10 Years later
It was a warm summer evening on this day in the end of July. The forests in the hills were still green and full of life, giving the scenery a peaceful picture. In this forest was now a boy with his 10 years of age, his green eyes looking for his target. He was on a trail which led down the mountain to a beautiful lake in the valley. He was sure that he will find him on this way. All traces he found pointed that was the way his target was going. As he was sneaking through the forest, he tried to remember an important lesson said target showed him once.
Never trust the traces, they could be forged to lead you away from the target or lead you in an ambush.
Right as he remembered, he felt a light sting on his back and knew that he was hit.
"Dammit, not again. Uncle John, could you please just one time go easy on me? You know I am just a kid!" The boy screamed, being sure that his target, John, would hear him. All he got was a light chuckle as the big man came out of a bush. With his hand relaxed on his side, he put the airsoft gun back into the holster on his hip.
"Well Harry, what did I tell you about your enemy? They will not go easy on you. You need to be more aware of your surroundings. Because if you would have listened more closely, you would have heard me moving the bushes 5 meters up the hill. Right as you passed me, by the way. Now, let's go back, your sword lessons will begin shortly. And after that it is dinner time, and I am sure Yen and Triss will have cooked enough for all of us today."
Harry smiled. He remembered when this training all started, he was watching John and Geralt, who he insists to call Uncles, train together. Geralt was fighting with a wooden sword and John with his bare hands. He was fascinated. So, Harry asked if he could fight like that on day too and they looked at him with a smile. Well, in case of Geralt there was a smile, John just looked at him indifferently. They told him that he needs to train first before they would teach him how to defend himself. So, Harry began to learn at the age of five years old. All the while Aunt Yen and Aunt Triss taught him about magic and why he could do things that the others could not. Once, he asked them why he could do these things, but not what Yen was do with the fire for example. Because of this, he learnt about his parents and what they did. He respected them for telling him the truth and could not wait until he gets the letter from Hogwarts. But until then, he had still some lessons to learn from Uncle John and train. Last month, they began to be shooting with a small pistol, but only after he learned all the safety rules he needed to know. Like never point it at something you don't want to hit. And only take it out if there are no other options to defend himself or other people.
The gun he got was only a small one, but it was still powerful enough to hurt someone badly. Harry had it in a secure box, because someone could steal it and hurt someone. He would not be carrying it open like Uncle John, for that he was too young. He has also some small swords, that he got from Geralt and his friends that he trained with too. Afterall, they were reasonable sharp. That's the reason why he needed to practice with them. He was proud he good he was for his age. Of course, he needed still more training to be as good as the others, but he was optimistic. He still had some time to train.
As they returned to the castle, they were going straight to the great hall. They have eaten always in the great hall, as it was the biggest and warmest place, because his Grandaunt Catherine had the heating units placed there. According to her, it was the optimal place to heat almost the entire castle. They still had some in the quarters, but they were a lot smaller. But they were enough for the winter, so they did not freeze as long he could remember. He also was well cared for and was happy.
As he sat down, the others were also coming to the great hall. They smiled at him, so something was up. What day was it today again? He was suspicious as Uncle John said, they would go into the woods to train today. Not that he disliked it, he liked it very much in fact. Every evening he was tired because he trained, he could sleep like a bear.
After everyone sat down, they were still grinning. Harry got a little nervous. Yen came in with Triss and Ciri, carrying the meals for dinner. They smiled too, so Harry gets a little anxious. The last time everyone was grinning like that, they found out that he was keeping a pet snake in secret. Not that they were against it, after all it was not poisonous, and he could understand it. He proved it as he was telling the snake to do things it would normally not do. They laughed out loud as the snake was looking like it just rolled his eyes and did the tricks he told it to do.
After the meal, he was told to go into his room. They never eaten dessert, that would just soften them up he was told. And when they were camping for his training, they had also no dessert, so he was just used to it. As he got into his room, he saw some wrapped boxes and suddenly remembered what day it was. It was his birthday. How could he have forgot about it? He was running back and thanking everyone for the gifts, even if he did not know what it was yet.
