Chapter 2

"I'm going to miss you." Jean was tightly hugging Harry with her head buried in his chest. He was the only kid that she couldn't hear his emotions. The only one that she was able to speak freely with. And she had a connection with him that was pulling her towards him. She wanted to go with him but was refused since she wasn't magical.

"I'm going to miss you too, Little Red." Harry squeezed her back as her head snapped towards him with her piercing emerald eyes staring at his.

"I told you not to call me that! I'm not little, I'm 11!" Jean puffed her cheeks.

"Okay, okay, just Red then. No little." Jean pouted and buried her head in his chest.

Everyone that lived in the mansion had gathered outside while waiting for Dumbledore to arrive. Harry had a backpack on his back and a large duffle bag next to his feet. Ororo and Charles were looking at the two kids with bright smiles while Logan stood with his arms crossed.

"Kid, you better follow the exercises I wrote for you. If you return back looking like a pig, I will make sure to train you 10 times harder." Logan warned him. Harry looked with surprise in his eyes towards the wild man. This was the most he had heard him talking outside their training sessions.

"Logan!" Ororo snapped, but he grunted without responding. She was about to chastise him when a flame popped out in front of them. Dumbledore appeared with a crimson-feathered bird on his shoulder. The bird was as big as a swan and had a golden tail as long as a peacock's.

Harry and Jean felt a connection with the bird, but it wasn't as strong as theirs. The crimson avian let out a happy chirp before it disappeared into flames. Dumbledore tilted his head slightly, confused by his familiar's actions. Fawkes was quite possibly his closest companion, but he had never acted in this manner.

A moment later, a flame popped. This time, two crimson birds appeared from within it. The second one was slightly smaller than the first. The two let out a joyful song, and Harry's eyes widened. He heard their thoughts and was surprised and quite happy. Jean didn't hear their thoughts like him, but through their emotions, she was able to understand them.

The second phoenix flew towards Harry. A large smile formed on his face, but when the bird passed him and landed on Jean's shoulder, his mouth opened up and hung loosely. "Wait, what?"

If Harry was surprised, then Dumbledore was astonished. A phoenix choosing a Muggle was unheard of in the magical world. He focused on the red-haired girl to make sure she wasn't magical. She did have that weird aura, but there was not a trace of magic in her.

Jean stuck her tongue at Harry, seeing his expression, as the phoenix nibbled on her ear affectionately. She raised her hand and gently caressed the red feathers on its chest. "You're so pretty!"

The two phoenixes sang joyfully, making everyone that heard them happy and content. Phoenix songs are reputed to increase the courage of the pure of heart and strike fear into the heart of the impure. Dumbledore knew that and looked around. No one seemed to be uncomfortable, so he judged that they were all good people. That was good to know.

"This was certainly an unexpected but joyful event," Albus said. He would have preferred if the phoenix had chosen Harry, but the red-haired girl was obviously someone close to him.

"Fawkes, would you please go and pick up the book I wrote?" Dumbledore asked his familiar, and the bird cooed before disappearing in flames. Fawkes returned in a bit with a small book in his claws. He gently placed in Dumbeldore's hands, who addressed Jean. "Young Lady, this is a book I wrote on how to raise a phoenix. Yours is already an adult, but you can still learn how to take care of one."

"Thank you." Jean received the book and smiled at the phoenix on her shoulder. "I will call you Ryze!" She declared.

Ryze apparently liked her name, judging by the happy song she let out.

Dumbledore smiled before turning to Harry and pulled out a pouch from his robes. "And this is for you, Mr. Potter."

Harry looked a bit dejected. Jean got a phoenix while he got a lousy pouch. He was expecting something as cool as that. Seeing his face, Dumbledore added. "This is a Mokeskin pouch. It might look small on the outside, but it's been enchanted on the inside. It's as large as a small apartment."

