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(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
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They shook their heads as if shaking away a dream and looked at him with startled expressions.
"H-Harry?" Lily asked softly, disbelieving.
Harry gave a weak smile.
"Hi."
"What, how?" James scrambled, confused.
"I hired a necromancer to summon you." Harry blurted out.
There was a long moment of silence.
"You look so old." Lily said quietly as she stepped towards him, ghost feet gliding over the floor.
She gently reached up and rested a hand on his cheek. He leaned into the warm touch, grasping her hand. He didn't give a second thought on why they were solid.
"I'm thirteen. Fourteen in a week."
The two shared a stunned silence.
"But that means…" James said softly.
"You died over eleven years ago?" Harry asked with a sad smile.
"…I guess times flies when you're dead." James tried to joke, but ended up choking instead.
"Oh my beautiful little boy." Lily swallowed sadly as she pulled Harry into an embrace.
Harry didn't even notice he was crying until he felt Lily wiping them away.
"Shhhh." She hummed.
He sank to his knees and soon found himself sobbing in her arms. All he'd ever wanted, all he'd ever wished for was to see his parents. And now he had them here, standing next to him and stroking his hair like he'd always wanted.
.-.
"….And now I'm opening a café. It's called 'Through the Looking Glass' and it'll be open for everyone, creature, muggle, and magic-user alike." Harry said, eyes glittering with his delight.
"I'm so proud of you." Lily laughed as she kissed his forehead.
He leaned back against her and smiled. At some point they had found themselves sitting and Harry telling them everything. Hedwig and Keiruim sat on his shoulder having been introduced to his parents. Lily thought Hedwig was adorable and James had thought Keiruim looked like a lot of fun.
"Harry."
All three looked up at Harold who had peeked up from the stairs.
"I can only hold them for another five minutes." He said softly, almost regretfully, looking strained around the edges.
Harry felt like he had been punched in the gut. He offered a weak smile.
"Thank you."
The man gave a curt nod and vanished again. Harry looked up to the faces up his remorseful parents and stood, hugging them tightly. He was crying again.
"Don't worry Harry." Lily murmured. "You're doing great in life, and you have so many wonderful people to look out for you."
"I know." Harry shuddered.
"Harry." James said resting a hand on his shoulder. "We'll both love you, no matter what you do or how you live."
"I know." Harry said again, the words catching in his throat, coming out as barely a whisper.
"Harry." James said again.
Harry looked into his eyes and was struck by how guilty and sad they were.
"When I was alive, in school, I wasn't the nicest."
Harry blinked in shock. All he'd ever heard was how brave, how fun his father was. Everyone had always told him his father was a gallant hero who did good. The only person who had ever said otherwise was Snape…
"I was actually quite arrogant and I was a bully."
Harry winced and looked down, already guessing who his main target had been. James tilted his chin to face him again.
"I was like Dudley."
Harry swallowed. His dad had always been his hero, the person he wanted to be like. But Harry also hated bullies with a passion.
"I made many mistakes. I wish I was alive so I could make them up for many people. But I'm not alive. And I won't ask you to go ask for forgiveness for me. What I want is for you to not be like me. I want you to be kind, and strong, and considerate. I want you to be honest and modest. But most of all I want you to be happy."
Harry brushed a tear away and nodded determinedly.
"We love you so much Harry." Lily said kissing his cheek.
He noticed she was crying. But so was he.
"Can you do something for us Harry?" Lily asked.
He nodded vigorously.
"Tell Severus I forgive him." Lily smiled softly.
"And tell Snape I'm sorry." James swallowed. "And tell Mooney and Padfoot to keep having fun."
"And be happy." Lily said. "Even if you have to run away. Be happy even if you have to leave everything behind because they're being too cruel or demanding. This isn't your war with Voldemort. We fought, but that doesn't mean you have to. We died so you would live freely, not fight half finished battles. Just be happy, for us. And remember, we'll always love you. You could join Voldemort and we'll still love you. You'll always be our precious, beautiful little boy. You make us proud."
