Friday, 2 August 1991
"Em?" Harry called, sticking his head into the antechamber off the throne room where Merlin was most often hiding out.
"Harry?" Merlin called back, his head appearing from behind one of the overflowing bookshelves, hair nearly as messy as Harry's and blue eyes bright.
"Would you teach me to make my own wand?"
"Is there something wrong with the one you got from Mr. Ollivander?" Merlin asked, looking concerned as he set aside the tomes he was carrying and stepped closer to Harry.
"No, I think it'll work wonderfully but, well, it's a brother to Voldypants' and I think I'd like to have a backup in the rather likely event we're right and he really isn't dead."
"Smart," Merlin said, a proud glint in his gaze, "and is there a reason you'd prefer to make your own as opposed to going through the heirloom wands in any of your several vaults?"
Harry grinned and pulled a bright red feather out of his back pocket, brandishing it with a slightly manic tilt to his smile, "Perses gave me this."
"Our griffin fledgling that's so hyper you named him after the Titan god of destruction gave you a feather and you want to make a wand with it?"
"Well what else am I meant to do with it?" Harry shrugged. "I figure it'll need to be paired with wood from a rather mellow tree so it doesn't wreak havoc unchecked but I think a feather given freely by the King of Creatures is a rather fitting wand core for the future King of Camelot, don't you think?"
"Sometimes I could swear you've been possessed by Arthur."
"Nope," Harry grinned, tapping his forehead almost like he was conducting a mic check, "all Harrison in here, I'll let you know if that changes."
"Please do," Merlin said dryly before leading Harry out of the study and toward the doors. "Where do you want to begin searching for wood?"
"Not sure why, but the oaks are calling to me."
"Oh good," Merlin said under his breath, trailing behind the chaos demon who'd one day rule them all, "the tree that represents the King of Gods paired with a feather from the King of Creatures to be wielded by the King of Camelot, anything else you'd like to add?"
"You're right," Harry hummed, either not catching or deciding to ignore Merlin's sarcasm, "it needs to be balanced out by something, that's a lot of lofty magic in one wand, maybe Elder? That's a very protective wood. Or Olive for peace and harmony? Do we have any Olive trees around here?"
"No on the Olive, but there should be some at the Peverell house in Greece, we could hop over and stop by the grove while we're in France next week if that's what your magic is reaching for."
"No," Harry said after walking for a minute in contemplative silence, "that doesn't sound quite right. I think it'll come to me when it comes. I don't need to have this done before school or anything like that."
"You're right, but I do think you should have a secondary wand even if Voldemort isn't strolling about with a body so we should check through the heirloom wands," Merlin suggested, reaching out to squeeze Harry's shoulder softly, pleased when he simply nodded his assent. "Let's gather some Oak first, if that's what your magic is calling for then we should listen. Do you remember how to gather wand wood?"
"Of course I do, what do you think I talk to the bowtruckles about?"
"I honestly hadn't realized you were talking to the bowtruckles," Merlin muttered.
"They're great conversationalists."
"As much as I want to keep you in Camelot forever I'm starting to think it'll be good for you to make human friends."
Harry nearly argued back before thinking over what he'd just said, "…you might be right."
* * *
"Harrison?" Merlin called later that night as Harry sat on the floor of his bedroom surrounded by piles of clothes and books, not sure what he was actually meant to be packing. They were going to France for the next two weeks and Harry had never left Camelot for more than 12 hours before. He looked up toward his door in confusion, Merlin rarely used his full name, he rarely even called him Harry, so the absence of both a pet name and his nickname put him on alert.
"Yes?" he replied, the question clear in his tone.
"There you are," Merlin said with a smile, stepping into Harry's room and closing the door behind him. "I need to talk to you about something?"
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, immediately catastrophizing.
"Nothing, ghrian," Merlin soothed, settling on the ground next to Harry as he started digging through the pile of clothes and sorting out what actually needed to be packed. "There's something I'd like to do before you leave for school that had to wait until after your 11th birthday."
"Because my magic needed to be more stable?"
"Exactly right, you're a little genius, you know that?"
"I just listen when you talk," Harry shrugged. "What do you want to do?"
"I'd like to cast a series of protection runes on you –"
"Like the ones you have?" Harry interrupted, pointing toward Merlin's right arm where a ring of runes was inked into his skin in blue-toned woad.
"The very same," Merlin confirmed. "Would you be comfortable with me doing that?"
"I don't see why not."
"You do already have your mother's protection tied to your core which was cast with the intent of protecting you from Voldemort, these runes will be more of a general protection but Remus thinks they might be 'superpowered,' for lack of a better phrase, by the protections your mother cast."
"Alright," Harry agreed, once again thankful for his sensitivity to magic as it meant he could feel his mother's magic coursing through his veins even a decade after her death. It was more of a comfort than he could ever articulate.
* * *
Thursday, 8 August 1991
"Does he need dress robes?" Sirius asked from where he was leaning against the wall of the tailor's shop watching Arcturus put way too much thought into what colour jumpers Harry would need for Hogwarts.
