Chapter 11 - Lovegoods and Weasley's

(Word Count: 3,759)

One night, Harry was laying in bed thinking to himself. He was feeling quite satisfied about how things were going for him. He had been practicing as often as he could, even if family pulled him away for other things. He had freed Sirius, and even became the heir to two Houses. What that meant for him politically was still in question. 

He was even becoming a rather formidable practitioner of the mind arts. It was a good move for him to have approached Arcturus. The man was very gifted in Legilimency and had pushed Harry hard in improving. Harry quickly improved, to the point where Arcturus can't even force anything out of him anymore. Harry's occlumency became too strong for him to catch even glimpses of thought.

He didn't know how Arcturus stacked up against Dumbledore or Snape, but he wasn't concerned at all anymore. And he even had another year left before Hogwarts.

Harry’s legilimency was now to the point where he could easily bypass Arcturus's defense, though he would stop as soon as he got the targeted memory.

All in all, Harry felt that he couldn't have done better. So now, he was reading through another one of his mother's diaries to relax.

Right now, his mother was talking about how she encountered a peculiar girl, one year above her, that had nearly blown a wall down when she was practicing magic. Pandora.

Harry bolted upright at the mention of Luna's mother. Didn’t she die sometime this year? Right in front of Luna?

He scrambled out of his bed and ran to his desk to write a letter.

Dear Lovegoods,

My name is Harry Potter,

No, scratch that! It might be better to be anonymous. But then again, his name did carry quite a bit of weight to it. They would be more likely to heed his warnings if they knew it came from him. With a shrug, he continued writing.

Dear Lovegoods,

My name is Harry Potter. You could say that I've had a glimpse into the future. I’ve written to warn you that Pandora will die sometime this year due to her experimenting with magic. I don't know the precise details of how, but I urge you to take greater precautions than you have before should you continue. If not for yourself, then for Luna.

From what I've seen, Pandora dies right in front of her, and she is never quite the same. She withdraws into herself, and when she goes to Hogwarts all the other Ravenclaw students bully her, calling her ‘Loony Lovegood’. So for her sake, take care of yourselves.

I will be attending Hogwarts one year before her, but nonetheless I look forward to being her friend.

Sincerely,

Harry Potter.

“Tipsy!” Harry called. Tipsy popped in.

“Yes, young master Harry, sir?” She asked eagerly.

“Could you deliver this letter to the Lovegoods immediately for me?” Harry handed her the folded letter, not bothering to put it in an envelope. She popped away.

Harry sat back in relief. Thank Merlin his mother had written about Pandora, or he would have forgotten her completely. He would have never forgiven himself if he had become friends with Luna having done nothing to prevent her tragedy.

A lot of fan theories paint Luna as a seer or that she gained some sort of magical vision due to the incident of her mother's death, but no gift is worth the life of your mother.

Only time will tell if his warning was enough, but Harry could at least sleep at night knowing he did what he could.

Only a few days later, he received a letter back from the Lovegoods.

Dear Harry Potter,

We've read all of your stories about your adventures before, but I honestly doubted the truthfulness of them before. But now, having saved my wife's life with your magic foresight, I can only apologize for doubting. Thank you.

You were right! It turns out that the bottom of Pandora's cauldron had sprung a leak and the drips of the various potions had worn down the protective charms in the room! If we hadn't done a thorough check over, it would have gone unnoticed.

If there is anything you, or your girlfriend, needs, we would be happy to help. Would you like to come visit? We would like to thank you in person. We live near Ottery St. Catchpole. Our floo address is “The Rookery” Please come by anytime. We would welcome you with open arms.

With gratitude,

The Lovegoods.

Ps. Thank you for saving my mommy.

The post script was written in a child's hand. Luna herself wrote a thank you. Harry smiled in relief. It looks like Pandora would live.

Girlfriend? He frowned when he thought of those children's books. He did have Ted go after the publishers and authors that were using his name. It was eventually decided that he would be getting royalties and they would make an announcement that all of those stories were just that: stories. Then any future stories were properly labeled as fictional.

But it seems that wizards had a hard time grasping that stories could be made up. He certainly didn’t have a fairy girlfriend.

Harry sent a letter back saying he would visit tomorrow.

The next day, Remus and Harry apparated over.

They were greeted by a group of six people. The three Lovegoods, Xenophilius, Pandora, and Luna. Then there was Molly Weasely, a small boy Ron, and Ginny.

Xenophilius was nowhere near as haggard as he was shown to be in the movies. He didn't lose his wife. In fact, he was young looking and beaming a huge smile at him.

