"Wonderful," she grinned. "You'll do quite nicely." The wind and ink and whispers faded to a stop, leaving them in silence and darkness. She stood and began to calmly wave her wand to remove the ocean of blood from the ruined campground.
Harry coughed, the blood churning in his stomach. The rush of power and all of the intense emotions and adrenaline left him feeling nauseous and faint. In the corners of his vision, peering through the black expanse of trees, he saw, for a split second, a bone-white, skeletal face. Their mouthless jaw opened in a wide grin.
And then the poor kid promptly fell unconscious, landing face-first in the pool of blood.
The Freak In The Cupboard
Harry woke up the next morning on a plush, maroon couch, a soft pillow under his head. He curled up tighter into the warmth, the comfort unfamiliar and addicting to his small, battered body. Looking around, he saw that he was in a cluttered sitting room with a small fireplace and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.
"You're finally awake." He sat up, Alabasandria Adams stared back at him with her uncanny bright eyes, watching him from a lounge chair. "I didn't expect that to take so much out of you. You're weak - we'll have to fix that."
"I am not weak!" Harry complained even as his joints protested his movement.
"You are, but there is no shame in it. It is because of your poor upbringing, no doubt. You're malnourished. Before we get you healed, which will require the use of a wand, we'd better handle all the legal nonsense first. Having you listed as my apprentice legally will not only allow you your own wand, but it can grant me the same rights as a guardian. It is the safest option, for both of us."
"Safest how?"
"You seem quite worried I'm not going to feed you. As your master and guardian, I will be legally required to care for you. You would be free to sue me if my care is not adequate. This will also grant you the right to a wage once you turn fifteen. In addition, this will prevent any prying goody-two-shoes fools like Dumbledore from stealing you back. As well as preventing the Ministry from spying on us. They usually have a Trace to monitor underage wixen. Neither of us can afford that - in fact, I don't dare step foot in the Ministry at all. In exchange, you will not be allowed to share trade secrets and have a contractual agreement to finish your studies. Should you freely share the details of our work, then both of us risk prison at best and execution at next best, so keep your mouth shut.
Now, our ritual last night already covered most of that, but the Ministry doesn't accept blood rituals as proof of guardianship, and again, you seemed rather concerned I'm going to hit you."
Harry did feel more at ease knowing she was taking his care seriously. "You mentioned him yesterday, Dumbledore. Who is he?"
"Dumbledore is your previous magical guardian - at least that's what he's claimed publicly. He's kept all knowledge of you hush-hush since your parents were killed. He is the leader of the Light which is a whole thing I don't have time to get into - and will absolutely want you back under his clutches the second he realizes you aren't there. He's biased but considered generally a decent man - but that will disappear in an instant if he finds out you're performing the Dark Arts. He would kill both of us. He has a wealth of political power and influence. I'm planning on hiding you in plain sight. You'll likely have to go to Hogwarts -" she sighed. "I would have preferred Durmstrang but we must pick and choose our battles."
"My guardian? So he left me with the Dursleys," Harry grumbled.
"Correct. He won't have any legal grounds to take you, fear not. He also should have explained magic and the Voldemort debacle to you, but I digress. Now, we really should be going. I don't have a lot of food here, so the faster we do our business, the faster we can get you fed and healed."
They apparated - a terrible mode of transportation that left Harry feeling woozy and nauseous - to Diagon Alley where he ogled all the magical shops and items before they headed up to the bank. The master-apprenticeship contract was not very long and Adams had explained most of what went into it already. Alabasandria filled out a thick pile of parchmentwork with minimal input from him. He was being listed legally as a potions apprentice, which she assured him she was very good at and would also teach him. Harry was also thrilled to discover his parents had left him a vault full of money which they promptly used to buy him essentials like clothes, a mountain of magical equipment, and his very own magic wand!
Ollivander was creepy and made Harry try out wand after wand after wand until finally, he ended up with a holly and thestral hair wand - eleven inches and springy. Ollivander had been very interested in that choice, and it had taken Adams cold voice for the man to let the pair leave. Apparently, it was a rare combination, suited for people with his kind of spooky, illegal magic.
True to her word, Harry was fed (the most delicious roast beef sandwich ever) and showered and wearing proper clothes, feeling for the first time like a normal young boy. He took a very nice long nap on the couch as she went about conjuring another room upstairs for him.
He was feeling great. That was until it was time to start his necromancy lessons.