Dumbledore knew that Harry didn't quite like him. The fact that he had left him with the Dursleys made the boy warry of him. Dumbledore really thought that was the best option for Harry since he didn't want him to grow arrogant and egoistical with how famous he was. Which he believed would've happened if he grew up in the magical world. Unfortunately, due to his wrong choice, there was a chance he would've created another Tom Riddle. Like Harry, Tom was treated harshly in the orphanage that he grew up in. Albus knew he had a lot to make up to the boy before he gained his trust.

"Oh, wow!" Harry exclaimed. "It's a bag of holding!"

"A bag of what?" Dumbledore asked in surprise. He'd never heard of a bag of holding, but apparently, Harry already had an idea what a Mokeskin pouch was.

"A bag of holding has an opening to an extradimensional space where you can store items," Harry explained as a matter of fact. "Does the weight increase if I place more stuff inside it, or does it stay the same? And when I place something inside, how do I get it out?"

"It's been enchanted to be as light as a feather, no matter how much you fill it," Dumbledore answered while trying to figure out how Harry knew so much. It didn't have an extradimensional space, but it was quite close in nature. "And to retrieve something from your Mokeskin pouch, you just have to focus on the item you want to take out. Only the owner of the pouch can do that."

"Cool! So, does it need a drop of my blood to recognize me as the owner?"

Dumbledore was starting to get scared. How did Harry know so much? "Yes..." He answered with a complicated expression, which morphed into one of shock as he watched Harry focus with his finger over the pouch. After a moment, a drop of his blood squeezed out of his finger and fell onto the bag, which quickly absorbed it.

'The power the Dark Lord knows not.' Dumbledore thought. The boy's powers were impressive, and if he was just as good with magic, then he only had to worry about Harry's character. But judging by the conversation he had with Charles a few days ago, Albus believed the boy had a good nature.

'A Champion that the Light side desperately needs.' Dumbledore nodded to himself. He was getting old that was clear to him. The Light side needed someone to take up his mantle and lead the Wizarding World. The only problem was that Harry might not want to stay in the Wizarding World. Hopefully, with time, he would be able to change that mindset. Dumbledore decided he would help him, become a mentor figure to the boy, and guide him on how to become a remarkable wizard.

From his conversation with Charles, Albus knew what had happened with Harry. He knew that a part of Voldemort soul had stuck to the boy, but the Phoenix in his mind had incinerated it. He had almost suffered the same fate. Knowing that Dumbledore had an understanding of what had happened on that night.

The Killing Curse fractured the soul of the user when used against an innocent. Voldemort had used it against Harry's parents and the boy. However, due to Lily Potter, the curse had backfired on him. If he had to guess, it had probably been due to some kind of blood magic. Since Voldemort soul had been fractured, the Killing Curse had only destroyed a part of it. While the other had anchored onto Harry.

There was a chance that the Dark Lord had been vanquished, but Dumbledore wouldn't put his eggs in one basket. Voldemort was a genius, he knew that, so it was likely he had done something similar before that. A Horcrux was such a vile object, and the man had likely created more than one. The question was how many? If he had to guess, three due to the power the number posses, but he couldn't be sure. Either way, he would prepare young Harry to the best of his abilities when he inevitably has to face off against Voldemort.

In another situation where the fragment of the Dark Lord's soul hadn't been destroyed, Dumbledore might have tried raising Harry as a martyr, but this wasn't the case. With the power the boy already had, he decided to groom him as his successor.

The group talked for a bit longer before they were ready to depart. Charles had decided that Ororo would go with Harry and return after the boy goes to Hogwarts. She had a duffle bag of her own, which had already been stored in Harry's Mokeskins pouch. Dumbledore cast a spell that would make non-magicals ignore them, and they held onto the old man. Fawkes landed on Albus' shoulder, and they disappeared in his flames. A tear dropped from Jean's watery eyes as she watched them leave.

"Don't worry. Albus explained that you would be able to communicate through Ryze." Charles tried lifting her spirit, but that didn't work for Jean. She would be able to send messages through her phoenix, but she would have much preferred if she could talk to Harry through their telepathic link. That was their thing, and she would miss it dearly.

