HP: Boundless Wizardry - Chapter 4 (Patreon)

Harry Potter - Boundless Wizardry

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters in the story are consenting adults over 18 years of age.

Chapter 4 - Skill Creation

Vernon Dursley sat back in his armchair, the evening paper folded neatly on the side table. His moustache twitched as a wide grin spread across his face. “Petunia,” he said, voice full of barely contained glee, “can you believe it? Tomorrow. Tomorrow we’re finally rid of him.”

Petunia turned from the window, where she’d been fussing with the curtains. Her thin lips curved into a smile. “I know, Vernon. I’ve been counting the days ever since he dragged his trunk back here. Eighteen at last. No more responsibility.”

Vernon chuckled, a deep, satisfied rumble. “No more blasted letters from those… people, either. No more screeching from that ruddy Owl! We’ve done our duty. Kept him clothed, fed—more than he deserved, if you ask me.” He slapped the armrest for emphasis. “And tomorrow morning, out he goes. Out!”

Petunia’s eyes gleamed with a strange mix of triumph and relief. “Shouldn’t we tell him so he can pack? No reason for him to linger.”

“No! Or he will contact his freakish Friends to stay with them, or even that fumbledore or whatever his bloody name is! A few days on the Streets where he belongs will do him well!” Vernon denied with a malveolent glint in his eyes.

Petunia gave a sharp, pleased nod. “Imagine it, Vernon. No more odd looks from the neighbors, no more worrying he’ll bring… trouble to our doorstep. We’ll be a normal family again.”

“Normal!” Vernon barked a laugh. “Dudley will be delighted, too. No more sharing the house with that freak.”

For a moment they simply sat in silence, basking in their shared anticipation. Vernon leaned back, moustache twitching once more. “Tomorrow, Petunia. Tomorrow, the Dursleys are finally free.”

Neither of them noticed the small grey Rat in the Pantry listening in on every Word they said with an unusual intelligent look. Suddenly it shuddered before it returned to nibbling on the Food stored in the Pantry, at the same time Harry opened his eyes in his Bedroom on the Second Floor.

This was his Skill Skinchanger, that he had downloaded from Arya Stark because he can’t use Download twice in a row on a Character from the same Universe.

The Skills he was mainly aiming for, require at least two different Skills to be usable. So he had to make two Downloads.

Since he didn’t want to wait too long for it to finish, but didn’t want to waste a Download on something completely trash, he had decided to go for something useful from a Universe where Characters were generally around the normal Human Level.

Skinchanger from one of the Starks was perfect and the Download had been done in less a day. An useful and versatile Skill, perfect for spying.

[ Skinchanger (Active / Passive) ] (Lvl: 32 (Apprentice))

[ The ancient ability to enter the mind of a beast and control its body. The stronger the bond with the creature, the easier the transition and the longer the control can be maintained. ]

[ Passive Effects:

- Increases affinity with animals by +32%.

- Animal Bonds 0/2

- Heightened senses when near bonded beasts.

- Resistance to mental interference when sharing a bond. ]

On the Novice Rank he mostly had only been able to command Animals in his Vision with his Mind, slowly transcending to feeling their Presence and commanding them outside of his Sight.

Taking them over with his Mind, sharing his Senses he only managed while Dreaming. That changed once he reached the Apprentice Rank. It was at least on piece of ‘Magic’ he could practice while staying witht the Dursleys.

Even if his time with them was seemingly coming to an end. They had expected to catch him off guard with their sudden announcement tommorrow on his Birthday.

Unfortunately for them, thanks to his Skinchanger practice, he had learned about their Plans a while ago. His Trunk was already packed with his things, and he was ready to leave with a Plan.

It wasn’t that hard, even if they only talked about it when he was not close by. That had been their constant topic this Summer, as if they hadn’t anything better to do than to plan how to harm him.

Not that he really cared.

But they were right. Tommorow was July 31st, his eighteenth Birthday. They were no longer legally obligated to take care of him. Something he hadn’t considered with the different changes to the Canon Timeline.

He had simply accepted the Age change since other things seemed more important and didn’t think about the implications.

Starting Hogwarts at 15 changed several things. Like the Age Restriction of the Triwizard Tournament, his Blood Wards, the Trace and so on.

For now his main concern was where he would be staying. Which was easy. Harry already had planned his next moves.

The Leaky Cauldron was cheap enough to stay over the Summers, and in Hogwarts he wouldn’t have to worry.

Altough he would prefer his own Place, and would definetly check in with the Goblins about his Finances.