Yen told him to wait, as she would get the gifts into the hall, where his birthday cake was waiting. This was the only time Harry gets something sweet in the year. It was not that he did not like it, but he was told that too many sweets would just make him unhealthy. So, it was really a special occasion like his birthday that they got a cake. Soon, Yen got back with the gifts out of his room, letting them float behind her with her magic. Something he still could not do as good as she did. All he could lift was a little pebble. But it was at least something. Yen and Triss always told him that his magic reserves were massive, but he needs to learn how to harness them. Also, something was blocking him in a way, and he needed to overcome it. When he asked what it was, they said that they were still looking into it. They had a hunch, but they were searching a way to remove the hindrance to his magic.
As Harry was tearing into his gifts, smiling at the little knife with holster and magic books, Doctor Halsey did get up and told them that she will soon return, she needed to get her gift out of her laboratory. As she got back, she had a small rectangular box with her, giving it to Harry.
"I have here your new glasses, with a little bonus. Just promise me you won't use its functions in an exam, that would be cheating. And you are smart enough to ace everything I could think of. Mind you, I have no idea how this magic school teaches, all I had was the reports from John since 5 Years, as he began his teaching in Hogwarts. Go, try them on."
Harry put the glasses on, not really needing them. The corrector on the lenses were minimal, like he thought. What surprised him was, that he got like a heads up display right in front of his eyes, giving him information as he was looking through it. He took them off again and was looking it over. It looked like a normal pair of glasses, it was nothing special to house the little computer needed for that information he saw.
"Grandaunt, how do they work? I saw information about almost everything I was looking at. I thought that this tech needed sensors and everything." Halsey was happy that he was so curious.
"You would be right, but that is a prototype I developed. Unlike John and me, who have retinal implants because of our background, you lot would need something from outside for seeing the information you need in your work. And you can't put on the helmet every day in school, that would look stupid. But there is a little surprise for you. These glasses lets you talk with us, using vibrations in the temples to stimulate your ear bone, so that just you can hear it what it is said. That was the reason I asked you not to use this function during the tests. Because there is someone who will accompany you on your journey. Put them back on."
Harry put the glasses back on and waited. Suddenly, he heard a female voice inside his head, or at least it felt like that. After the explanation from Catherine, he knew that it was coming from his glasses.
"Oh, can I talk now? I was afraid you would flip out if I just began to speak. I hope that you are having a good birthday," Harry heard the voice of an old friend, one that he thought sounded familiar. If John could hear it now, he would know who was talking.
"Cortana? How? I thought you would need a much bigger processing unit for your matrix. How can you fit into these glasses?" A little image appeared in his glasses, showing a smiling blue female with shoulder length hair. "Please Harry, try to just think your answers, these glasses have enough sensors that I can read your brainwaves and distinguish you question or how you want to talk to me. Like Doctor Halsey said, it would look stupid if you would talk out loud with no one around. Now, to your answer, Doctor Halsey worked tirelessly on curing the AI rampancy Cortana experienced like 4 years ago. In that wake, she found a way to optimize the space needed for us to operate efficiently. As you surmised with this information, I am not Cortana. That AI is again back with John, like it should be. These two are one unit again, so John will be back at 100 precent ability inside his armor. My name is officially CTN 0452-10, but you can call me Callie. Nice to meet you."
Harry was confused. Callie sounded exactly like Cortana does. Like she said, she knew what he thought. "Because I am like a clone of Cortana, in a sense, I sound almost the same. With time, you will hear the difference, just like John. Now, because only you could hear me until now, you need to open the other box." In Harry's vision appeared an arrow, that highlighted a small box. As he opened it, he got a tiny device, what looked like a projector. He placed it on the table, and out of it came Callie, in her holographic form.
"Greetings, I am Callie, the AI who will be with Harry and relay all necessary information to you. Just in case. Harry, please take the device with you, sometimes it's better to talk with something like a person instead of just thinking it. Also, this device hosts my main core, so please don't leave It out in the open, after all we AI are still a secret worth keeping. With it, I can also talk with Cortana directly via satellite, who our friends from *In Amber Clad II" put out secretly around the moon." Harry nodded, understanding the importance of it. With that, he would be able to talk to his friend in this castle. As he was thanking Doctor Halsey for her gift, an owl swooped down and landed in front of him. On his leg there was a letter. Harry untied it and ripped it open, already knowing from where it was. The shield on it had a lion, a snake, a badger and a raven pictured. He began to read:
Dear Mister Potter
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await you owl by no later than 31. July.
Yours sincerely
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress.
PS: I know that the date for your answer is today, but your owl was always a fast one. And please accept my congratulations to your birthday.
Harry turned the page and overflew the list of items he would need to get.
