Chapter Text
For as long as I remember, I had the life of a stray dog.
Skinny, often hungry, unwelcome everywhere.
They eat scraps from trash.
Yes, I compared myself to them whenever I see them on the streets.
Difference was I have a roof over my head...but said roof is under the stairs, reeking strongly of chemicals for cleaning.
My clothes are too big, like caterpillar sheddings. Shoes too big.
Teachers noted the difference between us, but pretend not to see.
In school, I'm bullied a lot and nobody saves me, unless a teacher sees and yells at Dudley and his gang. But I pay the price when I get back.
My sole comfort was the school library. The Librarian notes that I hide there and from gossip, she knew. She did more for me than the teachers do.
So its my safe place. She became harsh on purpose with a cane from anyone else going in, but gives me sandwiches and a drink as long as I don't dirty the books at lunch break. My daily sandwiches, are thick slices of bread with spam and sauerkraut, and a juice pack with straw.
She the the first kindness I ever got from an adult...and she taught me things I should have known as a child. From what gossip she got, I clearly never got it. That I was born unlucky.
'Children sadly, cannot choose who they were born to. Sometimes they are born because they are wanted and loved. Sometimes, they are born because of foolishness of immature people not yet ready to be parents. How that came to be?'
Yeah, high school idiocy, drunk at bars and wake up next to a stranger and other incidences...I learned that when I was 8.
I was told all my life my parents are jobless bums who died in a car crash.
But Hagrid told me otherwise when I was 11.
Everyone around me sees it as an honorable sacrifice, and how these people see me, but I rather they lived.
And when I did right by a first friend yet it cost my dorm points? I'm suddenly the most hated person in school, treated worse than Ron, Hermione and Neville because of who I was. I knew what they mean about it.
And when we discovered about the stone, we tried telling McGonagall but she shooed us off. But as we tried to save the stone, I realized teachers knew...yet did nothing and made us kids do it for them.
And by the end of the year, I'm suddenly good to be with again.
I never trusted any adult in school after that.
Second Year, the Chamber of Secrets Incident. It was worse than first year after that one Dueling Class.
To spite McGonagall from last year, I quit Quidditch. I'm a pariah again anyway, it doesn't matter anymore.
I holed up in the library and stopped attending classes, and ignored all detentions. Hermione tried reasoning with me, and I shouted at her all I felt all my life, and yelled at her what I honestly felt while crying.
She was shocked at first and so was whoever was in the library as gossip spread, but she knew and understood unlike these morons. She who was a child of doctors(dentists but still), she knew I was traumatized and got no help from anyone. She was patient with me. Took Ron a lot longer to understand as he grew up in a good home and 'you have the emotional range of a teaspoon'- quoteth Hermione.
Yeah, it took Ron longer to understand.
Neville however, was quick on the pick-up as he too, grew up in a sucky home life just for 'nearly being a Squib' and how he 'almost shamed his parents' who were powerful Aurors. All his life, he and his perceived lackings were constantly compared and berated about it, that it took a toll on him. Hermione wound up their therapist, mailing her parents about it and she knew what to tell them in turn through them.
She eventually struggled in her faith in authorities because of them.
So I said, 'You struggle now because authorities in your area must have done what's good and right by kids as you grew up before knowing about Hogwarts. Yet adults here in magical side are useless and unhelpful. Its not bad to put trust and faith in anyone. The challenge is, who to give it to and they must be worth your trust and faith in.'
She understood me and would bring me a list of what to self-study in so I can catch up in the library.
Teachers tried approaching me again, this time, carefully. My response? Shoot. Madam Pince was horrified as I used fire.
Try to ban me from getting in? Dobby.
He offered to get me out of Hogwarts because of the danger his master wrought, but where would I go? I don't wanna go back to the Dursleys! I'd rather die. I hired him though, for stuff I needed. Letters that badmouth or berate me, redirected.
The library was and always will be, my safe space.
