Technology from hp canon will be used when I can use it. But details will be vague. References to games and TV-shows will be ignored. So games that have come out recently might be mentioned regardless of the date. The same goes for consoles and the like.
* It has been pointed out to be that I shouldn't use replicators because I might cross this with Stargate SG1. Therefore I will refer to them as minions instead.
The three hundred hunters he had sent out to his year, the previous year and those that would join Hogwarts the next year had completed their mission. He had now three hundred people that could be potentially loyal to him wether they knew about it or not. That meant that when he started his second year that he had nearly a third of the students loyal to HIM. The students that would join his future house were especially important.
A side project that Harry's minions (replicators) had been working on was the potential of magic and how it could be used. What they had concluded was that magic was basically about several things. You needed a combination of intent and willpower to tell the magic what you wanted and to make it happen. Then you needed the power to supply it. Harry had gotten several idea's from Rpg's that Dudley had been playing on both the PlayStation console and his computer. Where had these 'laws' come from anyway? Since magic broke the laws of science daily and constantly than that meant that magic wasn't really guided by laws but by your own limitations. And going by this reasoning fictional magic from games, fiction and sci fi series on the television could be useable.
Harry had no problem whatsoever to admit that the standard witch/wizard magic was very flexible. And even after spending decades in learning and mastering spells would still not result I knowing all of them. The magic that Hogwarts taught was standardized magic. It was magic that most wizards and witches knew and could counter. So any graduate from Hogwarts would want to locate, find and learn other spells that weren't commonly known. Logically if you knew spells that were nearly unknown than most common wizards and witches would be clueless in how to counter or disable it.
Minerva's memories more than supported this. Pure bloods were totally clueless about muggle fiction. They barely knew what a television was and even if you explained it they still got the word wrong. Harry had a feeling it would annoy him to no end that pure bloods would fuck up simple words like a car, police officer or even simple terms like electricity and the like. The only ones that came close to counter spells from muggle fiction would be half bloods and muggleborns. And even then they would be so shocked to see a fictional spell that they would be too slow to try it anyway.
Of course that forced the question why it hadn't been tried before.
"Master, I've discovered something that I'm positive you will want to know." Loki interrupted his thoughts.
"Oh?" Now Harry was curious.
"I was checking Dudley's health and new memories when I noted that the magic in his system was higher than before and was steadily climbing. I suspect that if this continues that he might even get a letter for our third year at the very latest." Loki reported.
Now that was interesting. "What's the reason that this happened? Would it have happened without out interference anyway?" Harry questioned.
"The reason that this happened is because of the level one hunter within his system." Loki began slowly. "The level one hunter is a highly charged magical construct. As you know: after the hunter enters the body it will begin to multiply itself throughout the whole body. But every little piece is still a highly charged piece of artificial magic." Loki paused to let that sink in.
"I suspect that adding another level one hunter would hasten the process considerably." Loki explained.
"That means that he would have remained a muggle if we hadn't interfered with him." Loki finished.
"What about Vernon and Petunia?" Harry demanded. His cousin was one thing but his aunt and uncle did not deserve that privilege.
Loki slowly nodded. "Both Petunia and Vernon show results of magic in their systems. But there are several complications. First of all they are adults. The amount of magic needed would have to be a lot higher to have any effect. The most they would gain would be the ability to see magical events and manipulate things like portkeys or magical devices that would only need a tiny touch of magic to work."
"How long would it take for them to see magic?" Harry questioned.
"They already can Master." Loki supplied. "Only the tiniest touch of magic is needed for them to see magic. However as they are now they can only see it. Even touching the simplest magical devices would drain the magic right back out resulting in illness or possibly even death." Loki explained.
"Why death? They have gone for so long without magic why would they die if they loose it again?" Harry demanded.
"It's because the magic is partially healing their bodies sir. Both adults aren't the healthiest example of a human male or female. The magic that is currently within their system is focusing on making them healthier. Think of it like a drug-"
"Wait a second." Harry began. "Are you telling me that this counts for me and every magical being as well?"
Loki considered that for a moment before nodding slowly. "I suppose it would sir. You would be unable to survive for long without magic. You could survive but only for a very short amount of time. I'd say half a year at the longest. And by that time you would be very weak."
"Is there any way for me to have a backup plan for this scenario?" Harry asked. "If I'm somehow robbed from my magic, I want to have a backup plan ready to keep me strong and alive." He told Loki.
The cat shrugged. "You can have several personal level one hunters on stand by." Loki pointed out. "They would focus on reactivating the magic within your system, and if that wasn't possible supply it from their private reserves." the cat finished.