First Year Students will require:
1: Tree sets of plain work robes (black)
2: one plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3: one pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4: One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)
Please note that all studentss' clothes should carry name tags.
Harry chuckled at this. If what he was told was correct, he would never wear the hat, and everyone should know who he is. He just hoped that the other kids would try to know him how he was, not just because he was famous. He would have to watch out for false friends, who just wanted to be in his good books because of his name. He read further down the list. There was a list of course books, what intrigued him most was Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander and The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble.
Then he got to the section what confused him. "Why would I need a wand? We can use magic without it, right? Is there such a big difference between our magic that this school require the students to carry one? And why am I not allowed to take Cindy with me? I know she is a snake, but she is a nice one. And you would need Sarina yourself, so should I ask an owl in the woods if she wants to come with me? And for that matter, where do we get all that stuff in this list?"
The owl who brought him the letter was looking at him with a sideway glance, snapping his beak.
"Oh, please forgive me little owl. Just let me write down the answer." Harry began to write, also asking how he would get these supplies. As he gave the letter the owl, it flew off right out the window.
Catherine decided to clarify something that Harry brought up on the necessity of a wand. "Harry, while you have learned in past few years that you do not need a wand but it's my understanding that wands are like a focus to direct magic at a fixed point. Imagine your wand like a sword's tip or a gun's sight. With a wand you can be more precise in your ability with magic." Halsey paused to make sure Harry understood. Seeing him nod in understanding she continued. "Not all the magic taught in Hogwarts requires a wand. Runes, for example, as you know requires an understanding of the language the runes represent. Do you need a wand for potions?" Harry shook his head in the negative. "Well, not for the creation of the potion but certainly if there is a mess." Catherine smiled wrly at Harry's blush.
Harry thought for a moment remembering a lecture Catherine gave him about importatnce of knowledge and never to assume he knew the answer.
*Flashback*
Harry was sitting at a table in his Greataunt Catherine's labatory listening to her explain the importance of knowledge, logic and the pitfalls of assumptions.
Catherine was patiently explaining how different the wizarding world is when it comes to the scientific method. "Whilst it's true that the wizarding world does not wholy subscribe to principles of science it does have its own laws and theories. And while the often defy the laws of physics it does not mean that they can undo all those laws." Catherine paused seeing Harry had a raised brow as if he had a question on his mind. She waited patiently for Harry to give voice to his thoughts.
Harry frowned as he was thinking about the difference in laws of nature and magic. "So if magic has its own set of laws and rules the underlying factor to some of those laws isn't so much the law itself?" Seeing Catherine tilt her head waiting for Harry to explain his thought pattern. "I mean we can't assume that just knowing the incannation and the movement of the wand that it will work. There's something behind it to make it work."
Catherine nodded in agreement. "Indeed, it is rather pecular, isn't it? Intent, certain emotions, will, visualizing what you want to do all of those have a basis and foundation into spells that its not enough to just say the spells. And remember Professor McGonagall has demonstrated she does not need to say the spells." Catherine smiled wrly and thought to remind Harry of the basic rules she and John have taught him. "So, with that said, what is the most important rule of this lesson has taught you?"
Harry sighed knowing he would have to repeat it. "Knowledge is power and the more knowledge I have the better prepared I can be. That and assumptions serve no purpose but to distract you." Harry paused as thought about the day's lecture. "But if knowledge is power why can't we share it with outsiders. I mean, I understand that the tech is very advanced but…" Harry trailed off as he saw Catherine shake her head in the negative.
Catherine sighed and removed her glasses. She thought of a way to explain this without sounding arrogant or patronizing. "You remember that the wizarding world has set itself apart from the mundane almost 300 years ago, yes?" Harry nodded. "Just like with wizarding world wanting to protect itself we have to do the same here. I very much doubt that the mundane world is ready for the reintroduction to the existence of magic. And while heads of mundane government know of its existence they cannot force the wizarding world to reveal itself. Can you imagine what would happen if the general public found out about existence of magic?"
Harry grimaced at the thought. "Mass panic, paranoia, the religious zealots would start the witch hunts all over again. But surely there has to be a way to avoid all that. If the mundane world can realize that they could work with the wizarding world."
Catherine smiled at Harry's optimism. "The problem has to do with the Ministry of Magic and the ICW. They would need to no longer be in control by purebloods. They will always look down on the mundane world and see them as nothing but muggles." Catherine shrugged helplessly. "In an ideal world it would be simpler but to bridge the gap there has to be a driving force behind it."
