Revisited 27.12.2021: Fixed typos and some details just like I did in the previous chapters.


Chapter 4. Progress


"Good Morning," Charlus said as he approached the reception desk in the Hunter guild's building. "I was informed that Edward Greengrass could be found here. I would be grateful if you could point me to him or inform him that Charlus Potter would like to talk."

The young man behind the reception desk raised his gaze from the papers that had his attention a second ago and arched an eyebrow at Charlus. A moment later he pointed to a chair on the other side of the room and replied, "Please sit down for a moment, I will go and inform Senior Hunter Greengrass about your request. He is a busy man so I wouldn't get your hopes up."

Charlus nodded, pleased with the answer. He just hoped that his old friend wouldn't ignore him as he ignored his letters. Normally the older Potter wouldn't come to Hunter's Headquarters in Britain, but after all forms of communication failed, Charlus contacted Dumbledore to ask if he knew where he could find his old friend.

Thankfully Dumbledore confirmed that even with Edward's old age and job, he was still alive, quite active, and the best way to find him would be to go to the Headquarters.

That was why Charlus was okay with sitting down in a surprisingly comfortable chair and waiting for any new information. This was the last thing that the older Potter needed to take care of before he would go and meet Harry.

He already took care of the housing problem. Even though Potter Manor was destroyed, it was still possible to rebuild it. Charlus contacted a few people that owed him a favor and in two weeks they managed to reconstruct some parts of the building. Maybe it wasn't as grand as it used to be, but it would be more than enough for him and Harry.

The warding part was a bit more tricker, but with Dumbledore's help, they should protect them just fine. Now the last part was to get some protection against demons and other creatures that Hunters took care of. Dumbledore only knew some basic protections and Charlus knew that they wouldn't be enough so here he was, hoping that his old friend would be able to help him.

No longer would he ignore the danger that demons posed, especially with their ever-increasing numbers.

Shaking his head, Charlus cleared his mind from those thoughts. It was easy to get lost in his plans, especially when one spent the last decade in a coma.

The older Potter took this moment away from his thought to finally observe the room a bit. It was really interesting how differently the Hunter Guild decorated their building from the rest of the wizarding world.

Maybe the most important part was that the Headquarters were located far away from any other magical gathering, quite similar to the ministry. The building itself looked more modern than anything that you could find, for example in Diagon Alley. The same could be said about the inside as Charlus couldn't see any extravagant decorations apart from some unmoving paintings of the most popular Hunters and the most powerful demons that the Guild defeated.

All in all, it was quite modest, but anyone walking in knew where they were.

Finally, after quite a bit of waiting, the young man came back and addressed Charlus, "Hunter Greengrass will see you now. Please follow me."

Charlus nodded and quietly followed the young hunter. He was led through a few corridors before they came upon a door that was labeled with Charlus' friend's name. The hunter knocked two times on the door and entered with Charlus following.

Surprisingly the room was as modest as the reception, with a few paintings, two big bookshelves, and a single working desk.

"You can leave now Marcus," spoke the man behind the desk.

He was as old as Charlus, but with more visible signs of his age. His hair was almost completely gray with multiple wrinkles adorning his face, and Charlus already spotted a few scars on the old Hunter's body.

After Marcus left the room, the cold blue eyes of Edward Greengrass looked at Charlus. "I see that the rumors were true. Welcome back among the living Charlus. I would have visited you, but with the amount of work I get lately, I just didn't have enough time. Please take a seat."

Charlus accepted the invitation and sat down across his old friend. Then he smiled lightly and said, "I see that the time wasn't too generous to you."

Edward snorted as his gaze lost a bit of its coldness. "Not everyone can sleep for a decade Charlus, you look almost the same as the last time I saw you. Maybe just a bit thinner."

The older Potter gave out a chuckle of his own. "It is good to see you. When my letters didn't make it to you, I thought that you were dead. I am glad I was wrong."

The other male furrowed his brow. "I must have forgotten to remove the anti-mail wards from myself after the last mission. I will do it later today... Now Charlus, why are you really here, we both know that you wouldn't come here just for a friendly visit."

"Aye. I didn't come here just to chat, but before that, I would like to ask you a few questions regarding your job," Charlus answered truthfully.

"Really?" Edward said with a raised eyebrow. "You never really showed any interest in the even more supernatural part of our world. Just remember that I won't be able to tell you everything. Hunter's oaths and all that shite."

