JKRowling Owns Harry Potter

FASA owns Earthdawn

Autors Note:

If you do not care to have an intro with Biographies of key people in the story, and you do not care if you don't know anything about Earthdawn, where much of my ancient magic was influenced, then just skip to Chapter 2 and enjoy the story. You will pick it all up as you read. Well, most of it. This Intro chapter is Optional and can be skipped without negatively impacting the story.

If you do want to know more, well, here you go. The first part is the bio, it tells where the story is picking up. The second part tells a bit of the setting background and the Earthdawn world setting.

Note that I adjusted Earthdawn to fit into Harry Potter's world, so this is less of a cross over and more of an 'influenced by' Earthdawn story. Honestly, you could skip the bottom part altogether and be just fine as it will feel nearly the same as any other Harry Potter FanFiction. just with new spells and magic thrown in.

The Prequel for Casting Shadows is 'Harry Potter and the Dance of Death'. It is an optional read and in no way required for this story. It has more conflict, angst, and has Harry growing up angry and not afraid to fight. Teen rebel. Casting Shadows is about him growing up.

Chapter One: Introduction

About Casting Shadows

My goal when writing this story was to create a Post-Hogwarts setting that I could launch Harry Potter adventures from. Casting Shadows is just the first post Hogwarts story, and the one with the most "backstory building". The adventures will be tied together but will have different goals and objectives. I tried to avoid or minimize most of the common themes in fan fiction, wanting this to be more focused on Harry and his personal growth. There is no evil, scheming, Dumbledore or love potion obsessed Molly. No Harems or slash. Just a very powerful young adult who is dealing with becoming a very influential person with a massive amount of raw power.

I'll give a few brief bios for the main players, but the story will focus on Harry. He is a powerful wizard who is dedicated to keeping dark forces contained. Think a cross between MacGyver and Indiana Jones. Essentially, he is what Albus Dumbledore might have been if he had been treated the way Harry was in his youth. Basically good, but somewhat jaded. Less cheerfully optimistic. Unlike Dumbledore, Harry talks to his friends and family, sharing his thoughts and plans. Especially with Bill. He is far less focused on the 'greater good' and more on the individuals that need protecting. If you buy into the whole Light/Dark viewpoint, Harry is 'light grey'. He takes the high road where he can, but he doesn't fool around with stunners.

Harry's early years at Hogwarts will be covered in the Prequel, 'Harry Potter and the Dance of Death', still in process. In that story, I show how this Harry Potter became so powerful. I make the Horcrux in his scar affect people around him. It tries to alienate Harry and make him vulnerable. His mother's protection shields HIM from the effects, but those around him are not so fortunate. Long term exposure really screwed up the Dursley family and frequently turned his friends against him. Imagine if everyone around him was occasionally wearing the Horcrux locket and not knowing they were being influenced. Those sleeping in the same room with him were most impacted (Ron, Neville, etc.). Honestly, it is the only way I can justify the horrible way so many people treated him in the books. Especially adults. The Dursleys were like cartoon villains and Ron deserted him at the drop of a hat. As stated in the above note you do not need to read the Prequel first as Casting Shadows is a stand alone.

Casting Shadows (this story) starts out three years after the war. It is the summer of 2001 and Harry has just turned 21. In the first few chapters, he deals with his fiancé having second thoughts about their relationship after four years together. I always thought it was odd that Harry married his first real girlfriend and neither of them ever had the chance to be single young adults. Maybe that is the wizarding world.

Harry basically drags around Britain for a couple of chapters, then dives into his next adventure in Paris. The relationship adjustment is covered in chapters 4-5. He mopes about with the 'blues' and more or less gets over it in chapters 6-7. Then he goes to Paris in Chapter 8. That's where the adventure begins. If you don't want to read about Ginny and their relationship, skip to chapters 4-5. If you don't want to read about Harry dealing with it and getting over it, skip 6-7 and the adventure begins in 8. Just keep in mind, Harry leans on his friends and family in chapters 4-7, so there is some character and relationship building in those chapters.

Once in France, Harry has to deal with an emerging Dark Lord who has taken up residence. The Paris Catacombs are a big part of the story. Definitely worth a look on the internet. But this is not just an action story, it is also a story about Harry's turning 21 and inheriting new responsibilities and assets as the official Lord Potter and Black. Coming of Age.

