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Chapter II: Harry James Potter

(Harry P.O.V)

"Harry," A girl called out his name as Harry had begun leaving his middle school, it was his last year at John Adams Preparatory Academy, a highly rated and well-respected private school in Boston, Massachusetts, and while Harry felt bittersweet about the occasion, he was excited to go home. Nevertheless, he stopped and turned towards the girl running after him.

Harry recognized the girl immediately. Riley Goode, she was the daughter of the school's Dean and happened to be the most sought-after girl in his year. The girl was pretty enough, with long curly red hair and a spot of freckles across her nose, she had matured earlier than other girls giving her a distinct advantage when it came to turning the heads of boys, but it never really affected Harry.

Harry had sort of built up a reputation as a 'bad-boy' at his school. His uniform would always be messy, he didn't bother with dating though he had some steamy adventures with girls in janitor's closets, and he was very mysterious. Though in fairness, that wasn't really his choice. Harry had grown up in a family of wizards, and he himself had magic running through his veins. With a wave of his wand he could conjure fire, open locks, make things fly, anything that could be thought off there was a spell for it. However, being a wizard was not something that could be discussed with muggles as his godfather called them, though the Americans called them no-mags as it would violate what is known as the Statute of Secrecy. So, regardless of Harry's best intentions, his life was an enigma to everyone.

Harry turned, his emerald green eyes pouring into Riley's chocolate brown ones as she eyed him curiously. Before he could even say hello, Riley had grabbed his hand and began pulling him into an empty classroom. He eyed her strangely and began to open his mouth before Riley placed a finger to his lips silencing him. His quizzical look returned before Riley spoke, "Potter, you and I are going on a date tonight. True Romance just hit theaters and I'm not going to be seen alone on opening night."

Harry just smirked, he couldn't even recall how many friends he had at the school that had talked to him for entire lunch periods about how they wished Goode would even look at them, and yet Harry had just been told he was going on a date with her with no real effort. Harry questioned how his friends would react, but he sort of didn't care, they weren't exactly close friends, more like acquaintances, in fact besides Tonks, a girl Harry looked up to like an older sister, Harry didn't really have any 'friends'.

Harry stared down at the beauty of their year and not wanting to feel controlled he spoke, "Sorry love, I'm kinda busy tonight, maybe next week?"

"But-," Riley started, clearly shocked at being told no by a boy for the first time in her life, "It's opening night Harry, come on, I'm sure whatever you have to do isn't that important. Just cancel your other plans, I'll make it worth your while."

"Is that so?" Harry said, stepping closer to Riley, her cheeks flushing as she inhaled his scent of green apple and cedar, "Please do go on."

Before Harry could register what happened, Riley had pressed her lips against his and Harry grinned against them, the tables had turned completely and now, he was in charge. Auntie Andromeda had often called Sirius a scoundrel, but Harry was very pleased with the mangy mutt's lessons. Riley's lips tasted like Strawberry from her freshly applied lip balm and Harry was beginning to feel very convinced. When they broke away, Harry was still grinning as Riley looked up at him, "So I'll see you at eight?"

"Probably," Harry said with a shrug which earned him a scowl from Riley before he chuckled, "Relax, I'll call you tonight. See you at eight." A relieved smile spread across the girl's face, and without a second look, Harry left the empty classroom and headed towards the bathroom.

Harry yawned loudly as the door to the bathroom swung open. Exhaustion was a natural state for Harry. He considered himself by no means a genius and worked very hard to achieve his consisted 3.8 GPA, but he felt prouder of his success as homework wasn't the only activity he had when he arrived home. Harry was practically attending two schools at once, the first being muggle school which he only did because Sirius ensured him his mother would want him to have a good education, and Harry would do anything to honor his mother's memory and the second was his magical training.

Harry had received his wand when he was seven years old. It was made by a man named Henderson Truehart who according to Sirius was a Black-Market wandmaker. The reason behind the man's under the table business was not only because he sold customs made wands to minors, but it was also because the wands he sold were untraceable. Meaning that when a spell was used, neither the ministry nor the MACUSA could track it. This also meant that Harry had needed to learn how to have mass amounts of restraints from a young age as while he wanted to so badly, he couldn't use his wand for anything and for that matter anywhere except home.

