The Rise of Hufflepuff

by Gman85

Summary:

Harry is kicked out by the Dursleys at the age of 8. A teenage boy with a large sword on his back named Jett finds him and takes him under his wing. From then on, Harry lives with a group of those who slipped through the cracks of society called the Street Knights. Their motto is: Loyalty to those who deserve it. What will Hogwarts be like for a Harry who has a very different background?

Years complete: 1 and 2. Year in progress: 3

This is an uncensored version of the story. The "censored" version is going on FF net.

Chapter 1: The Meaning to a Prophecy

Notes:

I am trying something completely different for me with this story. Hopefully it works, but there will probably be a lot of mistakes and such. It probably won’t be very realistic either. Very romanticized and such, but this is fiction so that is allowed.

 

Warnings: There are mentions of child abuse and to an extent attempted rape, but they are not main themes of the story. I didn’t feel the need to include them as main story tags.

 

This story will eventually have explicit sex and such, but it will take some time. I will be adding appropriate tags when they are needed. This story will have more plot than my other multi-chapter story here. It will also have powerful Harry soon enough and he will be a lot more confident in himself. He will be different from Canon Harry.

Prophecy…

Prophecy was something powerful and really really dumb at the same time. Prophecies were always very vague in their wording and many times could mean anything. One prophecy talked about a great burning of books in the hidden alley and many would be engulfed by it. It turned out to be a “fire sale” on books at Flourish and Blotts and many people were eager to buy their books, especially the ones for Hogwarts that year.

This was not the only prophecy to be as such. Yet the Wizarding world still put much stock in prophecy. They even made an entire part of the Ministry with the sole purpose of collecting recordings of every prophecy witnessed.

There was one prophecy in particular that was very important to their world.

“The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…”

This prophecy was important. However, the one who witnessed the full prophecy didn’t fully interpret it correctly. He was also very wise and old and powerful. Thus, he didn’t dare think he was wrong in his interpretation and he chose to meddle, so his no-doubt correct version of the prophecy would come to pass. He was sure the power the dark lord knows not was the capacity to love.

He was partially correct…

However, the wise Hogwarts Headmaster made at least one mistake. He assumed it was just one power the prophecy spoke of, and failed to realize anything the boy marked by the scar had and did not share with Voldemort could technically be power the dark lord knows not.

Dumbledore still put things in to motion that he believed would help bring about the end he desired. The end of Voldemort. The headmaster hoped Harry would survive, but if he did not, so long as Voldemort was defeated it was still best for the greater good. One point in the old man’s favor is that he felt that same way about his own life and had for many years. He at least did not expect more from others than he expected of himself.

In the case of Harry Potter, he would have multiple powers including the so-called power of “capacity to love”. In the wording of the prophecy, power didn’t refer to something singularly. He would have a thirst for knowledge and the acumen to get that knowledge and understand it. He would know how to fight and protect himself. He would have many people there for him as followers, lovers, or family though not by blood. Some would be called to him by his magic, which was an aspect few realized existed. His magic core would also be extremely potent, even more so than it already was. He would come to understand how to read people and guide them. Harry would have connections and a network even he would not fully realize until after starting Hogwarts. He would have something even more than that, creativity.

[-] [-] [-]

The wizened Headmaster shook his head at the disagreement he had with his respected Deputy Headmistress. She did not realize this was for the best. Harry should not be surrounded by the fame he would have in the wizarding world. It would be too much for the boy and he would either step away from society or be corrupted by it through arrogance. No, Professor Dumbledore was sure a muggle home would be best for the boy.

With those last thoughts, Albus Dumbledore placed a brief note explaining everything and then left after a single light knock on the door. He started humming to himself as he thought on which parties he wanted to visit before calling it a night. The next few weeks would be very busy for him on top of his duties as Headmaster at Hogwarts. He should enjoy himself a little before all of that came to pass.

Dumbledore again was partially correct in leaving Harry Potter in the Muggle world…

Perhaps in some universe Harry would grow up with the Dursleys despite how terrible they were and once things were over everyone would seemingly decide they were gay and just didn’t realize it. He could even grow up with a loving family of sorts in some worlds. Perhaps in another world Harry would grow extremely powerful and become a Dark Lord himself that the wizarding world sadly needed to kick their butts into gear. Other worlds could have the boy meeting ninjas and jedi and gods and superheroes!

In this world however, Harry Potter would live with the Dursleys for a time before they kicked him out at the age of eight. He would then meet a unique and wise beyond his years teenage boy of 15 who was known as Jett. This boy would give Harry a family of others who have fallen through the cracks of society. Jett would be the one to first lead Harry Potter down his road to greatness and as a result the house at Hogwarts often looked down upon would rise as well. “The house for all the rest” would show that they actually were far more formidable than the others and not to be underestimated again.

[-] [-] [-]

A small boy of nine years old with messy black hair and vivid green eyes currently glowing with anger and power again threw a kick. “Owww!” cried the fat pig like lump in front of him on the ground. Harry got down and punched the kid in his gut hard. The boy’s ‘friends’ were either laying down too hurt and scared to get back up, or they had already fled the scene not daring to tell anyone what happened.

The excessively fat boy currently getting hit and laying on the ground, was in fact the messy haired boy’s cousin though it had been just over a year since they last saw each other. That was when Harry was living with his aunt and uncle and their son. Living in a small dark cupboard with just a cot and a single ratty old sheet as bedding. That was when he was forced to eat little more than scraps of food that his pig of a cousin didn’t want. Back when he was treated as little more than a nuisance, his aunt and uncle treated him as a slave while always complaining about how useless he was.

It didn’t matter to them that he did pretty much everything the family needed to get through the day. He cooked all of their meals for them. He cleaned most of the house just so his aunt could then complain about how terrible he did and re-clean everything in little to no time. He was the one who tended their prized garden unless Aunt Petunia wanted an excuse to eavesdrop on neighbors. He did their laundry as well, except for Aunt Petunia’s. She claimed he was too young and foul to dare touch her laundry.

“Harry,” a calm voice said to the boy as he stopped mid kick.

Harry looked up and asked, “Yes, Boss?”

“Rage and anger are emotions. Like all emotions they can be tools and they should be worked through somehow. They shouldn’t be fully ignored. However… Look down,” Harry’s boss, a boy of now sixteen years old, said to him.

Harry looked down and his eyes widened. His cousin was a bloody mess and crying. Harry took a step back. “They should not control us,” his boss said to him after a moment.

Harry narrowed his eyes in thought as he nodded in understanding. They were here to teach Dudley a lesson, or so Harry thought. It seemed there was more to it than that though. Harry fully realized this lesson, because he was usually rather calm himself and very smart. He was not the type to get carried away like this. The anger at seeing his cousin again just raged on after it started.

The sixteen-year-old boy came over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Their allure is strong, but they can lead us to do things we regret later,” he said to Harry.

“I went too far… Sorry boss…” Harry said as he lowered his head in shame.

“That was part of this lesson. You needed to feel it and see what would happen. The fat lump and his friends will live. But this lesson needed to be learned now so you wouldn’t go too far later on when you are even stronger and the results would be too damaging,” Jett said.

“This… was for a lesson?” the pig like boy asked through his sniffles.

“Yes, it was. You also had it coming the way you were and are,” Jett said.

“I-I-I’ll tell on you!!” Dudley threatened.

Jett let out a dark chuckle. “Then what would everyone think of the Big Bad Double D? What would they think if Double D went home crying to mommy and daddy or cried to a teacher? Your reputation would be ruined completely. We’ll be leaving now and you most likely well never hear from us again. You and your ‘gang’ can even brag and carry on about how everyone should all see the other guys,” he said as he placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder again and guided him away.

When they were out of earshot, Harry asked, “What is the other part of this lesson?”

“It was so you would realize the Dursleys, especially Dudley, no longer have power over you. I don’t usually encourage this kind of a lesson or behavior, but you are an exception in this case. Everyone has usually one exception. That’s just how our group is. You know I’ve known about your nightmares and the way you wake up sometimes. This was to help with that as well,” Jett said.

“Boss, I appreciate it,” Harry said.

“You know you can call me Jett, especially when we don’t need to worry about our identities,” Jett said.

“You are the leader of the Street Knights. Even the adults in our group know this,” Harry said.

“True enough. Maybe one day you and some of the other members will call me Jett when we’re in private at least,” he said in reply.

“Maybe…” Harry said with a chuckle. There were many he knew would never call Jett by his name. They, like Harry, would probably always call their leader Boss as a term of respect and endearment.

The Street Knights were a group Jett started when he was 13. You could easily call them a gang and be right. They weren’t a criminal gang though, even if not everything they did was wholly legal. They were a group of kids, teens, and a few adults that were left behind by society. Jett was exceptionally smart for his age and started gathering others like him who were forgotten or tossed aside. The Street Knights were a family. They were also sort of protectors of their part of the city that the government didn’t bother with and probably never would. However, as Jett always said, that didn’t mean they had to be full on criminals and live in complete squalor.

Jett was a young tanned man with dark brown hair and hazel colored eyes. He was tall and muscular. He usually carried around a large sword on his back. It was an odd weapon to have in this day and age, but he was exceptional with it. He could wield the thing in a way that was more reminiscent of an action movie or an anime. He made sure his people knew his capabilities were an exception and not a rule. He would not have them doing something foolish and get themselves hurt trying to get into gun fights or something with just their fists or a knife.

Whenever anyone asked him where he got the sword, that literally no one else could use, he would give a laugh and say, “Why a wizard of course! Why else do you think this thing is so unrealistically big? Why else do you think I am so talented with it?”

No one really believed him. They would usually laugh and say, “Alright! Keep your secrets regarding the sword, Boss. Everyone has their own secrets they keep.” The Knights were allowed their secrets and privacy so long as it was not a danger to themselves or others. Those secrets needed to be shared so Jett and the others could help that person find a solution. That was how the Street Knights were. Society tossed them away, so they would solve their own problems the best way possible, even if it was in a manner frowned upon by others.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry and Jett were almost to their home. The Street Knights’ base was an old warehouse and manufacturing compound. It, like the Knights, was tossed aside and forgotten. Most of them lived inside the main warehouse in their own home area of sorts. They used the compound’s yards for growing food and other produce along with a source for water through a set up that caught rain and filtered it.

They also were lucky in that they had running water, plumbing and even electricity. They kept their uses of these things to a minimum so as to not draw too much attention to themselves, but they still had plenty of liberty in using the amenities. Jett and the Knights had quickly formed connections with the right people to assure of this.

Harry and Jett entered the main warehouse and were quickly greeted, “Heya, Boss! Heya, Harry!”

“Hello Davey,” they greeted in return.

Davey was actually a girl of eleven years old. She had curly bright blonde hair and blue eyes. She also was usually very cheerful, especially around Harry and Jett. Harry knew she actually had a crush on Jett. Jett didn’t have a crush on her, but Davey wasn’t spurned by this. She would say in five years he would notice her and it wouldn’t be as weird for them.

“So. What did you two get up to?” Davey asked with a bright smile.

“Harry needed to learn an important lesson. We’re back now,” Jett said.

“I’ve learned the lesson. Thank you again, Boss,” Harry replied as he bowed his head slightly in thanks.

“That’s good! I was planning on cooking Spaghetti and Meatballs tonight for us? Is that okay?” she asked with a bright smile.

“That sounds wonderful actually. What do you say, Harry?” Jett asked.

“When would I ever say no to Davey’s cooking?” Harry said shooting them both a grin.

“Dawww…” Davey said before giving him a quick hug. “This is why you’re my favorite little guy!”

Davey wasn’t a girl who had problems with being a girl, as the name she used would suggest. She actually liked wearing feminine clothes and loved things like fashion, cooking, and didn’t mind cleaning either. She also loved cute things. She sort of adopted Harry and Jett as her closest family in many ways. They did stay near each other after all. It was also because she felt Harry and Jett were the ones who saved her. Jett in particular as the leader.

Her parents who gave her the ridiculous and most likely made name of Davella tried to raise her on their own, but eventually dropped her off at an orphanage. She hated the name they gave her and instead went by Davey. She hadn’t completely been opposed to her life at the orphanage during that time. She even ended up in the foster system and was with a couple of families.

Sadly, the one in charge of her in the Foster care system was corrupt and perfectly willing to essentially sell those under his watch. He was recently discovered and thrown in prison, but it was already too late for her by the time that happened. It was in fact the Street Knights who helped with him being discovered for what he did.

The last family she was with were a couple that had a twisted obsession and desire for her. It was both the husband and wife at fault, and they both were waiting for her to ‘ripen’. Davey physically matured faster than other girls around her age. She found out about their sexual lust and desires for her, and their terrible plan to get her sexually involved with them. They thought she would be a regular naïve little girl they could shape the way they wanted. She was not though, which was for the best. They didn't want to stop with just regular sex with her.

She was tossed aside by society when no one believed the things she was saying about her foster parents. They figured she was a troubled foster kid that currently hated her family and was trying to get away from them, but would ultimately regret leaving them. It was a couple of nights before they would enact their plans that Davey ran away. She tried to make it on her own at first and feared she might just have to resort to a life similar to what she escaped just to survive. Luckily, that was when Harry and Jett found her and brought her into the Street Knights.

Jett had something on his mind as the three walked together. “Do you think the Professor could join us?” he asked.

Davey smiled. “I’d love that! Who knows what interesting story or conversation he would have for us tonight?” she answered.

“Harry?” Jett asked.

“Just like with Davey’s cooking. When would I say no to that?” Harry replied with a chuckle.

“We’ll see you in a bit then Davey,” Jett said.

“Sure thing, Boss!” she said before leaving with almost a skip in her step. She had become very cheerful after joining the Street Knights. That was something everyone who knew her was glad for.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry and Jett made their way to the ‘School House’. Jett said hello to many of the people on the way. Harry did as well. He too had become a rather notable fixture in their group. Many saw him as Jett’s protégé or something.

Harry couldn’t fault them there. Jett spent a good bit of time with Harry and really took an extra interest in teaching him things only the Boss of the Knights could. It also helped that Harry loved getting to know people and having people who care about him and are his friends. Something that would be important for any main figure in the Street Knights. Harry also had a certain level of Charisma as well and took the Knights teachings to heart more than others.

Harry was also in many ways making up for all of the lost time he had socially due to how he was treated by the Dursleys. Here he wasn’t the one avoided for fear of his cousin beating up anyone close to him. He didn’t have to hide his love of learning and knowledge for fear of getting grounded by his aunt and uncle. He could get to know people and not fear what they might do if he stepped a toe out of line.

Jett and Harry finally came to the ‘School House’, which was really just a large area cordoned off in the main warehouse with a bit of a roof over it. It had several walled off sections with desks and blackboards. They only had one real teacher here and that was the professor. He had several who helped him teach, but he was the only certified instructor. He taught primary and secondary school. For 6th form and A-levels the Street Knights used other means, even though he could assist people in getting ready for their A-levels to an extent. (A/N: Pretty much he can teach 1st through 10th grade for those of us in the USA.)

“Good Evening, Professor Lang,” Jett said.

“Hello, Jett. Hello, Harry. What brings you two here?” the professor asked kindly.

“We wanted to see if you wished to join us along with Davey for Supper tonight,” Jett said.

“She’s cooking Spaghetti and Meatballs. Knowing Davey, she’ll toss in some bread and salad as well,” Harry said.

“I suppose that would be nice. You two certainly seem to know when best to catch me for such offers. I’ll just finish this up and we can leave,” Professor Lang said as he looked over some tests.

“How is school going?” Jett asked as he and Harry got comfortable.

“It is going alright. I will be glad though when Kimberley Ann and Mills get their certifications. Luckily, they’re close,” he said.

Many in the Street Knights would usually stick with the group even when they were older. It was their way to help the others. Their way to not just toss aside those who already fell through the cracks of society. Some would get into business outside in the rest of the world as a way to form more connections to help the rest. Some opened up shops or something in the area nearby. Some, like Kimberley Ann and Mills, found a way to come back to the Warehouse and help more directly. No one really forgets how the Street Knights helped them or take the help for granted.

Professor Lang was one such individual. He used to work at a respectable secondary school, and never took advantage of his young charges. Ironically it was actually his morals that landed him in trouble in the end. He refused the offer of sexual favors in exchange for a better grade by one of the beauty queens of the school during her last year. She did not like this and spoke to her father, who was very powerful and knew who to pressure to get back at the professor.

The father and daughter made up a fake allegation of him sexually advancing and pressuring her in exchange for better grades. Everyone knew it wasn’t true and it was eventually overruled and the case quietly hushed, but the damage was already done. Professor Lang was no longer able to find work. The daughter even made a point of visiting him a couple of times to rub it in by saying, “All you had to do was shag the brains out of a hot and horny teenage girl and everything would have been fine. You might have even been promoted. Do you know how many would love to be in that kind of a situation?”

Professor Lang then did all he could to survive, but he felt incomplete as a person. He loved teaching students. Loved the way their eyes lit up once they came to understand a concept and lesson. Loved watching them progress and grow as people. He was forced to live in a rinky-dink apartment working jobs that barely paid minimum wage.

Fortune finally smiled upon him when it happened that Jett was looking for a way to help with education for the Knights’ growing family. The Boss heard through their network of people about Professor Lang and sought him out. Professor Lang made less money here, but he was in many ways all the richer as a part of the Street Knights. Oddly enough he actually had more spending money and resources now than he did before he was found.

Jett and Harry made light conversation while the Professor finished up his grading. It wasn’t anything that was too distracting for him. The man was also a very good multi-tasker. This part of the Warehouse was fairly quiet as well, which is why it was used for the School House.

[-] [-] [-]

“Glad you could make it as well, Professor!” Davey greeted cheerfully as the three guys came over together.

“I wouldn’t refuse such a kind offer. It will be nice to have some better home cooking than I can make. After all, I am not a Professor of Food and Cooking. My talents in the Culinary Arts are a microwave or a sandwich at best,” Professor Lang said with a chuckle.

“You get to have Spaghetti, Meatballs, Caesar Salad, and garlic bread tonight! Not a grand feast, but better than something from the microwave,” Davey said with a nod.

“With your cooking, it is no doubt fit for a king,” Jett said with a smile causing Davey to blush happily at the praise.

“Harry, could you set up the table? I hadn’t gotten around to it yet,” she asked.

“Sure!” Harry replied.

“Thanks!” Davey said as she almost skipped back to her kitchen. She really was happy to have an actual family and people who cared for her.

It wasn’t long until the four of them were sitting around a table with mismatched chairs. She could have easily gotten matching chairs, but Davey thought it was more colorful this way and felt more like a home. She didn’t like too average and perfectly decorated homes. It reminded her too much of her last family and how they were. Part of the reason no one believed her is because the couple did a very good job of fitting in with society and seeming proper and average.

Harry and Davey had that in common. The Dursleys went out of their way to be the perfectly normal everyday British family. No one would suspect they treated their nephew like a slave and starved him while forcing him to sleep in cupboard. Harry was glad those days were behind him. He wasn't about to have some regular looking home himself though.

He was with real family now. The Street Knights had each other’s backs. Their motto was, "Loyalty to those who deserve it". The group had few problems because of this and almost always worked them out peacefully. Loyalty was a two-way street after all. It should require work for all involved. When it came to things such as religion that could be very divisive, they found a way to co-exist, even if it amounted to ignoring that part of someone’s life usually.

During the meal the four made conversation about their day and things they were planning on doing tomorrow and such. Davey talked about some of the people she visited today. Professor Lang talked about how since it was a weekend, he took it mostly easy and used it to grade papers.

“I took Harry today so he could learn an important and personal lesson,” Jett said when they were asked what they had been up to by The Professor.

“Is everything okay now?” Professor Lang asked with some worry. He didn’t always approve of Jett’s methods, but that was something Jett appreciated. It was a way to keep him more honest and such.

Harry nodded. “It is. I needed to learn it and it will help me with a lot I’m pretty sure.”

“What are you’re plans for tomorrow, Harry?” Davey asked.

“I’m meeting up with Burns and Cordelia tomorrow. We’re going to the arcade. Do you want to come?” Harry replied.

Davey was in thought for a moment. “I wouldn’t be intruding?” she asked.

“Cordelia will appreciate the female backup,” Harry chuckled.

Davey giggled in return. “I guess I’ll come then. Us girl Knights gotta look out for each other,” she said with a playful flex of her left arm.

“Make sure you all don’t get into too much trouble,” Jett said with a smirk.

The Professor chuckled. “Shouldn’t you say make sure they don’t get into any trouble?”

“Where would the fun in that be?” Jett asked.

“I guess you have a point. They can work it out of their system. That way I won’t have to worry about it so much come Monday, even if I have to worry about it again come Tuesday,” the Professor said continuing to chuckle.

“One extra day of reprieve is always a good thing,” Jett said in an overly sage like voice with a nod as well. Davey and Harry both laughed to that.

Harry loved this. This is how meals should be with others. They shouldn’t be having to watch Dudley and Vernon race to see who could finish first in the sloppiest of manners, while your stomach growled in hunger. Aunt Petunia even scolded him sometimes for disrupting their peaceful meal because of his stomach growling too loud. The answer should have been obvious, just give him something more than scraps to eat, but that would have been treating Harry too much like a human and not a nuisance.

[-] [-] [-]

The next day was for the most part very fun. Davey had really made the trip even more enjoyable. They played some four player games and did some guys versus girls’ stuff. Burns and Davey really got into the spirit of their fun competition. Cordelia and Harry just enjoyed the show when they got like that. They would make it even more enjoyable by cheering for both sides randomly.

The only down side was they got into a bit of fight. There were some slightly older kids that weren’t regulars and didn’t know how things were in this area. The older kids were picking on a girl Davey’s age and her friend. One girl had dark red hair and the other black. The older kids were even saying some very inappropriate things. Fortunately the girls didn’t seem to know the true meaning of those things yet.

“Oi!” Burns started looking to the guys who seemed to be about twelve years old, even if they were acting older with the things they said.

“What do you want?” the supposed leader of the group asked with annoyance.

“You guys must not be from around here. We don’t really appreciate such behavior,” Burns said.

Another one came over and looked to them. “Ha! Like you could do anything about it,” he said.

Harry looked the four guys over. Davey and Cordelia motioned for the girls to come over to them as they made some distance. Harry then looked up to the guy. “There’s a lot we can do about it. You can either apologize to the girls and leave peacefully now while realizing your mistake. You can learn a lesson the hard way. You can learn a lesson the even harder way, which I don’t recommend. At the very least, you four can leave now and never bother anyone here again and pretend this never happened,” Harry said. He may still be a little on the small side for his age, but he was a lot stronger than he used to be and how he seemed. He also knew how to fight thanks to Boss and the others teaching him.

One of the guys seemed to look Harry and Burns over and it seemed like something might have clicked for him. “Maybe we should go. I mean. Are they really worth it?” he asked his friends.

“There’s four of us and two of them. Plus, now there are four girls once we finish with these guys. The two girls the brats brought with them are actually kind of cute. I see no reason to back down,” the leader said with a smirk.

Burns sighed. “They never just apologize and leave, do they?” he asked Harry with an exaggerated shake of his head.

“Nope. They don’t,” Harry said.

“Get them!” the leader said as the group, including the one that almost seemed to have some common sense earlier, jumped the two younger boys.

Harry and Burns dodged and weaved their punches. Burns even used their momentum against them. That was something he was really good at. Harry ducked and sent an uppercut to one in the stomach catching him completely off guard and sending him to the ground. Harry then struck him in the head and the guy stayed down deciding it wasn’t a good idea to keep fighting these two.

Burns and Harry made short work of the remaining three even when two tried to double team one of them. Once the dust settled, Burns and Harry did have a couple of hits that would bruise, but that was it. The four from earlier were all on the ground groaning. It was obvious they lost.

“Is there a problem here?” a voice asked as three men in uniform came over to the scene of the fight after just getting there while on their patrol.

“T-T-They attacked us for no reason!” one of the older guys said trying to play up the victim role.

The three men looked them over. One then turned to Harry and asked, “So what really happened?”

The four older guys were gob smacked by that.

“They were trying to force themselves on those two girls,” Harry said.

“We warned them first, but they decided they’d rather try to beat us and take Davey and Cordelia with them as well,” Burns said.

“I see…” one of the men said.

The third man went over to the two girls and asked, “Do you want to press charges on those four?”

“I-I-If they leave us alone and never come back again! No…” the black haired girl said.

“You heard her fellas. Apologize and leave. You may be minors, but I can tell you juvie isn’t a nice place,” the third man said.

“W-w-we’re sorry!” the four boys shouted. They then together begged, “Please forgive us!”

“Once you start leaving,” the red-haired girl said.

The four guys then stood up quickly and started to leave. “We’re sorry again!” they said.

“You’re forgiven this time!” the black-haired girl shouted as they ran.

“I told you this was a bad idea… This is Knights’ territory!” the one who was initially opposed to fighting said to the others.

“What the hell does that mean?” one asked.

“I’m done with you guys… You don’t even know that,” the first said again.

The two girls giggled in relief and found the older guys retreat funny.

“So long Harry, Burns, Cordelia and Davey. Try not to get into too many fights today?” one of the three men said with a chuckle as he winked at them.

“No promises. But we don’t really seek them out,” Burns called to them as the men waved to them and continued their patrol of the area.

The four friends then spent some time with the two girls in a nearby Shake and Coffee Café. Davey and Cordelia were able to make sure the other two girls were alright and the six had some fun talking for a bit, before the two girls continued with their day and headed back home. They lived nearby and could have escaped, but they were kind of scared when they were approached like that by the four guys. Things like that didn’t really happen here since the Street Knights formed.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry was excited! His birthday was coming up. He would soon be turning eleven! It was amazing to him that he actually looked forward to his birthdays now. He had a lot more fun in general though. He and some of the others even went on a trip to the zoo earlier in the week.

Something strange happened during the trip, but Harry didn’t feel like mentioning it to anyone. He didn’t want to upset Jett with what the Dursleys had called his freakishness, even if he doubted that would happen. He mostly couldn’t really explain what happened. Harry somehow talked to a snake. He then accidentally seemed to vanish the glass and the snake left.

It was kind of funny how the snake was hissing, “Brazzzzilll hereee I comeee…” Harry didn’t have the heart or the actual know how of what he did, to tell the snake it was a really long and unlikely journey.

That was a couple of days ago. Now though, he had to wait a few more days, but then he would be eleven. He couldn’t wait! Davey was going to bake him a cake and everything. Burns and Cordelia along with a few others would be visiting as well. He would actually be having a nice little birthday party of sorts.

[-] [-] [-]

Jett was taking care of his sword when he heard a hoot from an owl. He looked up curiously. The owl hooted at him again. It looked like he had a letter dropped right in front of him that he bobbed his head at. “Well I’ll be,” Jett said as he took it and looked at the address. “This is really interesting…” Jett said as he thanked the owl and sent it off. He then stood up and started walking. He hadn’t expected this…

Chapter 2: A Letter, a Giant of a Man, and a Magical Alley

“Harry. I was looking for you,” Jett said.

“What do you need, Boss?” Harry asked from where he was sitting.

“Follow me. There’s something we need to discuss,” Jett told him.

“Okay,” Harry said as he got up. He was curious about this. It must be important if Boss didn’t want to just say it right here.

The two made their way to the roof of a building in the compound. It was actually the building they used as an infirmary. It had taken a lot of work to set the place up and it couldn’t help with everything, but it did with a lot of things. With the infirmary, they also didn’t have to take up space unnecessarily in the nearest local hospital which was already overcrowded.

“This is for you,” Jett said as he handed the envelope to Harry.

Harry took it curiously. It looked aged and the paper or parchment, whatever it was, was thicker than normal paper. The most curious thing though was the address.

Harry Potter

Street Knights Compound

Main Warehouse

Deliver via Jett Manton

“This is weird,” Harry said.

“Not completely unexpected. Go ahead and open it, Harry,” Jett said as he sat down next to the boy.

Harry did. There were two pieces of what Harry decided had to be parchment, which was odd instead of paper. He looked at the first one.

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July. If you need assistance in acquiring any of the supplies be sure to mention it in your return letter.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

“School for Witchcraft and Wizardry?” Harry asked in confusion. This seemed very unlikely to be real, but then again, he did talk to a snake and vanish glass. Maybe magic did exist.

“That is what it says. I am not sure how to send the letter back though. Maybe I shouldn’t have waved the owl off. Maybe it is waiting around here…” Jett said in thought as he looked around trying to find an owl.

“You seem oddly calm about this, Boss,” Harry said looking to his friend and boss.

“Why do you think that is, Harry?” Jett asked with a mischievous grin.

Harry was in thought before his eyes opened. “Wait a minute… You mean the whole thing about you and the sword with the wizard is real?!” he asked.

“I keep telling everyone,” Jett said in amusement.

“It is really unbelievable,” Harry muttered.

“Sometimes the truth is just like that. You can share it and no one will believe it. Sometimes that is very annoying. Other times it is nice because you don’t have to feel guilty about lying to those close to you. You can’t force them to believe it. They have to decide that on their own,” Jett said.

Harry nodded to this causal lesson from his boss. “How did it specifically happen then?” Harry asked.

“It was before I formed the Street Knights. I came across a wizard who was hurt, confused, and lost. I helped him regain his health and told him where he was. I helped him as long as he needed it before he was ready to return. I had the sword back then, but it was little better than a decoration. I was actually thinking about pawning it or auctioning it off at the time. He looked to me and used some kind of spell,” Jett said.

“He saw something in me. He saw what I wanted to do here. How I wanted to help those who were like me. Forgotten. Tossed aside. He told me, ‘You have the charisma, intelligence, and tenacity to achieve that goal. You just need something to back up it all up.’ He then enchanted the sword. Made it a real blade. Had it give me insight in how to use it properly. He then bound it to me. That is why no one else can use it. He gave me a powerful tool to use for those sticky situations when they arise,” Jett said.

The older boy then looked to the younger boy and said, “I’ve known about the magical world since then. I just didn’t know any of the Knights were magicals. You are though. Harry, you're a wizard.”

Harry took it all in. He couldn’t believe this. It was really strange, but it made sense. “That would explain what happened at the zoo,” Harry said.

“What happened,” Jett asked seriously.

“Sorry Boss, I didn’t tell you about it because I didn’t even know what to fully make of it. It also reminded me of the Dursleys and how they always got on my case for what they called my freakishness. I ended up talking to a snake. Then I accidentally vanished the glass to its display. I wonder how far he made it. He wanted to go to Brazil,” Harry said.

Jett chuckled. “That is a very long journey. Especially for a snake,” he said.

Harry chuckled too. “Yeah it is!” he said.

“Well then. Let’s write you that letter. Unless you don’t want to go to a magical school and learn all kinds of really awesome things,” Jett said with a smirk.

Harry laughed to that. “I’m just worried how we can find an owl to send it!” he said.

There was a hoot suddenly that got their attention. “So, you were around after all,” Jett said to the owl who hooted at him in reply. It then dropped a return envelope and some parchment for Harry to use. Jett gave him a pen.

Dear Hogwarts,

I would like to attend your school. I didn’t even know magic was a real thing, but I am eager to learn. I would appreciate assistance in acquiring the supplies listed. I have no idea where to get them. If you could, please include a date and time for the meeting in the return letter. There is a place near me called Vinny’s Diner. It has a large burger and shake on the roof. We can arrange to meet there.

Yours sincerely,

Harry J. Potter

Before Harry sealed the letter, he quickly scribbled down the address for Vinny’s Diner. He then put it in the envelope and held it out for the owl. The owl hooted in thanks and took off to deliver the letter.

“I really don’t get why they use owls for delivering letters,” Harry said.

“I don’t either. There is a lot I don’t know about the magical world. I just know it exists and you are a wizard,” Jett said.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry was nervous as he and Jett sat at Vinny’s Diner. It technically wasn’t open until noon, but since they were Street Knights the owner had no problem opening for them early. Jett was currently sitting with his sword on his back just in case something happened. They were supposed to be meeting a man called Hagrid. They were simply told he couldn’t be missed when it came to recognizing him.

They soon heard the sound of a loud motorcycle coming from outside. It was a really loud sounding motorcycle. They saw a man that was easily the size of three people sitting on it. The motorcycle seemed to be really large and was clearly modified.

Jett let out a low whistle. “That’s what a wizard should do. Make a really awesome motorcycle! I’m sure he’s the guy, Harry,” Jett said before standing up and going outside with Harry behind him. Both of them wanted to get a better look at the motorcycle and didn’t want to force their guest to have to enter the diner. It looked like that would be uncomfortable for him, given his size.

“Well I’ll be… Harry Potter all grown up! I’d recognize you anywhere. You look just like father and you’ve got your mother’s eyes,” Hagrid said.

“Are you Hagrid then?” Harry asked.

“That I be… Who is this?” Hagrid asked as he looked to the older boy with sword on his back. The young man was looking at the bike in appreciation.

“That’s Boss. He wanted to make sure nothing happened and wanted to meet you as well,” Harry said.

“My actual name is Jett Manton. I guess you could say I’m Harry’s unofficial guardian.” Jett said as he stood up and offered a hand to Hagrid.

Hagrid shook it but then asked. “I don’t mean no offense… But what happened to the Dursleys? Headmaster Dumbledore made me deliver Harry to them.”

Harry frowned. “They threw me out years ago. Boss here raised me since along with the rest of the Knights. The letter was addressed to him and said to come here. I figured that meant you all knew,” Harry said.

“Those people… Threw Harry out when he was eight! I found him trying to survive on the streets. Alone! It was lucky I found him when I did,” Jett said. He wasn’t hiding his feelings about the terrible people.

Hagrid had a saddened look on his face. “Professor McGonagall did say they were the worst sort of people. The letters address themselves so that’s why I didn’t know there was a change to the address. Professor Dumbledore told us it would work out…” Hagrid grumbled. “I suppose even good men like him can make mistakes.”

“I guess in a way it worked out. Boss here took me in. I actually have a family now with the Street Knights. Davey, the Professor, and many others. The Dursleys are terrible people. I’m away from them though and better for it,” Harry said.

“I’m glad we met in the end. Harry’s like a brother, a friend or whatever. There's not a single person in the Knights I regret meeting. So, you’ll be helping Harry with his shopping?” Jett asked.

“Aye! That I will. We’ll be getting back tomorrow. Got rooms set up for us for the night and everything,” Hagrid said.

“I would ask to come along as well, but I don’t know if that's allowed,” Jett said.

Hagrid was in thought for a moment. “I suppose ye can. Since ye have been looking after Harry. Unlike them Dursleys…” Hagrid grumbled.

“Are you sure about this, Boss?” Harry asked in concern.

“Don’t worry, Harry. I made plans for this in case I could come along," he gave a chuckle. "Do you think I would want to miss a chance to see part of the magical world?" he asked with a grin.

Harry shook his head no in answer.

"Just going to leave the sword here and write a message for Vinny to deliver. On the bright side, we’ll be back just in time to celebrate your birthday,” Jett said with a smile.

Harry chuckled. “I really wouldn’t want to disappoint Davey. No telling what she’d do if we couldn’t eat the cake, she’s putting so much work into.”

“No doubt,” Jett said with a chuckle as he went inside the diner.

“I really am sorry, Harry. Had I known… I wouldn’t have left ye with them Dursleys,” Hagrid said in apology.

Harry gave a small smile and shook his head. “You don’t have anything to worry about. The only one who made the mistake is this Dumbledore fellow,” Harry said.

Jett came back outside a moment later. “Alright then!” Hagrid started. “Hop in the side car, you two. It will expand to fit you both comfortably.”

The two boys eagerly did. They had never ridden in a motorcycle before. They were further amazed when it suddenly took off into the sky. They roared away into the early morning light. Hagrid managed to explain some things to them and talked about Harry’s parents some on the way. It was amazing they could hear him given the loud roar of the motorcycle, but then again it was magical. Maybe it was enchanted to let them hear him over the sound of the exhaust pipe.

[-] [-] [-]

“Now then. We have to take the underground from here. Can’t fly too close to the main city,” Hagrid told them as they found a parking spot for it.

“Good idea. Traffic’s terrible this time of day,” Jett said.

It was actually a bit of an adventure using public transportation with Hagrid. He pointed out ordinary things that he found absolutely amazing. Harry and Jett took turns explaining to him about the different things and found Hagrid's reactions fun and humorous.

“So, that’s how it works,” Hagrid said in understanding as they went through a turnstile to get to the Underground. Jett was the one to buy their tickets using the money Hagrid had for this part of the trip. “Paper money?” Hagrid said in thought.

“So where are we going exactly?” Harry asked.

“A place called Diagon Alley. We’ll be entering through The Leaky Cauldron,” Hagrid explained to them.

The Leaky Cauldron turned out to be a very dingy and dark pub. Jett almost missed it before Harry and Hagrid pointed it out to him. The inside was smoky and a little drafty. It did have a certain… excessively rustic charm… to it you could say.

“Hey Hagrid! The usual?” A stooped bar man asked Hagrid with a grin.

“Not this time, Tom. I’m on official Hogwarts business,” Hagrid said.

“If ye say so,” Tom said. His eyes then widened, “Well I’ll be… is that Harry Potter?!” he asked in excitement.

Then the inhabitants of the bar descended upon the trio. Hagrid and Jett managed to keep them in line. Harry was used to being recognized and even greeted very enthusiastically at times. The residents around their base really looked up to the Knights. This however was on a different level. He ended up shaking the hands of everyone in the bar. Some of the witches even threw passes at him. Harry might have been flattered if they weren’t mostly old and rather squat. It wasn’t surprising given the time of day, most of the young and pretty ones would probably only come here at night, if ever.

“Told ye you were famous,” Hagrid said with a chuckle. “Now then… three up. Two across,” he said to himself as he touched a pink umbrella to a brick in the wall.

Harry and Jett’s eyes were wide as the brick wall moved and shifted into a large archway even Hagrid could fit through with ease. It was amazing seeing more magic. It was also really something to see so many people wearing robes and wizard hats milling about. The buildings in the alley were also very much magical in the way they were designed. Some had floating signs and others had slanted sides to the building that were obviously on purpose.

“Welcome to Diagon Alley!” Hagrid said as he watched the two boys staring in awe. Hagrid loved getting to help new students for this reason and many others. “Well then time to stop at Gringotts first. Like I said on the way over. That’s where you’ll get your money. Ye might want to ask about details and such some other time. No telling how long that could take. We have plenty of time, but plenty of places to go as well,” Hagrid said with a smile.

“I’m really curious to see what these Goblins look like, myself,” Jett said.

“Yeah me too, Boss. I wonder if those movies are anywhere near right,” Harry said.

“Best not stare at them for too long, ye two. They might take that as a challenge. They’d actually be impressed if ya brought that sword with ya, Jett,” Hagrid said.

“I’m guessing that’s not exactly a good thing?” Jett asked.

“Ye’d be right. They’d want to challenge you to a spar,” Hagrid replied.

Jett and Harry actually grinned. “Maybe I should bring it next time. What do you say, Harry?” he asked in a joking manner.

“Might be the only way you could truly improve, given your skills, Boss. It’d probably be something to see as well,” Harry said as he chuckled.

Hagrid froze mid step and looked to the two boys. Were they really wanting to test their skills against a goblin? When they laughed again, Hagrid felt at ease.

They did stare for a moment in wonder at the goblins guarding the entrance to the bank. The goblins seemed to be getting a read on them in turn and almost seemed to partially approve of them in some goblin fashion. Hagrid got them to move along. He wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or not. “Places ta be and all that,” he said ushering the boys forward.

[-] [-] [-]

“So, you had my vault key?” Harry asked with a frown.

“It was just delivered to us recently. The trust was set up like that. You would have received it instead if you wrote you didn’t need assistance,” Hagrid said. Harry gave a nod to that.

He would be asking for a full balance for the last twelve or so years when he came back next year just to be sure. He trusted Hagrid, but he did not trust Dumbledore. He could see Dumbledore telling Hagrid that is how it was, but having actually been using the key to get money from Harry’s vault. The man left him with the Dursleys. There was no telling what he would do. Harry didn’t know him and he was not one to just trust adults who claimed and acted like they knew better. Dumbledore seemed to be that kind of person to Harry from the very little he knew of him.

It didn’t take long for them to get to shopping. They got Harry’s trunk first to fit all of his purchases in. The trunk was enchanted to have five compartments and to be feather light so it was easy to carry. They also got all of his Potions supplies and his cauldron for school.

“Next up will be Flourish and Blotts. Then we can get you yer school uniform. After that a wand and I’ll get you a pet for your birthday,” Hagrid said.

They entered the book store. “Wow…” Harry said looking around the place. It was huge! “Can we look around for a bit?” Harry asked.

“Sure can,” Hagrid replied with a grin. “I’ll wait for ye outside. Kind of cramped in here for me.”

“Sure thing, Hagrid. I’ll keep Harry to an hour max,” Jett said.

“Likes books, does he?” Hagrid asked with a chuckle.

“Yes, he does,” Jett replied with a smile and a nod.

“Your mom liked books and studying too, Harry. Seems you got more than just her eyes,” Hagrid said with a grin as he left the store.

Harry appreciated the comment, but he was focused on looking around the bookstore currently. He traveled up and down a few aisles. He then heard a girl’s voice say, “So many books…” Harry looked to it and saw a girl looking to be close to his age crouching on the floor as she looked over the books down there. The girl had brown frizzy hair, lightly tanned skin and he could barely make out honey brown eyes as she looked along the lower shelf. She was also biting her lower lip in thought. “Hhhhmmmmmnnn. I want to buy them all,” she whined to herself quietly.

Harry couldn’t help but chuckle. She seemed kind of cute. The girl looked to him and gave a bit of a pout that Harry found even cuter. He then smiled and said, “I don’t blame you. I’m also new to the magical world.”

The girl’s eyes then lit up and she shot up and looked to him beaming. “You’re new to it as well?! I am too. I didn’t even know it existed until I got the letter. I mean things had happened, but I always thought it was something else and not magic. Then I saw that magic was real after the letter when Professor McGonagall came and gave my parents and me a demonstration. She told us how to get here as well. Can you believe they have goblins running the bank?! There is so much I want to learn! I want to learn everything!” she said rather quickly.

Harry gave a bit of a chuckle. She was really excited about magic he could tell. “I was surprised to see the goblins as well. That’s really cool that you got a demonstration. I guess Boss and I got one. We actually took a flying motorcycle part of the way here. I’m excited about getting a wand more than anything else, but I really like seeing all of these books,” he replied.

“Ooooo. A flying motorcycle?! That sounds crazy,” she said. She then frowned a little. “I don’t know if I would like it though. I mean I don’t mind taking a plane, but I’m not usually a fan of heights,” she said. Then the girl looked a little shy as she asked, “So… are you muggleborn too?”

“Essentially I am. My parents were a witch and wizard, but they died when I was like a year old. I’ve grown up in the muggle world pretty much,” Harry said.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to pry like that. I didn’t mean to make think of your parents,” she said looking sad as she slumped a little.

“It isn’t anything worry about. I’m used to it. Part of the reason I’m looking forward to Hogwarts is learning more about them,” Harry said with a small smile.

“You aren’t… alone. Are you?” she asked quietly.

“Nope. I have Boss and everyone else. Well I call him Boss, but he’s kind of like a big brother to me. He’s helped me a lot,” Harry said.

“Did you not have relatives?” she asked carefully.

Harry glowered for a moment, but not at her. “I do. But the less said about them the better. Besides, Boss took me under his wing and I have actual family now. It doesn’t matter if we aren’t related by blood,” he said.

“Sorry… I brought it up,” she said with a frown.

Harry smiled to her again. “No worries again. I’m really excited about Hogwarts,” he said leading the subject somewhere else.

The girl seemed to catch on after a moment. She smiled and said, “I really am too! I can’t believe it! A real magic school. Professor McGonagall said it is a huge castle and everything! I find it a little odd, but kind of comforting they use a train to get everyone there.”

“Hagrid hasn’t told me how to get on to Platform 9 ¾ yet. Did Professor McGonagall tell you?” Harry asked.

“She did. You apparently go through the barrier between platform 9 and 10. You just have to think the platform or the Hogwarts Express,” she replied.

“Thanks,” Harry said with a smile. “I’m Harry Potter by the way. What’s your name?” he asked her.

She blushed as she looked into his eyes briefly. “I can’t believe I didn’t even think to say my name. I’m Hermione Granger. I think I’ve heard your name…” she then said.

“It is nice to meet you, Hermione. Regarding my name… It seems I’m a bit of a celebrity in the magic world. I don’t know why. I was only one year old when the incident happened,” he said.

