Harry Potter grew up on Private drive, a very normal street, in a very normal neighborhood. Harry had, from the age of one, lived with his relatives, who disliked anything that was abnormal. Thus Harry pretended to be as normal as possible. But secretly, Harry was not normal at all.
Harry had discovered at the age of three that he had an affinity for languages. By age five, Harry could speak English, French, and German. By age ten, Harry could read and write in English, Spanish, German, French, Latin, Japanese, Hebrew, and was working on learning Arabic, Ancient Egyptian, Ancient Persian, Ancient and Modern Greek, and was even trying to break the Ancient Kush language.
Of course he had to keep his abnormal knowledge secret from his relatives. While not cruel, they were not kind either, and Harry knew even at that tender age not to bite the hands that fed him.
He used a computer that he got for his fourth birthday to look up different words and phrases, and he studied ancient texts online all the time he could spare. He used a pseudo name online to help some of the archeologists and linguists working on the Ancient Kush translation, and had actually made a breakthrough himself at one point.
Of course he asked for payment, but it was in the form of ancient texts that he could study mostly, and nearly all of his peers in linguistics were delighted to have his opinion. Harry had all of his texts shipped to a P.O. Box held under his pseudo name, so none of his colleges were any the wiser. They thought that he was some kind of under worked professor in Britain who was looking for a way to keep himself busy, and in a way, this was not far from the truth.
While Harry was only average in maths, and even the sciences, he was far and above the best student in writing, grammar, and literature to pass through his school in a very long time. Through his pseudo name, Harry had amassed a small nest egg of 50,000 Pounds in consultant fees, held in a trust fund account.
Of course the Dursleys didn't realize that Harry was a lingual genius, that would have been far too abnormal for their normal lives, and so when Harry came home now and then with boxes from the post office, they ignored them completely.
This was easy to do as Harry would take the boxes up to his room (the smallest one) and only opened them there. Furthermore, Harry always put his texts in the crawl space in his closet, so the Dursleys had no reason to suspect that Harry was studying ancient manuscripts and philosophy.
By the age of eleven, Harry had amassed a small library of literature, most of which was copies of rare or even unheard of texts from all over the world. Harry had studied philosophy from the Greeks, Persians, and Egyptians, as well as studying modern Chinese and Ancient Mayan.
Harry was looking forward to his birthday in a few weeks as he got up on that fateful day. After getting dressed, Harry went down stairs, picked up the mail, and began making breakfast like normal.
Harry liked cooking; he had found that it was a great way to relax. By the age of six, Harry had been able to cook well enough that his aunt had given in to his pleading and allowed him to make breakfast for the family.
On this particular day, after the bacon was sizzling and the eggs were finished frying, Harry began sorting through the mail. Uncle Vernon hated junk mail, so Harry had decided when he started making breakfast that he would sort the mail, and save his uncle the trouble.
Of course it also helped his aunt and cousin, simply because his uncle would be in a far better mood if he didn't need to sort through the annoying rubbish.
As Harry sorted through the letters, throwing out the junk, putting the bills on the counter, and putting the things that his Uncle might want to review near his plate, Harry came upon a letter made out of some form of parchment addressed to him by name, and more importantly, by room.
Harry immediately realized that whoever had sent the letter was likely observing him in order to know where his room was. He gave no outward reaction to seeing the letter (he perfected his 'bland and blank' mask a long time ago) but simply put the letter in his pocket.
Internally however, he was scared. Mail never came to him at this address; he had made sure that all of his mail went to his P.O. Box. More importantly, his P.O. Box was not in his name, so for anyone to send him mail here at Number Four Private Drive, they would have had to have traced his mail to his P.O Box (not to difficult Harry had to admit) then to him, then tracked him directly back to the house. Finally, they would have to have entered or observed the house in order to determine his name and where his room was.
Harry realized before he had even opened his strange parchment letter that whoever sent it was not only very powerful, but they were also trying to send him a message. Just what that message was would have to wait until he read it.
Harry rushed breakfast that morning. His cousin noticed, even if his aunt and uncle were oblivious.
Finally, Dudley asked "Harry what's wrong? You've been acting jumpy all morning."
Harry jumped again; as he realized that he had indeed been jumping around, looking for some form of observation on the house.
"No, I'm fine Dudley, just a bit exited about a history project I'm working on" Harry made up on the spot.
Harry was nervous about saying anything that might be overheard by anyone observing him.
Dudley however seemed to accept this, and finished his breakfast without another word.
Harry rushed back to his room after breakfast. While it was his job to cook, he let his aunt's advice on overwork overrule him on cleaning up afterwards. He had never been happier with not having to clean up the kitchen than right then.
Harry bolted into his room, closed the shutters and immediately looked around his room for some sort of surveillance.
Finding nothing of any note (Harry didn't think they would be able to put spying equipment in his manuscripts without him noticing, whoever they were.) Harry carefully set down the letter on his desk.
He then used some lessons he had gathered over the years from his peers around the world in archeology and from various novels. Carefully, Harry opened the letter without ripping the paper or damaging the wax seal. Examining the interior for any kind of surveillance equipment or weapon, Harry found nothing but more parchment.
Continuing to be overly cautious, Harry pulled on latex gloves before pulling out the parchment and opening it carefully.