Pandora looked like Evanna Lynch, the actress that played Luna in the movies, but with frazzled hair and a pair of half-moon glasses.

Luna was a tiny little girl, with pale skin and platinum blonde hair. It made her seem like a small fairy. A little cinnamon roll.

The Weasley’s were pretty much exactly like in the movies. Molly was a plump housewife, Ron was a scrappy young boy, and Ginny was a small little girl. Her red hair was combed back and held in place with a pin. Her freckles scattered across her face gave her a tomboy look.

Honestly speaking, Harry didn't mind that the Weasley's were there. Sure, the movies painted Ron as only a lazy slob and a terrible friend. The fanfics did have a point here with him being such a fairweather friend. But the book Ron was much better. He actually stuck up for Harry. He would just have to see which Ron this will come out to be. If they ended up not being friends anymore, then it is what it is.

Molly, though, was simply a loving mother. He didn't believe any of the garbage about her.

Ginny in the movies was a bit bland, but even then she doesn't deserve any of the bashing she got in the fanfics. In the books, she was even better. She didn't take smack from anyone and was a boss. You could tell she grew up with 6 older brothers. Definitely someone he wanted to be friends with.

As for the twins, well, Harry would have to see what sort of pranks they pulled. If they were simply bullying, then they would receive marauder justice. But if they were tasteful pranks, then they would definitely be good friends. 

“Welcome! Welcome, Harry Potter!” Xenophilius called. He pushed forward his wife and daughter. “My name is Xenophilius, this is my wife and daughter: Pandora and Luna. But you already knew that, didn't you?” Xenophilius laughed.

“Hello, Harry,” Pandora said as she bent down and hugged him. “Thank you for sending your letter. Thanks to you, I can see my daughter grow up. You sweet, sweet boy.”

She pulled away from the hug with tears in her eyes. Luna stepped up shyly. “H-hello, Harry. Thank you for saving Mommy.”

Harry smiled at her. “Hello, Luna. It's nice to meet you, I hope to be your friend.”

She blushed and hid behind her mother. Harry just smiled and turned to look at the Weasley's.

Molly pushed Ron and Ginny forward. “Hello, Harry Potter! My name's Molly Weasley. I wanted to thank you for capturing Pettigrew. Just the thought of that man in my house.” She shivered in disgust. “Thank you. Anyway, these are my children, Ronald and Ginny. I have more children, but they're all at Hogwarts right now, but my eldest son, Bill, is working at Gringotts, so they couldn't make it. Ron here will be attending Hogwarts together with you! I hope you can be his friend. Go on, introduce yourselves!” Mrs. Weasley pushed her two kids forwards.

“Hullo, Harry, I'm Ron. Is it really true? Do you really have the… the scar?” Ron said tactlessly. Mrs. Weasely smacked him on the back of the head.

“Oh, Ronald! That's not something you should be asking!” She chided.

Ginny stepped forward shyly, her face as red as her hair in a deep blush. “H-h-hello! I'm Ginny Weasley!” Ron snickered.

Harry smiled at the two. “Hello, Ron, Ginny. I'm Harry Potter. I look forward to being your friend.” He looked at everyone and gestured to Remus. “This is my uncle, Remus Lupin.”

Remus shook hands with the parents.

“Harry, where's your girlfriend? I thought she would come?” Pandora said.

Harry sighed. “I'm sorry ma'am, but those stories really were made up. I don't have a girlfriend and I’ve never slayed a dragon. You were right to doubt them before.”

Ginny and Luna smiled at each other when he said he didn't have a girlfriend, but looked confused when he said the rest of the stories were false.

 “You don't live in castles, save the pretty witch, or make friends with magical creatures?” Ginny asked.

Harry sighed. “No, I'm the same age as Ron here. The only thing I did was help clear my Godfather's name, and send a letter to the Lovegoods here. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have done all those things, but I haven't. At least, not yet.”

“But you're still the Boy-Who-Lived!” Ron blurted.

Harry shook his head. “Nope! Not my doing either. It was all my mother's work. I was just a helpless baby. What I am is just a normal kid that came to make some friends. So, why don't we ignore any titles or whatever and get a game going or something?”

Ron stammered a bit, but then smiled. “Yeah, alright! Let's go then, Harry!” Ron grabbed his hand and pulled him along. “Mum, we'll be back for lunch!” He called over his shoulder.

Ginny and Luna blinked. Then took off after them. “Ronald!” Ginny shouted, “We want to play too!”

“Wait for us, Harry!” Luna called in a soft voice.

Harry spent the entire day there with the Lovegoods and Weaseley’s. Since then, they would all visit together frequently. When he had the time, Harry would floo over.  It did eat into his personal training time, but he figured that he was allowed to be a kid while he was young.