His wand was made of Acacia and rested at a small but comfortable 9". Truehart had called his wand unyielding and Harry had proof of that, as when his godfather had tried to use the wand, despite all his talents he could produce nothing but pitiful sparks. The reason why Sirius was so interested in his wand, however, was its core, a scale of the most dangerous magical beast alive, a dragon of the Hungarian Horntail variety. Though Harry could never use it in public, he by both his desire and Sirius' instruction had never left the house without the wand safely secured in his dragon-hide holster.

The reason, death eaters. Harry had learned all about his past, how his parents had sacrificed themselves for his safety, how his lightning bolt scar was the symbol of their love for him, and how they were killed by a man named Voldemort and his followers. Sirius had told Harry that in the wizarding world, he was a hero. Harry chuckled to himself remembering how badly younger him had wanted to return to that world. How angry he used to feel when Tonks had left for Hogwarts and Sirius had told him he would never attend. But now, thanks to careful examination and reflection he understood why. All he would be was a target for death eaters.

"Macnair, Malfoy, Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, and Avery," Harry mumbled to himself, those names came to his mind often. When he was ten and first learned that certain death-eaters had escaped capture, he vowed to himself he'd find a way to receive justice. But one name rang above all for him, Peter Pettigrew. Harry wasn't sure how, but he knew that once he had become of age, the vengeance against all those who led to his parents' death would be the purpose of his life, and Pettigrew, he would kill the rat if he ever met him.

Harry took his time washing his face, and when he was done, he felt refreshed. The training that Sirius, Remus, Tonks, and Andromeda had put Harry through had been tough. With physical exercise being matched with brutal study sessions of defensive spells, transfiguration, potions, and charms, Harry couldn't remember the last time he hadn't gone to bed aching.

But it was a good ache as the results had spoken for themselves. Harry had always tried to remain humble. He never kissed and told despite words always getting out about his escapades, and though Harry considered himself attractive, he would never boast about it. Harry was tall for his age, the conditioning he received had pushed him to his limits and he rested a comfortable 5' 8". His chest was firm to the touch, and he did feel quite proud about his ab definition. Harry had what girls had described as a runner's body, which made sense because every morning he and "Padfoot" would go for long morning runs.

On his eleventh birthday, Sirius had bought Harry his first broom, and while it wasn't a state-of-the-art broom like a Nimbus 2000, Harry appreciated the gift greatly. Sirius had claimed that it was just for practice and said that there was no sense in buying an expensive broom if Harry didn't like flying. But much like his father, according to Remus and Sirius, he took to the air like a bird and Harry loved every minute up on his Comet 140. The issue was that his glasses constantly seemed to get in the way, but one trip to a wizarding optometrist fixed that issue right up.

Now Harry's emerald green eyes were completely unobstructed and his hair that was once a messy mop was trimmed and styled into a messy fringe which exposed the scar he was so proud of, the symbol of his mother and father's love for him. He promised himself upon learning the story that he would never hide it again.

Feeling refreshed from the cool water, Harry stepped out of the gate and began walking the backroads Sirius had taught him the first day of sixth grade. A place where if he needed to, he could use his magic or call Kreature for assistance without making a scene. Harry had become very perceptive over the years due to Sirius' pranks, and he constantly needed to be on high alert. It wasn't all bad, it made it very difficult to jump him and he was sure that even Sirius' pranks had played a role in his training. The results of the obscure training was paying off at that moment, as while he walked through the back-alley that led to a hidden passageway to his home, he felt like something was off. Gently, he flicked his wrist, his wand entering his hand, before with a crack he sprang into action.

He felt the cool tip of a wand against the back of his neck, but Harry couldn't help but smile as he had his wand aimed back right at his aggressor's stomach ready to blow a reductor curse through their belly if need be. Thankfully it didn't come to that as he heard a familiar soft voice speak from behind him, "Not bad, kiddo."

Harry chuckled as he felt the wand dropping from his neck before he turned around and smiled. Standing behind him with her classic bubblegum pink hair was none other than Nymphadora Tonks. Harry's grin was reciprocated by Tonks as the two shared a tight embrace. It had been months since Harry had seen his 'older sister' as she had graduated two years ago and Auror training took up quite a bit of time. When they broke apart, Tonks spoke, "Wotcher Harry, how you been, kid?"