While I tried to keep the backstory close to Canon, I did deviate a bit. You will see a few differences here and there, but for the most part, it is close. Except that Harry is a lot more powerful. If you want to understand the key players in the story, read the Bios below. If you would rather just dive in, go ahead and skip ahead.

Harry Potter: Harry is the premier Mage of Britain and one of the most powerful wizards in the world. Harry has replaced Dumbledore as the' leader of the light' and the protector of the wizarding world against dark forces. He sees it as his calling. When he is not fighting dark Lords and Ladies, he is working with Bill Weasley in their curse breaker business. He is considered a 'Mage' and magic works slightly different for mages. Their natural affinity means they can influence magic easier, whether they want to or not. He stopped playing quidditch partially because he could not really tell if the snitch was 'letting' him catch it or if he was 'summoning' or 'restraining' it unintentionally. As the head of multiple families, he is now having to live up to the expectations set by the wizarding society. He is struggling in this regard and Andromeda is looking for ways to help him. Harry just is not prepared to be the head of two families.

Harry has two distinct demeanors: One comes out when he feels threatened and the other is in Social interaction. Harry is socially introverted, but Holds nothing back in combat. When he feels threatened, his darker and more combat oriented demeanor comes out. This is where Harry spent most of his youth and he is very comfortable here. Harry is extremely confident and decisive where he is under adversity. Many will refer to him as frightening. Fight or flight is a basic reaction and he has adapted well in this regard. That said, his first instinct is NOT flight. While he does tend to exhibit more than a little paranoia, it is justified based on the life he has lived. Unfortunately, when he is in social settings, he is far less confident. To illustrate, Harry would rather fight Voldemort than debate him in front of the Wizengamot. Which is why Andromeda has been looking for ways to assist in his growth.

Harry is close to a very small number of people. He sees Bill as his big brother. Given the age difference, it is closer to being an uncle. Fleur is also very close to Harry and treats him as a little brother. Harry is the godfather of their daughter Victoire and he loves spending time with all of them. Andromeda Tonks is as close to Harry as a mother. For all intents and purposes, she is his adopted mother. There is trust and respect there that comes thru years of support. He helped her through the loss of her daughter and husband. She helped him through his losses and insecurities. Edward Tonks, aka Teddy, is his god son and Harry loves him and treats him like his own. Harry has named Teddy as the next Lord Black and is currently his only heir. He and Andromeda share custody and have made Teddy's welfare a top priority.

Genevra (Ginny) Weasley: Ginny is Harry's fiancé and they have been together for the last six years. After Voldemort fell, Ginny went back to Hogwarts to finish her education. After graduating, she was approached to join the Holyhead Harpies as a backup chaser. She loves being a Harpy and recently got promoted to starting Chaser and named Rookie of the Year. She would rather play quidditch than attend a Social event. Distressed Jeans and a black dragonhide jacket appeal to her far more than formal dress robes. She loves Harry, but she also loves playing professional quidditch and traveling. She has no real interest in being a part of the upper echelons of Wizarding Society. Maybe Lady Potter one day, but not Lady Black. She'd let Andromeda have that. She knows Harry wants to start a family, but she is nowhere near ready to give up her career and settle down. She was immensely disappointed when Harry declined Kingsley's offer to join the Aurors along with Ron. She was devastated when Harry told her he had a calling to chase dark forces around the globe. Yes, he does great work and saves lives, but she still has nightmares about the Voldemort years and feels that both she and Harry already did their part. She is considering breaking off the engagement.

Bill Weasley: Harry's closest friend and business partner is Bill Weasley. Bill is helping Harry complete his curse breaker training and Harry is teaching Bill the magic he learned (Nethermancy) when he became the Master of Death. They travel about exploring ancient sites and eliminating any evil that threatens to escape. Harry is close to Bill, his wife, and their daughter, Victoire. Bill feels very protective of Harry and has been there for him for years. There is real trust here. He knows the abuses Harry has endured and has been a constant in the young wizard's life. Bill is a Master Curse Breaker and a Journeyman Nethermancer. He is both very intelligent and very loyal. He is the one adult Harry has always been able to count on.