Harry thought to try to lighten the grim mood with a joke not realizing it was in bad taste, "So, an alien invasion then." Harry joked only Catherine wasn't really smiling at his attempt of levity.
*End Flashback*
Harry shook his head at the memory and took the next present out of the pile, it was from Ciri. In it were a little knife with a holster, what he could attach to his belt to hide it under his clothes. Or, after he would be at Hogwarts under his robes. He would need to train to draw it fast in case of an emergency, but he will find a way. So, he thanked Ciri for her gift and took the next one. It was from Yen and Triss, they got him some spare clothes, while Lambert got him a leather jacket. But as Harry got to Geralt's gift, he was speechless. In the little parcel was a medallion, like Geralt and Lambert were wearing. It looked like a Wolf's head with its mouth open, the fangs blank.
"I think you are ready to have one. It will react to any evil magic, like mine does. So, it will warn you when its vibrating but don't rely on it. Keep your guard up, even in this school. John told us that there are some magical creatures who are dangerous outside of a lessons. So, I hope you will carry the knife from Ciri with you."
Harry thanked him for the medallion, always looking at them when he watched Geralt and Lambert train. After they have eaten the cake and celebrated his birthday until the night came. After that, they were going to their respective bedrooms, except Sarina, who kept watching for the other one with the answer for Harry. Until it would arrive, she could hunt some mice for her dinner. As she flew around, she also saw Cindy, Harry's pet snake. She was also hunting for mice. She flew down to help her a little; after all, she saw from the air more mice than the snake. In turn, the snake could sneak better on her prey and kill it quickly. After they have eaten some, Sarina saw the owl with the answer for Harry flying to his window and delivering the letter. As it wanted to fly back, she hooted for him to come down and eat with them. They had enough mice for two Owls and a snake.
After a good night's sleep, Harry got up from his bed and saw the answer from Hogwarts. He took it with him down to the great hall to eat his breakfast. Triss and Yen were already down there, preparing some beacon for everyone. As he was sitting down, he pulled a plate with some eggs and bread to him and began to eat, while reading the letter. In it were some directions to where to get his supplies and the notion that he will get some company to escort him through that place called Diagon Alley. He wondered who it could be, as they heard a knocking at the door from the great hall, signaling that they had a visitor. He stood up, already almost finished with his breakfast and told Triss and Yen that they should just stay, as the others will be coming in due time.
As he opened the door, the first thing he saw were a pair of knees, as the man standing there was gigantic. He was almost three times as big as Harry, so he had to look up to see his face. Somehow, he seemed familiar to him. The big man was looking down to him, and a smile was showing on his face. "You must be 'arry. Man, you've grown, the last time I saw yeh, yeh were so small yeh fitted in my hand. I am Hagrid, Professor McGonagall told me I should help you getting your school supplies. Or at least bring yeh to Diagon Alley, she will be looking if she could be there to. Can I come inside? I think your guardians wants to know who was coming this early in the morning." Harry did go out of the way and let Hagrid enter the great hall.
Yen and Triss were, in the meantime, joined by Geralt and the rest as Hagrid got to the table. "'ello, nice to see yeh all. Some of you may still remember me."
"Well, it is not easy to forget such a big man." Yen said, looking him up and down. Of course, she remembers him from the night they took Harry in. "So, what brings you to visit us? Are you the escort Harry asked yesterday?"
"Yes, I am. As I told 'Arry, Professor McGonagall will likely join us as soon we are in Diagon Alley. Now, the motorcycle has a side car where I could fit next to Harry another person, if someone wants to accompany us." Hagrid looked around, waiting that someone would say that they would come too.
"I would like to come; I would like to see this Diagon Alley. But how are we going to pay for it? I would guess we need to go first to Gringotts right?" Ciri stood up, walking over to Harry and Hagrid. She was only big enough to reach his elbow. She was grinning, likely because they would ride on the motorcycle trough the land.
"Oh, that won't be a problem. Gringotts is in Diagon Alley. We will be first going there and afterwards we will get the school supplies. Now, if that's all, I think we will return in the later evening. Have a nice day." As they walked out again, Yen and Geralt waved Ciri and Harry. For Harry, this would be the beginning of his journey in the magical world. They just hoped they trained him enough.