"I'm alright," Harry said nonchalantly, "I got a date tonight, some awful romcom probably but on the bright side, I'm done with middle school. 3.8 GPA."

Tonks lifted up her fist and Harry bumped it as she whispered, "Nice."

Harry smirked as Tonks, though being shorter than Harry naturally forced herself to grow thanks to her Metamorphmagus gene and wrapped her arm around his neck, "Try to let the girl down gently. I'm assuming this is your classic go on a date for fun and nothing serious type of date."

"I'll have you know I've always been a perfect gentleman on dates," Harry said with a chuckle, "And don't let Sirius tell you otherwise." Tonks laughed, and Harry grinned having not heard her quirky laugh in nearly eight months, "How long are you off from the Auror department anyway, I can't imagine it's for long?"

"No," Tonks groaned, "You think Sirius is bad, you've never seen anyone as crazy about training as Mad-Eye, the man's trying to kill me, I swear to god."

"Tough," Harry said with a chuckle, "Shoulda gone for quidditch, less brutal I imagine."

"You'd be surprised," Is all Tonks said before together, Harry and Tonks continued their walk back to the new Black home.

(Dumbledore P.O.V)

Albus Dumbledore, known through the wizarding world as the most powerful wizard to ever walk the earth sat in his chambers completely stumped. He was the man who defeated Grindelwald and the only wizard Voldemort feared, and yet, he sat at his desk in a puddle of fear and confusion. His chamber was empty, and his aging body was exhausted from the enormous magical strain that had been placed on him just a month ago. For the first time under his watch as Headmaster, a student had died, and it was a student of a family crucial to Dumbledore's future plans, Ginevra Weasley.

The culprit, an object that realized all of Dumbledore's greatest fears. A black diary ran through by the sword of Gryffindor, but it was not just any dairy, it was a Horcrux containing the soul of one Tom Marvolo Riddle. Better known to the wizarding world as Voldemort. When Dumbledore had located and entered the chamber of secrets, doing his best to mimic the sounds he had heard from a distant memory of the Guants' conversation in their cottage, the door opened. What Dumbledore had not been expecting to see was the nearly revived form of a sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle and an over 100-year-old basilisk.

Had it not been Dumbledore, it would be likely that even the strongest Aurors would have perished in the battle. Thankfully the help of his trusty companion, Fawkes had assisted him greatly in healing his wounds and keeping him rejuvenated throughout the battle. Once the venom of the basilisk had been absorbed by the sword, Dumbledore had been able to destroy the blasted abomination of an item, yet he felt uneasy.

The reason for his unease was one, Harry Potter. The proof that Voldemort had created a Horcrux led Dumbledore to believe it was not simply a one-time occurrence. Within the past two years, Dumbledore had crossed wands with a form of Tom twice, and there was no denying it now, Voldemort was alive. Which meant that the prophecy he had heard over thirteen years ago was still in effect, and as Mr. Longbottom didn't have any marks upon his body from Voldemort, that meant that the one who would vanquish the Dark Lord could only be Harry Potter.

Dumbledore had expected this, it was precisely the reason he had wanted Harry raised by those muggles. It was no surprise to him that those muggles would have treated Harry poorly, but he would have been safe and more importantly, Dumbledore would know where he was when the time came. Now, to Dumbledore's great frustration, the time was coming and the Boy-Who-Lived was nowhere to be found.

He had searched high and low for any idea of where the boy could have been. The owls had been sent, but all they did was spin around his head showing that their confusion was equal to his. He knew he was with Sirius, but with Black being the prime suspect for the betrayal of James and Lily Potter to Voldemort, and due to the previous suspicion, Sirius was also believed of kidnapping Harry Potter, though that part was strictly confidential and unable to be leaked to the news media as Fudge had no intentions of telling the Wizarding World they had misplaced their hero. The suspect status of Sirius, Dumbledore hoped would create a limited amount of possible locals that the two of them could harbor, yet he was still rather unsuccessful. He was certain that he had checked everywhere possible, that was if they stayed in the U.K and Dumbledore didn't much care for the thought that the two of them could have been anywhere in the world.

