Chapter One – Finding a tree…
By Kateen
Harry climbed mechanically out of the car when it stopped, assuming that nothing was awry, too wrapped up in his own thoughts and memories of what had gone by, to notice that he wasn't where he was expecting to be. He blinked a few times before he realized and then he turned expectantly to his uncle, "where am I?"
If he wasn't mistaken, he thought his uncle looked decidedly uncomfortable, "look, boy," his uncle said, somewhat kindly, "I got this letter, by your post, telling me that I didn't need to look after you this summer. They said that you would be perfectly safe and Bumby-boar, or someone had said it was okay."
"Dumbledore?"
"Yeah, that's it," his uncle said, looking relieved, "I'd take you back, but Petunia is rather set on not having you home again."
"No, it's alright," Harry sighed, running his hands through his hair worriedly, "Do you have the letter with you?"
"Oh, umm, probably," His uncle frowned and began to pat his chest searching for it. Eventually he found it in the back pocket of his pants. Harry was surprised that he'd managed to find it at all, considering what an exercise it must have been to maneuver his hands around all the wobbly fat his uncle had. He took the letter and opened it:
Dear Mr. Dursley,
I'm sorry to disturb you with an owl at this stage in the year, but I recently came into a small fortune and wish to share it with someone less fortunate. I also have some things to discuss with Mr. Potter, so I decided to offer to have him live with me. Would you mind if he was to come and live with me, I know how you will miss him, but I believe it's extremely important.
By this stage, you probably know what a remarkable child he is, and how short his life-expectancy is, so I can understand how you would worry, but Albus Dumbledore has agreed to this and it is perfectly safe for him.
Yours, Sabina.
Harry read through it once more, and nodded to his uncle, "alright, let me get my lugg-" he trailed off as he saw his luggage in front of him, ready for him to go. He nodded, "well, uhh, thanks."
Uncle Vernon drove away, with only the smallest of regretful backwards glances, and Harry turned to look at what appeared to be his new house and, although he wasn't sure he was going to survive, he decided it was a nice house. It looked to be an average sized house, but there was a nice sized garden and it did have a second level with an over-hanging balcony, over which, creepers hung and crawled giving it the air of a house from a fairy-tale.
He walked up to the door, his wand in his hand, stunning spell at the ready. As he lifted his hand to knock, the door swung open, "Harry!" cried a cheerful woman in front of him, "How nice to meet you, at last."
"Uhh, do I know you?" he asked, lowering his wand slightly, absolutely shocked at the greeting he'd just received, "I don't think I do…"
"No, we've never met before," she smiled, "but I brought you here because there is something I need to talk to you about-"
"Okay," Harry interrupted, "but first, answer me a few questions… Honestly… and then we'll see how we're going, alright?"
The woman nodded, her blue eyes calm and hair glinting in the sunlight, "Of course,"
"Do you know Voldemort?"
"Not personally," she laughed, "thank god."
"Are you a death eater?"
"No."
"How do you know Dumbledore?"
"I taught him."
Harry nodded, surprised, she didn't look old enough to have taught Dumbledore, who he was fairly sure was over 600 years old.
"Oh, please," she laughed, "I'm almost six hundred, myself. He was a few years older than me when we started, but that didn't really matter…"
"It's alright," he laughed, "I don't know why, but I trust you, and god knows I shouldn't. My gut feeling says you're safe, and don't mean me any harm, and it's usually right, so I'm gonna come in now, and then we're going to have the chat you wanted, alright?"
He almost laughed at himself, sounding so confident and calm. It was an unusual state for him, but he liked it about himself, that he had the means to be calm and polite when he had to be.
The woman nodded, "I'm Sabina, by the way, almost all your instructions will come through me, but please understand that there are other teachers here…"
"Umm, where exactly is, here?" Harry asked sheepishly, "I was lost in my memories on the drive…"
She smiled, "don't worry, we won't keep you if you don't want to stay. Now, come on inside," Harry walked through the door, and realized that the house had obviously been magically enlarged and looked as though it was as big as the Hogwarts Castle. The woman, Sabina, dragged him behind her, "let me show you your room, and give you a tour first, and then we'll begin, okay?"
He nodded slowly, "alright. How long will I be staying here for?"
"As long as you like," she grinned, "I know how much you must miss your family, but please understand that it is important that you're here and I will tell you why as soon as we're finished here."
They hurried down a corridor that seemed to go on for ages and ages and ages until finally she turned a corner and they were rushing through an outdoor maze, and then through a big glass door, where she finally stopped, "This is the living area. Back there was the studying and learning area. Your bedroom is down here," she pointed down one blackened corridor, "mine is opposite it. It's yours to decorate how you like, and it's your forever. Don't ask questions yet. You are allowed to come here, to this house, whenever you feel like, and nobody who doesn't already know of it's existence and has an invitation, will come and disturb you. Your parents used to spend a lot of time in their rooms here."
