941Harry Potter and the Founders' Vault
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the wonderful words JK wrote for the first book.
Note: This is a fun story that I am writing with the help of my Harry Potter-obsessed Beta, Captain Sigma. It was lightly inspired by the story Harry Crow, with our own take and inspiration too from Hogwarts Mystery. I do warn you that the writing style will shift from the start to the end, with it moving – hopefully seamlessly – between authentic JK Rowling, to my own style which I will be using throughout the rest of this story.
Prologue
A Change in Fate for the Boy Who Lived.
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.
The Dursleys had everything they had ever wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.
Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't even have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as un-Dursley-ish as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, around the same age as their own son, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want their own son, Dudley mixing with a child like that.
When Mr. Dursley woke up on another dull, grey Wednesday morning our story starts. Mr. Dursley, a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although with a very large moustache, didn't quite know why he had woken so early until he heard the hammering on the door and the doorbell going off, which frustrated him as it was too early to get up for one, and he had arranged for a nice lie-in today, not having to start work until midday.
Angry, he threw himself out of his bed, slipped on his slipper and wrestled with his dressing gown for a moment before stomping down the stairs, bleary-eyed and angry.
"What in world is this for?!" He shouted, opening the door to see the milkman standing there, looking a little surprised and shocked. "Yes, you deliver milk. I don't need to collect it!" Mr. Dursley stated, about to snatch the bottle from the man's hand and close the door before the milkman spoke.
"There's a baby!" The milkman stated
"A baby? What baby?!" Mr. Dursley looked around before the milkman pointed down and to the basket on his doorstep. A small child was wrapped tightly in thick blankets within, to keep away the autumn chill. Moreover, the appearance of this child shocked Mr. Dursley into silence.
"Vernon?" Mrs. Dursley appeared behind her husband, her blonde hair trailing in its curlers, the complete opposite to her husband with a slim figure and overlarge neck. Her eyes followed both her silent husband and the bemused milkman down to the bundle on the doorstep.
If the neighbors hadn't been woken by the racket that was the milkman hammering on the doorstep of number four Privet Drive, then they certainly woke to the scream that emanated from Mrs. Dursley's mouth. It was only the quick thought of Mr. Dursley that silenced the scream as he thrust the milk bottle into his wife's hand, grabbed the basketed baby and slapped the door shut in the milkman's face.
Ushering his wife into the kitchen, Mr. Dursley thrust the basket onto the clean table and filled the kettle, almost automatically as he decided on what to do and who this child was, but it was Mrs. Dursley finally speaking that shocked him to turn around. She was sitting at the table now, ignoring the basket but holding a letter. Mr. Dursley noticed the thin scrawl and wondered what it said, but his wife confirmed it all in two words.
"It's him," Mrs. Dursley muttered.
"Who?" Mr. Dursley paused, dreading the next words from his wife's mouth.
"Harry Potter," she stated. "My sister's son…" she was re-reading the letter as Mr. Dursley remained rooted to the spot.
"So that explains the ridiculousness of yesterday," Mr. Dursley snapped, having been annoyed by the owls in broad daylight and the people in odd clothes he had encountered yesterday while working.
"Lily is dead," Mrs. Dursley continued, ignoring her husband's statement. "So is her blasted husband… Oh my. They were killed by him…"
"Who?" Mr. Dursley seemed to be lost at this statement.
"Him!" Mrs. Dursley reiterated. "The Lord of the Freaks. Lord Vold –"
"Lord?!" Mr. Dursley stopped his wife from completing the sentence. "I didn't even know they had such titles like that. What about the baby? Do they expect us to keep him?" His thought was confirmed by the small nod his wife gave. "Damn. Well, we won't take him," he was strong on that opinion – he would not let this boy infect his freakiness into his own son, who could sleep through anything but was as spoiled at his father was large. "We'll drop the boy off at an orphanage."
Mrs. Dursley paused, glancing at the boy in the basket. She didn't want to keep him as much as her husband, but at one point in her life she had loved her sister – part of her, a small part that she would never admit to her husband, was sad to know that Lily was dead. And this was Lily's son, her own flesh and blood.
"Vernon," Mrs. Dursley spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. "We can't just dump a… freak like him at an orphanage." As she spoke, she reread the letter, noticing there was mention of some sort of blood bond, a connection to Lily written within, and a thought came to her mind. "Did I ever tell you of my cousin, Timothy?"
