Chapter 7: 07 Magical Problems

“I need to grab my bag from my room and I'll be right back.” Harry said to keep up the charade that he needed to do so, instead of revealing that he had everything on him already.

“Before you do that, I brought this man to check you for a mail redirect ward.” Amelia said.

“What's that?” Harry asked and stiffened as the man pointed his wand at him.

“Please relax. His job is a curse breaker. If someone has been stealing your mail for all these years, we can find out who it is by detecting his magical signature and then by removing the spell.” Amelia said in a reassuring voice and Harry mentally allowed the unobtrusive scan.

The man did several swishes, jabs, and one complete swirl with his wand. “The good news is the redirect ward is not on you personally. It's probably cast on your house.”

“When someone says that, it means there's bad news. What is it?” Amelia asked.

“He has a permanent magic drain that I can't explain. It's going somewhere and I can't tell where.”

“Oh, that's the blood wards on the house.” Harry said and both Amelia and the man took in sharp breaths. “What is it?”

“Blood wards are considered dark magic specifically because it is a permanent drain on someone's magic. If the tap is too strong, the source of magic could die.” The curse breaker said.

Harry was stunned. He had seen the blue box above the house years ago when he had concentrated on the thing for a long time. He had been particularly bored during the year he wasn't allowed into the public library and had tried to do a lot of weird things, like running on water. That had been both fun to try and a complete failure.

“I believe a trip to your home might need to be done now and can't wait until tomorrow.” Amelia said and stood. “Grab your bag and let's go.”

“Okay.” Harry said and went to his room, pretended to grab a bag that he simply pulled out of inventory, and packed several outfits and toiletries inside. He went back downstairs and the three of them left the pub and entered the street. It was fairly late at night and pretty dark.

After another ride on the Knight Bus for Harry, it brought the three of them to Privet Drive. The curse breaker barely stepped off of the bus before he started cursing and the bus drove away.

“What is it?” Amelia asked and stepped behind Harry as she pulled him into a hug. Harry stiffened, because he hadn't had anyone except Maisie give him a hug before.

“I don't understand why Harry's not dead.” The man said and waved his wand at the dark house to make the wards glow slightly. “Look at the power tap! It's wide open and it's covering everyone that lives in the house and not just Harry.”

Amelia caught her breath and looked down at Harry. “Have you ever felt really weak some days?”

“Some days?” Harry asked, confused. “I always feel weak at the house and especially after a good beating.”

The sad look on Amelia's face let him know that she completely understood.

“I'm surprised you even received your letter.” The man said and performed what he said were several diagnostic spells. “Yes, the mail redirect ward is on the house and it's tied into the wards.”

“Which is why mail still doesn't go to you when you're not in the house.” Amelia explained to Harry. “Who was the caster?”

“Albus Dumbledore.” Harry and the curse breaker said at the same time.

“He's the one that sent me here.” Harry added because that was what the newspaper said. “I'm glad I have more to add to my second letter to the newspaper.”

Amelia ignored that for now. “Can you dispel the wards?”

The curse breaker shook his head. “They are too powerful for me to handle by myself. In fact, if we hadn't been with Harry, we might not have been able to approach the house at all because of the hatred we have for the people that live inside.”

“I don't want to leave dark magic attached to Harry.” Amelia said with a stern voice. “Can you get a team out here? You can charge the fee to the Auror Department at the Ministry.”

“I can call a few guys in, sure. It might take a while to undo, since Harry has been powering the wards for about ten years and each year the magic needed has expanded. That's a lot of ingrained magic to unweave and dispel.”

“Just forget about it.” Harry said with a sigh. “It hasn't bothered me for all this time, so leaving it alone won't cause me any trouble.”

“No trouble? You're willing to keep yourself weak to protect a home you're not going to be living in with family you hate?” Amelia asked him.

“Home? I've never felt like it was home. I hate it here.” Harry said with a huff. “And they are not my family. They are just people I'm related to and forced to live with.”

The blood wards started to glow and then there was a loud cracking sound like a clap of thunder. The sound of breaking glass was next as the blood wards shattered. Harry staggered and was glad that Amelia had a firm hold of him because his body was suddenly flushed with magical energy.

Warning: Magical siphon destroyed. Source: Blood wards cancellation. MP no longer needed to feed siphon demands. MP recharge rate remains at 25% of total per hour.

