~Harry Potter and the Wolves of the Nevernever ~

~Book 1 of the Archive series~

Summary:

PoA. What if Harry decided to take his schooling more seriously and thought things through? Harry/Susan fic. Strong/Smart/Grey Harry. Grey Dumbledore for now. Unsure of Ron's character at the moment. Obsessive Ginny and Molly. AU/Canon Movie/Book styling. Elements of Dresden Files and MTG added in, not a full xover.

"Speaking."

'Thinking'

"Spells"

"Animal Speak"

Chapter 1: Nicodemus.

"Harry."

Green eyes snapped open in surprise at the sound of three separate soft feminine voices followed soon after by soft growls. Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, quickly scanned his surroundings in a bit of a panic. He soon realized that he was standing in a wooded clearing with an eerie fog covering the ground up to his knees with deep-grey clouds over casting the skies with the shine of the moon above cutting through the banks. Looking into the boundary of the clearing he wasn't able to see anything but darkened forest, but still heard the growling again as though it came from all directions.

"Harry."

Harry whipped around trying to find whoever or whatever seemed to be tormenting him. However, he stopped dead in his tracks when his eyes locked with another pair of eyes peering out from the shadows of the forest. The first thing Harry noticed aside from a primal fear flowing through him when he looked into its deep blue eyes was that it looked at him with no malice, but more like curiosity. His fear slowly leaving him, he watched in fascination as the creature slowly prowled out of the shadows. His breathe suddenly caught in his throat as it came into full view. A large, mid-night black wolf prowled into the clearing still looking into Harry's eyes. While he wasn't sure, his instinct told him that it was a female and roughly five feet long from nose to tail and nearly the same in height. Harry stood in awe of the sheer beauty of this creature as it padded up to him never looking away from his eyes.

~O0o-Aug. 5, 1993-o0O~

Harry awoke with a start from his odd dream and quickly scanned his room that had been rented to him above the Leaky Caldron after his escape from his own personal prison on Privet Drive. Looking from his comfy four-poster bed with a nightstand next to it, a lamp on top of said nightstand; he could see several polished, old furniture including a dresser of five compartments, a comfortable looking chair which his partner Hedwig was using as her perch, a long, skinny coffee table, his wizard's trunk, a large fireplace, and two doors with one leading to the bathroom and the other the exit. He sighed in realization that he was no longer his relatives 'care' and remembered his talk with the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. Looking out the fogged over window he could see the light of a new day peeking over the train station and flopped back down on his pillow with a groan. 'It's too bloody early!'

He shut his eyes tight trying to will himself back to sleep, but a soft fluttering sound brought him out of that hope as he looked up at the headboard to see his snow owl Hedwig looking down at him and cocking her head to the side while giving a soft hoot. At least that's what most people would hear, but instead what Harry heard was a soft feminine voice saying, "Nightmare again?" See what no one but Harry knew was that he had always been able to hear her and had chosen not to tell anyone since he was already viewed as abnormal, even in the wizarding world, and didn't want to add to it.

Harry sighed softly before answering his friend, "I'm not really sure if it was a nightmare or even a dream at all to be honest girl. I can't really describe it as it felt like a dream, but at the same time not so much." Getting out of bed, Harry was clad only in his one 'good' pair of boxers as he stretched out what muscles he had. Making his way over to his trunk, he reached in a grabbed his clothes for the day and made his way to the shower.

~O0o-10:00 AM-o0O~

Upon returning from a quick breakfast down in the pub, Harry began to think about some of his concerns from the night before. As he lay awake in bed after his talk with Fudge, Harry started to question how things had been going in his life over the last few years. So he decided to take a more vested interest in his education to help better himself. He soon came to the realization that his lack-luster performance over the last few years came from two different faults.