Dumbledore had thought it the perfect plan when he had hired Remus Lupin to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts this upcoming school year as it would have provided Dumbledore the perfect opportunity to pick the man's brain. But despite his best uses of passive legilimency, the werewolf either had no idea of Sirius' whereabouts or more likely Sirius had taken a page from his book and hid himself away under the fidelius charm and had clearly not chosen his best friend as his secret keeper.

Dumbledore had still offered Remus the job however. He knew the man was too proud to ever take money from Black, and he was very qualified to teach the course. He had also hoped that Remus' presence at the school would be the perfect negotiating chip to have Harry return to the wizarding world and back under his control.

He hated to manipulate people, but Dumbledore had lived through a multitude of hells. His vision wasn't as tunneled as others, he could see what was best for the most amount of people and he needed to ensure that Harry became someone who would follow his orders, obediently. Yes, the boy's life would be difficult, and if Dumbledore's theory regarding horcruxes was correct it would be short as well. But his sacrifice would free everyone from a world of oppression at Voldemort's feet, it needed to be done for the greater good.

For months on end, Dumbledore had wondered and cautiously examined every single possible person he could think of that could have been Sirius' secret keeper. Though he was certain it wasn't Minerva, he still checked for safety, and he had also checked with Augusta Longbottom, though that woman's formidable mind was hard to break through despite her age. Remus had been a no go, and though he thought it was unlikely Hagrid too was a bust. Dumbledore's mind was pulsing as he constantly thought of people Black may have chosen, until like a lightbulb he remembered a certain member of the Black Family that had suffered a similar fate as Sirius, one Andromeda Black.

A small and hopeful smile crept across his aging face as with a call to his Phoenix, the two vanished in a ball of flame with the destination of the Tonks' cottage in mind.

(Harry P.O.V)

Sweat was beating down Harry's brow as his ragged breath forced his shoulder to gyrate up and down. In the basement of the new Black Family home, a colonial mansion with Brazilian cherry hardwood floors, an impressive gilded staircase carpeted in red, with balconies and bedrooms galore was a state-of-the-art training facility fit to train older and younger wizards alike.

Harry had spent a great deal of time here with Sirius, Remus and Andromeda, but today, none of them were his opponent. Today, he be facing off against his self-proclaimed rival, Nymphadora Tonks. Tonks had never taken Harry's desire to beat her seriously as she had finished Hogwarts and year before Harry would have even been eligible to attend, and though Harry hated to admit it, as it stood, she outclassed him in every way. But that didn't deter him, Tonks was like a mountain-sized obstacle in his path, and one day he would beat her.

Harry stared up at his older sister, a warm smile was on her face, and while there was slight droplets of sweat coating her face, she was nowhere near as exhausted as Harry was. All the same, Harry persisted, stumbling to his feet as he groaned, "This time for sure, I'm disarming you and I'm going to win."

"Keep dreaming Potter," was all Tonks said as she raised her wand.

Without even waiting for the signal to start, Harry bolted towards her, quickly causing Tonks to jump into action. Harry ducked and weaved his way through Tonks' initial flurry of stunners and disarming hexes, until he fell victim to a knockback jinx which sent Harry toppling. However, Harry wasted no time, catching himself on his hands before he fell and launching him back to his feet before his body ever smacked onto the ground.

Tonks gave Harry an impressed nod, but he wasn't done yet, not by a long shot. It had been last year when Harry was gifted with the Black Family Grimoire. A set of spells reserved for only the main branch of the Black Family line. By law, Harry Potter was Sirius' son, and while Sirius didn't care much about legacies of lineage, Harry still felt responsible for learning the family spells.

Some spells were dark curses, honestly, they were more abominations of magic than they were spells, yet the Grimoire did have some gems, and the one's Harry had mastered, he had planned to demonstrate right now. Once again, he locked eyes with Tonks and at full speed began to charge her once again. Tonks just grinned, "You do know what they say about insanity Harry, don't you?"