Do you want to reroute Gamer Body XP gains from MP recharge rate and restore the default settings?

“NO!” Harry gasped and Amelia knelt to hug him tightly.

Warning: Gamer Body debuff remains. Levels will require twice as much XP to level. Consumption of extra nutritious food can counter this debuff for up to 6 hours per meal.

“It's all right, Harry.” Amelia reassured the shocked boy.

“No, it isn't! That was a huge magical flare and we need to leave right now! God only knows who saw or felt that!” The curse breaker exclaimed and then laughed. “There's no charge for my services!” He shouted and there was a crack sound as the man disappeared.

“I'll handle the notice if it comes.” Amelia said and turned Harry around to face her before she stood up with him in her arms.

Harry stared into her eyes as she hugged him close. He had never been held like this before and he didn't know how to react.

“Hold on tightly. This is going to feel really weird.” Amelia said and then it was their turn to make a crack sound as they spun on the spot and disappeared.

They reappeared in the courtyard of a large manor house and Amelia put Harry down.

Congratulations! You just apparated and discovered a new way to travel in the wizarding world! You have earned 2,000 XP! Child Bonus x2 XP!

Bonus Automatic Quest: Learn to apparate on your own. No time limit.
Reward: Instantaneous movement from one place to another, 10,000 XP, one free Skill upgrade.

Harry stood there and stared at the woman that had just teleported them from one place to another.

“I told you it would feel weird.” Amelia said with a smile. “It's like being squeezed through a straw.”

Harry didn't say anything, because he hadn't felt anything like that. He had disappeared and reappeared instantly with no other stimuli at all. He had to assume it was because of his Gamer Body.

“Come on inside.” Amelia said and took his free hand. “ I should warn you that Susan is going to be a little excited to see you.”

Harry knew when someone was severely underestimating the consequences of an action and prepared for the worst. He was still a little unprepared for what happened next.

“IEEEEEE!” A girl's delighted squeal cut through the mansion and then Harry suddenly had a strawberry blonde girl wrapped around him like a tight sweater.

“Susan! Let the boy breathe.” Amelia chastised her niece.

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“He's fine!” Susan said and didn't let go.

Harry knew that whatever else Gamer Body did for him, making him immune to enthusiastic hugs made him feel quite grateful to have it.

“Harry?” Amelia asked, unsure.

“I'm fine.” Harry confirmed.

“Why aren't you hugging me back?” Susan asked as she looked at his face. “I like your eyes.”

“Thanks.” Harry said and smiled, because he could tell when someone was genuine with a compliment. “I can't hug you back because my arms are trapped.”

“Huh?” Susan asked and looked down to see that she had hugged him without regard to where her own arms were, and they had pinned Harry's arm to his sides. “Oh!” She said and blushed as she let him go. “I'm sorry about that.”

“That's okay.” Harry said. “Hi, I'm Harry Potter for now. I'll be Harry Bones tomorrow.”

Both Amelia and Susan took in sharp breaths.

“What's wrong?” Harry asked and then made his face go blank to hide his emotions. “I'm an orphan and I thought you were adopting me.”

Amelia took a step closer and knelt to look into his eyes. “Harry, I... I would like nothing more than to adopt you. However, the petition was only for guardianship.”

“I read it and understood what it said.” Harry admitted, because it wasn't something that any eleven year old could do. “You are accepting me into your family and assuming full responsibility for me until I reach the age of majority. Isn't that a magical adoption?”

Amelia looked surprised for several seconds, then she nodded. “Yes, I suppose it is.”

“Then a name change is appropriate, isn't it?” Harry asked.

Amelia put her arms around him and hugged him. “It's more than appropriate, Harry. Thank you.”

“He needs a makeover!” Susan said with enthusiasm.

“Susan...” Amelia started to say.

“If he's going to become a Bones, he needs to look like one.” Susan said, matter of factly. “Longer hair tied into a ponytail, a bit of dark blush to make his cheekbones pop a little, and...”

Harry and Amelia stared at Susan as she verbally made Harry into a proper looking Bones male. Amelia didn't miss the fact that Susan described the man in the picture above the fireplace mantle, her father and Amelia's deceased brother.

“Auntie, we need to stop at Madam Primpernelle's as soon as possible.” Susan said with a firm nod. “We only have a month before school starts and there's a lot of work to be done.”

