeys any order he can figure a way to circumvent." Harry was aware that he was laying it on a bit thick, he honestly didn't think it should be the elves' job to wait on him hand and foot, but until he convinced them to his way of thinking he would play off of that. It worked because his elves were appalled. All five of them started cursing Kreacher and his forefathers. Harry calmed them down slightly before asking them what could be done about him. He was a rather large security risk to Harry, so he asked his elves how he could ensure Kreacher's silence.

They told him that even a disloyal elf must always obey a direct order from its Master on pain of its own magic claiming its life. So Harry called Kreacher, told him that he was never to speak, write or in any way communicate to any person (alive, dead, portrait, or ghost) nor any sentient magical creature anything about him, the previous Lord Black, or the goings on at 12 Grimmauld Place unless specifically given leave by him. Kreacher struggled for a minute to try and find a loophole in his magic so he could deliver his 'nasty half-blood freak Master' into the hands of the 'Great Lordy Snakey' without directly disobeying or betraying him. He failed. He then demanded that Kreacher tell him everything that had been said in Order meetings over the last three days.

"Nasty blood-traitors be looking for Lord Black. The white haired one is not being worried and says that Lord Black will turn up. Lord Black's Weasel and his nasty mudblood are worried that Lord Black will take away their money or books. The white haired one and peg-leg had a secret meeting where they plotted on how to keep Lord Black from becoming Lord Black. Kreacher guesses they is being too late. Only the oldest Weasels and nasty werewolf are worried about Lord Black."

"Alright, Kreacher. You have your orders. Go back to Grimmauld and stay there for the time being. The Order can't know about my taking up my Lordships yet, but when they do you can be the one to kick them out of the house. Alright?"

Knowing that there was no way he could betray his half-blood freak Master, it was a resigned Kreacher that left Potter Manor after being there for only a few minutes. The old elf consoled himself with the fact that when the time came his Master would allow him to remove the filth from his Mistresses house. That handled Harry moved on to his next order of business, a bath.

He moved into the bathroom that was attached to his bedroom without having to go out into the sitting room of his suite. The bathroom reminded Harry of the prefect's bathroom that he had used in fourth year to figure out the golden egg from the first task of the Tournament, only with less taps. There were only six on this tub including two for the standard hot/cold water control and four fragranced taps; sandalwood, rose hips, sage and pine. He turned on the hot water and sandalwood taps and within seconds the bath was full of steaming water. He sighed as he relaxed against the wall of the tub and drifted into a state of semi-consciousness.

He had always done his best thinking when the Dursley's would leave the house long enough for him to indulge in a bath so he figured this would be a perfect opportunity to plan his next few moves. After he was done getting ready he knew the elves would want to finish giving him the tour they had started previous to his period of unconsciousness. He would have to tell them to save the portrait hall where his parent's portrait was hung for last. He had a feeling that he would be glued to it for several hours after he saw it, and he wanted to see the rest of the house before devoting several hours to getting his parents caught up on his life. After that was decided he started thinking about potential allies and people that he wanted to know the truth about the Alterans and what he hoped to achieve. Out of his friends he figured that he could probably only trust Neville and Luna. They were the only ones who came with him to the Department of Mysteries without some ulterior motive. Hermione had apparently cast her lot in with Ron and Ginny. As was typical of her, all she was worried about were her books, not whether or not Harry was alive, dead or being tortured by death eaters. The news about Moody and Dumbledore wasn't all that surprising. After all, Dumbledore still thought he had to die to remove the piece of Tom stuck to his forehead.

Adults that he could trust not to betray him were considerably harder to come up with. It seemed like no matter who his mind turned to, he found an instance where they had obeyed Dumbledore to Harry's misfortune or been implicit with his manipulations of Harry. According to Kreacher he had some friends still left in the older Weasley brothers and Remus, but they were still too close to the old man. Unless he could get them alone in a secure place where they could be obliviated if need be he wouldn't be able to tell them anything. After going through and discarding all of the the adults that he had met personally, Harry started to contemplate people that he had only heard about or met in passing. Amelia Bones came to mind. He had always heard that she was very fair minded if a bit stern. She was certainly no fan of the way Dumbledore threw his weight around the Ministry. He also knew that Fudge was not a particular fan of Dumbledore, but his close ties to Lucius Malfoy prevented Harry from considering him. He needed Light Wizards, or at the very least neutral ones, who were not drinking Dumbledore's Kool-Aid. He thought his way back through all of the adult wizards he had heard about since arriving in the magical world. When he got back to his first year he sat bolt upright out of the tub. Fortunately there were charms to prevent splashing on it; otherwise most of the water would've ended up on the floor.

