Harry Potter
Pre-Series to Fourth Year

He Learned

Harry learned early in his life, of the darkness in those around him. That feeling of their darkness upon him from the moment of Death appeared before him as a toddler and then dwelt within him from then on. Though the ones who knew did nothing about it. Seeking the grand experiment in nature vs nurture. Just as he did before he came to true power so many decades earlier.

Harry’s darkness kept at bay by the opposite of dark, that of a mother’s love that balanced him out to the grey instead of the extremes at either end as he grew up. His mother’s influence plus the dark put within him had him working those around him so he had times to himself away from those who would cause him harm.
The adults in his house, not home, for he had disregarded that word long ago, hated anything that spoke against what they deemed as Christian and God-Fearing, including make believe and the magic in childhood. Or even tales of wonder that wasn’t in their version of the bible. Never knowing the two boys they were raising went around them to do what they would to see or involve themselves with it. The eldest, Dudley, and pride of the house, would watch these things over at friends houses and play his “games” there. While Harry went to either the school library or the neighborhood library to get lost in the stacks or to check out videos to watch there while away from the adults.

His young mind grasping what he needed to put to use where needed and later exploding it out to other things. Rereading or watching his favorites over and over again when trapped in his cupboard for something or other, he learned to expand on things mentally so he could spend hours entertaining himself mentally in his prison.

This went on until the days of the letter campaign from the school he would attend. Ending with the giant of a man terrorizing his family of blood kin as he saw them as nothing to him. Which his own dark disregard added to the darkness around Harry. A disregard he watched as this man-monster kidnapped him from his terrorized family that had unwanted magic done to and on them with total disregard for their mental and physical health. Yet this stranger tried to pass along others propaganda, and this dangerous stranger tried to give “gifts” to a “boy” while soliciting the school, house that was best, and his patron, Albus Dumbledore. The same man who he had attacked Harry’s kin over. Yet after kidnapping him refused to return him home and just left him in London alone without money or key to his accounts to get more…. Supposedly. Never knowing one of the tricks Harry had learned was pickpocketing to get his things back from those who would steal from him.
And that was how Harry came to stay the rest of the summer at an out of the way place in Diagon and sent the owl, the stranger, Hagrid, had given him to the magical police to take care of his relatives after the tantrum the kidnapper had. Then when the stranger’s owl returned to him, he gently passed the link from to her to the stranger instead and sent her off as he wanted nothing to do with a stranger giving him gifts while proselytizing a kidnapper to him. Sounded to much like a religious fanatic from the cult the adults he lived with followed. Something he wanted nothing to do with.
Though he did pick up books on laws at the secondhand bookshops to go over for a bit of reading until school started. And recent history since he seemed to be involved with it, he had better know what to be prepared for.
And yet coming out of the store and bumping into the same professor that Hagrid had introduced him to caused them both to fall to the ground. Harry felt a newer darkness in the teacher that hadn’t been there before when he went to aid him, then listened to the dual screams as the man started to fall to ash as his newest turban fell off and everyone staring saw the face on the back of his head screaming as well. Then the screams in the alley as those closest recognized their boogieman of He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named in that face.

Harry finally saw the frustrated and angry Dumbledore as he watched from his window, his own dark scar slightly still bleeding from that whole encounter as the magical police, led by a blond female with a monocle, fought with Dumbledore near what was left of the professor’s ashes. Dumbledore flashing away by firebird right after the fight escalated and the female tapped her wand to a disk on a chain around her neck to speak into it before popping away herself.
The magical policemen sweeping the ashes into a bag to take with them left not long afterwards, though the next day, the picture of the argument between them was front page news along with the fact that Dumbledore had recently placed the Dark Lord possessed teacher on at the school.
Letters poured in that demanded the investigation of his position of hiring if he was going to do that, so he was put on probation by the board who hired their own person for the next few years against his will.

It was a very quiet first few years with Harry staying each summer at the place he had found, even if the fanatical follower and hanger on of the Weasley family kept trying to climb in with him as a “Mate”. Percy found he couldn’t read and each time he tried to place the blame on his pedantic use of the rules he had memorized, his eyesight got worse until he was just as blind physically as he was morally.
The twins had a dual curse put upon them that took not only their eldest brother but his companions at work to get rid of each time it activated. A “May You Live in Interesting Times” curse that had them tripping off everything in the castle, and every prank item, potion, rune, and specter, they went near went off on them to the enjoyment of every single victim they had “pranked” while at the school.
Ronald had the Pinocchio nose curse laid on him so every time he did not tell the absolute truth as he knew it, his nose would grow. And would return to active right after he told another lie no matter how small, after his brother tried to take it off. Their sister had the Veela allure put on her for each time she tried to stalk a victim. No matter what that led too in the end until she was pulled from school permanently and Theo Nott was challenged to a duel to the death by her eldest brother for what he had dared to do to her and other lower year girls. Then William finished off with an encore by taking out the father and uncle as well and ending the family.
Creevey had the flash from his camera embedded in a dark place accidentally when he was tossed by a runic ward while stalking and now had the curse of glowing like a bright searchlight no matter what they tried to end it.

As for fourth year and the tourney, Harry forced a truth spell on all those who had touched the parchment with his full name on it, that supposed entered him. Especially since he never actually signed anything since entering the community just printed his initials on things since he wasn’t old enough for contracts. The curse had the effect of lighting up those hands that had touched the parchment before it went into the cauldron, Showing Moody and Dumbledore’s hands as the guilty ones, from the, the first words out of their mouths were full confessions of the crime of trying to enter him for their own reasons.
Moody turning out to be Crouch’s son and the questioning of both showing that they were the reason for the end of the Most Ancient and Noble Family of Blacks with the unwarranted execution of the Heir with questioning or trial. And with the betrayer shown, Dumbledore’s permission.

Dumbledore’s attempt to acquire the Black fortune and then the Potter’s as he had done so many times before came to light with the truth curse laid on him. In revenge he shot a deadly attack upon the one he saw a responsible, only for the boy, Harry to grasp it, meld with the dark spell, cleanse it, and fling it back to kill the attacker with the now grey spell.

The only ones to understand his explanations of how it was done were the fanatics of sci-fi in the muggle raised. As he explained that all have darkness within and the trick was to acknowledge it and welcome it. But not let it overwhelm you. Not to ignore it and have it overcome you or become a total unfeeling robot, like those who think some of the Jedi are. And not the Sith way of Embracing it to allow it to take over to the point that one becomes it. But accept it as only a part of them and work with it. To not fall into the trappings of all light or all dark leanings.
As only then, can one not be overtaken by the darkness at either end of the spectrum.

Both Light and Dark Lords were taken out that month and the unneeded tourney was cancelled. What happened in the ministry with the fall of both of them, wasn’t Harry problem as he kept reminding them that he was a child.
A child, who grew to be a man, who refused offers to work for the government in any capacity and went abroad for his additional training before joining the ICW as a law wizard prosecuting international crimes for them. And never stepping into his home country again by contract with the Protectorate. No matter how hard his home country tried to get him back under their control.

Fin
3/25/2026