Another One of Those
Harry had enjoyed his last self-created mission. It was one world and it was a small change, but he had helped a good man. While many would have thought that he was helping the woman, the real difference would be to the man's life. The man would become very important – as long as he wasn't filled with regrets. Sure, he would have live a long life and had some happiness, but he would not have reached so far as he would if he was kept interested in life fully.
And now he was going to go to another world. He knew that there were almost an infinite number of variations – everything that could be conceived up happened somewhere.
With that, Harry considered some of the worlds he'd seen and how such worlds could have gone wrong. He also considered some of the darker worlds that he had encountered where he had to help stop his analogs in order to save those worlds.
And so he concentrated on locating a world where they had gotten it wrong, resulting in a situation that would become too destructive to save if it was allowed to continue.
And with that, he appeared on another Privet Drive in the dead of night.
He looked around and saw that no one was up and around. And although he could use divine power, he had grown up a wizard and, for the most part, preferred to do things as a mortal wizard could do. He felt it more satisfying when magic was involved. There were a few things that he had to use a higher power for, but that mostly had to do with horcruxes and their destruction.
He cast a spell and found that the house contained four life signatures. A spell told him what the date and time was. It was the summer of 1984. If this was a world which followed the normal timeline, then his analog would be almost four.
Casting various charms to make himself completely unremarkable, he made his way to the front door. He tapped his wand on the lock and it opened. Silently, he ghosted inside and moved to the cupboard. His spell revealed that a young Harry Potter was in pain, even in his sleep. He sighed.
Carefully opening the door, he cast various other spells at the young boy. One kept him asleep. Another one numbed the pain in the soft tissues. He cast another diagnostic and found no broken bones at least. But, there were definite signs of malnutrition. That would not do. It wasn't at dangerous levels – but it was starting. He also had the dark magic in his scar.
The Traveler then cautiously closed the door and then moved to the stairs. He was walking toward it when he suddenly remembered: The stair that creaked.
He actually considered leaving it – it was something that had allowed him to better prepare himself when he was a young boy. However, since he had plans to get Harry into a better situation Harry was perfectly willing to fix it – at least for tonight. He cautiously opened the cupboard door once more and hit the stairs with a temporary sticking charm. This would prevent the treads from rubbing against the stringers, thus handling the creak.
This allowed him to moved up the stairs and down the hall. He moved closer to the edges as there were less creaks there. He also had cast a charm on himself which make him light – thus preventing the floor from creaking.
He moved to Dudley's room and repeated the diagnostic. There wasn't any magic in Dudley, but he was fairly healthy. He was a bit overweight. Harry shrugged and closed the door.
He finally moved to the Dursleys room. Casting the sleep spell, he moved inside and repeated the diagnoses. That was where he found himself surprised. He found that although there were no charms on the two Muggles, as far as he could decipher, things were not as cut and dried as he expected.
Vernon was drunk. He was also moving toward morbid obesity. This was as he had expected – well, the alcohol was a little bit of a surprise but not much of one.
Petunia, however, was a far different story. She was someone malnourished as well. Although hers, it seemed was of the type that was often seen in people who dieted too much. She had better nutrition but was lacking a healthy fat reserve: She had half as much fat on her as she should for it to be healthy.
He also found contusions and a few bones that had been broken and healed poorly. In fact, if he was to guess he would guess that Petunia was actually being abused by Vernon. That did not jibe with his original world – at least he didn't think so.
He wordlessly cast a few charms on Petunia to speed the healing of the bruises – better blood flow and such, anti inflammation, etc. It would not do for her to be healed miraculously – that would tip Vernon that something had happened and, perhaps, set him off.
Something, however, needed to happen.
There was nothing immediately life-threatening, however, and so he was willing to wait so that he could find more information.
He made his way to the Leaky Cauldron and, talking to Tom, made arrangements for a room.
He would get some sleep, eat, and figure things out in the morning.
He had gotten a decent night sleep. After taking a shower, he retrieved the clothes he had gotten cleaned overnight and made his way down to the common room. He found a sleep Tom.
"Good morning. Has the Daily Prophet come out yet?"
"Good morning. I just got my stack in. You want one with breakfast?"