Until his Eighteenth Birthday he would have to stay here either way, and focused on training, the new Knowledge he got and practicing Warging, while waiting for the Second Skill he wanted to finish.

Altough from time to time he wondered what Dumbledore was thinking. His Bloodwards would be gone in a Day and there has been no Message or sign of the Headmaster.

Had he forgotten?

Not like Harry cared about them, he had already taken care of the Horcrux and his connection to Voldemort with massive benefits to himself.

Even over a Month later Harry couldn’t believe how well his Plan had worked. Not only did he recieve the full Knowledge of Voldemort, a Wizard recognized as the most powerful dark Lord of all time, but [ Degenerate ] allowed him to get completely rid of his biggest Problem afterward.

Once he had been done recovering from the sudden influx of over 50 Years worth of Memories, he hadn’t waited long and separated the now ‘Braindead’ remains of the Horcrux from his Body, putting it into an old Toy Car that had belonged to Dudley, and was now part of the pile of Old Toys sitting on one side of Harry’s Bedroom.

The Horcrux was now hidden in one of Uncle Vernon’s Old Socks, in Harry’s Trunk, until Harry had the means to destroy it or maybe even find a better use for it.

It’s still a piece of a Soul, not something you can get easily your Hands on. Could be a Valuable Ingredient.

While the Horcrux was gone, his Ability to speak Parseltongue remained, confirming his Theory that he didn’t get it from the Horcrux.

His Horcrux Perk was now completely gone, which meant he had no longer a connection to Voldemort, which also meant Harry could no longer rely on that to spy on the Dark Lord. Which will have several future implications, but with Canon off rails from the start, why should he rely on it.

With the Horcrux gone, it’s negative effects were now also gone, improving his general Health. Altough unlike many Fanfiction of his old Life, his Eyesight didn’t improve, he still had to wear his Glasses.

But he decided to get an nice new Pair before he started at Hogwarts. Something more modern.

All the training and studying he did, plus the removal of the Horcrux had improved his Stats a bit. He wasn’t sure if his work would have been as effective if he hadn’t a System, but he wouldn’t complain. A total increase of 19 Stat Points was over 6 Years worth of Original Harry’s growth.

{ Name: Harry J. Potter }

{ Race: Human (Magical) }

{ Strength: 10}

{ Dexterity: 16 }

{ Vitality: 12 }

{ Intelligence: 14 }

{ Wisdom: 10 }

{ Charisma: 11 }

It wasn’t even the biggest improvement he got since he woke up in this Body. That came thanks to absorbing all of Voldemort’s Knowledge, in the form of his Magical Skills.

[ Alchemy (Passive) ] (Lvl: 88 (Expert))

[ Arithmancy (Passive) ] (Lvl: 101 (Master))

[ Astronomy (Passive) ] (Lvl: 104 (Master))

[ Broom Mastery (Passive) ] (Lvl: 55 (Adept))

[ Charms (Active / Passive) ] (Lvl: 93 (Expert))

[ Dark Arts (Active / Passive) ] (Lvl: 108 (Master))

[ Defense against the Dark Arts (Active / Passive) ] (Lvl: 95 (Expert))

[ Divination (Active / Passive) ] (Lvl: 92 (Expert))

[ Duelling (Active / Passive) ] (Lvl: 85 (Expert))

[ Enchanting (Active / Passive) ] (Lvl: 87 (Expert))

[ Herbology (Passive) ] (Lvl: 102 (Master))

[ Magical Lore (Passive) ] (Lvl: 119 (Master))

[ Magical Creatures (Passive) ] (Lvl: 101 (Master))

[ Mind Arts (Active / Passive) ] (Lvl: 95 (Expert))

[ Potions (Passive) ] (Lvl: 99 (Expert))

[ Rituals (Active / Passive) ] (Lvl: 98 (Expert))

[ Runes (Active / Passive) ] (Lvl: 99 (Expert))

[ Spell Creation (Active / Passive) ] (Lvl: 91 (Expert))

[ Transfiguration (Active / Passive) ] (Lvl: 89 (Expert))

History of Magic has turned into Magical Lore, because Voldemort long since broke away from the confines of the Wizarding World and it’s limited Wizard History, having studied Lore about Magic all over the World.

The World was a lot bigger than Harry had assumed, there were many more Magical or rather Supernatural Societies out there. Voldemort personally had confirmed the existence of Devils, having summoned one of them. He summoned Lucifer himself, but the Devil was fortunately for the Wizarding World unwilling to make a Deal with the Dark Lord, and never responded to any of his Summons after the first succesful one.