~~ ITW,H ~~

Three years had passed since he had freed Sirius, and Harry is now nearly 11 years old. The awaited acceptance letter from Hogwarts letter came just a couple of weeks before his birthday. Harry stared at it, slightly melancholic. In his previous life, he had grown up with the Harry Potter books, and he had dreamed about getting this letter. Now here he was, living with Sirius and Remus, he was good friends with Tonks, Ron, Ginny, and Luna, and he had learned a lot of magic.

Now, he was going to Hogwarts.

Things wouldn't be the same as what happened in the books, he was just too different from the original Harry. He wondered what would be the same though. It was likely that Professor Quirrell was still possessed by Voldemort. But would Dumbledore still do things the same way?

It was theorized that Dumbledore only did it that way in order to test Harry, but now they had already shared quite a bit of time together. Once his mind arts had gotten to the point where training with Arcturus wasn't really doing anything, Harry went ahead and contacted Dumbledore. Not to practice occlumency, but to go into the finer points of mind arts and transfiguration in general.

By now, Dumbledore should at least have some understanding of his character.

Whatever the case, Harry was more than ready. Through these past few years, he had advanced in levels far quicker than before, gaining about 6 levels a year. He had his mother's wand to help in casting magic and several adults willing to tutor him a little in magic.

[Name: Harry James Potter

Level: 2 -> 20 45.4%

Stats: 

Power: 34 -> 50, [7]

Control: 16 -> 74

Focus: 21 -> 82

Classes: Mind Arts 10, Magizoology 10

Skills: Occlumency 3, Legilimency 1, Serpensortia 5

Perks: Potter Family Magic, A Mother’s Love, Horcrux, Parselmouth, Black Family Magic, Animagus, Natural Occlumens, Magical Growth, Emotional Empowerment, Harvester, Empathetic Sensing]

The horcrux inside his head seemed to be growing more off of his power. Since he had gained the system, it had gone up from a measly 1 to a full 7. It wasn't a big concern, because his Power grew far faster than the horcrux, and he was planning on taking an AK sometime in his fourth year. Maybe it would have been a problem if he didn't have his “A Mother's Love” perk.

When he got through the process of becoming an animagus, he gained a perk for it:

Animagus: Gain the senses and strengths of your animal form even in your human form. [Transfiguration Level 10+ Only: can do partial transformations between your animal form at will.]

Unfortunately, it would have been more useful in his human form if he had gotten something like a tiger, bull, or some other powerful creature. As it is, the crow didn't add anything to his strength. It did sharpen his eyesight though, birds in general had really good eyesight and could even see partially into the ultraviolet light. He was hoping that he would have been able to see magic with this, but he couldn't. Spell projectiles did look really cool with the increased spectrum of light, but he couldn't see residual magic in the area, or enchantments and wards. Bummer.

For the Mind Arts class, every level brought new insights into how magic interacted with the mind, emotions, and vice versa. He learned how magic can enhance one's own emotions, and how emotions enhanced his magic. He learned how to structure false memories, how to use extracted memories without a pensieve, and how to give memories to other people.

Using this knowledge, Harry could theorize that it might just be possible to extract his spirit animal, like the patronus does, and use it in different spells. If he could give memories to other people, then wouldn't it stand to reason he could do so with spells? Isn't that exactly what the patronus and fiendfyre do?

At this point, Harry felt like he was beginning to reach the extent of what is known about the Mind Arts. He had already been debating theoretical knowledge with Dumbledore, who had been able to modify the patronus spell to act as a messenger for his order of the phoenix. Leveling any further would be touching on practices that had been lost to time or simply weren't known yet. Like perhaps the making of the pensieve, perhaps.

His progress in the Mind Arts gained him two perks. One at level 5 and one at 10.

Mind Arts Level 5: Natural Occlumens: Requires no Focus to hide away your thoughts.

Mind Arts Level 10: Emotional Empowerment: Certain spells are fueled and empowered by a specific emotion. You can do this with any spell.

With his advancements in the Mind Arts, Occlumency began to feel much easier to him. So while he placed 5 more skill points into the skill, he didn't feel the need to cap it at the moment.

Occlumency:

Level 1: Occlumency is twice as effective at defending against Legilimency. 

Level 2: No matter how subtle the effects, you will always be aware of any external influence.

Level 3: Created memories are real to legilimantic probes.