“That is why I’ve heard it… I wonder if it is in a book,” Hermione said as she looked at the nearby books again.

“I’m pretty sure anything in a book about me would be pure solid guesswork. Hagrid told us no one knows what happened that night, since I can’t remember it on account of being too young,” Harry said.

“Oh,” Hermione said. She seemed a little sad about that.

“Hermione! Honey! Fifteen minutes,” a woman’s voice called from a different part of the store nearby.

“Harry. Twenty minutes,” Jett called to him.

“Alright, got it,” Harry and Hermione said almost simultaneously. They then looked to each other and shared a laugh.

“Well. Guess we better get back to picking out books, Hermione,” Harry said with a smile.

Hermione again looked into his eyes. She then got cute and shy as she said, “I suppose so… Do… Do you think… we could see each other on the train?” she asked trying to hide the hope she had.

Harry smiled to her brightly. “I’ll be sure to look for you, Hermione. See you then,” he said.

Hermione looked to his eyes again and her face lit up in a blush. She even wiggled a little where she was standing. “I’d… love that…” she said. She then started to move while shooting him looks and blushing. She even almost tripped over her own feet.

“Huh oh…” Harry thought. He recognized that kind of behavior. He would have to see, but it really looked like she already had a little crush on him. He didn’t think it too bad though, she was cute and friendly. “Maybe Davey was right,” he thought additionally.

He recognized the behavior of a girl having a crush because he had seen how Davey sometimes acted around Boss. Davey had joked to him that he would be a real lady killer if he wasn’t careful. It was his green eyes and his delightfully messy hair. Add to that he was no longer the too small for his clothes kid he was when with the Dursleys, and you have quite the lethal combination for a maiden's heart. It also didn't help them that he actually had clothes that fit properly.

Harry found a few books that really piqued his interest and bought them before leaving the store. “One minute left,” Jett said with a chuckle when Harry met with him.

“Finally robes time then, huh?” Hagrid asked from just outside.

“Seems like it,” Jett said.

[-] [-] [-]

It took no time at all to get robes. Harry was the only one in the Madam Malkins at the time. A girl with blonde pig tails left just before him with her mother. She was smiling brightly and even quickly gave him a friendly wave and greeting, which he returned.

Shopping for a wand on the other hand was a different matter. “I’m surprised Harry hasn’t tried ever wand in the store yet,” Jett joked from where he was next to an almost dozing Hagrid.

“Wands are always tricky… Sometimes you find it right away. Other times it can be longer than even this,” Hagrid said.

“There was one tricky customer years ago who pretty much took the whole night! Luckily, I was off the next day and got plenty sleep. But we will find you a wand yet, Mr. Potter,” Ollivander, the store owner and wandmaker, said.

“Hmmmm…” The man said tapping his chin in thought. “It is worth a shot. I guess.” He disappeared into a different part of the store with those words and shortly returned with a wand for Harry to try.

Harry picked it up. Right away he could tell this one was different. It felt like a part of him! He felt his magic core seemingly coming to life. A bright beautiful multicolored light arched from it as he waved the wand.

“Fantastic! That’s it!” Ollivander said. “Curious though. Very curious.”

“How so?” Harry asked.

“The phoenix that gave the feather for that wand, gave just one other. I remember every wand. This wand’s brother was sadly, the one that gave you that scar,” the wandmaker said.

“Doesn’t matter. Harry is different. Wands may be powerful tools, but they are still tools. It is the wielder that uses it for either bad or good. It is not the wand’s fault,” Jett said.

Ollivander nodded to that. “You are right. Still I can expect Harry here will do great things. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things as well. Terrible but great,” he said.

“Harry already does great things. We all know it. Those of us closest to him,” Jett said giving Harry an easy smile.

“Thanks, Boss.” Harry said with his own smile. He knew what Jett wanted. He didn’t want Harry dwelling on his wand’s brother. It was still good to hear him so those words nonetheless.

Jett gave an overly dramatic sigh as he shook his head smiling. “One of these Days, Harry. I’ll get you to call me Jett instead Boss,” he said.

Harry gave a chuckle and a cheeky grin. “Maybe, Boss. But it is not this day,” Harry said. The two shared a laugh before Harry paid for the wand and left.

“Just got your present now,” Hagrid said. “Yer allowed either a toad, a cat, or an owl. Toads are out of style. You’ll get laughed at for having one. Cats make me sneeze something awful, but if you want... Owls however, are the best. Everyone wants an owl. Useful owls are. You can use them to send and receive letters.”

“An owl it is,” Harry said.

“That was easy,” Jett said.

“A way to send and receive letters? Of course, that’s my choice. How else could I keep in contact with you all?” Harry asked.

“True enough,” Jett replied with a nod of understanding.

“So, its settled then,” Hagrid said before disappearing to get an owl for Harry. He wanted it to be a surprise so the boys waited outside. The giant of a man soon returned with a beautiful snowy white owl. The owl immediately gave Harry an acknowledging hoot and a head bob of approval. “She likes you already. Best give this one a good name,” Hagrid said.

Harry thought over some names. He came across one that was in his history book which he took a sneak peek at during lunch. “Hedwig,” Harry said. Hedwig hooted in approval and affectionately nipped the finger he held out for her.

“She obviously approves,” Jett said. “Glad to meet you, Hedwig,” he said. Hedwig hooted in reply.

“She’s a smart one. She is. All owls are smart, but she is top o’ the pecking order,” Hagrid said.

Harry and Jett groaned. Hedwig covered her head with a wing and seemed to shake it. “Alright. I get it. Bad Joke. At least I’m just as good at my job as I am bad at jokes,” Hagrid said with a chuckle as he led the way to the Cauldron.

They would be leaving to head back to the Street Knights' base tomorrow morning. It wasn’t sun down yet, but it would be really late by the time they got back if they left tonight. Instead the boys got to listen to Hagrid as he shared stories about Harry’s parents. Jett and Harry shared stories as well about their lives up untill now. They were sure to edit out some of the less flattering moments.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry was actually the first to go to bed for the night. Hagrid and Jett were still up for a bit. Jett looked over to the giant of a man. It seemed something was on his mind. “Something you thinking about?” Jett came out and asked.

“Aye. I don’t know about this whole thing with Harry and you all. It seems good for him, but I am a little worried and I’m not sure what to go and say to Dumbledore. Ain’t no way he’ll let me off without telling about what I learned of Harry. His situation seems so… well… bizarre. No offense. Like I said, it seems good for him,” Hagrid said.

Jett was in thought for a moment as he nodded to show he heard what Hagrid said. He had an answer that might help. “I get what you mean, Hagrid. Our whole group is filled with people who have bizarre situations in their life. We call ourselves the Street Knights. We have a fairly large community actually. We look out for each other the best we can and the area around us as well. We’re made up of people that either slipped through society’s cracks or were tossed aside by the rest of the world. We strongly believe in being loyal to each other and forming families that we other wise didn’t get to have. It isn’t my place to say much, but the Dursleys were terrible to Harry. So terrible… What kind of people simply toss out an eight-year-old into the streets without a second’s thought?” he said.

“Tell you what. How about you join us tomorrow for a bit? Unless you have to be back immediately. You can see what it's like for Harry. It is like you said, bizarre, but it might help you figure out what to say and all of that,” Jett said.

“I could? You two and the others wouldn’t mind? I don’t want to make things awkward for Harry and all that. I can make me some time. Dumbledore is a busy man, especially during summer. He won’t be back at Hogwarts till the day after next,” Hagrid said.

“Yeah. We’ll ask Harry in the morning, but he seems to have taken a liking to you. It being my idea will also be a plus,” Jett said.

Hagrid gave a chuckle. “I don’t know about taken a liking to me. Way I see it only one he really taken a liking to was that girl he was talking about meeting in the Flourish and Blotts,” he said.

Jett gave a chuckle to that too. “That it seems. Davey’s going to love being right. She told him he’ll be winning girls left, right and center. Its his eyes and how likable he is as a person,” Jett said.

“Guess we’ll call it a night here then,” Hagrid said as he got up from his seat.

“What time do you want us to wake up tomorrow?” Jett asked.

“Anywhere from 8-10 I’d say,” Hagrid answered.

“It will be 8 then. Harry isn’t usually fond of sleeping in too late. He sees it as burning daylight and time,” Jett said.

“See ye two at 8 then. The Cauldron does have some really good breakfast,” Hagrid said as they both called it a night and went to their rooms.

Chapter 3: The Hogwarts Express

Hagrid made his way to Professor Dumbledore’s office. He had made up his mind on what he would tell the man. He wanted to go in there and carry on about how the Dursleys threw Harry out into the streets at the age of eight. He ultimately decided that would be for Harry to share, if he wants. Hagrid also figured it would be best to not mention all of the details as well. Dumbledore was a good man, but Hagrid quickly realized after meeting Harry and Jett he was still a man and thus had flaws. Hagrid had thought over everything Dumbledore might do if he found out about Harry. Dumbledore would decide he was right and probably stick Harry with the Dursleys once more. Harry had it really good where he was in many ways and Hagrid wouldn’t be the one to disrupt that.

When the giant of a man arrived with Harry and Jett to join in on celebrating Harry’s birthday, he realized Harry had everything and more that Dumbledore used as reason for sticking him with the Dursleys. Harry had family. They weren’t family by blood, but they were family. Hagrid would be honest, he was relieved to see there were some adults as well in the Street Knights, even if Jett was the Boss. Hagrid also saw few other people with a sister the likes of how Davey was to Harry. She clearly took it upon herself to be Harry’s big sister and Harry was more than fine with that.

Harry had plenty of friends as well. Burns was a boy and clearly the two got into just the right amount of trouble without it being too serious with each other. Cordelia was another good friend as well, though one day she may want to be more than just a friend from what Hagrid could tell. There were others around Harry’s age as well and it was clear he had their respect and friendship.

Yes, leaving Harry there was clearly the best for the boy. Dumbledore wouldn’t see that though. Hagrid was starting to realize the respectable older wizard was very set in his ways. If something didn’t go to his plan, then he would make it fit his plan once more. Hagrid hoped the plan for Harry was a rather broad and open one with plenty of freedom to it. He really hoped it was.

“Pepperwheel,” Hagrid said to the gargoyle that sprang to the side as the staircase lowered.

“Ahhh. Hagrid. Good to see you have returned. I am guessing there weren’t any problems with getting Harry his school things? I did think it a little odd he requested assistance. Then again, he is in the muggle world, so it makes sense,” The wizened Headmaster said in greeting.

“Aye. Things went well with Harry,” Hagrid started. He then gave a chuckle. “He ain’t the little tyke he was last time I saw him.”

“Kids do grow up rather fast, as they say,” Albus said with a nod. “How did the trip go?”

“It went well. We stayed a night in the Cauldron. Harry liked getting to hear more about his parents. He didn’t even know they were a witch and wizard. Seems the Dursleys… decided to leave that out,” Hagrid said. He then gave a scoff. “They told him his parents died in a car accident!” There wasn’t a reason to let Albus think everything was peachy.

Dumbledore held a frown for a second. “I suppose they took the whole Statute of Secrecy too far,” he said out loud in thought.

Hagrid rolled his eyes in annoyance. Luckily it seemed Professor Dumbledore saw that as him showing displeasure at the thought he shared. Hagrid and the others didn’t like the idea of leaving Harry in the muggle world. They just couldn’t understand, like he did, how that was for the best. It still would have been, even if it wasn’t for Lily’s protection as well.

The truth of the matter was Dumbledore underestimated the magic Lily left as a way to protect Harry. It was not a blood ward as he thought. It still did keep Harry from being found and tracked as well as protect him from those in the wizarding world who would wish him harm. However, it did not require a blood bond as the professor thought it did. Lily knew her sister would not want Harry at all, in fact she would have been surprised Petunia hadn’t thrown Harry out at the age of six. Since Lily knew this, she didn’t use magic that would require a blood bond. Harry just had to have a place he considered home or people he considered family; no blood relation required.

“How did the shopping go?” Dumbledore asked.

“It went good. He even might have made a friend already. He talked about a girl starting school this year as well. Her name was Hermione Granger. They came across each other in Flourish and Blotts,” Hagrid said with a chuckle.

“That is good to hear. Hermione does seem promising from what Professor McGonagall said about their meeting. It will be interesting to see which houses they end up sorted in,” the headmaster said.

“Harry looks exactly like his father, but with his mother’s eyes. He also seems to be taking more after her when it comes to his brain and personality as well. He talked a lot about his different friends and all of that. I think the fact he already made friends with Hermione is more proof he seems to be taking after his mom,” Hagrid said.

“Yes. Yes. That is good to hear. James was exceptional, but it was Lily who was even more so. This is all good news, Hagrid. I am glad you were able to help him. Is there anything else you wish to add?” Dumbledore asked.

Hagrid was in thought for a moment. There was so much more he wanted to add, but none of it would be for Harry’s benefit. “I think that’s about all. Oh yeah. I got him an owl for a birthday present. The two seemed to have hit it off pretty well too,” Hagrid said.

“Good to hear. Good to hear,” Dumbledore said in a rather dismissive voice. He didn’t consider learning about the boy’s pet important. “Now then, I have much I still need to work on. Preparations and all. Good day to you, Hagrid,” Dumbledore said in dismissal with a smile.

It was clear to the headmaster his plan was working well so far, even better than he hoped. He hoped The-Boy-Who-Lived would use the love in his life as determination to do what will be needed to stop Tom once he returned. Albus really did hope it wasn’t as he feared, and the boy would have to die, but he also hoped Harry would be willing to do so for the sake of those he was close to in his life if it couldn't be avoided.

Hagrid left with a frown once he was outside of the Headmaster’s office. He knew Dumbledore was a busy man, but the giant of a man felt he was being a little too disinterested in young Harry’s life. It was even worse because of how important Dumbledore claimed Harry’s life was and that is the reason he had to stay away from all of the fame and such. Hagrid wasn’t the brightest and he did have a tendency to run his mouth, especially after enough drinks, but he cared for people. He hoped to get the chance to visit Harry more often and maybe make it up to him for letting him stay with the Dursleys without putting up much protest.

It didn’t matter to Hagrid that Harry didn’t blame him for it. He still saw it as something he needed to do not just for Harry but also for Lily and James. He could start with something small that would take time. He would try to scrounge up photos of the two for Harry and maybe get in contact with some others who knew them and might have pictures too. Hagrid gave a nod to himself as he headed back to his hut. It was time for a little spring cleaning, even if it was late summer.

[-] [-] [-]

Hermione sighed as she sat on the Hogwarts Express in a compartment to herself. She hadn’t even gone too far back into the train and yet no one seemed to want to join her. It was kind of disheartening after Flourish and Blotts and meeting Harry Potter. Hermione gave a different sigh this time. It really was something meeting Harry Potter, those eyes of his were so enchanting. She shook her head. She would not be a silly girl there, though she felt maybe she could be in this case.

There really was something to meeting him though. It was hard for her to explain. She knew it was probably a crush, but it felt much more than that. It was something she would have to investigate further. She might have been being overly romantic, but it felt like he was calling to her or something. Not physically calling to her, but it was like his magic was. She shook her head again as she blushed. “I’ve been reading too many romance novels,” she said muttered to herself. There was no way magical forces were trying to get her with someone. She was just Hermione.

Currently, she only hoped Harry didn't give her an empty promise to be polite when he said he would join her on the train. She had looked in all of the other compartments at least twice to make sure she didn’t miss him. She ended up having to pick a compartment. She was planning to save him a seat, but… “Don’t need to worry about saving a seat if no one else wants to sit with me…” she said to herself with another sigh and a frown.

“Was it too much to hope for? ” she thought to herself. Was there actually something wrong with her? She always figured the reason no one wanted to be her friend was because they were too shallow and didn’t like ‘Bookworms’. Harry had been plenty eager to talk to her in the book store. She could tell he liked books, but he was not a Bookworm like… like she was… Maybe there was something else wrong with her though. Maybe everyone knew she was a muggleborn and felt she was an outsider who didn't belong. It didn’t matter most people were meeting for the first time here on the train. Hermione's mind was running around with the idea everyone somehow knew about her.

Professor McGonagall told Hermione about the views of people regarding muggleborns and such. The Deputy Headmistress said it wasn’t everyone who really cared about it. She claimed it was only a select few who were sadly rich and politically powerful. Hermione was beginning to wonder if maybe it was worse than the Transfiguration Professor said. Hermione had tried to seem friendly to a few other new girls as she walked the train, but nothing seemed to come of it even though they had seen her. Whatever the case, Hermione Granger would just do her best to make sure no one could say she didn’t belong in the magical world.

Hermione gave a frown as she looked out the window. She wasn’t sure why it was things seemed less colorful to her the last few days on top of everything else. She didn’t think she was that deep into crushing on Harry Potter. One would think it was normal for her to be crushing like that given he was The-Boy-Who-Lived! That wasn’t the case though. She had read the books about him and realized he was right there and she honestly liked Harry more than this Boy-Who-Lived. She couldn’t really see him as the legendary figure after meeting him and how they interacted. She had talked to him and gotten to know him decently well it seemed to her.

She sighed yet again. Hermione really hoped that anecdote she read in a few books about every time you sigh you let out happiness, wasn’t true. She would probably be in the negative if that was the case. She had enough negatives in her life as it was. Her frizzy hair? A negative. Her large front teeth? A negative. She did not need a deep negative in happiness as well.

“It seems you beat me to the train, Hermione,” a voice said that caused Hermione to beam in happiness. Things didn’t seem so dreary now.

She turned to face him and was so happy to hear his voice that she didn’t even bother to hide her front teeth like she usually did when she smiled brightly. “Hey, Harry! I’m glad to see to you again. I saved us a compartment,” she said cheerfully. She was trying hard to suppress her urge to run up and give him a tight hug. They hadn’t really known each other that well yet.

“I see,” Harry said as he put his trunk up next to her’s. He then let out a breath. “I sure am glad you told me how to get on to the Platform, Hermione. Hagrid’s nice and all, but he forgot to mention about going through the barrier.” He then sat down opposite her.

Hermione was still beaming. She didn’t get why it was she suddenly felt so super happy. “Well I'm glad I could help then,” she said. She felt that pull again. It wasn’t just a crush. She was certain. She blushed as she admitted to herself that there was for sure a crush there though as well.

“So. I know you said not to bother with reading books about you, but I couldn’t help it after you said that,” she started.

“And?” Harry asked almost knowingly.

She gave a giggle. A giggle! She was giggling! That was something new, but she didn’t care. “You were right. All of them make it sound like you had some huge great big magic battle using wandless magic or other forms of ancient lost arts,” she said.

Harry laughed out loud to that. “Surely, a very impressive feat for a toddler,” he said.

Hermione giggled louder. “Yes, it is! I’m sure if the wizarding world had movies. The movie version of the fight would have one of the biggest special effects budgets in years,” she said.

“They’d probably go even further and get some really famous actor to play an adult version of me that my baby self somehow conjured up or something,” Harry said as he and Hermione shared a laugh.

“It almost sounds like you read the books as well,” Hermione said in an almost teasing voice. She really was acting kind of like a silly girl in her mind, but she again agreed that maybe it wasn’t a bad thing here. It was just so nice that Harry remembered her and how they promised to meet up on the train. She really did have a friend! Her friend just so happened to be good looking and have intensely wonderful green eyes. There was a part of Hermione that already seemed to realize her heart was doomed. Harry already seemed to have it or would soon enough. That same part didn’t think that was necessarily a bad thing though. Her magic also really seemed to like his as well, even though the frizzy haired girl didn’t fully realize this despite her guesses that might be the case.

The two then started talking about all kinds of things including more about their magical world guides. Hermione really liked the sound of Hagrid, even if he was a bit absentminded, since he didn’t tell Harry how to get to the platform. Hermione would later be surprised to realize for the first time in her life, she didn’t open a book to read or even think about doing such a thing during a long trip.

After some time, their compartment door opened. This time it wasn’t the refreshment lady. They had taken quite a few treats the first time. Hermione was not about to pass up the opportunity to enjoy sweets now that she wasn’t under the roof of two dentists all the time. Both Harry and Hermione learned chocolate frogs were tasty, but you had to stop them from escaping first. They even had cards with them. Harry got Dumbledore and Hermione got Artemisia Lufkin, who was the first witch to be come Minster of Magic.

This time it was a boy who opened the compartment door. He was round faced with brown hair and brown eyes. He was also a bit short and slightly chubby. “Have any of you seen a toad?!” he asked desperately. “I’ve lost Trevor and can’t find him.”

“No, we haven’t,” Hermione answered.

“Like she said,” Harry replied in agreement.

“Ohhhh… Sorry then!” the boy said as he left quickly.

“He didn’t even give us his name, did he?” Hermione asked.

“Nope. Hope he finds his toad. Feel a bit sorry for him though. Hagrid said everyone will make fun of you for having a pet toad,” Harry said.

Hermione frowned. “That isn’t right. If he likes his pet, he shouldn’t be made fun of,” she said.

“True. That’s how people are though. I won’t make fun of him for it myself. At the same time, if he likes his pet, it shouldn’t matter what others say, even if it isn’t right. So long as they just keep it to words, he should get used to it and not let it bother him,” Harry said.

“I guess you have a point,” Hermione said in thought. It seemed a bit callous the way he said that, but he was right. “Do you have a pet?” she then asked.

Harry smiled. “I do. A snowy white owl. Her name is Hedwig. Hagrid got her for me as a Birthday present,” he said.

“Oooo… She sounds pretty! I wanted a cat. There was this one I really liked even with his odd legs, but my parents said I wasn’t ready for a pet yet…” she admitted with a frown.

“Sorry to hear that. I’d say you seem ready enough. You seem pretty smart, so you know it would be a responsibility. Maybe next year they’ll let you get your pet,” Harry said.

“Thanks! I hope so. I hope someone else doesn’t get him instead, even if the store owner seemed to think that wouldn’t happen. He looked so cute though with his squashed face and his orange and white fur,” she was smiling as she talked about the cat and then she frowned for a moment and gave a sniff at not having the pet. She feared it would be one of those things her parents would always tell her she wasn't ready for yet. It didn't help that her parents weren't exactly pet people.

“When is your birthday, Hermione? Mine was July 31st,” Harry said hoping to get her mind off the pet she wasn’t allowed to have.

Hermione seemed to brighten again. “September 19th. I’ll be turning 12 then. I barely missed the school cut off date,” she said.

Harry was about to say something when the door open again. It was the same boy from before, “Are you sure you haven’t seen Trevor?” he asked almost more desperately than the first time.

Harry gave a sigh. “Will you at least tell us your name this time?” he asked possibly sounding a bit more offended then he meant to sound.

The boy’s eyes widened. “I-I-I’m so sorry. My name is Neville Longbottom. I’m so sorry for not saying it the first time,” Neville said.

“Good to know, Neville. I’m Harry Potter,” Harry said with a smile.

“Y-Y-You’re Harry P-P-Potter?! I’m so sorry!” Neville said with a bow in apology.

“Is it always like this?” Hermione asked Harry quietly.

“I don’t get it either. The Leaky Cauldron was something though. Everyone insisted on shaking my hand,” Harry said to her.

“Hmmm,” Hermione said in thought. She then turned to the boy who was still apologizing over and over again. “I’m Hermione Granger,” she said.

“I’m sorry to you too,” Neville said bowing to her now. Hermione didn’t get it. There wasn't a reason for him to bow like that.

“How long have you been looking for Trevor?” Harry asked.

“A good while now…” Neville said.

Harry was about to say something, but it seemed Hermione already had an idea what he was going to say. She said to Harry quietly, “We should probably change first.”

“Good idea, Hermione. It might take a while. I’ll wait outside while you change and then I’ll change,” Harry said standing up. He gave Neville small smile. “Then we’ll see if we can help you find your toad,” Harry said.

“Thank you so much!” Neville said. He then blushed and quickly stepped outside. “Sorry Hermione! I forgot you were going to change!” he said.

“I haven’t started yet…” Hermione said to herself with a slight frown.

Harry gave her a smile she didn’t see as he left the compartment and closed it behind him. He really did think she was cute. She was a nice friend too, even if he already realized she would get excitable when talking sometimes. It was hard to describe, but the way she first smiled at him when he found her on the train really was something. She had large front teeth, but they seemed to make her smile really cute when she was beaming like that. He noticed she sometimes tried to hide them after that first smile though. He hoped she wouldn’t keep doing that, or if she did maybe he could help her to stop trying to hide them.

Harry soon noticed, as they were waiting, Neville was trying to look over to him without being caught for some reason. “What is it?” he asked.

Neville seemed to clear his throat and feel embarrassed. “Sorry… I’m just surprised I met you already and you’re offering to help me look for Trevor,” he said.

Harry sighed. “I’m just a guy, Neville. I didn’t even know I was famous for something I supposedly did that no one witnessed when I was just a year old. You haven’t read books on me as well? Have you?” he asked.

Neville blushed and looked away and pointedly didn’t answer the question.

Harry was about to say something when the door opened and Hermione said in a sweet voice, “Finished!”

Harry then entered and changed as well. He shortly returned and turned to Neville to ask, “Alright. Where was the last place you saw Trevor?”

“In my compartment. I know we were supposed to leave our pets to be packed, but he got out of his tank and so I was holding him instead,” Neville said. He then pointed towards the back of the train. “My compartment is back that way…”

Harry looked the opposite way to better understand where they were on the train. Hermione actually picked a compartment for them close to the front. “Might as well look while we head back there,” Harry said.

“Don’t you want to look in the front first?” Hermione asked.

“We have to come back this way anyways. Figured going to Neville’s compartment first would be the best idea. If we don’t find it, or any clues. We can quickly check the front once we get back,” Harry said with a shrug.

Hermione seemed to be in thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement. It probably didn’t really matter too much anyways. They then started their trek through the train in search for Trevor.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry supposed he should have realized this would happen. They tried every compartment on the way towards the back. People at first laughed or said something along the lines of, “Ha ha! Just forget about him and get a better pet next time!” Harry in reply would look to them unimpressed and they would freeze for a moment. They would then open their eyes wide and stare at him and his scar. They would stutter out something similar to Neville earlier and then suddenly they would be a bit more polite.

Harry gave a huff as they just received another negative from a compartment. “At least I’m getting the first round of gawking out of the way,” he said with a shake of his head. This was going to be annoying after a while. He wouldn’t mind it so much if the situation was similar to how the newer members of the Knights were when first meeting him. At least in that case, he had earned their respect and awe for something he did that he remembered.

“Honestly…” Hermione said with a bit of a huff and her cheeks puffed up a little in anger. Harry found it kind of cute, but only because he wasn’t the one receiving her ire. She did not appreciate the things they told Neville. She also, unknown to Harry and Neville, did not appreciate the way other girls fawned over Harry. If anyone asked, she would claim she didn’t know why that was the case and probably would have blushing cheeks while doing so. Harry gave a bit of a smile as Hermione led them to the next compartment.

She opened the door and in a bossier than her usual tone voice said, “Has anyone seen a toad? Neville’s lost his.”

“Bloody Hell! For crying out loud! We already told him we haven’t seen his damnable toad!” a boy with flaming red hair and an equally red face pretty much shouted at her.

Hermione first looked shocked but then narrowed her honey brown eyes in anger. She was about to reply, but Harry spoke up. “Hey now. No need to be that way,” Harry said in a calm voice.

He then placed a hand on Hermione’s shoulder which caused the girl’s breath to hitch quickly before she blushed a little and suddenly seemed to be a little shyer in her stance. Harry hadn’t expected that reaction from her, but he wouldn’t lie. He really liked her reaction.

He focused on the flaming red-haired boy though. “Hermione may have been a little heated in asking her question, because she’s stressed...” he said.

“Sorry,” she said to Harry in a quiet and sweet voice.

“But there was no reason for you to bite her head off like that,” Harry said. This time his calm voice was laced with power and his expression wasn’t so easy going either.

The boy with flaming red hair didn’t know what to do in response. He wanted to snap at this other guy for getting on his case. Couldn’t he see the girl was being annoying? If the guy’s been around her for a while, surely he would notice this. It had taken just her question for him, Ron Weasley, to realize she was bossy and annoying. The other part of him was actually warning him to just apologize already and answer more politely.

Ron instead settled for something in the middle or at least that’s what he thought. “Haven’t seen the toad,” he said dismissively. The two guys in the compartment with him looked to Ron as if he was mental for acting that way. He had snapped at her unnecessarily just like the boy said. He shouldn’t just dismiss them like that.

It was in fact Dean Thomas, a dark-skinned boy with dark hair, that replied. “Sorry for Ron here… We haven’t seen the toad though. Neville came by earlier asking the same thing.”

Harry nodded to him and said, “Thanks for answering civilly. Let’s try the next one, Neville.”

“Okay. Sorry for the interruption,” the other boy said as he left the compartment again.

Hermione was still blushing as Harry seemed to guide her out of the compartment. He then let go of her shoulder. She relaxed a little, but her cheeks were still a pretty pink color. She also hated how her shoulder suddenly felt cold without Harry’s hand on it. She really was going to have to figure out what was happening to her. This seemed a bit much for just a simple crush.

[-] [-] [-]

In the end, it turned out either Neville hadn’t bothered to first look through his own compartment, or Trevor had returned of his own accord. Harry and Hermione would have asked, but seeing the boy so happy again, they just left after he thanked them profusely for helping. Hermione sighed as they sat down again, this time on the same seat, she then said, “We should have just looked there first!”

“Maybe, but we don’t know if Trevor had been there the whole time or not. It is kind of frustrating though,” Harry admitted.

“I know. I am not going to get a toad when I have my own pet,” she decided.

Harry gave her a smirk, which caused her heart to beat faster, as he said, “I didn’t take you for a pet Toad kind of girl.”

She blushed. “I-I-I’m not. I just have even less reason to get a pet toad. I kind of think their icky, even if I don’t hate them,” she admitted.

Harry would have talked to her more, but their compartment door opened again. This time it was three boys. The one in the center had slicked back blonde hair and an arrogant look to him. “Some people having been saying Harry Potter is here,” he said in a drawing voice that just added to his arrogant feel in case the look wasn’t enough.

“Yeah,” Harry replied naturally.

“I’m Draco Malfoy. This is Crabbe and this is Goyle,” he said before pointing to the two large boys next to him in turn. They tried to look menacing and intimidating.

Harry looked to them each in turn in the eyes unimpressed. The two large boys actually flinched a little at his look. They also unintentionally eased up on their attempts at intimidation. Harry gave the slightest twitch of his lips that caused them to blink. He then looked to Draco again and asked, “So. Is there a reason you decided to come here and not even bother knocking on the door first? You aren’t looking for a lost toad too, are you?”

Draco looked disgusted at the notion of having a pet toad. “No. I am not,” Draco answered.

“Then you should have been well mannered enough to knock first. It is just common courtesy,” Harry said as he stood up.

Draco wanted to be angry, but he couldn’t really refute what Harry said. He could also feel something about the boy. The fact that both Crabbe and Goyle seemed to have flinched earlier also said something. There were also his father’s instructions to try and meet with Harry Potter and get to know him.

“Duly noted. I guess… You said you were looking around earlier on the train?” Draco then asked to try and move the conversation onward.

“You also didn’t bother to introduce yourself to Hermione here either. It is after all only proper to introduce yourself to a girl,” Harry said.

Draco was frowning but gave Hermione a slight nod as his introduction. Hermione gave him an uneasy smile and wave in return.

“To answer your question. Yes, I was going up and down the train helping someone find their toad. It was very illuminating to say the least. Some were rude. Some were dismissive. Some just gawked. A rather general lacking of common courtesy really. Though that one boy with the flaming red hair was the worst,” Harry mused causally.

Draco gave an arrogant smile that didn’t reach his lips as he said, “Ahhh yes. No doubt that was a Weasley. I apologize for forgetting my manners earlier. You are right, too many do. I seem to have let them rub off on me. You will soon learn that some wizards are better than others. I can help you there.”

He was about to offer his hand in a shake, but Harry answered quickly. “I appreciate the gracious offer. However, I would rather figure that out on my own. I prefer to see for myself what people are like. See who they are when they aren’t wearing their social masks,” Harry said.

Draco blinked in surprise for a moment. That was rather… interesting of Harry to say. It was odd that he seemed to have a bit of an idea of how to play the game and what not. Draco couldn’t really think of an appropriate response. It seemed Harry Potter was neither a naïve little brat nor a gullible do-gooder. “That is a very good approach, Harry. My offer stands should you ever wish to try a different approach,” he said with a bit of respect in his voice this time.

“Come, Crabbe. Come, Goyle. There are others we need to see before arriving at Hogwarts,” Draco said as he left with his two henchmen in training following him.

Once they left and closed the door, Hermione let out a sigh of relief. Harry went to the door and asked, “You don’t mind if I lock it this time, do you?”

“If it will keep more people like him from just storming in here, go ahead,” she said relaxing a lot more than she usually would. That was really intense. She never knew things could get like that.

Harry did so and sat back down next to her. “Sorry about that,” he said offering her a sugar quill.

She gladly took it. She had no idea why Sugar Quills were her favorite candy but they were. She happily started to suck on it. She then said, “I’m just surprised by all of that. You really seemed to do well in that exchange at least.”

“Boss always says the way you say words are more powerful than the words themselves. Had I said those same words differently they would have had a different effect,” Harry said.

Hermione accidentally sucked a little louder than was polite. She blushed at realizing her mistake and then smiled as she pulled the sugar quill out and said, “Then there were those two… Bodyguards… They seemed kind of scary to me. I’m glad I wasn’t alone on this trip.”

Harry frowned a little for a moment. Did Hermione think he wouldn’t have at least said hi, even if he for some reason didn’t hold his promise? He put that to the back of his mind for the moment. “They are physically strong. But they aren’t truly strong. I’ve seen plenty of people tougher than them. They’re all about intimidation. I can tell they’ve never really been in a fight. Things are actually different in the magical world though. We all have wands. You have a lot of magic power yourself, Hermione. You could probably take them with ease once you learn a few spells,” he said.

Hermione blushed to that. “Thanks. I’m not really looking to start fights though,” she said.

“No one should. I was just pointing out you could probably do a very good job taking care of yourself should you need to,” Harry said.

Hermione gave a thoughtful look there. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said.

“What house do you think you’ll be in, Hermione?” Harry asked to change the topic to something he knew she would enjoy more.

“I don’t know. No one really does until they’re sorted. I could see myself in Ravenclaw I suppose. I kind of want Gryffindor because Professor Dumbledore was in Gryffindor! Which house do you want?” Hermione asked.

Harry was in thought for a moment. He then gave a small smile as he said, “Both of my parents were in Gryffindor. But I think I would like Hufflepuff.”

“Really?! Everyone says it’s the worst house though,” Hermione said surprise.

“They aren’t thinking enough, in my opinion then. Hufflepuff is about loyalty and being hard working. Gryffindor is about being bold and brave. Perhaps even recklessly so. Slytherin is for the cunning and ambitious. Which also means a potential for a lot of backstabbing. Ravenclaw is for the studious and intelligent. They are about academics, but there is a lot more to life than just school books. To truly be intelligent, you need to actually get out there and experience life,” Harry said.

Hermione was looking to him with her honey brown eyes brightly lit as she drank in all of his words. She had never really thought about all of this so far.

“To me. Hufflepuff is the best choice. It is not extra focused on certain attributes and thus it is the house with the most potential. There is little you can’t eventually accomplish with hard work. You can be the smartest of the bright and still in Hufflepuff. You can be cunning and ambitious as well. You just won’t stab others in the back to fulfill your ambitions and you will have people there with you the whole way you can actually trust. Being brave and bold? If you have loyalty to others and they you, then you can’t be anything but that in first place really. With strong loyalty to those you care about, you will stand up to any challenge you might face,” Harry said.

Hermione was now thoughtfully sucking on her sugar quill. She was mulling over his words. Hermione looked to him again. She blushed when he looked to her in return. She closed her eyes to think clearer. As she sat there with her eyes closed sucking on the sugar quill, she felt that pull again. It was as if something was telling her he had the right of it. That going with him to Hufflepuff would give her even more than she hoped for at Hogwarts.

Hermione wanted Hogwarts to be a new start for her life. She couldn’t help but feel that new life had already begun and Harry was going to be a big part of it. That pull was telling her she needed to be with Harry for things to be right. It was a really odd feeling all of this stuff and it had been going on for the whole month after meeting him in the book store.

Hermione gave a soft sigh. “I wish I knew where you were going to end up… That way I could go there too,” she said louder than she thought.

Harry was looking her over. He then said, “I’m pretty sure I’ll end up in Hufflepuff. I don’t know how this sorting works, but I know a lot about myself. I have traits of all the houses pretty much, but more than anything loyalty and hard work matter to me the most.”

“I think I like your view on the houses. It is different. If I can try to influence where I go, I want to go there too,” she said with a nod. She would prove to everyone she belonged in the magical world, but it would nice to have others who are there with her along the way. It seemed like Hufflepuff was the place where that could most likely happen.

“Ten minutes until we arrive at Hogsmeade Station. Be sure to put on your uniforms and leave your trunks on the train. They will be moved to your House, or new house for all of you first years,” A voice seemed to call through the whole train.

“Oooo! You hear that, Harry?!” Hermione said excitedly. “We’re almost there, finally!” she then without realizing it gave Harry a friendly hug in here excitement at finally being almost to Hogwarts. She then blushed, but held the hug a little longer in shock.

Harry gave a smile and returned the hug. Hermione’s blush intensified. She felt something more than just the regular connection of hugging someone in that moment. She would later realize it was that pull acting on its own. At the moment, she was too happily overwhelmed by the fact she had just received her first hug from a boy! Her dad and relatives didn’t count there.

Harry then said, “I’m happy too, Hermione. I really can’t wait to learn all about magic!” They waited as the train finally came to a stop. Their magical school life was already beginning.

Chapter 4: The Unexpected Sorting

Notes:

I know chapters have been coming rather quickly for this story so far, but don’t expect that pace to continue for the future of the story. I just got really into writing this story and the first few chapters pumped out easily. I have at most one more chapter that might get posted quickly.

“First Years this way. We’re going to Hogwarts this way. Four to a boat max,” Hagrid said to the eager group of new students.

Harry thought the idea of going to the castle via boat on the lake was really cool. He climbed in one boat and unsurprising Hermione followed him closely. She had been that way the whole trip from the train. Harry liked that he already made a good friend. The fact it was a cute girl was even better. They were soon joined by two other girls in their boat.

“Hello, I’m Harry Potter,” he greeted them.

“H-H-Hi,” one said shyly. She was a girl wearing her blonde hair in pig tails.

Harry smiled to her. “I recognize you. You were leaving Madam Malkin’s just as I was entering. You even gave me cheerful wave.”

“You remember?!” she asked in shock. Harry nodded to her. “My name’s Hannah Abbot!” she then greeted more confidently. She next looked to the other girl sitting next to Harry.

“I’m Hermione Granger,” Hermione greeted in return with her hide-her-teeth smile. Harry hoped Hannah didn’t take it the wrong way. Someone could possibly take such a smile as an uneasy one and think Hermione didn’t really want to be in their company.

“What is your name?” Harry asked the other girl. She had dark red hair she wore in a long braid and deep brown eyes.

She gave a slightly nervous smile as she said, “I’m Susan Bones.”

“I’ve heard your last name before. Are you related to Amelia Bones? The head of the Departments of Magical Law Enforcement?” Hermione asked.

“She’s my aunt. I also live with her, because…” she trailed off and looked down to the boat. Hannah gave the girl a hug.

Hermione frowned. Why did she seem to have such rotten luck when talking to people?! She didn’t want to bring up unpleasant memories in other people like this.

Harry gave her a look of understanding as he said, “I also lost my parents. I’m sorry to hear that.”

Susan blinked a couple of times. She then looked up and seemed to feel a little relieved oddly enough. She then smiled a little. “I love my aunt, so it isn’t too bad. I just don’t like bringing it up usually. Sorry if I made you feel bad, Hermione. I know you were just trying to make conversation.”

“It’s alright… I seem to have bad luck like that,” Hermione sighed.

“It isn’t really that unexpected and it isn’t your fault,” Hannah said to Hermione causing the girl to relax a little. “A lot of people have lost family. Everyone including muggleborns knows what you did Harry, but few seem to realize just how much of an impact the whole war thing had on not only you but everyone else,” she added.

“The aftermath was a mess too. My parents were Aurors so that is how that happened. My aunt tells me they were really good, even if my mother was different as an Auror, but having that job gets you enemies. So… What house do you two want? Hannah and I have been friends for a while and we both aren’t sure what house we’ll be in but hope we are together,” Susan said.

Hermione felt a little relieved it wasn’t just her bad luck that was causing her to unintentionally bring up bad memories in others. She also felt sad so many people were affected by the war. She hadn’t really known many people directly affected by war in the muggle world.

Before they could continue their new discussion, Hagrid spoke up to them all. “Watch yer heads up here.” The boats soon entered a cave that was only lit by torches before they came to what was an underground harbor. Their early conversation was forgotten in exchange for curiosity at where they were.

“This really is an interesting way to enter the school,” Harry commented with a grin as the boats came to a stop and everyone started to climb out.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry never thought he would see ghosts for real. He also never thought three girls would all grab on to him due to the unfamiliar sight. “New students! So good to see you all. So many as well. I hope to see some of you in Hufflepuff, that’s my house!” the ghost of a fat friar said before disappearing through the wall as the others did.

Hannah was holding tight to Harry’s arm as she closed her eyes tight. Susan did the same mostly because she was caught off guard by her friend’s scream at the ghost parade’s entrance.

Hermione was also grabbing on to Harry from the other side. She said in a shy voice, “Sorry about that… I didn’t expect to see ghosts.” She gave a cute blush in reply as she looked to the side.

Harry blushed at having three girls holding on to him at the same time. “Its alright. I was shocked too. I’m actually a bit surprised at you two,” he said looking to the two other blushing girls.

“Sorry… Hannah ummm… startled me,” Susan said.

Hannah’s cheeks were pink in color. “I didn’t expect ghosts…” she explained.

“No one told either of you two about them?” Harry asked in surprise since the two lived in the wizarding world. Both girls shook their heads. He thought on it more and realized a number of new students had reacted in a similar fashion and he didn’t think there were that many muggleborns in their year. “I wonder why they didn’t mention it,” Harry thought out loud.

“I think it might have to do with the fact they are a common sight here, so maybe they just don’t think about needing to say anything?” Hermione supplied.

“That one ghost did say Hufflepuff was his house so maybe each house has a few ghosts?” Susan added.

“I guess we’ll find out while we’re here,” Harry replied.

The doors then opened again and Professor McGonagall once more spoke to them. “Form a line and follow me.”

The new students did as she said. Harry found himself right behind Susan with Hermione right behind him. They entered the hall and immediately the sight was impressive. There were four long tables filled with students all wearing black robes and hats. Up at the front, sat the staff of Hogwarts and they were all wearing robes of different colors and types.

There was one professor wearing robes that seemed even blacker than the school robes. The professor in black looked to them all and his eyes momentarily seemed to look over Harry with keener interest. He seemed to have some flash of recognition at Harry, but it was not pleasant. The professor’s gaze in general didn’t seem pleasant. Harry had a feeling there was something there that he didn’t understand yet, but he hoped he would.

“Oooo! Look up, Harry!” Hermione said excitedly to him from behind.

Harry did as she suggested and his eyes immediately widened. He hadn’t been paying attention to the high ceiling of the hall. It was filled with pretty much an exact replica of the outside night sky. It even had the same small clouds passing close to the moon. There were also several candles that didn’t seem to melt floating around as well providing light for the hall.

“I read it was enchanted to look like the outside sky. Actually, seeing it is completely different!” Hermione said in awe of the magic.

“There are a lot of things you have to see for yourself to understand. This is clearly one of them. You’re right. It is amazing!” Harry said to her.

The first years soon had their attention brought to the front of the hall and in particular a really ratty old hat. Harry was surprised it was still in any sort of recognizable hat condition with how old it seemed. He could tell it had to be filled with magic, and that was before it started singing a song. Harry just listened and could barely wrap his head around the fact the hat was singing. He did at least figure out the hat sorted them into their houses.

“When I call your name, come forward and place the sorting hat on your head,” Professor McGonagall said to them all. She had a magical list in front of her. It turned out it was a pigtailed and blushing Hannah who started them off. She gave a cute squeak sound and made her way to the front. Everyone both wished and didn’t wish they were going in her stead. They wanted this done with already, but no one wanted to go first.