The first fault was entirely placed on the shoulders of his relatives, throughout his years spent at number four, his relatives did everything possible to bring down his self worth and anytime he somehow did better than his cousin Dudley he was punished with starvation, physical abuse, or mental abuse. Harry was by no means a dumb child and learned quickly to keep his head down and fudge his grades, unfortunately this carried over to his schooling at Hogworts. Whenever he could escape from his cousin and his gang of delinquents, Harry could usually find himself at the local library reading anything he could get his hands on be it fantasy, history, or mathematics But thanks to the 'care' of his relatives he had always placed boundaries on what he could do.

The other fault unfortunately came from his choice of friends. Now while he didn't mean this when it came to Hermione since he knew she always tried to do her best, he did feel bad since he couldn't show her that he was smarter than he acted because of his first fault and their other friend, one Ron Weasley. It came to a quick conclusion his first term when he realized that Ron had a very jealous personality and a slight inferiority complex that he took out on Hermione and sometimes him. So unfortunately Harry decided to keep pace with Ron so that he wouldn't lose his first friend. But he was starting to doubt if it was worth it.

Harry's thoughts of Hermione brought a smile to his face, but shook it off and focused back on his classes for the upcoming term since he had at least a month to think about his best female friend. Harry stood up from his notes and walked over to his fireplace to make a quick floo call. Taking a handful of floo powder, he chucked it in, "Professor McGonagall, Hogworts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" He watched as the green flames settled as the stern face of his head of house came into view. "Hello Professor, I'm not catching you at a bad time 'em I?"

The stern expression on his Head of House's face softened as she recognized who had contacted her. "Ah, Mr. Potter. No you're not catching me at a bad time; I'm just not used to getting floo calls from students during the summer. What can I do for you?"

With a kind smile Harry answered her, "Professor I'm currently staying at the Leaky Cauldron and I was wondering if you would be able to join me so that I could talk to you about my classes for this coming term."

"Of course, Mr. Potter if you could stand back I can make my way through right now. What is your room number?"

"37A."

After Harry backed away from the floo, McGonagall stepped through into his room. Harry motioned for her to take a seat in his lone chair as he took a seat at the edge of his bed. "What is it you would like to discuss Mr. Potter?" With a sigh, Harry began to inform his Head of House about the decisions he had come to over the course of the last day or so and expressed his interest in dropping his Divination class and substituting it with Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. Upon hearing more about Harry's home life, McGonagall couldn't help a pang of guilt and regret since she had been there the night Dumbledore had left him at his relative's home. "Are you sure you only want to drop the one class and add two to your schedule? You'll have a rather large schedule if you do that."

"I'm sure professor. I know it will be difficult with quidditch on my schedule too, but I know I can be better."

Giving the young teen a soft sigh and nod, McGonagall took a piece of parchment and wrote down the new books he would need for his classes before she took her leave to make the changes to his schedule.

~O0o-11:30 AM-o0O~

After the professor had left, Harry decided to take a walk around Diagon Alley before looking for his new school books. As he walked he noticed that the alley was somewhat bare this day as he looked at his looked at a clock in a window to realize it was around noon. Thinking it was just a slow day, he continued on his walk making his way to Gringotts. He noticed the few people that did recognize him merely gave him slight nods of their heads which he was grateful for. Walking into the darkened bank, Harry looked around at all the other patrons and tellers before making his way to a familiar looking face. "Hello Master Griphook. I hope I find you well this day."

The little gnarled-looking goblin looked up in surprise, "Mr. Potter it is a pleasure to see you again. I must admit I'm somewhat shocked that you remember me."

Harry gave a toothless smile so as not to offend the goblin as Hagrid had taught him, "You were the first goblin I met coming into this world so how could I not remember you?" Seeing the goblin chuckle in surprise, which seemed to be a rather interesting feet for a goblin, Harry continued; "I need to get into my vault and I have some questions and was wondering if I have an account manager I could talk with."