"They came here?"
"Of course, This is the House of the Family… didn't you know?"
"Umm, I'm sorry Sabina, but I have no idea what you're talking about. My Uncle just dropped me off and here I am. I only left Hogwarts this morning."
"Oh, Merlin's beard, you must be exhausted!" she exclaimed, "Your bags are already in your room, I will leave you to unpack. Just tap your table when you're hungry and dinner will appear. I'll come and get you tomorrow morning and I'll explain everything, I promise!"
"Why don't you explain while I unpack?" he asked.
"Goodness, no, it's your bedroom. One of the foremost rules is that we can't go into each others bedrooms. It's a common courtesy. The only place in the world that you will ever be alone, is your bedroom. Even Voldemort wouldn't go into your room."
Harry sat on his new bed and, with his wand, send objects to their desired locations and then painted the walls in a deep red that was reminiscent of blood, and felt much more comfortable. It wasn't that he liked the sight of blood, in fact he was quite squeamish, but he did like the sophisticated atmosphere that it lent to the room.
"I wonder what this is all about," he sighed, "this is all far too confusing."
Lying down on the bed, he summed up what he knew: this was a training location of some sort, and he was allowed to do magic as he pleased – Sabina had said that it was undetectable, or some nonsense like that – he had a room of his own, and didn't seem likely to be ignored. In fact, it seemed like he was the only person there. Strange.
He shut his eyes, muttering quietly to himself about exhaustion and too many new faces in a week, and fell promptly asleep.
"Harry!"
"Mm?" Harry looked around, coming face to face with an old, wizened wizard, "who are you?"
"Merlin," the other man responded simply, and Harry realized with surprise, that the man looked an awful lot like the famous wizard, "I came to talk to you about the house. Your mind has been driving us all crazy. It's going faster than a Unicorn, and that's saying something."
"The house?"
"This house is for members of a family. You are part of this particular family, as is Albus Dumbledore and a few others. Each member of the family has a special skill that they are famed for. You must discover yours for yourself, but you will be trained in every possible aspect of magic possible here, at this house."
"Umm-"
"Eventually you will learn what you specialize in, but between now and then, you will find that magic that used to be difficult is much easier. That is because the block over your mind has been removed, allowing you to access all your powers. I will be able to speak directly to you, along with certain others, but you will learn how and why later. When you return to Hogwarts, you will find that you have learnt much of what is covered, but do not fret. You will therefore have much more time to dedicate to saving the world, and things like that."
"Umm, why?" Harry asked, finally.
"Because, boy, you have a destiny, and it runs along the lines of saving the world from impending doom. I'm sure you know all of that pish-posh…"
"Oh," Harry shook his head, "I suppose-"
"Anyway," the old wizard interrupted, "let Sabrina teach you. She is a good teacher and will turn you into the best Mage on the planet, if you give her half a chance. She isn't part of the family, but is rather the guardian. It is her job to make sure that you are prepared to the utmost, and able to do your job."
"Are all the people in the family good?" Harry asked suddenly, getting a very strange feeling.
"Regretfully, no," Merlin sighed, "some members have been extremely wicked and that was their destiny. Sabrina did teach them too, you can be sure, but do keep in mind that her job is to prepare everyone, regardless of her moral beliefs regarding what they will do, and what they should do."
"So, she will train me, but not try and tell me what to do with my life? Or treat me like I'm larger than life?"
"Definitely not!" Merlin sounded shocked, "I don't actually know what reason you'd have for asking that question, but I can assure you that Sabina will ensure that you get the most free training in the world. You can choose which areas you would like to study each day, so long as by the end of the training period, you have covered all the necessary material in one way or another. If you wish to understand all the dark aspects, so be it."
"Thank you, Sir," Harry responded politely, "I merely wished to understand. I am famous, here, and I do not like my fame. It brings unwanted attention. I don't need any of it."
"Ahh, yes, now I understand why you would ask that. I, myself, am quite famous in my time and the future, as I have no doubt you will be too. It has both upsides and downsides, does it not? You cannot have the good without dealing with the bad. Remember that, Harry, it is what makes us human."
Harry woke up suddenly, and rolled out of bed. Someone was calling him, telling him to wake up. Obviously Sabina wanted to start. He quickly got changed, and had something to eat, before walking downstairs to the living room.
"Ah, hello, Harry!" Sabina smiled, "How did you sleep?" she asked as she looked up from the extra-large parchment that she was leaning over.
"Fine, thank you. I –"
Don't tell her that I spoke to you! Harry suddenly remembered that Merlin had said he would be able to speak to Harry. Obviously Sabina wasn't meant to know about that skill.
"You?" she asked, smiling.
"I slept well," he covered quickly.