Harry nodded and accepted an English fry-up and the newspaper, dropping a Galleon for both. "Keep the rest." Breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron normally didn't cost a full Galleon.
Tom thanked him and let him be.
Reading the paper, he sneered a bit internally when he noticed the "story" on the front page of the Prophet – he recognized it as propaganda. He also recognized it as a story that was far too common in damaged worlds.
It told a story of the saviour of the Wizarding world – the Boy-Who-Lived and his wonderful parents. He sighed. Either his analog was the Boy-Who-Lived and everyone had gotten it wrong or he had been discarded for being a squib or someone was being manipulative or …. He decided to read further.
The Potters would be at some event just that day. He would have to investigate and see who knew what and what decisions had been made.
Checking the time, Harry made his way down to Gringotts. Just as happened in many worlds, the Goblins recognized him immediately – or at least the nature of what he was. As soon as he went in, he was immediately invited to see the senior-most manager who was present.
"What can Gringotts do for you today?" he was asked.
"I would ask for some time to find out whatever information I can on current circumstances within Magical Britain. I wish to make some changes and, before I do so, I need to know what should be changed."
"What do you mean 'what should be changed'?" the Goblin asked.
"Well, upon arriving into this dimension, I found Harry Potter living with his Muggle relatives – and being abused. I then found a story of his parents and brother being celebrated as celebrities. I want to know what is going on."
The Goblin called for one of his brethren and information was reviewed. "According to our records, Harry Potter, the younger twin of Charlus Potter, has been removed from access to the Potter accounts with the reason being that he is a squib. However, there has been a substantial amount that is designated to support him, though much of it will not be available until the boy reaches 18 years old – the age of majority for Muggles. However, some has been disbursed to care for him during his childhood years. Payments have been made through Barclay's Bank."
"Well, he is no squib – I can confirm that. He is also suffering from a Dark curse. My question is: Are the parents caught up in the fame or were they controlled into this?"
The Goblins considered that. "That is unknown to us. What difference would it make for your choices?"
Harry looked at the Goblins seriously. "Through long experience, I find that Harry Potter is most commonly the boy-who-lived. He is far too often relegated to the Muggle world, usually because his parents are killed. When the parents survive, it is often because there is a twin that is mistakenly presumed to be the destroyer of Voldemort when it is actually Harry. While it is sometimes the other way, usually that is the case. It has something to do with destiny and divine forces. My question is: What would Harry stand to inherit should he not be a squib?"
The two Goblins consulted with each other. The younger one (the Potter Account Manager) said, "In truth – it makes little difference. The rules of inheritance – which we are contractually bound to follow – are that, unless otherwise indicated with a will, the laws of Primogeniture are decisive."
"Meaning that the eldest gets everything regardless." He signed. "Well, that is actually something that is good here. I can arrange things to be fixed without alerting the Potters unnecessarily."
"Why would you not alert the Potters? If they sent him to his location due to being a squib, then their assumption was false. And if he is abused then they were doubly wrong."
Harry looked at them stoically. "That assumes they don't know. I need to find out if that is just a convenient excuse." The Goblins looked at him. The leader looked like he wanted to say something. Harry said, "What would you ask?"
"I do not wish to presume with one such as yourself, but … why are you getting involved? What is this to a god?"
Harry gave a humourless smile. "Due to my nature, I know many things. My claimed name is Marek Ilumian, Fury of the Light. This was bestowed to me by members of my own dimension by your very own people. I was born a mortal before being promoted. My birth name is Harry James Potter."
That actually took the two aback. "I see."
"Yes. And far too many Harry Potters suffer far too much. If nothing changes – this world is doomed." Harry paused. "Though maybe that would be a good thing. Maybe it will presage a better future on the cosmic scale. What do you think?"
The Goblins looked at each other and then back to their visitor. "And what would happen to my people if I decided to allow things to go on as they are?"
Harry looked at them for a long moment. "Though I could suss out the possibilities, know this: If I used my divine power to determine the possible outcomes, I would be looking at the results of decisions made in the future. If I do that as a god, if I add a divine element into the weave, I will in fact create multiple versions of this world which would be destroyed. There are infinite decisions and an infinite number of worlds. Already there will be a world where this Harry Potter falls to the Dark and the world is destroyed. If I, as a god, look at all the possible permutations, I will create more worlds that will be destroyed. I would hazard a guess that at least one of those will be one where your people are destroyed utterly. I would look for that possibility and I would see it bear out. There is a reason why gods who use their power to delve into the future go mad. Just looking at everything possible creates those possible outcomes."