In fact afterwards none of the Devil Summoning Rituals Voldemort tried had worked.

He also found traces of several Pantheons like the Norse, Egyptian, Aztec, Greek, Roman and so on. Hinting on the actual existence of Gods in this world.

Now that he had the knowledge of how massive the World truly was, Harry’s urgency to become stronger had grown by several folds.

Luckily by absorbing Voldemorts he made a massive step forward, alone the theoretical Knowledge improved his Skill Levels for most Magical Fields to the Expert Rank.

Alone the Mind Arts were extremely helpful while practicing his Skinchanger Skill, allowing him to protect his Mind from the Animal Influence. Usually a risk a Skinchanger had to live with.

He also unlocked two new Skills with [ Spell Creation ] and [ Enchanting ], fields that usually only get studied during apperenticeships after Hogwarts.

The only reason they hadn’t reached Master Rank with all his Wizarding World Skills, and only the mostly theoretical fields had made the leap, is because he lacked the actual practical Training. His Body still needed to learn how to cast Spells.

Which was hard while the Trace was in place.

Unfortunately, since Hogwarts started at 15, the Laws of this Wizarding World were a bit different too. The Trace remains in place until a Student has completed his O.W.L’s in all Wand wielding disciplines.

Thanks to Voldemort’s Memories Harry knew exactly how to remove the Trace and where on him it was placed.

But it didn’t mean that he could simply remove it. In fact Voldemort isn’t even that Special in figuring out how to remove it. There have been several Students before him who managed that.

It was even possible to break the Charm accidentally.

Of course the Ministry of Magic wasn’t that stupid, the Students get checked for the Trace every Year on the Hogwarts Express where it also gets applied or reapplied. That’s the main Reason why Parents couldn’t simply Apparate their Children to Hogwarts.

If your Trace has to be reapplied once, no Problem, it could have broken for some reason. But should you lack it once again next Year, then it would call for an investigation. Removing the Trace didn’t meant you had a free Pass, if you board the Hogwarts Express without it, the Ministry will know.

That’s the real Problem in removing it.

Even Voldemort did it only once.

But Harry had a different approach, with [ Degenerate ] he could Transfer the Trace temporarily into an Object and leave it somewhere, and replace it on himself before the School Year starts, allowing him to use Magic this and the next Summer before the Trace would be legally gone either way!

It would still detect Magic while he was close by, making practicing it at the Dursley’s impossible. But in a few Hours he would be gone either way.

Now all he was waiting for was to complete his next Download so he could get the second Skill he needed to Snowball the shit out of his Abilities.

Based on how long it took the first time to Download this Character, it should be finished every moment.

[ Download complete! ]

[ Template - Noir Stardia - Age 16 ]

[ Perks: ]

[ Harem Protagonist ]

[ Ladies Luck ]

[ Normal Libido ]

[ … ]

[ Skills: ]

[ Great Sage ]

[ Get Creative ]

[ Bestow ]

[ Editor ]

[ LP Conversion ]

[ Discerning Eye ]

[ … ]

‘The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter’ while not the greatest Series or most powerful fictional Universe, gave it’s Main Character Noir Stardia some of the most broken Skills in a different Setting.

Having already downloaded Noir’s Template before, and checked out the Skills, Harry couldn’t help himself and take another closer look at them, even tough he already owned one of them and knew exactly which one he would take next.

[ Harem Protagonist ]

[ Destiny smiles on your love life. The opposite sex is instinctively drawn to you, and members of your harem feel no serious jealousy or rivalry—sharing you comes naturally. ]

[ Ladies Luck ]

[ Your charm is backed by uncanny fortune. Social encounters with women tend to end in your favor, and new romantic opportunities arise with ease. ]

[ Normal Libido ]

[ You’re perfectly balanced—not a monk, not a beast. You are also resistant to most lust-based influences. ]

These Perks alone were already interesting, something one would expect from an Fantasy / Harem Light Novel Series. No wonder Noir is surrounded by Beauties, but is pretty much one of the few Characters who actually act normal towards Girls in that Series, most others in there are complete Perverts.

It’s one of the stranger Light Novel Series Harry read in his past Life. Felt a lot like a Wish Fullfillment Story, while the Male Background Characters reflect the Authors true Character.

Not really a Series he enjoyed, but these Skills were worth having read it.