My favorite book, was a book written by Sabrina Preece back in the Library in my old primary. It was an autobiography about the adoptive grandma she admired, Emma Potter who owned her own farmland in Edwardian Era. That how she was the smartest and strongest woman she knew, and her ideas got them through two World Wars. Sabrina was the daughter of Emma's adoptive daughter Shirley Madison, and Edward Preece. Emma was also the teacher of her own family's children, being a former Schoolmistress---what they call lady teachers back then, and taught them a lot. Knowledge she deemed, important to get by in life. Eating healthy without spending past pennies. Crops that sell well among other things, etc.
Miss Emma was amazing. An amazing woman who was too savvy and smart, that she wound up the longest-living Victorian Woman, dying at age 99 in Elizabethan Era. What Emma did that nobody else did? She did not eat bread all her life sold anywhere in London, too too aware of Food Adulteration going on still uncaught as she lived. That people who all died before reaching 60, were all who ate adulterated bread from 'tainted flour'. Yikes. The only flour Emma trusted, was one she personally ground when she became a farmer, that she mixes with ground field beans that helped her family and farmhands. And she ate recipes she found in the Bible, but 'had to adjust from vague statements made' to make it palatable somehow.
Sabrina too, lived quite long. She was born the second child and second daughter of Shirley when she was 26. Quite the gap from her siblings. She was born after war ended, but going back to the city is a bad time still.
But farm life was better. They had all they needed at their farm, and Sabrina lived to modern times. In fact, she died when Harry was born, and that was because of a hereditary disease. She wrote the book days before she died in her hospital bed, just sad she didn't live to 99 like how her grandmother did. She apparently knew when death was near. Apparently if your body no longer seeks food and water, no longer feeling hunger and thirst, but your body will shut down one by one, you will feel it as you grow weaker. She hung on just to finish her book, and wrote her last will.
So the book was a recent publish.
Harry had repeated the book two times now?
And thanks to Wizarding Biology, he never forgets what he reads, sees and hears. He shared the book to Hermione who was over the moon due to her love for books and became worser than she was a Library Ghost like him.
But when students are getting petrified now, they did two things: ask if he was in the library, thinking he was doing the attacking and a very cross Madam Pince states he never left since he pitched tent in here no thanks to the whole school so he's innocent. Two, ask his help, but they get into bad luck...thanks to Dobby.
Apologizing to him never crossed their minds.
But one day, when Ron's sister was taken by the Chamber, he sought their help.
Teachers tried to ask Madam Pince to convince him to return to classes. Ohh she tried but Harry was firm in his stance. They tried to approach him but they 'end up into accidents'.
Dumbledore tried writing him a letter. Based on his outbursts, he had visited the Dursleys, and he was appalled. He had trusted they would do right by him, but there was a reason he put him with them---his mother's sacrificial magic. But as he despised them for his lifelong treatment as the magic relied on Love, it was rendered moot as they hated him and he hated them back. He would try another avenue, but 'please return to classes.' Closest thing to an apology he would get. He simply wrote back, 'The library teaches better and did more shelter for him.'
He only took action because it was Ron, and the Weasley adults were good to him and Hermione figured that its a Basilisk.
'Well, Slytherin's symbol is a snake. What else can it be but this? Hagrid's Roosters are getting killed is another hint. Because a Rooster's Crow is fatal to it.' she said. 'A direct glare gets you killed. Some students figured it out and looks at corners with a mirror so they won't die. Some ghosts took a direct hit in the case of Nearly-Headless Nick which was a close call for Finch-Fletchley who saw through him or he's dead based on their locations when they were found. I took to carrying a mirror too.'
'Why aren't the adults like, calling aurors for this?!' Ron was frustrated.
'Like I said, magical authorities are useless. Why bother counting on them for anything? I bet if you told your mum and dad, they'd come here wands blazing since its your sister. Speaking, why hasn't Percy or the twins mailed them about this?' Harry pointed out, causing Ron to swear and bolt out the library, yelling, 'I'm borrowing Hedwig!!'