_Flamel_

Dumbledore told him that the Flamels had just enough elixir left to settle their affairs, but the most recent picture of the Flamels showed them looking no older than McGonagall, and they would've started aging naturally again once they no longer had access to the elixir. Even if Dumbledore _wasn't _lying to him, how much time would it take to settle an Estate that was six centuries old? Harry figured it would have to be more than the intervening four years that had passed since the stone was destroyed. Harry also thought that the Flamels would not be too happy with Dumbledore for risking and then destroying their stone. Dumbledore may be 150 years old or so, but the Flamels had been around since the 1400's. Dumbledore was a sniveling whelp to them.

Flamel, Bones, Longbottom, Lovegood and perhaps Weasley and Lupin.

Now that Harry had decided on who he would inform of their Alteran heritage, he had to decide when to tell them. If he ran off half-cocked he would only wind up locked in a room at St. Mungo's and something told him that if he failed because of his own missteps there would be no help from Merlin or the other Ascended. He would only be able to shelter them for so long though. He decided he would wait to inform anyone of anything until Merlin had returned from where ever he got off to. In the meantime he would go and have another session in the chair add Alteran mathematics to his repertoire, and perhaps figure out how Merlin had copied all those books so he could do the same with the library at Potter Manor, as well as explore his family vault for anything useful. Now that his course was set for the next little while, Harry arose fully from the tub and dried carefully before putting on a pair of jeans, a shirt, and a loose informal robe he found on his bed waiting for him. _The elves must've gotten then out of storage. They were probably my Father's. _That thought made the loose linen robe feel much warmer than it should have. It was lame, but this was the closest thing to a hug from his Dad that Harry could remember.

He emerged from his room to find Tilly and Blitzy waiting to continue their tour of the house just like he thought they would be.

"Well, c'mon then. Let's save the portrait hall for last guys, OK? I have a feeling I'm going to be in there for a while."

"Of course, Harry Potter-Black sir! This way!"

And the elf set off out the main door to the Master Suite. Across the hall were three doors that the elves told him were family bedrooms. The other wing of the house contained another Master Suite (and In-Law suite if you will) as well as the family sitting room, where his parent's portrait was located. He studiously avoided looking at that particular door. He was determined to make his way through the house before he started bawling like and infant in from of their portrait.

The elves led his back down to the second floor. The west wing on this floor was made up entirely of small guest suites. The hallway was magically expansive and would add new rooms as needed. There were currently five, which was the default number.

The east wing of the second floor turned out to be far more interesting. They entered the potion's lab first and Harry was completely astounded. The workspace consisted of an entire wall filled with every kind of potions apparatus that Harry could think of. There were cauldrons of all of the six main metals that cauldrons were made out of; Steel, Brass, Copper, Pewter, Silver and Gold. There were only very small silver and gold cauldrons, but the lesser metals had cauldrons of all sizes represented. There were also scales of every kind and imagining, including one that would measure to the thousandths place, which was extremely precise for an analog scale. In addition there were knives and stirring rods made out of literally dozens of different materials, some of which he didn't even recognize.

A few feet away from the wall containing all of this equipment was a single, long wooden table that could comfortably hold six or seven different cauldrons and their associated materials at once. Harry didn't think he was quite ready for that kind of simultaneous brewing, but it was nice to have the space. But the truly amazing part was on the opposite side of the table. There were ten rows of shelving set up like they would be in a library, and they were stuffed with potions ingredients. Harry moved to the first shelf and was absolutely gobsmacked by some of the rare and nearly impossible to find potions ingredients he found.

_Nundu fur, Claw from a silent Banshee, Phoenix blood – freely given, Crest feather from a mature male Basilisk – forcibly taken! I could start collecting now and not get this many rare ingredients in a decade!_

He was rather excited about some of the things he would be able to brew with these ingredients, including a Philosophers Stone with the freely given phoenix blood, and couldn't wait to start. He had some other things to do first however, so he exited the potions lab before he could get too excited and entered the library.

The Potter Family Library was even more impressive that the potions lab. The room was absolutely stuffed with wizard's space, so much so that seven whole floors of books were contained inside the Library. Harry knew it take him a lifetime to read everything contained within the library, and perhaps not that much less time to have everything scanned so he could imprint it to the Chair, so instead he looked for a ledger book that would contain a list of all of the books.

He found it nearly dead center in the room, sitting on a wooden podium. It was a large leather bound book with the Potter Family crest on its cover. He picked it up and, placing it under one arm, turned around and left the Library to make his way to the Portrait Hall.