[ Great Sage ]

[ Instantly acquire knowledge on any subject—even those unknown to the world. In exchange, suffer an excruciating, mind-splitting headache with each use. ]

[ Get Creative ]

[ You can freely create new skills by spending LP (Life Points). The cost varies with the skill’s power and complexity—unique or original skills demand a far higher price. ]

[ Bestow ]

[ Transfer your skills to other people or objects by spending LP. The cost depends on both the chosen skill and the target. ]

[ Editor ]

[ Modify the properties of anyone or anything including Skill Proficency. LP cost varies based on the complexity of the changes. ]

[ LP Conversion ]

[ Restore LP by indulging in actions tied to the Seven Sins. Examples include:

- Enjoying a truly delicious meal.

- Engaging in intimate activities with the opposite sex.

- Satisfying monetary or material desires.

- Fulfilling other personal desires, including the prosperity of your descendants. ]

[ Discerning Eye ]

[ Reveal detailed information about any living creature or object. ]

These were an insane set of Abilities, with [ Editor ] and enough LP he could simply erase knowledge from other People. Just imagine Voldemort loosing all his Knowledge about the Dark Arts!

With [ Bestow ] and [ Get Creative ] he could simply add negative Effects to other People. For example Noir used it on one of the Heroines to give her the Skill ‘Small Boobs’, because she complained about Backpain from the weight.

He could literally manipulate the reality of other People and Objects with these Skills.

And [ Get Creative ] can create any Skill he wants as long as he could imagine it and pay the LP cost. While the Powerscale in ‘The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter’ is low, the Skills of Noir are insane.

While he was limited by his World View, Harry who had spent another Life consuming all kinds of Fictional Works, had a far broader perspective.

[ Get Creative ] was another great Source of Skills for him. [ Download ] would cover the Powerful stuff that cost a lot LP, while [ Get Creative ] would fill in the blanks.

Of course he first needed a way to generate LP. That’s why he needed two Downloads to get this started, over two Weeks ago he gotten [ LP Conversion ] and started gathering LP while enjoying the Meals Dobby cooked for him.

[ Editor ] and [ Bestow ] would be useful too, but for now [ Degenerate ] could cover that part.

[ Unique Skill acquired! ]

[ Get Creative (Active) ]

This time there was no great effect on his Soul like with an Unique Skill from the Tensura Universe, instead he simply felt the presence of the new Skill in his Mind.

He decided to activate the Skill to check on the amount of LP he currently had, while [ LP Conversion ] generates LP by induldging, he never had been able to tell how much he got.

[ Current LP: 2340 ]

Not bad for a start. While [ LP Conversion ] had diminishing returns by repeatedly induldging in the same thing, Harry had still collected quite a bit in the weeks since he gained that Skill.

Now to test it out. He send his toughts towards [ Get Creative ] while remembering Shizu’s Skill.

[ Flame Manipulation ]

[ Enables the user to control the shape and properties of existing flames, as well as regulate their own internal body temperature. While it cannot directly create fire, the user can raise and focus their body heat to ignite flammable materials. This skill allows flames to be wrapped around objects or targets, and the heat can be intensified far beyond natural limits. ]

[ Cost: 12000 LP ]

‘Holy shit? What’s with that Price? Aren’t Skills that already exist supposed to be cheaper?’ Harry gulped as he read the number. But then he remembered that while the Skill Creation Costs in the Series were kinda arbitrary, a single Elemental Attack alone cost several hundred LP.

[ Flame Manipulation ] is most of the Fire Type Attack Skills combined into one. So it made Sense that it cost 50 to a 100 times more than a single attack type Skill.

To confirm he tought about a different Skill.

[ Fireball ]

[ Creates a Hand Sized Ball of Fire that can be shot towards a Target in a moderate Speed with an effective range of 10 Meters. ]

[ Cost: 650 LP ]

Yeah, that made sense.

For now he decided to not purchase a Skill, after all an simple overcharged Incendio was similar enough. Saving up his LP for better Skills or an emergency was wiser.

Instead he choose to think about his next Download, while resting. After all he planned at point Midnight to get out of here. It wouldn’t do if he was exhausted.

He had gotten several supportive Skills that would secure his Growth, with [ Degenerate ], [ Get Creative ] and [ LP Conversion ], plus a scouting Ability with [ Skinchanger ].

Now something to cover his Offense, Defense and Movement should be useful. His Wizarding Magic covers a lot of that, but it was traceable in several Ways by other Witches and Wizards. Be it trough the Trace or other Detection Charms.

A few non Wizarding Options would be nice.

Then he got an Idea, why would he need to fight if he could simply get something allowing him to run first! For now survival was the most important goal.

As long that was secured, he could grow indefinetly.

Having made his selection he once again returned to practicing his Skinchanging while keeping an eye out on the surroundings.