Fleur Weasley: Fleur is Bills wife and the mother of their child, Victoire. She is a very intense woman who is devoted to her family. She sees Harry as a little brother and is very protective of him. She does not like Ginny and the feeling is mutual. They both put on a good face for Harry and Bill. She is frequently annoyed by Bill's brothers. They do not have the power to resist her allure and it can be tiring for her. She does miss her family in France, especially Gabrielle. She also misses the French culture and hopes in the future that Bill and Harry will spend more time in France.

Andromeda Tonks nee Black: Andromeda is the currently designated 'Lady Black' and acts as Proxy for the Black family interests. She loves Harry like a son and recognizes the many hardships he has had. She sees the integrity of Dorea and the power of Arcturus. She wants to help Harry reach his full potential. She is fond of Ginny as a person, but has deep concerns about her becoming the future Lady Black. She also sensed that Ginny was having second thoughts on the marriage, so she intends to push her to commit one way or the other. She loves Teddy tremendously and is both proud and grateful that Harry has named him the designated Black heir and her the Lady Black with full Proxy powers. She sees Harry and Teddy as her family and she is very protective of them. She is glad to be reunited with her estranged sister, Narcissa, but she is also careful around her. Harry and Teddy are her main focus. She has recently been approached by Cyrus Greengrass about a possible alliance. She has begun correspondence with Daphne regarding a potential position toward building this alliance.

Daphne Greengrass: Daphne was a part of the Slytherin girls that associated with Pansy Parkinson. She flat out refused to cast the Cruciatus curse under the Carrow twins at Hogwarts during her seventh year. Only her family connections and blood status kept her from being punished for it. Her best friend, Tracy Davis, was not so lucky. When the final battle came, Daphne was one of the few seventh year Slytherins to stand with the defenders and fight. She still has nightmares about that battle. Like many 'neutral' families, the reputation of the Greengrass family was damaged by their lack of 'resistance'. Her actions in the final battle have helped, but not enough. She is now hoping to align the Greengrass family to the Potter and Black families to improve the Greengrass reputation. She also hopes the alliance can offer a potential assistance with the Greengrass Malediction her sister suffers from. Her interactions with Andromeda Tonks, the Lady Black, have only enhanced her desire for an alliance.

Padma Patil – Padma is Harry's primary contact within the Department of Mysteries. She works closely with him and directs him to areas where there are emerging Dark forces. She sees Harry as a friend and a strong ally. Being an introvert, she really does not have loads of friends, but she and Harry have always gotten along well. Her sister is the extrovert and Harry is the first wizard to seem to prefer being around Padma and appreciating her intelligence. She also recognizes that the DoM needs a powerhouse like Harry to assist on dangerous missions, given that most of them are middle aged researchers.

Harry's Familiar – Harry's familiar is a Runespoor, a large three headed snake. Harry sees her as three separate sisters, each of her three heads has a different personality. Harry named each head after a moon goddess from Greek mythology. They all truly love Harry, but it is different than with Hedwig, who mothered Harry. They are closer to being feisty teen agers and Harry takes care of them. Harry's magic ties them to him closely and they tend to be most aligned to his Nethermantic abilities as Master of Death.

Hecate is the right side sister. She is the smart one with the critical eye. She sees details the others miss. She frequently gives Harry intellectual advice. Hecate is the brainy critic and the other sisters seem to get annoyed with her the most.

Artemis is the left side sister and the strategist. She is always thinking three steps ahead and looks for motivations in others. She gives Harry a second opinion on dangerous situations and when something seems 'odd'.

Selene is the Dreamer and the middle sister. She is the fun one who always seems a bit happy-go-lucky. She loves human fashion and just joking around. Her sisters enjoy her zany antics and Harry gets a lot of emotional support from her. While she may seem to be the 'flightiest', she is also the most blood thirsty when angered. The other sisters love her company, but shy away when she is out for blood.

Ronald Weasley: Harry's old class mate is still around, but he rarely has time to meet up with Harry. Ron stays busy with the Aurors and has experienced significant success. He has really come into his own outside of Harry's shadow. Ron is known to be a relentless Auror and is considered an amazing field operative. He knows that he let Harry down more than once at Hogwarts, but he worked hard to regain Harry's trust. He is currently dating Hermione, but its frequently a challenge. She never really embraced the wizarding world and Ron has no interest in the muggle world. He loves Hermione, but he honestly does not feel as strongly about topics she is passionate about and it frequently caused strain. He does see Harry occasionally, but with Harry's travel and his hectic schedule, it is not frequent. Hard to maintain old friendships after school… but he misses his old friend.