"I don't think so," Arcturus responded. "The only time he'll need them for the next few years is Yule Balls and Wizengamot sessions and he prefers the open robes like Regulus did so there's an entire wardrobe of options at Grimmauld Place for him to choose from and for Wizengamot sessions it's traditional to wear family heirloom robes anyways. Do you want your own dress robes, mon soleil?"
"No," Harry shrugged, "I'd prefer to wear Reggie's or my dad's, well, James', I'm guessing his are still at the Manor."
"I forgot about Potter Manor," Remus muttered. "How did I forget about Potter Manor? We should take him before the school year, I'm sure all James' first year textbooks are there, it might be nice for Harry to have his notes and such."
"That's a great plan, love," Sirius said with a grin that just edged on nostalgic. "What do you think, pup?"
"I'd love to visit," Harry said with a matching grin. "Thanks for thinking of it, Dad."
"We'll go next week," Arcturus promised, "for now you need to tell me if you think you're going to need more green or red jumpers."
"Red," Harry said decisively.
"How is it that after centuries of Slytherins I must be the only Black elder to suffer through a Gryffindor Lord andHeir?" Arcturus huffed, a teasing glint in his eye as he ruffled Harry's hair.
"I don't know what you're talking about father," Sirius teased back, "I went to Beauxbatons and was in the lovely house of Bellefeuille."
"Shut it, you," Arcturus said, shaking a finger in Sirius' direction while he obviously tried to hold back a laugh before turning back to Harry, "can I buy you one green jumper? Will you humour your old grandfather just a little?"
"Fine," Harry sighed, doing his best to look entirely put out by the request as he selected a soft emerald green jumper from the pile. "I need new muggle clothes too, I grew out of my jeans in March."
"What have you been wearing for the past five months?" Remus wondered with a laugh.
"Shorts," Harry shrugged.
"Where did those pants come from," Sirius asked, pointing to the perfectly sized black slacks Harry was currently wearing.
"Kreacher found them at Grimmauld."
"How you've managed to befriend that curmudgeon I'll never know."
"I'm 'much cleaner than Master Siri' and 'much more like Master Reggie'."
"Fair," Sirius huffed after a minute of trying to come up with a response. "Just wait until we get to the Keep, if Daisy is still around you'll see how beloved I am."
"Are you basing your self worth on the opinions of ancient house elves, Papa?"
"I am."
"Fair play."
* * *
Monday, 19 August 1991
"Alright, rí beag, you know what to do," Merlin said as they stood in the Peverell vault in front of the cabinet full of wands. They'd already tried the Potter and Black vaults. Charlus Potter or Pollux Black's would likely work in a pinch, but Harry was convinced that the Peverell vault would have the answer. Merlin was about half sure that Death had told him as much and he'd only been humouring them by trying dozens of Potter and Black wands.
Harry paused for merely a breath before immediately pulling a wand box off the top row. Merlin leaned in slightly to read the label and let out a huff.
Ignotus Peverell.
Of course.
Harry swished the wand once and the shadows littering the room folded inward, swirling around in a rather mesmerizing dance before wrapping around Harry in a semblance of an embrace.
"This is it," Harry said, a soft smile on his face.
While his charge was distracted playing with shadows, Merlin picked up the box to read the note listing the wand's makeup; 14 inches, Elder Wood, Hair of the Grim.
Wonderful.
This wand was very nearly the Elder Wand, an inch more of elder and a slightly different creature of Death and they'd be perfectly matched. And it had just decided it liked Harry.
Merlin picked up the log book placed on the bottom shelf and opened it to the page for this wand. The only prior owner was Ignotus himself.
The youngest brother, the original owner of the Invisibility Cloak, and Harrison.
Merlin was starting to think he wasn't simply Death's Chosen.
* * *
Sunday, 25 August 1991
"Hello?" Harry called out as they landed in the entry hall to Griffin's Keep. It was just him and his dads. Arcturus had decided to 'take the day off from traipsing about Western Europe' and Merlin stayed behind to prepare the old ritual room under Gaius' chambers for them to cast protective runes during the moon's peak that evening.
Remus stumbled slightly on their landing, joints a little weaker as the full moon approached but much better than he would've been without the help of wolfsbane and the work he'd put into connecting with his wolf rather than pushing it away, "I haven't been here in forever," he said quietly, looking around the somehow still pristine hall.
"Hello, Lord Potter," a little voice greeted as three elves popped in. "I is Dotty, the Head Elf of Griffin's Keep."
"Nice to meet you, Dotty," Harry said with a bright smile. "Before we get to why we came here, is there anything that needs my attention?"
"Is Lord Potter able to take over the wards?" the elf to Dotty's left asked. "I am Tova, Lord Potter, it is very good to be seeing you again."
"Good to see you too, Tova," Harry greeted, "and I can take over the wards if you'd show me where the stone is, I know it'll help protect the home but is there an additional benefit to you?" he asked as he started following the elves out of the room with Sirius and Remus trailing behind him. As they walked, the third elf fell back and attached herself to Sirius' side. Harry had to assume this was Daisy but she appeared to be going through a veritable hurricane of emotions so he wasn't going to interrupt.