'...guess we ask someone.' Harry decided upon standing up from the floor.
'Ask who?' Hermione asked him.
'Moaning Myrtle. She was a student when she died, so she's a more reliable choice.' Harry reasoned. 'Based on the uniform she wore, she was of Hagrid's generation. I read about Wizarding Fashions.' Hermione lit up. They were from the generation when Slytherin's Monster attacked!
'Good idea...but we'll go slow OK? We check every corner with mirrors!' Hermione hissed in reminder, so they did. It helps that no one was around, afraid of being the next. Only Ron was crazy enough to run off if only for Ginny.
But Harry also had a very dark idea.
If he was gonna be the Hero, it would be for people who actually cares for him.
But when he heard that, he knew where it's coming from, and yelled, 'RUN!' while taking the direct hit. Hermione, knowing her other friend all too well, knew what he had deliberately done and fled while crying, but she was petrified afterward. They were found meters away from the other...but Harry was Dead, Hermione was not.
Ron survived by being in the Owlery and got wind Harry died and Hermione petrified. He was horrified. 'They must've tried to follow me...oh my god!'
It's known by the whole school in a matter of minutes thanks to gossipy paintings. Nearby paintings revealed Harry shouted, 'Run!' at Hermione and deliberately shielded her with himself, while she ran in horror, but she was petrified when it came. The paintings had shut their eyes to save themselves, only opening when they felt safe. Sure enough, she was down. At least she was alive and curable later. Harry however...
After the Ministry interfered thanks to Ron's dad, it took days for Hermione to have her word and she was hysterical.
'I've been talking to Harry...I was his therapist thanks to books my parents send me because he's traumatized...he killed himself on purpose! He's suicidal! I realized in the way he moved! If he wasn't, he would have relied on the mirror like we planned, but he threw himself at it while yelling at me to run!!' she sobbed in grief. 'We were planning to talk to Moaning Myrtle because she was a student of 50 years ago, we wanted to ask her if she knew anything!'
The school was shut down, students sent home while the Ministry searched the whole school. Ginny was almost dead when found and they made Roosters crow in the Chamber of Secrets, she could not be revived no matter how they tried and there was a black book near her. Dobby finally screamed but not showing up, 'Destroy that book!' ...which was what saved her life. The aurors destroyed the book, that Ginny was saved from being drained dry of her magic by whoever caused the trouble.
Said troublemaker, was the magical talking diary left behind by Tom Riddle that she found in her cauldron after shopping...she thought it was a freebie diary...until she finds herself in places she doesn't remember going to...and found herself bloody with feathers and she heard someone killed Harry's roosters...she tried disposing of the book, but when she wakes, it was beside her next morning! And her blackouts were getting worse and she was getting weaker...she wished she had someone to turn to but when she tried, she gets 'the worst pain of her life'. Just by thinking about it, she gets cursed. She was afraid she would die a slave of the book she found in her cauldron in Diagon Alley.
When she got checked, she had Cruciatus symptoms! Her parents were hysterical in tears when they heard from the team who brought back Ginny. The brothers later found out how much Ginny suffered in her first year, unable to get help and all alone in her ordeal.
From a Cursed Book.
Owned by Tom Riddle.
Turns out, he was the Heir of Slytherin. The one responsible even from the grave. 50 years ago personally judging by how Moaning Myrtle died when she was finally asked which was the goal of Ron's friends, and 50 years later, through a student he enslaved and parasitized on through a cursed diary. There was a hunt for his belongings since, to prevent another Ginny Weasley Case. His Trophy in Hogwarts for 'Great Services'? Taken away and disposed of!
Harry who was a spirit, but not a ghost, saw the aftermath of it all. He refused to become a ghost and be stuck here. He simply stuck around to see what happens in the end.
