A Strange Old World Ch.8 (Patreon)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter 8– Finding an old friend

AN: A special thanks to Lord Shiva who've helped me in creating the discord server. Well, help is a tame word considering he did most of the work, and enabled me to release it to you guys so soon. So, big ups to him.

If anyone wants to join the discord, follow the link: https://discord.gg/9wpfysDGsz

Now on with the chapter!

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At early 9:30 in the morning, Harry and Bella took a portkey to Potter Manor. The fireplace in their new house was still being installed, though Bella was considering moving to a more luxurious home soon. Still, the portkey wasn't an inconvenience for either of them and they landed safely.

The moment Harry took in the Potter Manor however, and it's surroundings, he was left stunned.

The Manor was built upon a plain grassland, longer and wider than a quidditch pitch. The Castle-like structure itself was grand as grand can be without becoming obscene, with a shade of gold and white striped pillars and massive towers completing the exterior image from the front.

This in itself hadn't even caused him to pause. But what did blow away his mind was the place the grand structure sat upon.

Harry Potter knew this place.

They were in Caithness, Scotland without a doubt. It was a historic county at the east coast of northern Scotland.

He knew this because he'd been here before, when on the run. Just, instead of the Potter Manor there used to be a castle here, Dunbeath Castle.

And instead of a completely flat grassland, this used to be a defensive site enhanced by a dry ditch on the landward side, which cut cross the narrow promontory on which the castle once stood.

Still, surprising though it was, Harry didn't ponder upon it for long. Though one thing struck to his heart for the rest of the day; No matter how similar this world looked, and no matter how similar the events proceeded, this wasn't the same world he'd lived 20 years of his life in.

And he would do well to remember that.

Harry and Bella soon walked towards the manor, stepping upon the glistening marble path that led to the large main door.

The Manor had a large fenced border that separated it from the rest of the grassland, and the scenery around was quite beautiful. An active fountain was built in the center of the garden, with sparling water gushing out of it constantly. The garden itself was filled with the more mundane flora that was found in most muggle houses.

It was still a very refreshing view.

The Manor also seemed to have a muggle bell, which Bella rung as they waited for his family.

He glanced at Bella out of the corner of his eye, a small smirk forming on his face. After the morning events, Bella had been giving off an awkward hesitant vibe around him. She'd went back to normal pretty soon, but he still caught her a couple of times, shooting him subtle glances whenever she thought he wasn't looking.

Especially when he came downstairs, having put considerable effort in dressing appropriately for the occasion.

Though she seemed to have put those events aside for now it seems, as she stood tapping her foot on the floor impatiently, before checking the time with a non-verbal tempus. "Merlin, today's gonna to be such a busy day. Thank Morgana I took that two-day leave. Otherwise I would've been too exhausted for tomorrow. So would've you, for that matter."

Startled by the sudden comment, he turned to her with a frown, confused. "Why?"

Her eyebrows shot up as she turned to him. "Why? Are you kidding me? Cause of your and Jacob's birthday of course! It's usually a massive mess anyway, what with it being one of the biggest social events of magical Britain, but with your recent fame? The crowd will be even bigger. And wilder. Don't be surprised if you get a marriage proposal or two by the end of the day. Though if you find yourself naked and draped around some random witch with no relocation of any alcohol, do be sure to file a case against her. You may just have been drugged with a love potion or two."

Harry snorted. "Surely you're joking. I'm not the only famous person in this world, and for some reason I doubt every famous guy roams around practicing constant vigilance."

She looked startled for a second before she shook her head, shooting him an amused glance. "I'm surprised. Normally you're so mature and smart, it's weird seeing you being as clueless as any 14 year old. You may not have noticed this Harry but you're a ladies heartthrob. Add to that your power, abilities, and Potter name, and you'll quickly find yourself being the most prized mule in the market. Having went through something similar, I can assure you it's as discomforting as it sounds."

Harry rubbed his eyes in irritation. For some reason, he'd completely ignored the more social side of things when taking into account the reaction his power's reveal will cause. He hoped Bella was exaggerating though, cause he really wasn't looking forward to being put in Azkaban for murdering a scheming bitch or two.