"You've never even mentioned a cousin," Mr. Dursley paused, "you don't speak of your family much," he had never pushed on the subject, considering both her parents had died young and her sister was what she was. He didn't know about his wife's larger family.
"He's my father's brother's son," Mrs. Dursley confirmed. "They moved to America when we were very young. From what I know, Timothy is one of them, too," Petunia confirmed. "He and Lily both so excited when they learned they both were freaks. Tim still lives in America though. The last I knew he married one of his kind and had a family of his own."
"You want to dump the boy with your cousin?" Mr. Dursley caught on.
"The letter speaks of a blood bond," she held out the letter, Mr. Dursley snatching it to read but unable to make out the slanted scraw. The only thing he could see was the name: Albus Dumb-something. "The letter is right. This boy belongs with family, but not us. He belongs with his own kind. Let me contact my cousin," Mrs. Dursley decided.
"Can you? How do those freaks contact one another?" He and his wife had barely spoken of Lily's kind but knew enough that they weren't as sane as normal people who used telephones, emails and letters.
"They're a little modern over there. They have a phone number," Mrs. Dursley said.
"You have it?" Mr. Dursley asked, surprised.
"Lily gave it to me the last we spoke. I…" she didn't know where to go with this, but her husband was trying to reread the letter once more, so she took the opportunity to leave the room, going to find where she put the number.
-Harry Potter-
Several hours later in Arizona, Timothy Evans sat in his kitchen, his eyes on the newspaper and a beer on the table. The news his cousin and her husband were dead had reached America in record time – the fact that little Harry had survived the killing curse was celebrated and had interested people worldwide.
But Timothy could only think about his cousin being dead. She had spent the summer after graduating Hogwarts over in the United States with him and they had remained close up until… well, today, obviously.
"Are you okay?" It was his wife, Cassidy, who spoke. Their one-year-old daughter, Harper, was by her feet. Both she and her daughter were blonde, and both had blue eyes. Harper had been born a couple of month before Harry; Lily and Timothy had been planning for the last year to get together, and the last they spoke, Timothy heard this Dark Lord was after them. He had begged her to come and hide in America with them. Lily had refused though, saying they were safe.
"No," Timothy said, standing to hug his wife. "Don't you have to go to work?"
"I sent a message to Newt telling him I was going to need the day off," Cassidy dismissed. She worked in a Magical Creatures Reserve that had been established by Newt Scamander here in Arizona. Newt had been mentoring Cassidy so she could run this reserve herself while he watched over the others he had also established. "He understands."
"Dada!" Harper yelled out and Tim brought Harper onto his lap.
"Any idea where Harry is?" Cassidy asked.
"Probably one of his godparents have him safely," Tim said, knowing James Potter's friends, Sirius Black, and Alice, and Frank Longbottom were all Harry's godparents. "I'll contact them. I need to remain in his life."
That was when the ringing of their telephone distracted them. As Tim worked as a lawyer for both the magical and non-magical world, they had a phone. A lot of wizards and witches in America had adapted some non-magical technology, in fact, enhancing them so magic did not interfere with the electronics. It was starting to become a big market here in America.
Tim got up and answered the phone.
"Tim, this is Petunia," Tim recognized the name from Lily, and was shocked to hear the voice. "Lily's sister."
"What can I do for you?" Tim asked, wondering if Lily and Petunia had made up before Lily's death – Petunia's attitude to the magical world had proved a big barrier between the sisters, but anything was possible.
"I have Lily's son," Petunia stated. "I was hoping you would be able to take him?"
"You have Harry?" Tim said in disbelief. Maybe they had made up? Although given Petunia didn't want Harry, red flags were already showing.
"He was on our doorstep this morning," Petunia explained. "Dumbledore left him with us. There's something about a… magical bond," she didn't want to say the word, it seemed, but was left no choice. "A blood bond that connects the boy to myself; I can't keep him. I don't want that kind in my house or around my own son." Her voice was almost deadpan, like she wanted to get this over with.
"I'm going to need you to watch him for a few days while I arrange travel and figure out how to transfer custody to me," Tim said without even thinking about it.
"Good," Petunia stated, hanging up without another word.