Fawkes teleported the three next to a building that looked like a bar called the Leaky Caldron. A grimy looking place, which the pedestrians completely overlooked. The same way they ignored the three people that appeared in flames. Dumbledore led them inside while explaining that from the pub, one could enter Diagon Alley, the place where Harry would be able to purchase all the items he would need for Hogwarts. The moment they stepped inside the Leaky Caldron, all the people inside turned their attention to them.

'Albus Dumbledore? The Greatest Wizard Alive! Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot! 'The Supreme Mugwump!'

Their thoughts were louder than the kids from Harry's school in New York. He was able to hear them loud and clear. Harry didn't know what some of the titles meant, but they sounded weird to him. Dumbledore gave everyone a friendly wave, and their attention focused on his companions. First, they looked at the African beauty, who was holding Harry's hand.

'How beautiful! Who is she? Are those Muggle clothes? Why is she wearing that?'

Harry frowned, but when they looked towards him, he flinched from how loud they became.

"Could that be him? The Boy-Who-Lived? He is with Albus Dumbledore, so that must be him? But where is his scar?"

It took him a moment to realize that they were actually voicing those thoughts. That's why they were so loud. Thankfully, no one came up to him due to Dumbledore's presence. They observed him from a distance and only speculated about him.

Dumbledore sensed Harry's discomfort and quickened his pace. He led them to the back of the pub where they would enter Diagon Alley. The old wizard tapped a brick on the wall, and the rest magically split, opening a passage for them. Harry and Ororo looked around in wonder at the wizarding alley before they looked at each other. Both had the same thing in mind. 'This place looks like it's a few centuries behind!'

Diagon Alley had only a single main road where witches and wizards traveled about. Alongside the road, there were large buildings that were built closely together, with barely any room between them. Most of those buildings were shops and stores that sold magical items. Dumbledore gave brief descriptions of the shops as he led them to their first destination, the Gringotts Wizarding Bank. The imposing snow-white multistoried marble building loomed over the rest of the buildings.

The three ascended the stairs to the building and were greeted by two short creatures with dark-leathery skin. They had long fingers holding battleaxes. Their heads had little hair on them, and they had long noses and ears.

Harry was a bit worried by the goblins since they were either consider as mob characters or tricky creatures that you didn't want to deal with. But then again, that knowledge came from tabletop games he played with Jean while this was real life. He wasn't sure if it was the same with them.

The three entered Gringotts, where a goblin led Harry and Ororo to a private room while Dumbeldore went to another to deal with a personal business of his own. They entered a room with a large wooden desk in the middle with a goblin sitting behind it. The one that led them to the room grumbled something in a foreign language before leaving. Neither Harry nor Ororo knew the language, but he did hear his thoughts. 'He says his Harry Potter, deal with him.'

The goblin behind the desk pulled out a slip of paper and an ornamental knife. He placed them on the desk and looked at them. "Cut your finger and place three drops on the paper. The knife is enchanted, so only three drops of blood will fall before healing the wood."

Harry did as told and watched in amazement as his wound healed in an instant. The goblin quickly snatched the paper and looked at it sharply before nodding. "Everything seems to be in order, what can I do for you, Lord Potter?"

"Lord?" Harry asked.

"Yes, as the Heir Apparent to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter and only surviving member, you are considered a Lord," the goblin explained.

"Hear that, Aunt Ro? I'm a Lord! You better start treating me like one." Harry laughed with a wide smile on his face. Ororo snatched him in a hug and laughed with him. "As you wish, um, Lord Potter."

"But then you, little mortal, would have to start treating me like the Goddess that I am." Ororo had told him how she had been viewed as a Goddess by the tribes in Africa.

The goblin looked at them with a weird expression, but he was starting to get annoyed. Time is money to the goblins, and they were currently wasting his time. "What can I do for you, Lord Potter?"

"Um, I would like to make a withdrawal." Harry looked at Ororo. "And check my account." He added after consulting with her.