Charlus could understand that. After both he and Edward got out of Hogwarts they mostly parted ways as the Potter needed to take care of his family as its Head and Edward had chosen the path of a Hunter as he didn't have any responsibilities to his family with his position as the second son. In the few meetings they had after Hogwarts, Charlus became aware that Hunters couldn't speak too much about what they did.

"That won't be a problem," Charlus reassured. "I only want some general information that Dumbledore couldn't give me."

"Dumbledore?" Edward arched an eyebrow. "You two never saw eye to eye. What happened that made you so friendly with him?"

Charlus frowned lightly. "We both have the same goals currently, so I am a bit more willing to work with him. Don't think that I would trust the old goat just like that, that's why I came here after all."

Edward smiled. "Good. So ask your questions, while it is nice talking to you, I still have a lot to do today."

The Potter nodded, the friendly atmosphere evaporating in an instant. "I heard that the amount of Demons on Earth is increasing with every year. What can you tell me?"

Edward drummed his fingers on the desk. "It is more complicated than any Hunter would like to admit," he said before sighing. "While it is true that more and more Demons appear with every year, we don't really know where all of them go."

Charlus narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean where they go?"

"Exactly that Charlus," the Greengrass snarled. "In the past, they always appeared with some kind of goal. Killing or kidnapping muggles, wizardkind, or magical creatures to gain power. All in all that always came to earth to cause chaos, but now? They appear, we kill some of them, but the rest just disappears. Sometimes we manage to hunt them down, but half of the time they just go missing and we have to drop the hunt."

"Wouldn't they just go back to their realm in fear that you will kill them?" Chalus questioned.

"It is possible," Edward nodded. "Most of the Hunter Guild really hopes that's the case, but I am not so sure. The lower ranks never run away from a fight, so why would they begin now. It just doesn't make sense, but I might be reading into it too much."

Charlus nodded even if it hadn't told him much. He was really regretting his ignorance about the other side of their world in his youth. It sure would help now.

"Alright, I won't drill you more about this subject, I can see that it is frustrating even for you. I still have one last question before I get to the point of why I came here." After the other man mentioned him to continue, Charlus asked, "How is the Underworld?"

Here Edward visibly tensed before answering in a clipped tone, "Charlus, we both know that I can't speak about that. Even with you being the Head of the House, I just can't. Leave it alone, if there was anything dangerous happening there I would have informed you, don't worry."

"I will trust you on that," Charlus said after a moment of silence. "Now for my main reason why I came here. I need help with setting wards against demons around my new home. Could you lend a hand?"

"Wards you say? I should have some time tomorrow. Later give me the address and I will come as soon as I can. Now, let's talk about what wards you exactly need."

Charlus breathed a sigh of relief and gave a small smile in thanks. Soon he would have everything ready to meet his grandson.


[New Quest!]

Defeat whatever comes out from the rift.

Rewards: 25 Power, STR EXP, END EXP, AGI EXP

Yes/No

Harry looked at the new quest with a bit of reluctance. Yes, he could try and defeat the demon, but was it worth the risk? Harry wasn't too sure. His current combat capabilities weren't too high and he only really knew how to do some basic moves with the sword he received.

Sighing Harry again hid behind the tree and accepted the quest. There wasn't any penalty in case he decided to run, so he could just wait until the demons appear and see what rank they were. Then he could either run or fight.

No pressure.

It took a few more seconds for the rift to spit whatever wanted to come through and Harry held his breath when instead of one demon, two came out.

The first one was the small dog from before, but the second resembled an overgrown worm with a way too big mouth and serrated teeth. Without even scanning them with observe Harry knew that they were ground and underground types respectively. Still, the boy wanted to know if he even had any chances.

[Dustworm (Rank: F)

Power: 75

A small worm-like demon. It can only move underground and its large teeth can pierce even through metal.]

[Fang (Rank: F)

Power: 50

A young demon that possesses some resemblance to hellhounds. Due to its age and small build, it is quite easy to kill.]

F-ranks... I should be able to deal with them. I just need to be careful. Harry was still young and even though he had attributes of a normal human, he knew that even his Uncle could kill the demon dog. With the use of the sword he received from Rigna, it should be easy if he could land a hit.

Coming to the decision that he would stay and fight, Harry opened his inventory and took out the sword. It still amazed him how he could wield it with his short stature and lack of strength. It was like the sword was made just for him and in some parts it was true.