Giving a subtle nod, Griphook hopped from his station and motioned for Harry to follow him. Harry followed down a rather long corridor deep into the bank until he came to a door that Griphook held open for him to enter. Upon entering, Harry glanced around to find a rather humble office with a large oaken desk that the goblin walked behind before sitting in a chair before motioning to the seat in front of the desk. "Have a seat and we can begin Mr. Potter."

Tilting his head in slight confusion but nodding all the same Harry took a seat in the offered chair. "Thank you Master Griphook I was unaware that you were an account manager."

The goblin gave a feral grin, "Please Mr. Potter I ask that you call me Griphook and I am not merely an account manager. I'm your family's account manager."

The dark haired teen took a look of surprise before he gave a kind smile to the goblin, "In that case you can call me Harry. I'm not much for titles." The stocky goblin gave a nod of understanding before asking Harry what questions he would like to have answered. "Well Griphook, I would like a few questions answered if you don't mind. Firstly, how much do I have in my vault and is that my only vault?"

Reaching into his desk and retrieving a marked file, Griphook glanced over it. "Well Harry to answer your last question first you have currently four vaults with Gringotts though you can only access one at the moment. As for your first question, you have 25,000 galleons ($251,750 US, $125,000 UK)* within your trust vault."

To say the teen was shock would be like saying Hermione liked to read: a massive understatement. Taking a guess that his trust vault was the one he had been to the last few years, Harry came to wonder: what were the other three vaults? Upon voicing his thought to Griphook he was given his answer, "One is the Potter/Peverell vault, the second is the Beleren vault, and the last is the Black vault."

"Okay I can understand the Potter/Peverell vault, but why the other two?"

"Before I can answer that I have a question for you Harry." Seeing the teen nod Griphook continued, "Would you allow an inheritance test to be done so that you may understand your holdings better?"

Taking a thinking pose, Harry had to admit he was curious about his lineage and this would be a great time to learn about his family and himself. So with a nod he consented to the test getting a return nod from the goblin who reached into his desk again and brought out a blank sheet of parchment. Taking an offered dagger from Griphook, he pierced his right hand's finger tips and thumb and placed them on the parchment as he was instructed. After a few seconds the parchment gave off a golden glow before settling down. As Harry and Griphook leaned to look at the parchment, Harry's mouth continued to drop to an all-time low at what he saw.

True Name: Harry James Peverell/Potter

Age: 13

DOB: July 31, 1980

DOD:

Title: Heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Peverall/Potter by blood.

Heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Beleren by blood.

Heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black by magic.

Status: Pureblood

Family

Mother: Lily Peverell/Potter nee Evans nee Beleren

DOB: January 30, 1960

DOD: October 31, 1981

Father: James Peverell/Potter

DOB: March 27, 1960

DOD: October 31, 1981

Godfather: Sirius Orion Black

DOB: October 13, 1959

DOD:

Godmother: Andromeda Tonks nee Black

DOB: April 23, 1954

DOD:

While Harry was indeed shocked that he was an heir to three ancient and noble houses, and his mother was a pureblood which made him a pureblood, but he was more shocked that his godparents were still alive and one was the resent escapee from Azkaban, one Sirius Black. "Do you understand you're ownership of the vaults now?"

Nodding slightly Harry replied, "Somewhat, I'm still curious how the Black headship came to me."

"Well, when Sirius Black was thrown into Azkaban without trial…"

"Wait! What do you mean without trial?" asked Harry confusedly.

"Just as I said, Sirius Black was never tried for his crimes when he was captured on the night your parents were killed. He was charged with betraying your parents to the Dark Lord, the murder of fifteen muggles, and the death of Peter Pettigrew who was another friend of your parents," replied the goblin calmly.

This knowledge sent Harry's head spinning. His godfather had been charged with the murder of several muggles and a friend of his parents, and with betraying his parents. As he thought about his lack of trial though, something didn't feel right to him. "Griphook? Is there anyone else I could talk to in regards to this situation?"