As he reached the east wing of the third floor, his steps began to slow as the enormity of what was about to happen had begun to sink in. He was about to meet his parents. He knew they weren't really his parents. He couldn't be held by them or anything like that, but they were impressions of his parent's consciousness, and were therefore sentient. He could talk to them and after all the years at the Dursley's home, maybe even just that would be enough to comfort him. Without any more hesitating or prevaricating, he opened the door to the Portrait Hall and stepped inside.

The first thing he heard was a voice he didn't think he would hear except for in his nightmares, screaming to be killed in his stead. His Mother.

"Harry? Is that you, Darling!?"

AN: Sorry for the late update, I'm still working out some plot kinks and my plot bunny traps don't seem to be working. Perhaps I need better bait. Or… a bait-a. Get it? Beta?


	6. Meet my Parents

AN: Some of you have expressed concerns that this is going to be a bash!everyone fic. So far, it's only Dumbles, Ron, Ginny, Molly, and a little Hermione. I probably won't be adding anyone to that list, and only three of them are going to definitely STAY irredeemable until the end. So with that in mind… onward!

_Previously:_

_The first thing he heard was a voice he didn't think he would hear except for in his nightmares, screaming to be killed in his stead. His Mother._

"_Harry? Is that you, Darling!?"_

Harry couldn't believe it. He knew before he entered this room that it contained a portrait of his parents, but nothing could have ever prepared him for hearing his mother's voice when she wasn't screaming for mercy that would never come. He stood transfixed, merely staring at the portrait, for three whole minutes before his father coughed awkwardly to gain his attention.

"Er… son? Why're you so tall? Shouldn't you only be a few years old? What's going on?"

"Yes, Harry what's happening? The elves hung us three whole days ago but wouldn't tell us anything and we were beginning to think that something terrible had happened to you."

Harry finally snapped out of his stupor and slowly shuffled over to the wall where the portrait was.

"Mum? Dad? Oh Merlin do I have so many things to tell you. I never thought… so much has gone wrong… I don't know where to start."

"The beginning is usually the best sweet heart."

"Right then."

So Harry began at the beginning. He told his parents about the confrontation between Sirius and Wormtail that resulted in Sirius's unlawful imprisonment. He told them that the Headmaster sent Hagrid to fetch him from the ruins of their house and shipped him off to the Dursley's. James almost had an apoplectic fit when he heard this. He had met Lily's sister and the whale that she had married.

"What about our will? I knew how she treated me and we were nearly the same age. I shudder to think what she would've done to a magical child."

"Not would've done, mum. Did."

So Harry went on to describe his treatment at the hands of the Dursleys. Doing nearly all of the cooking and cleaning from the age of four onwards, the beatings he received for doing accidental magic, his cupboard. He told his parents everything. All three of them were weeping together over the travesty of his childhood by the time he reached his eleventh year. He continued his tale with the events of his first year, ending with the 'traps' set for Voldemort which were all easily bypassed by a group of first years. He told them about his second year, and the machinations of Lucius Malfoy in opening the chamber of secrets. When he got to the story of the chamber itself and how he destroyed the diary both of his parents got very, very pale.

"Lily, that journal, that could only have been…" he was cut off by Lily.

"Yes James I know perfectly well what it was but we shouldn't speak of such things in front of Harry." This rather pissed Harry off.

"If you two are referring to the fact that the diary was a Horcrux, then I am well aware. I have already had enough lies of omission from Dumbledore, I don't need you two to start coddling me now." Both of them were shocked that their son was aware of such dark magic at such a young age, but on the heels of that thought was the thought that their son had never really had a chance to be young, and they should treat him as being as mature as he had been acting. His mother spoke for both of them.

"We're sorry Harry. We just aren't very comfortable talking to our child about that foul branch of magic. We won't hold back again."

Satisfied, Harry continued with the story of his third year, and Sirius' breakout from Azkaban. His father whooped with joy to hear his friend had come away from that placed with most of his already questionable sanity intact. But this just raised a difficult question for Lily.

"Sweetheart," she asked Harry "if Sirius escaped from Azkaban, then why isn't he here with you now?"

Harry's eyes clouded with guilt, rage and loss and the elder Potters understood that Sirius was no longer among them.

"Oh, Harry. You've been so alone all these years. I know we can't actually comfort you, son. And we are only impressions left behind when we died, but we're here now, in whatever capacity." Harry began to cry again at his father's words.

"Dad. After nearly sixteen years of nothing, being able to speak to you at all is more of a blessing that I ever hoped for. Don't feel guilty just because you are stuck on that wall."

This caused his parents to laugh, and the sound of their laughter washed away the lingering feelings he had at that moment about Sirius's death and allowed him to continue onto his fourth year. He told them about the tournament and how he had been forced to compete by the Headmaster because of a magical contract. This caused Lily to frown.