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After learning that there were 3 accounts linked to his name, Harry hoped onto a railcar with the goblin, who called himself Ragnok, and the two traveled towards the Evans account. The one that his mother had opened. Ragnok informed him that there were about 60 000 galleons stored there alongside a few items. He had another Potter Trust Vault, which was maxed at 10 000 galleons every year, and a Potter Family Vault, which held over 5 000 000 galleons. However, he would only have access to the Familly Vault when he becomes of age. After passing a large pit of flowing lava, they reached the Evans Vault.

"Key?" Ragnok asked with his hand palm up, and Harry gave it to him. The goblin opened the vault and moved to the side. "Gather what you want and be quick about it."

Harry reached out with his telekinesis and grabbed ahold of as much as gold as he could. He opened up his Mokeskin pouch and started filling it up with galleons, sickles, and knuts. After gathering about half of the money in the vault, he turned his attention to the rest of the items there. There wasn't anything remarkable at first glance, but he found a few things that made his eyes water. Albums of his parents with him as a baby, a few baby clothes, adult-sized clothes of both male and female variety.

Harry even packed a few gems in his pouch before he found a small box with the name Ollivanders written on it. Inside, he found a 10-inch long wand, which he recognized as his mother's. In a few of his memories, Lily had used this very same wand to entertain him as a baby. Harry wondered what to do with it. It didn't take him long to make a decision and packed it inside his pouch. He looked around for a moment before he turned around and left the vault.

They went to the Potter Trust Vault afterward, but he found nothing interesting there. He packed a bit more money before leaving and meeting with Ororo. The African Goddess was eagerly talking with the goblins about their language and how she could learn it.

"Have you gathered everything that you need?" Albus asked when they met up with him. Harry nodded to confirm, and Dumbledore led them to their next destination, a store that sold trunks. There, he purchased a trunk with four compartments, each the size of a small apartment. It cost him 1 000 galleons, but he had money to spare. Harry wanted to buy one for Ororo, but she adamantly refused. He thought about getting one for Xavier, but he wouldn't be able to enter inside it. Logan would surely refuse, so that left only Jean. He bought the same one he got for her, and Ororo promised to give it to her when she returned back to the mansion.

Dumbledore led them to a few other stores where Harry purchased everything that he needed for Hogwarts before they arrived at Flourish and Blotts. Harry was in bliss, seeing all the magical books. Dumbledore was quite helpful in advising which books to buy, and in the end, Harry had purchased over 200 of them, which included all the books he would need for the seven years in Hogwarts.

Lastly, they had gone to Ollivanders, but as Dumbledore had expected, none of the wands had connected with Harry. The boy had already won the Elder Wand from him, and no other would be better than that. Albus was a bit worried that Harry had a wand without the trace on it, but he was willing to trust him not to abuse that. Not that he would tell him.

Afterward, Dumbledore helped them get a room at the Leaky Caldron, before showing them how to reach King's Cross Station and Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

Once they settled in their room, Harry immediately got to reading. He opened his first book and flipped through the pages like reading a magazine. He then closed the book and entered his mindscape. A few months ago, he learned that time passed faster in his mindscape. There he could read the book by review his memories. He could stop the memory like pausing a video clip. Now, it was time to read everything about magic and what he could do with it.

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The days passed quickly, and the time for the train ride came. Harry arrived at King's Cross Station with one hand holding his trunk, while the other held onto Ororo. The place was packed, and the two made their way to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. For a few minutes, they just stood there and watched as people passed through a wall. For some reason, other people didn't pay attention to that.

Just as they were about to go towards the wall, a beautiful black-skinned woman stopped them. She was wearing a red dress that showed off her figure. The woman was gorgeous and had an aura of nobility to her, but she was nothing compared to Ororo.

"Oh, my. I didn't expect to see someone like me here." The woman spoke with an accent. "My name is Adriana Zabini." She introduced herself and pointed at a black-skinned boy standing next to her. "And this is my son, Blaise Zabini."

Ororo smirked and replied in perfect Italian. "Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Zabini. My name is Ororo Munroe."

