203So, here's year 2 of my Harry Potter series. I've started writing this while still trying to write my DDR chapter. I don't know why, but just trying to write it has been very hard. No because I don't know what to write, but because I don't feel like doing it, even though I want to write it. *sighs* I honestly don't understand how my mind works sometimes.
Anyways, I have just one announcement here. StereoxHearts is in need of a beta reader. Please contact them if you can or are interested in taking on the job.
Now, on to my story. I hope you all enjoy this.
Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, shape, or form, own Harry Potter. It is the property of J.K Rowling. All I own are my OC's, and the twists I throw into this fanfic.
Chapter 1
The End of Summer
The sun shone down brightly through the sky, warming the countryside of Scotland. A figure took a deep breath, enjoying the summer air, his emerald eyes closed behind his glasses. He looked up as he heard the call of two birds of prey.
Harry Potter smiled as he held up his arms, his blue acolyte cloak opening as he did so. His smile widened as two birds landed, one to each arm. One was a red tail hawk, usually native to the Eastern United States. The other was a snowy white owl.
The young wizard and battle mage in training smiled at his two familiars. "Blaze, Hedwig. Have a nice flight?" He asked, as the y both moved to his shoulders. Hedwig affectionately nibbled at his hair, while Blaze seemed preened his chest feathers.
Harry chuckled, as he turned and headed towards a small forest. Inside, he found a small hill with a cave entrance. He slid inside, moving to a dead end. There, he placed a hand on the wall, closing his eyes and whispering something under his breath. The wall in front of him opened up, and he slipped through, his two familiar's wobbling a bit.
On the other side was a stone staircase heading down. Behind him, the wall closed, as he descended down the flight of stairs, emerging into the vast open halls of the Scottish Battle Mage Sanctuary.
It had only been a little over two months since he had returned home from his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Just yesterday had been his twelfth birthday, and besides the gifts from his family and his two friends from Hogwarts, Harry had also received a letter from Hogwarts, with a list of what items he would need for the new school year. Mostly, the list consisted of a series of books written by someone named Gilderoy Lockhart.
His younger brother Travis had also received his first letter, which had a longer list consisting of the entire Lockhart series, as well as the standard books for each class.
Harry smiled as his familiar's flew off to the Sanctuary's roosting tower, where messenger birds and other aviary familiars could enter and exit the Sanctuary. Harry arrived at the set of rooms that belonged to his adopted family, the Wallace's, who had taken him in eleven years ago. His parents had been killed by the Dark Lord Voldemort, a powerful and dark wizard. Harry had survived, and was destined to live with his muggle aunt and uncle, when Gareth Wallace had taken him from their doorstep and raised him amongst the Battle Mages.
As he entered, his adopted father Gareth looked up. "It's about time you got back. I was about to send a search party for you," he said jokingly.
Harry just smiled. "I was enjoying the morning. It's always so calm and quiet out there."
His dad just chuckled, and ruffled his adopted son's already untidy black hair. From another room came his wife, Marian Wallace. Her long red hair was pulled back in a braid today. She smiled fondly at Harry, as a small blur shot past her, and topped in front of Harry, revealing his younger brother Travis.
Travis grinned. "You're back! That means we can go get my Hogwarts stuff now, right?" He asked, looking back at his parents, than at Harry. After hearing all about Hogwarts, Travis had gotten really excited, since he was going to be attending too.
Marian smiled as she hugged him. "Of course, we can go now. I haven't seen you this excited since you learned you were actually going to begin practicing some of the spells your dad showed you."
Travis and Harry just both grinned, as Gareth chuckled. "Both of you were literally bouncing off the walls when your turns came," he commented, smiling as he slipped on his dark red cloak, the emblem of his rank of Master within the Battle Mages. Both Harry and Travis donned their own blue and brown cloaks as well. Marian donned her own red cloak, signifying her rank of Master as well.