Both of them hugged him. They had barely wrapped their arms around him when suddenly they shattered, like glass figurines. Wisps of grey floated away and vanished and the circle's glow vanished and Harry was alone again. He stood for a moment, barely breathing. A hand rested on his shoulder and he looked up at Harold. The man gave him a comforting smile. Harry stared. Then he fell back in a dead faint, exhausted.He nodded and quickly wrote an extra note, holding it out to her.
"Take this to Gringotts and give it to Griphook. He'll deal with it."
"Not the ministry?" She blinked.
"No. Gringotts has a license to create and sell portkey. And frankly theirs are better then most others."
"How expensive are they?" She asked cautiously.
"Don't worry, Griphook will take the cost from my account."
She nodded slowly then quickly curtsied to him and left. Harry grinned. He now had a cook, Randal, Leonard Bishop, a girl he had interviewed earlier named Anne Glasgow, and now this woman Eleanor Tremaine. He was no expert at interviewing and truly didn't even know how to do it properly, but he'd picked these people for their qualifications or the gut instinct he'd gotten from them. Hopefully he wouldn't regret that choice.
.-.
"How does this work?" Harry asked again, eyeing the circle on the ground.
It was quite different then the one to summon his parents. This one was done in red paint that Harold assured him would come off the floor and it had more sharp edges and symbols. Where the spirit one had seemed…flowing, this one seemed almost quick and dangerous.
"I'm going to summon a Demon Creature whom has the ability to read other people's skills through their aura."
"Hmm. And are all Demons Creature as intelligent as humans?"
"Yes. Most demons are at least as intelligent as humans if not more so. Many though, are focused on one thing. Some demons are highly specialized with math but can't read at all. You must recognize that Demons have their own culture also, they do things we don't and care about things we don't. For demons, intelligence and fighting skills dominate everything. Most don't do art, most don't dance, but they have etiquette. They don't believe in religion but they have a hierarchy similar to that of Britain in the fourteen hundreds."
Harry nodded slowly and watched as Harold drew another symbol.
"And do all summoning need these intricate summoning circles?"
"No. Only spirit summoning and Demon Creature summoning need these circles. And if you gain a partnership with a certain Creature demon you can sometimes summon them with only words or with a tattoo. Beast Demons need summoning designs also, but they can be small, the size of a paper slip even. These summoning circles are also just made of a mix of ancient runes and elemental runes."
"I never took ancient runes."
"And I won't teach you all of them. You only need specific ones. You only need the ones that describe the demon you wish to summon, the ones to help bind him to the earth, and the ones to connect your magic to."
"Do any tame them?"
"No and yes. That's the danger with summoning demons. You can't 'tame' demons. Beasts are like animals, the runes help you control them enough that some reason and logic can override their instinct. But they can still turn on you because they have such little mental function there is nothing for the magic to tame. Like how you can imperio humans but not animals.
Creatures however, can be controlled. Not tamed. Never tamed. They can threaten and act how they like unless you order them not to. Once you summon them they are under 'your web of control' and can not escape unless you either let them free or you are magically drained. If you somehow summon one strong enough to break your control, which is quite rare, they may or may not attack. You must understand that most demons don't much care for us at all. A good majority see regular people as annoying insects. Necromancers are only one step above. Sometimes we're even more hated because we can bind them to this world and control them. Always be wary of the demon you summon, even if under your control. Some in the past have found ways around the control to kill their summoner, though it is quite rare.
Loving the story so far? There's a whole world of magic and mystery waiting for you with over 85+ chapters still to come! By supporting my Patreon.
You not only get early access to new chapters but also exclusive content, behind-the-scenes insights, and special perks just for fans like you.
Join us on this enchanted journey and help shape the future of the tale. Your support makes all the difference—discover more and become part of the adventure today!
http//patreon.com/BLAKE025
(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~