"That isn't how magical contracts work, at all. They can only be entered into by the person that they govern. Had you actually put your name in the Goblet it would've been unbreakable, but since you didn't, whoever placed your name there in your stead was the one who risked losing their magic. Who was it?"

"That'll come at the end of the year, Mum. But I'm sure Dumbledore knew that and was hoping I would die in the tournament anyway." This elicited shocked gasps and protestations from parents. He held up a hand to silence them and hastened to explain.

"The Headmaster thinks I have to die in order to rid the world of Voldemort. He is wrong, but with the information he has he is doing what he thinks is best for the world, even if it meant me growing up in hell so I would look at his like a savior and lay down my life when he asks. I'll never forgive him, but I can understand his actions. You'll understand more once I tell you what happened this past year."

He told them about winning the tournament with Cedric, and what it led to. When he mentioned Wormtail's part in ritual that resurrected the Dark Lord, his father merely growled but his mother snarled and looked as if she wanted to climb out of the portrait to make the little rat _pay_.

That tale of his fifth year was by far the hardest, as it was both the most traumatic and most recent. He told them about the Ministry stooge that Fudge had placed at Hogwarts to work on discrediting both Harry and Dumbledore all year, and how she had taken her mandate to far once she got a taste of the power she wielded. Use of veritaserum on a minor would've gotten her 10 years in Azkaban per offense, but using a Blood Quill to make a student write lines even once would've earned her a lifetime sentence. Harry didn't understand why it was such a great offence until his father told him it was possible to perform blood magic with the blood collected from it, and blood that was forcibly taken in such a way could only be used to harm the person to whom the blood belonged. Harry immediately summoned his elves and dispatched them to track down every single place that Dolores Umbridge had ever lived and search it until they found the scroll that contained his blood, or any blood scrolls they found for that matter. Harry wasn't the only student to suffer under Umbridge's quill. He then got to the hardest part of his story, the events following his History of Magic OWL.

He delivered this portion of his story in a subdued monotone and hung his head when he told his parents about Sirius falling through The Veil, and how he had attempted to use the Cruciatus on Bellatrix. He told them about finally hearing the prophecy and how he had destroyed most of the Headmaster's office in his rage that the old man hadn't just told him what was being guarded and that it would've been impossible for Sirius to retrieve. He wouldn't have fallen for Voldemort's trap then and he would've tried harder on his own to learn Occlumency in spite of how his mind had been ripped open by Snape. His father snarled at the mention of _Snivellus _of all people being allowed to rip his son's mind open for his Lord. It sickened him that the Headmaster had fallen so far.

"So to answer your question from earlier mum, Sirius isn't here because I was an idiot and allowed myself to be tricked, Snape was a bastard who instead of instructing me on the use of Occlumency had just raped my mind and left it open and bleeding for Voldemort, Dumbledore was a manipulative shit who guards his little schemes way too much, and Sirius was a fool for not taking Bellatrix seriously. I got my revenge on her though, as soon as I became Lord Potter-Black I threw her out of the House of Black for her treason against the previous Lord Black. I called her magic home, and now she is a squib and probably dead by another Death Eater's hand." Both of his parents managed small smiles through their tears at hearing that he had taken out one of the most feared Death Eaters by remote. Lily spoke first.

"Harry. You must not blame yourself for what happened that night. By your own admission you did everything you could think of to try and ascertain Sirius's whereabouts. You've never been able to trust adults up until this point and Albus has trained you quite well by throwing you to wolves too often. It doesn't surprise me you rushed to his rescue. No matter that he wasn't in danger, you still set out to rescue him not get him killed. It was ultimately Dumbledore holding things back from you that caused this Harry. And I'm positive that where ever Sirius is now, he's forgiven the sliver of blame that might be laid at your feet."

His mother's words went a long way to freeing Harry of the guilt he carried. He had not expected to trust his parent's portrait so much that he automatically took what they said as truth, but his heart was being healed nonetheless.

"Right then. The next part of this story is what happened after I left Dumbledore's office that night. I need you two to understand the severity of what I'm about to tell you, so in regard to that…" Harry took a deep breath, "I, Lord Harold James Potter-Black do swear upon my life and my magics that everything I am about to reveal is, as far as I am aware the absolute truth, so mote it be." His father frowned at him.

"Magical vows are not something to be taken lightly Harry. Should you accidently lie, it'll claim your life. We would've believed you without the oath, son, whatever it is." His mother nodded along.

"I know they aren't, but you probably wouldn't believe what I'm about to say without it. I met Merlin."

