Hi guys! It has been quite a while. I am incredibly sorry for the late update. The poll results are in-it appears Loki has won. This chapter is somewhat short and most likely incredibly boring but this is just the pre-Hogwarts life of Harry and Bruce.
When I first planned this story I think I had some notion of an overpowered Harry but I think perhaps making him less powerful (but not weak, of course) is what I would rather write. So here we are. If anything is too confusing or just doesn't make any sense please feel free to let me know!
Let it be said clearly: Bruce Banner was a man of science. He believed in the age-old system of research and evidence. He believed in results, theories, and he believed in what could be proven. He did not accept the words of others without some consideration or question—and he certainly did not trust their findings alone. However, he was not left unmarked by the gamma radiation that changed him so drastically that he was linked to a monster. A monster controlled by his body and not his mind.
Therefore, it can be reasoned that Bruce Banner was also a man of the unexplained by default. His mind could not be unscathed in such a drastic change, and so he was more inclined to at least listen to once outlandish events. He was able to accept that he had fallen in love with a woman who could wield a force that should not exist by the natural order. He was able to accept that there were mutants in the world—some who had powers he could not begin to fathom. He could not accept, however, that a baby should be able to suddenly appear in a spot that it has never been before.
The baby, of course, could not be normal. It was a pale thing, with a full head of black hair that seemed impartial to gravity. The skin itself appeared rough and oddly patched along the areas near his eyes. And his eyes; they stood out immediately. They were an incredible shade of green, but the pupils had shrunk so suddenly to a single sliver that he was worried if the child could even see. It did not help that there was blood leaking down it's forehead in an alarming rate for one so small.
Blood! Suddenly, the self declared man of science regained his bearings and raced forward in order to grab the child. Lifting the small thing in his arms, he raced towards the bathroom where he knew the hotel kept their pathetic excuse for a first-aid kit. He worked on stopping the bleeding quickly. In his haste to clean the wound, he did not notice the peculiar behavior of the child. However, a more pressing concern was flashing in his mind—the other one was content in a way he had only been with one person—Lily.
Harry Potter was a boy destined to die, but Hadrian Banner held no such misfortune to his name. In truth they were the same boy, but their lives were such a contradiction that it had attracted the attention of a higher being, namely Death.
Death was not a constant, singular presence in Harry's life. There were many "Deaths", and none should have been visible to Harry—and yet they were. Perhaps it was simply a mutation caused by his father. Or perhaps he received a dull resurgence of necromancer blood that had existed in his mothers diluted witch blood, something she had not even know herself. Even more likely was that he had experienced an odd mutation in his ocular region all his own, and as a result he was gifted with near sightless vision barring the figures of death.
As a young child, he would never have recognized that his eyes were different than they were meant to be. As a baby especially, he held no thoughts of a blank world, and had simply observed the ghosts and death that he was not meant to see. He began to recognize certain behaviors of each visitor, and was gifted in return with the knowledge that he was never alone. His baby mind did not recognize that his mother thought him advanced or dangerous. Instead, he simply lived as the deaths and ghosts prompted him to. He was not overly intelligent to a remarkable or unbelievable extent. He was not a seer or sensitive beyond his odd sight, despite the thoughts of his young mother. He simply observed, reacted, and remained quiet throughout his first months. In his later years he would discover that he could close this vision off and see the world as it was meant to be seen, but first young Harry would spend many years without this advantage.
Bruce did not find out until three days after the strange child's appearance that it was his son. He had suspected early on that it was Lily's—what were the odds of him encountering a stranger's magical child, after all? He would have never imagined the boy was truly his, even if the possibility was always there.
However, he trusted Lily, and word of her death came in the beak of a large brown owl the following day. Her will had come two days later.
The letter was simple and short. It was an unspoken truth that Lily had been rushed when penning it. It read:
Dear Bruce,
My love, there is much I wish to say but only one true thing you need to know: I am dead. My son needs your help. Our son needs his last remaining parent. Please do not allow notions of fear of your other self to withhold your claim on custody. I have written it in my will—no other will suffice for his care. I know you will raise him far away from magic, and that is what he may need to survive.
Upon my death, Gringotts will send my will directly to you. All information will be enclosed within it. Harrison James Potter will become Hadrian J. Banner. You will gain access to all vaults that I had access to prior to my death. Treat him well, love him, and you will receive the intelligent child I know he will become.