Adriana's eyes lit up. The two then started talking in Italian before Adriana asked Harry. "And what is the name of this young gentleman."

Adriana had asked the question in Italian, a language that Harry didn't know yet. Plus, he hadn't heard her thoughts. One of the many books he had purchased was about Occlumency. The art was used to stop others from accessing one's mind, but Harry found a different use for it. He used it to shield his mind and stop hearing other people's thoughts. Harry had picked up the skill like a fish in the water. He had gone through all the books about the mind, and they were now stored in his mindscape while the originals were handed to Ororo and stored in Jean's trunk. Both of them would find them useful.

"I haven't taught him Italian yet," Ororo answered instead of him. "He only knows, English, French, Spanish, and has almost finished Arabic." She spoke with pride in her voice. "And his name is Harry Potter."

Both Adriana and her son's eyes opened wide and looked towards Harry's forehead.

"The Harry Potter?" Blaise asked in wonder, and his mother looked him sternly, not happy with his reaction.

"I don't know any other Harry Potters." It seemed he was even more famous than what he expected.

Blaise was about to ask something else, but a single word from his mother shut him up. "Blaise."

"I believe we should be on our way, lest we want our kids to miss the train," Adriana spoke in English, and they entered through the wall.

The boys said their goodbyes, and they made their way to the Hogwarts Express. Once they found an empty compartment, they entered inside and stored their trunks.

"Are you really?" Blaise asked.

"Yes," Harry answered and dropped his mental shield. He wanted to hear what the boy was thinking about.

"But you don't have the scar?"

"Am I supposed to have a scar because a few books said so?" Harry asked. "I read a few of them. They are so ridiculous I didn't think anyone would believe them. One book talked about a 7-year old me fighting a dragon barehanded. Do you believe that as well?"

Blaise looked away in shame. The boy had disappeared after that night, and no one had seen him since then. They couldn't possibly know if he had a scar or not.

'Does he remember that night?'

"Don't ask me that," Harry spoke before he could stop himself. It hurt so badly every time he remembered the day his mother had died. He didn't want to speak about that anymore, so he changed the subject. "Have you read any of the books and tried using the spells?"

"I've tried a few spells, but didn't have much success," Blaise admitted.

"We can practice them now. I heard it takes a few hours to reach Hogwarts." Harry pulled out a feather from his pouch and summoned his wand in his hand. He had learned that the Elder Wand would appear in his hand every time he taught about it. He was so focused on the feather that he didn't see the surprised look on Blaise's face.

"Wingardium Leviosa." Harry chanted and did the wand movement. He felt a surge of energy start from his chest, move to his shoulder, flow through his arm, and finally reach the wand. The feather then slowly floated up in front of the kids. Harry could do the same with his telekinesis and even more, but he was using his magic this time.

"You could already use the Levitation Charm?" A girl spoke from the entrance to the compartment.

Harry's concentration was broken, and the feather fell on the floor. He looked towards the entrance where two girls were standing. One had brown hair and brown eyes while the other had honey-colored hair and blue eyes.

"That was cool," the brown-haired girl and the one that asked the question said. "I tried doing the spell as well, but I failed. I'm Tracey Davis, by the way."

While Tracey was blabbering, Blaise was looking at the other girl. "Greengrass."

"Zabini." The two exchanged greetings, already having met before.

"Who is your friend?" The blonde asked with a neutral, almost cold look.

Blaise smirked, already anticipating their reaction. "This is Harry Potter."

Both girl's eyes widened and moved towards Harry's forehead. Since his shield was down, he heard their thoughts and decided to answer before they could ask him. "Yes, yes, I'm Harry Potter. No, I don't have a scar. You shouldn't trust everything you read in books, especially if they talk about a boy fighting a dragon barehanded."

They stared at him for a moment before Tracey sat down next to him. "Can you do any other spells?"

Harry smiled and figured he might as well entertain them for a bit while practicing his magic. At least the next few hours won't be boring that way.