[Blade of Night (Rank: D - S+)

Sword forged by Rigna after she defeated the Primordial goddess Nyx in a duel and took her weapons. It possesses the ability to absorb the power of fallen enemies and grow with the wielder. The progress resets once the master of the blade has changed.

Power: (Base 50) + (Absorbed: 5)

Special Abilities: It will always be a perfect match for its master.]

A very powerful weapon that Harry was very glad to have. He would never even think to fight those demons without it. He really couldn't wait for the moment when he would be tall enough to be a bit more comfortable with the blade. While it was a perfect match, the height problem couldn't be dealt even with the magical properties of the blade.

Looking back at the demons, who were now trying to regain their bearings after being violently thrown out of the rift, Harry gripped the sword tightly and slowly climbed the tree he was hiding behind.

Harry already experimented with his improved body, what kid wouldn't, and he discovered that even though he didn't have high stats, his body was still stronger and more durable than normal. He could even fall from a height that normally would hurt or break a bone and walk away without a scratch.

If Harry played it right, he would be able to get closer to the spot where the demons were still laying and maybe get a surprise hit on one of them. It would make this fight a lot easier if he could kill one of them before the battle even started.

Thankfully it took the demons a moment to gather their bearings and move. Unsurprisingly the worm dived underground and the dog began to walk around the area.

During this time Harry set himself on a branch that was the closest to the demons. He knew that he had to be patient if he wanted to achieve anything and while Harry's mind arts training was helping, there was only so much of waiting that a ten-year-old boy could take.

Thankfully Harry's luck finally smiled at him and the demon dog finally managed to sniff that something was wrong with the tree Harry was on. The demon walked closer, snout almost in the ground as a growl left its mouth.

The prepared and slightly scared Harry used this occasion to jump down with the Sword of Night poised at the demon. The fall wasn't bigger than seven feet so when Harry impacted the dog, he only felt a mild discomfort throughout his body.

The demon wasn't that lucky as the sword went right through the demon's head, killing it instantly. Unlike Harry's first kill, this demon disappeared in a matter of seconds, its steaming body boiling and fading into nothingness.

Harry, still high on adrenaline, almost missed the moment when the worm demon emerged from the ground, jumping straight at the young boy. It was only thanks to his new senses that Harry managed to jerk away and escape without any injury.

Harry's heart threatened to burst out of his body, while his blood sang for more bloodshed. The young Akiari would have never thought that a simple fight like this could make him feel so many different emotions at the same time.

Excitement and triumph from his first fight and the way how he killed the demon. The nervousness came from the thoughts that maybe he should just run and hide. And finally, anticipation and desire to fight against more demons or enemies that could challenge him.

Harry realized in this single moment that Titan was right. Akiari really lived to fight and the battle was something that they enjoyed the most, even if he was a young kid.

Grinning, Harry subconsciously reached for his magic and began to feel the area around him. Instantly Harry knew where the worm demon was and had no problem in dodging another of its attacks.

This dance continued for another few minutes before Harry finally got the opportunity to strike at the worm's unprotected side.

Like previously the demon disappeared after the kill and Harry was once again alone in the clearing. Only the quiet humming could be heard from the rift that still didn't disappear completely.

Harry, after he finally understood what he had just done, accepted the reward from the quest and put his weapon away. Thankfully his clothing was mostly clean so he wouldn't need to explain anything to his relatives. He also noticed that he received a new skill during the fight.

[Sensing and Cloaking (Active) Mastery: Novice

The ability to use magic to sense everything around you and hide your own energy from others. Can act as a sort of 6th sense or just a tool for finding things with any sort of energy. With a higher mastery, you will be able to find things faster and on a bigger scale and hide your presence more precisely. Warning: Experienced magic-user can still hide from this ability and find you while you are masking your presence.

Cost:

Current effects: Very small area of effect, Can't hide your own presence]

That was probably the ability he subconsciously used when he fought against the worm. It looked really useful and could help him both in a fight or when he wanted to do something stealthy.

I will practice it later, for now, I should go back before Aunt Petunia notices that I disappeared again. He was just about to leave when Harry finally noticed the rift. Weird, last time it disappeared almost instantly.

Curious Harry walked a bit closer to the rift and used 'Observe'.

[Chaos Rift (Rank: F)

A rift between realms. Can be used for travel if one is experienced enough. Currently, it randomly spits beings from the other side. With time the rift will grow stronger and will be able to transport more creatures.