The four of them quietly headed to one of the designated Floo rooms within the Sanctuary. While Harry had been away at Hogwarts, the sanctuary had undergone a few renovations involving some of the new magicks they had gained access too when they had formed an alliance with the Ministry of Magic. They had created a few rooms dedicated solely for the use of the Floo network, as well as expanded their herb garden and potion brewing rooms to include the new herbs and potion ingredients they were able to get from the Wizarding World. They had also added a new wing to the library to incorporate new books from the Wizarding World.
The Wallace family entered one of the Floo rooms. Marian stared at the flames. "So we just throw some powder in and say where we want to go?" She asked, looking at her family nervously. She was the only one who hadn't travelled like this before.
Gareth nodded, as Harry took some powder. "It's really easy. But you need to speak clearly, and be careful on exiting. It's a little bumpy."
Harry smiled reassuringly at his mom, and then threw the Floo powder into the flames. They roared an emerald green, and Harry stepped in, saying "Gringotts!"
He was swept away, his world becoming a maelstrom around him. After a few moments, he saw the grate that was his destination. He managed to land on his feet, but still stumbled out. A few seconds later, his brother followed, then his mother who almost fell, if not for Travis and Harry catching her. Gareth was the last to arrive, actually succeeding in simply walking out of the fireplace instead of stumbling.
Marian looked around, slightly in awe of what she was seeing. "So this is Gringotts?" She asked.
Gareth nodded. "Yes. It's run by the goblins who have agreed to work with the Ministry of Magic. So you know how safe anything stored here is." Many of the Mages Sanctuaries around the world had vaults protected by enchantments and locks crafted by their goblin members.
Marian smiled and nodded. "So, I'll change some money to buy Travis's things, while you go with Harry to get money from his vault?"
Gareth grinned. "And afterwards, we'll meet outside and give you the grand tour of Diagon Alley."
Marian smiled. "Can't wait," she said, as she headed to one of the many counter's where goblins were busy working, either examining gems or currency, or writing notes in ledgers.
Harry and Gareth, meanwhile, were escorted by a goblin attendant to one of the many carts used to transport customers to the thousands of vaults used to keep the money of Wizards.
About thirty minutes later, the family was in the sunlight, and Marian got her fist look at Diagon Alley. She blinked in surprise, staring at the multitude of shops that stood before them.
Gareth pulled out Travis's list. "Okay. First we should get him his wand. Then we'll cover both of their supplies. And I think it's only fair we let Travis get a familiar, since Harry has two."
Marian nodded, smiling. "Though we can save on some of the books Travis needs by giving him the ones Harry doesn't need."
Travis just grinned, as they went to Ollivander's for his wand.
The old wand maker was actually busy with another customer, who was talking to him about taking care of his wand when they entered. They quietly waited for him to get done, with Marian looking around and quietly asking Gareth questions.
Eventually, Ollivander came over, smiling. "Ahhhh, the Wallace family. It is good to see you again. I take it we are here for young Travis?"
Gareth nodded, as Ollivander began to measure Travis. "Well my boy, let's see if we can't find you a wand," he said, as he began pulling down boxes of wands for Travis to try.
It would take the young Battle Mage seven tries to find the wand that fit him. Ollivander smiled as he held up a box. "This wand is actually a new one I made only a few days ago. Oak, nine inches with a core of dragon heartstring. Very powerful, good for defensive spells and charms."
Travis took it, and felt a warm surge flow through him. He grinned a she spun the wand in hand, and flicked it, causing sparks to fly out.
Ollivander smiled as he watched. "I thought that wand would find a wielder in your hands," he said softly, as he took it, wrapped it up in its box, and handed it to them, in exchange for seven galleons.
They then went and bought his apothecary supplies and other potion making supplies. Afterwards, they got his school robes, during which Marian giggled and commented on how handsome Travis looked in them. Travis just grumbled while looking away.
After they exited Madame Malkin's, Gareth smiled at Travis. "Let's go get you a familiar, since that shop is closer," he said.
Travis grinned excitedly. "Cool! I can get an owl just like Harry!" Harry just smiled and ruffled his little brother's hair.
"You don't have to get an owl, you know. You can use Hedwig or Blaze. You should get something you actually like," he said. Travis just grinned, as they entered the shop.