"I need to contact some friends," Tim said, turning to Cassidy, who had a raised eyebrow, but had heard her husband's side of the conversation. He then paused, realizing something. "I'm sorry, I didn't ask you before I said we would take in Harry…"
"He's family. Of course, we're taking him," Cassidy said. "Muggles wouldn't understand."
"Are you sure we can handle two magical one-year-old's," Tim asked.
"We'll make it work," Cassidy smiled, and Tim was pleased his wife was so understanding. They needed to take in Harry, they both knew that. "Go. Make your calls. I'm going to call Mato and see if he will watch Harper when we go to England to get Harry." Mato was their Native American friend the pair had met in school – his tribe actually founded the Grand Canyon Academy for Magics that both Tim and Cassidy had attended.
Tim gave a nod and kissed his wife before starting his phone calls.
-Harry Potter-
It was a couple of days later when Tim and Cassidy had arrived at the Dursleys.
Tim had managed to work out all the legal paperwork needed; he had been worried that Harry had been left with Petunia but someone else was holding guardianship, but that had not been the case. Somehow, on the night Harry's parents had died, Petunia and Vernon had been put down as his legal guardians just as Lily and James's will was suppressed.
The British Magical Government was a mess, but it did mean that they wouldn't even notice their savior was leaving the country; something Tim thought was the best for young Harry. Anywhere in Britain could be unsafe if someone recognized him.
"So, where's Harry?" Tim asked as he and his wife sat in the living room, noticing how absurdly tidy the whole place was, not a fleck of dust was out of line. He frowned at the pink beachball pictures on the wall and mantlepiece before realizing it was a baby – the Dursley's own child. He felt sorry for the boy, wondering where the Dursleys had their own son, but decided not to ask.
Vernon moved out of the hall, and to the cupboard under the stairs – visible from their spot in the living room – and dragged the little baby out. He was still in the basket that he'd been left in, but Petunia had, at least, changed the boy's diapers in the few days that they had had him.
Tim wasn't upset he had missed Petunia's wedding at this – not that he'd been invited – and even less upset now. Cassidy was up in a second though, her wand in her hand.
"Just what do you think you're doing with him?" She demanded, both Dursleys eyeing the wand in shock as Cassidy moved over to the boy. Vernon retreated.
Maybe it was the protectiveness in Cassidy's voice, or even recognizing a wand from his own parents, but little Harry cooed happily from the basket, reaching his arm out to the woman. Cassidy had to smile as she picked up the boy. He put his head into Cassidy's chest and Tim knew from the look in both their faces the two had become attached at that moment.
"So, this is rather an easy arrangement," Tim said, deciding not to address the place in which the Dursley's had kept the boy, taking out the paperwork. "You will be signing all your rights and guardianship of Harry James Potter over to us, letting us adopt him as our own." Tim knew one thing: to legally have Harry move to the United States with them, they had to officially adopt him and get him an American citizenship.
"What about the blood-thing that the note says? That having Harry here will provide protection to us," Petunia spoke, glad Cassidy had put her wand away now.
"The blood wards," Tim confirmed. He had felt the ward the minute he had come, but it was weak, likely because these pair had not accepted Harry. "Once we take Harry, the ward here will fail and a new one will be set up at our home." Tim had talked to several of his connections back home over this and they confirmed that since Tim was also a blood relative of Lily, the ward could transfer to their home instead.
"Are we in any danger from your kind?" Vernon snapped, and Tim had to put a hand on his wife to stop her from raising her wand again.
"Unknown to you here, your country just got out of a war. It ended because the Dark Lord tried to kill Harry and his spell rebounded," Tim said, having glanced at the note the Dursleys had decided to keep with the little Harry. "Harry here has saved a lot of lives and there may be people who would come after him, for good or ill. I would suggest maybe moving house. If anyone comes to look for you, I doubt they will risk imprisonment over a few muggles when they realize Harry is not with you."
"Muggles?" Vernon scowled at the name.
"Non-magical people," Cassidy confirmed, not glancing at the Dursleys.
Regardless, this information seemed to relieve the Dursleys as Tim showed them where to sign on the paperwork. Both Vernon and Petunia were quick in signing and, once they were done, it seemed the couple were more than happy to let the new family leave as quickly as possible, not even offering refreshments as they found a way to quickly usher the wizards out of their property.