"Too late to feel guilt by the whole school," he thought bitterly. He was given a grand funeral, buried alongside his parents in Godric's Hollow where their house still stood. He was buried with his favorite book that Hermione placed in his arms inside his coffin before it got closed. She got a copy somehow, that Harry appreciated.
"...if that night didn't happen, this would've been my hometown and I would have lived in this house. Nobody told me any of this." he thought as his coffin was laid down and buried. According to the Daily Prophet, he was a tragedy that should never have happened, had he been placed in a good home after his parents' death to begin with.
Ron spoke in the funeral.
'Harry told us what his life was like with the Dursleys...' he had great difficulty speaking, but braved through, to speak the truth about Harry. Harry then passed on, satisfied the truth about him is known, not the lies everyone believed in through fictional books. He was never spoiled nor had he lived an interesting life.
He died at age 12. Not even reaching 13.
"I thought that was the end of it...BUT!!"
He opened his eyes.
He's in a bedroom. Sparsely furnished but clearly meant for someone affluent...or so he thought.
He got off the bed but noticed three things at once by sensation.
He's sweaty, he's not wearing pajamas...but a night gown...and he felt he lacked something downstairs.
He gulped...and checked..."Bloody hell, why no underwear?!" and worst of all, he's a girl. He just knew. But he's never seen girl parts all his life, today was his first time seeing it!
"Or maybe because she's a toddler so bedwetting is an issue?"
Then memories flashed in his mind.
Memories of his new name.
Her new family.
The one teaching him errr her is 5th brother but tutoring had to be on hold because she got a high fever.
Then Harry is here.
He is her now, awake and fully conscious. This was not a case of his ghost going inside a dead body.
Moreover, this body has magic.
And her family is a noble family, but in fact, they're POOR.
The mansion is in a state of disrepair! No maintenance whatsoever at all.
Curtains worn-out. There's even attempts of stitching it back. But evidence its still damaged was that very stitching itself.
To sum it up, they're peasants with just a bigger house!
The bread was sandy somehow. The soup was just barely-saltwater with sparse scraps of vegetables.
"Good golly, even blue-collars in Victorian London ate better!!" she was horrified. What, was the reason bread is sandy when even she knew the proper texture of bread?!
She wanted to explore, when her new mother, Johanna came in. 'Wendy! Are you feeling better now?' she asked Wendy who nodded.
'I think so...I no longer feel bad.' her mother checked by putting her hand on her forehead before looking relieved.
'Thank goodness...but tomorrow you'll be back to tutoring under Erich, OK? Just incase.'
'Yes mom. Can I go walk around? It's boring in here.' Wendy complained.
'Oh, alright dear...but still, be careful alright? Take a bath first, it'll be bad to stay sweaty all day too, your fever might come back!' Johanna fretted before picking her up.
"So this is...concern...from a mother." it felt...warm.
Harry had longed for being loved and cared for.
Sure the Weasleys welcomed him in their house by Second Year, but it was hospitality from host to guest. It was the first time he could truly be just himself. Mrs. Weasley also magically re-sized his caterpillar sheddings he had to call a wardrobe that clothes and shoes finally fit him, and magically made brand-new.
Considering he was a library ghost, he studied Household Magic. There's even Cooking Magic! He figured magic that helps him fend for himself is more important than what's taught in class, because he sure as hell knows he won't learn anything with the Dursleys.
There was even a handy Herbology spell called 'Indiciplanta' and it displays the information of the plant in your mind. From time from seed or runner to full maturity, it's uses, how to bring out it's full benefits and magical properties if any. It was from latin 'indicia de planta' made by a clever witch in 1960s in France. There's even 'Indiciarei' that displays information on all items, and 'Informatentis' to know the information of a targeted being, be it human or creature. Age, health condition, etc...