"It helps feed our power so we can be working more efficient and living longer," Tova explained. "With no new power in the wards, no new power flows through the house and we have to rely on our own magic, it makes it harder to do all of our tasks."
"Well then I'm more than happy to help out," Harry said kindly as they approached a small door in the corner of the basement. "Thank you for showing me the way."
Five minutes later, Harry stepped back into the hall the proud new holder of the Potter Family Wards.
"Come on pup," Sirius said softly, slinging an arm around Harry's shoulders as he guided him back toward the stairs. "I'll show you my old room first and then we can dig through your father's."
* * *
Nearly seven full hours later, the trio landed in the throne room of Camelot, James' shrunken school trunk a comforting weight in Harry's pocket.
"Would you rather use his trunk than the one you bought with Hagrid?" Remus asked, brushing the curls off Harry's forehead.
"Could I?"
"Of course, mon soleil," Sirius said, pulling Harry tight against his side. "It's a very nice trunk and he'd love to know you were getting good use out of it."
With a soft smile, Harry pulled out of Sirius' hug, gave Remus' hand a soft squeeze, and headed off toward his room to unpack everything he'd found.
James' school trunk was incredibly well made with individual expanded sections that made it far easier to organize than the trunk Harry had purchased which only had one compartment. He'd filled it with some of his father's old clothes, including an old maroon Gryffindor Quidditch hoodie with 'J. Potter' and the number '6' emblazoned in gold across the back that still smelled faintly of his father, he'd immediately decided was his new favourite item of clothing, made even better by the fact that it was still about two sizes too big on him. They hadn't been able to find any of Sirius' quidditch sweaters in his room but they had found several soft hoodies and well-worn band t-shirts Harry had happily stolen. He'd also packed James' first year textbooks as Remus had suggested. But his most exciting find was a little practice snitch that he set to flit about the room while he sorted out his packing.
He dug around his desk until he found the packing list that had been sent with his acceptance letter and then dug a little deeper for the list that his guardians had put together. He spent the next couple of hours going through the lists and locating the items that had been strewn about his room before carefully packing them away and then checking them off the parchment. He was down to sorting through his books when Merlin knocked lightly on his door and let him know it was time to head over to the ritual room; the one that'd been built below Gaius' chambers rather than the much more complex one Merlin had built behind the tower he'd converted into an observatory. Harry sometimes wondered how quickly Uther Pendragon would have a coronary if he learned what'd been done to his precious castle.
Harry looked up at Merlin as they walked through the castle's courtyards and wondered how different his life would be if this sorcerer of legend hadn't effectively kidnapped him off his aunt's front porch all those years ago. He couldn't imagine a world in which staying with the Dursleys would've led to a better outcome. With that in mind, he let his steps veer slightly to the left until he bumped into Merlin, knowing he'd throw an arm around Harry's shoulders and tuck him against his side like it was second nature.
Harry always felt safe tucked against Merlin like this. He'd never known what it was to feel unsafe with his guardians and he knew it was entirely thanks to this man that this was the case.
Without him he wasn't sure when he would've been able to find Remus again, he wasn't sure how long Sirius would've suffered in Azkaban. Without this man, he wouldn't have a family.
"Thank you," he said softly, watching how the moonlight reflected off Merlin's blue eyes and soft smile.
"Whatever for, rí beag?"
"Raising me," Harry said, voice still soft. "Saving me."
"It's been my pleasure," Merlin said, matching Harry's tone as they approached the cellar door.
Once inside, Merlin picked up the very charmed stylus and woad Gaius had used a thousand years prior and sat with Harry at the centre of the circle before carefully carving the runes in a ring around his right arm, right above his elbow at the base of his bicep.
The anchor rune, a combination of the runes Algiz and Othala, for protection against evil, went directly above his elbow. Next was Algiz on its own, symbolizing the shield or a guardian. After that was Sowilo, representing life force and honour. Then he drew out Raidho, for travel or the journey, next was Tiwaz which symbolizes the warrior or the leader. And, finally, he carved Eihwaz which he chose specifically for Harry as it symbolizes the yew tree, Death, and change. This rune could only ever been seen as protection for a family like the Peverells, for a child like Harry.
Once the last line of Eihwaz was etched, he set the quill aside and let his magic spill out, whispering a soft plea to Mother Magic to anchor this protection. He watched as the blue woad glowed gold for a moment before settling into Harry's skin.
"It's done," he said quietly, "how does it feel?"
"I can feel your magic," Harry whispered, a soft smile on his face. "Just like I can feel mum's or Sirius' when I think of our bond or Remus' when he calls me cub."
"Good," Merlin said, cupping Harry's cheeks and pressing a kiss to his brow, right at the epicentre of the lightning strike. "Now you know for certain that I am always with you."
"Thank you," Harry said, hoping Merlin understood how much he was truly being thanked for.
"I'll always protect you."
"I love you, athair."
"Harrison," Merlin said softly, tears forming in his eyes and voice cracking ever so slightly. "Are you sure?"
"Entirely sure," Harry said.
"I love you so much, mo mhac," Merlin whispered, hugging Harry tight. "So much."