Both of his parent's jaws dropped open with shock. Since Harry was still sitting there looking at them and not slumped over dead they had to believe him, but they didn't understand how such a thing was possible. So Harry told them.

He gave them a verbatim description of everything that Merlin had relayed. Thanks to his new skill in Occlumency, he could recall it with near perfect clarity. As he continued his parent's mouths dropped lower and lower until it seemed like they would have to dislocate their jaws in order to open their mouths any wider. He reached the end of his time with Merlin when he told them about waking up with Fawkes ready and waiting to donate what he needed to perform the cleansing ritual. Having gotten through all of the really heavy things Harry concluded his oath.

"The information I intended to relay under the auspices of my oath has been spoken, so mote it be." He felt the magic release him. He could now leave out a detail or misstate a fact without the magic taking his life for it.

"Sorry, Dad, I'm sure Mum understood more of that than you did having been exposed to Muggle science fiction, which is exactly what this story sounds like, but do either of you have any questions?"

"You have the knowledge of the whole of Hogwarts crammed into your head?"

Harry nodded. He then explained that that also included the Professors journals and notebooks and that that was how Harry had found out about the Horcruxes, including that he was one. His parents were mortified until Harry explained that Merlin didn't seem all that worried about it and appeared to have a way of removing it without killing him. This also answered the question in their minds about why Albus could possibly ever want to kill Harry.

"We're part alien?" At this question Lily smacked him on the back of the head.

"James!" Harry just chuckled.

"Technically, no. Since the Alterans seeded this galaxy with a more primitive form of their own evolution, we are all the same species, even muggles. We are just further down the evolutionary road than they are since we descended from full-fledged Alterans that were on the cusp of ascension. Especially me since the Chair kick started my evolution. I'll level out at about the level the Alterans were when they arrived in this galaxy. So will anyone who sits in the Chair I think. I plan on making another trip to the outpost in the Antarctic soon to begin learning about Alteran mathematics, physics and sciences."

"What are the rest of your plans, Harry?" Ever the practical one, this question came from his mother.

"Well, for now I need to learn as much as I can and begin to exercise my magic to fit it with my newfound knowledge. I need to feel out potential allies. Once this bit of filth is out of my skull I need to confront that Headmaster. He cannot be allowed to continue in his flawed thinking about my fate. It wouldn't do to have him working against me. I need to train those allies in the Chair once I find them. I need to investigate the Potter and Black vaults for useful items. I need to find out where this planet's Astria Porta is and get some up to date intelligence on the state of the galaxy. Everything Merlin told me was a _bit_ dated and more of a history lesson than a tactical breakdown. I need to track down the rest of the Horcruxes and deal with Voldemort and his Death Eaters. I need to convince the magical world to take to the stars."

"That sounds a very well thought out series of goals, Harry, even if it is lacking in execution for now. Tell us the rest. How did you find your way to Potter Manor if Dumbledore stuck you with the Durselys again?" His Father asked.

"Well, that all got started after the cleansing ritual. When I performed it, the focus materials for the ritual were consumed by the ritual magic." Lily frowned, not understanding the significance, but James understood and began to turn red and quake with anger.

"Your magic was still bound?! At 15? Is he mad? You could've been made a squib, or worse exploded your core and taken half of the school with you in the backlash. We bound your magic when you were still in the womb, Harry because you were even then having bouts of accidental magic. You would summon Lily food anytime she had an odd pregnancy craving. When the pickle jar attached itself to her stomach with a sticking charm that took both Sirius and I to undo, we knew we needed to do something. To not have removed those when you entered school is BEYOND criminal and delves into the realm of insanity!" Lily understood the significance of those ritual components being consumed now and was just as angry as her husband.

"Harry, how were you able to cast magic through your bound core? I don't understand." Harry had given this some thought while he was in the bath that morning.

"I have a theory, but neither of you are going to like it. Even with the bound core I was still doing accidental magic. Most of that accidental magic was used either healing myself after Vernon and/or Dudley knocked me around, or conjuring sandwiches when they didn't feed me. I probably would've died without some of those bouts of self-healing, so I think my magic knew I needed it badly enough to work around the blocks. Now that they have been removed I've had a pretty large increase in magical strength. Enough that I can do most OWL level spells wandlessly now."

Harry was right and neither of them were particularly pleased about hearing that it was his abuse and starvation that had expanded his magic, but were suitably impressed with his abilities nonetheless.

"Back to your original question. The night after I performed the cleansing ritual I made my way to Gringotts. I ended up meeting with the Black Accounts Manager incidentally. I claimed the Potter Lordship and after an adoption ritual Sirius set up in his will, I claimed the Black Lordship." His father whistled.