Harry considered for a moment to make his aunt and uncle suffer for their earlier treatment of him but dismissed it after a moment.
"They are already my servants and slaves." He thought to himself. "There is no point in making them suffer when they are already being punished by being my servants and slaves. Just like they used me." Harry nodded to himself.
"Can they be made completely magical?" Harry questioned.
'No sir.' Loki responded. "The hunters do not have enough magic available for this purpose. At least another two hunters would be needed to jump start the magic in their bodies." He finished.
Harry's attention went back to the experiment to see if mimicking the use of fictional magic was possible.
"No time like the present I suppose." Harry told himself.
One of the most basic spells in final fantasy is the 'scan' spell. It would reveal information to him such as race, age the name and its health status. There were more advanced scan spells that would reveal even more information. But for now he only wanted to try this basic spell.
Harry transported himself to Diagon Alley and headed straight for the bank. Harry move himself so he could look into the bank without seeming suspicious. He tried to use the spell but it wouldn't work.
Harry frowned to himself. "Does the spell not work or is there a different problem?" He asked himself.
"Let's deal with a possible range problem first." Harry said to himself. Harry entered the first animal shop he could find and entered it. He paid no heed to the fact that it was just within one of the 'darker' alleys.
Looking around, Harry noticed several dozen eggs 'floating' in some sort of stasis spell. Figuring that it shouldn't do any harm he tried the spell out. If something happened to it, he knew for a fact that he could buy it.
Harry focused his magic, telling what he wanted it to do and identifying it by referring to it as *SCAN*. After a moment he felt the 'ping' that he had gathered sufficient magic and performed the spell.
*SCAN*
The wealth of information that assaulted him nearly caused him to fell to the ground. Loki was resting on his shoulder and managed to help Harry keep his balance by momentarily tapping into his nervous system.
Race: Velociraptor
Name: Has no name yet
Age: 0
Health: Ready to hatch. The first being that s/he sees s/he will obey without question. Requires a mere touch from his true owner.
Ability: Once bonded with his or her owner this creature provides protection against nearly any poison.
it provides excellent protection against nearly any poison. Any poison that is introduced in the owner system will be absorbed than the owner will be immune against the poison.
On top of this information, Harry was bombarded by information. Images, how to take care of it, what it ate and anything else that would be relevant to raise this animal.
"Note to self: next time, keep in mind WHAT you wish to know so I'm not overwhelmed with useless information."
'Noted.' Loki agreed. "Although I would be able to help filter the incoming information for you." He offered.
"Can I help you?"
Harry jumped in surprise and turned around quickly.
"I am an animal lover and usually visit every animal shop I see. And those eggs caught my curiosity so I was looking if there was an information tag or some sort." Harry explained quickly.
The owner looked at Harry suspiciously before shrugging. "I have owned those eggs for years. They never hatched. If you want them you can have them for a galleon a piece."
Harry blinked. "What DO you know about them though?" He questioned.
The owner seemed to relax for a moment. "When I bought these eggs, the guy that sold them to me, told me they were the last of their kind. The guy was an old curse breaker that spend his whole life searching for abandoned properties from extinct families. These eggs-" The owner pointed to the dozens of eggs. "Are some of his most unique kind. He told me that they would only hatch for someone with true potential. A owner that could hover between 'light' and 'dark'. The owner would be grey and would shove our world into a golden era." The owner sighed sadly. "I bought these eggs for that alone..." The owner paused for a moment to let that sink in.
"Like I said. These eggs are supposedly the last of their kind. The good thing is that these guys breed like there is no tomorrow. Which is the reason why they were hunted so much. By the time we realized that they were hunted too much it was already too late. Once these eggs hatch, they look around. If the do not find a worthy master they will attack anything in sigh and believe me that even newborn these are not to be underestimated." The owner continued.
"So what exactly do these eggs contain?" Harry asked. His excitement was obvious in his voice. If he could awaken these eggs, AND they found him worthy, he might have found some decent minions! Hunters, replicators and the like were all good and well but those were more like his secret police. He needed public soldiers as well.
"A few of these guys have been crossbred and are supposed to be able to transport mail to any location they have visited before. They can fly normally as well, but if its urgent they can get the mail to its targets within a few minutes. On top of that, they can hide themselves in the air like an chameleon. They adapt their skin so that they are nearly invisible to the naked eye. These guys are supposed to be able to shift their size as well. So they can discourage natural hunters to try and eat them. But they can only do this as they age though. If they can reach roughly seven years they are an adult. At that point they should be able to reach the size of a dragon easily." At the excited look of his young customer the owner sighed sadly. "Without the fire spewing nature of course."