As soon as the hat was placed on her head, it slipped down past her eyes. If one had a vivid enough of an imagination, they might say it looked like the hat was trying to eat her up or something. Soon afterwards the hat called out, “HUFFLEPUFF!” The table filled with people wearing yellow and black accents on their robes and matching neckties started to cheer and applaud. Hannah was blushing full force as she made her way over quickly and was warmly greeted by the others.

“Susan Bones,” McGonagall called. The girl in front of Harry gulped and walked up to the stool with the hat. She placed it on and just like with Hannah it seemed to cover her whole head.

Soon enough, the hat spoke again. “HUFFLEPUFF!” it said and Susan went to join Hannah at the table as well. She received a very relieved hug from Hannah before the two smiled to each other and watched the sorting with everyone else.

[-] [-] [-]

“Hermione Granger,” Professor McGonagall called. Hermione took in a deep breath. Harry turned to her and placed a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. Hermione relaxed and mouthed a thank you to him as she made her way forward.

Hermione’s heart was beating and it wasn’t just because of Harry comforting her. She felt nervous. She wondered where she would end up. She wanted Hufflepuff because of what Harry said and she really liked the idea of being with a house that was about loyalty. She was thinking maybe that meant it would be a great house to make friends. She didn’t know if where she wanted to end up played a role or not in her final placement. If it did, would she be put into Gryffindor since that was the house she initially really wanted just because Dumbledore was in it? Would Harry even get to go to the house he wanted?

Hermione was slightly relieved when she sat down and the hat placed on her head. She just needed to focus on what was at hand. She however did not expect to hear the hat’s voice seemingly coming from inside her own head. “Where to put you? ” the hat started.

Hermione wasn’t sure if she was supposed to say something or what.

“You have a very bright mind. One of the brightest with the most potential I’ve seen in a good while. You also want to really prove yourself as a muggleborn. Then there is your courage. You are very much more courageous than many would think of a girl they called a bookworm, ” the hat said.

Hermione recoiled a little at that name. She hated being called that. Too many students in her last school teased her with that name. She didn’t want to always be called that again. It made her feel so alone because they always ganged up on her with calling her that name. That’s why she wanted to be in the same House Harry wanted, Hufflepuff. She knew Harry wouldn't always call her that and she felt Hufflepuffs wouldn't be always gaining up on her either, even if they did... she would hopefully be there with Harry by her side at least.

“There is even more to you though. Yes. It is all in here, my dear. You are also very hard working even with your natural intelligence. You also seem to hold on tight to those that you consider friends or more. Perhaps that is more where your courage would come from and not just because you want to prove yourself no matter what, ” the hat said.

“Does that mean?! ” Hermione asked in thought with hope seemingly lighting up her magic.

“You would do well in both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, but with your drive and your eagerness for finding friends and holding on tight… It better be… HUFFLEPUFF! There seems to be a lot going for that house this year, ” the hat said just before it was pulled off her head.

Hermione grinned brightly as the table with the badger insignias cheered again. Hermione gave Harry a look before dashing off to the table and receiving a warm welcome as well. Both Hannah and Susan gave her a hug too which surprised her, but she returned it eagerly. Hermione was surprised how she already felt more at home than she thought she would be here. She hoped it would stay that way.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry really hoped he ended up in Hufflepuff after Hermione got placed there. It would also be nice to be there and get to talk to both Susan and Hannah more as well. The only boy in the house so far seemed a little worried there weren’t any other guys which kind of got Harry to chuckle.

The names continued and it seemed there were plenty of students going to all of the different houses. Harry found it interesting when Draco Malfoy’s turn came. The boy walked up there acting extra arrogant to cover up his own worries about the sorting. No doubt the boy for all of his belief he would end up in Slytherin, from what Harry overheard on the trip from the boats, had some of his own doubts where he would be placed.

However, he need not worry. The hat didn’t even have time to slide down before it called out, “SLYTHERIN!”. Draco then joined his two bodyguards at the table and was smirking so much it was obvious to Harry how very relieved he was to be placed there. Harry shook his head slightly at the scene in amusement.

Soon it was his turn. “Finally…” Harry sighed as he made his way up to the front. Everyone was whispering to each other and pointing. Harry found it really annoying, but didn’t show anything apart from indifference to it all.

Harry sat down on the stool and the hat was placed on his head before doing with him as it did most others and sliding down over his eyes. Harry was surprised when he heard the hat’s voice speaking to him, but then again maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise. The hat probably didn’t get to speak much and voicing his thoughts might help with the sorting.

“This is interesting. You are very different from what most pictured. Many figured you would be in Slytherin, because you are actually a worse Dark Lord than Voldemort. Just as many figured you would be in Gryffindor, because most have the notion that Slytherin is Evil and Gryffindor is Good. But you are different. You could be in either of those houses and the others. Out of curiosity, why is it you seem so set upon Hufflepuff? ” the hat asked Harry.

“Apart from Boss and the Street Knights? ” Harry clarified.

“Yes. If you don’t mind humoring me, ” the hat replied.

“Hufflepuff is the house with the most potential. They are not so set in the ways of ambition, proving how brave they are, or only spending time studying books. They can have any and all of those aspects. However, they work hard and look out for each other foremost. Those are who you want to be around. Those are who you want to be with. Those are actually the ones who would get the most done when needed. I guess it isn’t too different from Boss and the Street Knights in the end. Those were the lessons I learned after I was kicked out by the Dursleys. I will do what I can for the Street Knights. I will do what I can for my friends. Hufflepuffs could more or less end up being the Street Knights of the magical world. They are most likely, those who deserve Loyalty, ” Harry thought in return.

“An interesting take indeed, Mr. Potter. I look forward to seeing how you remind the magical world that Hufflepuffs aren’t just a bunch of duffers. I also think it will be amusing to see how certain people react to this. You will be bringing change to the Magical world I get the feeling. Change very much needed. And it will all begin in the house everyone tosses aside or ignores… HUFFLEPUFF!” the hat shouted out at the end.

The reaction to the hat’s call was very different from what people would have expected. Hufflepuff of course, were cheering louder than they had yet. Gryffindor oddly enough seemed to be a mix of confusion and polite clapping. Ravenclaw was clapping just as much as they had any member of a house apart from their own. Slytherin was either whispering among themselves, or laughing at how Potter must just be a duffer after all if he went to Hufflepuff.

Draco Malfoy on the other hand was neither. Crabbe and Goyle were laughing and feeling superior to Potter the Badger, but he had a speculative look on his face. His father had told him a number of ideas on how to approach and treat Potter based on if he was in Gryffindor, Slytherin, or most unlikely Ravenclaw. Lord Malfoy did not have ideas for his son on how to handle a Hufflepuff Harry Potter.

Draco was wondering if maybe there was something more going on that no one else knew apart from Harry Potter. There was no way Harry could be just a duffer or just a Hufflepuff. Draco was sure that couldn’t be the case after meeting him on the train. Harry had to know something no one else did. Even the professors seemed surprised apart from Professor Sprout, she was obviously excited about having Harry in her house.

Professor Snape wasn’t sure what to think about Harry Potter. Harry looked just like his father apart from his eyes. He couldn’t be a mini-version of his father though. There was no way such a person could be in Hufflepuff. He would see what happens in his first Potions Class with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw this year. After that, Professor Snape would re-evaluate his strategy on how to handle Harry Potter.

Professor Dumbledore was shocked. Shocked! Harry Potter wasn’t in Gryffindor or god forbid, Slytherin. The headmaster was sure Harry Potter would be in Gryffindor. However, this was even more perfect for his plans for the boy.

A Harry from Hufflepuff would be much easier to convince to fight hard against Voldemort and do whatever is necessary to ensure the Dark Lord is defeated permanently. It wouldn’t matter if that necessity meant dying for what Dumbledore thought the prophecy meant was true, and if it couldn’t be avoided. Dumbledore could just pull a little on that loyalty Hufflepuffs have and earn Harry’s. It shouldn’t be too hard.

There was one member of the staff who wasn’t surprised by the turnout of Harry’s sorting. Hagrid knew after meeting the boy and the Street Knights there was only one place he was going to end up. Hagrid was happy for Harry, honestly. Sure, he would have preferred Harry end up in Gryffindor, since it was his house, but Harry would like it in Hufflepuff he was sure. It also fit Harry well. There was no way a Street Knight would end up in any other house.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry happily made his way over to Hufflepuff and was promptly greeted warmly by the other members of the house. He smiled and shook hands and thanked the others for their greetings. He was then hugged tight by a girl with bushy hair. “I knew you’d be here too, but I was so worried!” Hermione said as she held the hug longer beaming up at him.

“I’m glad you ended up here as well, Hermione,” Harry said with a smile of his own as he hugged her in return. She was really cute beaming at him like that.

The hall settled down as the sorting continued. There weren’t any other seemingly shocking sortings, but perhaps that was how it usually went. The sorting ceremony ended with Ron Weasley becoming a Gryffindor and Blaise Zabini going to Slytherin.

The feast was soon underway after the sorting finished. The students quickly started talking to each other as well. “Hello, I’m Justin Finch-Fletchley,” the boy introduced himself. He was of medium height and build with slightly curly black hair and brown eyes with pale skin.

“Hello, Justin. I’m Harry Potter,” Harry greeted in return. He then gave a chuckle and added, “I bet you’re relieved you didn’t end up being the only first year boy in Hufflepuff.”

Justin chuckled in reply. “Caught that did you?” he asked in a friendly manner. Harry nodded. “I was bit worried I’d be completely outnumbered. I don’t have anything against girls, but it would be tough being outnumbered 3 to 1. I’m muggleborn by the way. What are you?” he asked, since he heard a few people asking such questions.

“I believe I’m a half-blood, but I was raised in the muggle world,” Harry said.

“Oh yeah? Because of… that?” Justin asked carefully. Harry nodded. Justin decided to move the conversation on. “I was actually down for Eton before getting the letter,” he said.

“Wow!” Harry said.

“That’s really impressive!” Hermione added.

“Thanks!” Justin replied grinning. “My parents were proud. I’m still glad I came here though. As great as Eton may be… It isn’t a magic school.” He then gave a grin and chuckled. “My mom was a bit disappointed though, but still… Magic School!” Harry and Hermione laughed to his reply.

“What is Eton? I’m Ernie Macmillan. I’m a pure blood and raised in the magic world,” a different boy replied. Ernie was a stout boy with blonde hair, blue eyes, and light-colored skin.

“Eton is a prestigious all boys school,” Justin said in short explanation. Ernie nodded in understanding.

“That’s putting it lightly,” Hermione said. “It’s known for having a lot of British Prime Ministers and even members of the Royal Family go there.”

“Really?!” Ernie asked in surprise. Justin gave a nod. “So, its like the Hogwarts of muggle schools?” he asked.

Harry was in thought on that. “I guess you could say that…” he started.

“Are there other magic schools for Britain though? I know it is talked about being a very great school, but I also kind of felt it was the only one too,” Hermione said.

Ernie was in thought for a moment. “Yes and No,” he answered.

“There seems to be a lot more magicals than could possibly go here though. Judging from the number of students,” Justin said looking around at the tables. It seemed like a lot of people, but this was seven years worth of students. There was no way that would be enough to have a viable population of witches and wizards.

Ernie continued, “Hogwarts is the only British magic school, but not everyone comes here to learn magic. There’s Beauxbatons in France and Durmstrang in Scandinavia. Some go to those schools instead.”

He then frowned as he looked around as well. “You also have to keep in mind. We had that war. It was ten years ago, but we’re the first class of students from close to the end of it. Before then there were a lot more students here my dad told me,” he added.

“Meaning we’ll see the actual start of a bounce back in the next year or two,” Hermione supplied.

“Exactly! There’s also the fact some are home schooled. Though that is rather rare, it was popular during the war and shortly after it. People wanted to keep their families close and be able to leave quickly in case something bad happened. Can’t do that easily if your children are at Hogwarts and don’t come home until the breaks or summer,” he said before everyone focused on eating for a bit.

“What classes are everyone looking forward to?” Harry asked after a moment. The conversation was once again started. This time all of the students nearby got into it.

[-] [-] [-]

Once the plates were cleared away, Dumbledore stood up and spoke again. “Now that we have full stomachs and aren’t yet sleepy…” The headmaster trailed off as a few laughed at his little joke. One boy over at the Gryffindor table yawned though. “At least most of us, aren’t sleepy yet,” Dumbledore added as more people laughed that time and the boy with flaming red hair blushed just as red.

“I have some more announcements to make. Filch, our caretaker, requested I mention to all students magic isn’t allowed in the hallways between classes. He also added a number of items to the banned items list. Your dorms’ each have the full list posted on the noticeboards,” Dumbledore said. Many students rolled their eyes and a very grouchy looking man nodded to the headmaster’s words and looked over the gathered students trying to intimidate them.

“For you first years, I will tell you the Forbidden Forest is exactly that. Forbidden. You are not allowed to go near it unattended by a member of the staff. Some of our older students would also do well to remember this,” the headmaster said as he looked to a set of twin boys with flaming red hair who were identical down to the last freckle. They gave rather flamboyant bows with large grins as the other students chuckled.

“Finally. The third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to all who do not wish to experience a most painful death,” the wizened headmaster said in all seriousness.

Harry shook his head to that. “He’s just asking for trouble saying that,” he muttered.

“I know,” Hermione agreed. She then looked to Harry seriously. “You aren’t going to try anything are you?” she asked imploringly. She really didn’t want to lose her first friend and the first guy who seemed to like her company. It was not at all because her maybe huge crush on him. Nope, that wasn’t at all part of the reason she wanted him not getting in trouble...

“Not intentionally. But I am betting there will be some curious students who do try something,” Harry said.

“I don’t care about them…” Hermione muttered under her breath. She didn’t realize it was barely loud enough that Harry overheard her. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder to reassure her he wouldn’t intentionally got to out of bounds corridors. The girl blushed but smiled to him in thanks.

“Now then. That should be all of the announcements! Goodnight everyone! First years be sure to follow a Prefect to your new homes,” Dumbledore said with a grandfatherly smile as people started to stand up to leave. All of the first years looked for someone in their house wearing a badge with the large letter P on it.

[-] [-] [-]

All of the new Hufflepuffs were excited to see what their dorm was like. The Prefect leading the way just grinned to them when any of them asked what it was like. “You’ll see soon enough! I don’t want to spoil the surprise for you all,” he said with a friendly wink.

They were soon outside the entrance to it. “We do things differently than Slytherin and Gryffindor. They both use a password and have a portrait guarding the entrance. Ours is a bit better hidden,” the Prefect said.

He then led them around to a nook tucked away behind the kitchens. He then pointed to a specific barrel and tapped a rhythm on it. The rhythm was fairly easy to remember. “Make sure you get this right,” the Prefect said. He demonstrated it three more times until all of the first years nodded they had it.

“If you get the rhythm wrong, or tap the wrong barrel and this happens twice in a row... You will be barred from the entrance and doused in vinegar. We are the only house to have an actual counter measure for potential intruders. If you accidentally mess up and get locked out, you can be reinstated access by speaking to a Prefect or our Head of House, Professor Sprout,” the Prefect said.

He looked to make sure all of the first years got it. After getting nods of the affirmative from them, he smiled and said, “Follow me then.”

He led them through an earthy tunnel lit with bronze lamps. When they got to the end, they all gasped. “Welcome to Hufflepuff,” the Prefect said and gave them a minute to look around.

The common room was round, warm, and welcoming. The ceiling was similar to the one in the Great Hall, but here it was always sunny and bright with gentle clouds. It was the perfect sky for a day out in the sun. There were wooden tables that gave it a bit of a friendly tavern feel with comfy overstuffed sofas and chairs in black and yellow. There were even a number of pillows and cushions around the room. The common room also had an earthy look to walls with large leafy vines and large circular windows with scenery of trees and grass and dandelions blowing in the wind.

Additionally, there were several plants decorating the room as well. It was clear Professor Sprout was inspired by the class she taught in decorating the place. There was finally a large wooden and honey colored mantelpiece decorated with carvings of badgers just below a portrait of their founder.

“Greetings! My new Badgers!” Helga Hufflepuff’s portrait said while lifting a tea cup and giving them a smile.

“Hello, Helga Hufflepuff,” the Prefect said encouraging the new first years to reply as well.

Once they did, she spoke again. “Welcome to your new home! I hope Hogwarts will treat you all fairly and you will make many new friends! What do you think of our common room?” she asked.

The students were still a little stunned being addressed by a founder of the school, even if it was just a portrait. Harry was the first to answer. “It reminds me of a lovely home garden out in the country on the range. I like it,” he said with a smile.

Helga Hufflepuff smiled to that. “Glad to hear it,” she said. Suddenly the others started talking as well and asking questions. “Yes, the real plants are Professor Sprout’s addition. She changes them out to liven the place up and make it homey. Sometimes she brings in plants that sing and dance!”

She answered a couple more questions before giving a yawn and saying, “It was nice to meet you all. Have a great year and enjoy your time at Hogwarts.” The portrait then went still.

“Her portrait is old. She only activates for meeting new students and holidays. Sometimes she will wake up for a couple of extra days during the year,” their guide said.

“Awww… I had so many more questions I wanted to ask her. She’s a founder!” Hermione said excitedly but with a pout at losing such a wonderful opportunity.

The Prefect chuckled. “Maybe you will get another chance, but don’t count on it too much.” Hermione gave a nod in understanding. She would make a list of questions and look up what she could in advance to narrow them down.

“Is the common room always this brightly lit?” Ernie asked.

“Once curfew hits, it turns into evening lighting. You can still see well enough, but it is obviously late. It also gives us a sunrise once morning comes around breakfast time and before classes start for the day. Now then, look for your dorms. You will find your names on the doors. Goodnight, my fellow Puffs!” The Prefect then left with a wave.

The first years looked around until they found a round door labelled “First Year Dorms”. The group looked it over and it was Hannah who first opened it.

“Guess this is where we go,” a dark-skinned boy with a medium build said. The others nodded and entered. They were eager to see their actual rooms and were more than tired and ready to call it a night. All they had to do was walk down another earthy tunnel and find their rooms.

Chapter 5: Rommates

Notes:

I have Tonks in her last year at Hogwarts. I believe before J.K.’s now infamous retcons via twitter and that mobile game I don’t really count as canon, there was a bit of a debate about if Tonks was there or not in Harry’s last year. It could have worked either way. I highly doubt Tonks, who was in Hufflepuff, would have bothered with a group of first year Gryffindors while she was working on N.E.W.T.s and getting ready to be an Auror. Either way this is an AU, so it is allowed.

“Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, and Tonks?” Harry read the name plate outside the room he was sharing with three girls and this Tonks person. He thought he heard the name mentioned somewhere on their table during the feast, but couldn’t place a face to the name.

“Odd that the dorm seems to be Co-ed,” Harry said to the others. All three girls were blushing to different degrees. “Shall we?” he then asked as he opened the door.

They walked inside and it was like a small cozy living room with a partial kitchen area. There were also five separate bedrooms and two bathrooms. There were a number of chairs and a couple of couches around small tables.

“Phew…” Susan said with a relieved smile. “No offense, Harry. But I’m really glad we have separate bedrooms and two bathrooms,” she said.

“None taken. This is irregular for me as well,” Harry said. It was partial true. The warehouse was technically one shared large space, but there were separate living areas in it for people. He was right by both Boss and Davey, so it was in a way like a house with three people considering the spaces sort of joined together. This was still odd by comparison.

Shortly after they looked around, the door behind them closed. The first years looked behind themselves to see a heart shaped faced girl who seemed to be in her last year giving them a big smile. She was wearing her hair about shoulder length and white blonde in color.

“Good to see you’re all here. My full name is Nymphadora Tonks, but everyone calls me Tonks and no one, not even Dumbledore, dares call me by first name. Well… okay. So, my parents call me by first name, but they only do that because they’re stubborn,” she said giving off an aura to show she was serious about calling her Tonks and nothing else.

“Hello Tonks,” the group greeted showing they were not about to call her the wrong name.

“Good. Seems you all have it. Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable. We have things to discuss before we all call it a night,” she said brightly.

Once the group was seated, she started to speak again. “Now before we get to proper introductions, I'm sure you have all noticed we do things differently here in Hufflepuff when it comes to housing. Loyalty and hard work are key for all Hufflepuffs. As a way to instill that, we have more of a home feel than the other dorms. We have mixed living spaces and each of you will be in charge of the upkeep. The rooms are still cleaned once every two weeks by the castle staff, but in between that time you all must keep it up to scratch. We will not tolerate a dirty living space, though few want that in the first place anyways.”

“Are all of the years like this?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, they are. This will be your group for your time here at Hogwarts. If problems arise with your roommates, which is very rare in Hufflepuff, you may speak to a Prefect or our Head of House, Professor Sprout,” Tonks said.

“Good to know…” Hannah said in relief.

“Am I really that scary?” Harry asked the girls with a bit a joking air.

“Well… no… its just really different,” Hannah said.

“This is the case for everyone. That is why seventh years, like myself, volunteer to help ease you into this kind of a living environment. First year is usually long enough for everyone to get used to it. You all do have separate bedrooms and you can lock the doors. Alohomora, the unlocking charm, will not work on the doors. Prefects on official business or in cases of an emergency, can force open the doors if needed. I am what muggles call a Resident Assistant, or RA for short. I am not a Prefect, but I too have their same access privilege during my time here for just you four,” Tonks said.

“Are the restrooms a boys and girls?” Harry asked.

“No, they are not. However, you have to knock before entering to make sure no one is in them. You will have to decide how to handle showers. The best ways are to either come up with a schedule or simply wake early enough you can wait if they are both occupied,” Tonks said.

“Well, I am used to waking up early. 6AM at the latest most of the time, but usually 5:30AM. So, do we want a schedule?” Harry asked the others.

The girls were in thought for a moment. Hermione spoke up. “I’m also used to waking up about the same time. How about we just not worry about a schedule, unless you three want one.” She looked to Hannah, Susan and Tonks in turn.

“The decision is for you four to make, not me. I am just here to make sure you don’t get into too much trouble and to help settle arguments if you four can’t,” Tonks said.

“Breakfast is served 7am to 9am, right?” Hannah asked.

Tonks nodded and added, “Your first class is at 9:30 Monday through Friday.”

Hannah was in thought. “I don’t mind if it is just a take turns thing,” she said.

“We can change it later if that doesn’t work out,” Susan said as Tonks, Harry and Hermione nodded in agreement.

“So, you all are in agreement?” Tonks asked. The four first years nodded. “Great! That settles that. Now on to your rooms, they are pretty much identical and you can combine them in any way you want,” Tonks said.

“Combining my room with Harry’s…” Hermione said in a quiet voice as she seemed to have an almost dazed smile at the thought. She didn't immediately realize she was overheard.

“Yes… You could. If he wanted that as well. You can also uncombine them whenever you wish. That doesn’t require agreement from those involved. If you all wanted, you could even combine all of your rooms into one large room. Mine will remain separate. I am here to help you four, but I also have to worry about my N.E.W.T.s,” she said.

“What are those?” Hermione asked.

“In fifth year, you will all take O.W.L.s or Ordinary Wizarding Levels. They are a big test over everything you should know by that point. The score on those will determine what advanced classes you can take sixth to seventh year. In seventh year, you get N.E.W.T.s or Nastily Exhaustive Wizarding Tests,” Tonks said.

The first years couldn’t help but laugh a little to the name.

Tonks chuckled as well. “Yes. The name is a little ridiculous and a little exaggerated. They are still very important. They are essentially your graduation exams and will play a role in what careers you can choose from. I actually plan on becoming an Auror after Hogwarts. Soooo… I have two to three years of extra study as an Auror apprenticeship,” she explained with a sigh.

Tonks then brightened up again and said, “Anyways. Let’s get on to proper introductions. I will start. To give you all an idea on what I mean. As I said earlier, call me Tonks. I am in my seventh year here at Hogwarts and I am studying to be an Auror. I am taking Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms and… History of Magic.” She had a slight frown at the mention of the last class.

“As and Auror, you are required a minimum of five N.E.W.T.s with either Exceeds Expectations or Outstanding for your grades. The first four I said are required regardless, but the last one is whatever you want it to be. I chose History because despite how boring and out of touch Professor Binns is, the class isn’t too hard if you study the books enough. I figure I will be busy enough working hard for the first four that adding something, even like Herbology, would be unnecessarily difficult,” she said.

She then cheered up again and said, “I am also a Metamorphmagus!”

“Oooo! That’s amazing!” Hannah said, her eyes filled with wonder.

“To what degree?” Susan asked in interest.

“I’m a full Metamorphmagus. That is part of the reason I want to be an Auror I can literally go anywhere as anyone and my targets would never know it,” she said with pride. It had taken her a few years to find pride in her natural gift, but she had it now. It was much easier once she had control over it fully.

“Ummmm… what is a Metamorphmagus? I’m a muggleborn and I haven’t read every book on the wizarding world yet,” Hermione said. Harry almost chuckled, but then he realized she might actually mean it was only a matter of time until she did read every book.

“Metamorphmagi are born as such. It means I am able to change my physical appearance at will. I could look like anyone I wanted or any way I wanted. I could even change to be a guy… but I don’t really like going that far. It gets confusing and I like being a girl. I do have some problems with my hair though. If I get really emotional, my hair will change colors,” she admitted with a slight blush.

“How do you not abuse such an ability?” Harry asked.

“I have. I used to get in trouble during my middle years for turning into Professors and even school ghosts. That’s part of the reason why I’m not a Prefect. I stopped doing that after fifth year though. I didn’t want to jeopardize my grades by getting more detentions and less time to study,” she admitted with a nervous giggle.

“I kind of did it to have fun with my abilities. I still have fun with them now. I just have fun with them in other ways. One of the things you will all notice is I really liked to change up my hair. I can use any combination of colors I like and I also like to come up with the most unique and creative hair styles possible,” she said. Tonks then laughed and added, “When I really get into it, I come up with completely unrealistic hair styles that only I could accomplish.”

The others laughed as well and were all kind of eager to see what wacky hairstyles their RA would come up with through out the year. “Now then, I’ll call you out each in turn. You go next, Susan,” Tonks said with an encouraging smile.

“Okay… ummm… I’m Susan Bones. I already told them, but I will tell you as well. Yes, I am related to Amelia Bones. She is my aunt and no. She will not go easy on you just because you knew me at Hogwarts,” Susan said. Tonks gave an over exaggerated expression of disappointment as she winked at the others causing them to laugh.

“I am also very different from her. It bothers me when people always expect me to be tough and extra strict like she is. I take more after my… mother… She was rather meek, but also really strong when needed. Both of my parents died. It was by a bunch of Death Eaters that escaped the first time because ‘Imperius’. They jumped my parents while they were on one of their date nights. My parents at least took out half of them and my aunt got the other half in jail with long term imprisonments. They couldn’t use coin to buy their way out with Imperius that time at least,” Susan said. Hannah hugged her friend and Susan smiled to her warmly in thanks.

Harry mentally frowned to what Susan said. None of the Knights were fans of corruption, especially in the justice system. They preferred to handle things properly, but they weren’t so naïve to think that will always handle a problem. As a Street Knight, he was prepared to get dirty, but only if needed.

“Hannah has actually been a good friend of mine for several years already,” Susan said as she continued and smiled to her friend. “I actually am not sure what I want to do with my life yet, but I am not keen on being an Auror. Though I do wish you the best of luck, Tonks,” she finished with a smile.

“Dawww. Thank you. It seems I got stuck with at least one cute first year,” Tonks said with a light chuckle as Susan blushed. “Alright next up. Hannah,” she called.

“I’m Hannah Abbott. I’ve been friends with Susan for a good bit, as she said. I’m glad to be in Hogwarts and Hufflepuff! I’m a ummm half-blood. My mom is a muggle-born and my dad is a pure-blood. I don’t think anyone here cares for such things though,” she said. She wasn’t sure what to say in her proper introduction.

“Some in Hufflepuff take pride in their blood status, but I’ve never come across any who think in the ways You-Know-Who and his lot do. Most of them end up in Slytherin,” Tonks said.

“Good to know. I’m ummm… looking forward to Herbology and not just because Professor Sprout teaches the class. I... Don’t really know what else to say. I’m sorry,” Hannah said with a slight frown.

“You did good,” Tonks said with a warm smile. “Now, its your turn Hermione,” she said.

“I’m Hermione Granger. I’m a muggleborn. I really love studying and I really hope to make friends with others in Hufflepuff. I’m looking forward to all of the classes. I like reading and so I’ve already covered a lot of our textbooks for the year. I even already tried out a few spells,” she admitted.

“When? Where?” Tonks asked.

“Oh. Ummm. Diagon Alley. It was when I was getting my supplies. I kind of slipped away for a moment while my parents were in the Leaky Cauldron having a couple of drinks together. I wasn’t gone long enough for them to start worrying too much,” Hermione said.

“That explains it. You should be careful, Hermione. The Ministry makes a special point of tracking magic for those who live in muggle areas. It is because you have not only the restriction of underage magic, but also the Statute of Secrecy to worry about in your case. Though… And you didn’t hear this from me, but you can get away with using magic in highly populated magical areas like Diagon Alley. Too much magic for them to properly track,” Tonks said.

“I will keep that in mind. Thank you, Tonks,” Hermione said with a grin. “What else to say… Oh yeah. My parents are both dentists, Healers specializing in teeth I guess you could say, so I might have a bit of sweet tooth while I’m here,” she admitted with a giggle.

“Yeah. You do. We were on the train together. She really helped me devour our snacks. Especially the Sugar Quills,” Harry said with a chuckle. Hermione blushed a little but smiled happily.

Susan giggled as she said, “At least we know what to get you for presents, Hermione.”

“Anyways… I am really looking forward to the year and the rest of my years at Hogwarts. I didn’t even know magic existed until I got the letter. I thought the odd things that sometimes happened around me were just bizarre coincidences,” Hermione said in conclusion.

“Well good to hear all of your introductions. Now, we just have Harry left. I will confess I am a bit surprised you ended up in Hufflepuff. Most thought you would go straight to Gryffindor,” Tonks said.

“I'm Harry Potter. The Hat actually said I had attributes for all of the houses. But more so Hufflepuff,” Harry started. He was then in a bit of a debate for a moment on what to share. He guessed he would be rather forward with them. “I can explain why, but I want to make sure it stays with just us. I only want to share it with people I choose. I especially don’t want it getting to Dumbledore if possible,” Harry said.

“I give you my word I won’t tell anyone,” Hermione said easily. She knew things were different with Harry already, but she did want to know more. There was also that tug again. It was telling her this was important.

“Hmmm… This sounds a bit dodgy,” Tonks said in thought.

“If it is of any consolation, Hagrid already knows what I plan on saying. He was in charge of helping me get my supplies and we spent a good bit of time together. He even came to my birthday party which was shortly after we returned from Diagon Alley,” Harry said.

“Okay. That works for me. If Hagrid knows and hasn’t already told Professor Dumbledore, it must be for a very good reason. I do suggest you talk to Professor Sprout about it though. She is our Head of House,” Tonks said.

“I’ll see about doing that. I just hope she doesn’t go to Headmaster Dumbledore right away,” Harry said.

“I-I-I’ll listen and give you my word I won’t tell either,” Hannah said with a slight stutter before she grew determined and finished her proclamation. She was surprised how heavy things felt to her suddenly.

“As long as it isn’t, I’m actually evil and plan to take over the world! I’m on board too and won’t tell anyone without your permission,” Susan said. She felt a strange pull on her magic saying this was right. She was wondering if the others did as well.

Harry gave a chuckle. “I don’t plan on taking over the world. I just plan on getting people to realize Hufflepuff is a greater house than they thought. I know what most think about it,” he said.

“I can completely get behind that,” Tonks said with a determined nod. The others nodded as well.

“Well then. The truth is I have lived in the muggle world the whole time up until now. I also didn’t know about magic until the letter. Headmaster Dumbledore placed me with my muggle relatives and my aunt and uncle completely loathed me. I am guessing it because of being a wizard. Until Hagrid told me when he came to help, I thought my parents died in a car crash and drunk,” Harry said.

“What?!” Tonks shouted in anger. Her hair turned a very beautiful but fierce red color.

“Why were you placed with them?!” Hannah asked shocked.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “Hagrid told me it was because Dumbledore didn’t want me to grow up being a celebrity or something like that. I’m sure it was something more though. Hagrid also said both he and Professor McGonagall didn’t like his decision, but at the time they figured he knew best. My aunt and uncle really hated me though. They didn’t hit me or anything like that, but I was blamed, shouted at and grounded for pretty much everything bad that happened,” Harry said.

“That isn’t right at all!” Susan said in a voice that was much fiercer than you would think coming from her. It seemed she not only got her mother’s meekness, but also her strength when pushed as she talked about earlier.

“Yeah. They were the worst type of muggles you could get to know. They had me live in a cupboard under the stairs for the time I was with them. I also cooked most of their meals and did most of the chores around the house,” Harry said with a huff. He was over them, but still didn’t like what they did to him. He also didn’t just bottle it up. Boss always told him to work through emotions and not suppress them, but not let them control you.

“You also said you were with that guy you called Boss when we first met at Flourish and Blotts. What does that mean?” Hermione asked. The gears were turning in her head, but she didn’t like where they were going.

“Good question. And part of the reason I don’t want Headmaster Dumbledore hearing about this. As far as I’m concerned, he probably thinks it was for the best I was with my aunt and uncle despite all of that. As I told Hagrid, in a very roundabout and much different way it was for the best,” Harry said.

The girls listened closer to what he said. Each of them had a pit in their stomach at what he might say.

“The Dursleys decided to kick me out to the streets when I was eight years old,” Harry said.

Harry waited for them to calm down. Tonks was shouting all kinds of colorful words that her hair seemed to match. Hermione chose to grab hold of Harry to possibly comfort him or at least let him know she was there for him. Hannah and Susan nodded in agreement to everything Tonks said.

“How can that have been for the best?!” Tonks asked finally as she seethed in anger and started to calm as her hair changed to a mousey brown. Harry guessed that was her true color.

Harry gave a smile. “Because Boss took me in and I did end up with real family, even if not by blood, and I have friends. Boss is the leader of a group called the Street Knights. I’m also a member. Some would call us a gang, but we don’t do anything really illegal or whatnot. We also fully cooperate with the authorities whenever they visit the Rust District as it is called,” he said.

Hermione gasped and her eyes widened. She looked to Harry in shock. “We’ve made it a safe place and a very cozy and comfortable home and community, even if it is very peculiar for muggles. The Street Knights end up taking in those tossed aside or who slipped through the cracks of society. Muggles are very numerous as you all know, which means we have a lot of good, but also a lot of bad in our world. We look out for each other and help make things better where we can. Our motto is Loyalty to those who deserve it. That’s part of the reason I’m in Hufflepuff. Hard work and Loyalty are already a big part of my life and who I am,” he said.

“But… I’ve heard so many terrible things about the Rust District,” Hermione said.

“Not surprising. Most of it is also from the past as well most likely. We don’t really end such rumors. Leaving them around for those that don’t know better helps keep nuisances away pretty much. We’d rather not have to put up with the corruption that comes with ‘high class’ people suddenly moving in to gentrify the area where we live and push everyone else out of it. Like I said though, we cooperate with those that we should. It has earned us a lot of good faith and we won’t be throwing that out anytime soon,” Harry said.

“What is something that the Street Knights have done to get this good faith?” Hermione asked.

“Do you remember hearing about the Foster Care Black Marketeer?” Harry asked.

Hermione’s intake of breath and wide eyes was the confirmation he needed in answer.

“What is foster care?” Hannah asked.

Hermione answered. “In the muggle world, orphans are put into orphanages or group homes where they are cared for until they are adopted or sometimes placed into the foster care system. Children… removed from their birth parents’ home for different reasons or abandoned usually go straight into the system. The Foster Care Black Marketeer was a terrible man. He was really corrupt and wouldn’t mind selling children to those that wanted them for less than moral or legal reasons… He would keep it off the books or make it look completely legit. It was a mess because he didn’t keep track of the records properly and there were some that went to him for legitimate reasons. He still mostly sold children to people that should not have children because they only wanted to use them for really bad reasons.”

“That’s terrible!” Susan said. The others all nodded in agreement.

“It was actually the Street Knights who helped point the authorities down the right trail to collect evidence they would need. One of our number was going to be used sexually by their foster parents. Luckily, they weren’t the naïve child their foster parents thought they were. They ran away since no one would believe them. The foster parents were ‘upstanding’ members of society. They ran into Boss and I and we helped them. They’ve stayed with the Knights since then,” Harry said. He made a point of not hinting at who it could be. He even tried to avoid mentioned it was a she. There was no reason for them to learn of Davey's past from him.

“That’s really good to hear and surprising,” Hermione admitted.

“We also have a man called Professor Lang. He helps make sure we all get the education we need to what would be the muggle equivalent of O.W.L.s from what Tonks said earlier,” Harry said.

“What?!” Hermione asked in shock.

“I know what you have heard. He was accused of having forced himself on a 16-year-old female student in exchange for better grades. It was actually the opposite. She approached him and tried to get him to raise her grades in exchange for sex. He said no and her daddy wasn’t happy about that. He and his daughter came up with the fake allegations. Professor Lang was found guilty, but in the first round of appeal he was easily cleared. 'Daddy' however made sure that part of the story was swept away,” Harry said.

“I can’t believe that… But it is also true... I remember seeing a news blurb about that since you mentioned it,” Hermione said in thought. She remembered that because she ended up asking her parents questions about it.

“There’s also the fact most people didn’t care about the trial really. The allegations alone were enough to condemn him in their eyes. He was forced to barely survive and while he did. He wasn’t doing what truly brought him joy and meaning in life. Boss found out the truth and approached him and so Professor Lang joined us as well and more of our people are getting certified to teach so he won’t have as big of a load on his shoulders,” Harry said.

“This really is a lot to take in…” Hannah said as she held her head.

Harry waited a moment for them to process the information. “There are lots of stories like that in the Knights. We have people who were framed for crimes they didn’t commit, but got off in the end. They were still tossed aside because of the accusations alone. Some people were accused of nefarious connections and all sorts of things. We find these people along with others tossed aside and give them a home,” he said.

Harry continued. “There are actually a lot of Street Knights in England. Many got the help they needed and help us out in the rest of the world outside of the Rust District. But we are well aware of how bad things can be. That’s why our motto is Loyalty to those who deserve it and not just loyalty above all else or something like that.”

“Now on to the other reason why I was picked for Hufflepuff,” Harry said after a moment to brighten the mood.

“What was it?” Tonks asked. Hermione was beaming. She already knew the answer because they discussed it on the train.

“Hufflepuff is actually the house with the most potential. We can be anything really, we just choose to work hard for it and be loyal to our friends. We aren’t limited to bravery more than anything else. We don’t have to spend all of our time plotting and scheming while watching our backs. We can still have ambitions, but we bring actual friends with us that we can fully trust. We can also be really smart and do well in classes without having to care more about studying than anything else. We can even be a mix of all four houses,” Harry said with a smile.

“I like that!” Hannah said with a smile.

“Me too!” Susan agreed.

“That’s how Hufflepuffs should think and everyone should realize it,” Tonks said with a smile.

“Harry’s reasoning is part of why I re-examined my thoughts on the houses and realized I wanted to be here more than any other house,” Hermione admitted. She looked a little ashamed as she said, “I’m sorry for kind of thinking what everyone else did.”

“No worries. You’re new to the wizarding world. You had a lot of other things probably on your mind,” Tonks said with a smile.

“Still… I will be the best I can be in Hufflepuff. The hat did point out a part of me that I kind of knew was there. I just hadn’t realized it fully… I’m not exactly the type of person who had lots of friends. Like the hat said though. I’m very loyal to those I consider friends. I partially wanted to come here just because Harry said he wanted to be here,” Hermione said as she gave Harry a smile.

“I’m glad you did. It is nice having someone I already considered a friend here. I look forward to being friends with you all as well and the others in Hufflepuff,” Harry said.

“I do too! I kind of already see you three as friends too,” Hannah said and Susan nodded.

“I guess we all are then,” Hermione said.

“I’ll agree to that. I just didn’t want to be presumptuous,” Harry said smiling.

Tonks sniffed back a comically large tear and gave a grin as she said, “Dawwww… My firsties really are the best!”

[-] [-] [-]

“Now that we have proper introductions taken care of, I’ll show you all how to combine rooms. Gather around me,” Tonks said as she went to a blank part of the wall in their dorm. “Oh yeah first thing first,” she said. She aimed her wand upwards and there was pop sound. Suddenly the rooms all had name tags on them. Harry and Hermione were next to each other along one wall. Susan and Hannah were on the opposite wall. Tonks had her room along the back wall near the entryway.

“All you have to do is find a blank part of the wall. Place your wand on it and say Mapus Combi,” she said while demonstrating. Soon a map appeared on the wall where her wand was. It showed all of the rooms on it. “Hannah. Susan. Would you help me?” she said to them. They nodded and came over. “Place your wands on your rooms,” she said.

The girls did so.

“Good. All you have to do is bring them together. You two and any others combining rooms have to do this together,” she said. Hannah and Susan did as she said.

There was a grinding sound and the first years watched as Hannah’s and Susan’s rooms combined together. They all quickly went over to it and looked inside.

“Everything is there. Your beds, your desks, your sitting chairs, your wardrobes and your changing areas. The bed curtains are enchanted to keep sounds from your bed disturbing others. They also make it a bit quieter for you to sleep better at nights. You have to close all of your curtains for the enchantments to work,” Tonks explained.

“How do we divide rooms?” Hermione asked mostly out of curiosity.

Tonks brought them back to the map. “Simply place your wand on the room and move it away from the combined room,” she said motioning for Susan to help.

Again, there was grinding sound. Hannah and Susan now had separate rooms. They looked in and everything was in order and the rooms were now half the size they were when combined. “It just takes one to divide the rooms, but it takes all involved to combine,” Tonks reiterated.

“Ohhh Susan! Can we please share rooms?” Hannah asked. Susan nodded as she and Hannah once more combined their rooms. “Yeah! Roommates and besties!” Hannah said with a cheer as she again hugged the other girl.

“That’s it for your orientation. Oh yeah. Curfew. You have to be back in Hufflepuff by 9:30 pm Sunday night through Thursday night. Friday and Saturday, it is midnight. You can’t leave Hufflepuff until 5AM, but that is rarely a problem. Exceptions are detentions, Prefect patrols, and classes. Astronomy is late at night. For first years, I believe it is at midnight. You will get your schedules tomorrow and classes start Monday,” Tonks said with an exaggerated yawn in the way only a Metamorphmagus could do so, earning a laugh from the first years.

“Goodnight all!” she called before disappearing into her room.

“Goodnight,” they called back to her.

Shortly after Tonks called it a night, Hannah and Susan did as well. “Goodnight, Harry! Goodnight, Hermione,” the girls said together before retiring to their shared room.

“Night you two,” Harry and Hermione said in reply.

After that, Harry turned to Hermione and said, “I guess we should call it a night as well.”

Hermione looked to have something on her mind. She then nodded and asked nervously, “Can we ummm… share a room as well?”

Harry was surprised. “Are you sure? I’m a boy and you’re a girl. Are you sure about that?” he asked.

“Yes, I am,” Hermione replied. She felt oddly happy Harry said she was a girl. He wasn’t just seeing her as there. He realized she’s a girl!

“I’m not opposed to it… But is that a good idea?” Harry asked again in concern.

Hermione gave a warm smile. “The fact you are asking such questions oddly puts me more at ease with the idea,”

“Okay…” Harry started. “We can re-divide them if things get too complicated or uncomfortable,” Harry said.

Hermione smiled and said, “This is true.”

The two then combined their rooms. Harry was kind of blushing at the idea. Hermione was as well, but she really wanted this. She felt her magic seemed to be excited as well. Hermione really didn’t get this, but she was drawn to this idea and Harry. She wasn’t complaining though. She felt good around Harry. He was her first friend. She felt even happier around him the longer they were in each other’s company. Then there was the train ride. She really liked that, even with the interruptions. She hoped Harry felt the same way with her.

Harry was liking this idea and also terrified of it. Sure, they were really close to each other in the Warehouse, but that was different. This was different. He really liked it though. He felt as if this was part of the right thing to do. He also wouldn’t mind getting to see Hermione in the mornings before she got ready for the day. They had changing areas that were private from each other, so that wasn't something they would have to worry about. He knew he would have to get used to her and the other girls, since they were roommates anyways.

“Goodnight, Hermione,” he said after he was in his pajama pants and shirt. It was different wearing it since he usually didn’t wear a shirt to bed.

“Goodnight, Harry,” Hermione replied blushing cutely. She was in a light blue colored and short-sleeved nightgown that ended just below her knees. It even had a pretty floral pattern along the top of it.