Hermione Granger: Harry's best friend from school keeps in touch on a regular basis. While she rarely has time to meet up with Harry, she writes frequently. Hermione is working in the ministry of magic and is manically trying to change the wizarding world from within. Sadly, she has had very limited success. She is at a bit of a cross road in what to do next. She finds her administrative job boring and is quite lonely. She and Ron have been dating each other, but it is an on-and-off relationship filled with drama. The glue that keeps them together is made up of high morals and the fact that they make each other laugh. Hermione is beginning to wonder if that is enough. Ron is, for once, experiencing far more success than she is and that bothers her. Not because Ron is successful, but because she is realizing that intelligence alone is not enough. She never really left the muggle world and without embracing the culture of magical Britain, she just doesn't fit in anywhere.

—CS—

Earthdawn World Setting – Owned by FASA Games

Note: If you do NOT want to read the below section, and have no interest in Earthdawn, skip ahead to chapter 2. if you don't like the below information or wish it was not included in the story, no worries. Just skip ahead to chapter 2 and assume any unusual powers come from Harry being Master of Death. If you want to know more about Harry's development, read the Prequel - Harry Potter and the Dance of Death.

I am borrowing a lot of backstory and themes from the 'Earthdawn' world setting owned by FASA. not really a cross over, more of a 'Harry Potter with influence from Earthdawn. I am having to modify Earthdawn mechanics and magic significantly to make it fit in the Harry Potter Universe, but there will be certain themes that carry thru.

The Earthdawn setting takes place thousands of years ago before recorded history. Think stone-age and early bronze-age. Basically, the earth goes thru magical cycles over thousands of years. Every seven to ten thousand years, the magic level is so high, malicious entities can enter our world and influence it. They are referred to generically as 'Horrors', but the most powerful of them have their own names and ambitions. They feed on pain and misery, making our world is like an enormous buffet. This period where they can break through is referred to as the Scourge. The ancients found ways to fight and resist the evil forces and recorded this in a set of books called 'The Books of Harrow'. Elianar Messias is an ancient ancestor of the Peverells.

Ten thousand years ago, Elianar Messias found evidence of a previous scourge (~20,000 years ago) from the last time the magic level 'peaked'. He took this knowledge and he began work on the first draft of the Books of Harrow. About two thousand years after the books were written, the magic level began to rise, and evil forces began surfacing. The knowledge gained from the Books of Harrow enabled the ancient peoples to survive. It taught them how to hide from the Horrors and, if their hiding place was breeched, how to trap the horror and protect other sites from these evil forces.

Flash forward to today, the magic level is nowhere near high enough for a scourge to occur, but there are still echoes of the last scourge. In fact it may NEVER reach the levels needed for a scourge again. Books of Harrow protected the people during the scourge, but it resulted in various Horrors being trapped in ancient and hidden locations. Voldemort found one of those locations (the Crystal Cave) as a child on a field trip and became corrupted by the trapped 'Horror'. Corrupted, trained, and mentored. This is what Harry is dedicated to preventing.

Harry was born with the potential to be enormously powerful, but it would take decades to learn how to use that power. However, Harry's parents found a way around that. There is an organization called the 'Lightbearers' who are dedicated to preserving life and fighting Horrors. The Lightbearer organization is many thousands of years old and the Flamels are the current heads of the organization. They have the ritual called 'Greater Incarnation' that serves as a way to preserve the strength and knowledge of the organization but passing down knowledge. An incarnation is a form of soul magic. It is basically a transfer of a significant amount of knowledge and abilities from a deceased member to a new member. It is also a means of providing a 'spirit guide' to a recipient. His parents were members and had been given incarnations from other ancients. Upon their death, they passed this knowledge plus their own to their son, Harry. Think of it as a transfer of knowledge along with a permanent wizard portrait in your head to guide and train you. Most of his early training occurred in his sleep. Years of it. His parents prepared him as a child to receive the incarnations so they could guide him if they died. Unfortunately, the ritual of preparing him for their incarnations is what allows Voldemort's Horcrux to attach itself. A Horcrux is a twisted version of an incarnation.