He shook his head as the door clicked open. "I'll handle it."

Bella gave a twinkling laugh. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Harry sighed. "I'll handle it with extreme brutality then."

"Whoa now, don't cause an even bigger mess. My advice? Just take advantage of the situation and snag a witch or two."

She said it casually though Harry couldn't help but notice her tone getting flatter by the end.

The door soon opened, and he stored the subject away for later reviewing. They were greeted by an elf dressed in tidy little clothes, and a red bow tie.

The elf led them in, and Harry couldn't help but give an appreciative glance around the enormous Manor. Just like the outside, the inside was colored in the shade of gold and red, though a much more warmer type that gave a homey feel to it.

As soon as the front entrance room was crossed, a large hallway greeted the two. He may call it a hallway, but it was twice as wide as his own current room, with two curved sets of stairs at either side of the hallway, climbing up to the next floor.

The other side of the hallway wasn't enclosed by a door, being fully open through a curved oval entrance, and granted access to what he considered to be the main hall.

It was a thing of luxury and comfort, with red velvet cushions and sofas resting in front of a massive fireplace that even Hagrid could've entered inside.

The elf requested them to wait in the hall but it shouldn't have bothered, cause a frantic Lily quickly came to greet them with hurried and excited steps.

Harry paused for a second as he took in the woman.

Her hair was wrapped in a white towel, still dripping with water. Her top stuck to her wet body in a skintight vase, insinuating the massive knockers that weigh heavily on her chest, swaying gently as she bounced towards them.

Harry frowned slightly, occluding away his hormonal response. While he no longer adhered to any sort of code or morals in his life, there was a common decency that he still tried to stick to. Perving on his mother was one of them.

He didn't really consider Lily his true mother, but the woman certainly considered him her son. And he was sure she wouldn't want him checking her out.

Though he really couldn't be blamed here. If there was a woman who could rival Bella toe-to-toe in figure department, it'd be Lily. He'd done his best to keep his thoughts clean whenever they'd met before, but even he couldn't ignore something that was being blatantly presented for his eyes to feast upon.

The matter however went from bad to worse when the woman approached him enthusiastically.

"Harry!" She exclaimed as she stood on her toes, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug, pressing a kiss on his cheeks. "Happy Birthday!"

He could feel the warm water on her lips, feel the damp hands around the neck, feel the roundness and enormity of her breasts squeezing against his chest...

And he promptly ignored it all as he now actively began to use occlumency. He had no doubt the woman would've felt his hardening wand had he not done so.

And he doubted she would want to feel that.

... though maybe she'd let him get away with even more for his birthday...

Thankfully she soon disengaged, and he didn't get to complete that line of thought.

"You look so good!" She exclaimed as her eyes looked him up and down with a wide smile that widened even more when they fell on his wrist. "And you wore my watch for your birthday!"

Indeed, on his wrist lay a gold plated sophisticated watch with runes and esoteric magical symbols that even he knew very little about. It was further inlaid with tiny red rubies around its oval edges, that he almost thought were pieces of Philosopher's stone due to how similar they looked and felt. Of course, that was a little too farfetched, but he couldn't be blamed for the assumption.

The watch had been one of the six gifts that Lily had send in the last two weeks, along with the house elf Blinky, the elemental magic book that he was currently reading, A high-end school trunk with a very powerful extension charm, and a first edition Firebolt. The rest were scheduled to be handed to him personally today, along with his new birthday present.

Honestly, there was no way Harry was ever going to leave this thing of beauty behind now. The watch wasn't just water and fire resistant, it was almost completely magic resistant. No one could Transfigure, Vanish, Summon, blast...or do anything at all to the watch. He'd already tried some of his more destructive spells on it, and suspected it had some kind of rune or ward that let's it absorb foreign magic.

Whatever the case, he loved it. And he reiterated the same to Lily, gratefully. She just grinned like a Cheshire cat, promising something even better today.

Honestly, Harry couldn't even begin to guess what it could be, so he didn't bother.