The shop was full of hooting and meowing and other animal noises form dozens of different animals. The walls were lined with cages containing owls, cats, toads, and rats. Then there were other animals, some of which looked similar to normal animals, while others looked absolutely nothing like normal animals. There was a cage of purring and cooing fluff balls of different colors. A large bowl held giant orange snails leaving slightly glowing trails of ooze in their wake. By the window was a turtle with a gem encrusted shell.
Travis began looking around eagerly, hoping to find something just as cool as Hedwig and Blaze, Harry's snowy white owl and his Red Tail Hawk. But sadly, as he looked around, nothing seemed to be calling out to him. He had wanted to get an owl, but now as he looked at them, they just didn't seem as exciting as he thought. As he looked through all the animals, he felt the same with each. There just was something missing.
He was heading towards the back of the shop, when he stopped, seeing a small ball of reddish-orange fur. Curiously, he approached it. As he did, the ball uncurled, and the creature stood, yawning and stretching. Travis's eyes lit up, as he saw a young fox before him. Its eyes were closed as it began scratching one of its ears with its back paws, before opening its eyes. A pair of golden eyes looked up at Travis, before its long tail, tufted with white fur at the end, began to wag back and forth.
Travis grinned as he knelt down. "Hey there," he said softly. The fox slowly trotted over, sticking its little nose through the bars of its cage. Travis held a finger up, and it began to sniff it, before licking it. With a grin, Travis stood up, turning to his parents. "Mom! Dad! Over here!"
As they came over, the fox blinked at them, before its ears lowered and he began to whimper. Travis blinked before gently touching his nose and stroking it, whispering gently.
The owner came over as well, and blinked. "Well I've never seen him act like this around someone before. Usually he keeps away from customers, or growls at them. I've never seen him be friendly towards anyone."
Travis smiled at his parents. "Can we get him?" He asked excitedly.
Gareth and Marian looked at each other, before nodding. The owner shrugged and slowly opened the cage.
The fox seemed to blink, before slowly exiting, and looking at Travis. Travis smiled and held out his hand, causing the fox to sniff it again, before he licked it, tail wagging. Travis grinned, as he slowly picked the fox up. The fix squirmed a bit, before Travis placed him on his shoulders, where the young vulpine curled up, panting. "Does he have a name?" Travis asked.
The owner shook his head as he answered, "I never gave him one. I found him wandering the Alley a few weeks ago."
Travis smiled as he looked at the fox, taking in the color of its fur and its eyes. "Then I'll call him….Ghrian."(1)
With a nod, the owner gathered together some supplies for caring for the now named Ghrian. The Wallace's purchased the fox and supplies for ten galleons and five knuts.
Travis smiled as he scratched under Ghrian's chin, causing the small fox to purr contently. He looked up. "So all that's left is our school books, right?"
Gareth nodded. "Yep. So let's get those done, and head back home. I'm sure little Ghrian there will want to see his new home."
Almost as if he heard him, the small fox yipped, wagging his tail. Or it could have been at seeing a Crup. The magical canine, appearing to look like a Jack Russell Terrier with a forked tail, barked back, panting.
The Wallace family giggled, as they approached Flourish and Blotts, only to stop seeing a large crowd gathered there. The reason why became apparent when they saw a sign posted on the window:
GILDEROY LOCKHART will be signing copies of his magical autobiography
MAGICAL ME
Today from 12:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.
Harry slowly looked over the crowd, and noticed most of them were middle aged witches. "So…he's the author of most of the books on the list?"
Gareth nodded. "Apparently," he commented, noticing a picture beneath the sign. Like all pictures in the Wizarding World, it was moving. In this case, it was a rather handsome wizard with blonde flyaway hair smiling and winking at all the witches. Harry just stared.
"He looks more like a model than a wizard," he said, as they slowly got into the bookstore.
Inside, there was a line winding through the bookshelves, heading towards the back of the shop. Gareth just sighed quietly. "Let's just get the books we need and get out of here. If that's even possible," he muttered, as they tried to fight their way to where the school books were usually kept.