"Those are two of the oldest Houses still around, Harry. The fact that you are the head of both of them gives you quite a bit of political power. That should definitely open doors that would otherwise be closed to you."

"Oh? What kind of doors?"

"Well, you can call for a Vote of No Confidence for Fudge. Usually it is only the Chief Warlock or a collection of at least five Ministry Department Heads that can do that. The fact that you are a Lord twice over gives you that right, however."

"That… will come in extremely handy."

"Quite."

"While I was at Gringotts I found out quite a few other things that Dumbledore has been doing that I can't explain under his 'must-save-the-world' banner."

He told them about the automatic withdrawals that had been setup for the Weasleys as well as the fraudulent marriage contract he drew up for Ginny. His mother was particularly incensed that the old bastard had tried to force her baby to marry some Weasley tart. His father was apoplectic for a different reason.

"THAT is attempted Line Theft! There is a reason that a Regent cannot confirm marriage contracts for a Noble House. If the Wizengamot finds out about that one, Dumbledore will find himself Kissed between he could sneeze. The Wizengamot is comprised nearly of only purebloods, and they would be appalled that a Regent of any House had attempted to marry off the scion of a Most Noble and Most Ancient House to a minor House! You can marry whoever you like Harry, and it should be for love, not station, like it is with me and your mother."

"Oi! Lowered your station, have I?" James blushed.

"No, of course not Lily. None of this codswallop has ever mattered much to me and you know that. But to the people to whom it is important, this is something they will not take to kindly."

"I can understand that Dad, I guess."

Just then his elves returned with a rather large crate.

"Harry Potter-Black, sir! We be finding all of the nasty woman's blood magic things. We be having no trouble since nasty lady doesn't have any elves, sir!"

"Good job Tilly. What did you guys find? That seems an awful big crate for some parchments."

"Oh there is being a lots of parchments sir, as well as some nasty potions to use with thems. We be taking everything so nasty toad-lady cannot be doing anymore blood magic sir, because we also be taking her blood-suck quills!"

"Quills? How many did she have?"

"Twelve, she be having twelve quills, 48 different scrolls of blood, two dark potions ready to use that would kill whoever's blood is mixed in and lots of dark potions ingredients sir. Like desecrated unicorn heart, sir."

"Desecrated?" James had turned green while Lily was throwing up behind him in the portrait.

"You really don't want to know, son." Based on that Harry was able to guess and his stomach twisted. _How could someone possibly even CONSIDER doing THAT to a unicorn, of all creatures. _

"Were there any ingredients that aren't so foul?" The elves shook their heads. "Destroy them all then. I don't know how to put that poor unicorn to rest, but I don't want these things being used. Ever. So burn them. Are the blood scrolls labeled with names?"

"Yes sir."

"Destroy all the ones from students from last year, but let me look at the ones from the adults. We might get lucky and snag a few Death Eaters. Save the completed potions."

The elves nodded and popped away with the crate to sort through and then destroy most of what they had gathered. His parents had recovered from their shock of hearing about the levels to which Dolores Umbridge would sink for power, but now where looking at him bewildered.

"Blood magic, Harry?"

"Well, mum, I've already done blood magic. The cleansing ritual I used to get rid of Dumbledore's tracking charms and the Ministry Trace as well as the blocks on my core was blood magic, dark magic. I'll give it to you that this is a whole other level from that, but that _woman _was prepared to use those potions on any number of individuals, most of whom were children. I'll not suffer that thing to live long enough to try something like that again. One of her potions is for her. The other will be used to blackmail the highest ranking Death Eater that she managed to… collect."

Lily sighed. "You're at war Harry. We understand that there isn't very much Light Magic that can be used to assassinate an enemy during wartime. Just don't lose yourself to it Harry, or you'll live to see yourself become that which you are fighting against."


	7. Tibrus & Albus

The next day saw Harry in the potions lab soon after dawn, working on three different potions. The first was technically an alchemical solution, but it would take a full year to create a philosopher's stone and the first dozen or so steps revolved strictly around potions. He added two drops of freely given phoenix blood and took it off the heat. It would need to sit for a full moon cycle before he started the next phase. The second was a potion that was nearly complete. The Animagus Revelius potion would put him into a trance in which he would meet his spirit animal, which would allow him to begin training with his animal form. It took the Marauder's three years to complete the transformation, but they used meditation to find their forms and didn't have access to McGonagall's personal library on the subject. Harry expected to finish the transformation before the end of summer. He added a vial of his own blood to the potion, and after letting it simmer for thirteen minutes, took it off the heat to cool before consumption. The third was a batch of polyjuice potion, and once it was completed Harry would have a 'finite' proof way of getting around unnoticed.