Amelia gave Harry a look that said she was used to her niece's demands and he would have to get used to it as well.

“Don't I have a say in the matter?” Harry asked and successfully guessed the answer.

“Of course you do.” Susan said and hugged him, too. “You can say the words 'yes' and 'thank you'.”

*

The next month passed by quickly with how busy Harry had been. Not only was he completely unrestricted with casting magic, he was also in a home that was full of love and caring. He had never experienced anything like it before and he vowed in his head that he would always remember that this was the way a family was supposed to behave and not the way the Dursleys had treated him.

The guardianship petition had gone through without anyone at the Ministry realizing what it meant. Right after that was the name change form, then the adoption papers had been filed at both the Ministry and in the muggle world. This was fortuitous, because even if someone cast a charm to look for Harry Potter, they wouldn't find him, because he was Harry Bones and had been adopted under that name.

*

Every person in the Great Hall was anxious as the first years entered behind Minerva McGonagall, with none more so that Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. After a month of searching when the protective wards at Privet Drive had fallen, there had been no sign or trace of Harry Potter. Even owls and Fawkes couldn't find him, and that had been a shock to the old man's heart.

Albus had known he was making Harry suffer through ten dark years while he stayed with the muggles, because that was the point. He needed to hate them in order to readily accept coming into the wizarding world. He needed to love this world more than the muggle one, so he would eventually sacrifice himself to save it. He just hoped that the boy would show up today.

“When I call your name, please sit on the stool, put on the hat, and you will be sorted into your house.” Minerva said and unrolled the piece of parchment that had the list of student names on it. “Abbot, Hannah.”

A slightly chubby girl with blonde pigtails ran to the stool, shoved the hat onto her head, and sat there nervously.

“HUFFLEPUFF!” The hat yelled into the Great Hall.

The badgers at the Hufflepuff table clapped happily for her and she replaced the hat on the stool and went to sit at the table with them.

“Bones, Harry.” Minerva said next.

Everyone watched as a slightly tall and quite handsome boy, with long blonde hair tied into a ponytail, walked with poise and grace to the stool. He donned the hat and sat down with flair and a smile on his face.

It took several minute before the hat made a decision. “RAVENCLAW!”

“Thank you.” Harry said and pat the hat as he put it on the stool and walked over to the table that clapped politely to welcome him.

“Bones, Susan.” Minerva said.

It was Susan's turn to be sorted and she joined Hannah at the Hufflepuff table. She looked over at her cousin and he looked happy for her and clapped as enthusiastically as Hannah did. They had both known where they were going, because Harry was a studying master and Susan loved her friends.

The names soon reached the Ps and after Pansy Parkinson went to Slytherin and the Patil twins had been sorted into different houses, Padma into Ravenclaw and Parvati into Griffindor, everyone held in their breath for the next name to come...

...and it never came.

“Rivers, Oliver.” Minerva said and everyone started talking, because there was no Harry Potter.

Albus was stumped and he was also in quite the pickle. If Harry Potter wasn't at Hogwarts or learning to become a wizard, the world was going to be doomed. He turned and exchanged a look with his potions professor and confidante, Severus Snape.

They nodded slightly at each other in understanding. A bit of ruthless Legilimency would need to be used to find out if any of the students knew about Harry Potter's whereabouts.

Albus locked eyes with the redheaded Weasley boy as the young man waited to be sorted and he dove through his recent memories. He had told Molly that Harry Potter would need a friend and that Ron would be a perfect one for the lonely boy to have. Molly had enthusiastically agreed, because anything that could garner her children some attention, it was being friends with the boy-who-lived.

Unfortunately, Albus only saw a plethora of different faces and none of them in any compartment on the train were close to what Harry looked like. No messy hair, no glasses, and no ratty old clothing like Arabella Figg had told him about.

This is not good. Not good at all. Albus thought and shifted his gaze to the bushy-haired young lady at the Griffindor table and her bright smile towards him warmed his heart. He dove into her recent memories and he almost rejoiced because she had been tasked by a prefect to help the incompetent Longbottom boy find his lost toad.

Ten minutes later, Albus felt dejected and couldn't enjoy his meal, because even though Hermione had searched through every single compartment and talked to nearly everyone on the train, she had not encountered Harry Potter, either.

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