"Have you eaten? Yes. Then come over here, this is something that you need to see…"
Harry walked over to the table, and looked over the parchment that she was leaning over. It looked like some kind of tree, until he saw a name glowing in gold… Harry Potter – 1st class War Mage, Elemental, Midnight Unicorn, Phoenix Lord, Guardian of the Paths, Watcher of the World, Diablo Everlasting, Multimagus. He stared at it for a moment and shook his head, "What is this?" he demanded.
"Your family tree."
"My family tree…" he trailed off in awe as he looked down at the chart. Sure enough, connected to Harry was Lily and James Potter, with details about them both. Then his mothers side went into a pale blue color, instead of the silver that it had been. Checking the legend, told him that they were all squibs, "so she wasn't Muggleborn," he shook his head in surprise, "she was squib born."
"That's right, Harry," Sabina said kindly, "but please, keep looking." She left the room quickly after that, and Harry, wondering why, began to follow his mothers side up the chart. Eventually he hit the top, and read the three names that it connected to: Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff.
He started in shock, he descended from those three?
Not only descended, Merlin said, in his head, You are the last remaining heir of them.
But Tom Riddle-
Follow Slytherins' line, Merlin commanded.
Harry did so, and realized that Voldemort was a descendent, but not an heir. Strange, huh. Obviously, descendents could still enter the Chamber of Secrets. He sighed, "So I'm related to the worlds greatest scurge? Great." He kept following the lines, and found Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy. He was almost sick.
Leaning back over the parchment, he went back to his name, and followed his father, looking more carefully this time, for names that he knew. He found, several generations above his grandfather, and a few times removed, Albus Dumbledore, and McGonagall but otherwise nobody that he knew, until he reached the top: Godric Gryffindor, Merlin.
That's right, Harry! Merlin said in his mind, You're my great, great, great, … … … great Grandson!
Oh my god! Harry began to feel dizzy, and sat down, Oh my god!
I'm not that bad, am I? Merlin asked, surprised, I mean, I thought this would be a good thing!
Just give me some time to get used to it! Harry said quietly in his mind, "Sabina!"
"Yes, Harry?" she poked her head back in.
"Is this really my family?" he asked softly.
She nodded, "Yeah."
"I think you need to explain a few things to me," he said finally.
"So, Harry, let me explain the purpose of this house," Sabina said calmly, "The house was created by Slytherin, Merlin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw to educate their children. Although four of them founded Hogwarts, they didn't trust others to educate their descendants, because they knew how powerful their descendants could be. They decided that, as the five most powerful families, they should educate their children together in the hopes that they would all get along and prevent magical wars like the coming one with Voldemort.
"It worked, for a time, until three of the lines became Squib lines. The house remained, and as you may have noticed, all the families did have a few Squibs born – that's part of magic. When your mother was born, there was much rejoicing among those from the Gryffindor and Merlin lines, because there was now a magical heir to the three families. What surprised them, was that she was put in Gryffindor instead of one of those three houses.
"She was brought here in her fifth year summer, to study and learn how to use her powers, along with your father. They were here together, but hardly ever saw each other. That is the nature of the training. You have your own personal trainer, like I am yours, until you finish the course and then they are there to ask questions of, but are generally training another.
"This house is here to teach heirs and descendants, like you, how to use your powers that have come from the people you descend from. In your case, it will be a quick process. I estimate around two months. You have the powers of the Original Five in your hands, and I am sure that this will make teaching you infinitely easier.
"You will, of course, commence training immediately, and as soon as you have finished, you will be allowed to do as you would like. You will be able to do wandless magic, which means magic in the holidays without getting into trouble, and at the end of the course you will be a fully trained Mage, of the highest order.
"Your destiny will require you to do certain tasks over the years, but you must learn of those yourself. I cannot teach you, and I will not."
Harry sat there for a few moments, wondering what this would be like, and how he was going to explain it to anyone. After a few moments, he said the first thing that had come into his mind, "can I bring Sirius to stay?"
Sabina smiled, "I don't think you understand, Harry, you actually own this house. It is yours, along with anything that your ancestors owned. You will find a large box in your bedroom containing a detailed account of what you own. If you want to have a guest, feel free, just make sure you ask the elves to make a room up."
He nodded slowly, "what will the training entail?"
"Your normal subjects to phD level, at University, plus dueling – both magical and physical, mental conditioning, illusionary arts, wandless magic and Healing arts."
"Will there be a point, besides seeing friends, to returning to Hogwarts?"
"You need to protect it. You own it too, along with all the other magical schools, except one, in the world. It is your job to protect."
Don't worry, Harry, Merlin said in his head, That's not too hard. The five of us will warn you in advance. Salazar can see into Riddle's mind and can tell you when he's planning something.
The five of you?
The Original Five, as you know us by.
Harry nodded, "when do we start?" he asked Sabina cheerfully.