Upon becoming the Master of Death, he inherited the Peverell knowledge and abilities as well, similar to an incarnation, but different. The Peverells descend from Elianar Messias himself and are the true authorities on soul magic. Or Nethermancer knowledge, as it was originally know.

The accumulated knowledge and skills of the Peverell line as well as his parent's abilities give him the skills and his own prodigious magical core provides the power. He is a master Elementalist, Illusionist, Nethermancer (Master of Death), He also has master level knowledge of charms and transfiguration from his parents. He is a gifted curse breaker and Bill is helping him achieve mastery. It is all detailed in 'Harry Potter and the Dance of Death'. You could say he has been in training since he was a small child where he was trained in his sleep.

In addition to his numerous 'incarnations', Harry has used the resurrection stone to get training from other long dead spirits. He avoids calling on spirits of people he knows as that can lead to madness. He also wants them to be at peace and not think about his issues.

The ancient magic is something Harry uses quite proficiently. Here is the rundown of the ancient spell casting disciplines:

Wizard: The wizard discipline eventually evolved into what is taught today at Hogwarts. Think 'Book wizard'. Harry knows what his parents know. He is very good, but not like Dumbledore.

Elementalist: This discipline evolved into Druids and other nature oriented magical groups. They focus on nature and the natural world. Harry inherited this from his mother's incarnation, who inherited it from an ancient incarnation. Harry is a Master of the Elements.

Illusionist: This discipline is focused around the mind and the unseen. More than just glamours and sounds. This is the discipline that originally created the Fidelius charm, vanishing cabinets, and legillimancy. He inherited this from the incarnation his trickster of a father left him. James inherited it from an ancient incarnation. Harry is a Master of Illusion.

Nethermancer: This is the discipline that deals with spirits and the astral plane. They are dangerous and Nethermancers toe the line between life and death. They are the undisputed masters of soul magic and blood magic. The Peverells were the undisputed masters of this discipline and this goes back to Elianar Messias himself. Uniting the Hallows imparts the knowledge of a master Nethermancer. Hence the name, Master of Death. Only a Peverell could unite the Hallows. Harry is the Undisputed Master of Nethermancy. This never really evolved into a modern form and most of the spells could be viewed as illegal. Voodoo and various shamanistic sects May have been cousins of the Nethermancer, but there is no real parallel like with Elementalism to Druidism or Ancient Wizard to modern Wizard/Witch. Possibly the Aztecs came close...

To put the disciplines into perspective, imagine if the different courses taught at Hogwarts were only taught individually as unique magical fields of study. You would have Transfiguration Wizards, Charms Wizards, Potion Wizards (Alchemists?), Combat Wizards (DADA), Oracles (divination), etc. Without a school like Hogwarts, a student would have to become an apprentice to a master who would train them up to a high proficiency in their chosen discipline. These masters would only accept those students gifted in their discipline. Spells and discipline knowledge were guarded closely and not shared. Likely, this is where family magic originated from. Secret spells passed down and never shared.

Ancient magic is not More Powerful than modern magic, but it is different. How do you ward against a spell that has not been cast for over 8 thousand years? Part of Harry's impressive results come from his blending Modern and Ancient Magic together. In many ways, modern magic is more combat oriented and ancient magic is more ritual based as it was originally designed to be cast without a wand. The ancients used a means of storing spells in what they referred to as 'spell matrixes'. Harry has converted many of these wandless spells to where they can be cast with a wand (fast) or without (flexible). Some can only be cast in a ritualistic manor. He also has a number of spell matrixes for when he needs or wants to cast a spell wandlessly.

Ancient disciplines also use magical 'talents'. Magical talents are inward facing magic that is very specific. It is used wandlessly and usually only takes focus and strain to activate. He learned these from the incarnations bequeathed to him. Examples would be: Air Catching, Plant speaking, Fire Healing, Parseltongue, the Astral Face Harry uses to spike up his power levels, etc. Not as powerful or flashy as spells, but they add depth.

There are other magical disciplines from Earthdawn that do not cast spells, but focus on magical talents. Of these, Harry has had limited study with the Warrior Discipline as it works closely with the elements. He has developed numerous magical talents and talent knacks as well.

OK, that's all I'm going to share here.

Feel free to ask if you have questions. I sincerely hope you enjoy this story.