Unfortunately, the Gilderoy Lockhart books just happened to be near the back of the store, since that was where he was at. Harry had managed to work his way back there, and was gathering the books, when he heard a commotion, with a familiar voice.
He turned to see a somewhat tall and gangly redhead rubbing one of his feet and arguing with a man with a camera, who had apparently stepped on his foot.
"Watch where you're stepping!" Ron Weasley shouted at the photographer. The photographer growled back.
"This is for the Daily Prophet, you brat! You stand clear!" He shouted.
"Who cares!" Ron shot back.
Lockhart looked up at this, stopping in signing his name to another copy of Magical Me. His eyes, almost disinterested, looked over Ron and the photographer, before scanning the crowd. His eyes actually passed over Harry, before doing a double take when he saw the glasses and jet black hair. "Merlin, is that…..Harry Potter?" He asked, standing up.
Harry silently cursed as the crowd parted, leaving him in the open. He tried to backtrack into the crowd, only to be seized by Lockhart and dragged forward further into the spotlight. Lockhart began shaking his hand rapidly, smiling to the photographer for the Daily Prophet.
"Smile Harry. Together we're worth the front page," he said, as he kept shaking Harry's hand. Harry just growled, trying to yank his now sore and throbbing arm from the man's grip. When he succeeded, he tried to meld back into the crowd, only to be captured by Lockhart's hand on his shoulder.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I cannot believe what extraordinary moment this is! And it seems the perfect time to make an announcement I've wanted to make for some time now! You see, when young Harry here stepped into this shop, eager to buy a copy of Magical Me, he had no idea that he would be getting more than that! Harry, and his fellow students, will in fact be getting the real Magical Me! I will be taking the post of teacher in Hogwarts, teaching them Defense Against the Dark Arts this year!"
The crowd clapped and cheered at that, as Harry was given the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart. He grunted softly, as he waddled through the crowd, his movements made akward due to the pile of books in his arms. He found his family, all having bemused smiles. Even Ghrian seemed to have a vulpine like smile on his face.
Harry growled softly, as he placed the books inside the cauldron they had bought Travis. "You take these. I'll be getting my own books," he muttered, embarassed and aggravated at what Lockhart had done.
Gareth opened his mouth to speak, only to hear a ruckus behind them, followed by a couple of figures slamming into him. The Master Battle Mage stumbled, before turning to find a red haired man with glasses trying to pummel a blonde haired man whose face seemed permanently frozen in a sneer. Nearby, Harry saw Ron cheering the red haired man on, along with his twin older brothers, Fred and George. A somewhat short and plump red haired was yelling at the man to stop, while a small girl stood next to a cauldron, watching the whole thing with slight horror.
Gareth, meanwhile, growled as he moved to stop the situation. "That's enough!" He shouted, as he grabbed the back of the red haired man's collar, yanking him up into the air. Before the blonde man could move, Gareth had a foot on his chest, holding him down. "You two are grown men, and you're brawling in a bookstore! Have you no shame!"
The red haired man calmed down a bit, panting as he realized what was going on. He blushed in some embarassement. The blonde haired man simply sneered, clutching a battered Transfiguration book.
Gareth set the red haired man down, before removing his foot from the blonde. The blonde stood, dusting his robes, before shoving the book he held into the cauldron of the red haired girl. "Take it, girl. It's the best your father can afford," he sneered, before turning to leave.
Gareth sighed, looking to the other man, who was now being berated by his wife. The woman soon came over to Gareth. "I'm so sorry for that. You aren't hurt?"
Gareth shook himself off. "No, not at all, Mrs….?"
"Weasley. Molly Weasley," she said, as she turned to her husband. "And this is my husband, Arthur."
Arthur Weasley came over. "I am terribly sorry about that. Lucius Malfoy just really get's under my skin. Even though that's not an excuse," he hastily added, seeing the look in his wife's eyes.
Gareth nodded, smiling as he held out a hand. "It's not a problem. I'm Gareth Wallace. This is my wife Marian, and my son's, Travis and Harry."