Both went to bed that night thinking how amazing and interesting Hogwarts was going to be. They were eager for Monday to come.

Chapter 6: Badger School Days

It took Harry a moment or two to gather his bearings as he woke up. His usual bed was pretty good, but this one was much finer. He then remembered he was at Hogwarts, a magical school! He quickly threw open the bed curtains and gave a morning yawn while covering his mouth and stretching.

He had to blink when he heard a very cute, “Eeep!” Which was then followed by a, “H-H-Harryyyy…” He then realized it was Hermione who made the sound and said his name.

“Morning, Hermione,” he said before standing up.

“M-m-morning…” she said with a cute blush. He also loved how she looked with her mane of bed head. It was as if she was a beautiful Woodland Nymph wearing a night gown.

“Everything all right? Hermione?” he asked in concern as she kept looking to him while blushing. She was almost staring as if in a daze.

“Ummmm… Y-y-you’re shirtless,” Hermione said in a voice higher than her normal pitch.

“Oh…” Harry said before he causally put the shirt he wore before going to bed last night on again. “Sorry about that. I took it off in the middle of the night. These beds are the perfect temperature,” he said.

Hermione was both relieved and disappointed Harry had his shirt on again. He really looked good without it. It was clear working out was part of his morning routine with the Street Knights. She looked at herself and wondered if she could even stand next to him, or if she would be too plain. She shook her head of such thoughts. They were silly and needless. They were just friends... He was just very good looking.

“Well then. Off to shower,” Harry said as he gathered up his stuff and left the room.

Hermione was in a daze again. She was very tempted to slip back into her bed for a moment of privacy at the thought of Harry in the shower. Seeing him without a shirt didn’t help matters either. She didn’t fully get why though. It wasn’t as if she had never been to a pool or the beach before with her family. Then again, she didn’t usually see guys close to her age shirtless looking that fit.

While Hermione was having her first… crisis… Harry made his way to one of the bathrooms and knocked. The door opened and it was empty. “That’s pretty cool. And it leaves no doubt on if it is available or not,” Harry marveled aloud to himself.

It didn’t take Harry long to shower, but he could have stayed in there a lot longer. The water was magically perfect! In the future once he starts his usual morning routine of working out, it will be amazing to come back to a shower like that every time.

Harry was a bit surprised when he returned to the room and Hermione seemed to just be getting out of her bed again. He didn’t really register her face was flushed or that she was breathing a little harder than normal. He did after a moment smile to her. “I’ll tell you what, Hermione. The showers here are amazing! Magic is awesome. I’ve never had a perfect shower like that before in my life,” he said cheerfully.

“Really?” she asked in question.

“Yep. The knocking thing is cool too. The doors seem to just open on their own if the bathroom is empty,” he added.

“Guess I better get going then and see for myself,” Hermione said eager to experience more magic. She didn’t care it was just for something regular like a shower. She gathered her things and left.

[-] [-] [-]

“You were right! The shower was amazing!” Hermione said as she went with Harry down to breakfast.

Tonks gave a mighty yawn from behind them and smiled at two of her first years. She really hoped this would be a fun year… when she had free time. Today her hairstyle was long turquoise twin tails. If it wasn’t for her magic, they would probably be kind of heavy with their length and how voluminous they were.

“So, what do you two plan on doing today, since classes don’t start until Monday?” she asked once the three of them sat down. Hannah and Susan were barely getting up when the three of them left.

“I haven’t really thought of anything yet. Any recommendations?” Harry asked.

“I would recommend finding your classrooms. Schedules should be here before you finish eating. You also won’t have to panic as much come Monday,” Tonks said.

“That does sound like a good idea. We can see the castle and find our classes! We should Harry. We can wait to ask if Hannah and Susan want to join us after they eat,” Hermione said. There was a part of her that wanted to go alone with Harry, but she was not here to just find one friend and alienate herself from anyone else.

“Sounds good to me. Thanks for the suggestion, Tonks,” he said cheerfully as they started breakfast.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry, Hermione, Susan and Hannah did go around and find their classes after breakfast. They learned a good bit about the castle as well. “I can’t believe the stairs have such a poor sense of humor…” Hannah grumbled.

“We were told they change, but changing their incline like that…” Susan said with a frown.

“I’m glad it was at least a gentle change and not too sudden. We didn’t really lose our footing,” Hermione said.

Hannah gave a giggle. “Only because we all grabbed on to the banister, or in your case Harry,” she said with a smile.

Hermione blushed. “I’m not really a fan of heights…” she admitted as her excuse. It was true, but she wasn’t really complaining about using Harry to support herself like that.

“I say we look to find if there is a secret passageway that will allow us to bypass them all together. I really don’t like the idea of the stairs making us late to classes. Do you think they will count that as an acceptable excuse for being tardy?” Harry asked.

Hermione bite her bottom lip in thought. “I doubt it. They will probably say we should have planned for that.”

Harry sighed. “I figured as much…”

“At least we found all of our classes,” Susan said.

“And just in time for lunch!” Hannah said with a smile. She and Susan grabbed a light breakfast once Harry and Hermione asked them if they wanted to come for Operation: Find your Classrooms. It didn’t matter to the two girls Harry and Hermione said they’d wait for them. They still made quick work of their first meal for the day. Hannah and Susan did not want to hold them up too long.

After lunch, the group explored a little more together and eventually went their separate ways. Harry and Hermione looked around together and even went outside. “It really is gorgeous here,” Hermione said with a lovely smile as she took in a deep breath of fresh air. A breeze picked up a little and blew her hair in a way that it was extra beautiful. Harry kind of wished he had a camera to capture the moment, but he didn’t know how that stuff worked in the magical world.

“I like it too. Hopefully it won’t be too bad come winter. We are in Scotland after all,” he mused.

“Then we will just have to fully enjoy the time we have before then,” Hermione said with a nod. Harry smiled to her as they kept walking the grounds together.

[-] [-] [-]

“So today we have double Herbology first and double Transfiguration after lunch,” Hannah said as it was finally Monday.

“Yep, we start off with Gryffindor I’ve heard and end with Ravenclaw,” Harry said.

“From what I know, most of the houses don’t really have anything against us. For better or worse they usually leave Hufflepuffs be,” Susan said.

“Even muggleborns?” Hermione asked.

“Mostly yeah. Slytherins will give the occasional snide comment, but they usually do that for everyone. Gryffindor is the house they really go after for whatever reason,” Susan said.

“I guess that makes me feel a little better. Professor McGonagall warned me a little bit about that stuff. There was that encounter with Draco on the train too,” Hermione replied.

“Draco sought you two out?” Hannah asked.

“It was actually Harry he was looking for. He mostly ignored me,” Hermione answered.

“He said something about hearing I was on the train and found our compartment. I think he was just going from one to the other or something though. No idea how else he could find me. There’s no way Neville would have said anything. I’m guessing he sat towards the front along with you two,” Harry said.

“Why do you say that? I mean you guessed right regarding us,” Hannah said.

“We kind of went through the train helping Neville look for his toad. I got pre-introduced to a lot of students that way, but still none of them would have known which compartment we were in on the train,” Harry said.

“How did that encounter go?” Susan asked curiously.

“Alright. I guess. Crabbed and Goyle tried to intimidate me, but it didn’t work. Maybe if they had their wands out and pointing to me, I might have been concerned,” Harry said.

“They're so big though!” Hannah said.

“Not anything for me to really worry about. I’ve encountered people far scarier and more intimidating then them,” Harry said.

“What did you mean by the whole wands thing?” Susan asked.

Hermione actually answered here. “Harry told me that wands really make up for size differences. He told me physical size doesn’t matter compared to magic pretty much. I agree with you on that, Harry,” she said as Harry nodded.

“That is true… I’ll keep that in mind,” Susan said as Hannah nodded with her. They didn’t think anyone would try anything, but hearing someone actually say wands would make that big of difference, really made them feel more confident in case something did happen. It was something people usually overlook, since they are so used to having a wand period in the magical world.

“We should probably get going. Classes are about to get started and I doubt Professor Sprout will take kindly to members of her own house being late to her class,” Harry then said as the three girls nodded in agreement and followed him.

[-] [-] [-]

Monday was actually a pretty good day for classes. Herbology was a lot of fun and Hannah really loved it. Harry did find it interesting too. Hermione found it equally interesting, but she was probably going to find all of their classes really exciting and interesting.

Transfiguration was pretty good too and they loved Professor McGonagall’s demonstration of her animagus abilities. The class itself was a bit more difficult, but the lesson interesting. They spent the first half of the class learning about Transfiguration as a whole. The second half was how to turn a matchstick into a needle. Hermione was the first to figure it out and she earned their house ten points which caused her to beam and glow with happiness. Harry was the second to figure it out close to the end of class and got five points.

“Isn’t this great?! We already earned our house 15 points!” Hermione said excitedly.

“It is good, but I don’t care about house points. It is a nice reward, but learning the material itself is even better,” Harry mused as Hermione nodded eagerly in agreement.

He personally didn’t like the house cup thing. He felt it was too open for abuse and seemed rather arbitrary. He felt it could do more harm than good. Detention and/or almost getting hurt bad should be enough punishment. Adding point deductions to that meant it could get your own house to turn on you. Singling people out like that wasn’t good. This wasn’t on too large of a scale, but it was still something that could be unnecessarily troubling. His background also really caused him to dwell on it. Punishment was needed, but you could go too far.

[-] [-] [-]

“So today we have double History with Gryffindor. Charms for one period with Slytherin after lunch and then Astronomy with Slytherin at Midnight,” Hermione said to her friends as they nodded.

“Ouch! Double History to start off the day… Maybe that is a good thing though,” Tonks said in thought from where she was sitting next to them.

“How bad is History? I was really looking forward to it, but you seemed less than pleased with it from what you said in your introduction,” Harry said.

“It is very disappointing. It is fairly easy, but the books are where you should get your information from. Professor Binns is just as lively in teaching as he is being a ghost,” Tonks said with a chuckle.

“He’s a ghost?!” Hermione asked in shock.

“Yep. But it only makes things worse. He has an impossibly dry and boring monotone voice and doesn’t interact with the students much, if at all,” Tonks answered. She then gave a snort. “In fact, the books even include footnotes correcting ‘facts’ he brings up in class. His information on history is very outdated. The extended edition even lists which lecture is which, if you got that version. The tests are also based on the book instead of what he teaches in class. I think Professor Dumbledore or someone else makes the test for him… Maybe it’s the school that does it.” She held a thoughtful expression at her last comment. There were many who believed Hogwarts was in a way alive at times. It would be really interesting if the school did make their History of Magic tests.

Hermione blushed a little. She did get that edition of their school book. She couldn't help it. The book looked more grand that way. She hadn’t bothered too much with footnotes and such in it yet. She was too busy reading all she could about the subject hoping to learn more about the new world she was a part of. She was very disappointed to hear this about the class though and she gave a pout. Harry seemed to sense she was upset and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder causing Hermione to brighten up again.

“Most of the students use it as a free period. They either talk with each other or take a nap. Professor Binns barely even takes role for the class,” Tonks finished after her moment of pondering.

“Well, I guess that can be good if you look at it the right way. I’m making sure to use it productively,” Hermione said with a determined nod.

“That sounds like a good idea,” Harry agreed.

“What is the rest of your week like?” Tonks then asked.

The four students looked over their schedule more carefully. “Tomorrow we start off with DADA followed by Potions. Then we have double Charms,” Hermione said.

“Thursday, we have Transfiguration followed by Herbology before lunch and then just History. It says we will have Flying lessons, but will be notified when they start,” Susan said.

“Friday, we have double Potions in the morning and DADA again after lunch but just for one period,” Hannah finished.

“That isn’t too bad of a schedule,” Tonks said.

“I guess not. I’m worried about Astronomy though. That is so very late…” Hermione said in concern.

“I’d advise you to try and take a bit of a nap in the afternoon, if you can. Just set an alarm to wake you up in time for supper or class if you nap after eating. Some years it isn’t as bad as others, since it isn’t always at midnight,” Tonks said.

“That’s good to hear. Thanks for the advice,” Hermione said with a smile.

“What I’m here for as your RA,” Tonks replied with a smile as she finished up a last bite and left after bidding them good day.

[-] [-] [-]

History turned out to be just as boring as Tonks warned them. It was interesting to see Professor Binns come through the chalkboard as if it was nothing above the ordinary. The reaction from the Gryffindors was funny. It seemed the other RAs also warned their first years about the ghost professor, since they didn’t react as much to Professor Binns.

Hermione was a bit worried about Charms since they had it with Slytherin. Harry offered her an arm and she grabbed it quickly to help calm herself down. “Sorry about this…” she said in a small voice. “I’m just worried what they will do.”

“No worries,” Harry replied with a smile. Hermione’s heart beat faster at seeing him smile and those intense beautiful green eyes he had. She felt a little guilty in taking so much comfort and such from Harry alone like this. She wasn’t about to stop though. Harry, Susan and Hannah didn’t seem to mind so she figured it wasn’t a problem to them either.

It turned out when it came to Charms at least, Slytherin more or less just left Hufflepuff alone. Some did snicker a little at Harry Potter being a Puff, but not even all of them did that. A couple of girls looked at him in thought. Draco also did as well.

When Harry was unaffected by the others and proved he was focused on the class, it actually gained him a bit of respect from some of the Slytherins. It probably helped that he was clearly not stupid, since he did get the couple of questions Professor Flitwick asked him correct. The smarter Slytherins were also a bit impressed by the muggleborn girl as well, though they would never admit it out loud.

The class was interesting and fun. Professor Flitwick was tiny and taught from atop a stack of books on a stool, but he had a lot of energy. It was also very clear how much he loved the subject.

Astronomy was a little tough for Harry. He couldn’t really find a way to get himself to take an afternoon or after dinner nap. He had to struggle to keep fully attentive, even though the subject was interesting. “I’m going to have to figure something out…” Harry said to the others.

“I couldn’t nap either…” Hannah frowned.

“I managed to,” Hermione said. She gave a yawn just then “Well… I rested my eyes at least,” she admitted a bit sheepishly. The others might have chuckled a little, but they were too tired.

Harry was disappointed in Defense Against the Dark Arts the next day. Professor Quirrell kept stuttering the whole time and it was annoying. He was also pretty much pulling straight from the book as well. He didn’t even add any additional commentary. “At least we have another class that can be considered nap time after Astronomy,” he said quietly causing Hannah and Susan to both giggle.

Hermione gave a slight frown to him. She wanted to get on his case, but he was kind of right. The book was actually better in her opinion, since it didn’t stutter the whole time. She hoped the class would get better, but they wouldn’t have an idea about that until Friday at the earliest.

[-] [-] [-]

Potions did have the Hufflepuffs a bit concerned. They did feel some relief when it turned out they had the class with Ravenclaw. “If what people say about Professor Snape is true, then I kind of feel sorry for Gryffindor. They have this class with Slytherin and those houses hate each other,” Hannah said.

“I personally won’t complain or feel too sorry for them. I’m too glad we don’t have it with Slytherin,” Hermione said. She had a feeling the house of silver and green would be a lot less reserved in this class simply because it was taught by Professor Snape, their Head of House.

They had been seated for a good while when it was time for class to start. The doors shut rather loudly and the Professor wearing all black with his greasy hair walked forward with his robes billowing behind him. He stood at the front and looked them over for a good minute before speaking.

“I won’t be holding your hands in this class. Your success or failure will be entirely up to you. I am not here to give you the answers. I am here to teach you how to find them. There will be very little wand waving in this class. Some don’t even appreciate Potion brewing as magic. They are foolish and take it for granted by just buying the potions they want or need. They can’t understand the subtle science of liquids flowing through veins and how they can affect the human mind and senses. I can teach you how to brew glory, bottle fame, and even put a stopper into death. If you’re brains aren’t a complete waste of space in your head.”

He then took role of all the students. He paused on Potter’s name and looked at the boy. He had thought about calling the boy out earlier as he was writing something while he spoke. However, Professor Snape tried his hardest not to let his feelings towards James Potter get in the way, since the boy was a Hufflepuff. He then noticed Potter was actually writing notes. Something that impressed him a little bit, since only a couple of others did the same during his little introduction.

“Now then… A bit of a test,” Professor Snape started. “Mr. Potter. Where could I find a Bezoar?” he asked singling out the boy with the first question. He was curious if the boy had done any reading in advance. Lily had loved reading her books in advance, since she couldn't get away with practicing spells being a muggleborn.

Harry was in thought for a moment. Just before Professor Snape was about to call him out, he answered. “In the stomach of a goat,” Harry answered.

“What is it used for?” the professor asked giving Harry Potter a calculating glance.

“It neutralizes most poisons. It is recommended for any witch or wizard making a habit of experimenting in Potion making to have some on hand so they don’t die by their own poisoned failure of a potion brew,” Harry said.

Professor Snape gave him a very small, almost unnoticeable, nod. “None of you better be thinking about experimenting in such a manner. You are far to early and uninformed to do such a thing,” he said making sure the students understood the graveness of his words.

“Who can tell me what the difference is between Monkshood and Wolfbane?” he asked.

Hermione’s hand shot up. “Miss… Granger,” he called.

“Their the same thing. They’re also know as aconite,” she answered.

“True. There are many ingredients that have multiple names. Sometimes they’re usage can be a hint as to how they should be prepped for certain potions,” he said.

He looked over the students and noticed many more were writing notes now. It was actually a little surprising the few students not doing so were in Ravenclaw. “Who can tell me what you would get if you added powdered root of Asphodel to an infusion of Wormwood?” he asked.

Hermione raised her hand once more. However, Professor Snape was not going to call on her again. He instead called out, “Miss Patil.”

“They’re used for the Draught of the Living Death,” she answered.

“A very powerful sleeping potion. One tiny misstep with it in either brewing or administering is more likely to be fatal than just a lifetime sleep. Many students like to test the line in this class at first. They feel it is perfectly fine to take shortcuts or to change around steps. Later you will learn how to recognize if a potion can be saved or not and how to do so along with ways to improve brewing techniques. Until then! Follow my directions carefully. A mistake can cause a wound closing potion to be a wound opening poison. This is not a class to treat as playtime,” Professor Snape said.

Professor Snape knew how to hold his class’ attention. Unlike Professor Flitwick who made it a joy, he preferred to keep them in line and set a grave atmosphere. “Now. On to your first lesson. It should be simple enough and won’t be too dangerous, but it will tell me how hopeless or not you are,” he said before going to the board and writing out the directions.

[-] [-] [-]

“That was intense. He really doesn’t let up,” Ernie said to the other Hufflepuffs around him as they made their way to lunch.

“I’ll agree with that. There is a part of me that can appreciate it though. Hopefully this lesson will be a good measure for his others,” Harry said.

“Are you sure about that?” Justin asked. “I kind of thought it was a little too intense.”

“I can see where Harry is coming from. I don’t mind hard and strict teachers. So long as they don’t go too far. If he really means it is up to us, I’m fine with that,” Hermione said.

“I hope you’re right,” Susan said as the entered the dining hall for lunch.

The Hufflepuffs would admit it was kind of nice having double Charms after Potions. It was also a good way to end the day. Harry would admit he kind of liked Professor Flitwick’s approach to teaching more than Professor Snape’s.

Thursday was an alright day. Harry just wished they could have Flying lessons already. He really was looking forward to that. The free period in the meantime was nice though. He spent the time in their common room. It was really very comfy and homey. Hermione was perusing the library at the moment. He had to admit it was amazing, but he was pretty sure Hermione would get upset if he dared read a book she hadn’t yet, at least judging by that look in her honey brown eyes. He chuckled as he decided she actually meant she would eventually read every book in the magical world during their first meeting with Tonks.

Eventually a trio of older students came over to him. They were led by a very handsome and well built boy with dark hair and grey eyes. He gave a grin as he said, “You’re Harry Potter, right?”

Harry gave a friendly smile in return. He realized the boy was trying to make conversation without it being too awkward. “I am. Who are you?” he asked.

The boy seemed to relax a little as he extended a hand and said, “Cedric Diggory. I’m a third year.” Harry shook his hand and smiled to him. “How are you liking Hogwarts so far?” the older boy asked.

“It really is something. I can’t believe how large the castle seems on the inside,” Harry said.

Cedric nodded. “Magic after all. It just seems to expand, but never shrinks. Kind of sad to see so many empty classrooms at times, even if it is convenient from time to time,” he said.

Harry raised an eyebrow in question jokingly. “F-F-For studying… Nothing else,” Cedric said with a blush. Harry chuckled and Cedric did as well. “So, finding your classrooms alright?” he asked to change the subject.

“Yep. My RA, Tonks, recommended we use the first couple of days before classes start to find them. She’s been really helpful so far,” Harry said.

“I’ve been thinking I might volunteer to be an RA during my seventh year,” Cedric admitted.

One of his friends gave a chuckle. “Wouldn’t surprise me one bit. Cedric here makes it a point to check in on first years ever since last year. I’m Dave Hall by the way,” one of the other boys said.

“I know how hectic first year can get. I was lucky one of the older students apart from just my RA did the same for me,” Cedric said.

“Is Professor Snape… severe? With everyone?” Harry couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes, he is. Slytherins sometimes get a lucky break, but it isn’t anywhere near the level Gryffindor’s would have you believe. They also many times do kind of bring his ire down onto them on their own, but claim it’s because he hates their house,” he said.

“What are Flying Lessons like?” Harry asked eagerly.

Cedric chuckled. “I loved them! I purposefully attended extra lessons just to get to fly more! When it comes to Flying Lessons, you only attend until Madam Hooch gives you a pass. You are allowed to continue attending them to improve your skills a little more if you want, but she will stop if it is too obvious you are just looking for an excuse to fly more. Well… after it happens a few too many times that is. I’m actually on the Quidditch House team, so I get to fly a lot now,” he said.

“What is Quidditch? I was raised in the muggle world,” Harry explained.

The trio of boys grinned widely. “It’s the best!” Dave Hall said. They then started telling Harry all about the sport and then the teams and much more. Harry was very interested in it and paid attention until it was actually close to supper time.

Friday was a very different day. At breakfast, Harry got his first owl post letter. “She really is very beautiful, Harry,” Hermione said in awe as she reached out a finger carefully to pet Hedwig. The snowy owl approved of her and happily let the bushy haired girl pet her. “Her feathers are so soft…” Hermione cooed. Hannah and Susan also timidly reached out a finger. Hedwig swelled in pride at the attention she was getting from them and let them pet her as well. Harry gave a chuckle before he read the letter.

Dear Harry,

I know you get off early on Fridays. If you want, I would like it if you came by for some afternoon tea and told me about your week. It would be around three. Send a response back if you want to come by. You can bring any of your friends you want as well.

Hagrid

“What does it say?” Hermione asked.

“It’s from Hagrid. He’s asking if I want to have some afternoon tea with him. Do you three want to come?” he asked.

“Really?!” Hermione asked. Harry nodded. “I’d love to come with you. I really want to meet Hagrid after you told me about him on the train,” Hermione replied with a smile.

“We can come too?” Hannah asked.

“I did ask you three,” Harry responded.

Hannah and Susan looked to each other for a moment and soon smiled. “We’d love to!” Hannah replied as Susan nodded her agreement.

“Three in the afternoon it is then,” Harry said as he wrote his reply.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry was frowning as they left DADA.

Hermione sighed. “It does seem like Professor Quirrell’s class will be just as disappointing as History…”

“Mom told me it was sad how poor DADA was at Hogwarts now. She told me they haven’t managed to keep a professor longer than a year for well over a decade. I didn’t think it was really this bad,” Susan said with a frown.

“At least class is out now…” Hannah said.

Harry was in quiet thought as he nodded in agreement. There was something that rubbed him the wrong way about the DADA Professor. He would have to see if his thoughts were right. It would take another class for him to be sure. He didn’t like it though. It was not adding up to a good picture for the class or man.

“I’m just glad we only have about an hour until we go and meet Hagrid,” Harry said.

“Do we need to dress up or anything?” Hannah suddenly asked in worry.

“I don’t think so. I was going to just wear my uniform without the outer robes,” Harry said.

“I think our uniforms are actually rather nice. They should be enough. This isn’t a formal afternoon tea,” Hermione said.

“Good. I really don’t have anything like dress robes with me anyways,” Susan said and Hannah seemed to let out a breath in relief.

The four first years spent the rest of their time waiting in their dorm before they headed down to meet with Hagrid. Harry was happy about meeting his friend again. He was also going to ask Hagrid if he told Dumbledore about his living situation. Harry planned on telling Professor Sprout about it after talking with Hagrid. He figured knowing Hagrid’s choice would help his case. He doubted just having told the man alone wouldn’t be enough for his head of house. Either way, Harry and three girls were smiling and eager as they made their way to the giant of a man’s Hut. The weather was nice and it was looking to be a wonderful afternoon.

Notes:

It took me a bit of work to figure out how I wanted to write Professor Snape here. He won’t be a Daddy Severus or Uncle Sevy type, but he won’t be as terrible to Harry as he was in cannon. I am going to try again to go for a tough but fair Professor Snape.

The way I see it part of the reason things were the way the were with the two was because Harry, being in Gryffindor, made Snape think he would be just like his father with his looks and he couldn’t get past that. Harry also kind of unintentionally exasperated the situation, which is still not really an excuse, but it is what it is. I felt it seemed Harry took more after his mother personality wise. He did really disapprove of how his father acted in Snape’s memory from book five.

There’s also the fact I don’t really like book Snape. Many people don’t. The only reason Alan Rickman, may he rest in peace, even played the role of Professor Snape is because JK pretty much begged him to play the role. She even went so far as to tell him what happens with Snape in the end, which only she knew about at the time.

Chapter 7: Meeting Hagrid and Taking Flight!

Harry, Hermione, Hannah and Susan stood in front of the door to Hagrid’s hut. It was close to the forest, but still safely away from it and the trees made for a nice backdrop for the hut and Hagrid’s garden. Harry did briefly wonder how Hagrid could really be comfortable in the hut considering his size. Harry looked to the girls and then gave a knock on the door.

There was a booming bark from inside and a voice Harry recognized as Hagrid’s saying, “Back, Fang. Calm down, boy.” Then the giant of a man opened the door and gave them a smile. “Good ta see you again, Harry. Nice to see your brought some of your friends as well. Come on in everyone. I just got a pot of tea ready to serve.”

The group came inside and noticed the hut was actually much larger on the inside than you would think from looking outside, even if it still seemed a bit small considering the occupant and his large boarhound. Fang panted happily and made sure everyone was greeted properly and also lightly whapped by his tail. “Feel free ta make yerselves at home,” Hagrid said from the kitchen area.

Once they were seated and Fang again made sure each person was sniffed properly, Harry spoke up. “Thanks for the invitation and for allowing me to bring my friends,” he said with a smile.

“Glad you lot agreed to come. I recognize you all from the sorting. I tell you what Harry. After meeting you and everything, I wasn’t at all surprised you ended up in Hufflepuff,” Hagrid said as he served tea. The tea kettle seemed small in his large hands and it was impressive he was able to set out tea cups for them all on the table.

“Glad to know someone on the staff wasn’t surprised. By the way, I already told Hannah, Hermione and Susan about the Street Knights,” Harry said.

“That’s a relief. I won’t hafta talk around it,” Hagrid said.

“It was interesting hearing about them. It also made it even more obvious he would be in Hufflepuff like he wanted,” Hermione said.

“I’m really glad we already got to make friends with each other,” Hannah said.

“Yep. It was kind of funny, but also a little disappointing how surprised people seemed Harry got into Hufflepuff. Funny they were proven wrong. Sad, they didn’t think it was even possible for him to be in Hufflepuff,” Susan said with a slight frown. She was even more on board with his idea about showing people Hufflepuff wasn't to be underestimated.

“That just shows the old saying about assuming is correct. The whole making an arse out of you and me,” Harry said.

“Language…” Hermione said quietly on instinct. She then blushed and said, “Sorry… Old habit… My parents mention watching language a lot.”

The others laughed. “No worries, Hermione. I do usually try not to make a habit of using foul language,” Harry said giving her a smile causing her to smile in return.

“So. How are you all liking Hogwarts so far? What’s Hufflepuff like? If you don’t mind me asking. I was in Gryffindor meself,” Hagrid said.

“Hufflepuff is great!” Hannah started. “They actually give us an older student known as an RA who helps us get sorted out during our first year.” She left out the whole co-ed dorm thing. That seemed like a Hufflepuff secret. All of the Badgers seemed to silently agree on this.

“Is that so? That sounds like a good idea. Might be something others should adopt, but each house has its own style. Who is your… RA was it?” Hagrid asked for confirmation. The students nodded.

“Tonks is our RA,” Susan said. “I really like her.”

“Ah! Yes, I know her. The meatmorph. She really is a fun one. I’ve met her a few times. She got in trouble for imitated professors,” Hagrid said. He then gave a chuckle and said, “They apparently didn’t understand her excuse about imitatin’ being the highest form of flattery.” The first years laughed to that.

“Hogwarts has been really great so far. My classes aren’t too bad… apart from History and DADA,” Harry said.

“I’m just glad the books are as good as Tonks told us they would be in those classes,” Hermione said.

“Yeah… Old Professor Binns… I’mma guessing he’s just as sprightly as he was during my days.” They looked to Hagrid as he winked and continued, “He’d already been a ghost by then for so long no one remembered when he was actually alive.” This earned chuckles from the kids as the friendly giant of a man grinned to them.

“DADA has been a problem for a long time now. Professor Quirrell was actually really good at all of that stuff when it came to studying the books. He took some time to try and get real world experience and that was when things went bad for him. Most say he had a nasty run in with a vampire in Albania. Sadly, DADA has gotten to the point that Dumbledore, despite how well known and respected he is, counts himself lucky getting just one candidate for the position. Many say its cursed and that’s why Hogwarts hasn’t had a DADA professor last longer than a year,” Hagrid said.

“How long has it been that way?” Susan asked.

“30 ta 40 years now I’d say,” Hagrid replied.

“My Aunt wishes it was better here. The Auror recruits are so under-prepared when they come up, even the best today are a far cry from the average recruit when she started in the DMLE,” Susan said.

“Ah yeah. That’s right. You’re Madam Bones’ niece. Heh heh. I could tell ya some stories about your Aunt during her time at Hogwarts, but I ain’t about to get on the bad side of the Head of the DMLE,” Hagrid said in a stage whisper to her. Susan laughed really loud to that as the others joined her.

“I have to ask, Hagrid. Did you tell Professor Dumbledore about me?” Harry asked wanting to get the unpleasant stuff out of the way quickly.

“I told him the Dursleys forgot to mention the truth about your parents to ya and they never told you ya were a wizard. I also told him you were wonderful company and a great kid. Dumbledore is a great man, but after meeting you and hearing what happened… I realized he is a great man, but still a man. The Knights seem great for ya, Harry. I’m not sure how he would react to that, so I left that part out. As far as I see it, you get ta decide when or if he learns the truth,” Hagrid said giving Harry a smile.

“Thank you, Hagrid. Thank you so much,” Harry said in relief. “Maybe one day I will tell him about what happened and all of that, but I would rather not do so yet. The Knights are my family and home. They’re my way of life.”

“And that is yer right to share or not. They ain’t hurt ye and you’ve grown up well. Yer parents would be proud considering. Heh Heh. Your dad might tease ya a little bit about being a Puff, but then he’d tell ya he was proud of you and expected you to show everyone Hufflepuff is a great house. Yer mom would be happy you care so much about being loyal to friends and don’t mind hard work. She was a rare one, yer mom. She had a good number of friends in all of the houses, even Slytherin,” Hagrid said with a smile.

Harry felt happy hearing that from Hagrid. “Thanks, Hagrid. I wish I knew more about my parents,” he said with a sigh.

“Well I can tell ya a good bit. James was a bit of a prankster growing up. Yer mom wasn’t too impressed by that. It was odd in hindsight, but your mom actually hated your father’s guts when they were younger. It was around sixth year, when he got his act together, that she finally gave him a chance. She must have seen then the man he truly was before any of us did. James did pretty much a complete 180 I tell ya. He went from being a lazy but smart troublemaker to Head Boy by his seventh year. He always did stand by his friends both as the troublemaker and Head Boy though. He could appreciate the Hufflepuff loyalty thing,” Hagrid said.

“That’s good to hear,” Harry said.

“What was Harry’s mom like?” Hermione asked. She seemed a bit more keen than casual curiosity would dictate in her question, even if she tried not to let it show. Harry was waiting eagerly to hear what Hagrid said along with Hannah and Susan.

“She was a beauty with her red hair and green eyes. She was nice and wonderful too. She was definitely the catch of her year. Smart, funny, kind and beautiful. She was fierce and powerful as well. Even the Pure-blood bigots would watch their toes around her. A couple of them made the mistake of getting on her bad side and the rest of the house quickly learned from what happened to them,” Hagrid said with a smile.

He then sighed and added, “Sadly, they just learned to be quiet about such things and stay out of her way. Instead o’ what they should have learned. Teachers loved your mom, Harry. She was the top of her year through all seven. She loved learning about magic. Studying wasn’t a chore for her. It was like part of free time. There wasn’t anyone surprised at all when she was named Head Girl her seventh year,” Hagrid said fondly.

Hermione oddly enough felt very relieved hearing that. She wasn’t sure why, but she liked that there were some similarities between Harry’s mom and her. Maybe it was just hearing about another muggleborn witch who didn’t let others’ words get to her too much that she liked.

Harry was in thought about that. He was smiling at Hagrid’s words. Hagrid then started telling them other stories about Harry's parents and he shared a few stories about Hannah’s parents and even a couple about Susan’s parents and her aunt. They talked about classes and so much more.

Harry after a while noticed a newspaper on the table. “Can I see that?” he asked Hagrid. Hagrid shifted it too him. Harry had never seen a wizarding newspaper up close. “I still find it interesting how wizarding photos move,” he commented. He gave Hermione part of the paper to look at as well for her own curiosity's sake.

Harry then actually read the article on the front page. “Talk about lucky…” he commented.

“What do ya mean?” Hagrid asked.

“The break in. It happened the day we left. It was even the vault you went to the day we shopped,” Harry said causally. He wasn’t about to start getting too excited about it. The others were a bit surprised, but seemed to decide to follow his lead and not make it too much of a deal.

“Aye. The goblins have it bad enough it happened. It would have been even worse if something was stolen,” Hagrid said.

Harry nodded and moved the conversation onward. He wasn’t about to press the topic further and get Hagrid upset at him. “Do wizarding photos have color or do they all have this sort of greyscale and blue tint thing?” he asked.

“That’s how they all be. I heard there were some muggleborns trying to fix that, but it ain’t worked well for them yet. Perhaps one day. Too many see it as a foolish pursuit for the time being. Think black and white is perfectly fine, they do,” Hagrid said before taking a sip of his tea.

“Muggle photos aren’t like this?” Susan asked.

Harry and Hermione shook their heads. Hermione told her more. “Muggle photos are still, but they are mostly fully colored now. They used to be all black and white, but that is mostly used by photographers who are trying for a more artistic approach with photographs,” she said.

“Huh…” Susan hummed in thought.

“Muggles also have what we call movies. They are kind of like wizarding photos in that they are moving, which is why they are sometimes called motion pictures. However, they are used for mostly entertainment and can last up to two hours or in some cases longer,” Harry added.

“Really?!” Susan asked in wonder. Harry and Hermione then took turns talking about movies for both Susan and Hannah, who was only partly familiar with them. Hagrid was listening as well and found it amazing and hard to believe.

“Well it was great seeing you all, but it is probably about time you lot head back. I wouldn’t want ta keep you all from supper and whatnot,” Hagrid said after some time with a kind smile.

“It was great seeing you again, Hagrid. I’ll be sure to visit more,” Harry said.

“I was happy to meet you, Hagrid. Maybe I can tag along when Harry visits next time as well,” Hermione said with a smile.

“I promise not to tell my aunt all of the stories you shared about her. Maybe you can tell me more in the future?” Susan teased.

“I also hope to visit again sometime,” Hannah said with a smile.

Hagrid gave a chuckle and shook his head as he waved them goodbye. “I look forward to it,” he called to them as they started to head back.

[-] [-] [-]

“So, what do you actually think about the whole break in?” Hermione asked once they were back in their dorm room. Tonks was in her bedroom probably getting a start on her NEWT homework for the weekend.

“I think it wasn’t a coincidence they picked that vault. It was pretty deep inside Gringotts’. Hagrid was very much mum about what it was. The package was small whatever it was and there wasn't anything else in the vault. He had said Hogwarts was probably the only place safer than Gringotts’ to protect something. I decided not to press the matter,” Harry said.

“Are you thinking that package is the reason why part of the third-floor corridor is off limits?” Hermione asked. Harry nodded in answer.

“It is worrying that someone broke into Gringotts’ and wasn’t caught, even if they didn’t get anything. It would take a lot of knowledge about magic,” Susan said with a frown.

“Do you think they will try to get it here?” Hannah asked in worry. She didn't like the idea of some unknown being roaming the halls of Hogwarts in search of whatever that item was.

The others were in thought for a moment after her question. Harry then said, “I don’t know. To get it here, wouldn’t they have to be a student or staff member? I’m pretty sure Hogwarts would be really hard to break into.”

“It is. At least it seems that way from what I read in Hogwarts: A History, there are a lot of wards and many other protections around the school and the grounds. Dumbledore’s also here,” Hermione said.

“Even You-Know-Who was afraid to cross Dumbledore,” Hannah said feeling more at ease as Susan nodded in agreement with her.

“Well anyways. Let’s get ready for supper. I’m also kind of looking forward to my first official weekend here at Hogwarts. I don’t count those first two days since school hadn’t started yet,” Harry said with a smile.

“It will be so much fun! Full run of the castle… apart from that corridor. We have to all go and explore some together,” Hannah said cheerfully as the other nodded in agreement.

[-] [-] [-]

It was finally time for their first flying lesson! Harry, Hannah and Susan were all very excited about it. Hermione was nervous. The others were trying to think of ways to help ease her worries. They weren’t having too much success.

“Do I really need to learn how to fly?” Hermione asked.

“It would be a good idea. It is a major mode of travel. There are other ways such as portkeys, floo powder, and apparition, but there are still plenty of full-fledged witches and wizards who prefer flying to those methods,” Susan said.

“The others all take getting used to and even then, still aren’t very comfortable. I hate how it feels like you're being squeezed in from all sides when using portkeys or apparition. Flooing is alright, but you always have to watch out for the ash and make sure you say the destination clearly. I’ve gone past the fireplace I was supposed to exit through a few times,” Hannah said.

“Flooing?” Hermione asked.

“You use this special powder called floo powder on a fireplace. You have to first set it for floo mode which will turn the flames green and they won’t burn you. You step inside with a handful of the powder and say the fireplace you want as you toss floo powder into the flames. Like I said, you have to watch out for the ash as the powder can stir it all up,” Hannah further explained.

“How have you apparated already? I thought I heard some of the older students say you had to be of age to do so,” Harry asked.

“To Apparate on your own, you do have to be of age and pass the test after taking classes. You can… have accidents… However, you can side-along Apparate at any age as long as you are with someone who can do so. You would just hold on to their arm and they would do the rest,” Susan said.

“I guess I should try to learn to fly… I just really hate heights…” Hermione said with a frown.

“We can figure something out. Perhaps you can go slow and take your time,” Harry said with a comforting smile.

“I hope so…” Hermione said as she looked downcast.

The first part of the week of flying lessons went by both too fast and too slow depending on who you asked. For Hermione, it was too fast. For everyone else, it was too slow. The Hufflepuffs all made their way to where they were supposed to have their lesson. Hermione felt more nervous as she realized the whole year had flying lessons together.

“We’re here for you, Hermione. Don’t worry,” Hannah said in support. Hermione appreciated it, but it didn’t do much to ease her mind.

“What are you doing here, Malfoy?!” they heard a rather familiar and at times kind of annoying voice shout.

“Flying Lessons. Same as everyone else, Weasley. I figured even you could figure that one out. This will probably be my only lesson though. Unlike you, I’ve not only touched a broom but actually flown one many times before coming here. This class is just a formality for me,” Draco drawled to Ron.

Ron glared at him.

“Tell me though. Do your brothers lock their brooms up, so you can’t steal them to sell for money? I know you’d do anything for even a knut. You could probably get a good price from an antique collector or a museum for their brooms. I’ve heard they fly CleanSweep 5s! Those brooms have been out of production for decades!” Draco said as several Slytherins around him laughed.

Ron growled at him in response. A couple of the other Gryffindors were standing behind him, but they looked more like they would support Ron by making sure he didn’t get into a fight then joining him. The other Slytherins were giving Draco polite but mostly silent support.

Most of the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws already learned you don’t get involved when Draco and Ron go at each other. You wouldn’t be able to do anything and they both wouldn’t stop whatever they were doing. The two really hated each other and looked for any excuse to have a row. Most people knew the Malfoy family and Weasley family really hated each other in general, so even the other Gryffindors were a bit careful when backing Ron against Draco.

Fortunately, before Ron and Draco could go any further, Madam Hooch came over to them all. She was a lady with short grey hair and yellow hawk like eyes. “Welcome everyone to your Flying Lessons! For those of you who don’t know yet, the way this class works is you take the lessons until I give you a passing grade. You can take a couple of extra classes if you want to further improve your skills and feel more comfortable with a broom,” she said to the gathered students.

“Now then. I want everyone to step up to a broom. We will first practice summoning a broom. To do so, place a hand over the broom and say ‘up!’ If you do it correctly, the broom will hover or shoot into your hand,” she said. She then demonstrated how to call a broom and had the class do the same.

The results were varied with the first years. Some students, like Harry, had their broom shoot straight into their hand. Others had their broom hover up just a little bit. Some, like Hermione, had their broom simply flop over on the ground. A very few amount had their brooms do nothing.

“Up…” Hermione said. “Uppppp!” she said again impatiently. It took her a few tries, but finally the broom hovered barely off the ground.

“Alright… Everyone. Grab hold of your broom, even if it didn’t come to your hand,” Madam Hooch said. Some of the Slytherins snickered at the students who didn’t manage to call their broom successfully.

“Don’t worry about them,” Susan said quietly to Hermione in comfort. Hermione gave her a weak smile in return. She did feel a little better being here next to Harry, Hannah and Susan at least.

Madam Hooch then instructed them on how to properly mount their brooms. Everyone got ready and mounted. Their first goal was simply to take off. Then it would be to hoover for a few minutes ten feet above the ground. Finally, the group would be taking a leisure flight around the area before she would dismiss them to practice on their own and test those who think they are ready.

“Now. When I count to three. We will all kick off into the air!” Madam Hooch said.

She started counting, but Neville was also really nervous about flying lessons and didn’t want to be the only one left on the ground. He kicked off at two! “Whoa… Whoa! What’s happening?!” Neville started to cry as his broom shot straight up.

“Mister Longbottom! Get straight back down here this instant! You were not supposed to take off yet!” Madam Hooch called up to him.

The other students were a mix of worry for Neville or laughing at his trouble. Then Neville fell off his broom! He yelled as he fell to the ground. He hit it quickly landing on his wrist. Several students gasped and Hermione grabbed Harry’s arm tightly for dear life. Madam Hooch didn’t even have the time to properly respond to help Neville with a spell before he crashed.

Madam Hooch immediately looked the round-faced boy over and sighed. “You’ve broken your wrist. Come with me. I’ll take you to see Madam Pomfrey,” she said kindly as Neville sniffed and silently cried tears of pain.

She quickly gave all of the class a serious look as she said, “Not one of you is to move or take off while I’m gone. If you do… I’ll have you expelled quicker than you can say Quidditch!” She then helped Neville up and kindly escorted him to the hospital wing.

Draco started talking and making fun of Neville while Ron growled at him. No doubt the two boys saw this as a great chance to start their fight back up again. Harry and a couple of the other Hufflepuffs were calming Hermione down once more. Seeing Neville fall like that wasn’t doing her any favors.

“Look! Its his stupid glass ball thingy he was carrying on about at breakfast. What is it called again?” Draco drawled out.

Pansy tittered away as she said, “It’s called a remembrall!”

“Ahhh yes…” Draco said holding the glass orb up in one hand and making a show of inspecting it for a moment. “A bit useless really. Maybe I’ll leave it somewhere fun for him to find,” he said getting laughs from the other Slytherins.

Ron was about to shout at him, but Harry came over to Draco. Hermione gave him a quiet warning about not getting in trouble. Harry gave her quick look showing he knew that. Draco was about to mount his broom when Harry spoke up. “You are right it is kind of useless. What use is it telling someone they forgot something, if it won’t say what it is, they forgot or give them a hint?” Harry asked conversationally.