With the reminder from the random snake he talked to at that picnic, he had begun putting all of his class points towards Magizoology. Each level in the class came with information in handling different creatures and how to harvest valuable parts from creatures alive or dead. It seemed like levels 1-5 was all about X rated creatures, then 6-10 were all about XX rated creatures. The levels didn't cover all of the creatures, but a handful of the most common types, and some creatures that were rarely seen.

Well, now he knew how to handle them if they ever appeared before him.

Idley, Harry wondered if he would get to learn if the Crumple-Horned Snorkack existed or not. That would make a great gift to the Lovegoods. They go on a trip every year to try and find it.

He also gained two perks, at levels 5 and 10:

Magizoology Level 5: Harvester: You are able to harvest/render 20% more product from magical creatures.

Magizoology Level 10: Empathetic Sensing: You have an inherent understanding of the mood and needs of magical creatures. This can extend to a lesser extent to magical beings. (More of the Parseltongue Perk has been unlocked! Any Serpent familiars are now twice as powerful.)

It was a bit strange, and Harry wondered how the Harvester perk would work. if he plucked a single hair from a unicorn, would he suddenly have a longer strand of hair, or another, smaller hair? The second perk was great. Throughout the levels in the Mind Arts, it never covered how to deal with non-human minds. They felt and thought differently than humans do.

He had found that out the hard way when he tried using Legilimency on one of the gnomes in the Weaseley’s backyard. Harry spent the next few hours grumbling and digging in the dirt like a gnome would. Ginny had to slap him to get his mind straight.

But now, with the inherent understanding from the perk, he wondered if he could now navigate their minds.

With these 10 levels, Harry completed his goal of getting that unlock but it made him wonder if there was anything else like that hidden within the system. There was one spell that he could imagine synergizing pretty well with his parseltongue, and having unique benefits: Serpensortia. As he leveled up in Magizoology, he slowly placed his skill points in that spell. It took a total of 15 levels to gain enough skill points to cap the skill. 

Serpensortia:

Level 1: You can specify the type of snake, instead of the default cobra.

Level 2: Can summon multiple snakes at once.

Unlocked by Parseltongue:

Level 3: You can now communicate telepathically with your summoned snakes.

Level 4: Your summoned snakes can now include magical snakes.

Level 5: Your summoned snakes temporarily become your familiars

So any snake he summoned would automatically become his familiar as they were summoned and thus be twice as powerful due to his parseltongue. Harry had laughed triumphantly when he got this. It was perfect.

Though as he delved deeper into what parseltongue will actually do for him in spellcasting, he realized that in standard spells and dueling, speaking in parseltongue doesn't actually do anything to enhance the spell’s power. The only advantage in dueling was not shouting out the spell’s name for the opponent to hear in a language they could understand. Which was a moot point when one can master silent casting.

The real benefit comes from laying down enchantments or wards. There are a lot of examples in protective wards and enchantments that require a specific word or phrase to pass through or break it. By making that passcode a magical language like parseltongue, it's nearly impossible for anyone else to break it. The only way would be to overwhelm the spell with raw power, which is why most curse breakers work in teams.

There were of course some spells that were made to be cast in parseltongue, rather than a butchered version of Latin. Harry had gotten an old book on these spells as a birthday present.

The book came from India, where the gift of parseltongue, while still rare, is at least more common than here in England. This book was focused on healing, but in its introduction it alluded to another book on wards that the author had written.

These healing spells weren't inherently more powerful than the ones cast in Latin, but they were good in countering curses. It intrigued Harry how the language used in the spells changed or specialized in certain effects.

Another point in progress was his wandless magic. To Harry's great and immeasurable disappointment, wandless magic did not mean that he could cast any and all spells of wanded magic. They simply did not work the same. 

As Harry practiced, he found that any spell that had a sort of projectile shot out of the wand, couldn't be used without it. For example, stupify: it fires a red beam that when it hits someone, forces them unconscious. It actually fell into the mind arts branch. He would need to figure out how to do it the wandless way.

In fact, the vast majority of spells couldn't be done without the wand. There was a reason they were adapted after all. They allowed for a far greater versatility and ease of using magic. Even the spells he could do without a wand felt far clumsier and slower. Even with his Control. It was just the nature of having a spell focus to aid in casting.

Harry theorized that olden day magic relied primarily on rituals, potions, and things like that.

There were things that he could do though. He could cast a spell and then maintain control of the spell wandlessly while casting other things. Voldemort and Dumbledore could both be seen doing this in the movies.

He also had mastered his telekinesis, wandless Legilimency, can summon things to him, banish things from him, can smother/bolster existing flames, summon lights, clean things, and apparate. Yeah, he had Sirius watch over him as he attempted his first apparition, but with his control/focus, it was far easier than he worried it was.