With all my love,
Lily Evans
Bruce was not afraid to admit he had initially had issues adjusting to the concept of Lily's death. She was such a spirited and intelligent young woman that fears of death had been overlooked in way of jealousy of a man he had never even met. And knowledge that she was some sort of magical being also brought connotations that she could escape the modern perils of life. From what she had shared with him on the magical world, they were both backwards and advanced. Still, his nightmares before had been of him losing her and never seeing her again—but not like this.
He had a full two days to acquaint himself with his son before the final message reached him. There was no doubt that without his son, he would have expressed his grief and anger in a way that would be more destructive than healing. Still, the will arrived just as Lily had promised.
On the bequest of the late Lily Evans, the Will and Testament of Lillian J. Evans and James Charlus Potter are to be sent to Bruce Banner. If there are issues with this request, please seek the goblin Griphook at Gringotts for any corrective measures.
Last Will and Testament of James Charlus Potter
I hereby state that this is my final and current Last Will and testament. First, I declare that in the event of my death Lily receive access to the Potter family vaults, the Potter family estates (one in Wiltshire, and another in Tinworth) as well the Godric's Hollow residence. Second, any child Lily has is to be considered my heir in the event I die before a child of my own is born. Third, both Remus Lupin and Sirius Black are to receive a set fixture amount decided by Lily from my personal vaults. Remus Lupin is to have access to the Potter Family Libraries. Fourth, I give all other property (tangible and otherwise) not mentioned to Lily Evans.
Last Will and Testament of Lillian J. Evans
I hereby state that this is my final and current Last Will and testament. First, I declare that all things already dedicated to me by James Potter should transfer to the possession of my son, Harrison James Potter. Second, on the event of my death Harrison shall become Hadrian J. Banner. Third, no one is to know of the guardian I have chosen for Harry—Bruce Banner. Fourth, Bruce Banner is to have access to all of the necessary vaults should he chose to access them—my personal vaults, and Harry's trust vault. Fifth, both Remus Lupin and Sirius Black should receive a sum of 2000 galleons each, as James has requested I determine the amount. Finally, Bruce is to receive a set income of 200 galleons per month from my personal vault, converted to the muggle currency of his choosing.
Bruce set down both papers, grabbed the curious child that was peering up at him with sightless eyes, and wished horribly that Lily had never left him that day.
It was not long after Bruce had finished reading through the wills that he had truly begun to realize what an odd child Harry was. His mind had been clouded by the unending feeling of the entire unfairness of the situation, but it was slowly fading. His mind was more rational and clear with each passing moment—and so were the oddities of the child's actions.
Harry rarely made a sound. He could have written it off as arbitrary or perhaps shock at first, but four days with the boy and he barely made a peep. He would say Harry was a curios child, except for the fact that he rarely was looking at anything at all. And when he did focus on something, it seemed to be for hours and the item was rarely worth any interest. The first time Bruce had worried that his head injury was the cause of his actions, but that seemed to have healed completely the first night.
But Harry seemed content in his own way. He did not fight Bruce during meal times, he did not question him when he was put to sleep on Bruce's bed and surrounded by a multitude of pillows both on the bed and the floor, and he did not cry. He was already becoming a constant presence in Bruce's life.
But Bruce wasn't exactly prepared to suddenly have a baby thrust upon him. Although the child was at least a year old by his estimates, he still had many months of growth yet before Bruce felt more comfortable caring for him. And even worse still he had nothing prepared to care for the child on hand. So that is how he found himself in the nearest all-purpose store, diligently searching for both the best selections and best pricing. Thankfully Harry seemed happy enough to relax in the front slot of the shopping cart.
"That's quite a lot of items you are picking up. Surprise visit?" A young looking woman asked as he approached her to check out.
"Yeah… you could say that," Bruce answered as he began loading the items on the table. The woman took this as sign that he was not interested in conversation, and thankfully remained silent afterwards.
Later when Bruce was loading up the car he had rented with the purchases, he would notice a strange between Harry and a dead rodent lying on the ground. Of course Harry was not near the animal, but he showed an odd fascination with the body of the little creature, and even reached out for it. Harry had not shown such interest in anything previously—not even the toys or food he had picked up for him. He was suddenly worried about the strange reaction—Harry couldn't possibly want to eat the rodent? Sure, he had noticed the strange snake-like qualities but Harry was still perfectly human. At least, he hadn't seen anything to suggest otherwise.