Once outside, the couple looked back to the house before Tim looked at the baby in his wife's arms.
"Bring Harry back to the hotel; I am going to go to the American Embassy in London to get the paperwork through as fast as possible. A friend from college works there and agreed to help," Tim explained, and Cassidy gave a nod. "And make sure to hide that scar…" It was the first time Tim had actually looked at the scar on Harry's head. It was in the shape of a lightning bolt and he had an instant bad feeling toward it.
"I'll get him a hat," Cassidy said with a smile as her husband disappeared with a pop, while she held out her wand arm, knowing this summoned the magical transportation of this country.
-Harry Potter-
It was the next day when Tim, Cassidy and Harry were back in America. Tim's friend had flown the paperwork through and managed to hide exactly who was being adopted and leaving the country from the British Ministry of Magic – not that they were smart enough it seemed to know this information. Besides, a lot of children had been orphaned in the war, after all.
Harry Potter was officially, and legally, their son and now had dual citizenship of both United States and Britain.
The couple, plus Harry, were on the Indian Reservation where their friend Mato lived, to collect their own girl. They heard laughing to see Mato in the yard playing with Harper.
"Mato!" Cassidy called, and both adult and child turned to the wizards. Mato picked up the girl to bring her over to her parents. With Harry in Cassidy's arms, he looked at the girl in interest, but seemed hesitant. Cassidy seemed to think Vernon and Petunia son had been mean to Harry while he was with them, leaving some impact. "Harper, meet your new brother, Harry."
Cassidy put Harry down, as did Mato for Harper, so the pair could officially meet one another. Harper wasted no time before bringing Harry into a hug, causing Cassidy to grin.
"So, I guess everything went well?" Mato asked.
"Harry is officially our son," Tim said proudly watching Harper and Harry interact. Harry seemed to be warming up to his daughter. "Mato, can you tell me what you make of Harry's scar? Something is just off with it..."
"The scar was caused from surviving the killing curse," Mato explained, having seen the scar when he'd first seen Harry. He imitated with his finger the casting of the curse, the zig-zag pattern it created, before couching down to look at Harry. The boy turning to him as Mato put his hand on his scar.
"Oh, this isn't good," Mato muttered, suddenly getting up and calling out to his father, an elder of the tribe, who appeared as if from nowhere. After a short conversation between Mato and his father, the elder turned to Harry to look the boy over himself.
"What's going on?" Cassidy asked, as Mato's father, Anakin, picked up the boy to take him away. Harry cried out.
"I'm sorry, Cassidy. There is a lot of dark magic in Harry's scar – the darkest magic possible. A fragment of someone else's soul is in Harry… like a parasite," Mato explained. "It will take the eldest magics of our tribe to remove it – magics only our elders know. My father is getting the other elders together. We will take care of Harry."
"And what will happen to this other soul?" Tim asked, having a bad feeling he knew whose soul that had to belong to.
"It will be destroyed like the abomination it is," Mato stated, taking his friends' hands. "You are welcome to wait here. It could take a while."
Cassidy and Tim stayed in Mato's house, waiting, as they watched Harper play with her toys. Mato and his partner, Catori, made dinner for them. It was during dinner when Anakin came back with Harry in his arms, several hours after having taken the boy.
"It's lucky you brought him to us when you did," Anakin stated solemnly as he put the boy with Harper and gave him a plate of food. The boy was tired and weak now. "The soul fragment was getting settled into him – much longer and it would have been impossible to remove without killing the host as well."
"But he is fine?" Tim asked as Cassidy swore under her breath. "What about his magic? Was it affected?"
"His magic is fine. He is a very powerful little wizard. You have two powerful children here," Anakin said with a smile.
Cassidy moved to help Harry with his food and shifted some of his hair back. That was when she noticed. The lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead was gone.
Post Chapter Note: Well, we hope you enjoyed this first chapter of our new venture. Yes, we decided to include some Native Americans' in this, and did the research to make it authentic. We're not sure what tribe they are from, but they are in Arizona and the Grand Canyon. Regardless, they're all integrated into the magical community of Arizona. And yes, we will explain some of the differences to this story from that of JK's established canon as the story progresses.
Hope you liked.
Karry Master (and Beta) OUT!