Current status: Active-recharging (Expansion: 47%)]

That gave Harry some information, but he had no clue what any of it meant. His lessons didn't cover rifts yet, but the part of it growing stronger worried Harry a lot. He really hoped that one of the future lessons would cover this subject. Harry didn't want more demons around here. He was still too weak.

Shaking his head Harry picked up his speed and ran back towards Privet Drive 4.


"Welcome back students," Odin greeted more cheerfully than anyone would expect from the man. "Today we will finally move onto Magic arts that are used actively."

Harry was once again in the same classroom watching as the students eagerly waited for the next instructions. Harry himself couldn't contain his excitement to learn more about magic. Any offensive ability would be helpful in his next fights against demons that waited somewhere on the horizon.

"Like you all know magic is divided into many different Arts. It would take me the whole lesson to explain every single one of them to you, so I will start with the Arts that Akiari are the most familiar with. We are the masters of elemental, reinforcement, and space-time magic. There is no day where we go without using at least one of those Arts... Elemental and reinforcement magic to help us during battle. And space-time magic to deal with the Void Rifts and aid us in traveling faster. Some of the Ancient Akiari managed to develop techniques with space-time magic that helped them during a fight, but this is a lesson for a later date."

After Odin finished his explanation, he waved his hand and multiple images appeared behind him. Each of them represented a unique element and Harry was beginning to understand what the teacher will show them today.

"As all of you can see, this is the list of some of the elements that exist in our world. Every Akiari is attuned to at least one of them. Of course, it is possible for us to wield more than one element but it always depends on the person. For now, I will present you with a single exercise that will let you learn which elements you are attuned to." Odin clapped his hands and stated, "Let us begin."

For the next few minutes, Harry listened carefully as Odin explained how one needed to again enter the second tier of the mindscape. There the students had to meditate and focus on their magic until they felt it coursing through their bodies. After that, they simply needed to bring it out in its raw form. If everything was done correctly then the raw magic would take traits of the elements that the person is most attuned to.

Harry knew that he would be able to do it the next time he visited his clearing in the park. And then he would finally be able to do true magic... At least for him, it was true magic.

"The next and last thing I will teach you today is reinforcement magic. It is one of the most useful skills that an Akiari can learn. With the help of our magic, we can make our bodies stronger, faster, and more durable. The ability is hard to learn and you can never really call yourself a master of this skill as there is always something you can improve on. I will show you a few beginner exercises that all of you need to master if you want to learn reinforcement. Also remember, the stronger your body, the stronger reinforcement will be."

It was certainly an interesting piece of magic. Harry only really understood that it made you stronger when used, but the young Akiari had the time and he would learn. The exercises weren't that hard, but Harry knew that it would take him some time to master them all.

The time inside the dream passed and Harry was quite sure that after all this time, even his young mind finally understood what reinforcement exactly was. Unfortunately, Harry was disappointed that Odin didn't give his class any information on space-time magic. If it could deal with rifts then Harry needed to learn it. Fast.


The last week was probably the most tiring time in Charlus' life. Between the preparations of his new home and the many meetings he needed to attend, the older Potter didn't really get any time to rest. Thankfully almost everything was finished and today Charlus would finally meet his grandson. After that, he might get some time to investigate what really happened with Sirius.

"Are you sure, you want to go alone Charlus?" Dumbledore asked as they both sat in Hogwart headmaster's office.

Charlus nodded instantly. "There is no reason for you to accompany me. It will be easier if I just go alone. You already provided me with the address and a portkey to the location."

Dumbledore sighed. "If that's what you want to do, I will honor your decision. I just hope that you will give me a chance to meet young Harry soon."

The Potter was already at the exit door before he answered, "We will see about that later Dumbledore. For now, I need to introduce my grandson to a completely new world. Still, for what it's worth, thank you for your assistance and for giving Harry the protection he needed."

The Headmaster waved him off. "No problem. I wish you good luck Charlus."

Charlus nodded in thanks and finally left the room. After that, he slowly walked through the halls of Hogwarts until he left the castle and approached the border of the anti-transportation ward. There he took out a small pendant given to him by Dumbledore and spoke the activation phrase.

"Privet Drive."

Instantly Charlus felt the tug of portkey and a moment later he was standing in an abandoned alley.

It was good Charlus preferred clothing that mostly resembled modern muggle style so at least no one would look at him weirdly. Personally, Charlus thought that a long coat was a lot better than any robe he could find in the wizarding world. Besides, it looked similar enough to wizarding clothing that no one gave Charlus any problems.