"As for the rest of the eggs... I'm not entirely sure." The man admitted. "But before I say anything else, let's see if there is any reaction to you eh? It wouldn't be fair if I made you all excited for nothing."
Harry shrugged. "Why not?"
"Loki, is there any risk to touch the stasis shield?" He asked his sometimes minion, servant or friend mentally.
"I don't think there is. But I can heal anything that isn't instant lethal. And I doubt anything like that would be active. It would be counter productive if the man wanted to sell things if his customers would die."
Harry looked at the eggs and randomly choose one. He didn't know why he didn't play it safe and touched the egg he had scanned earlier. The egg that caught his attention seemed to vibrate to his senses." Having chosen the egg he wanted to touch, Harry extended his hand and touched egg with his hand, as if to pick it up but didn't. As soon as Harry touched the egg with his hand, all the eggs started to vibrate. Cracks appeared in every egg that made it clear that Harry was the owner of all of them.
"Why are they all hatching sir? I only touched one of them!" Harry protested.
"That answer is a bit long but I shall keep it as short as possible. Centuries ago, before we split into various nations we were ruled by a King Emperor. The man was a very fair ruler. At some point in their history the empire was under attack. The King Emperor took his army and went to battle. Now we come to the answer of your question. The egg you touched is of the same race of the familiar of the King Emperor. Every member of its race was considered to be royal. They were supposed to be magnificent creatures and this egg was supposed to be the son or daughter of that familiar."
"Wait a moment, are you telling me that this egg is centuries old?" Harry asked with a touch of disbelief in his voice.
The owner nodded shortly. "Exactly. The stasis spell was specially designed to keep anything alive that wasn't technically born yet. Humans wouldn't survive in such a stasis spell. But a creature that wasn't born, like an egg for example would be able to survive perfectly.
Now the Emperor had a personal familiar that could do many things. You touched the egg of the same race. The creature like its owner was the king emperor of its own army. According to history the human king emperor was betrayed by one of his aids. His army was crushed and he was killed. The army of his familiar took revenge by destroying every traitor, their families and even their pets." The man paused for a moment.
"If I'm right, than since you touched that egg, and its hatching it considers you worthy as its master." The man finished.
"And if it doesn't?" Harry asked nervously.
The man shrugged. "I added several protections to make sure that only the master could touch it. Since you could there shouldn't be a problem. I'm Max by the way. "Max Taylor." The man introduced himself.
I'm Harry. Harry Potter." Harry responded.
For a moment there was compete silence. Both man and boy were watching the eggs carefully. Max took a careful step back. He did not want to appear threatening towards the creature. But in his side pocket were enough weapons to kill them a dozen different ways. Just in case.
Max took a device out of his pocket that he had copied from a cartoon for childeren. Max had designed the device to have access to the internet via several runes into the store he owned in the muggle world. The device would analyze the creature and announce what it was. The device had access to a large magical library as well if the internet was not enough. Max called it: the Animal Dex. Or ARED for short.
Finally all the eggs were done hatching and Harry couldn't believe his eyes. Some of them looked like dinosaurs! But that was impossible right?
The 'king' of the bunch looked straight at Harry and extended it short paw. As if to encourage Harry to touch its arm.
"You should allow it to draw your blood lad. So it can be bonded to you. That way you can order the other creatures via the king."
Harry swallowed nervously. "You can control the amount of contact he has with me right Loki?" Harry asked.
"Of course I can Harry. No bond will force itself on you any further than you want it to go. But I advice you to make yourself the dominant one of the two of us. Even if that means I have to call you master all the time. If you don't, than it might not obey you when it comes down too it."
'Fine.' Harry said. 'But just so you know, I'm only doing it because you told me too.'
Harry took a deep breath and extended his arm. This time it wasn't done slowly but a bit faster and with confidence.
Just like Max said, the creature took one of his fingers and used its tiny claws to draw blood. Harry felt the magic entering his body and fought against it.
"I am the boss around here! You can have a bond with me, but it either a bond of equals or not at all!" Harry snarled.
The magic seemed to 'growl' before it calmed down. The images that bombarded him wasn't of the same quality as his connection with Loki, that was to say it wasn't telepathy but more a combination of images and feelings.
"Her name is Rex." Harry declared. "What is she Harry?" Max asked. Even though he knew full well what it was. He simply wanted to test what the younger boy knew.
"The muggles know her race as a Tyrannosaurus Rex. They call it a T-rex for short. But she prefers Rex. Harry paused as images continued to attack his mind, but thanks to Loki they were a lot clearer to him.