Harry's face took on a stern look. "Do you really want to know what I would see happening to your people if I allow this world to continue as is? I am a God of Free Will in addition to being a God of Knowledge. These are things that I champion. So according to your Free Will I ask you: What would you have me do?"
For the first time in a very long time, he looked upon terror within a Goblin's face, both of them actually. The two Goblins swallowed heavily. And finally the leader said, "I will not chance being responsible for that. I would ask that you leave this alone."
Harry nodded, becoming somewhat personable once more. "That is probably a good choice. I will say that sometimes it is necessary. To save a single possible future, to ensure that at least one version of that world survives, one must look at the plethora of possible decisions to see the one single path which will save it. I don't think it necessary here and so I will not do it. If I do nothing, the world is doomed to the Dark. I will do something. That is all I have looked for using my divine power and that is as far as I am willing to go for the moment."
The Goblins nodded in agreement.
"Anyway, I will go and gather more data before I decide what is to be done. I hope that I can count on your assistance as needed?"
"Yes. Very much so. Gringotts is honored to assist you as required."
Harry stood up. "I will even ensure that there is some profit you can claim. May your coffers fill and your young grow strong."
The two Goblins stood up as well. "May your choices bring a better world." Not a common saying for Goblins but they didn't want to take any chances.
Harry made his way out of Gringotts and to Fortescue's. He ordered a treacle-flavored sundae and decided to wait for the Potters to arrive.
A short time later, another wizard – or at least someone dressed as one – arrived and sat down at his table. Harry recognized him immediately and gave him a friendly smile. "Hey, Boss."
"Hello, Harry." God ordered a simple vanilla sundae from Fortescue which Harry paid for out of the funds he now always carried. As he dug into it he continued, "I see that you have started to realize the true limitations of your position."
Harry sighed. "Yep. I wondered why I always had an instinct to limit my visions of what could happen." He took another bite and swallowed after a moment. "As a God of Knowledge I could actually know all things if I really tried – but that would lead me to know all possibilities and therefore actually create them. I figured it out just recently."
God nodded as he swallowed his own bite. "There is a reason why I try not to get involved and leave mortals to their Free Will."
Harry commented, "All those mortals who beg for You to solve their problems also lock into existence circumstances where You do nothing. It's got to be," he paused and stopped himself from saying aggravating as that wasn't quite right, "disappointing at times."
God actually smiled at that as the two continued eating. "I designed the system as it is for a reason. It's a perfect system – but those within it can't see the perfection."
Harry laughed at that. "I know." Then he sighed. "Still, it was sobering when I put it together. But it validates one decision that I made."
"Oh?" God asked.
"Yes, as if You didn't know," Harry said with humour to his Boss. "I will still let My and Ry lead me rather than demanding to figure things out for myself."
God nodded. "There is a reason why I made Order and Chaos unthinking at the beginning. If I had given them too much power to decide, it would have made them madder than they turned out being." God took another bite. "There was a reason the Velheru called them the Two Mad Gods of the Beginning."
Harry nodded. "At least if they are busy keeping an eye on me and what I am doing, they have less time to consider all the 'what-ifs' thereby creating all the various possibilities, each in a dimension all its own."
God chuckled. "As I said: A perfect system." The two grinned at each other.
They passed the time in silence for a while, eating their sundaes and accepting a refill.
Finally Harry said, "There wasn't anything in particular you needed, right?"
God smirked at that. "You know the answer to that."
Harry nodded. "You were just checking in." He looked at his Boss. "But it is always good to see you."
"You too. Well, I See you more often than you Look at me obviously. But there it is."
Harry nodded. "You taught me about Free Will quite a while ago now. What is there to do for a doomed world but to create the possibilities that might save it?"
God nodded and stood up, finished with his treat. "Just keep on acting as you decide to. There is more hope when beings decide to act."
"Will do. Just make sure you tell me if there's something I've missed."