Draco smirked and stood with the broom in his hand, but not mounting it. “Right you are. I imagine it is more like torture than any help,” he said getting laughs from some of the other Slytherins.

“True. It still isn’t yours to take though,” Harry said calmly. Draco looked to him almost in challenge. Harry quickly looked back and asked, “Susan. Isn’t the Longbottom family rather well respected?”

“Yes. They are. And stealing from the heir would be a bad idea,” she replied.

Draco suddenly realized they had a point. Harry then said, “They probably wouldn’t make too big of a deal of it this time. Maybe. But I know Ron and a few others would be perfectly happy to say what happened here to Neville’s remembrall. Then the staff would probably make you either hunt it down or buy him a replacement. Not too big of a punishment, but still a waste of time.”

Draco looked to Harry in thought. Harry did have some points. Father would not be happy about buying a replacement, even if it wasn’t expensive. It would be the principle of the matter that really annoyed Lord Malfoy and having to apologize to Madam Longbottom. Draco also didn’t feel like having to go and hunt it down for the boy either.

“I’ll do everyone a favor and return it to him or Madam Hooch. That way we don’t waste anyone’s time,” Harry said.

Draco gave a smirk. “Sure thing, Potter. Besides, she will probably be back soon. Father could easily overturn her threat of expulsion, but it would annoy him,” he said. The boy then tossed the remembrall to Harry. He was half hoping Harry would miss it or drop it. Instead, Harry caught it with ease just as Madam Hooch returned.

“Good. It seems you all took my warning seriously,” Madam Hooch said.

“Madam Hooch. Neville left his remembrall behind. I believe it was given to him by his Gran,” Harry said as he handed it to her.

“Thanks… I’ll make sure he gets it,” she said and started the class again.

[-] [-] [-]

In the end, Hermione barely got up on her broom. She kept picturing Neville falling, but it was her instead and from much further up in the air. She was a bit embarrassed she didn’t immediately get flying, but she noticed she wasn’t the only one having problems. That did ease her mind, if only a little.

Harry on the other hand did really well. He loved flying and how free he felt up in the sky with the wind rushing through his hair. He chuckled and fully enjoyed the lesson. He was like a natural at flying. He even raced a few times with the other students. He won them all.

“This is a terrible broom…” Draco muttered after he lost the Harry Potter.

“Well yeah. They are meant for just the lessons. They aren’t even the same type. The races are just for fun. You can’t prove anything with these brooms,” Harry said with a chuckle. Draco gave a nod and frowned at his broom again.

“It really is a pity first years aren’t allowed their own broom. Father said it’s a crime I can’t even try out for the House Quidditch team because of that rule,” Draco said.

“I would love to have my own broom. I’m getting one next year. I don’t know about trying out for Hufflepuff’s team, but I do want to fly,” Harry said.

“I’ve heard Cedric is the Seeker for Hufflepuff and that he is really good and he’s the youngest on the team,” Padma said as she happened to overhear them while flying nearby.

“Yep. Cedric told me as much in the common room a while back. None of the team are seventh years either, so there really won’t be openings, since the team is pretty good,” Harry said.

“It is odd he's Seeker. He doesn’t even have a seeker’s build,” Draco said in thought before flying off. He didn’t mind talking Quidditch, but he wasn’t happy about losing the race, even if it was the broom’s fault. He instead flew over to poke fun at Ron again. The boy was a nervous wreck that barely stayed on his broom for most of the class.

“It astonishes me how much those two go out of their way to get on the other’s case,” Padma said with a shake of her head.

“If everyone didn’t know they hated each other, you could easily think they were best buds who loved giving each other a hard time,” Harry said. Padma and another girl laughed to that.

The other girl was actually a Slytherin who happened to be nearby. She gave another laugh and continued on her way and went to talk to Pansy Parkinson. Harry believed the girl’s name was Tracey Davis. He also noticed Pansy seemed to be acting very different around Tracey than Draco. The girl seemed less tittering and more serious and genuine. Harry wondered about that, but instead of focusing on it too much he went to check up on Hermione again.

“How are you holding up?” he asked her.

Hermione gave a sigh. “I’m disappointed. This is probably the only class I won’t ace…” she said frowning to the ground.

Harry couldn’t help but give a chuckle. “Well then. It is a good thing this class doesn’t count towards your grades,” he said.

Hermione pouted a little. “Easy for you to say. You’re flying circles around everyone. I wish I could do that…” she finished quietly. Mentally she added how she wanted to fly circles around everyone with Harry and then off into the sunset. She hated how her brain decided on the oddest things to be romantic about at the worst times, especially if they were cliche.

“You could try flying again. There is still time left in class,” Harry said.

Hermione shook her head. “I think I’ve embarrassed myself enough today. I really don’t like how the whole year is taking this class at the same time,” she said. That fact had made her a lot more nervous. If it was just Hufflepuff, she wouldn't have minded it as much. She may only see Harry, Hannah and Susan as friends for now, but they all got along fairly well in their year.

Harry got an idea hearing Hermione’s complaint. His idea was something he would have to set up first though. The class soon ended and Harry approached Madam Hooch afterwards and asked her some questions. Hermione wanted to stay behind and wait for him, but it seemed he might be a while. She wondered what they were talking about as she headed back to Hogwarts with Susan and Hannah.

[-] [-] [-]

“What were you talking to Madam Hooch about after class?” Hermione asked Harry when he returned to the dorm.

Harry gave a smile and said, “I kind of asked her if I could still attend a few more classes. She allowed it in the end, but I can’t race the whole time and I have to actually work on improving. I may be good and a natural, but I am still very new to flying. I can still improve.”

“If you say so…” Hermione said doubtfully. He really was something the way he was flying up there and racing others. If he did try out next year for seeker, she wouldn't be surprised if he beat Cedric.

“Let’s get started on our homework then, shall we?” Harry asked her with a different smile changing the subject.

Hermione blushed quickly and nodded happily. “I do love studying!” she said as an excuse for her sudden mood shift.

“I know you do,” Harry said with a friendly chuckle as they got their notes out to get started. Flying Lessons weren't anything to think on now. Not only would it be distracting, but Hermione would not appreciate his divided focus. She could easily pick up on stuff like that.

Chapter 8: Private Lessons and Trolls

“You got permission for this?” Hermione asked yet again as she followed Harry, who was carrying two brooms.

“I did. It was at the same time I asked to continue lessons for a bit in Flying Class,” Harry answered her.

“She said yes to this?” Hermione confirmed. She wanted to make sure they had permission for this. It seemed most irregular to her, but then again Harry did pretty much ace their flying lessons. Maybe Madam Hooch figured a little tutoring with a classmate would help Hermione with flying.

“She did. She was very grateful I returned Neville’s Remembrall like that and maybe she was a bit more agreeable as a result,” Harry said as he led the way.

They were soon standing outside the castle. “So how do you think this will help?” Hermione asked.

“I hope getting you used to a broom will help some at least. I know you mentioned you don’t like heights, but hopefully getting a little more comfortable with a broom will help when it comes to flying. You also don’t have to worry about anyone else seeing you while we do this and we can take your time,” Harry said.

Hermione was in thought over all of this. She eventually nodded and said, “I suppose it is worth a shot. I don’t want to be literally grounded my whole magical life.”

Harry gave a chuckle to her. “I think the first thing we can try is you riding on my broom with me. You won’t have to worry about controlling it and can just get used to being on a broom. Do you want to sit in front of me, or behind me?” he asked.

Hermione blushed as she shied away just a little bit. “I’ll sit behind you. That way I can hold on tightly,” she answered.

Harry nodded and positioned himself on his broom a little more to the front than usual. Hermione took in a calming breath and climbed on back. She wrapped her arms around him. Harry just stayed still while she settled in on the broom. “Are you ready?” he finally asked.

“As ready as I can be,” she answered with a sigh.

Harry started drifting upward as she let out a cute “Eeep” sound and wrapped her arms around him tighter. Harry put up with it and kept their balance. She did ease up a bit after the initial shock. Harry drifted upwards a little more.

“I’m going to start out slow,” he said to her before moving forward.

Hermione pressed herself up against him and gasped as she closed her eyes tight. She finally opened her eyes after a few minutes. She peered over his shoulder and gasp for a different reason this time. “It is kind of beautiful up here,” she said looking around under the starry night sky.

“I like that part too. I mostly like the freedom flying offers though. Once you have a broom and learn to fly it, you can go anywhere! I also like how fast you can go a broom and how the wind feels against your face and hair, but I won’t put you through that… at this time,” Harry said with a teasing air to his voice at the end.

Hermione gave him a playful frown, but realized he couldn’t see it. “You better not,” she said with a playful humph at the end. Harry chuckled to that and she smiled pleasantly to herself and enjoyed riding a broom with a boy, even if they were just friends and she definitely did not totally for sure almost maybe have a crush on him.

As Harry continued to fly, Hermione found herself enjoying holding on to Harry like this too much. It was nice feeling how solid and strong his body was. Harry was also enjoying this more than he thought he should. He hadn’t fully counted on what it would feel like having Hermione pressing her body up against him like this while wrapping her arms around him. It had actually caused him to blush a little at first, but fortunately Hermione couldn’t see him.

“What do you think?” Harry asked her after a moment.

“Can I just call you up whenever I need to fly somewhere?” Hermione asked with a cute pout. She wouldn’t say if the extra pout was intentional or not.

“I wouldn’t say no such a request,” Harry said with a chuckle. He then asked, “But what if I can’t be there soon enough?”

Hermione gave an overly dramatic sigh. “I suppose you have a point.” She then gave him a light squeeze as she said, “It isn’t too bad like this. I’m not sure how it will be when I’m on my own though.”

“If you want, we can shift positions. Maybe that would help?” he asked.

“We can try for a bit. Might be a good idea so I can’t just focus on your back,” she admitted.

The two then shifted positions. It took a little work, but Harry and Hermione found a way to have it so he was sort of reaching around her to hold the broom while she leaned back against him. Hermione gasped a little as they flew anew. It was much different experiencing it like this. She had more of a view, but it was a bit scary not being the one in control.

“I think I want to try it on my own broom now,” she said rather quickly.

“Alright. I suppose feeling more in control would help you out by this point,” he said as they landed.

Hermione climbed on her own broom and was more at comfort this time around. “This is a bit better,” she admitted. She then blushed a little as she quietly asked, “Can we take it slow though?”

Harry smiled and her heart started beating much faster, but not due to being up in the air on a broom. “That’s the whole purpose of these lessons,” he easily replied.

Hermione nodded and the two continued flying at her pace.

As the night continued, Hermione actually grew more in confidence and even partly found herself enjoying flying, even on her own. She was still going really slow and the highest she rose off the ground was 20 feet, but it was progress. She was still a bit wobbly on her broom, but she realized that was something she would just work out like almost everyone else. They continued to fly together and Harry even got her to do some slow weaves and more with him, but nothing too fantastic or exciting. The purpose was to get her used to flying and they were doing really well in that regard.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry and Hermione realized they had gotten a bit carried away with their private lesson once they realized how late it was. They ended up staying out until just after curfew. Harry had to still return the brooms, so they carefully made their way through the castle making sure no one caught them.

Once the brooms were secure, they had to get back to their dorm unnoticed. Sadly, the stairs were in a very playful mood and suddenly shifted around a whole lot. They had been going down towards Hufflepuff after returning the brooms, but the stair they were on decided to instead turn so they couldn’t go anywhere and shift upwards a good bit.

“I hate these stairs…” Harry grumbled.

“Me too!” Hermione agreed. She then sighed and said, “At least we can take that one passageway Tonks talked about from here. We do kind of have to go close to the forbidden corridor though.”

“We won’t try to look inside the rooms or anything. I think we'll be fine,” Harry said.

And they might have been fine, but they soon heard a voice shouting, “But I’m telling you I was setup. It isn’t my fault! Draco challenged me to a duel. We were meeting in the trophy room. You have to believe me!” It was Ron and it seemed he was caught out past curfew.

Harry and Hermione froze. They thought about just sucking it up and accepting detention for being out late. However, they heard the voice speaking to Ron in return. “You expect me to believe that, Weasley? Daft idea thinking about having a duel in the trophy room. Only a moron would fall for your trick. It is a pity they banned the old punishments. Ha! I’d bet you’d think twice about exploring the castle at night if you knew it meant you could spend two hours hanging by your thumbs!” Filch said to Ron.

Both Harry and Hermione then decided to move quickly. They didn’t have much time though. Filch and Ron were nearby. There was no way they wouldn’t be noticed trying to slip away, especially if Mrs. Norris was with them. They came to a locked door and after a frantic moment Hermione used an “Alohomora!” to unlock the room and they slipped inside.

Harry then paused in shock as Hermione quietly closed the door behind them. “That was a close call,” she said to him in a whisper. She then turned around and froze in shock as well. She was just about to scream when Harry placed a hand on her mouth and motioned for her to be quiet by placing a finger on his lips. She tried her best, but it was hard. Right in front of them was a giant three headed dog! The three heads were snoring away and resting on top of a trap door in part of the room, so they were lucky there. It would have been bad if the dog was awake.

After a very intense moment that seemed to last for all eternity, they slipped back outside of the room. Harry and Hermione quickly and quietly made their way back after that without running into any more trouble. They then went straight to their room.

“What was that?!” Hermione asked loudly in her shock once their door was closed.

“A three headed dog,” Harry said still in disbelief. Hermione gave him a quick look, but then relaxed and sat on her bed. She wasn’t about ready to fall asleep yet though.

“At least we now know why the third-floor corridor is off limits. That dog and whatever it was guarding under the trapdoor,” Hermione said after a few moments.

“I’m glad that thing didn’t wake up. If it did… Filch might have been the better option,” Harry said.

“We could have been expelled by him!” Hermione said excitedly.

“That’s why I said it might have been the better option,” Harry repeated with a chuckle. Hermione paused for a moment before giggling at his joke. Detention hanging by your thumbs with Filch before expulsion, or eaten alive by a three headed dog? It was a tough decision.

“Well, we know where whatever it was Hagrid took out of the Gringotts’ vault is now. I can see why he says Hogwarts is the only place harder to steal from than Gringotts. Not many, if any, would dare cross paths with a giant three headed dog and then fight it,” she said.

“That doesn’t even account for whatever is below that trapdoor,” Harry said.

Hermione was surprised for a moment before she nodded. “You’re right! Something that important would have even more security. I wouldn’t be surprised if each of the professors added their own touch to the defenses,” Hermione said excitedly despite herself. One of the few things she loved more than a good book was a good mystery to unravel. The mysterious item Hagrid retrieved was just such a mystery.

Harry and Hermione both talked a little longer as their nerves settled. After they got ready for bed, Hermione turned to Harry and smiled to him. “Thanks for tonight, Harry. Even with the giant dog and missing curfew and almost getting caught by Filch…” she started.

Harry sighed. “That is a lot for one night…” he muttered.

She nodded to him as she continued. “I still actually enjoyed our lesson. It was beautiful flying under the moon like that! I feel a lot better about flying. Though I’m not too sure how comfortable I would be flying completely on my own.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that. Not for a long time anyways. As long as you can fly on your own broom, even with others around you to keep you company, that should be enough for the class and a good start when it comes to flying in general,” Harry said.

Hermione then blinked in disbelief. She then smiled again and shook her head. “That’s the real reason you asked to take extra lessons, isn’t it? To be there with me and to help me with that,” she asked.

Harry smiled as he jokingly said, “Oops… Caught.” It was obvious he didn’t really care about learning the truth. Hermione shook her head and giggled a little. Harry then added, “Though I also did want to fly more as well. I figured I might as well try to help you while I’m at it.”

“Well. Harry Potter. I do appreciate it,” Hermione said to him sweetly as she felt warm at his wanting to be there for her.

Harry nodded to her and said, “Goodnight, Hermione.”

Hermione blushed unseen by him as she replied, “Goodnight, Harry.” She was pretty sure she would again be seeing him in her dreams soon enough. She closed her curtains and got under her covers. As she fell asleep, Hermione really hoped Harry would be shirtless riding on a broom under a beautiful full moon in her dreams.

[-] [-] [-]

Halloween was almost here! Hermione only needed two more flying lessons before she passed and finished with them. She did make an excuse to Harry about needing another private lesson first though. That last private lesson was really wonderful and they didn’t stay out past curfew that time.

“So… What are your thoughts about wizards celebrating Halloween?” Hermione asked Harry carefully.

Harry looked to her in thought before answering. “Mixed. I lost my parents that night, but growing up and thinking what the Dursleys told me was the truth, kind of had me less upset about it oddly enough. While I’ve been with the Street Knights, I’ve usually enjoyed Halloween. We have parties and costume contests and more. There’s this really cool and fun arcade near where we live and they always have a big blast of a party on Halloween. There are even a few places near us that setup Haunted Houses. I’ve usually mourned and remembered my parents on All Souls Day instead, even though I’m not religious. So… I’m kind of looking forward to seeing what wizards do for the holiday,” he said to her with a smile.

Hermione let out a breath in relief she didn’t know she was holding. She felt relieved. She didn’t want to upset her friend saying she was really looking forward to it herself. She could now enjoy the day mostly guilt free. “I’m glad to hear you're taking it so well. I feared you would hate this holiday. I’m still sorry you lost your parents,” she said giving him a hug in comfort.

“I appreciate it, Hermione. I’m looking forward to the feast. I heard Hannah and some of the others talking about how Dumbledore always gets some great entertainment for the Halloween Feast,” Harry said.

Hermione then gave a random giggle and he looked to her curiously. “Sorry about that. I just found it funny we are oddly enough dressing up as witches and wizards for the Holiday,” she said.

Harry gave a laugh to that.

“What’s so funny?” Susan asked them as they entered their dorm’s living room.

“We were just laughing about how we're all dressing up as Witches and Wizards for Halloween. Some of the muggle world celebrate Halloween as well, even if for different reasons, and one of the go to costumes for dressing up is usually a witch,” Hermione explained.

Susan and Hannah, who was sitting next to her, both laughed to that. “We even have the pointed hats and are wearing all black thing down,” Harry added. The group shared a new round of laughs.

[-] [-] [-]

On the day of Halloween, classes were very hard to get through for the day. Everyone, including some of the staff, were excited for the holiday feast. The Gryffindors were extremely rowdy about the day. Harry overheard a few professors complaining about how Gryffindors were always the worst on Halloween.

The Slytherins were mostly pretending not to care about the holiday or only enjoying it in passing, but there weren’t any of them blatantly hating it. A pretty wise move Harry had to admit. After all, the only reason you would hate the holiday is if you were deep into worshiping and following Voldemort. That wouldn’t look well for families who got off because of the whole Imperius Defense. If they were forced to work for him against their wills, they would love such a holiday. It was the day when they were finally freed from him. Their approach instead made it seem like they were just being more reserved than other houses about the holiday.

“Finally!” Ernie said as they finished with their last class for the day. “Merlin, I swear the teachers bewitched time to pass by slower just to torture us and keep us from properly celebrating,” he said as several laughed in agreement.

“Any ideas what the entertainment will be this time?” Megan Jones asked. She was another Hufflepuff in their year. She had fair skin, brown hair and blue eyes. She was actually dorm mates with Ernie, Justin, Lilly Moon and Kimberly Haywood. Lilly Moon had dark blonde hair, hazel eyes and pale skin. Kimberly Haywood had black hair, brown eyes and slightly tanned skin.

“Not rightly sure. I heard he tried to get the Boneheaded Troupe, but they were already booked. He’s got them for next year though, or so people have been saying,” Ernie replied.

“Awww… That’s too bad,” Lilly Moon said with a slight frown. “I’ve heard they’re really good,” she added.

“Who are the Boneheaded Troupe?” Harry asked.

“Their a band of dancing skeletons. Very popular. Some others have tried to mimic what they do, but the originals have been at it for centuries!” she said with excitement in her voice.

“I still can’t wait to see a wizard’s Halloween,” Justin added. By this point, the other first year Hufflepuffs knew what Harry told Hermione concerning the day. They had all caught themselves a number of times almost being too excited about the day Harry’s parents died, before he told them pretty much what he told her. Knowing he enjoyed the holiday, even if it was because he was lied to about his parents' deaths, was a relief so they wouldn't have to walk around on egg shells around him.

“Me too! Hagrid was talking about how great the pumpkins he grew for this year were,” Harry added. He made sure to visit his friend a couple more times since that first visit.

“I don’t doubt his word on that,” Ernie said grinning in excitement as they headed back to Hufflepuff.

The group was soon joined by the last three of their house in their year. The last three were all boys who shared their own dorm. Wayne Hopkins was a dark skinned boy with dark hair and brown eyes and he had a medium build. Kenneth Smith-Stone was a strong boy with a medium tan, dark brown hair and blue eyes. The last boy was Roger Malone, another dark skinned boy, but who had hazel eyes. He was probably the second tallest in their year. They weren't sure if he or Dean Thomas from Gryffindor was taller. Ron was easily the tallest in their year and also very lanky.

[-] [-] [-]

Soon it was time for the feast. All of the students were wearing their black robes and black hats. They were required to wear the full uniform for feasts, even if the rest of the year the robes and hats were optional. The students all eagerly whispered to each other about how excited they were for the feast. The doors to the Great Hall finally opened up and everyone gasped as they entered.

There were large lit up carved pumpkins all over the Great Hall. They varied in size. Smallest were still big by muggle standards while others were taller than some of the students. A couple close to the raised staff table that were almost as tall as the professors. There were orange streamers hanging from the ceiling. Thousands and thousands of live bats were flying around the room in clouds from the ceiling to the walls.

“This is amazing,” Justin said in awe as Harry nodded in agreement with him. He was looking all around the room. Several students were talking excitedly again, even the Slytherins were no longer trying to act indifferent about the holiday and genuinely enjoying it like everyone else.

It wasn’t long until they were all seated at their tables and Dumbledore stood up silencing the hall. “It is once again Halloween everyone! It seems Hagrid really outdid himself this year with the pumpkins,” he said while motioning to Hagrid. The giant of a man was grinning brightly and bowed in thanks for the praise as the students applauded him. “This year the school ghosts will be providing the entertainment after the feast,” Dumbledore told them all.

Students started to gossip a little in excitement. Apparently, the ghosts liked to do something special every two years or so. Harry overheard Cedric from nearby talking about how he heard their formation gliding was always something amazing to see.

Dumbledore raised his hand and everyone quieted down once more. “Yes. It is truly a wonderful day today, but first… A moment of silence for all those who sacrificed themselves fighting so we can be here today celebrating such a feast,” he said.

Harry then noticed some people looked to him briefly before everyone seemed to bow their heads and close their eyes in remembrance. Some even seemed to say a silent prayer. Harry decided to join them as well. Perhaps it was good to also remember his parents on this day instead of just All Souls Day.

After the moment passed, Dumbledore spoke again. “We should never forget. Now then… Let us enjoy the feast and the holiday. So those lost will all know their sacrifice was not in vain! Happy Halloween, everyone!” the headmaster said as he raised a glass and everyone followed suit. With those words, the feast appeared on their plates. Harry guessed there were as many dishes tonight as there were for the Welcoming Feast. There might even be more!

[-] [-] [-]

The feast was amazing. However, it was not to last. Shortly after it started, the doors to the Great Hall flew open again. Professor Quirrell ran inside panicking as he held his turban tight. “Troll!!! In the dungeons… Thought you ought to know…” Professor Quirrell shouted before his voice trailed off and he then fainted forward face down on the floor.

The great hall was dead silent for a moment. Then everyone started to panic and shout. Not even the too cool Slytherins were acting calm and collected now. Everyone was standing up getting ready to run for it when there was a loud bang sound coming from Dumbledore’s wand.

“Prefects. Lead your houses back to their dorms. Use the emergency passageways. Teachers will follow me and we will look for the troll. It could have moved since Professor Quirrell spotted it,” Professor Dumbledore ordered.

“But! He said it was in the dungeons! Our house is towards the dungeons,” Justin said in worry.

Tonks was the one to answer as she and the other two RAs made sure to collect their first years. “That’s why we’re using the emergency passageways. They're near here and go straight to the common room for each house,” she said.

“Couldn’t someone sneak in that way?” a third-year girl asked in worry.

A sixth year Prefect shook his head as they gathered the students into lines. “Only us Prefects know where they are and we only remember them when the Headmaster or Head of House tells us to use them. Come on all of you. RAs, do you have all of your first years?” he then asked as they all three nodded. “Follow me,” he said as they did so.

Harry suddenly found himself and the rest of his house in Hufflepuff. Hermione was holding on to him again. Susan and Hannah were also nearby and Tonks was taking a headcount again just to triple check. Harry couldn’t remember how they got there, just that they followed a prefect and Dumbledore told them to use an emergency passageway.

“We’re all here,” a seventh year Prefect said assuring everyone they made it. “The teachers will deal with the troll. Don’t you worry. The feast will be continuing here. Take a seat,” he said as the tavern like tables and chairs seemed to increase in number and size. Music started playing as well. A few of the older students used magic to provide some decorations and soon everyone started to calm down and enjoy their revised feast plans.

“Too bad we’ll miss the ghosts’ entertainment,” a fifth year said with a sigh.

“Maybe! But that doesn’t mean you won’t have good company!” the Fat Friar ghost then said with a smile. Some of the students brightened up to that.

“Indeed, you are right, Friar Puck!” a voice the first years hadn’t heard from since the first night at Hogwarts said.

“Helga Hufflepuff! My Lady. You grace us with your presence as well?” the now named Friar Puck said.

“I figured why not. I may not be able to fly in formation, but that doesn’t mean I am boring either, especially with you around,” Helga’s portrait said with a warm and friendly smile.

With that, the Hufflepuff Halloween feast began anew. Plates appeared piled high with various foods from the great hall. The Fat Friar and Helga Hufflepuff’s portrait provided them a grand source of entertainment as they joked with each other and shared stories for all to hear. The two actually knew each other in real life and were good friends, since Friar Puck was one of the earliest students at the school. He started his study at Hogwarts three years after the school was founded.

Hermione was torn by the turn the feast took. She wanted to ask so many questions, but she also wanted to enjoy the feast with her friends and hear the stories Helga and the fat friar shared. She also didn’t want to be rude and interrupt them. This was their founder and one of the first students talking about Hogwarts! When she heard Harry let out a laugh, she decided this was better than trying to grill the portrait more about Hogwarts. She still had a lot of narrowing down to do with her questions anyways.

[-] [-] [-]

“Nice to see everyone still enjoying the feast,” the students heard their Head of House speak after she entered through the main entrance. “I guess everyone is accounted for then?” she asked as a Prefect assured her that was the case. She then joined them and listened in on the stories the house ghost and their founder’s portrait shared. The two even gained up on her to get her to share some of her own stories.

By the time the feast ended and the students went to their rooms, everyone felt sated and happy despite the tension from earlier in the night. People asked about the troll and Professor Sprout told them it was being investigated. Their theories ranged from Peeves letting it in as a holiday prank to the troll stupidly managing to blunder its way through, even if the latter theory was mostly refuted. She had assured them no students were harmed and all houses had a full count of students and troll had been dealt with before she returned.

As Harry and Hermione were getting ready for bed, Harry turned to her and asked, “How often do you think someone faints forward?”

She blinked for a moment and gasped. “Very rarely… Usually it is backwards or to the side. I suppose it can happen if they sway first, but he fell straight forward…” she said. Harry nodded in agreement.

“He also didn’t stutter at all that time,” Harry said.

“What do you mean? Stutters usually are unpredictable. They don’t happen…” she started as her eyes widened.

“They don’t happen in a manner where you can literally pick up on a pattern?” Harry finished for her. Hermione nodded. “I’ve noticed that for a while now. I’ve been around people who stutter. It is never as measured or seemingly intentional as Professor Quirrell’s is.”

“What does this mean?” Hermione asked in shock.

“I don’t fully know. It is clear Professor Quirrell is putting on a show, but for what reason? I don’t know. It could be he just cares that little for the class he teaches. It could be he wants to seem so terrified and useless he won’t ever have any extra duties as a professor. Perhaps he fainted because he's so cowardly he didn’t want to help the others face a troll. I don’t really know,” Harry said.

“We should tell someone!” Hermione exclaimed.

Harry shook his head. “We would need actual proof and not just something that can be explained away as coincidence. We are students. He is a Professor and member of the staff. Unless he is doing something personally to us, what we say won’t count for much,” he told her.

“What do we do then?” Hermione asked as she slumped in defeat.

“We keep an eye on him. We study him. We also keep a distance from him. We can’t be too obvious about it, or it might tip him off. Pretty much do like we have been except pay more attention and have more awareness. For all we know, it could be he’s using the whole stuttering thing as a means to slack off and make easy money as a professor for the year,” Harry said.

Hermione nodded. It would be difficult, but she was going to do what she could. “Do we tell the others?” she asked.

Harry was in thought for a moment. “We can. Let’s leave Tonks out of it though. She is very busy with her NEWTs. Maybe if we find out more, we can talk to her as well. If we discover something and need to report it, having a seventh year aiming to be an Auror could help our case,” Harry said.

“Okay. This is all kind of shocking…” Hermione said.

“Don’t think on it too much tonight. We need to get to sleep,” Harry said to her kindly.

Hermione gave a slow nod and got ready for bed. She made mental notes to reanalyze everything she knew about Professor Quirrell and rethink their interactions thus far, even though they were very few. That was something for the morning though. “Goodnight, Harry,” Hermione said again feeling pleasant warmth at saying the words to him.

“Goodnight, Hermione,” Harry replied with a smile she couldn’t see as he lay down and went to sleep. Tomorrow they would tell Hannah and Susan what they discussed tonight. Maybe later they could mention it to the other Hufflepuffs as well, but this was something that needed to be handled carefully. Being a Street Knight, Harry knew how to handle things carefully.

Chapter 9: Curious Things and Mysteries

“Good afternoon, Professor Snape,” Harry said as he walked with some of his house mates on their way down the hall and passed by the man. The others with Harry gave out similar greetings following his lead. Professor Snape had been acting different lately and not just because of his limp. People have been treating him more warily hoping to not get his ire. Harry was being only a little more respectful and polite than usual. He was pretty sure Professor Snape would sniff out a suck up and that would earn his ire.

“Afternoon,” Professor Snape grumbled as he limped past them. He then growled out to a different group, “You there! Five points from Gryffindor. You know those items are banned from the hallways.”

“Not fair!” Ron said with a frown. He left it alone though after that. All of Gryffindor knew Professor Snape was in an even fouler mood lately and didn't press their luck as much as they usually did with him. The professor merely glowered one last time as he continued limping away.

“I really hope that leg is hurting him a lot,” Ron said with a glower of his own at the Potions Professor’s back. The others with Ron nodded in agreement as they all decided to leave the area quickly but not too quickly.

“I’m really glad I’m not in Gryffindor…” Hermione started.

“I’ve heard Professor Snape has been extra tough on them in class,” Susan said.

“I’ve heard they also keep bringing it on themselves,” Hannah said.

Harry, after a moment, said to the others, “I’ll see you all back in Hufflepuff. There’s something I need to check now that I think about it.”

“See you later then,” the girls said to him in turn. Hermione hoped maybe he would share whatever it was later, but didn’t press him. Harry nodded to them as he started to walk away. There was something on his mind.

[-] [-] [-]

One of the many skills Harry learned while with the Knights, and despite his age, was how to follow someone without being noticed. Harry found Professor Snape’s limb rather odd. There was a very good healer at the school, yet for some reason Professor Snape hadn’t gone to Madam Pomfrey for medical aid. Professor Snape kept limping around the school and would pause every so often to look around him. It was almost as if he sensed someone following him. Harry decided to continue more carefully.

Soon they were at what Harry knew was the Staff Lounge. Harry flattened himself against the wall as he looked around the corner. Professor Snape looked both ways quickly before entering the break room and Harry moved closer.

The professor gave a sigh as he grumbled aloud, “How the bloody hell are you supposed to keep an eye on all three heads?” Filch was busy wrapping the professor’s leg. “I wouldn’t have to worry about this if Professor Dumbledore listened to me,” Snape griped.

“I know what you mean, Professor. The headmaster still refuses to let me bring back some of the old punishments. That would straighten out these brats,” Filch said.

“It isn’t the same,” Professor Snape said as he winced while Filch tightened a bandage. “Careful…” the potions’ master warned.

“Well, I ain’t the school healer. Why don’t you just go to her?” Filch griped.

“You know why I can’t…” Professor Snape said as they fell into silence for a moment.

If he went to Pomfrey with this level of an injury, she would quickly heal him but have to make a report for Professor Dumbledore. The Headmaster would then call Snape to his office and question him while again ignoring Professor Snape’s warnings. The argument would end with Dumbledore telling him to stop his investigation into the matter or something else along those lines and ignore all he was told.

“You know why the headmaster mentioned the corridor like that at the feast?” Filch asked. “I wanted him to say something, but not like that. I’m surprised we haven’t caught more brats trying to sneak a peek.”

Professor Snape gave a scoff. “I know what you mean… Telling curious children not to do something because it is too dangerous is just begging them to do so,” he said as Filch nodded in agreement.

Harry then left quickly. He had the answer to the question he wondered about at the moment. It was curious that Professor Snape was visiting that corridor and trying to get past the dog. He wasn’t sure what to think on the matter. It was suspicious, but he didn’t think the Professor was trying to steal whatever it was. If he was, why would he easily share so much with Filch? What was it Professor Snape spoke to the Headmaster about? So many questions and things to think on and look into.

Harry rounded the corner shortly before Professor Snape grumbled to Filch. “The damn door is open! Close it,” he ordered. Filch did so after he quickly looked up and down the hall to make sure no one was overhearing them.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry put down a book as he lay in his bed that night. He bought the book over the summer in addition to his school books. He had placed it in his trunk towards the bottom. He meant to start reading it sooner, but Hogwarts was exciting and he got wrapped up in it all. He looked over the cover of the old book again. It had light brown binding and gold letters spelling out the title, “Intention: The Key to All”.

The book was very fascinating. When he got it at Flourish and Blotts, the clerk was surprised he found it somewhere in the store. “It’s really just seen as a conversation piece if anything. That’s why it isn’t printed anymore or really seen as valuable. There are still copies scattered around, but that’s it,” the man said to him as he rang him up.

Harry decided that decision by the wizarding world was stupid. The book was fascinating and had a lot of interesting information well thought out and explained. He realized what the problem was after reading about the author. Not only was the author a muggleborn, he was also a Hufflepuff. Most decided this meant he didn’t really understand what he was talking about. While they didn’t run him out of society, they didn’t really give him much credence when it came to magic studies. The tome was also from a long time ago when muggleborns were underestimated even more than they were now.

The book mostly talked about how intention was a huge part of magic. It mentioned how it was important for silent casting. Harry knew this was true, because they had seen Tonks cast silently a few times. Hermione, being the inquisitive cutie she was, immediately asked questions. She sort of left it once Tonks told them it was stuff they learned about in sixth year, even Hermione didn’t think she was ready for sixth year material in her first year. She would probably wait until third year for that level of material.

The book Harry was reading went even further with the intention thing then silent casting. It talked about how you could completely change the results of a spell based on your intention with it. The author even said you could, with enough practice, cast a spell with a completely different spell’s effect. One example the author shared was casting a jelly leg jinx which in reality was a blasting curse. He even theorized you could cast the curse of death which instead acted like a stunner, thus giving the appearance of death but actually just stunning the target. It was not something he recommended trying on another human though.

Harry had read more in the book. While it was a lot about spell casting, it even said that intention and practice could be the key to unlocking more wandless magic. There was even mention of a ritual to help you commune with your core and better understand your own magic. It was mentioned to be careful with doing such a ritual, but how wonderful the results could be. The book was extremely interesting to Harry. He really liked magic, especially if it could be very useful.

Harry planned on reading more of the book and practicing some of the things it mentioned in the future. He liked the idea of silent casting. It may be a sixth-year skill, but did that mean you had to wait that long to practice it? He didn’t think so. It would probably be a lot of hard work for someone so young, but he was a Hufflepuff and hard work was never something he would shy away from in his life. He was pretty sure wandless magic was a good way off for him though, but he would read all about it anyways.

The green-eyed boy gave a yawn and a stretch. It was time for sleep now. He would be focusing on DADA tomorrow along with Hermione to see if they picked up on anything from Professor Quirrell.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry sighed. Hermione couldn’t help but nod in equal sentiment from next to him. After their talk regarding Professor Quirrell over Halloween, it seemed to become even more obvious he was up to something and faking his stutter. It seemed so obvious; Harry was wondering if they were both suffering from some form of confirmation bias. If you believe something hard enough, you will find proof you are right, even if you are completely wrong.

“Was it really always this obvious?” Hermione whispered to him.

“It seemed so to me,” Harry whispered back.

“What are we whispering about?” Hannah asked jokingly from the other side of Harry.

“The stutter,” Harry replied. Hannah had a questioning look on her face. “We’ll tell you later,” Harry said to her. She nodded and they went back to pretending they were paying attention to the class.

Once they were dismissed, Hannah and Susan left quickly with everyone else as was usually case. Everyone was eager to get out of the classroom. Harry and Hermione hung back a little. Hermione gave out a frustrated sigh. “I can’t believe him!” she said with almost a growl when they were alone. She really didn’t like teachers slacking. “I think you’re right, Harry. It can’t be real.”

“Yeah. I just wish I knew why he was faking it,” Harry said.

“I guess we’ll tell the others back in the dorm?” she asked. Harry nodded. She sighed and shook her head. “I’m going to the library,” she said before marching off. Harry gave a smile and a chuckle at she retreated in a huff. She really hated how wasteful she felt the class was, even before finding out about the stutter. She always made a habit of going straight to the library to look over the day’s chapter again.

Later that day after Hermione returned, their dorm gathered up together and Harry and Hermione explained it all to Hannah and Susan. Susan gave a few blinks as she gave a thoughtful look. “I think you two are on to something. I don’t know what though. It does seem rather obvious thinking about it now,” she said.

“The worst part is whatever is going on he will get away with faking it. No one else for the job really,” Hannah said with a sigh.

“It sounds like we will have to take our DADA study more in our own hands,” Harry said.

Tonks then came in and said to them, “That’s how its always been for that class really. You should find a time and place to practice the spells and look up more information. If you want a good grade in the class for your fifth year or want to take the NEWT for it, you should start studying it on your own. It can be risky so be careful. The best option would be a private tutor, but a good one is hard to come by even for someone raised in the magical world outside of Hogwarts. You would still have to cram during the Holiday and summer break. You aren't allowed to bring a private tutor to Hogwarts.”

Hermione frowned to that. She looked to Harry in silent question. Harry was in thought before he shook his head to her quickly. Hermione got the message. It wasn’t time to bring Tonks in on their concerns regarding Professor Quirrell.

“Something on your mind? Hermione?” Tonks asked.

Hermione took on a thoughtful expression for a moment. She had to think up something to ask. Fortunately, there were always many things on her mind and so she picked something to ask. “I was wondering if there were other magical abilities like your Metamorphmagus talents. Meaning other magics that are given to you from birth or inherited,” she asked.

“My abilities weren’t inherited, but I believe it is possible that any children I have are more likely to be metamorphs. There are abilities like that though. The Inner Eye, which is what seers call their ability to give prophecies, is the most commonly known even if it is fairly rare. You also have Veela and their Allure,” Tonks said.

“Allure?” Hermione asked.

“It is essentially super powered magical charged sexual attractiveness. It works really well on men, but can also effect women. Veela appear extraordinarily beautiful to everyone. People will do what they can to try and get their attention no matter how stupid or dangerous. I’ve heard strong will power is a way to avoid being over taken by it. Older more experienced Veela can turn it on and off. When they are younger, it can just happen suddenly. This ability is severely lessened when you get to people being an eighth or less Veela. By that point, they are just naturally seen as a bit more attractive than their peers. No innate magical enhancement,” she explained.

Tonks gave a sigh. “Honestly though, there are many magical abilities that could be inherited, but have been around for so long they’re normal for most and don't see them as such anymore. Though I would say one of the rarest inherited magical abilities is Parseltongue,” she said.

Hannah and Susan gave a shudder to that. Tonks frowned to them. “I know what people think of that, but it isn’t really evil,” she said.

“But. You-Know-Who was a parselmouth…” Hannah said quietly.

“He was also a magic user. Would you say all magic users are evil simply because he was?” Tonks asked. She didn’t like Hufflepuffs acting that way.

“Well... No. That’s different though?” Hannah said unsure.

“What is Parseltongue exactly?” Hermione asked.

“The ability to speak with snakes. Salazar was probably the most famous and that’s why Slytherin has a snake as their mascot,” Tonks said.

“Wait… I’ve done that before,” Harry said in shock.

“You have?!” Hannah asked in worry as she tried to lean further away from Harry but wasn’t moving from her spot.

Harry gave a slow nod. “I didn’t know what it was until now. I had a conversation with a Boa Constrictor in a zoo this summer. I also accidentally vanished the glass and he left. It was actually a bit funny and a little sad. He kept talking about how he was on his way to go see Brazil,” he said.

Hermione gave a chuckle to that. “That really is quiet the journey,” she said. She wanted to make sure Harry knew she wasn’t wary of his ability like Hannah was.

Hannah frowned in thought and worry. Tonks gave her a stern look before she turned to Harry and said, “As Hannah… decided to demonstrate for us. People see it as a dark art.”

Hannah blushed and Susan looked to her a little in concern. “Is this going to be a problem?” she asked her friend. Susan really didn’t want there to be a line drawn in the sand between her roommates.

“I… I don’t think so. I mean…” Hannah started. She looked up to Harry and said, “You’re Harry Potter. You’re in Hufflepuff…”

“Like I was trying to say. It isn’t really bad being a Parselmouth. That doesn’t mean you’re any more likely to go dark than the fact you are born a witch or wizard,” Tonks said.

Hannah frowned to that in thought. Hermione frowned as she decided to stick up for her first friend even more. “It sounds to me believing someone is evil simply because they have Parseltongue as an ability is just as bad as thinking all Hufflepuffs are dumb just because they are in Hufflepuff,” she said.

Hannah sighed. “Okay… Just… Please Harry… Don’t go around speaking in snake to everyone or something,” she said.

“No problem. I didn’t even use it intentionally the only time I have,” Harry said.

Hannah seemed a little more at ease and then blushed a little in shame. This was Harry. He was a friend and one of her roommates. She knew him fairly well by this point. Harry made a point of being fairly open with them right from the start.

“Is it going to be a problem for you, Susan?” Tonks then asked. She was fulfilling her duties as RA and making sure there wasn’t an issue with her charges. She also really hoped her cute firsties weren’t about to fight with each other.

Susan quickly shook her head. “It is a bit of an odd revelation, but I don’t think it is a problem,” she said. She then turned to Harry and said, “Though… You probably shouldn’t go around sharing it with others too easily. Maybe some more of our house mates eventually, but still be careful.”

“Thanks. I will. I’m just glad I learned it isn’t something common in the magical world now, instead of later when it might have been a problem. I thought it was something regular in the magical world,” Harry said.

“Like I said. It is rare,” Tonks said.

Hermione gave a frown in thought. “Has anyone ever thought to look more into it? I just wonder because there are medical and healing symbols that use snakes. The most well-known being the Rod of Asclepius. In the muggle world, that symbol was adopted by a lot of health organizations. I know it is rooted in Greek Mythology for muggles, but like many things as I've learned, that symbol could actually have roots in the magical world as well,” she said.

“Huh…” Tonks said in thought. “I don’t know. Perhaps that is something to look into carefully.” Hermione’s eyes lit up in excitement. She had yet another thing to research and it looked like she wasn’t the only one thinking this.

“I hope so. I’ll look into it as well. I want to change how people see things for the better. This is something else I can add to the list. I really would like it if this ability could be used to help heal people,” Harry said.

Hannah, to her silent shame, felt more relieved hearing those words. If Harry was wanting to know more about Parseltongue for the purposes of helping, then it was even less likely he was secretly dark. She hoped he found something and proved it to everyone else as well.

[-] [-] [-]

As November continued in full swing, most of the school was getting pumped for Quidditch season. Quidditch was the best sport ever according to some. Harry thought it more complicated than anything really. The sport consisted of two teams and played on a field while using brooms with three hoops on each end.

A team consisted of three chasers, two beaters, a seeker and a keeper. The chasers used a red rubber ball called the Quaffle, which they used to score a goal in any of the hoops worth ten points each. The beaters used bats to smack two hard rubber balls at any player trying to knock them off balance or their broom, while also sometimes guarding their own. The keeper kept the opposing chasers from scoring a goal. The seeker was the oddest position. They tried to catch a small golden ball with wings which ended the game and scored their team 150 points regardless of if that won them game or not, which it usually did but wasn't guaranteed. The game did sound kind of fun, but really odd. Then again, most things in the wizarding world could be classified as odd, but fun.