"Anyway, I'm glad you two are early." Lily said, absently removing her towel to let her long shiny red hair cascade down like molten lava. "I was meaning to arrange a day out with you Harry, but you're quite a hard young man to talk to these days. Probably forgot about your poor old Mother in favor of dozens of letters from those young French witches."

Harry folded his hands with an intense frown, blatantly scanning her up and down. "Well, I don't see any 'poor and old Mother' here. If she comes, let me know."

She may have blushed slightly but he couldn't quite catch it cause she started drying her hair, covering her face behind a waterfall of hairs as she bent over.

He did hear her delighted giggle though. "Oh hush, you flatterer."

He smirked. "Just saying it as I see it."

She gave another twinkling laugh. "Thanks, darling. My self-confidence has gone off through the roof now."

"Ahem, I'm sorry but you do know I'm here as well right?" Bella cut in with an annoyed sniff. "I'm all for some Mother and son bonding session, but I'm sure as hell not gonna be a third wheel."

Lily parted her hairs like a curtain to shoot Bella a smug smirk. "Aww, ickle Bella jealous? Come here and lemme give you a hug. I'll make the pain go away."

"Lily I'm warning you, I will curse you if you keep that up. Don't think I won't."

"Alright, fine! Geez, looks like someone's a little short on fuse today. Did something happen this morning?"

The question was asked absently, but Harry could see Bella give an involuntary jerk, her eyes taking a quick little peek at him before she replied. "Nothing, of course. Nothing at all. What could possibly happen to us?"

Lily hummed, straightening again. "Alright, stay here you two. I'll be back in just a second. James and kids are with Remus this morning, having went to watch today's match. They'll get started on renovating the Manor as soon as they come, so we'll have plenty of time for some quality shopping. Merlin, I'm so excited for today! Just wait for a second, I'll be right back from changing."

Lily turned around with a wave, quickly walking back where she came from. Though Harry couldn't help as his eyes fell upon those curvy bubbles that made up her rump. Her bathsuit was doing very little to hide her exceptional physique, and Harry had to once again use occlumency to avoid Bella catching him check out his own mother.

But then her words finally hit him and he turned to Bella with raised eyebrows. "Wait, what shopping?"

The mischievous little grin that she gave him made his entire body shiver a little from the sudden chill. "Why, your birthday shopping of course! Why do you think I brought you here so early?"

His almost perfect memory provided the answer to her rhetorical question.

"...To give a hand with arrangements in Potter Manor?"

"Oh Harry, you're so sweet." Bella's grin widened even more. "I lied. Now c'mon, get ready. We're gonna have so much fun!"

He folded his hands, scowling. "Why on earth would I ever go with you after that? Hell, what's stopping me from just going back home?"

"The fact that you can't apparate, are in a completely unknown location, and would probably get lost half-way around the country and find yourself in another continent altogether. Now stop giving me that look, I'm sure you want to buy something too. What with all your new money."

Harry rolled his eyes with a snort. "We're in Caithness, and it takes around 12 hours to reach Godric's Hollow through muggle transport. But I'll probably reach it in 30 minutes, depending on Knight bus' traffic. And I can very much do my own shopping without babysitters, thank you very much."

Her stunned face was a sight to behold, and he turned around with an exaggerated swagger, only to be quickly stopped by Bella as she moved forward to block his path.

"Okay Mr. Genius! I get it. I'm sorry for ever questioning your wisdom. But surely you don't want to break Lily's heart? She's been planning this for even longer than me, you know."

Then she leaned ever closer, and Harry had to stop himself from glancing down at her cleavage. "Plus, What will you even do at the house all alone anyway? Read your books all day? Lily's got her own personal library, you know? I'm sure if you ask nicely, she'll let you take anything you want."

"Well..." Harry hesitated slightly, before finally repenting with a sigh. "Just don't take too much time, alright? I have a lot of things that I need to get done before the final match. And I really can't delay them."

"Of course! You can count on me! It's not like we'll spend half a day in shopping or anything."