God turned and walked away, waving back as he disappeared down the Alley.
Harry chuckled to himself and continued waiting for the Potters to arrive.
After an hour or so, he observed the Potters' arrival. They were greeted very heartily by one and all. Harry used his powers of observation and his innate ability at legilimency. And then he sighed.
The two were under spell by Dumbledore. And a casual observation of the crowds using all of his senses told him that the Potters position were endorsed by the old man. This he learned when the old fool showed up and he observed how the crowds were manipulated. And he wouldn't interfere because the Potters willingly put themselves in the position they were in – though they didn't know that it would result in what it had.
But, the visit did tell him one more thing: Dumbledore's entire plan hitched on Harry Potter arriving on September 1, 1991, beaten down and resentful. The Potters had too much influence and Harry being sent away was a way to ensure the family would lose influence in the end.
Harry also observed that this particular Dumbledore had the magical power that those around him believed that he did. He was far too powerful to be taken out right at that moment.
And with that, he knew what he was going to do.
Harry concentrated and, once he was certain no one was looking, he disappeared from Diagon Alley.
Albus Dumbledore, who had arrived within Diagon Alley to "run into" the Potters, had used the circumstances to reinforce his hold on the world around him. He had been quite contented.
However, there was just a moment that he had felt a sense that something had gone wrong. It was fleeting and it was hidden – but it was there. He looked around to see if there was anything around him and there was nothing he could observe. He had failed to look toward the empty chairs around Fortescue's just thirty seconds earlier.
But, because that fleeting thing was gone, he put it out of his mind. He needed to concentrate on ensuring things went according to plan.
Harry arrived at his chosen location: The Room of Requirement. He needed to retrieve Rowena's Diadem when he was certain that Dumbledore was out of the castle. While he could use divine power to hide himself, he was limiting it to the minimum usage possible. Even with his arrival, it required a small amount of that power.
He walked in front of the portrait of the dancing trolls and, as expected, the proper door appeared. He entered and located the tainted item. Harry looked around and found a suitable way of carrying the item and placed it within the bag.
Harry then quickly moved out of the room, the door disappearing as he walked away. He moved to Myrtle's bathroom.
Myrtle was, thankfully, not around. And so he quickly moved to the sink and opened the passage to the Chamber. Smirking, he didn't ask for stairs – what was the fun in that? He laughed as he jumped down the tunnel, knowing it would close behind him as soon as he exited the small area at the bottom of the pipe.
Harry considered what he was about to do. By this time, he could not be killed by a basilisk's stare even if it caused a burning episode. In most worlds he was immune but the rules of magic were often slightly different from world to world.
He casually pointed his wand and cleaned the area thoroughly. He set the bag down – no need to bring it at the moment.
He also casually conjured support beams at the weak point – no need for a cave-in. He made it to the inner door. Opening it, he went inside and found another copy of the same chamber usually found. He walked down the room until he was before the large statue.
"Speak to me, Greatest of the Hogwarts Four."
As expected, the mouth opened and he waited.
He heard a voice in parseltongue. "Master? Have you returned?" Harry then saw the mighty serpent coming out of the mouth of the statue – the inspiration for the form of the Dark mark.
"No. I am not your former Master. I am another. And I have come to speak to you." The next moments would decide what he would do.
He sighed as he started hearing the insane ravings of a creature that was too far gone. And so he did as he was worried he would have to do: He changed to the form of a phoenix and battled the basilisk.
Although a normal phoenix would not be able to do more than destroy the eyes, Harry could do more. His song was much more powerful and, when directed, much more painful. When he had forced the basilisk to move away from the statue, he flamed out and grabbed a rooster from Hagrid's coops. He then flamed back.
As should have happened, the cries of the rooster were much more painful than even a phoenix's song and the Dark magics which created the basilisk were undone. It died quickly.
Harry sang a song to calm the rooster and then flamed it back. He dropped if off. Just before he flamed out, he heard the rooster cry again.
Hagrid was in his hut when he heard the chickens start to go crazy. His eyes widened and he grabbed his crossbow and rushed out.
"Where's the beasty?" he asked himself. The chickens never started making noises like that unless there was a predator nearby. However, none could be found even by Hagrid who was, despite his simple and kind nature, a master woodsman.