The goblin took up a thinking pose before he excused himself stating he would be back soon. After ten minutes, the door re-opened and Griphook walked back in with an older woman in tan witch's robes. She was taller than Harry around 5'7"; had soft, pale brown hair, a square yet feminine face with sharp blue eyes, and some slight wrinkling around her face. "Harry I would like to introduce you to Madam Amelia Bones the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Madam Bones may I present Harry Potter."

After the two exchanged pleasantries, they got back down to business with Harry and Griphook explaining the reasons for bringing to her attention the fact that Sirius never was given a trial as well as the fact that when he was put there, like all prisoners, he was given the opportunity to make a will and in said will he named Harry his heir. To say that Amelia was shocked would be an understatement since this had happened during the time when one Barty Crouch Sr. was the head of the department, but that was no excuse for a supposed Death Eater to not get a trial when even that psycho-bitch Bellatrix was given one. "I assure you Harry that I will pursue this matter personally, but I'm not sure how long it may take. I should at least be able to call off the kiss on sight order currently out for him."

"Thank you Madam Bones, I appreciate the help. On a side note, are you related to Susan Bones?" Harry asked curiously.

"Why yes I am. She is my niece. Do you know her?" she answered kindly.

"Only in passing she seems like a nice girl, but because of how the housing system is a Hogworts we haven't spoken much." he replied with a sheepish grin as he scratched the back of his head.

Nodding in understanding Amelia decided to press a little, "Well Harry if you'd like we would be glad to have you over for dinner sometime this week."

Having a quick thought Harry decided that it could be fun instead of spending all his time alone in the alley over the next few weeks before term started, plus it would be great to make another friend or two aside from Hermione and Ron. "Sure Madam Bones that would be great," he replied with a grin. Amelia nodded and stated she would send him an owl sometime this week with the time and address.

After the head of the DMLE had left, Harry and Griphook got back to their business. Understanding now why he had the vaults he had, Harry continued with his next question, "Griphook did my parents have a will and can I see Sirius' will too?"

"I'm sorry Harry, but I can't let you read them yet as you haven't reached the age of requirement that they placed in their wills, and as Lord Black isn't dead yet his will must remain as is as well," stated the goblin with an apologetic look.

Instead of getting mad as he usually would have, Harry sat back and let his mind calm in thought for a few seconds. Soon his mind clicked at all he had been told in regards to the wills, but he still couldn't see them. "Griphook? You say I can't see the wills before certain requirements are met, so does that mean I can ask you questions about the wills themselves?"

"Well done Harry, I dare say that is quite Slytherin of you. You are correct in your assumptions, but I must limit you to five questions as I have other jobs I must complete today," stated the goblin with a sly grin.

Harry understanding the nature of the restrictions took careful thought in planning his five questions. "Okay first question, who were supposed to be my guardians? I know for a fact that my relatives hate me and my parents so I just can't fathom my parents willfully sending me there."

Griphook looked over Harry's folder again, "In the event of your parents death they had named seven possible choices for your guardians as well as one stipulation. Sirius Black your godfather. Remus Lupin, a close friend of your parents and Sirius. The Tonks family since Andromeda was your god mother. The Longbottom family as close friends of the family. Minerva McGonagall another close family friend. And finally the Bones family who were close to Sirius and your father," the goblin finished with a slight scowl on his face.

"Okay I can understand why I couldn't go with Sirius since he was thrown in Azkaban, but I don't get why any of the others couldn't take me in?" asked Harry barely able to hold back the venom in his voice.

Not taking any offence since he could tell by the teen's condition that he didn't have a great life with his relatives, Griphook proceeded with his answer, "Remus Lupin is categorized as a dark creature because of his lycanthropy and was deemed unsuitable by the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. The Tonks family appealed several times for your custody, but was turned down because of questionable family ties by the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. The Longbottoms were unable to take custody as they are currently in the long-term spell exposure wing at St. Mungo after being tortured by the Lestrange clan and one Barty Crouch Jr. Minerva McGonagall also appealed for your custody, but later retracted her appeal for unknown reasons. And the Bones family seemed to have never been told of their standing of guardianship since both Mr. and Mrs. Bones were killed a month prior to your parents leaving only Madam Bones and her niece Susan Bones."