When he saw the opening line, his heart sank, after reading through the rest of the letter his body followed. He sat on the floor with a sudden thump.
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Deputy Headmistress
Harry was desperately hoping that this was some kind of prank or joke, but he knew that Dudley wouldn't do something like this, and no one else he knew had access to parchment.
Harry examined the parchment and ink for any kind of distinguishing marks telling where it had come from, but he found nothing.
Finally, Harry opened the second note, being just as careful as with the first one.
Hogwarts School UNIFORM COURSE BOOKS The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection OTHER EQUIPMENT 1 wand Students may also bring and owl OR a cat OR a toad. PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
of Witchcraft and Wizardry
First-year students will require:
sets of plain work robes (black)
plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
by Miranda Goshawk
by Phyllida Spore
by Newt Scamander
by Quentin Trimble
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
After reading the list, Harry knew this was genuine. Oh, he still wished it was a prank, but he knew that few people outside his circle of contacts knew as much about legends as he did, and many of the things on the list matched far to closely for Harry to dismiss it at a prank any longer.
Of course that then raised a whole host of other questions like why were they watching him? How were they doing it? And how on earth was he supposed to respond using an owl that he didn't have.
Furthermore, even if he knew how to respond physically, how should he answer on the question of attendance?
Harry decided that he was going to try and get more information first. Unfortunately, after nearly an hour searching online, Harry was no closer to finding out about this Hogwarts than when he started.
Going with his aunt to pick up a couple of birthday presents for Dudley (his birthday was in two days) Harry could not get his mind off of the strange letter that was laying in the crawl space with his other manuscripts.
Harry was able to help his aunt with the shopping (and flatly vetoed getting Dudley a collection of rubber ducks, his cousin was turning eleven not three) but was still obviously distracted even to his aunt's normally oblivious eye.
Finally she asked flat out "Harry what's wrong; you've been acting jumpy all day."
Harry looked down and tried to think up something that would satisfy his aunt. Unfortunately he knew she wouldn't buy the 'history project' excuse as easily as Dudley did.
Finally, realizing that he needed help of some form or another, Harry said
"I got a very strange letter this morning, and I'm not sure if it's real, or if it's a prank. Either way though, they know not only where I live, but where my bedroom is, so I'm a bit nervous."
Petunia paled. Harry looked at her in concern.
"P-p-please tell me didn't get a letter from Hogwarts" Petunia stuttered.
Harry looked up at her in shock. "How did you know?" Harry asked with a bit of trepidation.
His aunt seemed to sag before saying "Because your mother got her letter at your age, and it seems they don't change much."
Harry gaped at her for a moment, and then began thinking very quickly.
As Harry questioned his aunt on everything she knew about the magical world, Harry realized one thing more important than all the rest; the magical world would give him the chance to study an ancient culture up close. This was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.
The next morning, Harry woke up earlier than normal, and sped down to the door before dawn. Thanks to his aunt's reluctant answers the day before, Harry knew that magical owls generally delivered mail right at dawn except in places like Hogwarts where there was a dedicated mail time.
So Harry waited out on the patio for an owl with a small plate of bacon. Sure enough, at dawn, Harry saw an owl drop a letter at his feet. Harry called out to it.
"Wait, there is a reply." Harry felt foolish for a moment talking to a bird, but then the owl dropped down onto his arm and held out its leg. Harry tied his reply to the owl's leg while feeding it a few pieces of bacon. When he was done, he threw up his arm and the owl flew off.
Harry walked back into the house and began making breakfast for Dudley's pre-birthday party breakfast.
While he was cooking, Harry thought back over the letter he had written, he hoped it would be clear enough.
Dear Deputy Headmistress McGonagall,
I am willing to attend your school; however I require an introduction of sorts to the areas where school supplies might be purchased. If a faculty member or senior student familiar with the normal and wizarding world could come to my address at seven o'clock tomorrow I would appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Harry Potter
Harry could only hope that such a message did not make him a social outcast for not understanding a magical world that he had never before had any interaction with.
Harry knew that many isolated cultures believed that they were the best and most powerful civilization out there, and that anyone who did not follow their traditions was at best inferior, at worst a savage blasphemer worthy of death.
Harry hoped that the culture he was about to enter was not as close-minded and savage as his aunt made it appear.
(AN)
For those of you familiar with my Rejection Letters story, my next letter will be Harry from this fic rejecting the magical world.
Yes, Harry may seem a bit paranoid in his reaction to the letter, but remember he is very mature, and has read all kinds of books, including ones on espionage, assassination, and intimidation. To him (and most of us I reckon) someone sending you a letter with your bedroom on the address line is rather terrifying.
For the record, I am not British, so any mistakes I may have made regarding breakfast, culture, or education, I take full responsibility for.
While it may not seem to be a crossover at the moment, and indeed will not appear to be a crossover for a while, rest assured this is a crossover, Harry will end up working with the SGC and Atlantis, (specifically Atlantis) at some point.
The basic idea that inspired this story was the thought that the Ancient language was the base of Latin, and the magical spells in the HP verse are based off of Latin. So what would happen if the two languages are one and the same? Especially when there is someone who knows how to use it in both forms, is actively fluent in it, (as Harry will be shortly) and is very good at linguistics.
I wonder how Daniel Jackson is going to react when he finds one of his peers is an eleven year old kid (XD).