"She is the daughter of the familiar of that King Emperor guy you told me about. Once she has grown to adult size she doesn't need a male to lay and hatch an egg. So her race isn't doomed for extinction." Harry explained.
Rex tells me that after her I'm only supposed to touch him." Harry pointed towards the other dominant looking creature. "It is the alpha of the group." Harry added as an explanation. "It's a 'he'" Harry added to make sure Max wouldn't offend it by accident. Harry wasn't sure why he was so friendly with this guy. Part of him was so polite because he wouldn't be seeing this guy except for animal supplies. Another was telling him that this 'max' guy could be a very good ally.
"I know what he is." Max told Harry.
While max was explaining, Harry had already extended his hand to allow the creature to draw blood.
"The muggles refer to him as a Velociraptor. But it is usually called a Raptor for short. These guys are very intelligent and can communicate with each other flawlessly. Just like a pack of wolves they can take down prey ten times their size through their teamwork."
Harry was nodding at Max his explanation. "That's true." He agreed. The little guy tells me that he wants to be called Raptor. Every alpha of his race is called raptor while the others may choose a different name." Harry told Max.
Part of Harry couldn't believe he had now two supposedly EXTINCT animals under his protection. Once they were adults and had produced offspring they would be very scary looking!
There were still several other he hadn't touched.
There is only one left that I'm supposed to touch and that is the scary looking cat. So Harry touched the cat and as again bombarded with images and information.
"His name is Diego. Like the others he is the alpha of his pack of six." After a moment of silence Harry shook his head slowly.
"I don't think I'm supposed to touch the rest. They don't work as a pack and don't recognize alpha's. They do recognize me as the boss though. No touching required." Harry told max.
"Then don't touch them Harry." Max advised. "I would definitely listen to Rex Because they are all extremely poisonous. And even with the poison protection you have from Raptor you shouldn't be tempting fate from getting ill."
"You are right of course." Harry agreed. "But tell me, why are you so nice to me? I mean don't take this the wrong way, but-"
"I know what you mean." Max agreed. "Ever heard of having a gut feeling? An instinct screaming at you to do something? Well I've learned to trust that instinct and 'gut feeling' so to speak and it's telling me to make friends with you. I'm curious though why there isn't an adult with you. You are lucky this is only on the edge of shadow alley because if you went any deeper, the scum of our kind would... They would do some nasty things to the 'defeater' or Him. The capital letter in 'Him' was clearly heard in Max's voice.
"My aunt and uncle don't really care what I do." Harry told Max. "Not until I... fixed that." He added with a smirk.
Max frowned at that but didn't say anything. "Still, you shouldn't be without someone that knows his way around here. Max glanced at his watch and frowned.
"You should spend the night here Harry." He told the boy. "NO, hear me out. Shadow alley is known for its danger. Vampires hunt around here and other hunters appear as well. Trust me when I say that you don't want to wander in shadow alley alone and unprepared. The wards from diagon alley will activate in ten minutes, and after that nothing can go through."
"What if a muggleborn is curious and ends up here?" Harry asked. Not sure if he wanted to know the answer.
"It is always a sad case when it happens. The muggles have their memories changed so that they think an accident happened or the child is kidnapped."
Harry blinked. "Wait a moment he said WHEN and not IF does that mean that it happens fairly often?"
"Does that mean..." Harry trailed off.
Max sighed. "Are you sure you want to know the answer kid?"
A nod.
"At least one child disappears that way in shadow alley every year. The ministry can't do anything about it because the locals outnumber them... By a lot. Even if the entire Auror division declared war on them, they MIGHT win the first battle but definitely not the war. That is why the wards go up every night and not even the Dark Lord Himself would try and break it at night."
Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. "And if they called for international help? I'm sure that if they had help they would outnumber them and they can get rid of them?"
'Harry.' max sighed. "Don't talk about what you don't understand. As it is now, they keep each other in balance. The prey survives and eats from dead prey that other hunters killed. If the Aurors attempt to attack it, the balance would be disturbed and all the hunters from around here would attempt to seek prey. And powerful wards or not, eventually the wards would break."
"What about you then?" Harry asked. "My store is just on the edge of shadow alley. I've got powerful defenses on my home and if my wards weaken or fail I get instant reinforcements from the Auror division. I am the only shopkeeper this way." Max explained.
Harry felt a tingle going over his body. "Well, its a moot point now I suppose." Max sighed.
"What are you going to do kid?"
"Do I actually have a choice?" Harry demanded.