"And the stipulation you mentioned?"

"Your parents added the stipulation that under no circumstances were you to be placed under the care of your mother's sister, one Petunia Dursley nee Evans," stated Griphook preparing for any outburst the young man in front of him might rage.

If he could see into the mind of the black-haired teen, he would've seen a hurricane of fury and indignation at all he had just heard. Someone had gone against his parent's wishes and forcefully put him into clutches of his own personal hell. Taking a few calming breathes to try and maintain some form of control. Luckily he was able to calm down enough to ask his next question though he conceded that he would have to find out who the Chief Warlock is. "Other than my trust vault, am I aloud into any of the other vaults before the requirements are fulfilled?"

"The Peverell/Potter and Black vaults are currently off limits for the time being, but the Beleren vault should be fine to enter since your mother made certain to allow you access upon your eleventh birthday, unfortunately this appears to have been overlooked when you first came to us two years ago." With that the goblin reached into his desk and brought out a new key stating that this would be for his new vault, to which Harry produced his key for his trust vault and Griphook hooked them both two a key ring. The goblin then motioned for Harry to continue his questions.

"I heard rumors about this in passing last year, but I'm not certain if they are real; however I would still like to know if I have to worry about them or not. Was I placed under any marriage contracts and if so is there any way out of them?" he asked in a hopeful voice.

"A marriage contract was applied for a few months ago, but it can't be fulfilled until you review it because of a clause in your parent's will that gives you final say to any appeal even above your guardian," mentioned the goblin after looking into the folder again.

Harry gave out a sigh of relief and gave a silent thank you to his parents for the insight before he gained a look of confusion. "Who was the contract for and who pushed for it?"

"The contract was for one Ginevra Molly Weasley from her mother Molly Weasley nee Prewett and it was pushed for by Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore," stated the goblin calmly.

While Harry had been slowly calming down he was confused by this turn of events. While he thought of the Weasley family as the family he never had, and he had risked his life to save Ginny the last term from the chamber that didn't mean that he liked her as a future wife. And while he could understand Mrs. Weasley wanting to thank him but this seemed just too much. Also the fact that the headmaster was pushing for it confused him even more. While thinking about it something else seemed to click for our young hero. 'I've been had! That old coot has been testing me! And now he's trying to push for who I marry? Fuck this! I'll even bet my life he's the Chief Warlock!' "Griphook? What will happen when I decline the contract?"

"The contract will be burned and the required parties will be informed."

'Shit! I can't let them find out or they could pressure me toward it or worse. Wait! What if…' "Griphook? When do I have to make a decision on this?" Harry asked trying to be thoughtful.

"By the time you come of age which would normally be at seventeen, but because of a clause in your parents will you will become of age at fifteen in accords with the old laws for all ancient and noble house heirs."

"In that case leave it as is for now so as not to alert anyone to the fact that I know." Harry stated with confidence.

Griphook nodded before fishing out a small pocket watch from his black vest. "If that is all of your questions Harry I would like to complete your transactions so that I can return to my other duties."

"Of course Griphook I'm sorry to have taken up so much of your time," thinking quickly of what he wanted to do Harry continued, "I would like to get one thousand galleons from my trust vault and have half of it switched to pounds so I can use them in the muggle world. Also I would like to be taken to the Beleren vault if that is okay with you."