For some reason, her 'innocent' and 'honest' smile looked a little dark to Harry, and he wondered if he was making a mistake...

'Eh, it'll be alright. How long could a little shopping trip be afterall?'

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Jacob Potter was frustrated. Very very frustrated. And unfortunately, this was becoming an everyday affair for him now.

"Uhh– Jake?" Ron's call came up from below. "Where are y–"

"To my room!" He snapped. "I want to be alone for a bit."

"Oh umm, alright then. I'll just...wait for you..."

But Jake wasn't listening as he skipped up the stairs to his room 3 steps at a time, fuming the whole while.

Today was supposed to be his birthday. His bloody birthday. And he'd only been wishing for two simple things for the whole week. Two very simple things.

One; to get a glimpse of that French beauty that had captured his heart so completely.

And two; Atleast one country from UK should qualify for the quarter finals.

But neither of them were freaking coming true!

Were they too bloody much to ask for? Alright, he could believe his first wish was a little unrealistic cause he'll probably never get to see that goddess again, but the second? But the Second!?

How can three different countries from the same bloody union qualify for the World Cup, but none of them could get a bloody win!? This was utter madness!

"This world is so unfair..." He moaned tiredly, throwing himself on his bed as soon as he got inside his room.

His disappointment was immeasurable, and his day was ruined.

It wasn't just the fact that Scotland lost, or how badly it lost, it was also the fact that no one seemed to give a rat's arse about his birthday.

Jake wasn't arrogant enough to think he deserved special treatment just cause it was his birthday, but the least his mates could do was stop asking him about his twin the entire time!

Just thinking about that was pissing him the freak off! Noncy bastards, the lot of them.

"So, how did your brother get so good?" Jake did a mock imitation of Dean. "I don't bloody know Dean, how about you ask him yourself when you grow a pair of balls?"

He didn't say it of course, they were still his friends. But it just pissed him off so bloody much.

Atleast Ron's non-subtle 'Did the little snake cheat, you reckon?' was better than Neville's stuttering little asslicking 'Gran says Harry's the most powerful Wizard she'd seen in our generation.'

"Yeah well, your gran wasn't there Neville. How the hell could she know his strength through a damned second-hand memory?" Jake grouched, burying his face in his pillow with a groan.

"Jake!" His father's shout suddenly boomed in the house from downstairs, and Jake had to wrap the pillow around his ears to muffle the sound. "Stop being lazy and come help us! We have a lot of work to do today!"

'Why did he have to use Sonorus!?' Jake raged in his mind, beyond mortified. 'It's like he just doesn't care how embarrassing that is.'

Everyone was probably laughing at him right now. The Weasleys and Tonks, who'd come to help them with the arrangements, what would they be thinking? And...Oh Merlin! Aunt Sara was here too! Remus did say she'll be arriving early today...

"Jacob! Get a move on, young man!"

"Coming!" He yelled down, his face heating up completely.

Just bloody stop shouting please!

'Merlin, now I have to take this face in front of Aunt Sara.'

But he knew he'll have to go down soon. His dad wasn't lying when he said work needed to get done. Not that Jake would get to do anything more useful than moving some bloody chairs around.

The tradition of birthday parties in their family had started way back, when the Potter family were first reunited. It was supposed to bring the family closer in a fun way, and spread a little warmth in their then cold-and-empty manor.

The things went out of hands however, when a massive crowd showed up to greet the newly released heroes of war, instead of the small and sweet celebration that they'd planned.

He still remembered the party on his first birthday in their new family..the crowd gathered had been in hundreds! The Tonks had always kept him away from public eyes for his own protection, so the Daily profit took this event as the official launching of The-Boy-Who-Lived to the public.

And the magical Britain went ham over it. Even when his parents started restricting the masses, people just won't listen. And the Potters could do nothing in the end but try to salvage it with extreme control over the event.

His sister's birthdays were much more manageable, but his had become a sort of tradition now, forming one of the biggest social event in Magical Britain, or maybe in the whole Europe too.

And today was going to be even worse. Not only were there so many magical families gathered in Britain for the world cup, but his twin's recent shocking performance on top of that was definitely going to skyrocket the masses to form the biggest crowd yet.