Finally he huffed at the chickens, "Oh shut up, ye ruddy birds! There's nothin' there!" They chickens did calm down after a while. Hagrid returned to working on more shafts for his crossbow.
Harry had flamed back to the Chamber and looked around. In some worlds there were other treasures to be found, but not in this one. The Chamber held only the basilisk here. He would have to find out if the Goblins would be interested in the carcass – that didn't always work. It always depended on the world.
Once he had decided that, he considered what to do next. And suddenly, he had an idea. Smirking, he looked around to find the proper stones.
In visiting so many worlds, he had run across quite a number of inventive wards. And in one of them, he had run into a ward which would capture any Dark item that tried to cross its threshold. Another ward would prevent – or reverse – possession. A Goblin cursebreaker had created it and it was used to cleanse an analog of himself.
And, although he could reverse the possession himself usually, he had reflected that it could have helped little Ginny Weasley had it been put at the proper place. And so, he would put it at the proper place.
Right at the threshold of the pipe opening, Harry cast the two wards. He also added another, courtesy of one Lucius Malfoy. In one world, Lucius had used the Diary as a sort of magic battery in retaliation for Quirrelmort harming his son. This had enraged the man. In that world, Lucius Malfoy had been a good father regardless of the fact that he was an amoral bastard in most other things.
And so, Harry set up a scheme which would activate if anyone tried to come down. He would tell the Goblins and leave them with the portkeys necessary to come and retrieve the basilisk – and the horcrux when it arrived in a few years. If it didn't? That was up to Free Will and chance.
After that, it was a simple matter to get himself back to Gringotts and negotiate for the retrieval and destruction of the various horcruxes that Voldemort might have created.
Once he was in the office with the manager again he asked, "Is there value to a recently killed basilisk?"
The Goblin was a bit surprised. "There hasn't been a basilisk found in a very long time. Why do you ask?"
"Because I know that while they are created by Dark magic, I know that there are very few things that have no value once killed. Resourceful beings always find uses for things that they might kill. And Goblins are a resourceful people."
The Goblins smirked at that. "True. While there has not been a basilisk found in hundreds of years, they used to be fairly common with wizards who might try to use them to create destruction among their enemies. While Wizards despise these creatures as a product of Dark magic, my people have found that it only takes proper aging to rectify this. The matrix that keep the creature's abilities active start to dissipate at its death. Properly handled, it provides good eating for those with exotic tastes. A basilisk is, after all, the product of a chicken egg. Therefore, its meat is very akin to chicken meat which has been strongly flavoured."
"I see. And do Goblins find exotic tastes interesting?"
"At times."
"Well, then. I will now inform you that just a while ago today I used a rooster's cry and a phoenix's talons to defeat such a creature. It was created by Salazar Slytherin long ago as a defense of last resort – but it had gone mad. Originally it slumbered in stasis but Voldemort, born Tom Marvolo Riddle, woke it up forty years ago and did not properly put it back to sleep. It lost its mind – requiring that it die."
"A thousand years you say? So it was fairly large?"
"Somewhat. Perhaps, oh, 65 feet."
The Goblin became very interested. "And its circumference?"
"Large enough to swallow a man whole and there to be no noticeable lump as one might find in a snake that ate a rat."
"It's venom sacs?"
"Intact."
"It's fangs?"
"Undisturbed."
"And its eyes?"
"Unfortunately, clawed out by the phoenix."
"I see." The manager looked at his guest. "And what would you do with the proceeds from such a beast – it someone were to wish to buy it?"
"I would see that young Harry Potter would benefit."
"You have no need for money?" The Goblin knew that this was a god – but everyone needed money.
"Not really," Harry chuckled. "Consider this: The vaults that one world holds for me allowed me to loan the Goblin Nation enough provide the majority of funds needed to buy an entire planet within another dimension. And there is still significant gold and silver left over."
The Goblin's eye ridges raised significantly for a moment. "Well, that is quite interesting."
"Yes. I have enough funds – but there is always profit to be made."
"Well, what would you consider a fair price?"
"I would expect someone wishing to purchase it to offer an honorable price and, perhaps, to assist with other matters."
"And what are these other matters that you might need assistance with?"
Harry smirked.