~O0o-o0O~

Harry had to admit nothing in the world came close to the excitement of riding a broom, but he had to admit riding the goblin carts came pretty close. The trip to the Beleren vault took some what longer than he thought it would but he ignored the time in favor of enjoying the cart ride. The cart came to a stop at an old oaken door with two large statues of black obsidian on each side. Seeing the statues made Harry's thoughts come to an abrupt halt because they reminded him eerily of the wolf from his dream. "Axesplit? I don't mean to ask a stupid question, but what are those?"

"Those would be the vault guardians, your ancestors put them there so that their possessions would be well protected, oddly enough they fashioned them into statues of shadow wolves," replied the small goblin. Harry nodded his understanding for the time being and took out his key so as to gain access to the vault, but was stopped by Axesplit's warning, "I wouldn't do that yet Mr. Potter. You need to get through the security first."

Nodding as the little goblin explained what he needed to do, he allowed Axesplit to cut the palm of his wand hand and placed it in the mouth of the wolf on his right. As his palm touched the tongue of the statue Harry's hand was covered in a white glow while the eyes of the statue began to glow green as the glow on his hand died down. Upon removing his hand he noticed that his palm was now healed and both statues bowed their heads. Thanks to prompting from his goblin escort, Harry took out his key again and unlocked the old door.

Once he had entered the large vault he stood in awe at the amount of gold, furniture, scrolls and artifacts hidden within. After asking the young goblin how much gold was in this vault to which the goblin replied that he had 534,000 galleons ($5,377,380 US $2,670,000 UK). Harry felt very weak in the knees upon hearing that, but he did rationalize that at the least he wouldn't need to worry about money for a few lifetimes. Harry saw a podium with a large book at the center of the vault that was leather-bound with an ornate buckle on the open side, but what caught his attention the most was the large wolf's skull sitting on top of the tome. Harry made his way toward the podium the dark sockets of the skull burst to life first as a deep, red flame, before calming to a calming, green flame. "Ah so another has come to attempt to obtain the Archive of Merlin," came a bored, English voice from the skull itself.

"You can talk?" asked Harry with a bit of awe in his voice.

The green eyes seemed to almost widen in surprise. "And you can hear me? Well this is most unusual only those of the Beleren line have ever had that ability since I was created by Merlin."

"Who are you? And what do you mean created by Merlin?" asked Harry in excitement.

Before the skull could answer, Axesplit made his presence known. "Mr. Potter I don't mean to rush you but we must move to your other vault so I can get back to my duties. Take what you need and you can return for anything else at another time."

Harry nodded in understanding and picked up the skull and book gently and placed them into a muggle duffle bag that he found nearby. Climbing back into the cart, they made their way back up to the bank proper, after a quick stop at his trust vault to pick up the galleons he needed. After saying 'goodbye' to Axesplit and getting 500 of his 1000 galleons turned into muggle pounds ($5,035.00 US $2,500 UK), Harry made his way out of the bank and was surprised to see Madam Bones leaving the bank as well. "Hello again Madam Bones, I figured you would be back at the Ministry by now."

"I'm actually on my lunch break and came back to take care of some business at the bank before I need to head back to finish the day," she spoke back in a kindly voice.

Harry nodded in understanding. "Would you care to join me for lunch then? I haven't been able to have anything to eat yet and I could use some company."

After agreeing with the young man, both made their way to the Leaky Cauldron to have a light lunch. Once they entered the pub, Harry excused himself to head up to his room so that he could drop off his duffle bag; and quickly made his way back down and took a seat across from Amelia in the corner of the pub. After placing their orders for two fish 'n chips, both sipped on their tea while making small talk along with Harry relating his trip to the bank and explaining a few concerns he had about the last two school terms. Amelia was shocked that one student, let alone a twelve year old could stop a basilisk with a sword, or that he had survived the abuse of his relatives. Even though she could tell he was keeping some of the worst out of it she could tell that his home life was nothing short of a living hell and like him started to question the motives of the headmaster. Amelia silently vowed to look into some things to see if she could help the young man in some way. So it was after they had finished that she needed to head back to her office for the day, but not before telling him that dinner would be in four days at 6:00 PM and gave him the address he would need to use with the floo.