The first Quidditch match of the season was coming up soon and everyone was excited for it. Slytherin and Gryffindor in particular since they would be the opening game. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were also getting excited for the first game and many were rooting for Gryffindor, even if there were again worries about the seeker this year. Harry learned Gryffindor was actually a pretty good team, but they had yet to find a really good seeker to match the rest of the team’s skills.

While most were getting pumped for Quidditch, Harry and Hermione were on their way to meet with Hagrid again. It was just the two of them this time. Harry smiled as he knocked on the door to Hagrid’s hut.

“Good ta see you two again! Come on in,” Hagrid greeted them as he answered the door. “Are you two excited about the upcoming game?” he asked with a grin.

“A little bit. I’m curious about the sport. It sounds like something you have to see to really get though,” Harry said.

“Aye. That it is. Yer father played for Gryffindor. He was a great Chaser. One of the best. Made him mighty popular with the girls, but as I have pointed out before… heh heh… That didn’t impress your mom much. Though she did later finally admit she liked watching him play,” Hagrid said with a friendly grin.

“I think it sounds dangerous…” Hermione said with a worried frown.

“It can be. Especially when ya get to the pros, but all teams have really great healers. Madam Pomfrey is one of the best healer you'll find, so any injuries that might result from the game are usually easily taken care of,” Hagrid said.

“Still sounds dangerous… But I do want to watch at least the first game,” Hermione said with a smile as she took the offered tea cup from Hagrid.

“What do you think, Harry? Any thoughts on trying out next year? I’ve heard ye are pretty impressive at flying,” Hagrid said.

“I don’t know. I’m getting a broom, but while I love flying, I’m not sure about playing Quidditch. Draco and a few others said I could probably be a good seeker with my build and how I was in Flying Lessons,” Harry said.

“I can see that,” Hagrid said nodding. “Then again. Cedric is really good, so you would have a challenge trying to replace him on the Hufflepuff team. But like ye said. Flying ain’t the same as playing Quidditch.”

“I’ll agree you’re really good at flying, Harry. And it is obvious you love it,” Hermione said. She then gave a warm smile as she added, “You did teach me how to fly and got me over my fear of heights when on a broom at least.”

“That sounds like a story,” Hagrid said with a grin.

“Harry gave me private lessons. I was foolishly worried about looking bad in front of the whole of our year during the lessons. When we were on our own though, it was different. I really came to like flying. I will never do so alone though. I really prefer company when flying,” Hermione admitted. She left unsaid how much she hoped that company would almost always include Harry. She had wonderful and embarrassing dreams regarding private lessons with Harry.

“Good to hear. Flying is wonderful, especially with great company. I’m lucky to have that flying motorcycle. I'm a bit on the big side for brooms, so I wouldn’t get to really experience it otherwise for the most part,” Hagrid said with a hearty chuckle.

“She really came to like it. We got a little carried away that first time,” Harry said.

“Really?” Hagrid asked.

Hermione blushed cutely. “We ummm… Almost got caught out past curfew, by Filch,” she said avoiding eye contact at the moment while daintily sipping her tea.

“How did you two avoid that?” Hagrid curiously asked. He was very much an eager audience.

“We kind of… broke one of the rules by accident. We dived into a room that was on the third-floor corridor. I still don’t know why such a large three headed dog is allowed in the castle with such a small room,” Harry said.

“Ye met Fluffy?!” Hagrid asked almost white with panic.

“That’s its name?!” Hermione asked in shock. She would have laughed at the cutesy name if Hagrid didn’t seem so worried.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t ye name him? I take care of him,” Hagrid said. He then frowned as he said, “Ye weren’t supposed to find him…”

Harry was a little worried so he quickly added, “We didn’t mean to. We were worried about Filch finding us. Besides… Hermione was able to get inside that room with just an unlocking charm. It isn’t like we blew a hole in the wall or something.”

“It shouldn’t have been that easy to get inside,” Hermione said with a frown of her own.

Hagrid gave a heavy side. “No. It shouldn’t have been. I’ll have ta talk to the professors about that. Since ye two got in there by mistake, I’ll leave yer names out of it,” he said.

“Thank you, Hagrid,” Harry said with more relief than he liked.

“But you two best not be poking yer noses around that there place again. Fluffy is Dumbledore’s and Nickolas Flamel’s business. Not for you two,” he said.

“Believe us! We don’t want to go there again if we can avoid it. We were lucky he was asleep at the time. Harry barely kept me from screaming in shock and waking him up,” Hermione said as Harry nodded in agreement.

“That ye two were,” Hagrid said.

“So. Are you looking forward to the game?” Harry asked in an attempt to change the subject. He still made a mental note to look up Nickolas Flamel out of curiosity, but he knew not to press the matter. The last thing he wanted was to get on Hagrid’s bad side unnecessarily.

Hagrid grinned in appreciation on the change of subject. “Aye! Rooting for Gryffindor obviously. You two just wait and see! This will be our year! Even with the seeker troubles… The game should still be fun to see, but Slytherin will probably play extra dirty. Their captain, Marcus Flint, emphasizes playing dirty. They always try to find a way to keep the referee… distracted,” he said.

“There’s just one?” Hermione asked.

Hagrid nodded in reply.

“That’s odd. Most muggle sports have multiple referees so there are more eyes on the game and players are less likely to get away with cheating,” Harry said.

“I wish we would do something like that as well, but most see that as part of the game now,” Hagrid grumbled.

The three continued talking about other things after that. Their topics ranged from Quidditch to Mid-terms to the holidays and more. Hagrid said Hogwarts was nice during the Christmas Holidays, but he understood them wanting to head home. “Most of the students do head home. Some stay though. It is usually older students who are more often than not muggleborn who choose to stay,” Hagrid said to them before they eventually left to head back to the castle.

[-] [-] [-]

Hermione sighed again as she read the letter from her parents regarding Christmas break once more. She wasn’t sure how she wanted to handle this. She read it again and frowned deeper. There was something here she found very worrying. She had been warned by some, muggleborn students have an additional challenge due to their home life. They usually end up having to choose magic or their family. She had thought it wouldn’t be a worry for her so soon. She was thinking that was part of the reason the older students chose to stay at Hogwarts as Hagrid mentioned.

“What’s bothering you, Hermione?” Harry asked as he sat down next to her on the couch.

“My parents… Just read this,” she said handing him the letter to look over. It didn’t take Harry long to read through the letter. Hermione knew he finished when he handed it back to her.

“I have mixed feelings… The convention and seminar is very good for their business and important. I also realize they want to spend some time with me for the holidays and I want to spend it with them as well. But… I know how those things go, Harry," she said sounding a little sad and worried. "I’ve been with them before on such trips, usually in the summer. I’ll end up spending most of my time alone reading in the hotel room. Not any beaches to lounge on while they're out this time,” she said.

She kept her further worry about this to herself. Her parents had never chosen to go to some seminar during Christmas Break before now. Hermione felt as if her parents were moving even faster and further ahead with their own lives now that she was at Hogwarts. She didn't really want them to just wait for her, but she couldn't help feeling they were partially writing her off. She also felt it would be really bad if she choose to stay at Hogwarts for all of Christmas. It would also be really lonely for her since her roommates were all going home for the holidays.

Harry nodded in understanding.

“I want to spend time with them. But I also want a proper Christmas. I don’t want to spend it in a hotel room on an otherwise boring trip. Is that asking too much?” she asked with a troubled look. She loved reading, but she was realizing there was more to life now that she had friends.

Harry gave her a hug that she soaked it in eagerly. “How long does the convention last?” Harry asked her quietly. The note hadn’t said any dates, but he had the impression an early letter did.

“It will be the first half of the holiday break,” Hermione answered taking in his warmth.

Harry nodded to himself as he broke off the hug. “I have a possible solution. It is for you to decide if you want to try it or not,” he started.

Hermione motioned for him to continue.

“You could spend the first half of the holiday break with the Knights and me. We could then make arrangements for you to meet your parents. You can have a late Christmas with them without it being spoiled by all of the time you spent in a hotel alone. We don’t have the most lavish lifestyle, but it would be a proper Christmas and you could see your parents as well. Hogwarts doesn’t allow you to leave half way through break after all,” he said to her.

Hermione blinked in thought. She then bit her bottom lip in deeper thought.

“It is just a suggestion. I know you might be a bit apprehensive to visit and stay with me in the Rust District. Think on it some at least,” Harry said as he stood about to leave her to her thoughts.

Harry was surprised when Hermione quickly grabbed his hand. “Is it safe?” she asked her honey brown eyes look deep into his emerald eyes.

Harry nodded to her. “Even if you weren’t by my side the whole time,” Harry said to her reassuringly with a smile.

Hermione then seemed to let out a breath and relaxed. “I’ll do it. This seems like the best solution. I’ll get an actual Christmas and then I will get time with my parents," she answered. "I won’t have to start pulling away from them so soon...” Harry barely heard her mutter the last part.

Harry smiled to her. “I’ll contact Boss and we can start making the arrangements. Just need to know the actual dates of the convention and seminar,” he said to her. He was a lot happier and excited then he let show at Hermione choosing to spend part of her Christmas with him and the Knights.

Hermione was just as excited and happy. She wasn’t as controlled in her emotions though. She stood up and gave him a very tight and heart felt hug. She knew Harry would probably never know how much this meant to her. “I’ll write my parents right now,” she said with a smile. This was going to be a wonderful and exciting holiday break. She just knew it.

Notes:

Sorry about this Chapter taking a while. I had this bit with Professor Snape and a big part with some Slytherins originally, but I just couldn't figure out how to fit those parts in this chapter. I was very stubborn about leaving them in at first, but it didn't work. I will use them later, probably after the holiday break.

I also haven't really figured out what I want to do with Draco and that might change things in one of those scenes. I'm wondering if I want to make him friends with Harry and on his side when the time comes. I want to try different things in this story than I usually would, and I really don't think the two would be enemies like they were in canon. In the end, I may decide they're not exactly friends, but they aren't enemies either. Draco also has to deal with things on his own regarding Harry. I feel that changes things since it kind of brings Draco a little away from his father's influence.

Draco doesn't really have a reason to be enemies with Harry in this story, since he isn't Ron's friend or in Gryffindor. I know in canon he later becomes a Death Eater and then they would be enemies, but I have ideas to change that in this story. This Harry also wouldn't put up with any bullying and would end such problems. He wouldn't rely on adults to solve those issues and he isn't really afraid of "My Father..." and such threats. At the same time, Harry isn't looking to make enemies, so I will have to figure something out here eventually.

Chapter 10: A Very Rusty Christmas

Notes:

This chapter is a biggie. Hopefully it isn’t too long.

Hermione was both excited and apprehensive about her holiday plans. She was super happy and eager to spend Christmas with Harry and to actually visit the Rust District after everything he told her about it. At the same time, this was to be her first Christmas Day away from her family. She would be seeing them for the second half of the break, but it was still a very new and kind of scary experience for her.

For her own good, Hermione decided to focus on the exciting aspect of her Christmas break. “I’m really excited to meet all of the people you’ve talked about. Boss, Davey, your friends and even The Professor,” she said to Harry after he again asked how she was doing. She had zoned out a little and he was worried she was bothered by their plan.

“I’m actually a little jealous of you, Hermione. I wish I could meet them all too,” Hannah said with a slight frown.

Harry had thought about getting them to all meet real quick before everyone left, but Susan’s aunt was picking her up and Harry didn’t want to get the Head of the DMLE’s attention like that. She would probably ask too many questions and he didn’t really know her too well. Susan also agreed it might not be a good idea yet either.

Hannah was going to be picked up by her father at the platform before they side-along apparated away. He was taking her on his annual Manic Christmas Shopping Spree as she called it. It wasn’t Last Minute Christmas Shopping, but he treated it that way.

“There’s always summer break. Maybe we can all briefly meet then,” Harry suggested.

“Maybe… My aunt might not be too suspicious if we tell her you’re being picked up by someone you’re close to in the neighborhood. I didn’t think that would work for Christmas. She would wonder why your relatives weren’t picking you up for some holiday fun or shopping,” Susan said.

She was loyal to her friend and determined to keep Harry’s secrets like they agreed on that first night. So long as he wasn’t doing something evil or too illegal, like trying to take over the magical world, she would leave her aunt out of it. She could easily talk around such things without her aunt being too curious for the most part during the holidays. She wasn't worried about saying too much in that regard.

“It's a bummer we haven’t made any progress on Nickolas Flamel,” Hannah said with a sigh.

“Yeah. We had a feeling it would be tough to find anything about him. That’s why we asked you two to help us out on that front. Thanks again for agreeing to help even if it is slow going,” Harry said to her.

“Puffs stick together,” Hannah said with a friendly smile.

“I’ll try to carefully look into him while I’m at home. I don’t think my aunt will care as long as I don’t spend all of my time looking,” Susan said. The door to their compartment then opened and the refreshment lady asked if they wanted anything.

[-] [-] [-]

Hermione was nervous and quickly grabbed Harry’s hand as they walked through the barrier. She needed to hold it to focus on getting through to the other side. Now that she was moments away from meeting the people who were Harry’s family, even if not by blood. She really hoped they liked her. Harry had assured her they would love her, but she wasn’t so sure.

Harry liked to make her feel comfortable when he could. She guessed that was why he never complained when she grabbed his hand during the year so far. He might have turned red sometimes, but that was it. He also had no problem with her huggy nature. Hermione would admit she had taken advantage of that a number of times. It wasn’t wrong or anything. That’s what she told herself at least.

“There they are!” a cheerful voice said soon after Harry and Hermione passed through the barrier.

Harry let go of Hermione’s hand now, even if she was reluctant to let him. He then gave a broad smile as he cheerfully called, “Davey! Boss!” The two students made their way over to the waiting Street Knights.

Hermione took in the sight of arguably the two most important people in Harry’s life. Jett was definitely handsome. He was tall and well built and looked strong. He had dark brown hair and his hazel eyes were rather dreamy to a girl. He also had just a light amount of stylish scruff. He was dreamy and if Hermione hadn’t already dreamed many times of Harry, and seen the green-eyed boy without his shirt, she might crush on Jett. Sure, he was older than her, but it would be no worse than a girl crushing on a singer or actor.

Looking to Jett’s side she saw Davey. Hermione was thankful Harry saw the curly haired blonde girl as an older sister. If he didn’t, Hermione would easily feel threatened by her. Davey was cheerful and seemed very friendly. She was only a year older than Hermione, but the girl was already developing physically. It didn’t help matters Harry had talked about her cooking and baking skills a lot as well.

Hermione decided to put cooking on her list of things to talk to her mom about this summer. She needed to learn how to cook to catch up. They do say the way to guy’s heart is through his stomach.

“This is Hermione,” Harry introduced. Hermione gave a shy wave as she stood a little behind Harry.

“Aww… she looks so cute, ” Davey thought with a smile. “Hello, Hermione! I’m Davey. Harry’s said a lot about you in his letters,” Davey said cheerfully shooting Harry a quick grin.

“He does?” Hermione asked more interested than she meant to sound. She also felt more comfortable and confident and stepped out fully from behind Harry. Him talking about her had to be a good thing… Right?

Harry tried to play it cool, but Davey knew what signs to look for that showed he was a little embarrassed. “Mission accomplished! What kind of an older sister would I be if I didn’t embarrass him a little in front of his crush? ” she thought to herself with a small giggle.

It was actually Jett who answered Hermione’s question. “Yes, he does. He mentions the others too, but you get plenty of letter space,” he said. He then smiled to her and said, “I’m Jett by the way. I’m not sure if Harry told you my actual name or not. He always insists on calling me Boss all the time.”

“He has mentioned your name once… Maybe twice?” Hermione said the last part pretending to be unsure.

“Then feel free to call me Jett,” the young man said sounding almost hopeful.

Hermione smiled to him. “Thank you, Jett. But… I think Boss suits you better. That’s what he always calls you, so It would feel strange otherwise,” she said.

Jett gave an overly dramatic sigh. “Can’t even get his friends to use my proper name…” he said shaking his head.

Harry chuckled. Davey giggled. Hermione even joined the blonde girl in giggling. “He specifically told me to greet you that way,” she said.

Jett gave a half frown as he muttered, “I knew he’d do that.” The others laughed again and Jett soon joined them. “Well let’s get going, everyone. The van’s waiting outside,” Jett said. He picked up Hermione’s trunk with little effort. “I’ll carry your trunk. Harry can carry his and Davey would probably kill me if I didn’t let her carry Hedwig’s cage,” he said with a playful grin.

“You’re right I would!” Davey said with certainty. She then gave a big smile as she turned to the snowy white owl and said, “Hey girl! Nice to see you again.”

Hedwig gave her a hoot in reply.

“I know! We should have definitely said hello to you first. Then again, they do say save the best for last,” Davey replied smiling as she took the cage. Hedwig swelled at the praise and gave a loud hoot in acknowledgement.

“Davey and Hedwig are pretty close,” Harry started saying to Hermione. “She looks after Hedwig while she waits for replies whenever I send letters.”

“Ohhhh. I’m sure it is an enviable job. Hedwig really is beautiful,” Hermione said. Hedwig gave her a hoot in affirmation.

“It is. The younger kids really love seeing her when she comes by,” Davey said as they made their way to the van. Hermione was even more looking forward to Christmas in the Rust District. The van was in really good condition and wasn’t old. It also had plenty of room for their trunks. During the ride, Harry sat in front with Jett talking to him about the school year. Hermione and Davey sat in the first row of seats behind the front with Hedwig’s cage sitting between them. Davey was listening to everything she could of what Harry said and Hermione would occasionally add her own thoughts.

[-] [-] [-]

The first day of Christmas Break was a wonderful blur for Hermione. She met a lot of people and got a brief tour of the Rust District. She was a might bit surprised to see so many people living inside the giant warehouse. It was in good condition, clean and surprisingly very homey and so large, but it was so different to her. All of the people were happy to see Harry again and most of them were pleased to meet her or at the very least polite.

It was only Cordelia who seemed less than pleased to meet Hermione. “So, you’re Hermione?” the girl asked. Cordelia was pretty and she was a friend of Harry’s. Cordelia had straight black hair and blue eyes. She also had a fair but healthy complexion.

“Yes… I am,” Hermione greeted a little nervously. Cordelia wasn’t someone who Harry saw as a sister. That meant she could potentially be competition in the future. Hermione wasn’t sure why she took notice of such things or cared, but for some reason she did. She also didn’t really want to be hated by the girl.

“It is good to meet another friend of Harry’s. He is very important to us,” Cordelia said.

Hermione was pretty sure that was a partial threat, or at least a warning. She replied with, “Yes, he is important to us as well.”

Cordelia seemed to look her over. Hermione had a feeling the girl easily spotted someone with a crush on Harry. Cordelia gave a slight smile that wasn’t unkind. “Then neither of us better hurt him,” she finally said.

Hermione blinked in surprise for a moment. She then gave her own slight but not unkind smile. “Agreed,” she said. It seemed after that Cordelia and her had come to some agreement. Hermione wasn’t exactly sure what it was at the moment though. Cordelia was friendlier at least.

Once they had their dinner, courtesy of Davey obviously, Hermione’s brain quickly moved “Learn to Cook” up to the top of the list for things to start once she was with her parents and she wasn't waiting until summer. It was also given a big fat “Urgent” stamp once Davey talked about how learning to cook from a recipe was only the beginning. A true cook, who actually made food tasty, required experience and experimentation.

Hermione decided she really needed the extra points in her favor cooking would bring. She didn’t hate her body or anything like that. She was not just healthy, but in surprisingly good shape for a girl her age, even if they were a witch. However… her hair was mess and a huge problem. Her teeth were too big and another huge problem. She spent too much time reading books, even if she didn’t neglect the friends she had. She also wasn’t exactly popular either. Not hated, but not popular.

She couldn’t do anything about her hair or teeth. She wouldn’t try to suddenly take after Lavender Brown or Parvati to become popular. She wasn’t about to give up her favorite hobby all together either. So, knowing how to cook and being able to wow Harry, who had Davey’s cooking on a fairly regular basis, would be a huge bonus that might make up for some of her negatives. It would be enough for her to stay in the running at the very least and not bring up the rear. She had always been a bit curious about cooking in the first place anyways. Hermione noticed how much her dad loved her mom’s cooking, when she had the time. Hermione loved it too and she loved learning so cooking would be fun as well. She hoped at least.

[-] [-] [-]

“Morning,” Hermione said as she took it upon herself to wake up Harry the next day. He gave a stretch as he sat up and was again shirtless in his bed. That might have been part of the reason why she made a point of waking him up.

“Good Morning, Hermione,” Harry said as he put on a shirt, much to Hermione’s secret disappointment. He gave her a smile and asked, “How was your night?”

“It was good. Davey’s room was nice and the bed comfortable,” Hermione reported to him with a pleasant smile.

That had been a downside for her on the trip, even if she had expected it. She wasn’t allowed to sleep in the same room as Harry here and instead shared a room with Davey. The pretty blonde girl at least left her alone last night, but Hermione had a feeling that wouldn’t be the case tonight. She could just tell Davey was eager to have girl talk with her and wouldn’t let her off tonight. Hermione didn’t mind the idea too much, but she really hoped Davey wasn’t going to want Lavender tier girl talk.

Lavender Brown had quickly made a name for herself as the head Gryffindor Gossip and First Year Supreme Girl Talker, if such positions existed. Lavender was fairly nice at least and she happily got along with girls in both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, even from different years. The Slytherins didn’t really talk to Lavender much. They were too posh and too upper class for such things, even if they were just as bad as everyone else at gossip. They just kept it to themselves mostly.

Pansy Parkinson was probably the Slytherin equivalent of Lavender Brown. She was a little mean-spirited about it at times, as opposed to Lavender. Oddly enough Pansy wasn’t too bad and she was actually almost tolerable, even for Hermione, when she wasn’t trying to get Draco’s attention. It was hard to believe Pansy wasn’t always trying to get his attention, but it did happen often enough.

“So. What’s the plan for today?” Hermione asked after a moment while Harry got up.

“First, I’m going to go take a shower. After that, breakfast. Then if you want, I can give you a more thorough tour or we can just hang out. Maybe even go somewhere around the area. I’ve told you the Rust District is safe. Two kids our age can almost always look around without worries,” Harry said to her.

“Hmmm... I like all of those options,” Hermione said with a pout to herself in thought. Harry, as usual, thought was far too cute.

“We have a little time to think on it. Can’t wait to have Davey’s American Pancakes again!” Harry said as he gathered up his stuff to go and take a shower.

“She can cook American food as well?” Hermione asked in surprise.

“Davey cooks food from all over. She loves learning new foods to cook,” Harry said.

“That’s nice…” Hermione said a little less than enthused by this news.

“Are you alright?” Harry asked in concern.

“Yeah. I just find Davey to be pretty amazing is all. You’ve talked about her plenty, but she still has surprises it seems,” Hermione said. She wasn’t about to mention she was worried she wouldn’t being able to hold a candle to Davey, even after she learned to cook.

“She has had quite the life,” Harry said not expanding on that. “Time for my shower,” he then said as he left.

“Do I wait here?” Hermione asked.

“If you want,” Harry said causally.

“O-okay…” Hermione said in a slightly smaller voice as he left. She blushed and looked around his room. There was something she really wanted to do for some reason and it was way too embarrassing. No one was looking though. She blushed deeper as she shifted a little uneasily. She swallowed nervously. She then quickly leaned over his pillow and took in a deep inhale.

She blushed as she momentarily smiled and thought, “Harry’s scent… ” She then blushed anew. “I can’t believe I just did that… That’s something Lavender would do,” Hermione admonished herself out loud. Lavender was also known for being more than a bit boy crazy by all of the girls. Hermione still took in Harry’s scent once more anyways while blushing furiously. She then busied herself with looking around his room while sitting at his desk and waiting.

[-] [-] [-]

After breakfast, which Hermione decided had to be illegal because it was so good, Harry gave her a more in-depth tour. She loved seeing the School House. She found it kind of fascinating all of them attended it and it was a good size while still inside the warehouse. It was also nice meeting The Professor and learning a couple of others earned their certifications while Harry was away and now helped with teaching the younger kids. It was something Professor Lang was immensely grateful for.

Hermione also enjoyed seeing the Rust District Dining Hall which was spacious and decorated up for Christmas. “A lot of people cook in their homes, like Davey does, but there are still some who eat here,” Harry explained. “Boss, Davey, and I even make a point of doing so every so often. It is really nice seeing so many of the Knights coming together to eat. I guess I was already used to feasts like we have at Hogwarts in a way. We also host community events here from time to time. There will be a Christmas Eve Feast here for everyone.”

“That is really nice. The Street Knights do have a different lifestyle, but it seems really nice in many ways,” Hermione said as they moved on.

Harry showed her several other areas and even told her some of the future plans they had for their home base. Hermione was really impressed with everything they had going on here.

“What do you plan on doing with that large area?” Hermione asked when they came across a different area just outside of the home base warehouse. It was rather large, but Harry explained it was still part of the Rust District. There just wasn’t anything there yet.

“Don’t know really. It has a different feel to it than most of the area. I’m almost thinking it is latent magic or something. Not enough to harm muggles or anything like that, but most do sort of avoid it,” Harry said.

“Ooo! Do you think it’s warded or anything? Maybe its some long forgotten magical place like Diagon Alley or something,” Hermione thought in wonder.

“Maybe it was in the distant past. I don’t think it’s warded or anything though. I’m not even entirely sure it is magic instead of some other kind of energy. I actually plan on looking into it once we’ve learned more about magic at Hogwarts,” Harry said.

“Maybe I can help you when the time comes. At the very least, you’ll have to tell me all about what you find,” Hermione said with finality.

Harry gave her a smile as she looked over the area more from where they were standing. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, Hermione,” he said as she turned and smiled at him. “Do you want to next tour more of the area outside and around our home base? It is pretty cool,” Harry suggested.

“I’d love that!” Hermione said cheerfully. “I’m really enjoying my Christmas Break so far, Harry. Thanks for coming up with this idea,” she said before giving him a tight hug which Harry easily returned. They held the hug for a good while before they continued.

[-] [-] [-]

The next few days were a lot of fun for Hermione. She also used that time to get some extra Christmas presents. She loved how many shops there were with interesting selections in the area around the Street Knights’ home base. Harry spent plenty of time with her and she really loved that. She met plenty of other people Harry knew too.

They even had a big group outing where they went to the arcade Harry talked about frequenting. Burns and Davey once again got into a heated, but friendly competition against each other. Hermione was honestly surprised how much fun she had at the arcade. She had never really thought about going to such a place. Harry even won her an early Christmas Present.

He got her a perfect sized stuffed gorilla wearing a stocking cap. Hermione was very thrilled at getting such an early gift, even if she made a point of containing herself. Davey still noticed Hermione's rather large and extra happy grin the rest of that day, which ended up a conversation they had that night. Hermione knew the stuffed animal wasn’t meant to be anything extra special. She still kind of pretended it was like they were on a date and Harry won it for her like couples do in movies and books and on tv.

Hermione, Burns, Davey, Harry and Cordelia later went to the milkshake place the regular group frequented. Hermione really enjoyed that as well. She had friends at Hogwarts and she really liked Susan and Hannah, but getting milkshakes wasn't something you did in a Magical Boarding School. This event was something Hermione thought only happened on tv shows. She had never been able to do something like this with other people apart from her parents on really rare occasions. Having parents who were dentists meant you didn’t really get to enjoy sweet things much.

[-] [-] [-]

When it was two days before Christmas, things were a bit different. The day started off well enough, but around lunch Harry was called to meet with Jett. Harry returned soon enough, but it was obvious something was on his mind. He wasn’t really in a sharing mood either. Hermione asked him what was going on and he simply said it was Knights’ business and she didn’t need to worry about it.

Hermione might have gotten over that, but Davey was acting a little worried, even if she hid it fairly well. Hermione didn’t like it. She made the best of her time with Harry instead of pressing him though. He told her it wasn’t something happening until that night. She wanted to pump him for more information, but she decided against it this time. If they were at Hogwarts, she wouldn’t have let up on him. She would have kept trying with him to show her worry and to help. Here though, she just wanted to be close to him for some reason.

That night after Harry left, Hermione retired early to the room she was sharing with Davey. Davey was occupying herself with getting things prepped for Christmas, or at least that was her excuse. Hermione lay on her guest bed looking at the ceiling. She couldn’t really bring herself to just read a book either.

She felt wrong oddly enough. She guessed it was because she was worried. This was the first time since school started she wasn’t at least near Harry. Davey lived right next door to Harry so while they had some distance, she still kind of felt his presence or magic if you will.

The frizzy haired girl had grown too used to how Harry’s magic called to her. She had embraced that call all this time while at Hogwarts. She even experimented with it a little. She noticed if she left her bed curtains open at night it called her more which felt nice. She also usually had rather wonderful and embarrassing dreams starring him in those cases. Dreams she told herself she didn't like having, yet she would assure they happened a number of times.

Now though, it seemed like her magic was missing the call. Her worry was mounting more as well. She tried to ignore it, but she was feeling similar to how she did after first parting from him after Flourish and Blotts and waiting for him on the train. She wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, but she knew it wasn’t just a simple crush, even if she was crushing on Harry hard.

“I can’t take it anymore! ” Hermione thought to herself as she sat up on her bed. Things were probably tougher in this case since she could feel his magic or presence in the distance. It was there at the edge of her awareness. She felt like she had to go to it.

Hermione carefully sneaked past a very busy Davey. She was only able to do so because the pretty blonde was so pre-occupied. Hermione only dared try to go to where Harry’s magic seemed to be calling from, because she had quickly learned just how safe the Rust District was. She had been out at night plenty with just one or two other kids her age. The adults they met, even the drunk ones, were merry and pleasant enough. No one was starting trouble or anything. Hermione looked over to where the call was coming from and carefully made her way. She had a feeling tonight she needed to be extra careful.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry was sitting on top of a roof as he kept lookout over the area in front of him. Boss and a couple of others were handling a really bad and potentially very messy situation at the moment. His job was to just keep look out from where he was safely sitting. He would give out a signal if he saw a runner or someone acting very suspicious.

Harry and the others thought it was rather odd but fortunate how, despite having glasses, he actually had some of the sharpest eyes in the Knights. He was one of their best lookouts when needed. He was also a really good climber, since he loved it and was able to get to good positions. His current one was actually rather easy to get to, but only if you were looking for a way up.

The night had been quiet so far. Harry was thankful for that. If things went well, they would be able to take care of this potential problem tonight and tomorrow. Depending on how big it was, or if it needed to be handled with extra care, they may or may not get the local law enforcement involved.

Harry soon heard some small and quiet footsteps coming his way. He kept his guard up, but turned around. He was easily expecting it to be Burns. He was also a really good lookout even if he too was young. Harry however had not expected to see a head of frizzy brown hair when looked.

“Hermione?!” he asked quietly but obviously surprised.

“H-h-hello…” she said quietly in reply. She now realized this might not have been the best idea. Seeing Harry, her magic really seemed to leap for joy and she made her way over to him.

“What are you doing here?” Harry asked with a frown. Hermione gulped but was glad it at least wasn’t a full glare.

“I was really worried… You wouldn’t tell me what was going on and Davey’s been acting up too,” Hermione said. There was more to it than that, but it was hard to explain. The atmosphere didn’t help matters either.

“You shouldn’t have come,” Harry said.

“S-s-sorry…” she said in apology.

“This really doesn’t seem like you at all,” Harry said to her as his frown deepened. She wasn’t one to just wander around like this.

“It’s hard to explain,” Hermione said. She guessed she would have to spill the beans to him now… If he didn’t hate her for the rest of her life for this. “Good going, Hermione Granger… Why didn’t you listen to your brain and stay in the room? You’re supposed to be the brightest Witch of your Age! Not sneaking out at night to meet some boy on a rooftop… No matter how romantic it seemed, ” she mentally scolded herself. She couldn’t help it though. Things were different with Harry. She always acted different around him in some way, even if it was usually small and not noticeable.

Harry might have said something, but just then he heard something behind him. “Crap…” Harry muttered. There was a runner and he was too far ahead for Harry to just signal. He was also on the move. “Later…” Harry almost growled to her before he took off.

Harry was really fast. He ran across the rooftop and hopped to another one. The runner below hadn’t noticed him and was having to weave around some trash in the street waiting to be cleaned up tomorrow. The Knights may or may not have delayed trash pick-up for the area for this exact reason.

Hermione hadn’t moved as she shamelessly blushed like some love-struck silly girl while watching Harry move like that. She was blaming it on her magic messing with her emotions again.

Harry was soon above the runner and then he moved ahead just a little bit. He dropped down right on top of the runner and pinned the larger man to ground with surprising success. Harry then let out a whistle that sounded like a bird you would find in the local area. There was a pattern to it, but it was only noticeable if you saw the person whistle.

Two larger men were soon in front of Harry. Hermione watched curiously as the three exchanged words. Harry then got up and the two men took the runner away. The green-eyed boy stood up and frowned for a moment to himself before he quickly ran back to his position and where Hermione was standing.

Harry’s green eyes seemed to almost glow in the dark as he looked to her with some disappointment for a moment. He then sighed as he noticed Hermione shrink in on herself a little bit. “We’ll talk later. For now, you’re staying here. The Rust District is very safe, but not tonight,” he said.

“I’m sorry…” Hermione said as she sniffed a little and fought back the tears threatening to spill.

Harry placed an arm on her shoulder and gave it an affectionate squeeze. “Just stay quiet for now and sit by me. Do not try to make conversation. If you happen to see someone else running like that, then get my attention. But only then. Hopefully we won’t be here for much longer,” he told her.

Hermione simply nodded as Harry sat back down. Hermione kept her distance for a little while. Eventually, she scooted closer and leaned on his back. She wanted the contact and Harry seemed to be receptive to it. She hoped maybe this would show him she was sorry. At that moment, Hermione decided she would do her best to never disappoint him again or leave him alone. If she needed to stay back from something like this in the future, she would try to wait for him and ignore that call in her magic the best she could.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry was right it didn’t take too much longer for whatever was happening to finish. There was an atmosphere of unease around them as they headed back. Boss said he needed to take care of some things immediately, but he would be seeing Harry in his office tonight. A messenger would be sent to Harry when it was time.

“I’m really sorry…” Hermione said with a sniff once they were alone. “I didn’t think you would get in so much trouble. I didn’t think it would be that dangerous of a situation either. You’ve talked about how safe the place is and I’ve seen it first hand while being here.”

Harry gave a sigh as he wrapped an arm around Hermione. He hated seeing girls cry, especially ones he cared about and were beautiful like Hermione. “There is a reason it is that safe here, Hermione. This just happened to be bad timing on your part. I told everyone we had to do some less than legal things to keep the Rust District safe like this and we control the rumors about the place. Boss and some of the others were… interrogating a man tonight,” he said carefully.

“What do you mean interrogating?” Hermione asked as she paused in her steps causing Harry to as well.

“Exactly that. You got a glimpse of the ugly side of being a Street Knight tonight, Hermione. It is necessary though. Boss tries to keep such things from getting too bad when gathering information. He is very persuasive when he wants to be and without using violence. He is also good at reading people and dropping subtle hints they don’t usually even fully realize give them away. It can get dirty though,” Harry said.

“Why not take it to the police then?” Hermione asked.

“We do when we can. Tonight, it was different. The man was with a powerful criminal organization. They have people with power in their pockets. Just like how Hannah and Susan mentioned a lot of the known Death Eaters do with the Ministry of Magic. As I said before, muggles have more of the bad than wizards and more of the good than wizards. As I’m sure you well know, it is easy for muggles to go through their life meeting very little of the bad it has to offer,” Harry said.

Hermione nodded in thought. She was lonely as a child, but she never really had it bad in the ways Harry was talking about now.

“We’re family here. However… We’ve all been tossed aside, forgotten, or slipped through the cracks. We have it really good here in the Rust District and the Street Knights. We work hard to keep it that way. Even with things being as good as they are for us here. We can’t go through our lives without coming across the bad every so often,” Harry said.

He gave Hermione a smile. “It’s all worth it though in the end,” he assured her.

Hermione did feel better hearing that.

“Jett and the others will take care of things here now. They got what they needed. It seems we managed to again nip a problem at the bud,” Harry said.

“But still… All of this so close to Christmas… Wouldn’t it have been nicer to have it happen after instead?” Hermione asked. She wasn't sure it was absolutely necessary for it to happen now.

“It might have felt nicer at the time… But things would have been worse and tougher. Christmas is a great time for making moves if you’re part of the criminal element like these guys are,” Harry said.

“But it’s Christmas!” Hermione protested in shock.

“Exactly,” Harry said to her pointedly. “If you want to take action at their level with the least chances of getting attention, Christmas and other big holidays are the most opportune time. Everyone, including even the law enforcement to a degree, is busy with celebrating the holiday. They aren’t paying as much attention. They could even ensure their people were the ones mostly on duty during that day. You would be hard pressed to find someone who won’t trade shifts if it meant they got to spend time with their family on the holiday.”

Harry gave a sigh. “This group would have taken steps to further increase their foothold here and bring in more of their people and other criminal elements. We do what we can to make sure that doesn’t happen. The people here are good people who have had it tough. We take care of them and do so as properly as we can.”

“We don’t want rich and excessively greedy people coming here and knocking down homes to make a new overpriced strip mall. We don’t want extra fancy places that charge you a fortune for the experience of 'fine dining' while giving you food that is little better than a snack. We don’t want companies chasing out people, who have nowhere else to go, just because some greedy business wants to prove they’re better and don’t need to follow around their competitors,” Harry explained.

“Don’t get me wrong. We aren’t opposed to businesses coming here or anything like that. We just prefer to keep away the bad parts of the business world. We have plenty of businesses that open up shop around us. They help the people here. You yourself saw that when you went Christmas shopping,” Harry said.

“True. I was really impressed with the shops here,” Hermione admitted. She may love to read and all of that and she wasn’t completely crazy about shopping. She still did really enjoy it.

“We like that kind of thing here. Leaving the rumors around that you mentioned back on that first night helps with that a good bit. At the same time, they also attract people with certain frowned upon interests… We deal with that stuff as well. The manner we do so depends on the situation,” Harry said as they made their way back.

“I’m still sorry about getting you in trouble,” Hermione told him.

“Boss will be giving me a lecture. Since I managed to take care of my problem so quickly, he won’t be too harsh with my punishment. I might have to help a little extra for some time at most. It also might just be a lecture and nothing else,” Harry said.

“But I caused the problem…” Hermione said with a pout as she folded her arms.

“You aren’t a Street Knight though. You’re my responsibility while you’re here,” Harry explained to her. He then gave her an easy going smile as he said, “A pretty enjoyable responsibility I might add.”

“I’m even more sorry hearing that,” Hermione said deepening her frown.

“What’s done is done. Just keep this in mind in the future. I guess. I didn’t think I would have to say anything about it to you. Then again it was very unlike you to come like that. What happened? It can’t have been you were just worried,” Harry said.

Hermione sighed and sat down on a nearby bench. She motioned for Harry to do the same. “It was more than that. It is hard to explain and I really hope you’ll hear me out. I don’t fully understand it myself. The strangest thing is this has been happening since we first met,” Hermione said.

“Since Flourish and Blotts?” Harry asked. Hermione nodded. Harry was in thought. “What is it?” he asked to prompt her to start speaking again. He sat close to her hoping it would comfort her a little. She seemed to be really worried about this.

“Well… It is like my magic is calling to you… Or your magic is calling to me. It is really strange,” Hermione said looking away while she blushed.

Harry was in thought as he re-evaluated things he noticed when interacting with Hermione and even to some extent the others. “I think I can see that,” he admitted.

“I don’t really know it all myself. But I really felt lost when you were away like that and I didn’t know what was going on. My magic felt… lonely… maybe? I have gotten very used to being around you, Harry. It seems my magic has as well. I first noticed whatever this was over summer after meeting you. I thought it was something else at the time…” Hermione said.

“Like what?” Harry asked.

Hermione blushed briefly. “I thought it was… excitement at going to Hogwarts and finding out I was a witch… along with making my first good friend,” she said. It was partly true. Harry didn’t need to know all of the details. Those would be too embarrassing to admit.

“I can see why you would think that. So, your magic was calling to me tonight?” Harry asked trying to get their conversation back on track.

Hermione shook her head. “No. It felt like your magic was calling to me. My magic was responding. It kept telling me I needed to find you. I needed to get to you… or something… This is really difficult,” she said as she lowered her head.

Harry let her collect herself again.

“When I found you, I… my magic was really happy or something. That’s why I approached you like I did. When I got closer and my magic seemed to calm down, I realized that it might not have been the best idea,” Hermione said with a sigh.

The two fell into silence again.

After a moment, Harry spoke. “I think I’ve felt something similar, though not the same, to what you described.”

“You have?” Hermione asked in surprise. She was beginning to think whatever this was went completely one way. She wasn’t going to get her hopes up too high, since he said it wasn’t the same, but she was hopeful this meant something wonderful for them both. Maybe her crush wasn’t going to end sadly.

“Yeah. I think it is something we can both look into sometime, even if we do so separately. I want to know more about this,” Harry said.

“I do too…” Hermione agreed. She really wished he had said more, but this was a start to her.

“Just curious. Do you think it might have helped matters if I had told you more about what was happening? I couldn’t tell you everything as it is Knights' business, but maybe I could’ve said something more if it would have helped,” Harry said.

“I want to say yes, but I’m not really sure. It probably would have helped my nerves…” Hermione admitted.

“But it was something more than just nerves…” Harry added as Hermione nodded. “Still. It couldn’t have hurt. I will try to better explain things in the future if I need to,” he said.

Hermione gave a smile to that. She then gave him a tight hug. She felt as if she was soaking in his presence and warmth. She loved it! She hoped Harry felt the same way.

They might have held that hug longer. Things might have even surprisingly progressed. It was not meant to be though. It was at that time a woman came to Harry. “Is it time?” Harry asked.

“Yes. He will see you in his office now,” the woman said before she dismissed herself as Harry thanked her for passing on the message.

“I’ll see you later, Hermione. I’ll be sure to stop by your room when this is over. I’m sure Davey will probably give me an earful as well. She has a tendency to hear what happens or at the very least have good intuition about what happened,” Harry said to her.

“I’ll wait with her… Maybe that will make things better. I’ll tell her it’s my fault,” Hermione said.

“I already told you. You’re my responsibility while you’re visiting us,” Harry said before walking off.

[-] [-] [-]

Things weren’t that bad in the end. Davey did give Harry a really tight and long hug, but Harry assured Hermione this was normal when Davey was really worried. Davey did give Hermione a bit of the silent treatment that night and might have the next day. However, the Christmas Spirit worked extra hard on Christmas Eve and Davey didn’t resist it.

The curly haired blonde was humming Christmas Carols all day pretty much. She only took a break from humming when she was either talking or full out singing them instead. Harry and the others took Hermione to the Christmas Eve feast the Knights hosted. The food was great. The company was even better!

“I know you pretty much said this was a good time for criminals, Harry. But I really love Christmas and it seems the Knights are really in the mood as well,” Hermione said giggling in happiness to Harry so only he heard her. It wasn’t hard given liveliness of the people around them.

Harry smiled to her as he started clapping along to the current song several people were singing together in the middle of the dining area. “Well, we have guards out naturally. We will have plenty out tomorrow as well. Those guards are celebrating with family and friends tonight instead,” Harry explained.

It made sense and Hermione would have figured this out on her own, but she was having too much of a fun time to bother with constantly thinking like she usually would. She was allowing herself this one indulgence. She might have also been a little drunk off the atmosphere. It was like someone had thrown a large Cheering Charm Bomb at the place!

That night Harry, Davey, and Hermione stayed up a good bit. They took turns singing Christmas Carols to each other. They even played a couple of games while Davey tuned in to a radio station playing Christmas music non-stop. They each had glasses of Eggnog without alcohol. Hermione got a little carried away and had three.

“I have to stock up! My parents are Dentists. They might not even have Eggnog this year,” she claimed as an excuse. She did at least take her time with them, so she didn’t get herself sick. She really enjoyed the sugar rush the three eggnogs gave her. The crash afterwards seemed to come around at about the perfect time for her to fall asleep for the night.

[-] [-] [-]

“Happy Christmas, Harry!” Hermione shouted as she jumped on top of Harry while he laid in his bed. It was her friendly way of waking him up.