After six hours of continuous brewing he bottled a vial of the Animagus Revelius potion before vanishing the rest. He banished the left over ingredients to their shelves and set the used tools and cauldron aside to be cleaned later before leaving the lab and making his way to the portrait hall. It had very comfortable couches for people to sit on while they conversed with the portraits, and would suit him well for the trance he was about to fall into.

"It's done!" he said excitedly to his parents. His mother was proud of him for completing such a complicated potion, but his father was sulking.

"You know, if we had known that there was a silly little potion we could brew to find our forms it would've shaved nearly two years off of how long it took us to transform."

"James! It is not some silly little potion. That is a Mastery level potion your 15 year old son just brewed! I'm quite proud of him. I don't think you ever had the skill to brew it anyways, so it was always going to be the long way around for the Marauders."

Harry just laughed before downing the potion and splaying himself out on the couch. Harry expected to fall asleep and wake up somewhere in the wilderness where he would meet his spirit animal, he did not expect to merely blink and find himself high in a remote mountain region.

He gasped and took a step back from the cliff that he was only inches away from. He looked around himself and figured he was about three quarters of the way up the mountain. He was below the snow-cap, but was high enough up the face that no large trees were growing around him. The area around him was littered with small caves and sudden drops, all accentuated by sharp rocks with almost no vegetation clinging to them. The one thing he didn't see was any animals.

A sudden sharp cry brought his attention to the sky. He should've known that his form would be one that could fly. As his spirit animal began its descent, the wind kicked up around Harry so much that he had to shield his eyes from it. When he opened them, he was greeted with the sight of a Griffin standing regally in front him.

He nearly fell over from shock

"But… you're a magical… that's not supposed to be… what?!" The shocks continued, because the Griffin responded.

"Hello young one. I must say I am very glad to meet you. You are the first in nearly four centuries to be blessed with a magical form and for a while we feared you would not seek to become an animagus."

"You can TALK?"

"Of course I can, all griffins can speak. My name is Tibrus."

"Harry. What do you mean all griffins? I thought griffins were extinct?"

"Yes, the last griffin passed from your world many, many years ago. But we moved on to the next life just as any sentient species does. Sentience comes from the soul, and something as simple as death cannot affect the soul. You will be the first griffin to take to the skies in living memory."

"But how is this possible? I thought animagus forms were always mundane animals?"

"For most people yes, that is quite true. However, very powerful wizards can attain two animagus forms; a mundane animal and a magical creature. You are a bit of a unique case. Your metamorphagus ability is… masking is the best word, your mundane animal form. So instead of being a multimagus, you are a metamorph and a magical animagus."

"That… makes sense I suppose. Only two forms no matter how powerful you are, and the infinite forms the metamorphagus ability only counts as one? I'll take that as a win!"

"Indeed young one. There are also many benefits to having a magical animagus form. Most animagi only see a very slight melding of their two forms. A cat animagus might be very flexible or a wolf animagus might have a heightened sense of smell. Since your form is magical, once you complete your first transformation this melding will be more pronounced. You will no longer have need of your glasses, because your sight will be that of a griffin, you will be able to use the magic of our wings while in human form…" Harry interrupted here.

"You're saying I will be able to fly as a human without a broom?"

"No… not quite fly. Even with the wing magic you still are creating no thrust. But you will be able to glide. A jump from the Astronomy Tower of Hogwarts will prove no challenge to you."

"Wicked." Tibrus just laughed at him.

"Also with the first transformation you will notice a swelling of your magical core. Griffin's have their own internal magic for things other than flight and can perform small bits of it when they have a need to. You will take all of this magic back with you into your human form and it will fuse with your own magical core. That will be rather painful for you, I'm afraid, but it's unavoidable."

"Again, getting a magical power boost and broomless gliding? I'm still counting this as a huge win. Seeking to become an animagus is probably the best decision I've ever made! This is really awesome."

"I am glad you are excited young one. You must be careful about who you allow to see you in your animagus form. There are many who would hunt you for potion ingredients and wand core parts. There hasn't been a griffin for a very long time, and not many of those poachers would care that you are an animagus."

"I understand. I know injuries transfer from form to form, but if I have someone I trust gather a few feathers or talon shavings from me, will bits be missing when I change back? Will they even stay or will they change back with me?"

"As long as you freely give them, they will retain their shape and magical properties after you shift back. So long as you don't take more than one feather from a small area or completely remove a talon you shouldn't notice any missing parts. Perhaps some skin irritation, like the outermost layer has been removed."