Both the Weasley's eyes widened. "Harry? As in Harry Potter?" Arthur asked. Harry just quietly nodded, mentally cringing as he saw the man's eyes sweep over his forehead.
The small red haired girl's eyes widened, as she heard what her father said. Ginerva Weasley, Ginny if you didn't wish to be hexed, quickly looked at the boy who she had heard so much about. And instantly, she blushed in awe and slight embarrassment, as she tried to hide by standing perfectly still.
Molly Weasley beamed though, as she came over. "So you're Harry! Oh, I still remember what you did for my boy Ron last year! Thank you so much my dear!" She said, smiling as she hugged him. Harry just blinked, and smiled weakly.
"It was no problem, Mrs. Weasley," he said, as she let him go.
She just smiled at him. "Oh don't be so modest. I heard so many things about you from Fred and George and Percy! You really stirred things up, didn't you?" She asked, before looking to Marian and Gareth. "I've heard about you too, from Dumbledore. How you took him in and took care of him, instead of leaving him to live with his muggle relatives. I heard they are rather nasty people, actually," she said with a small frown.
Marian smiled. "It's the least we could do for him, considering what happened. And I couldn't be happier about it either."
Molly Weasley just nodded. "It's just good to hear he had a happy upbringing. Perhaps you and your family would care to have lunch with us?" She asked.
Gareth and Marian both nodded. "That would be lovely. We don't know many people from the Wizarding world beyond Harry's friends, Dumbledore, and a few people at the Ministry. It would be nice to make friends."
Ron just rolled his eyes as he muttered to himself, "Great. More ego stroking for the Boy Who Lived." He yelped as his little sister Ginny elbowed him, while dragging her cauldron behind her, unaware that it was carrying a dangerous piece of cargo. All she could do was stare at the legendary figure she had heard so much about.
King's Cross Station, September 1st
The Wallace family strolled into the busy train station, which was teeming with muggles going about their business. Blaze and Hedwig, Harry's familiars, were perched in their cages, while Ghrian was currently residing in a traveling carrier with a small food and water dish attached.
Travis was trembling in excitement, as he remembered seeing Harry board the Hogwarts express last year. Now he would get to ride on it too! He grinned, as they approached the brick barriers between train platforms nine and ten.
Harry nodded to his family, before approaching one of the barriers. It was actual the hidden entrance to the platform that held the Hogwarts Express. One just had to approach it and you would phase through the wall.
Only this time that didn't happen. As Harry approached it, the front of his baggage car hit the brick wall and stopped. Harry blinked, and pushed, only for nothing to happen. He slowly walked to the wall, and touched it. It felt like solid brick.
He glanced at his mother and father, both of whom looked worried as well. They came over and touched the wall as well. "It's blocked? Why?" Marians asked.
Gareth looked around. "I don't know. But I don't like this either. You don't think it's him, do you?" He asked.
Harry knew who his father was referring to. Last year, Harry had come face to face with Voldemot, a Dark Wizard who had tried to kill Harry when he was only a year old. Voldemort had been terrorizing the Wizarding world, seeking to take it over. But he had mysteriously vanished when he faced Harry Potter, who had been the center of a prophecy that could lead to the Dark Wizard's downfall. Many had though he was dead, but as Harry had found it, he was still alive, in a sense. Harry had faced Voldemort in battle last year, when the Dark Lord had possessed the body of Quirrel, the previous DADA teacher.
Marian looked around fearfully. "If it is, then we should leave. Quickly."
Gareth nodded. "Agreed. We'll Floo to Hogsmeade or Hogwarts. C'mon you two, quickly!" He said, as they began to rush away.
All Harry could think was 'Well this is going to be an interesting year'.
Wow. Man I really tore through this, didn't I? At least writing it up. I think I actually start really fast when I write a new story, but slow down as time goes by. Guess we'll see.
I hope you all enjoyed this start to the second year of my Battle Mage of Hogwarts, and do expect a few big changes this year! But like I said in the First Year, do not expect it to be completely different from canon.
1. That's Irish for Sun.
Please review!