After he gathered his bearings after the portkey travel, Charlus walked out of the alley and looked around. Dumbledore might have provided him with the correct address, but it didn't mean that he knew where exactly the house was. After all, he like most of the wizards tended to keep to magical settlements.

Thankfully Privet Drive wasn't too big so it only took Charlus a few minutes before he found the house that Harry should be living in. Dear god. Who would want to live in a neighborhood like this?

Shaking his head, Charlus knocked a few times at the door.

Finally, the door opened and the older Potter was greeted by a horse-faced woman. Charlus kept himself from commenting and asked politely, "Good afternoon. I am looking for Harry Potter. I was informed that I could find him here."

"What do you want with the boy?" The woman answered with a hint of edge in her voice.

The elder Potter immediately knew that the woman couldn't be pleasant but again, he kept any negative comment to himself. He only needed to find his grandson and from there he could deal with everything.

"My name is Charlus Potter and I am Harry's grandfather. Due to my condition in the last few years, I was unable to take care of him. And now I would like to meet him. Could you tell me if he is inside?" Charlus informed the woman while trying to keep the annoyance from showing.

The woman's eyes widened. "You are one of them," she almost shouted and Charlus gave a nod. "Are you planning to take him away from us?"

"It is Harry's decision, but yes it is my plan," if Charlus' thoughts were right then he would need to have a long chat with Dumbledore.

"Great," the woman stated with a nasty smile. "The boy should be in the park two streets away from here."

Before Charlus could say anything she shut the door right in his face. He was left standing there, gaping as his mind tried to process what the hell just happened. That was probably the most unusual conversation that Charlus ever had. The woman, Lily's sister from what Dumbledore told him, didn't even care to check if he was telling the truth.

Someone could just come by, take Harry and those idiots wouldn't even care. Oh yes, he would have a very long talk with Dumbledore once this was done. Charlus just hoped that Harry at least had a normal life here. Unfortunately, he had to meet with the woman again as he needed her to sign the necessary documents.

It is going to be a pain in the arse.

Sighing, Charlus turned away from Privet drive and began walking in the direction of the park. He really hoped that Harry was there.

It took him a lot more time to reach the park and the long walk showed Charlus that he was still not fully recovered. The sweat running down his forehead was the only confirmation he needed. His younger self would be laughing at him, it was disappointing how far one of the best fighters from the war against Grindelwald had fallen. Some rituals would probably be needed if he ever wanted to fully recover. His age wasn't helping either...

The park wasn't too large and after walking around for a few minutes Charlus couldn't spot his grandson. Thankfully Dumbledore had a picture of Harry from a year before, so he at least wasn't going in blind.

Just when Charlus was planning to go back and ask the horse-faced woman again, the elder Potter felt a small spike of magic coming from the small forest that was connected to the park.

Curious, as there shouldn't be any magic in the muggle neighborhood, Charlus followed until he came upon a small clearing.

There Charlus lived through his second shock today when he noticed a boy no older than ten, wielding a sword in one hand and a small ball of darkness in the other.

When Charlus accidentally stepped upon a branch, the boy instantly turned around and the older Potter was met with a face that held a lot of resemblance to his dead son. Still, there was one very important difference.

The eyes.

One green and the other violet. They looked at him closely, calculating if Charlus was a threat. In spite of himself, and the tense atmosphere, the elder Potter couldn't help but ask.

"Harry?"


Far away in the void between realms, two beings watched as the universe progressed.

"They sacrificed their power to come back," the first one spoke.

"That they did. The question is how much their new host knows about their past. He could become a problem later on," the other being answered as he looked at the images of a black-haired boy.

"Rigna knew what she was doing. She expected the punishment. It is likely that she never told her host about the day of her demise," the first being reassured his companion.

"I still think that we should just get rid of him before he becomes a problem."

The more controlled one shook his head at his companion's foolishness, "It is not how we work. We have rules that we need to follow. The boy didn't break any of them... Besides he has a long way to go if he wants to challenge even one of us."

"So we wait again," the chaotic one stated.

"We wait."


Name: Harry James Potter

Race: Divine Akiari/?

Power: 389/389

Strength: E- | (18%)

Endurance: E- | (29%)

Agility: E | (8%)

Int&Wis: E | (15%)

Magical Power: E+ | (68%)

Luck: Good