"That's easy enough to heal directly following. That's great! There is a rather ingenious potion Snape found that will protect the body from blunt force trauma that requires griffin blood and crest feather. Anything from bumps on the head, to car crashes, to bullet wounds wouldn't be an issue."

"The Griffin's Gift potion. It was invented by Salazar Slytherin himself. Your potion's professor is unaware that he possesses the recipe for that potion. The entire tome is written in parseltounge, so he has never even read it."

"Really? I didn't know you could write in parseltounge. I guess just like I only hear English when it's spoken I would only see English when I read it. Or in this case, get it downloaded into my mind."

"Yes, it is rather like that. If you focus on a serpent while you are writing you will find no one else will be able to read what you have written, it will appear to them as meaningless swirls and squiggles."

"That'll come in handy I'm sure."

"Yes, I'm sure it will. Your time here is running out young one. Do not attempt to transform until tomorrow. The potion must be out of your system first. I wish you luck on your journey."

And just like before, within the space of a single blink, he found himself on his back staring up at the ceiling of Potter Manor's portrait hall. He felt like he had actually climbed the mountain he had just been on and groaned as he sat up. Despite his sulky attitude earlier, his father was bouncing with excitement to find out what his son's form would be.

"Well? What did you see? Did you greet your spirit animal? Bet that potion didn't work at all, did it?"

"Yes, Dad. The potion worked just find. I greeted my spirit animal all right, and he greeted me right back. His name was Tibrus."

"It spoke to you? Mine didn't speak to me! What a rip off!" Harry laughed again. He would never tire of his parents humor. It was infectious

"Well, your animagus form isn't nearly as awesome as mine. I'm a griffin!"

Both of them just looked at him like he had three heads.

"You know James… maybe that potion didn't work. Did you hit your head before you took it sweetie?"

Harry huffed, and then went on to explain everything that Tibrus had explained to him. His parents were still skeptical, but were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until he could prove it to them by transforming.

The three of them fell into easy conversation that was full of brevity and laughter. It was such a different atmosphere to the dour and anger filled one they had the night before.

/`/`/`/`

Albus Dumbledore was not having a good week. The Ministry had finally acknowledged the return of Lord Voldemort. A lesser man would've told Fudge that he had already been informed thusly, but Albus was not a lesser man. He knew that without the guidance of Lucius Malfoy, who had been imprisoned following the fiasco in the Department of Mysteries, Fudge would be easily manipulated, and manipulate him he did. He might have felt a little guilty about that, but after an entire year of putting up with Fudge's whimpering protestations about the return of the Dark Lord had dulled that response.

It had taken 16 hour days for the last week and a half, but Albus finally thought that the Ministry was on the right track for the upcoming war. He had managed to get Fudge to institute mandatory testing under veritaserum for every Ministry employee including himself before they could return to work. The questions were the same for everyone, and while they were somewhat limited they would definitely serve to root out Death Eater spies.

Are you a Death Eater?

Do you have plans to become a Death Eater?

Have you ever used any of the Unforgivable curses against another human being?

Are you sympathetic to the cause of Lord Voldemort?

Are you, in any way, being coerced into complying with the wishes of Death Eaters either through blackmail, intimidation or threats against your loved ones?

That last one was essential since it was how Voldemort managed to get the majority of his information. Fathers who knew that their daughters were being held at wand point by the Death Eaters could compel a man to great acts of evil.

He had just returned to his office for the first time since the school year had ended and he was met with complete silence. The complete quiet of his office sent a chill of dread to spread down his spine. There were a dozen objects in his office that should've been emitting a variety of clicks, whooshes and dings. They were all tied into monitoring the location and well-being of one Harry James Potter. A few had been damaged in Mr. Potter's rampage through his office, but most had survived and continued working. If they weren't working now it either meant that Harry had been stripped of all his tracking charms and the blood wards had fallen, or Harry was dead.

The first option would be bad. Without having Harry under his direct control he had no way to assure himself that Harry was downtrodden enough to lay down his life when the time came. The second didn't bear thinking about because if Voldemort managed to kill Harry before all the rest of the Horcruxes could be tracked down and destroyed, he would forever remain immortal and the war was already lost. He immediately bolted back through his floo to summon the order.

They had a search to conduct.

AN: Bit of a short chapter this time, guys. But the next one should be rather large. Next time we'll see the return of Merlin, another session in the chair, and Harry attempting to get off-world for the first time. It's kind of a pivotal chapter, so it might be a week or so before I update again. Until then!


	8. Rewrite

I've decided to rewrite the whole thing starting in 2004 long after Potter and Co get to Atlantis. The rest will be told during flashbacks and explanations to various allies. Look for a new posting sometime later tonight, or tomorrow, and let me know what u think of the new direction.


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