Jacob sighed, slowly climbing down the bed to walk out of his room. Honesty? While normally this tended to be an exciting day for him, this time he'd be glad when it's over.

"Jake! What are you doing!? Come on down here, son!"

Jacob slapped down his head on his palms. Truly, the life of a teenager was the hardest thing imaginable.

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"Won't take half a day, my arse." Harry Potter grouched as they finally apparated back to Black cottage late in the afternoon.

7 hours! It took over 7 hours before Harry finally convinced Lily and Bella to finalise their shopping and be done with it. With no less than 7 subtle threats, 3 non-subtle threats, and a failed attempt to catch the knight bus behind their back, Harry's tale of epic struggle for freedom was worthy of legends and poems.

"Hey, don't be like that." Bella elbow-bumped him, two muggle bag filled to the brim jiggling in her hands...along with a dozen other bags charmed with extension charm. "If you think with a cool mind, you'll find that you actually enjoyed your time a lot."

"Oh shut up, Bella." He snapped as they entered the cottage. "You've broken my trust, and completely betrayed me. I thought better of you. Let this be known, that I, Harry Potter, shall never again go shopping with either of you."

He ignored her laughter, throwing the pile of bags in his own hand onto the dining table.

He felt the woman moving behind him, though didn't stop her as she suddenly draped her arms around him in a hug. "Aww, I'm so sorry, honey. We do get carried away sometimes. But seriously, you should be more excited than this. You've got new clothes for the evening party, a new owl that made you more happier than I've ever seen you, and Merlin knows what else you bought when you managed to give us the slip. And don't you dare pretend you didn't enter knockturn alley. I'm not that stupid. So really, you shouldn't hold this against us too much."

The reminder of Hedwig drained away all of his anger in an instant and he felt a smile creep up on his face. "Well, that's true I guess."

He'd been absolutely thrilled to realize that no one bought Hedwig in this world. She'd been sitting there in her cage like a lonely queen, away from the rest of the owls due to her bad habits of biting anyone who tries touching her.

Of course, the same wasn't true for Harry. He'd been surprised to note that she seemed as Happy at his arrival as he was by her presence. His first true friend, who died protecting him, was now back at his side.

What better birthday present could there be?

He felt Bella shift against his back and realized he could still feel her heavy breasts pressing against him. She soon disengaged though, her head jerking to the side.

"There's a mail for you I think." She muttered, her magic letting the owl through the wards.

It was an eagle owl, with a unique navy bluish fur. The owl made a beeline straight for him, a letter and a small brown pouch clutched between it's talons. Both of which he quickly unhooked.

"Your friend?" Bella asked, arranging the shopping bags on the table.

Frowning at the unfamiliar scribble, he quickly tore open the envelope. And as his eyes read through the letter, his brows kept climbing up his head.

Dear Harry,

I apologize if I'm inconveniencing you by writing this letter. Perhaps you have forgotten about me, but I'm your former challenger for the championship title, Fleur Delacour. I simply desired to wish you a very happy birthday. May you forever find happiness in your life, and be as fearless as ever. Whilst I will not be able to attend your birthday party personally, I hope my small gift can make up for it. I would be delighted to meet you in the world cup finals on 22nd August, though would understand if you're unavailable. Eagerly awaiting your reply,

Your admirer, Fleur.

P.S– This may not mean much to you, but you have kept me motivated through some unpleasant times. I would truly appreciate it if we could exchange some letters.

The letter ended in a messy way, as if the last portion was scribbled on with hesitance.

"Well, this is...unexpected." Harry muttered with a frown, his eyes scanning through the letter one more time.

"Who is it?" Bella asked, coming behind him to peek over his shoulder.

"Fleur Delacour. You know, the other finalist against me in the U-18 tournament?"

"Ah, know her? I freaking love her. She's stolen quite a few hearts hasn't she? But I've known about her for almost half a decade now. She has always been a terrific duelist, and anyone even remotely serious about the subject will know of her. She'd done something I never could, winning the European Championship for 5 consecutive times, though for different age groups."