Bruce would not realize until later on that Harry was not interested in the body of the rodent at all—he was simply watching the ghost of the small creature. Harry had never been exposed to a non human figure—with only being able to see death decently; any toys depicting animals were not distinguishable.
Still, seeing Harry reach for the rodent even after being placed in the car was worrying. When he saw Harry actually smile, something he had not done in his company, it sent frightening chills down his spine instead of exciting him that his son displayed happiness. However, the most concerning thing had to be the displeased rumblings of the other in his mind.
When Bruce thought back on it later in the night, he would realize the other was focused on his reaction and not Harry's actions.
Bruce did not realize Harry could not see until his second birthday. Even men of great logic could make the most unreasonable mistakes—namely forgoing seeing a true pediatric doctor in lieu of his own expertise. He was not a medical doctor in any certain terms—but he thought he had studied enough to manage on his own. And yet he had missed the fact that his son could not truly see.
It was true that the doctor he took his son to would not be able to begin to speculate the true origins of Harry's strange misfortune. Mutations were just beginning to become popular knowledge—still the doctor's first idea was not of this. As Bruce had not been his primary caregiver at the very beginning of his life, he could not truly answer if there was some accident that caused the loss.
Even when the doctor first breached the subject of a mutation with Bruce, the doctor seemed hesitant to believe it himself. Generally there was some sort of purpose for the mutation—a power, no matter how weak or useless the doctor had explained. However, Bruce was so concerned that his mutation was the cause that he didn't even bother to correct the man. Mutations were random, and for the most part they weren't meant to be positive.
Could his own mutation via gamma radiation have caused his son's inexplicable blindness despite the fact that he had fully functional retina and optical nerves? Even with his odd snakelike eyes, something the doctor couldn't even begin to fathom beyond mutation, he didn't exactly act impaired.
Then, of course, came the question of Harry's skin. The boy had not outgrown the off textured organ (scale like, if Bruce was to really think upon it). The doctor had no reasonable explanation for him. They could run tests, but there was simply no indication that there was a mutation of the skin. There were no recorded similar cases. And so Bruce left the doctor's office with more questions than answers. He knew with an odd certainty that despite Lily's request to distance Harry from magic he would need to seek the magical world out. Surely they would have some sort of explanation?
As Harry was only two years old and did not seemed pained in any way due to his differences, Bruce decided it would be acceptable to wait until he was older before attempting to seek magical healing. And to be honest, Bruce wasn't sure if he was ready to face the true existence of multiple communities beyond common knowledge. Hearing was one thing—but seeing and knowing without a doubt was something else completely.
When Harry was five years old, Bruce realized he had more connection with snakes than just his appearance. There was no dramatic reveal, nor was it really something that built up over time. Bruce never took Harry to places like the zoo because he did not believe he would enjoy it—he couldn't actually see or interact with any of the animals easily. However, the early learning school for the visually impaired insisted that the children still loved the atmosphere of the zoo. And so Bruce was destined to chaperone his son and the small class along with their teacher and one other parent.
So far Harry did not react positively or negatively, so Bruce took it as it was. However, when they reached the reptile house Harry ran his hands along the glass. He pressed his little face along the glass, and hissed in content. Surprisingly (or not, this was Harry after all) the small python residing in the enclosure reared up and focused on his son. Harry nodded his head as if he was listening, and then began hissing back. Harry smiled again, before reaching out for Bruce's hand.
"Armeida would prefer to return to the wild. Do you think we could convince the zoo to let her out?"
"Ah… no, Harry. She was captive born, and she wouldn't likely survive in the wild. How did you learn her name?"
"She told me, of course. She wanted to tell me a lot more, but didn't want to bother a speaker with her problems. I would have liked to hear them." Harry said softly.
"I know you would have, you like listening don't you?" Bruce would not question his son here, and he did not feel the need to grab attention. He had no doubt that Harry truly could understand the snake, despite the logical bells ringing in his mind that snakes couldn't possibly be sentient enough to have their own language. Was this normal? Was this something that was glossed over in the books Lily had given him?
Whatever the case, Bruce's decision to support and protect Harry to the best of his ability was only solidified. Curiously, he felt the approval of the Other in the back of his mind—something he had never truly felt. With the Other calm and his son's curiosity enticed, Bruce felt a sense of calm overtake him that he hadn't since meeting Lily.
Now he only worried how long it would last.