"Of course you have a choice. "You can go out there and risk your life. You might be able to survive the night. If you haven't been infected by some of the things out there you might even be allowed out shadow alley."
'I Max Taylor swear on my life that I will safely offer Harry Potter protection against the dangers of shadow alley. I will not attempt to harm him in any way shape or form. So mote it be." Max finished. For a mere moment a white glow appeared on Max's next between Harry's hands.
Harry blinked in confusion.
"I just swore an oath to prove to you that I don't mean any harm. The flash of magic you just saw represents that bond between you and I. From this moment until you leave my shop. If I ever put you in danger on purpose you can demand anything from me if you don't wish my life."
"Is that why it looked like some form of crude leash?" Harry asked. Curiously.
Max thought about it for a moment before nodding. "I suppose that would be right." He agreed solemnly.
"Alright." Harry agreed. "I suppose that would be alright.
Harry glanced at the animals and they were all sleeping. The images he received from Rex and Raptor were feelings of contentment. And a request for alive prey. When they woke up. "Do you have small animals that you use as food for others?"
Max nodded shortly. "I have pet snakes in my private quarters and have several nests of rats and mouses to feed them." Max told Harry.
"That will do thank you;" Harry agreed... By the way... What do I owe you?"
Max blinked owlishly. Than began to laugh. Loudly. "You know, in all the excitement I completely forgot about that!" He admitted sheepishly.
"I never suspected I would sell them... I'll tell you what." Max began. "Let me observe them while they grow up and you only need to pay for food, cages and other care materials."
"But I'm going to Hogwarts in a few days!" Harry protested.
Max shrugged and focused for a moment. Where an adult man was once standing was now a younger boy.
Harry narrowed his eyes. "You aren't completely human yourself are you? Not that I care about that but I know that's not something every man or woman can do."
Max smirked. "I'm not sure what I am to be honest. Believe me when I tell you that I witnessed the rise and fall of Rome and other Empires." Max declared arrogantly. A moment later max started laughing again. Loudly.
"Seriously. I'm old. Most likely one of the oldest near humans this side of the planet. There are several vampires that are nearly or a bit older than me. And there is that guy that created that ripoff stone that creates the elixir of life." Max paused to think of several others.
"There are several witches and wizards that are older than two centuries that aren't using any drugs to stay alive... It depends on how powerful you are of course. Among other things." Max explained.
He glanced outside again and seemed to make a decision. "We should go upstairs lad. While my wards are fairly powerful and should be able to withstand a siege of a week, I don't want to tempt them. I'll show you my apartment above the store."
Harry followed max while discreetly leaving several spies in the store. They would monitor downstairs. Harry had a bad feeling and didn't want to be caught of guard. Loki remained downstairs as well.
"Loki, remind me that in the future, I make a special hunter class as a bodyguard of some sort. I don't want to be in this situation ever again without some sort of soldier at my command. I don't want to risk you." Harry told Loki.
Harry could feel Loki rolling his eyes. "Boss, I cannot die. This form is my secondary shape. I reside not only in this form but in every replicator / minion and hunter we have... On top of that I also have a deep connection with you. That means that all of above needs to be killed -which is extremely difficult if not impossible!"
Harry nodded reluctantly.
Harry and max spend several more hours talking before they agreed to go to bed. Max transfigured the couch into an emergency bed while he retired to his sleeping chambers.
Outside the animal shop hundreds of two set red eyes were staring at the shop hungrily. The red eyes were joined by green ones. Than white ones. And finally golden eyes joined the others. If any other creature would look now, they would be frightened. Thousands of eyes were now staring at the house that housed the shop. Clouds passed by the moon darkening the alley even more to the point the alley was pitch black. When the clouds moved pass the moon all the eyes were gone without leaving a single trace...
/ * - +
Notes below
My standard word count per chapter is no less than 5,000 words. Without notes I'm barely above it, and I only have a few notes left.
From now on I won't be referring to replicators as replicators anymore. Instead I'll call them minions. Don't worry if it gets confusing, I will remind the reader of the switch every time.
I wanted Harry to have a few genuine minions. So I thought what is truly scary? Now, wouldn't YOU run like hell if a t-Rex was watching you hungrily? Max Taylor isn't an OC. It is actually an existing character from a different show. If anyone guesses it you get a cookie. I know I've been pretty vague at what day it is. I've done that on purpose because I confused myself.
As a final note
I know It annoys me greatly when a great story basically recaps canon. I'll try to make this AU as quickly as possible. Wether our great Albus Dumbledore is dark, grey or white... That remains to be seen.