Harry turned to the woman with a smirk. "Sounds like we have a little fan in here. Should I get you her autograph?"

"Oh shut it, you." She swatted at him, moving back to the dining table. "To be honest I'm quite surprised to know that you defeated her. Back in my days, she'd have been an uncontested Champion without a doubt."

"...back in your day...alright, granny Bella, thanks for the words of wisdom."

"Of course, little nephew. How else will you grow up?" She snarked.

"Hmm...I feel like I've grown up quite a bit already, wouldn't you agree?" He mused, and had to suppress a smirk when the woman gave a sudden jerk, standing upstraight.

While the shopping had been a little mind-numbing, there were of course moments of pure fun in them. One of them was when the two ladies took him to a clothe shop and convinced him to undress his shirt right there in front of them, due to the dresser being occupied.

They were most likely trying to embarrass him or something, maybe open up his uptight mood. The show was flipped on them however, and their reaction had been priceless.

Since having done the physical ritual, his body had went throw quite a transformation in the last couple of weeks. Not only had he shot up a full inch in height, he'd also grown some very visible muscles.

To see the wide eyed surprise on the two mature witches faces, and especially Bella's flushed face struggling to maintain her cool, had been worth going to that otherwise boring shopping trip.

All in all, it was a rewarding experience that he'd quite like to repeat.

Bella cleared her throat loudly, her hands again busy with the shopping bags. Though he could clearly make out her rosy cheeks under the evening light.

"Alright mister, go change up now. We have to be back in the Potter manor in under an hour." She threw three bags at him, which he promptly suspended in mid-air using Levitation charm, before making for his room with a last wave at the woman.

His mind went back to Fleur's letter, and the confusing feelings returned once again.

Her letter had come as a surprise to him. Not just the fact that she actually wrote to him, but also the politeness and consideration that she wrote it with. He wouldn't have expected that kind of words to come out of her, even in writing.

Plus that post script...it made him consider that this Fleur might be just like Bella and Lily, with completely different history than their counterparts.

If so, he would definitely like to get in touch with her. A good thing she'd already offered to meet on the finals. Till then, he'll just have to talk to her through letters...

Absently he opened the little pouch, dropping whatever was inside of it in his hand, though only after a thorough examination for anything harmful.

What came out was a small figurine of live fire. A miniature Phoenix made entirely of flames that didn't seem to hurt him whatsoever. As soon as he rolled out the 5 inch tall Phoenix on his palm, the figurine suddenly came alive, extending it's wings as if just waking up from a deep deep sleep. Then, with a flap of its tiny wings it took off into the air, giving a cute little cry of exhilaration as if tasting freedom for the first time.

Harry stared after it for a second, completely awestruck. He'd seen 'Mione do some advanced conjurations, but never had he seen something so beautiful and perfect before. The only thing that came close was Voldemort's massive fiery basilisk, which he'd conjured against Dumbledore in their battle in the ministry.

And yet, that had been more power and might, rather than beauty and perfection, like this tiny phoenix was.

The bird of fire soon came back to rest on his left shoulder, cuddling softly against his cheeks. Harry smiled at the thing, caressing it's head with one finger tenderly.

"Oh, the finals are gonna be so much fun this time..." He muttered, giving the bird a little scratch under it's flaming beak.

He couldn't help but see the phoenix as a prelude for what was to come soon.

And he honestly couldn't wait.

But first... he'll have to get through today's party without making any major mess.

For some reason, he got the weirdest feeling that he was going to fail.

'Eh, whatever. Probably nothing. Afterall, what could possibly happen in a single birthday party?'

"...And I just cursed myself didn't I?" Harry muttered with a sigh.

'Hopefully nothing bad happens today...'

Hopefully.

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AN: Done! 

Nothing much happened in this chapter storywise but it set the prelude for what's about to come. After the events of birthday we'll head towards the WC finals so we're quite close to a massive amount of action.

Apart from that, I'll be posting the results of the active Poll tomorrow. 

With that said, see you guys later. Peace!