“Okay! Geez! You really are excited for Christmas,” Harry said in surprise with a chuckle.

“I am. Happy Christmas, Harry!” she said again.

“Happy Christmas, Hermione!” Harry said to her in reply. Hermione hadn’t even changed out of her night gown before coming to wake him up. She reminded him of a very happy woodland nymph with her ever messy bedhead and bright smile.

“It looks like you got your Magical World Christmas presents,” Hermione commented once Harry was awake enough to look around his room. There was a stack of presents at the foot of his bed.

“Did you get yours as well?” Harry asked.

Hermione nodded her head. “I did. I think presents work in a similar way our letters do. The professors don’t address them. Hogwarts somehow just knows. I think in the case of presents they're just sent to us instead of being addressed and delivered,” she said.

“Good thing the professors don’t know where I live then. I’m sure Dumbledore would come here and probably tried to drag me back to the Dursleys or something,” Harry said.

“I would hope not. I would try to claim he wouldn’t, but he did put you there in the first place and they were terrible to you,” Hermione said as she frowned at the thought.

“Let’s not dwell on that. Happy Christmas,” Harry said again.

“Happy Christmas,” Hermione said with a big smile. She gave Harry a tight love filled Hermione Christmas hug.

Christmas was a fun and wonderful day. Plenty of presents were opened. Davey cooked up a great Christmas breakfast and served wassail. Boss came by to say hello briefly. He made a point of visiting everyone on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Christmas music was again playing on the radio and they had more Eggnog. Davey convinced Harry, Hermione and a few others to go around Christmas Caroling for a little bit. Several other people also came by to say hello and wish them a Happy Christmas.

There were plenty of children out playing and shouting in joy as they played with their gifts or wore their new coat or just enjoyed some Christmas Day fun. It even snowed so they got a white Christmas on top of everything else.

Harry and Hermione along with several others made snowmen and had a snowball fight. Another great surprise was Harry hearing how everything was taken care of and the criminal organization trying to make a move into the Rust District was dealt with and wouldn’t be coming back. Jett then joined in on their snowball fight briefly.

It was a wonderful Christmas Day and it ended with another wonderful feast, but this time it was a smaller affair. Davey and Harry invited a few people over and everyone brought a dish or holiday drink of some kind, though most were for the adults only. It was all together a wonderful Christmas and new experience for Hermione.

By the time night rolled around, Harry and Hermione were exhausted. Eventually, the two fell asleep on the couch they were sharing near the radio as it quietly played Christmas music. In her sleep, Hermione snuggled in closer to Harry. He seemed to shift in his sleep to accommodate her. Both Hufflepuffs had wonderful dreams that night. Davey decided they were too cute and too comfortable wake up and move. She did take a few pictures though. The two would find out about that later.

Hermione loved having Christmas with her parents. She was happy she would be having a late Christmas with them and would get to see them again as well. However… she knew this Christmas in the Rust District with Harry, was one she would never forget and would always cherish.

Chapter 11: After Holiday Blues

Hermione gave a sigh. “When will I finally get back? ” she thought to herself with a frown.

The holiday break was winding down. Hermione loved getting to spend time with her parents and having a late Christmas with them. She was very thankful to Harry for letting her spend the first half of the break with him so she could actually have the best Christmas Break possible. Now though, things were seeming to just drag on, even if they started off really good.

Her parents had taken off a good bit of time for their late Christmas and her mom was more than happy to start teaching her how to cook. “I never really thought I would get to do this kind of mother/daughter thing with you. Cooking just never seemed like your thing,” her mother said as she fondly smiled to her daughter.

“I never thought I would want to really learn about cooking, mom. I kind of decided I wanted to learn about it shortly before Holiday Break began. After experiencing Davey’s cooking, I decided to really focus on learning it,” Hermione easily admitted.

“Oh? Is this because of Harry?” her mom couldn’t help but say in a conspiratorial voice to her daughter.

“Mom!” Hermione whined while blushing. Her mother chuckled and smiled wider. Hermione then sighed. “Yes… partly,” the young witch said.

Hermione’s mom just looked to her with a raised eyebrow.

Hermione pouted. “Okay… Mostly… I still did want to learn it anyways, but it wasn’t really something I saw as a priority until recently,” she finally admitted.

“I was at a bit of a loss when you first asked. Aren’t your meals provided by the school? When would you even have time to cook except during breaks?” she asked her daughter.

“The school does provide our meals and is pretty much a feast every night, if choose for it to be. I’m in Hufflepuff though. We have actually have more of an apartment style living setup if you will. They put four to six of us in a dorm. Each dorm has a cooking area of its own, a living room and bedrooms. You can get ingredients from the kitchens or order them from the nearby village and cook for yourselves. Most don't usually do that though and we do have to attend some feasts no matter what,” Hermione said.

“That sounds nice. I’m not sure I like the idea of a bunch of eleven and twelve-year-olds living together like that though,” her mother said with a half frown.

“That’s why we have a seventh year student as an RA. There’s also the fact each house has six Prefects who check on students and enforce the rules along with a Head of House,” Hermione told her while they were waiting in the kitchen for their second dish of the break to cook in the oven.

Hermione was for the most part upfront with her parents. She didn’t really tell them the Hufflepuff dorm rooms were co-ed though. She was pretty sure her parents might pull her from Hogwarts if they learned that while claiming she was too young for such things. Her dad would try at least.

Her mom might be a bit more okay with it, so long as her daughter promised not to do anything inappropriate and to not room with any boys. This is why Hermione was further worried her parents would be disappointed in her for specifically choosing to room with a boy, if they ever learned the whole truth. It would be even worse for her because her mom would realize she was crushing on said boy.

[-] [-] [-]

Christmas Break had been great and Hermione did love it, but as she was realizing towards the end. It was getting boring. Her parents already needed to return to working without extra time off. That meant Hermione spent most of her time alone in her family home now. This had never been a problem for her before Hogwarts. She loved being able to read in any room and in any chair she wanted uninterrupted. She would even turn on the radio to listen to music in the background while she did so.

After Hogwarts, it all felt different to her. She had friends at Hogwarts. She never really had friends before and she fully realized it was definitely something you wouldn’t know you’d miss until you had them. She had always wanted friends of course. She just never realized how lonely not being around them could be once you had friends.

In Hufflepuff, there was always someone near her. She would still read for fun and mostly in silence, but it was nice being around others, especially Harry. Her magic loved feeling his magic nearby. It wasn’t just him though. She loved hearing Hannah softly humming to herself as she worked on homework at one of the tables. She would share a couch or chair with Harry or Susan too as they did homework, read, or just spent time together.

Then there was seeing all of the different and fun hairstyles Tonks came up with each day. Tonks was generally great to be around and interesting. Their RA loved talking about classes and the magical world as a whole. Hermione learned so much from just causal conversations with the older girl. She really missed the way Tonks would sometimes use her abilities to given comically over the top expressions, or make other silly faces only a metamorph could accomplish.

Harry was also missing from Hermione's life here at home. She had feared what it would be like once she left the Rust District. Her magic yearned for Harry’s. It started off manageable, but it didn’t last. Hermione was pretty sure this was due to her stocking up on being around Harry the last few days.

After they fell asleep with each other on the couch Christmas Night, Hermione found ways to have more close contact with him the rest of her stay. Harry seemed to like it and she would almost swear he was doing the same with her. She even went so far as to sneaked into his room a time or two in the middle of the night when she had trouble sleeping. The two would sit together and quietly talk some before she returned to her own bed. Hermione really loved those moments.

She was almost caught by Davey one night. The two ended up falling asleep together in Harry’s bed. Luckily Hermione woke up early and sneaked back to her own bed and pretended to be asleep when the other girl started her day. Hermione was sure Davey was none the wiser to what she had done.

Hermione let out a longing sigh as she put down the book she was reading currently. She was surprised to recently find a limit in how much she could read before her mind would start to drift. It took a good while to reach her limit, but she still had a limit now.

In the past, she didn’t seem to have any limits on how long she could read. She spent many a night reading until she passed out in the wee hours of the morning before the sun rose. It was so bad her parents made a rule for her when it came to reading, even then she would sometimes go past her allowed reading time.

Now, she couldn’t keep reading until she passed out anymore. Her mind would start to think of Harry and the others after enough time. She would think about that night she accidentally got him in trouble with Jett. She still felt guilty about that, but she had a different reason for that feeling now. She had secretly loved quietly sitting up there on the rooftop with him while she leaned on his back. She also loved how she saw a different side to Harry and his life that night. It wasn’t pretty, but she loved learning about him and seeing more of who he was.

“Things really do seem duller without Harry around…” she said to herself as she gave a frown. As much as she loved spending time with her parents, she was more than ready for returning to Hogwarts. She was going to grab a hold of Harry when they met again and probably have to be pried off him. She would then move to her other friends in turn and maybe have to be pried off them as well. She really couldn’t wait to get back on the Hogwarts Express.

[-] [-] [-]

Professor Snape was looking over his early semester lesson plans again. He hated how he had to make a lot of adjustments to them. It didn’t help matters his Gryffindor and Slytherin First Year class was unusually stretched grade wise this year. It was almost as if the Gryffindors weren’t even trying in his class. He knew their 'excuses' they used among each other, but he didn't buy them.

He may favor his own house, which Head of House didn’t, but he was still fair when it came to grading. There was no way his professionalism would allow him not to be. He just had high standards for all of his students and refused to accept adequate as exceptional or outstanding.

The true reason why Slytherins seemed to do so well in his class is because they tried their hardest and then some in Potions. He was their Head of House and they wanted to at least not have his ire knowing he wasn't easily impressed. All of the houses were like that honestly.

Gryffindors tried harder than usual in Transfiguration. Ravenclaws did the same in Charms and while Hufflepuff was the house of the hard working, they went above and beyond their usual in Herbology. Most of the students felt they would disappoint their Head of House if they didn’t take extra care and put in more work in their class.

Professor Snape would admit he found his other first year class more curious. One would think in a Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Potions class it would be the house of the wise who took the top and the others would be more scattered but rather evenly distributed. With this first-year class, it was different.

Two Hufflepuffs, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, were easily in the lead and by a good margin. If his colleagues were to be believed, they were the top of the year with the rest of their house not too far behind. Ravenclaw usually saw Slytherin as their house rival grade wise, but with this first year class it might just be the badgers who warranted such attention.

Harry Potter looked almost exactly like his father, which annoyed Snape to no end, but he at least seemed to take more after his mother personality wise. Harry was still easily very different from both of his parents.

Professor Snape wasn’t full sure how he grew to be like this though. The boy was strong like his mother, but unlike her, he was quietly strong and more composed than she usually was. These traits were a far cry from his father as well so he doubted Harry's personality was a mix of the two.

Lily Evans was known equally for her compassion and her temper. She wouldn’t mind getting her hands dirty if you provoked her either. Harry was more, dare Professor Snape say it, cunning and careful than his mother.

Harry knew how to be subtle and how to take care of things quietly without going overboard and getting in trouble. He knew how to defuse situations and how to ignore or handle some of the less than flattering beliefs some Slytherins held. The snakes as a whole still seemed to realize Hermione Granger was off limits oddly enough.

Professor Snape wasn’t sure how Harry achieved that. He didn’t want to know. He just knew this was the case from how his own students acted around the boy.

There was a part of Severus Snape that was impressed by the way Harry seemed to operate. He also might take a little joy in the fact James Potter would be rolling over in his grave if he knew his son would be a model Slytherin. The Potions Professor would never admit it, but he whole heartily agreed with how Harry didn’t mind muggle-borns.

He, himself, didn’t like certain attitudes in that regard. Given his role as Head of Slytherin and spy for Dumbledore, he put up with it and played along. In truth, he believed there was nothing wrong with muggle-borns and the wizarding world owed them more than they knew.

He would even go so far as to say the wizarding world would no longer exist without muggle-borns. "That or the population would all be old and ancient like Albus Dumbledore by this point. " he thought to himself with some amusement.

Professor Snape wished he learned that lesson sooner. He partially had the right idea when he was younger. He was friends with Lily Evans, a muggle-born witch, but he was foolish in other ways. The Slytherin Head realized his own faults. He also knew his liking of Lily when he was younger was a mix of a crush, desperation for something good, and to a lesser extent obsession. He had grown out of that soon after Hogwarts, but became foolish and tried too much to blend in with those who seemed to rule Slytherin.

Something that was honestly surprising to the professor was how much Harry’s closest friend, Hermione Granger, shared with his mother. Hermione was very different, but there were similarities. She was also muggle-born. She was extremely smart and bright, maybe too much for her own good, and very loyal to her friends. He knew Lily put up with a lot from him until he finally went too far in his fifth year. Hermione also wouldn’t back down when pushed or standing up for her friends, even if she was rather introverted on a whole.

Hermione flew in the face of everything the pure-blood idiots believed. She also really stuck out and not in the best of ways, especially at first. Professor Snape would admit she seemed very much a know-it-all and teacher’s pet at first.

She was all too eager to prove how smart she was and that lead to her being annoying in her own manner towards professors. Hermione at first would do twice again what her assignments required. Some professors might appreciate that, and Snape did appreciate a student who went beyond what was required, but there were limits.

However, it seemed Hermione learned this. Professor Snape was under no illusion her realization was because of Harry Potter. The boy knew people. Professor Snape realized this while discussing the “Brightest Witch of her Age” with his colleagues.

The frizzy haired Hufflepuff approached her assignments differently depending on the professor. Professor Flitwick loved it when students went twice again what was required and Hermione did so for his class. Professor McGonagall appreciated it when students pulled from other sources, and Hermione did so for her class. It was the same story for all of her classes.

Hermione seemed to have an uncanny ability to learn just what was most appreciated by her different professors without going so far as to bother them. On top of that, she learned how to properly participate in a class without becoming an annoyance, but still shined plenty bright. The other professors chalked this up to her being such a bright and wonderful student.

Professor Snape believed otherwise.

Harry Potter was brought up a lot as well, naturally. This annoyed Snape and reminded him too much of how James loved to be the center of attention. He had learned though that Harry didn’t enjoy the spotlight in that way, but he still knew how to deal with it. In addition to that, Professor Snape realized something the other professors overlooked. Harry dealt with his professors in the same manner Hermione did, but he started to do so much sooner.

Yes. Harry Potter deserved to have an eye kept on him. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing as most would have thought. The Potions Professor intended to do so in his own ways.

Professor Snape smirked to himself as he enjoyed his last respite before the students returned from holiday break. “James Potter… How does it feel, you annoying bastard, to know your son seems very much a prefect Slytherin, even if he is in Hufflepuff, and not Gryffindor’s favorite son, as you were? ” he thought.

It was a shame Harry wasn’t in Slytherin. He might have been the one to whip the house back into shape. It hadn’t been so in a long time. Everyone thought of Voldemort and Death Eaters when it came to Slytherin. They never thought of the true greats like Merlin, even Severus regrettably didn’t think much of them during his years as a student. He, like so many others, focused too much on the wrong sorts from Slytherin.

He was pretty sure that was why so many of the bad ended up in Slytherin, instead of being more spread around. It was hard to shake a reputation once built by others. In the case of Slytherin House, that meant more of the bad congregated there. Professor Snape could only hope one day that would change.

Maybe once Voldemort was truly dead and never to come back, when his work as a spy was no longer needed, he could actually start to change things in his house. He first had to survive and ensure the self-proclaimed Dark Lord didn’t return. This was important for such a chance to happen in the first place. Not an easy task, but one worth it should he succeed.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry Potter walked through the train looking for Hermione. He arrived a decent bit early, but he had a feeling Hermione was already there and possibly had been for a good while. As he walked the train, he made sure to greet those he knew and was on good terms with. He finally found the compartment Hermione picked.

Harry couldn’t help but smile as he stood in the doorway. Hermione was reading a book and seemed a bit anxious but she was concentrating on it. “I had a feeling you’d already be here, Hermione,” he said to her.

Hermione looked up at hearing his voice and smiled so brightly it was as if light had returned to the world. “Harry!” she greeted happily. She then moved so fast it was almost as if she appeared right before him. She quickly wrapped him tightly in a hug.

Harry was surprised by the intensity of it. He knew she was a huggy person and he had no problem with receiving her hugs, but there seemed to be a bit of desperation or something to it this time mixed in with her happiness. It also felt as if even her magic was excited and happy to see him again. He would admit he missed her, even more than he thought he would, but there was something more to her going on here it seemed.

He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind for now. He returned her hug just as tightly and was surprised he felt as if there was something else in the hug from him as well. Harry next did something that surprised him as she buried her face in his chest. He kissed the top of her head. He wasn’t sure why, but it felt like the right thing to do. He couldn’t really tell what Hermione’s reaction was, but she at least didn’t push him away. He also felt he could sense happiness from her at the gesture.

Hermione blushed as she felt Harry kiss the top of her head. She smiled even wider and seemed to overflow with happiness. She buried herself further into his chest as she relished being held like this. Her magic seemed to respond strongly as well. It seemed more eager and excited to greet him after being apart from him for so long, even if it was just half the break since they last saw each other.

“I suppose we can’t just stay like this,” she said with a small giggle. She was actually sad they couldn’t.

“I don’t mind it, but I suppose not,” Harry agreed as they let go.

Hermione still felt really happy and wonderful to be with her best friend and crush again. The two sat down together on the same seat in the compartment. “How was your holiday after leaving with your parents?” Harry asked.

“It was great! At first… It was okay afterwards. Then it felt like it started to really drag on too much towards the end. I missed you… a-a-and everyone else,” Hermione answered blushing again at her slip up. She really hoped Harry didn’t pick up on it. She by no means was shy in her affections towards him, but she still didn't want him to get the wrong idea. She knew the wrong idea was actually the right of it, but it was still so embarrassing.

“Was the whole magic calling thing really bad?” Harry asked in concern. Hermione nodded carefully. “I noticed it more myself,” Harry admitted. Once she left, he started to sense what they talked about that night to a degree.

“It wasn’t too bad at first. It did get worse as the break went on though. Maybe it was easier at first because of how much time we spent with each other? Maybe it was the contact we had with one another?” Hermione mused out loud in thought.

“Now that we’re going back to Hogwarts, we can look more into it. We’ll also be in the same room again, so we can try to explore it more like you suggested,” Harry told her.

“I’d like that. I was thinking at first we could just do something simple, like not closing our bed curtains at night,” Hermione said.

“Okay… But I don’t know if I snore or not. So, be warned," Harry said jokingly to her. "I’ve never had anyone complain before at least, but that could be just how we are in the Rust District. Given our pasts, some people love hearing others just around them. They claim it reaffirms they’re no longer alone. That’s what some people have said at least,” Harry added more seriously.

“I didn’t notice any snoring from you during the break,” Hermione admitted. She thought what he said was both kind of sad and sort of sweet in a way.

“If you do notice it back at Hogwarts, you have to tell me. Perhaps I can ask Neville for the silencing charm they use on Ron’s bed in Gryffindor,” Harry said with a grin.

Hermione giggled to that. She gave a silent sigh of happiness after a moment. She really did miss being around Harry… and the others… of course. They just weren’t here yet so she couldn't tell them that.

“Do we tell the others?” Harry asked her.

Hermione was in thought for a moment. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Not yet at least. Maybe once we learn more, or if we can’t figure anything out on our own. I’m not sure whatever this is that’s going on is something well known or common, even in the magical world,” Hermione said. Harry seemed to understand her reasoning and nodded in agreement.

To Hermione, there was more to it than she said. She meant her words, but also really wanted to keep this to herself. It was selfish of her, but she wanted to have this whole magic calling thing be something between her and Harry. She wanted it to be a secret they shared with each other. She wasn’t yet ready to hand off Harry to the co-star of his love story, whoever the lucky girl was. She hoped it would be her, but she wasn't sure. She was just Hermione. And he was Harry!

After they finished their discussion, the compartment door slid open and Susan smiled to them both. “Hello! Good to see you again,” she said.

Hermione stood up and smiled brightly as she gave Susan a welcome back hug. It wasn’t as intense or long as the one she gave Harry though. Susan returned the hug and gave Harry her own greeting hug. “I missed you both,” she said as she sat down on the opposite seat from Harry and Hermione. “How was your Holiday Break?” Susan asked them.

Before Harry and Hermione could respond, the door opened again quickly. Hannah almost shot right inside as she closed the door behind her. Hermione didn’t even have time to greet her properly before Hannah breathlessly said, “I know who Nickolas Flamel is!”

All three of the other Hufflepuffs’ eyes shot wide open in surprise. “How?!” Hermione couldn’t help but almost shout.

Hannah caught her breath and plopped down by Susan. “It was completely by accident. I didn’t learn everything about him either. I figured it would be too strange if I was suddenly very interested in frantically tearing through old books in our family’s library.”

“Come on! Please get on with it,” Susan said in a pleading manner.

“Okay. My family always plays a few games of Witch and Wizard Trivia. We take turns reading out a card and the others answer as quickly as they can. The cards usually have three or four facts before giving the answer at the bottom and reward less points the more clues are given. I got Flamel’s card!” Hannah said excitedly.

“He’s a very well-known Alchemist, but that isn’t as well studied as it used to be. He is really good friends with Dumbledore and was our Headmaster’s old mentor! Can you believe that?! He’s even over 600 years old!” Hannah said with Awe as she recited the card's facts from memory.

Hermione’s eyes widened at the mention of Alchemy, but she waited for Hannah to finish what she was saying. Hermione then got up and pulled out a rather large book from her trunk. She flipped through the pages quickly in search of something, but there were a lot of them.

“A bit of light reading?” Harry asked with a hint of amusement in his voice as he gave her an easy-going smile.

Hermione looked up into his eyes for a moment and blushed as she looked back down and nodded. “I knew my parents would be really busy towards the end of Holiday break. I wanted something I could really sink my teeth into and was about magic. Here!” she in triumph.

“Nickolas Flamel is the only known creator of the Sorcerer’s Stone! … and apparently loves opera…” she read the last part in puzzlement. That was a really odd factoid to list for someone, especially in this book. He must be a really private person, and they didn’t have much else to write.

“The Sorcerer’s Stone?! I thought that was just a myth,” Susan said in amazement.

“What does it do?” Harry asked her.

“It’s supposed to be able to turn any metal into gold and provides the Elixir of Life. The Elixir of Life gives the drinker immortality, or so the legends say,” Susan filled in for him.

“That’s got to be it!” Hermione started. “That’s got to be the package Hagrid took from that vault and what Fluffy’s guarding.”

“It does say he’s really close to Professor Dumbledore. Not sure why such a legendary item is at Hogwarts, but I guess if Nickolas was to trust it to anyone… It would be Dumbledore, his friend and apprentice,” Hannah said.

“I think you’re right, Hermione and you too, Hannah. I really don’t like it. If we could figure out what it was, I’m sure others could. That is a prize too tempting for most to pass up. That would attract both the right sort and wrong sort of people,” Harry said.

“I agree. I bet there’s more guarding it though. I doubt Fluffy alone would be enough. Though… why would they lock the door in a manner that a simple Alohomora would unlock?” Hermione wondered.

Hannah frowned. She frowned deeper. “What is it?” Susan asked in worry. It was bad if her best friend was acting like that.

Hannah continued to frown. “You all don’t suppose someone’s already working on getting it? Do you? We know Professor Snape thinks someone is, but he's the only professor that seems to think that. I doubt Professor Snape, who’s always talking about being careful and meticulous in class, would leave it so easy to get through that door behind him,” she said.

“I really hope not… It would have to be either the staff or someone who knows how to enter and exit Hogwarts’ Grounds without being noticed going for it in such a manner. Both of those options are bad. I think you’re right again though, Hannah... That would explain it. Why put obstacles back up if you are taking your time dismantling the defenses and no one seems to suspect you?” Susan said with deeper worry.

“Then it is a good thing Hermione and I mentioned it to Hagrid. We did so by mistake, but he said he would speak to the Professors about it. He probably meant Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. I’m sure even Hagrid would know not to speak about it too much. It was an accident when he told us. He was just surprised we accidentally found Fluffy,” Harry said. The girls seemed a little relieved by his words. They would all still worry about it in their own way though.

After they were all silent for a moment, Susan spoke up to break the quiet. “I still can’t believe that dog you two saw is named Fluffy, even if Hagrid is his owner.” She gave a shake of her head. The others couldn’t help but laugh about that. They spent the rest of the train ride happily sharing their holiday breaks with each other.

[-] [-] [-]

Once the students were all back at Hogwarts, it was surprising how quickly they fell back into their routine. People were getting excited about the first Quidditch match of the year. Gryffindor kept saying how this game would be their chance at redeeming themselves. Ron was especially sure of this, even if he wasn’t on the team himself. He was getting annoying with it though. He kept pointing it out to every Hufflepuff he came across. He seemed to think the game was already decided and Gryffindor victorious.

“He’s almost as bad as he was when Gryffindor played us,” Draco started one day to Harry after Ron carried on about how great Gryffindor’s team was. “In our case though, it was understandable given how our houses are and the same old Lion idiocy they all seem to have.”

“I get supporting your team, but he is ridiculous about it. Then again… maybe we should think it’s a good sign he’s supporting them so much,” Harry mused with a chuckle.

“Why do you say that?” Draco asked.

“I’ve heard he’s very fanatical about his favorite pro-team. The Chudley Cannons,” Harry said.

Draco couldn’t help but laugh to that. “Ahhh yes. The team that is always in a ‘Rebuilding’ year and will definitely win the cup next time,” he said.

“The exact same one. I’m not an expert on Quidditch, but I get a feeling he’ll feel very foolish after the game. Cedric is really good and other Seekers seem to bounce off him given his build compared to them,” Harry said.

“I’ve heard much the same. Even Flint doesn’t dare antagonize him too much. And Flint sees such things as strategy,” Draco said.

“Getting in your opponent’s head is a strategy. Carrying on too much just cheapens the effect, because people start to think that is all you can do,” Harry said.

“I have to ask again though. Are you planning on trying out next year?” Draco asked Harry. After his showing at their flying lessons, several first years asked Harry much the same many times.

“I’m getting a broom for sure. I don’t know about trying out for the team though. Maybe if they have some kind of substitution team I will. I love flying for the freedom though. I wouldn’t want to have to worry about a game as well. I like watching Quidditch. I just don’t know if it's for me to play,” Harry said.

“That's a shame really. I’m trying out and I was hoping for some serious competition,” Draco said.

Harry gave him a look. “It might be just a little too early to decide you will be on the team,” he said.

Draco smirked. “The current Seeker is in his last year. I am pretty good at flying and I’ve played seeker several times before in pick-up games and usually end up being the one who catches it. Plus… I have a plan… Father agreed to it already,” he said mysteriously.

Harry had a few ideas what the plan would be, but he left it alone. “I suppose each House handles who gets on the team differently. You do really like game and know a lot about it. So... hope it goes well for you. I’ll be zipping around plenty on my own next year during breaks and after classes. I’m surprised more people don’t have their own brooms to fly for fun with,” he said.

“While the rules only say first years can’t own a broom, many seem to assume it also means anyone not on the Quidditch team can’t own one either. A bit silly when you think about it. It’s always been that way though, so people continue to treat it that way,” Draco answered Harry.

Harry nodded in agreement. “It's foolish to think just because something has always been done one way and one way only. It has to always be done that way,” Harry said.

Draco looked to Harry at those words. He thought on them. He frowned a little. Some people have tried to use such words to argue against his father’s beliefs. “We still shouldn’t just ignore things that have traditionally been done a certain way entirely and believe it is wrong. But you are right in this case,” Draco tried Harry with his words. He wondered how the other boy would answer. Draco found Harry surprising in many cases and so did others in Slytherin. Draco figured that was why he and others didn't seem to mind Harry, even when Hermione was with him. Some even occasionally brokered conversation with her that wasn't exactly nasty.

Harry looked to him with a raised eyebrow. “I wasn’t saying anything was wrong with traditions,” Harry said simply. He then looked over as some of his fellow Hufflepuffs called to him. “Are you going to the game?” Harry asked. He then gave a chuckle. “I can see you doing that just to annoy Ron once Cedric catches the Snitch.”

Draco gave a chuckle and nodded. “That and to gather information on my future opponents. Like I said. I have a plan for next year and it will succeed,” he said as the two went their separate ways.

Draco had more on his mind than he thought he would after that conversation. Harry’s words reminded him of what his mother said many times when his dad wasn’t around. She didn’t fully support his beliefs, but she did hold on to tradition rather closely. More so than his dad did, who often used tradition as a justification for his actions. Harry may have spoken in a manner that suggested Draco's previous statement was completely off topic, but he could tell there was more to Harry's words many times.

[-] [-] [-]

As game day approached, Ron became even more annoying and unbearable. It got to the point even his brothers, the twins, told him to cut it out, in their own fashion. This really was something considering they were on the team and even they felt Ron was being overly obnoxious about the game.

The Hufflepuff team was getting plenty of support from their house, which was to be expected. The Hufflepuffs still tried to keep a certain level of politeness about their support around others. Harry really appreciated that. It was kind of stupid to get into fights and such over a sports team. He saw plenty who did and found it more disappointing each time it happened.

When it came to the day of the game, all of Hufflepuff met with the team in the Common room to wish them luck. Harry walked up and said to Cedric, “I’m sure everyone has already told you, but we’re rooting for you and the others. Though I’ve heard you don’t need it.”

Cedric chuckled. “So, I’ve been told as well, Harry. I always say I’m not that impressive really. I am good and I will admit that, but I can always use the support of Hufflepuff,” Cedric said with a grin.

“Then it is good we will be rooting for you after all. Good luck out there, Cedric,” Harry said.

He then made sure to address the rest of the team in turn as well. Cedric usually got most of the support since he was the seeker and that was a very important position, but Harry knew it took the whole team to win. He’d heard plenty of stories of games where the opposing seeker caught the snitch to help save some of their team's dignity from a very humiliating loss. Harry also knew people appreciated being recognized for their roles as well. At this time though, Harry didn’t realize how much Cedric appreciated him seeing off and giving support to the rest of the team in the way he did.

[-] [-] [-]

Ron frowned. He was worried. He was making a point of dodging Malfoy whenever he could. The game was over. Hufflepuff won big. Gryffindor had a great team! Except for the seeker. Hufflepuff had a great team! And a great seeker. Cedric knew how to use his size to his advantage and he didn’t have to make any compromises with his flying to do so.

He’d swear he could hear Draco’s smirk around every corner of the castle. Ron didn’t like it one bit at all. He was glad he was used to eating quickly and in big bites at least. It had come in really handy right after the game. The meals were unbearable for him! People kept laughing and laughing and some would shoot him looks before laughing. He knew they weren’t all laughing at him, but seeing the looks he was getting from people sure made it feel that way to him.

Neville sighed as he looked to Ron. “I hate to say it… But you did kind of bring this upon yourself,” he said.

Ron just grumbled to himself in reply. He knew Neville was right, but still that shouldn't matter.

“Wittle Ronnikins is just sad—” one twin said.

“He once again has to eat his own foot –” the other replied.

“If he was at least on the team –” the first started.

“He’d still be eating his own foot but –” the second said.

“The laughing would have stopped after the first day,” they said together before chuckling and walking off.

Ron hated the twins at the moment. Everyone, even from the other houses, had been polite to Fred and George and even told them they played really well. Most were sympathetic to them and the team as a whole. Everyone knew Gryffindor had trouble with getting good seekers that could play at the rest of the team’s level.

“If they all know that… Why are they treating me this way? ” Ron thought to himself in complaint. He didn’t get it.

He really didn’t get it at all.

[-] [-] [-]

“Look! It’s hatching!” Hagrid said in excitement. He had just placed a really large egg on the middle of his dining table in his hut. It was in the middle of a fire until a moment ago.

Four first years were excitedly watching with him as well. Susan was holding her breath in her excitement. Hannah was trying her best not to seem as if she had been hit by a Dancing Legs Jinx. “Oooo! Look Harry! Look!” Hermione said in an almost breathless voice from next to Harry. She was holding on to his left arm with both of her hands and squeezing tighter than Harry honestly found comfortable. He was excited too though and found her actions far too cute to complain.

Many would wonder where Hagrid found such a large egg and why it was roasting in a fire for so long. With any other type of egg, they would be right to wonder that. However, this was a dragon’s egg! It was supposed to be surrounded by fire and heat. Hagrid told them if it was with a roosting mother the mama dragon would breath fire on it from time to time and would always keep it very warm.

Most would probably point out this was mostly like illegal. And it really was. The first years were too excited to watch a dragon hatching to care. It was something very rare to witness. This being the case all four would more than kindly look the other way, even Susan, whose aunt was the Head of the DMLE, agreed to this arrangement.

“That’s it little one… Push. Push,” Hagrid cooed to the egg in encouragement.

Harry, Hermione, Hannah and Susan first learned about Hagrid’s Dragon Egg by chance in the library. They were studying together as they did, anyone who was close friends to Hermione would be doing the same, when they noticed Hagrid trying and failing to remain unnoticed in the library.

It was an impossible task. Hagrid was far too big for the place and he never really visited it for this long or like this. He had most of the books he wanted or needed. Any books missing from his collection he’d order or Madam Pence would actually behave like a librarian and help him find. She usually pulled them for him so he wouldn’t make a mess of her domain. With everyone else, it seemed like she just shushed them for daring to cough or breath too loudly. She had more important things to do, like read her books. Harry was pretty sure the books she was reading weren't for polite conversation.

The four students asked Hagrid what was up and he acted very suspicious indeed. Once he was gone, Hermione looked where he was and told the others it was a section about dragons. They immediately went to meet with him after that and he was more willing to share what was going on then. He even got them very interesting in dragons themselves, Hannah ended up looking into them more thoroughly and even impressed Hermione with how much she did. They all ended up agreeing to help Hagrid how they could.

Harry received a note earlier today. It was simple and was hastily scrawled out. There wasn’t even a name on it, but Harry knew who wrote it from their handwriting. The note simply read, “It’s time.”

A baby dragon cry was heard soon enough as the egg fell apart. “Dawww… Ain’t he tha cutest?!” Hagrid was cooing even more so.

The first years were staring in awe as the baby dragon broke free of the egg. It had little wings and everything. It was rather cute in a dangerous way.

The dragon suddenly sneezed. Harry and the others jumped back as a gout of fire came from it and lit Hagrid’s beard on fire.

“Heh heh! Little Tyke!” Hagrid said as he patted out the fire, something he would get very used to doing in the upcoming days. “Hey there little guy!” Hagrid cooed again as he held out a finger trying to touch it.

The dragon gave a baby dragon growl and snipped at his fingers. Hagrid brought them back just in time. “Dawwww… He already knows who his mummy is!” Hagrid said in the manner a proud parent would from watching their own child. “How are ye, Norbert!” Hagrid said. "Are ye hungry?" he asked with a chuckle.

A baby dragon cry was all Hagrid got in reply.

The four Hufflepuffs were in awe of what they witnessed. It was exciting and cool. It was also far scarier than they thought it would be. They didn’t think a dragon would be able to sneeze up fire like that right after hatching. They were excited and worried for what the upcoming days had in store for Hagrid.

Regardless, they knew this was an experience they would always remember. They were also glad they weren’t the ones who decided to raise a baby dragon… In a small wooden hut… Near the Forbidden Forest’s edge.

“I really hope Hagrid flame proofed everything,” Susan said as they finally left to head back. The others nodded in agreement. She said exactly what was on their minds.

Chapter 12: Dragon Sized Problems

Hermione let out a loud gasp as she quickly sat up in her bed. She was panting for breath and her cheeks were flushed. She might have let out another noise of some kind right before she sat bolt upright, but she wasn’t clear on that.

“Are you okay?” Harry asked in the middle of a yawn as he sat up as well and looked to her.

“That was intense… What happened?” Hermione asked.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “Not sure really. But when you let out that noise it woke me up as well,” Harry said.

Hermione caught her breath. She was sweating a little, but it wasn’t really a panicked induced sweat. She got up fully and walked over to her desk. She poured herself some water from their room’s self-filling pure water pitcher. Each Hufflepuff bed room had such a water pitcher and a glass cup. Harry and Hermione’s room had two glass cups since they joined them.

Hermione pulled out a quill and added notes to a journal. Harry did the same from where he was now sitting at his own desk. Just under the entry number, Hermione wrote what she remembered of what just happened.

They started their experimenting with their connection, whatever it was, soon after school started again. It started off simple with them not closing their bed curtains before they went to bed at nights. Harry didn’t snore, but their sleep wasn’t average either.

After that first try, they both shared what they remembered of their dreams the next day. Both first years were surprised how much they clearly recalled of their dreams. They also quickly discovered they were in each other’s dreams and rather noticeable if not prominently featured in some fashion. It happened enough there was no way it was just coincidence. They tried a few other things as well with the connection, but so far it seemed dream and sleep related experiments were the most fruitful.

“Well. Now we know if we fall asleep in such a way at the same time and so close… It seems dreams are more intense,” Harry said after he wrote what he experienced.

“I think we also might be sharing dreams like this Harry…” Hermione said. There was something she was thinking on.

“What did you dream? You’ve been kind of adamant about keeping our dreams secret from each other,” Harry said. He wasn’t questioning or really going along easily with this choice. He was pretty sure Hermione would not like some of his dreams that she starred in and were very personal. He also didn’t want to seem too agreeable to the condition she insisted on. She might suspect something if he did. Hermione was really sharp usually and while he liked that about her, it could be problematic in some ways.

“I think this time we can make an exception. There is no way I would be dreaming about flying around on a broom like that all over the world…” Hermione started.

Harry’s green eyes widened to that. “That’s what I was dreaming! You were there riding with me for part of it, but it jumped around to different scenes you could say. I was alone in others and really letting loose. I was doing all kind of stunts and everything. You dreamed all of that too?” he asked.

Hermione nodded. “Yes. It was strange to me really. I was there flying with you on the broom under starry skies at a steady and gentle pace for part of it. We were flying leisurely over London and along beaches and over a deep blue ocean sparkling like a sapphire under the sun. Other moments I would be flying… first person… like a master of broom flying. I also didn’t feel too put out by it. However, it was still too much for me towards the end in that dive,” she said.

Harry was in thought as he said, “I had the same dream. Even had some of those same feelings, except for the diving part at the end, if I had woken up normally at that moment, I would have been really upset at having such a great dream ruined.”

“So... When we ensure we fall asleep at the same time via potion, we have the same dream? Or is it something more…” Hermione mused as she scribbled away.

“I think it is something more. I think it is more like sharing a dream, even if I seemed more dominant in the dream. Maybe… It would be better to say it was my dream we were sharing, but your influences came in as well? The way you described the parts where we flew together on the same broom is exactly how I would describe them, but…” Harry said.

“It was more… like a romance novel in its description and feel,” Hermione provided.

Harry nodded. “I’ve glanced through one or two before out of curiosity… I’m surprised they aren’t considered porn, honestly. Overly flowery porn… but still porn… even if it has an actual story,” Harry said.

Hermione frowned to that and was about to argue, but sighed and shook her head. As much as she hated to admit it, he had a point. She had indulged herself in more ways than one when reading such books. If they didn't have certain aspects too them and were innocent, she wouldn't have dared allow her hands to slip down like that. “Regardless of your theories on women’s books…” Hermione said in an almost huff.

Harry gave her a look with a raised eyebrow. It was as if he was saying to her, “Really? You’re going to act that way about it? You're going to really defend them?” Hermione blushed at his look.

“The point is… I think you’re right. It does seem like I influenced the dream. I-I-I don’t really read such books… But my dreams, when I remember them, are more like scenes from a book that I participate in. If you will. There may not be a narrator, but aspects of the dream seem to be read and described by an author. It is hard to really explain properly. They aren’t always like that, but many times they are,” Hermione said.

Harry decided to keep his realization Hermione seemed too embarrassed by the thought of romance novels for not having been a connoisseur of them to himself. “Mine aren’t always in first person, but they can be sometimes. After the dream we just had, I get what you mean by actively participating in a book. I would have just dreamed about the whole flying under the stars with you if it was my dream alone. It wouldn’t have had that description feeling you mentioned,” Harry said as he added his own notes. Hermione insisted he keep his own journal on the experiments and to add even the stuff they mentioned in conversation as well. She pointed out there was no telling what might spark a breakthrough later when reading their notes.

“I wonder if there is a reason it chooses one person’s dream to share over the other. Maybe it goes in turns? Maybe it depends on if the person would have a dream that night or not. Maybe it is something else entirely…” Hermione said. She started to scribble down notes faster as more ideas came to her.

“I guess we will be repeating this experiment again,” Harry said.

“I think we have to. This could be huge! It also was… really nice... I didn’t have a problem with the dream until that last dive. I liked experiencing flying from your perspective. I don’t mind broom flying so much now, but what I feel is nothing compared to what you enjoy about it,” Hermione said with a smile to herself. She also really loved the idea of sharing dreams with Harry. Talk about taking romance up a notch. She doubted few, if any, could say they shared dreams with their crush and best friend.

“I think we should wait at least a week though,” Harry said to her.

Hermione frowned in thought before nodding. “Yes. Doing something like this too often can have obvious repercussions. Even if we both fall asleep again without any trouble, it won’t change the fact our sleep was interrupted.”

“I also don’t want us to get too used to something like this. We could start overlooking something important if we did,” Harry said. He left unmentioned how he didn’t really know what it would be like if they ended up sharing that kind of a dream. Doing something like this too often increased the chances of it happening. Additionally he was pretty sure safe sleeping potions, like the one they used, could be addicting if used too often.

Harry stood up and stretched again. He was about to go to the restroom really quick before going back to sleep, but he was stopped in his tracks. Hermione came over and gave him a tight hug.

“Thanks for agreeing to help with all of this, Harry. It really means a lot to me,” Hermione said sweetly tightened her hug a little. Not only was this something new and exciting, but she also had someone with her while she researched and looked into to it. The only time previously people helped her with research or experiments was if the school required it for a project. This was so much more than that.

Harry smiled and returned her hug. He really liked them and it was nice getting a sudden middle of night Hermione hug. “You’re welcome, Hermione. I really like doing this with you and learning more about magic along the way,” he said.

They then broke their hug and took care of what they needed before heading back to bed and sleep once again. Both were a mix of curiosity and excitement as they wondered if maybe putting their beds closer together and doing this would have different results. In many cases, closer proximity to something increases the effectiveness of it.

Both first years were far too embarrassed to say anything though. Hermione and Harry put it into the back of their minds to ask another time... maybe. Perhaps when they were both too exhausted to really focus on the implications of sleeping so close to someone they liked-liked to care about embarrassment, that might be a good time to try. It would probably be best to approach that step in the same manner they did the others and start off with not closing beds curtains when that close to each other.

[-] [-] [-]

“As much as I don’t want to say it… I think we will have to do something more about Hagrid and Norbert,” Hermione said to her friends as they sat in their dorm living room. The others sighed and nodded in agreement.

“You aren’t the only one thinking that,” Harry said. No one wanted to say it, but they all knew it was true.

“We have pushed this off long enough,” Hannah said as well with a frown. They were close to Hagrid and saw him as a good friend, which made this even more difficult to discuss.

“Yeah… It was way illegal from the start, even if I kind of didn’t press it. It is really rare to see a dragon hatch after all,” Susan said with a sigh at her own lack of action on the matter. Her aunt always stressed how important laws were and to never make exceptions. Susan had made one because of her own excitement. If it was something smaller or less important she might not have cared, but this was an illegal baby dragon.

“Very rare. Even if you were to make regular trips to the dragon preserves, it is most likely you would never see a hatching,” Hannah added her own thoughts.

“What do we do though? We can’t just tell Hagrid it has to go,” Harry asked the group as they fell into silence.

Ever since Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback hatched, Hagrid had been very protective of the dragon. He was to the point they were all pretty sure if they were to get burned Hagrid would blame them for it and claim they were being mean to Precious Little Norbert. Harry wanted to support Hagrid in this venture, but it was going too far now. It didn’t matter that he was very grateful Hagrid had kept his living situation a secret from even Dumbledore and saw him as a friend. They had to do something.

“I know for sure we can’t tell Dumbledore,” Hannah stated.

“Why not? I don’t think Headmaster Dumbledore would get upset at us. He would probably be happy we came to an adult about it,” Hermione said.

“It isn’t that. As much as he cares for Hagrid, Dumbledore would have to do something about this. It would also have to be done rather publicly. He’d probably have to fire Hagrid at the very least. Like I said earlier. It is very illegal,” Susan emphasized her words with a look.

Hermione sighed. “Then people like Draco’s dad would use this as an opportunity to get rid of the Headmaster and put in someone they deem worthy of the position,” she admitted with a frown.

