A Soulless Angel

The moment Harry arrived in the Caribbean, he fell in love with it. He loved the warmth, he loved the ocean, and he loved the local food and drink.

His trip here began beautifully; he got the keys to another self-catering villa so that he could be left alone, and he went out frequently. He began building up a routine; he would jog around the beaches to keep up his fitness, and he would then spend all day long exploring the island and having fun, or he would be swimming or he would be lying on a beach, sunbathing and developing a tan which only made his white hair appear more exotic.

Harry had grown used to his white hair attracting attention, so he paid them no heed.

Indulging in his inner child which had been stunted by the neglect and abuse from the Dursleys, and sparked by the sight of children on one of the beaches building sandcastles, Harry bought himself one of those buckets and a spade, and he spent his time making dozens of sandcastles. When he was younger, Harry had listened to the stories of the kids at school, jealously hearing about their trips to the seaside. He had often wished and hoped for the chance to go, but when he found the Dursleys were never going to do it, he grew up and he'd forgotten about it until now. To his annoyance, a tourist woman was hovering around, taking snapshots; after he'd glared at her, his gaze promising pain and torture if she didn't fuck off, he then came to ignore her.

As for the sandcastle; he had made a few of them before he decided to make them bigger and better. It took him the best part of a day, but he created a large sandcastle before he left. When he returned to the beach, the sandcastle was left in ruins, but while he was sad, he wasn't that bothered since he'd indulged in a desire he'd buried before his eighth birthday.

Harry had fun exploring the island. He used his money to pay for surfboarding lessons after spending a few hours watching professional surfboarders. Unlike when he flew a broomstick for the first time, there wasn't anything in the Potter family gene pool which immediately unveiled he had a talent for surfboarding, so he had to spend days practicing it. At the same time, he developed an interest in SCUBA diving, and he spent most of his days exploring, swimming, sunbathing, and diving.

While he sampled the local cuisine, he fell in love with some of it, and he picked up several recipes for meals that he liked.

But on the fifth day of his time in the Caribbean, he received a call that would change everything.

-8-

Harry was idly reading a Caribbean cookery book he'd bought from the market, along with many other books he'd collected in his stay here so far when he heard a chime. He looked up, startled by the unexpected sound. When it chimed again, he realised it sounded familiar. On the third chime, he realised it was his mirror from Gringotts.

Putting the book down after marking his place, Harry hurried to it. What in Merlin's name was going on? What did Bloodbringer want?

"Bloodbringer," he said, and the image of the goblin materialised on the mirror.

"Mr Potter. I think there's a way you can avoid going to Hogwarts," the goblin said with his usual characteristic lack of preamble.

Harry blinked in surprise as he remembered he had given Bloodbringer the task of finding a loophole for a way he could avoid going to Hogwarts, and make it legal enough for him to avoid the Ministry when they inevitably came after him. Harry hadn't had that much hope the goblins could find it'll despite their tenacity and their knowledge of the old laws, but he'd had to ask for it. But as time passed it became an increasingly dim memory, and besides his sessions with Chloe had made him accept the fact he might have no other alternative but to return to Britain, and face his demons.

But now this news had been dropped right into his lap. All of his old hopes of being able to start again were now coming back to him.

"This is a surprise," Harry confessed, "I'd largely given up on the idea. But why has it taken so long?"

"The Ministry spent more time throwing up different forms of red tape," Bloodbringer didn't look happy as he replied. "And it's taken so long because we at Gringotts have other important matters."

Harry lifted a brow, not liking the goblin's attitude but he pushed it aside, he was more than used to the goblins' acerbic manners by now. "What would need to be done?" He asked simply.

"You would need to declare yourself the Heir of the Peverell line; the Peverells were an old family before they became the Potters, but their lineage lives on in you. If you decide to take it, you will of course still have access to the Potter family wealth and your inheritance will not be ripped from you," Bloodbringer said bluntly.

Harry was stunned. Whatever he had expected, it had never been that. This seemed so extreme. "Is this the only way?" Harry asked quietly.

"Yes. You are legally emancipated, thanks to the Triwizard Tournament, but this would take it to a new degree. Right now, Mr Harry Potter is down for Hogwarts, but Mr Harry Peverell is not. If you go for this, then your placement will be rendered null and void," Bloodbringer explained.

Harry wasn't sure what to do. When he had told Bloodbringer to find a way, any way to get him out of Hogwarts because he didn't want to be responsible for a blood bath, which was almost certainly going to happen, he had expected something different although he didn't know what; magical lore, while fascinating, was so full of loopholes, so many obstacles put in place by witches and wizards who loved red tape.

But now he was close to meeting his American cousins in the MACUSA. He had confronted the portraits of his parents and revealed what their choices had led to in his life. His meetings with his shrink had helped him a great deal, he was opening up more, he was coming to terms with Azkaban, and he had grown accustomed to the thought that he would have to return to Hogwarts. He had even been prepared for it, knowing deep down it would help his recovery even if he never wanted to see or hear from any of them ever again.

"Mr Potter?" Bloodbringer's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"How will I have to make my decision? Do I have enough time?" Harry asked.

"Until the 1st of September," Bloodbringer's voice showed the goblin was losing patience; he had expected his client to jump with joy and not procrastinate.

"I'll need to speak to the Potters in the MACUSA; I'm meeting them in a few days, and I'll bring it to their attention," Harry nodded as the plan took hold in his head.

"Very well," the goblin nodded briskly and then cut the mirror call. Harry cursed the goblin in his head, violently for just hanging up like that since there were likely a few other things he'd like to find out, but he didn't bother calling Bloodbringer back. Instead, he settled back in his seat and thought about what he would need to do.

The idea of just changing his name was scary with so much at stake, and he'd had weeks to decide whether going back to Hogwarts would actually be good for him, even if he'd have to endure being in the same castle with people who had treated him like dirt since he was eleven. The whole idea of having to be constantly on his guard in the same castle as that old fool Dumbledore had been exhausting. But Chloe had spent weeks expanding on the idea he would need to face his past, and the idea had taken root in his mind; he had felt as if a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders when he had confronted his parent's portraits although he would have preferred it if his parents had been there to hear him yell at them, cursing them both for their mistakes. He had felt liberated and felt freed. And besides it wasn't as if he'd planned to spend two years at Hogwarts since he'd planned to sit the OWLs and the NEWTs at the same time, and go out into the world by himself, waving the results while gaining masteries in various fields to stop anyone from Fudge, Dumbledore, or anybody else from saying he couldn't live on his own.

But now Bloodbringer's news had shattered that.

Harry had given up on the idea of the goblins finding a loophole; he'd only given it when he'd been at Gringotts after his trial, and in the short time before Dumbledore arrived to give him those notices. And now they had found a solution just at the last minute. Harry was a little pissed at them for that, but he decided to leave it. What's done is done.

He would have to wait and see what happened in the MACUSA. Once the news had settled in his mind, he would be there, and he would have made his final decision. The idea of finishing his education up at Ilvermorny was compelling; while the school would have too many connections to Hogwarts for his liking, he would endure it better.