Informatentis was also a Medical Spell to diagnose a patient. So he had Dobby get him books on Modern Magical Medicine, the best books with the most knowledge...and Dobby got it from China, thankfully translated! Comic books too, Betty and Veronica Dobby reckons was popular among muggles. Even Hermione was amazed he had some.
So she used the spell on herself and indeed, she was well, but 'malnourished'. She cast the spell on her mother but also malnourished.
"They can feel subtle magic like that, huh?"
Unknown to her, she was sensed by a beautiful blonde man in the forest...
After a bath, Wendy was free to explore.
It's a mansion alright, but clearly, befitting a Knight Family in size. It has three floors. Its front and backyard, just a lawn and some trees.
Her brothers gone for farm work and hunting.
'Mom, what do you do during the day?' Wendy asked her mother upon getting dressed into new clothes back in her room.
'Well, I manage the household, make clothes and mend household fabrics and securing enough food reserves for our domain to survive till next harvest.' said Johanna. 'Those are pretty much my jobs, and yours too when you marry someday.' she said. 'But cases vary.'
'Vary?'
'Yes...we're...poor. Most Knights are.' said Johanna softly. 'Because we are a Territorial Noble Family, we do not receive annual salary, and instead we are expected to generate income from working the land. Otherwise, had your father worked at the castle in the Royal Capital and we live there, we'd be a 1 gold plate per annum family.'
'So why do we live out here and why're we so poor?'
'It's like a gamble. Some who chose to be frontier lords strike it rich, some not. The Baumeister Family is among those who didn't.' said Johanna. 'We are the lowest of the low and answer to a superior we are assigned to. In this case, it's Duke Bleichroder. But there's a twist...'
'A twist?'
'Yes. We cannot just ship grain in dangerous roads where a monster attack might happen any time...so in exchange for no tax levies, we cut down monster species. But so far, it's your brothers doing it, but not Kurt who is the family heir working the farms with your father. Some monsters can be eaten, some not edible at all...but as long as monster populations are culled, it's OK. But your brothers would rather hunt monsters we can actually eat...'
"Yeah, if you'd deal with that sandy bread and 'fake soup' and pretend it's a feast, you'd go crazy too." Wendy thought wryly.
'At any rate, stay in the library for now Wendy. I don't feel confident that you're OK yet, so its best to have fun while still in one place. Erich proudly reports you're a quick study for a three year old.' Johanna chimed proudly. 'You'll do well in your future marriage one day. But still, I'll give easy books since you're not done yet with Vocabulary Training, you only got as far as Grammar and Proper Spelling!'
'Y-yes mother...' Wendy sweatdropped. "I wanted to see the kitchens!!"
The letters (in Japanese but she doesn't know that) are certainly otherworldly enough!
By sundown...
'Oh, here you are!' her 5th brother who's 13 this year popped in. 'Time for Dinner Wendy!' so Wendy got to picking up books with Erich helping her.
'Erich, you gonna teach me more words tomorrow?' Wendy asked Erich who placed the books back on the shelves for her.
'Of course. We're on a Time Crunch...so I have to squeeze in as much as possible.' said Erich, squirming. 'Because two years from now, the rest of us brothers must leave home to seek independence just to not be a threat to Kurt's standing as heir as our people prefer us over him.' he said. 'Hermann will stay because he's engaged to Marlene, the daughter of the late Junior Commander who died not long after you're born from an ill-fated, and pointless expedition.'
'...what event was that?'
'The former Duke Bleichroder took as much men as he could from his vassals, promised each a reward of five gold coins if they came, to help him find magical plants for mages in the capital to brew a potion for his gravely-ill son who's also his heir. Said sons, are furious by the way because it's a waste of precious manpower that Lord Daniel reportedly died in anger, leaving his unprepared brother, the guy we now answer to, to deal with the fallout. Because according to the letter we got from Lord Amadeus, they would rather use the men to aid in Palkenia Highlands Subjugation against Grade Grande, an Elder Earth Dragon so our people can gain immense farmlands so everyone's well-fed. Despite how things look, not all land in our empire is Arable.'
