Accidental Magic

Accidental Magic

Chapter Four:

The Guardian of Merlin

~*~*~*~

"What'd the old codger promise you? Magic?"

"Yes." Silence enveloped the two of them as they stood less than a meter away from each other. Petunia stole a glance at her nephew. His hands were fisted at his sides and despite the clenching of his jaw his bottom lip was quivering the way it did the morning he arrived at their house all those years ago.

"You selfish, hypocritical BITCH!" Harry's trunk blew open and all his belongings flew across the room, circling him like a hurricane. Spell books, quills, parchment and even his clothing flew hither and yon around the room. "HE PROMISED YOU MAGIC AND YOU TREATED ME WORSE THAN A FUCKING LEPER!" the objects swirling around Harry suddenly attacked Petunia. She raised her hands to her face as she was pummelled with heavy books, stabbed by sharpened quills, and whipped by trousers and robes. "HOW COULD YOU? HOW COULD YOU? IF YOU WANTED MAGIC SO GODDAMN BAD, YOU SURE FOOLED ME YOU TWO-FACED, VICIOUS OLD COW!"

Without a look back, Harry stormed out of his room, slamming the door behind him. Shaking from the preceding events, Petunia heard Harry scream at Vernon and call Dudley a rather nasty name before heading out the front door. Without thinking, she made her way out the door, down the stairs, past an ashen-looking Vernon and an astounded Dudley. The front door, she assumed, had been blasted open from Harry's magic and she ran down the street, trying to catch up to Harry. He turned sharply away from the house, his pace having slowed to a fast walk as he headed north. With energy she didn't know she possessed, Petunia took off in a run and quickly caught up with Harry and grabbed him by the arm.

"Harry...puh...please listen to me," she begged between pants of exhaustion. Harry whipped around to face her, his wand pointed at her throat.

"I wouldn't even care right now." Harry kept pointing his wand at her, a crazed look in his eye.

"Harry...put it down," Petunia cried.

"Why would I want to listen to anything else you want to say to me? You've treated me like rubbish nearly my whole life. Why shouldn't I make you feel some of the pain you've caused me?"

"Go ahead, if it will make you feel better. Go on," Petunia shot back at him. She raised her hands in surrender. "I'm a helpless Muggle staring down the business end of your wand, Harry. I can't possibly do anything to hurt you."

"Really?" An evil smile spread across his face. "It's a miracle I'm even sane after what you lot did to me," he barked. "You should be locked up in the Tower for that!"

"Harry, just calm down and be quiet!" Petunia shouted, surprising the both of them. Before she could continue, golden ropes wrapped around Harry's legs making him fall onto the sidewalk. He opened his mouth to scream at her but nothing came out. Petunia put her hands to her mouth, shocked that this happened again after so many years. She began violently shaking her head refusing to believe she had done what she did. Petunia fell to the ground next to Harry and tried to release the ropes around his ankles, wrists and arms.

"Can you release it without speaking?" Harry shook his head. He did, however, nod his head to the side, indicating his wand. "What do I do with it?" Harry rolled his eyes. "Think?" Harry nodded emphatically. "About what?" He opened and closed his mouth over and over. "You want to speak?" Again, he rolled his eyes and nodded again. "Well you don't need to get cheeky with me, young man!"

Petunia grasped his wand in her hands and closed her eyes, thinking 'Let Harry speak. Let Harry speak.'

"What the hell'd you do that for? Give me that!" Harry snatched his wand away from her. "How the hell am I supposed to get rid of this? I can't do magic outside school and I'm not seventeen yet!"

"Just do it, Harry," she ordered. "I doubt your government will worry about it with what's going on these days." Petunia watched as Harry muttered something and the golden bands dissolved.

"I need to tell you about the Rosewood Puzzlebox, Harry. Please come home, and we can talk about this." Her eyes begged him to follow her back down the street, her eyes never leaving his as she stood and held out a hand to him. With a sigh of disgust, Harry pushed aside her hand and hoisted himself up and he once again stood next to her.

"Could you put that away, Harry?" she asked, placing a hand on his wand. "I don't really trust you at the moment."

"Good. Start talking." Harry tucked his wand into the knife pocket of his cargo pants.

"What do you know about the Rosewood Puzzlebox?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he retorted. "I find it hard to believe you are telling me about the magical world."

"It's all in here, Harry." Petunia reached into her pocket and retrieved a well-worn parchment. "I've got it nearly memorized. It's the second letter he sent me."

"After the Dementor attack..."

"Yes. He referred to this letter," Petunia finished for him. "Here, read it. It explains everything." Petunia looked up to see they had walked all the way back home. Harry stared down at the letter and looked up to meet her eyes.

"Can I have a moment, please?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Oh of course." Petunia quietly walked into the house, leaving Harry to sit on the front steps and read the letter explaining his destiny.

~*~*~*~

Dear Mrs Dursley,

Thank you for accepting the Family Bonding Charm. Harry will be safe as long as he can call your residence home. Please raise him as your own. It's the least you can do for your sister.

There are some things you need to know about your nephew. He will grow to be a great wizard. He comes from a long line of wizards known as the Guardians of Merlin. While not all of us are direct descendants of Merlin himself, we all possess a great amount of magic. When Harry turns seventeen, he will become the Guardian of Merlin, thereby replacing me. This is why it is imperative that he remain safe with you until that time.

What does this mean for Harry?

In nearly sixteen years, Harry will receive a very special box, the Rosewood Puzzle Box. This box was a gift from King Arthur to Merlin. Merlin felt it was necessary to pass down knowledge from one generation to another so he placed a copy of his knowledge into the box and set about to find a worthy Guardian for that knowledge. As the centuries passed, there have been great wizards in each generation named as Guardians. I was notified of Harry's selection at his birth, the same way it had been done for eons. I had to wait a long time for my replacement. Harry will receive the combined knowledge of every Guardian since Merlin. This knowledge will allow him to defeat Lord Voldemort. Even though he has disappeared, I am positive he is not completely gone. I knew Voldemort as a young man, and he was obsessed with immortality and surely would not allow a mere child of one to defeat him. I believe Harry's selection as Guardian combined with his mother's sacrifice is what allowed Harry to reflect the Killing Curse onto the Dark wizard.

From speaking with your sister Lily over the years, she made it known to me that you had a wish to join her here at Hogwarts. Your relationship had been strained in recent years due to her magic, she told me, and for keeping Harry safe, that is what you shall receive.

You will receive your own gift on Harry's seventeenth birthday, and should you choose to accept it, you will have partial magic. You will be able to do household charms, cooking charms as well as healing charms. The only thing that will be required is a meeting with Filius Flitwick, Charms professor at Hogwarts.

Remember, Harry must be able to call your house home until he turns seventeen.

Your servant,

Albus PWB Dumbledore