~O0o-Aug. 9, 1993-o0O~

In the days following his trip to Gringotts, Harry had made a few changes to his life. First he snuck out of Diagon Ally into muggle London to get himself some clothes that actually fit to the point that he had essentially bought a new wardrobe which now included: ten pairs of jeans, twelve t-shirts, three long-sleeve shirts, five jumpers, two pairs of tennis shoes, four pairs of slacks, four button up dress shirts, four pairs of shorts, swim trunks, pajama bottoms, socks, a tan trench coat, two pairs of sweat pants, three hoodies, and six pairs of boxers. While he was out he also got some equipment to use that most in the magical world had probably never seen including: mechanical pencils, three large notebooks, and a compass*.

Fortunately, Harry hadn't limited his spending to the muggle world and had taken care of some things he needed from within Diagon Ally: a new cauldron, rune supplies, treats for Hedwig, 100 sheets of parchment, three vials of ink, five quills, potion ingredients, and a few pairs of new dress robes. However his biggest purchase was a specialized dragon-hide trunk.

The trunk came with seven compartments that he could actually enter giving him a mobile apartment of sorts. He furnished two of the compartments into a bedroom and living area respectfully. It is within this bedroom that we find Harry this morning. The bedroom wasn't what one would call fancy, in fact some would even call it Spartan-like, but it was perfect to Harry. It contained a queen-size four-poster bed with forest green sheets, pillows, and a navy blue comforter. A five drawer dresser and a modest walk-in closet next to it. Next to the bed was a matching night stand with a large green candle with three vials of odd colored liquids that Harry had been drinking over the last few days to help bring his body back to its peak condition and one emptied bottle.

As Harry awoke and gave off a large yawn before swinging his legs over the sides of the bed and quickly took two of the potions in long swigs and using an eyedropper with the third to drip three drops into each eye. He had learned after the first day to block the light stinging sensation and after keeping his eyes closed for almost a minute he opened his eyes to reveal his bold, emerald green eyes. He had been most proud in being able to brew the eye drop potion since he would no longer need glasses after he completes the week long cycle with each of the potions. He stood up from his seat clothed only in a pair of black silk boxers and couldn't help, but be impressed with how the potions were helping his body. While a few days ago he was short for his age, as skinny as some better off victims of the holocaust, and according to one snarky skull, less muscle on his body than a sparrows ankle; he now had grown a few inches to stand at 5'5", gained some weight to be 125 lbs, and thanks to an exercise regiment was starting to boast a swimmers build with lean muscles. After slipping on a tight, navy blue t-shirt with 'Sickleback' on the front and a pair of grey sweat pants and white tennis shoes, Harry gathered up the empty bottles and made his way over to a door while passing some more burning candles that helped to illuminate the room. He took his wand and tapped a small dial with the numbers 1-7 on them and focused on a number of his choice and the dial turned till the 3 was facing the top, opened the door and walked through.

He came into a darkened room held up his wand and cast a silent candle lighting charm which brought the ten or so candles within the room to life. He scanned the room that he had come to call 'the lab' with a proud smile. It was wall to wall shelves and book cases that held all manner of potion ingredients, potion vials, and some books. At the center of the room was a work table that was about 10' x 5' with a stool for him to sit. Meanwhile along the side wall was a small desk with the leather bound tome resting on it with the wolf skull above it. After sitting the vials next to a small wooden tub that he used to wash the vials and cauldrons he was using, he made his way over to his desk. "Morning Nic," he stated with a yawn.