'But alas, the old Duke is stubborn that he along with the family Court Mage and 2000 men died a senseless death, including men from our village. Even worse, said Mage was the only strongest one our country has. The whole country mourned his senseless death. We understand the feelings of a father wanting his son and heir to live, but it's minuscule in the face of the greater picture...that it proved before his death, his son was indeed, ideal successor that he argued about Palkenia Highlands more. He died in anger anyway when he got wind his father left and he knew how it would end, as our domain is utterly hostile. And considering 5 gold coins per man?'
1 copper coin is one cent - the minimum baseline for everyday commerce; lower fractions do not exist.
1 copper plate is ten cents - standard pocket money, cheap meals, or basic day-to-day items.
1 silver coin is 100 cents - better quality groceries and others.
1 silver plate is 1000 cents - mid-tier purchases, purchasing basic adventurer gear, or minor trade.
1 gold coin is 10000 cents - significant transactions; high-end classy commerce, high-class adventurer's gear, enough materials to rent a classy hotel room for a family of four, ticket fare for Airship Flight and hard to get change for in normal shops.
She dare not even imagine what she can compare Gold Plates, Platinum Coins and Platinum Plates for. Considering the worth of cents here and products accessible, she could safely compare it to Victorian Farthing, Penny, Shilling, Crown and Pound!
Its not even worth comparing a gold plate to a guinea coin dammit! A guinea is too little for how much a gold plate gets you!!
Wendy tried computing before she gave up in defeat as Math wasn't her strong point. 'A crazy huge sum you can't even total, right? But the amount is an insane twenty million cents gone. Gone from Bleichroder Coffers and it's somewhere sitting uselessly in the woods now, impossible to retrieve when it could have gone to better use. And Lord Amadeus had to compensate ALL bereaved Families. For our village, he sends monthly goods we need, equivalent to the reward money all men would have gotten until it's all paid off.'
'Oh...then what about that magic book I found on the shelf?' Wendy asked him. 'The crystal is one thing, but the magic book we got is shockingly thin.'
'Well...magic users are rare, very rare. In terms of birth, it's like the chances of our family ever touching a platinum coin in our lifetime.' Erich stated blandly. 'Each family can buy a magic book for cheap as a just incase for generations later. But should one be born, a family will invest in that child to raise their family to greatness.' he said. 'Its also not hereditary. Mage marriages happened in the past, but alas.'
His answer? Wendy made the windows open and shut simply by pointing at it. Erich's eyes widened in shock.
He then looked grim. Very grim.
'Wendy...I'll have to be strict with lessons from now on...for your sake.' he said. 'I did say that a family will invest in that child to raise their family to greatness, correct?'
'Y-yeah?' Wendy got worried with her brother's tone now.
'Hide your talent Wendy. If father and Kurt gets wind of this, you'll be living conditionally from then on. Do this, you get this. You get me?' Wendy understood all too well, that she's as white as a ghost. She'll be exploited! 'I don't want that for you. Live life on your terms, not under conditions. Keep your magic secret, until you're old enough to not be under father's authority any longer.'
'Y-yeah...'
'Further, because it is in the state’s interest to identify people with the potential to become great magicians, the state bears the expense of publishing the books.' Erich continued. 'Mages are highly valued, especially for Expedition Missions to gain farmland and resources to feed a nation.' said Erich. 'But knowing our father and brother's personality, they'll just look at the present, but never the future ahead. You'll be wasted. We can trust mother and the other brothers with you.'
'Yeah...and maybe we can eat more meat before you guys leave home when Kurt and Hermann gets married?'
'That too. We're a convenient excuse to have lucky meat shots I guess!' Erich beamed at his thoughtful sister. 'Anyhow, dinner. I'll tell the brothers tomorrow, so we can begin later. Stuff like this, should be kept way out of earshot.'