"Save it," Harry growled, "I'm not done yet." He pointed his wand at Tonks, before he stopped on a dime a spun quickly roaring, "Miasmora!" (A/N: Black Family Spell made up like the rest of them, this one summoned a black fog.)

Instantly a plume of black fog emerged from Harry's wand, and Harry smiled at the success of his spell. It was a cloaking spell that allowed only the user to see through the mist, the victims unfortunately would be completely in the dark for lack of a better word. Tonks coughed from inhaling the smoke before she conjured up a bubble-head charm and a satisfied smile appeared on her face as she whistled, "Not bad Harry, I see you've learned some new tricks since I've been away."

"You haven't seen anything yet," Harry whispered more to himself than to anyone else before he once again lifted his wand and spoke, Pluvia Corvi." (A/N: Roughly Translates to Rain of Crows in Latin.)

Like spring snakes being released from a can, a murder of crows released from the tip of Harry's wand, each one armed with razor sharp beaks and claws. Tonks was certainly caught off guard as the first couple of crows shot past her leaving tears in her clothes and cuts on her skin. However, once she regained her balance, she too quickly adjusted her battle strategy. Harry knowing he was running out of time, quickly pointed his wand to the ground and readied his trap as he heard Tonks call out, "Argenti Sagitta!"

Similarly to Harry's murder of crows, an onslaught of silver arrows jetted from Tonks' wand piercing each one of his conjured birds falling them to dust. Harry grit his teeth as with a wave of her wand Tonks spoke, "Ventus!"

The black fog from the miasma had all been blown away by the violent winds that had spawned from Tonks' wand and Harry sat there exposed, panting and exhausted. Tonks grinned, "Give up?"

"Not a chance," Harry retorted, and with the last of his magical strength he spoke, "Tenebris Vincula." (A/N: Roughly translates to Dark Chains.)

Instantly, Harry watched with a smile as the chains he had planted beneath the ground of the training room with his spell sprung from the earth and bound Tonks in a knot of black chain-link ropes. Harry chuckled, he was finally victorious and with glee in his step, he walked towards Tonks ready to retrieve her wand. He was mere inches from her when suddenly, he felt the wooden tip of a wand pointed at the back of his head, "It was a very nice try," the voice called, "But as I said before, keep dreaming Potter."

Harry sighed, gripping his wand tightly in frustration before he finally relented and dropped it, surrendering the duel. In a depressed voice, he whispered, "How?" Before he turned around to face the smiling Auror.

"You aren't the only one whose learned some new tricks," Tonks said proudly, "It's a modification of the Geminio charm. Though it's been modified to work on humans, the Black Family isn't the only one with secretive spells."

"How long was I fighting the clone?" Harry asked trying his best to not sound so defeated.

"The whole time," Tonks said with a sympathetic tone, "You're a strong wizard Harry, I'd dare say the strongest wizard your age, but you suffer from the same problem Sirius has, you're impulsive. In battle it's not always a bad thing, your instincts can keep you alive, but the reason Sirius was always paired with your dad or Remus according to my mom during their days in the order is because their level-headedness balanced him out."

Harry knelt down, retrieving his wand and he felt Tonks' hand rest on his shoulder as he looked up to see her smiling face. Harry looked up at his older sister and nodded as Tonks' spoke, "That's the spirit, don't get so down. It's not like you lost to a complete weakling, Mad-Eye doesn't volunteer to train just anyone after all."

Before Harry could even attempt to respond, a blaring noise erupted through the house. It was a warning signal from the house's wards. Somehow, someone who wasn't keyed into the wards had just entered the grounds of the manor and without a thought, Tonks pushed Harry behind her as she lifted her wand and pointed it towards the door leading out of the basement before she growled out, "Wands out Harry, watch my six."

Harry nodded, and quickly they took up a battle formation, Harry's eyes scanned feverish as they passed over any possible weak spots in the building's structure. It hadn't taken long before a creaking sound of the basement door opening filled the room, and Harry was more than lucky that his trigger ready hand hadn't been in the point position as a familiar voice called through the room, "Harry," Andromeda called, "We have a visitor."

"Who?" Tonks called out wearily.

"He claims he's a friend," Andromeda said slowly, "A friend with extremely sensitive information."