His yawn was met by and even more drawn out yawn from the skull though the skull itself didn't move. "Good morning Harry," came a lazy drawl. Harry had to admit Merlin was a bloody genius. After he returned from shopping in London and the alley, he had gotten to conversing with the skull and found out that his name was Nicodemus and that Merlin had used an ancient ritual to connect the spirit to the wolf skull and, through an impressive use of runes, the tome. Nic was a spirit of intellect that Merlin had come across in his travels that could recall anything ever written down and as soon as something was written Nic would automatically know it. And thanks to the runes placed on the tome and Nic's skull, someone could write down a topic, author, or title and the tome would give the person a list of related readings for it that could be read through the magic connected to the tome. He noticed the reasoning for Nic to Merlin as both a companion to bounce ideas off of, as well as someone to answer questions, and someone to translate works written in other languages to the needed language.

"Not a clue if it's good or not yet ya know?" stated Harry as he reached toward a vial of Pepper-Up potion and made his way toward a wooden set of stairs leading up to an inset in the ceiling.

"Not going to catch your morning workout I take it?" came the slightly amused voice of Nic over his shoulder.

Harry groaned as he made his way up the stairs. "Too bloody early and hungry. I'll get to it later," he growled out only to be met by a low chuckle from his companion. 'Fuckin' snarky ass ghost.'

~O0o-11:30 AM-o0O~

After finishing his breakfast at the pub, Harry decided to take a walk around the alley before it got too crowded. As he passed by Magical Menagerie he suddenly felt a pull toward the shop and came to a stop in front of the shop looking intently. He calmed his mind as Nic had taught him and focused his will and magic into his eyes. When he opened his eyes they had a slight glow to them that allowed him to use mage sight, an ability that Nic had been working with him as one of his first lessons so that he could identify wards, and other spells that might be in use around him: however he could only keep it going for about ten seconds at a time. He saw no spells out of the ordinary like compulsion charms, so with a shake of his head he closed his mage sight and entered the store.

As he made his way around the store he noticed all manner of creatures from owls to toads, and crows to turtles, but he was drawn to the back of the store where he continued looking till he felt a tug on his pajama leg and looked down to see a small black wolf pup pulling at his leg. He chuckled at the energy of the little pup and squatted down and rubbed it behind the ear. He laughed more when the pup let go of his pant leg and got up on his hind legs and nipped at his fingers with paws wrapping around his wrist. "Hey there little guy. What's your name?" he asked playfully.

Unfortunately, he wasn't prepared to actually be answered. "I don't have a name papa." Answered the pup with a confused head tilt.

Harry looked at the young male pup for a second before his brain restarted. While Harry could understand some animals from time to time, aside from Hedwig he had never found another animal who could actually talk to, until today that is. "You can understand me?"

The little pups tongue hung out with and almost playful grin. "Of course papa. I can understand you completely."

"Why do you call me papa?" Harry asked curiously.

"You're the first I've met with the same scent as me," he said honestly.

Harry tilted his own head slightly trying to understand what the pup had said, but decided to not worry about it for the time being. "Well would you like to come with me?" he asked and could clearly see the hope in the little pups eyes.

"I'd love to papa!" the little pup yipped excitedly and Harry picked him up along with a bed and some toys for him before making his way to the counter were a shocked owner was waiting since the pup usually always hid when people came into the shop. After a quick discussion with the owner about what sort of food he would need he took his new companion and made his way back to the Leaky Cauldron. On the way he decided on a name for the young pup that he was very proud that his 'papa' would give him: Jace.

~O0o-To Be Continued-o0O~

Well that's all for the first chapter hope everyone likes it and I will try and have the next chapter up soon. R&R please.

Next Chapter: Hedwig meets Jace, Dinner at the Bones, and the return of Hermione and Ron. Plus the start of the trip for Harry's third year.

*I used the website for the conversion from galleons to dollars/pounds.

*Compass doesn't mean a compass used in maping, I'm meaning a compass used in mathematics and art to draw near perfect circles.

*Harry's seven compartment trunk:

1. Master room

2. Guest room

3. Lab

4. Practice room (magic)

5. Exercise room (physical)

6. Ritual room

7. Storage room