“Which we all agree would be bad. Draco may be tolerable and alright in some ways, but his dad is far from it,” Harry said as the others nodded in agreement.

“We have a little longer to think on it,” Hannah started. She had taken it upon herself to look more into dragons. She knew how long it would take before Precious Little Norbert was no longer little. Hagrid would probably still consider the dragon precious though. He seemed to love large and dangerous creatures. The bigger and more dangerous it was, the more precious.

“I still think we should figure something out sooner rather than later,” Harry said. All of the girls could agree with him on that.

[-] [-] [-]

Norbert kept growing at a surprising rate to Harry, Hermione, and Susan. Hannah however assured them it was a regular growth rate, even if on the faster end. This didn't change the baby dragon was still growing fast and they didn’t know what to do about the situation. They were starting to think they wouldn’t have an option but to go to Dumbledore.

It wasn’t until one day when they were really trying to come up with ideas, that something happened. As the group of first years were thinking on what to do about a dragon and an overly attached surrogate mother, Tonks happened to come in through the door. “Hello, all,” she said much more chipper than normal.

“Hey, Tonks,” they all replied in some form or fashion.

“You seem to be in an exceptionally good mood,” Hermione said with a friendly smile.

Tonks grinned. “Just finished a round of testing. I have a bit of a break now.” She then frowned a little. “I’m still not looking forward to my actual NEWTs. I could really use something to get my mind off it all for now though,” she said running a hand through her hair as it changed colors in reaction.

Harry gave a thoughtful hum. The others looked to him questioningly. Hermione then seemed to catch on just as he spoke again. “Do you have any idea what to do about a dragon that’s growing too big to stay hidden in Hagrid’s hut before possibly burning it down?” he asked in a surprisingly causal tone.

Tonks stared at them with comically large eyes, she loved doing things like that as a metamorph. “Wow… I did not expect that kind of a suggestion,” she said.

Harry merely shrugged his shoulders.

Tonks sighed. “I guess this is what happens with such a cute bunch of fristies… You don’t have normal problems,” she said.

“Pretty sure nothing is normal about my life. Not that I’m complaining,” Harry said.

“The strangest thing is that I do possibly have a solution… I’m guessing you want to keep this on the down low. I really don’t want Dumbledore to be forced to ax Hagrid. I’m not as friendly with him as you four are, but I’ve visited him a number of times and consider him a friend,” Tonks said.

The four first years seemed to be really relieved hearing that. “That’s why you’re the best RA for us. You already have an idea on how to solve our… dragon sized problem,” Harry said grinning.

The three girls snickered but also shook their heads at him.

“Yeah… I know. Lame joke,” he said unapologetically. Hermione seemed to giggle even more because of that.

“You can only get away with such a terrible joke, because you’re one of my adorable first years, Harry. I expect better of you in the future,” Tonks said. That got laughs from them all. “I’ll have to speak to my… contact… about the dragon. It might take some time to get a response.”

Tonks then pulled out some parchment as she sat down with a self-inking quill in hand. “Tell me all you can about the dragon so far. The more details I have the better it will be for my letter,” she said in full seriousness.

That was one thing all of the first years could agree on and respected about Tonks. Their RA loved to joke around and was usually rather easy going, but she knew when to get down to business. They were careful not to talk over each other as they shared all they knew about Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback.

[-] [-] [-]

Luckily it didn’t seem to take too long for Tonks to get a reply. “Alright! They can help. They asked I tell Hagrid first. They don’t want to have to worry about him causing a scene. They still agreed to help and keep it on down low. My contact doesn’t want Hagrid getting in trouble either. He was actually really close to Hagrid when he was here,” Tonks said to them the same night she got her reply.

“Ohhh? You’re contact is a him?” Hannah said suggestively as she giggled. Susan and Hermione both sighed to that. Hannah loved to gossip a little with them. They could tell when she was in such a mood and this was one of those times.

Tonks blushed a little but nodded. “Yep. Charlie Weasley is my contact,” she said.

“One of Ron’s brothers?” Hermione asked.

“Yep. He actually graduated just last year. And yes, Hannah. We did go out with each other,” she said in defeat. She knew the girl would pester her until she got the answer she wanted. Hannah gave a giddy squeal to that. “He was a year above me, obviously. We started dating my fifth year,” Tonks admitted.

“You said did go out with each other… Why haven’t you two kept it up?” Hermione asked in what she thought was a causal manner. The others thought she seemed a lot more curious about such things than she liked to admit.

“We ended things on good terms. That’s why I had no hesitation in sending him a letter about this. He loved dragons and there aren’t too many preserves around. He ended up in Romania. He has quickly become one of their most reliable and best workers. I already knew I wanted to be an Auror before we ended things. I wanted to stay in Britain. He had no choice but to travel. So, we ended things on good terms without any hard feelings,” Tonks answered. She blushed a little thinking about that night again. They were ending things and decided to make it a hot and heavy night they’d never forget.

“Awww… Too bad you had to end things, but nice they were ended in a good manner,” Hannah said in an overly romantic manner. Hermione seemed to also be eating up the whole romance of the situation as well with the way she paid such rapt attention. She wasn't even trying to feign merely passing interest now.

In both girls’ minds, it was a story of true romance. Two people who loved each other very much, but wanted to take their lives in different directions and so had to part from one another. Fortunately, it wasn’t a completely tragic love story. Perhaps it was still in the middle of their story even. Maybe one day Charlie would return to Tonks and they would have a lovely reunion and end up together forever. Both girls just hoped it wouldn’t be due to Tonks almost dying from an attack by Death Eaters or something bad like that.

“We were going to check in with Hagrid tomorrow. Do you want to come along with us?” Harry asked. He wasn’t carried away by the romance of Tonks’ life like the girls were and so he wasn't focused on it.

“That sounds perfect,” Tonks said.

[-] [-] [-]

The next day all five of them made their way to Hagrid’s hut. Tonks knocked on the door and Fang’s booming barks were the first to answer. They thought they heard something else before Hagrid carefully cracked open the door to see who it was.

“Tonks? Is that you?” Hagrid asked in surprise mixed with worry.

“Yep! I figured since my firsties loved visiting you so much and I had a little bit of time… I’d pay you a visit with them to catch up,” she said to him with her usual friendly smile.

Hagrid looked to Harry and the others who nodded. He seemed to still be a bit apprehensive, but eventually opened the door for them to enter. “Alright… Don’t dilly dally too long in getting inside,” he said as he disappeared back into his hut.

Norbert greeted them with a dragon cry and a small fire ball that Hagrid quickly patted out. “Heh Heh. Little tyke… His aims gotten better,” Hagrid said far too motherly.

“He really is getting big,” Hannah said first.

“Which is why you all talked to me about this,” Tonks started. She then gave Hagrid an apologetic look. “Sorry, Hagrid. I wasn’t completely up front about why I came with them. I do still want to catch up… But they were worried,” she said.

“Were they now?” Hagrid asked in a manner that wasn’t fully accusatory but still caused the girls to feel a little guilty.

“For Norbert’s sake. We assure you,” Harry stated. Hagrid looked to them in question.

“Norbert is getting big. He’ll need to stretch his wings soon. Then you won’t be able to keep him safe. Plus… It would be good for Norbert to get a chance to socialize with his own kind,” Hannah said.

“I suppose so…” Hagrid said glumly. He then sighed as he served them tea in an odd mix of assorted tea cups. Norbert had been using a few of them as practice targets. Hagrid looked up to Tonks and said, “So what did you all have in mind? I don’t really want to bother Dumbledore with this…”

Tonks smiled to him. “You won’t have to. They didn’t want to put Dumbledore in a bad position like that either. They asked me and lucked out,” she started.

“How so?” Hagrid asked.

“I’ve been keeping in contact with Charlie some,” she answered.

“Oh? What’s he been up to? I know he was good with animals… But can he help?” Hagrid asked brightly.

“He’s been doing really well with his life. Got his dream job and everything. He works for a Dragon Preserve in Romania. I talked to him and he replied saying a few of his friends and co-workers happen to be near by enough they could make this side trip to pick up Norbert and do so without any unwanted attention,” Tonks said.

“I guess that would be nice… it is for Norbert… I’ve been worried what ta do with him honestly. He is getting big, which is really good! I thought maybe he could hang around in the Forbidden Forest, but that probably isn’t a good place for him,” Hagrid said seemingly trying to convince himself this was the right choice.

“They actually know how to handle such a delicate situation. He told me in the letter it isn’t unusual for them to help people who purposely or accidentally raised a dragon illegally,” Tonks said compassionately.

“They won’t get in trouble then?” Hagrid asked.

Tonks shook her head. “They can take care of it and leave you out of it. They only get other people involved if they are essentially rescuing a dragon. He knows you wouldn’t hurt Norbert though.”

“I’d never!” Hagrid said offended by such a thought. Norbert was such a sweet, innocent, helpless, little baby dragon.

“Exactly. He knows. That’s why he would be more than grateful to help you and Norbert out here. He wants what's best for you both. You can even arrange to visit over the summer if you want. He could even set it up so you would be brought on as a VIP or Consultant or Trainee, if you wanted. It would give you even more access privileges during a visit,” Tonks said to him.

Hagrid smiled to that. He looked to Norbert and gave a sniff while wiping away a few massive sized tears. Norbert looked to him for a moment before letting out a dragon sneeze. It singed Hagrid’s beard yet again. The giant of a man gave a good-hearted chuckle. “Bless you,” he said very affectionately to the dragon. Norbert didn’t really seem to notice though. He went back to doing small dragon things.

“Alright. I agree to it. This will be best for Norbert. How long until they can pick him up?” Hagrid asked.

Tonks gave him a smile as she said, “Next weekend. So, you have a week to say your goodbyes.”

“I really appreciate it. Charlie was always my favorite of the Weasleys. Bill isn’t too bad, but Charlie is really something else. So glad to hear he’s living his dream,” Hagrid said with a smile.

“He’s already one of their best. I knew he’d be great,” Tonks said with her own warm smile.

“Ahhh. Yeah, I suppose you would know. I heard you two were quite the couple. Downright infamous. Some would say,” Hagrid said with a friendly chuckle as Tonks blushed.

A part of her did miss Charlie, but she was glad things went the way they did. Still, he was her favorite of the guys she sought after. He was the only one that really saw her and not just her abilities. He even got her to enjoy having them more than she used to and she really press the boundaries of what she could do for fun. She liked to get a laugh out of people with her animal faces. No one but her and Charlie knew how she started using her abilities further like that, or to the extent she had privately. She blushed again at some of the memories with him.

“So… How big do you think Norbert will get?” Tonks asked Hagrid conversationally. Hagrid grinned and they all started to talk about different things and not just Norbert. The dragon tuned them all out and was snoozing on his chair by the fireplace.

[-] [-] [-]

The next week went by fairly quickly. Hagrid showed them the crate he made for Norbert to be transported. He managed to fireproof it even. “Turned out to be perfect timing, this. Another week or two and I wouldn’t have been able ta treat it so the crate wouldn’t burn. Baby Dragon’s fire isn’t as bad as a full-grown dragon’s, but it grows in intensity as they grow,” Hagrid told them.

Harry and the others didn’t think you could really call Norbert a baby dragon anymore. He was too big for that. Fortunately, Harry and the others discovered two of them could fit under his father’s cloak with the crate. They would just have to be careful since their feet would show. Tonks assured them she would help with that.

The group came up with a plan for getting Norbert to the extraction point. Harry and Hermione would carry Norbert under the cloak while Tonks followed them using a spell called the Disillusionment Charm on herself to keep a lookout. She also planned on casting a feather light charm on the crate. “You can’t really cast it or a levitation charm on a living being, especially something magical like a dragon. However, something like a crate or clothing, if you can concentrate enough, will work just fine. Thus the effect will still be the same and we will have an essentially feather light dragon to carry easily instead,” she explained to them. Hermione was eagerly absorbing this impromptu lesson.

On top of everything else, Harry and Hermione followed the route they would be taking to the extraction point a few times to get it down. It was easy to pretend they were just exploring the castle if anyone happened to question them. Harry even mapped out a few different detours they could take if needed. He wasn’t one to take too many chances if he could help it.

[-] [-] [-]

On the actual night of the mission, Hermione, Harry and Tonks sneaked their way down to Hagrid’s hut. The hand off had to be done at night under the cover of darkness. The trio agreed to go down to Hagrid’s when it was still before curfew, and made a point of getting there without gaining suspicion. The last thing they needed was someone following them, even if they were innocently too curious. The group would head out early enough to avoid prefect patrols, but late enough to avoid most students. They would have to wait a little while for Charlie and his crew to arrive. Luckily the rendezvous location wasn’t too bad and they could make themselves comfortable while waiting.

Hagrid gave a big blow of his nose into his tablecloth sized handkerchief as he sniffed again. “I’m gonna miss ya, Norbert! Momma will always remember you,” Hagrid cried in goodbye. Right before they left, Hagrid threw in a teddy bear. “His favorite,” Hagrid assured them as he gave a final goodbye.

“Wanna bet on how long it takes before Norbert’s favorite teddy goes bye bye?” Tonks asked in a whisper to both Harry and Hermione. Both first years chuckled but shook their heads.

After a few seconds, Harry said, “Hagrid. It’s time we get going.”

“Bye bye, Norbert! I’ll be sure ta visit ya! I’d ask ye to write, but dragons don’t do that,” Hagrid said as he saw Norbert the baby dragon for the last time. If he saw him again, it would be as full grown dragon.

Hermione had to shake her head at it all. She could understand Hagrid's reaction, but he was getting too carried away with this in her opinion. She didn’t have long to dwell on this though. “Let’s get going,” Hermione said to both Harry and Tonks as they nodded.

Tonks gave the crate the feather light charm while Harry threw the invisibility cloak over it in a manner both he and Hermione could best fit as well. Tonks quickly disillusioned herself. It was an interesting process to watch as her body seemed to slowly disappear. As the two first years positioned themselves, Harry found it astonishing how light the crate was. He knew how the charm worked but it was still amazing to him. One of them could easily lift the crate on their own, but it would be too awkward and unwieldy for sneaking around the castle unnoticed without help.

The group carefully made their way through the castle. Tonks took the lead with Harry and Hermione close behind her. They had pretty good luck so far. It was late enough the halls were mostly deserted, but early enough there weren’t prefect patrols out already. They had one problem on their quest. Peeves.

They were carefully walking down a corridor when the poltergeist burst through a wall. He was grinning mischievously to himself, but paused suddenly and looked around in a surprisingly serious mood. He looked around the corridor a couple of times and narrowed his eyes. “Who’s there?! I can’t see you, but I can sense you,” Peeves said in his high-pitched voice.

Harry wasn’t sure what to do here. He thought about trying to imitate the Bloody Baron, who was one of the very few that could control Peeves. Before he could do that and probably fail, Tonks showed just why it was an even better idea to seek her help. There was a sudden racket coming from a different part of the castle it seemed. Peeves grinned mischievously once again. “That sounds more fun!” he cackled before zooming off to investigate the mischief.

“Not sure how long my distraction will last. Let’s get moving,” Tonks whispered to them from Harry’s side.

After that encounter, the remaining part of the quest was uneventful. They got to the tower where Charlie would meet them and the three relaxed. Almost immediately after they settled down, there was the sound of a chomp and a puff of smoke came from the crate. “Teddy lasted longer than I thought. You fought well my friend. May the rest of the stuffed animal nation be encouraged by your sacrifice,” Tonks said jokingly as Harry and Hermione laughed.

[-] [-] [-]

The group waited while keeping conversation to a minimum. Norbert seemed to decide it was nap time and was again resting, which was probably for the best. Just when Harry and Hermione were getting worried something happened, despite Tonks assuring them Charlie was never late nor early, a group of men flew into view under the night sky and headed towards.

“Pinks! Good to see you again,” Charlie greeted Tonks with a smile. As was usually the case with his family, he was easy to pick out, flaming red hair and all.

Tonks gave a chuckle and said, “And you, Dragon Boy.”

“So, these are some of your charges?” Charlie asked.

“Yep. Hermione Granger and Harry Potter,” she said in reply. Harry and Hermione both gave his hand a shake in greeting when he offered it to them.

Charlie turned to Tonks and smiled to her. “I always knew you’d be a good RA,” he said. Tonks seemed to glow to that. The red headed young man then turned to Harry and Hermione as he said, “You might not believe it, but she was so very worried she’d be a terrible RA. I told her she’d probably be the best. And then one of the best Aurors as well.”

“And I always said you’d be one of the best Dragon Handlers with how much you always went on about them,” Tonks said with a smirk.

Charlie’s friends laughed to that. “I’m not sure about the being the best… Yet… He definitely is one of the craziest in all the right ways though,” one of them said as the others went into a new round of laughs including Charlie himself.

After their small talk, the dragon handlers showed the harness they made for Norbert and soon they were under way. “Good Bye, Dragon Boy!” Tonks called one last time. She was smiling and there were some light tears in her eyes that she soon wiped away. She wasn’t about to let anyone see her cry over an ex, especially one she ended on good terms with.

“See you around, Pinks!” Charlie called back with a wide grin and a wink as they took off into the night with Norbert in tow.

Hermione had to suppress a very girly “Awwww! They really care for each other!” she wanted to let out at their interactions. It really was very romantic to her. She already planned to give Hannah full details tomorrow. Hermione hoped she could have such a romantic life when she was older.

Harry was just relieved they took care of the dragon situation. He still didn’t let his guard down until after they were back in their dorm. He was impressed, but probably shouldn’t have been given her career choice, Tonks also didn’t let her guard down until they got back. People usually let their guard down once they felt the danger was over for the most part. That was when things were at their most fragile though, but only if you acted that way as well.

Hermione followed Harry’s lead in keeping aware and alert as they once again disappeared under the cloak. This time it was both more comfortable and less so to be under the cloak. More comfortable since they had room and didn’t need to worry about errant baby dragon sneezes. It was also more troublesome, because she couldn’t keep herself from noticing how close she had to be with Harry under the cloak. She had a feeling her dreams would be lovingly torturous tonight. Being under an invisibility cloak with a boy had so many possibilities.

Unsurprisingly, the journey back was very uneventful. Harry, Hermione and Tonks were relieved by this. “Glad that’s over…” Tonks started as her hair lengthened and turned to a slightly lighter shade of brown. “No offense, Harry. But I really hope you and the others don’t have any more dragon smuggling plans for the year.”

Hermione chuckled to that. Harry sighed. “I’ll try my best,” Harry said good naturedly. “I didn’t really want even one dragon smuggling operation during my whole time at Hogwarts. It just happened,” he said.

“Well. At least, your second semester at Hogwarts isn’t boring. You’d be surprised how boring Hogwarts is after you first get over the novelty of magic school,” Tonks said.

“If you say so,” Harry said. He doubted he would ever find Hogwarts boring.

“I do say so,” Tonks said as she gave a stretch and a mighty yawn. “I’m off to bed. See you two tomorrow.”

“Good Night Tonks. And thanks again. You really are a great RA,” Harry said to her.

“I agree with Charlie. You’re the best,” Hermione said with a smile.

Tonks grinned brightly as she said, “I know I am. Night!” Tonks then went to her room.

Harry and Hermione were up for just a little longer as they sat together on a couch. They talked about things that weren’t involving plans of dragon smuggling as they waited to calm down after the night. That night they again tried sleeping with their bed curtains open, which was an almost regular occurrence with them by this point. They briefly toyed with finally suggesting the idea of pushing their beds closer together, though neither of them shared that idea with the other. It might have been the right moment to try that, but they were far to sleepy once the thrill from dragon smuggling and sneaking around the castle wore off.

[-] [-] [-]

In the end, their dragon business had one last surprise for them all. Charlie sent them a letter a few days later saying Norberta was safe and sound.

It turned out Hagrid’s dragon was actual a female. Charlie assured Hagrid if he ever wanted to visit, he would get the best VIP treatment possible. The dragon preserves were always excited and very thankful to find more females.

Chapter 13: The Knights’ Reach is Far

Notes:

This Chapter and the next are being released back to back. I wanted to keep them in the same chapter, but it got too big. I had really been stubborn in wanting to limit the number of chapters before ending first year for some reason. I just couldn’t in the end. This chapter would have been 11k to 12k words alone. I figured that was too much for people in one chunk.

“You’re sure about this?” a girl’s voice asked another girl as they met in an abandoned classroom. The two were often seen together and even consider themselves friends, but some discussions had to be carefully shared privately.

“Yes. I am. You’ve felt his power. You know what they’re like,” the other replied.

“I know… It’s just… He hangs around that muggleborn… He was raised by muggles too,” the first girl said unsurely. The circumstance meant she would have to be very careful here, given her family’s status and certain beliefs of those around them.

“A true Slytherin doesn’t fully discount muggleborns. Why limit yourself that much? You don’t have to think they’re the greatest thing in the world or what not, but discounting them is stupid. Especially considering how smart Hermione is. Most of Slytherin at least leaves her alone and keeps away. Besides, very few, if any, don’t have muggle blood or muggleborn blood in them now. Even your family, if you go far enough back, married muggleborns,” the second girl said.

She gave a scoff. “For all his bluster, Draco’s family were huge proponents against the Statute of Secrecy. They loved intermingling with muggles. Anyone who knows their actual history, instead of just the Malfoy family recent beliefs, is aware of this.”

“I’m just nervous. Okay? I’m worried. It is Harry Potter. The-Boy-Who-Lived. The one who defeated the Dark Lord. The Champion of the Light. His views aren’t easy to figure out with a couple of exceptions. Everyone was sure he would go to Gryffindor and that group always does what they can to show they’re the light side and the so-called good guys. That doesn’t exactly make things easy for me,” the first girl said.

“And yet… he went to Hufflepuff. Even Draco is on relatively decent terms with him. I suppose I can still understand your concerns. If you want to back out now you can, but I’m not… You know why,” the second girl said.

“I’m in this with you. You know why I find our decision a bit difficult. My family never really got fully on board with that lot. We kept purposefully in the middle, even if we privately alluded to being on their side. We don’t act foolishly… I worry what could happen if I’m found out in the wrong circumstances here. It doesn’t matter if they leave Hermione alone. If I seem too friendly with her, it will still reflect badly on me,” the first girl said.

“Considering who raised Harry and what they’re like… I’m pretty sure you’ll be okay. They know how to keep things under wraps and use caution. They can work from the shadows when needed. It’s only been a few years and already their reach is much further than one would think,” the second said.

She then held a thoughtful look and said, “Harry may not even realize how far it goes yet, and he's seen as pretty high up in the group despite his age. That’s before even count our world. There aren’t many aligned with the Knights yet, but there are some who are with him, even if informally for the moment. You can still approach Harry at the very least considering he’s on decent terms with enough of our house.”

“Let’s just do this, okay... When will we approach him?” the first girl asked. She knew her friend was speaking the truth, but she was still wary of it all. This was not something to take lightly.

“After the next DADA class,” was the answer given as the two finished their discussion and went back to their dorm.

[-] [-] [-]

Both girls were a bit nervous with what they were doing. Some in the Snake Pit wouldn’t appreciate what they were planning. It didn’t matter both girls in their own ways knew where things were ultimately going. It was still going to be tough if they were found out at an inopportune moment.

The family of the second girl had received a very rare gift and that was how she knew where things were most likely going. They were given one of the clearest prophecies ever delivered. It told them:

The Knight will rise from the Muggle Streets. The Badgers will rise with him to show their true worth. It begins when the boy who defeated the Unnamed One dons Yellow and Black instead of Red and Gold.

The Green and Silver Eagle, wielding Wand and Sword, will not survive should they oppose the Knight from the Streets. The Eagle will instead rise further than ever before… should it join him.

The Knight will rise from the Muggle Streets. The Badger will rise with him. The Eagle will choose its fate. The Unnamed One will rise anew, but experience a final lasting death equal to seven.

To the second girl’s family, it was clear where their fate lay. Their family’s symbol was an eagle wielding a wand and sword. She was in the house of silver and green, Slytherin. They were sure Harry was the Knight, especially considering what they knew of him and his background. The fact he went to Hufflepuff instead of Gryffindor fulfilled that last descriptor.

Her family agreed their fate was tied to his. They were taking a risk, because the prophecy stated they would only fall if they opposed him. They could stay out of whatever would come entirely and be just fine. However, Slytherins were ambitious. Rising further than ever before really spoke to them. It promised untold opportunity never seen since ancient times, when their family’s exceptional craft was highly valued. They had still managed fairly well for themselves, but this seemed too good an opportunity to pass up.

The Unnamed One was clearly Voldemort. It was obvious he would return to anyone with half a brain. The prophecy she figured made clear Harry would again defeat him… so long as he didn’t die first. After all, you could bypass a prophecy by removing one of the components of it. Prophecies were not the law, but they could be a rather strong guideline.

The only part her family had little understanding about was the last line. The part about Voldemort supposedly experiencing death equal to seven. Seven was a magically significant number. It was the most powerful number. Perhaps it meant Voldemort’s death would be that magical and that powerful to their world. They weren’t sure what it meant. The girl would keep it in mind though. The final part of the prophecy might not make sense until later. Prophecies were like that at times.

The first girl to speak, who was more nervous about their plan, also knew where things were most likely going, but it was complicated and much less clear in her mind. She had felt Harry’s magic and its power. Her own magic was saying he was the key to her future, but she didn’t know in what way. Perhaps following him would lead her to the future. Perhaps keeping an eye on him would do it. Maybe he would have to die for her future to come about and she had to be close to him for it to matter in her life. She didn’t think it was that last possibility, but she had few clues so far.

She knew he was important for her future and that was why she agreed to this, even if it was nerve wracking for her. Up to this point, things had been easy. They kept their distance and observed Harry. They hadn’t interacted with him anymore than the next Slytherin.

Now, they were going to approach him and more clearly align themselves with him, even if she still left it mostly ambiguous. Her magic told her this was the point of no return. She just wished it would tell her more about how things will play out and put her mind at ease. Her family knew better than most how to listen to magic, but it was never clear cut or easy. She also wasn’t as skilled in such matters compared to her parents and older family members, but they couldn’t help much here. The way she knew how to listen to magic was more personal apart from being able to sense other’s magic. It was difficult to have others help you when that was the case.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry and Hannah were sitting alone in the living room of their dorm. It was rare for just the two of them to be there like this. Hannah had been alone with Susan plenty just as Harry had been alone with Hermione plenty. The four of them also spent a lot of time all together, but this was a rare occurrence. However, Harry took this as a chance to talk to Hannah as just Hannah, so to speak, and not Hannah and Susan.

“So, Hannah,” he started.

Hannah blushed at realizing they were actually alone together. That slight tug she sometimes felt around him was a bit stronger than usual like this. “Yes, Harry?” she asked trying her best to sound her usual self.

“After a semester and a half, what do you think of Hogwarts? Is it everything you thought it would be? I’ve never really thought much on what Hogwarts is to magicals who grew up in the Wizarding world,” Harry said.

Hannah relaxed, even though she hadn’t looked tense. This question was something she felt easy talking about, even when alone with a boy like Harry. “It has been amazing and interesting. I’ve heard so many stories about it from family members and it got really annoying at times because they never told me about the sorting. It was always, ‘You’ll see. Wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise,’ and stuff like that,” she said with a mock adult voice.

Harry gave a chuckle. “You can do the same to any children you have when you’re older. Maybe even any younger cousins you have now,” he said.

Hannah gave a giggle. “Oh, I intend to. I actually have a couple of younger cousins who won’t be attending until close to when I graduate. I might just pull a leaf out of the Twins’ book and do like they did with Ron. I can’t believe he actually seemed to have bought the whole wrestle a troll in your small clothes idea,” she said giggling again. Many had overheard Ron’s little comment about that while they waited to be sorted.

Harry nodded to that and laughed. “I don’t either. Then again I guess you just want to believe your older siblings. It isn’t exactly the same, but I know a lot of the younger boys in the Rust District look up to me and Burns,” he said.

“My younger cousins are the same way with me. It isn’t wrong I want to tease them a little though. Is it?” Hannah asked. It was something she sometimes wondered about, especially when her mom told her to be a good example for them. That wasn’t a lot of fun though. She wasn’t the type to always be super serious all of the time. That was more Susan and she still knew how to have fun.

Harry shrugged in response. “I don’t know them, so I can’t really say. I don’t think it’s too bad every now and then. I’d say just don’t make it a habit and don’t be too mean. I’m far from an expert though,” he said.

Hannah gave an exaggerated gasp. “The Boy Who Lived isn’t an instant expert at everything?” she asked him teasingly.

Harry shook his head and rolled his eyes. Hannah giggled again.

“I think you have a good guess here at least. I do like to be the fun cousin, but I'm careful to make sure I know when to be serious. I can’t stand seeing them upset,” Hannah said with a sad look at that last thought.

“Sounds like you’ve got the right idea then,” Harry said with a supportive smile. Hannah quickly smiled again.

“What’s it like for you?” Hannah asked.

“Hogwarts is amazing! It's like stepping into a different world completely. Especially after the troll on Halloween, even if we went straight to the common room. There’s also Norbert. Magic, Trolls, and Dragons were things only seen in books, movies and tv shows before I came here. It still feels very different, even after having a semester and a half under my belt,” Harry said.

“Do you worry about the others back home?” Hannah asked.

“I do, but this is part of who I am and I know Boss and the others will keep everyone safe. I also don’t really have too much of a choice,” he said. There were reasons wizard and witch children learned about magic. Harry shot her an easy grin as he added, “Even if I probably would have still said yes to learning magic.”

Hannah giggled to that and smiled brighter.

“I’m glad to be in a house that holds the same values I do in high regard. That has probably helped a lot in making me feel more at home here,” Harry said.

“Hufflepuff has done the same for me. I’m not sure what it would be like if I was in another house. I really like the whole RA thing, even if Tonks has to worry about NEWTs and not just us,” Hannah said.

She then sighed a little. “It does at times feel a little too normal for me now. A little bit of a letdown in that regard I guess. Maybe I put too much stock in the romanticized tales my parents and other family members shared about their time here,” Hannah admitted.

Harry looked to her with a raised eyebrow. “Are you saying raising and helping smuggle an illegal dragon out of Hogwarts is boring?” Harry asked her.

Hannah laughed to that. “That was a bit exciting, but it was you, Tonks and Hermione who did the actual smuggling. I just helped raise it,” she said with a small smile.

Harry nodded to that. “Fair point. I’ll make sure to bring you along next time I do something like that. Be warned… You brought this upon yourself. Keep that in mind when the time comes,” Harry said giving her a smirk.

Hannah blushed and giggled. “Got it,” she easily answered. She then looked from side to side as she leaned in and stage whispered to Harry. “When’s your next big adventure then? Are we going to train trolls to dance? You know like Barnabas the Barmy in that tapestry? Will we smuggle two dragons at once? Maybe train trolls to do synchronized flying while riding on dragons?” she asked with a big smile.

Harry laughed. “Those are some big goals. Maybe we should take baby steps?” he asked. He then put on a mock thinking face. “I think we should first start with getting the enchanted ceiling to put on a planetarium show. We can get it to show everyone a Supernova! Then we can train three dragons to do tricks on command and finally the dancing trolls,” Harry said.

He then gave an excited look. “How about dancing trolls on top of trained dragons?” he asked.

Hannah was in disbelief before she started to laugh. “And you said I had big goals,” she said shaking her head. She then looked to him and asked, “What is a Supernova exactly?”

“That’s a bit surprising… I thought Astronomy was close to being at about the same level of study, if not further along than the muggle side,” Harry mused.

Hannah gave him a look telling him to answer the question already. She didn't want to get lost in his musings and make her wait for a proper answer.

“It’s what muggles call it when stars explode. Supernovas are really huge and seemingly rare. In the past, they have been seen here on Earth, even without a telescope. We know this due to written records from the past. Outer Space is actually interesting and hard to grasp at times. Sorry about my distracted comment. I don’t know what all the wizarding world knows about stars and such yet,” Harry said.

Hannah nodded to show she didn't take offense and he needn't worry. “We usually just know about their alignment and how they can affect ritual magic. Then there is Divination, which is about reading the stars and finding out about the future… usually in a very roundabout and vague manner. Even people who thoroughly believe in Divination, find that aspect hard to have faith in,” she explained to him.

“That is interesting. Muggles have different uses for the stars, but similar, I guess in that they learned alignments and such. In the past, sailors used to navigate by the stars on clear nights. We usually study them more out of curiosity and such now for the most part. One thing that is really hard to think about is how it’s possible most of the stars we see at night, no longer exist,” Harry said.

“How?!” Hannah asked in awe.

“Muggles have a concept known as light speed. It is the speed at which light travels. Essentially how long it takes for you to perceive light with your eyes from where it originates,” Harry said.

“Isn’t that instant though?” Hannah asked in confusion.

“Not exactly. When it comes to most of the light you see, whether from candle or wand tip, the calculation is so small it seems that way. We are talking about such a small part of a second that it wouldn’t be worth calculating. When it comes to the stars and Outer Space, it is very different. Space is so vast, distance is measured in light years, meaning how far light travels in the span of a year. The closest star, besides the sun, is measured to be a little over four light years away. That means when it comes to that star, we are seeing the light it put out about four years ago,” Harry said.

“Wow… That’s amazing… I see what you mean then. That also means most of the stars are much further away,” Hannah said in awe.

“Yep. Some of them are hundreds of light years away and many are more. That means, theoretically it is possible most of the night sky we see isn’t even there anymore,” Harry said.

“Wow… I guess in their own way muggles are amazing,” Hannah said thinking on what Harry just told her.

“Wizards have magic to explain the world around them. Muggles have Science. Both have things they are right about, and things they are wrong about,” Harry said.

“That is interesting. And from what I know of it, shows Muggle Studies here is very wrong,” Hannah said with a thoughtful frown.

Harry smiled to her. “Just like how there are things regarding magic muggles are very wrong about,” he said.

He wanted to make sure she realized it went both ways and he wasn’t harshly judging magic society. Wizards didn’t really make a habit of studying muggles because their worlds were so very separated. This was understandable, even if he disagreed with how most of the magic world far too easily dismissed muggles, and in many cases muggleborns as well.

Hannah and Harry continued to discuss other things while they were alone. Hannah found herself enjoying this alone time with Harry more than she thought she would. She saw him as a friend and would enjoy it, she knew that, but she did more than she thought. She hoped maybe she would get more time like this with him in the future. She would try to find some time like this with Hermione as well. She knew them fairly well, but it would good to know them even better.

Hermione was different though. She was usually reading a book or studying when she wasn’t with the rest of them. Hannah found her a little difficult and intimidating to dare approach when she got like that. Hermione did do plenty with them all as a group and probably with Harry when they were alone, but she didn’t really talk much alone with Hannah or Susan by comparison. Maybe that would slowly change during their years at Hogwarts together.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry had long since come to see DADA as essentially a magic study hall. Hermione even found it difficult to keep on being the good little student in this class. Professor Quirrell didn’t even bother to call out students doing something completely different from his lessons, so long as they weren’t yelling to each other the whole time. He didn’t even get on Lavender’s case for bringing Teen Witch Weekly and Young Witch magazines to class. She usually shared them with Parvati and a few other girls from the different houses. Harry was proud he at least used the extra time for something productive like other studies.

When the class ended for the day, Harry told the others to go on without him. He was in the middle of something when class was dismissed and needed extra time to get it all packed up. As he left the class, he quickly noticed two people were following him. They had waited for him in what they thought was out of sight, but he wasn’t one of the best Lookouts in the Street Knights for nothing.

After noticing them, he kept walking instead of immediately turning around to confront them. He made sure to take a bit of detour after class this time. He wanted some extra time to think on what he was free studying, or so he wanted his tails to think. He kept looking forward, but mentally rolled his eyes at how obvious they seemed to him. He was wondering if they were being this bad on purpose as a way to show they meant no harm, or if it was completely his own skills letting him clock them so easily.

Harry entered into an empty classroom and turned around to face the door. Two girls from Slytherin entered behind him and thought they did so quietly. After quietly locking the door, they blushed when they turned around and saw an amused Harry Potter watching them. He looked relaxed with his arms folded as he leaned on the desk, but he was ready just in case.

“I’m surprised two Slytherins were following me after class. I’m even more surprised it was you two. What is it you want? Tracey? Pansy?” he asked.

The two were a bit surprised he seemed to have had them figured from the start. They hadn’t even noticed it in his behavior. To them, he seemed completely unaware he was being followed, even after he entered the unused classroom.

“Well... You definitely are different, even for a muggle raised,” Tracey started as Pansy seemed to stick close to her. She seemed ready in case she needed to act and that got her bonus points in Harry’s Books. Slytherin wasn’t on bad terms with him, but they never really came to him alone in such a place and she was clearly sticking by her friend just in case.

Harry shrugged. “I haven’t exactly had the usual upbringing.”

The two girls looked to each other and seemed to steel their nerves. Harry found it odd they seemed so nervous, even for being wary of the person in front of them. He wasn’t really trying to intimidate them or anything.

“That’s what we’re here for…” Pansy started.

“We’ve actually met before Harry,” Tracey started.

“I’m guessing you mean outside of Hogwarts?” Harry asked as they nodded. He took on a thoughtful look and soon seemed to blink as he recognized something. “Huh…” he started as he remembered something from before he started Hogwarts. He wouldn’t recognized it back then, but now he knew a little more due to what he and Hermione had been studying together.

“Yeah. We were the two girls you and that other guy helped that day,” Pansy said as if answering his unasked question.

“You two look very different. You two didn’t even seem the same age with each other at that time,” Harry said.

“My house elf gave us powerful glamors, so no one would recognize us. We sort of sneaked out to go and visit the muggle world due to curiosity,” Tracey said.

“Not very usual for Slytherins,” Harry commented as he relaxed a little, though the girls didn’t notice a difference. He had seemed cool, calm, and relaxed from the start to them.

“We aren’t usual Slytherins, despite how we may act,” Pansy said.

“We also weren’t wholly truthful then either,” Tracey said.

Harry had a slightly intrigued look as he said, “Now that I think about it again. You two did only say you were from around the area. You weren’t specific.”

“We couldn’t be. Statute of Secrecy and all,” Pansy stated.

“So then, what is it you two want?” Harry asked as he motioned for them to relax a little. The two girls followed his lead and were more relieved than they thought they would be.

“We wanted to thank you properly,” Pansy said carefully as she looked to Tracey. She wasn’t sure how much they would say this time.

Tracey sighed. “I’ll just get on with it,” she said steeling herself again. “My father was the one who gave your boss his sword.”

Harry couldn’t hide his surprise at that.

“We’ve always specialized in enchanting items, muggle or otherwise, even if most things like that are illegal now. You also saved us that day. My dad keeps tabs on the muggle world unlike most wizards and witches, especially after the time he was helped by Jett. He told me to keep an eye out for you once you came to Hogwarts. He wanted me to approach you, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, such as you being Gryffindor or something. He wanted me to say we remember what the Knights have done for us and consider ourselves friends or allies… and such. This is a bit awkward,” she said with a frown in thought.

“Not really a conversation that couldn’t be,” Harry said in a friendly manner causing her to smile a little. “That explains you. What about you though, Pansy?” he asked looking to her. “I get the feeling it is more than just a proper thanks with you as well.”

Pansy sighed. “It is hard to fully explain. I also don’t get everything about it either… Do you know about magic calling to you?” she asked carefully. She wasn’t very hopeful this would make sense to Harry. It was not a concept explored much by most even in their world.

She was surprised, as was Tracey, when Harry nodded. “I do. I kind of sense something when it comes to Hermione. She has unintentionally hinted at something similar in her case as well,” he said. He was going to be careful with details here. He would also mention to Hermione later it wasn’t just them that felt this magic calling, even if it may not be the same as Pansy’s experience.

“That’s unexpected. Makes things a bit easier,” Pansy started. She took in a deep breath and let it out. “My family is gifted in listening to magic like that. It isn’t easy or very clear, but we are aware of it. My magic has sort of called to you. I don’t know what all it means. Just that something important is there for me. It is still odd to explain. I first felt it back during that first meeting…” she said.

“I feel I owe you a bit of an apology, Pansy. I sort of in an unfair way wrote you off. It was partly because of how you act around Draco. No offense was meant, but I’m sorry for that,” Harry said.

Tracey actually giggled as she looked to Pansy and said, “It is understandable given how she acts publicly.”

Pansy frowned to her and tossed her hair back. “Yeah well… I am betrothed to him,” she said.

“Betrothed?” Harry asked in question.

“Not fully. Our families have a marriage contract between Draco and I. It is kind of an old practice. They left it openish, but I still have to give it a solid try. For better or worse, Draco doesn’t exactly have to do the same in return,” Pansy said.

Tracey teased her as she said, “It doesn’t hurt that he is kind of handsome though.”

Pansy blushed to that but remained silent.

“Not that I have a problem with girls chatting about such things, but what all does this mean exactly?” Harry asked. “This meeting,” he clarified.

“It means. You have allies in Slytherin who aren’t just on decent or respectable terms with you. We don’t know what all you plan for your time in the magical world, but we both agree with the whole Street Knights thing,” Tracey said.

“You also are a very powerful figure in our world… Even if you don’t fully understand it yet. We are Slytherins. Since you aren’t a Gryffindor, who automatically hate us, we want to be on better terms… For now, at least,” Pansy said.

“What does this have to do with me not being in Gryffindor?” Harry asked. He had a feeling, but wanted their answer.

“You aren’t as foolish as they are. You are a Knight and a Hufflepuff. The whole loyalty to those who deserve it thing,” Tracey said while leaving out the matter regarding the prophecy. That was a discussion for a later time.

Harry nodded. “I guess I get it. I’m not about to try and stab you two in the back like might be possible if I was in Slytherin. I’m also not naïve, given my background. Gryffindors do seem rather gun-ho about the whole light and dark thing. I know life isn’t that simple,” he said.

The two girls nodded in agreement with his answer.

“But. Like you said. Loyalty to those who deserve it. I am not about to give it out easily, and I am careful even after giving it. I don’t know you two very well yet, but I won’t say no to getting to know you and others better. We will have to see about the loyalty thing later. I’m not sure what to expect, but I can see the benefits to having allies in Slytherin, if not friends,” Harry said.

He stood up and offered a hand to the two girls. “Let us agree to give each other a chance. Just make sure we slowly become acquainted in front of the others. I’m sure you two know the things I will not appreciate by this point. Despite how some have acted, I’m aware neither of you two have ever openly held something too much against Hermione or my other friends in Hufflepuff,” he said.

“Things will be difficult there for me… Given my connection to Draco and my family’s status, but I will behave at least. He is partly changing as well. Hopefully it sticks and he doesn’t keep too much with his father’s beliefs. That would be best for this arrangement,” Pansy said as she shook Harry’s hand.

She kept her self under control as her magic buzzed around her and she knew this truly was a point of no return. It also told her she was making the right choice. Harry may not know what he plans to do with the wizarding world yet, but he was going to change things she could tell. Being on his side was the best course of action, even if it would be difficult at times.

“We are Slytherins. And unlike some others… We know how to be careful and subtle around people. I only hope I prove to be deserving of loyalty to you and have it in return,” Tracey said as she took Harry’s hand in turn. She felt right doing this. She felt even better about this decision.

“Well then. I guess I will see you two around,” Harry said as they all carefully exited the unused classroom separately. The two Slytherin girls would show they were forming some kind of relationship with Harry in front of others, but they did not need rumors about leaving an unused classroom with him making the rounds. The fact they were both pretty and from families with certain status, while one was betrothed on top of that, wouldn’t help matters in that regard.

[-] [-] [-]

Tracey was happy with how this first meeting turned out. She felt this was the start of something great for them all. She knew her dad would be proud about her taking this first step. Other steps would come, but this was the most important for now.

Pansy hoped things would work out well for them. She hoped magic would start speaking to her more clearly about how to proceed here. She also really hoped the slight changes she was seeing in Draco were a good sign. She didn't want to have to part from him due to his following in his father’s steps.

Her family didn’t really like the whole blood purity thing, but they did want to keep traditions strong. Sadly, the ones who seemed most concerned about that were in the pure blood camp as well. It didn’t matter if it was more often than not an excuse those people hid behind. It was an excuse the group really played up to in their actions and the policy changes they pushed for. That was why her family stayed close to them, even if they didn’t fully follow their ideology. There weren’t really other options.

Wizarding politics was divided into three camps. The Light side and the Dark side were the most proponent. The third was the Neutral Camp. The Dark Side was about many things including tradition. The Light Side didn’t care so much about keeping the past alive. They mostly acted like all they cared about was change. The Neutral Camp was mostly a group who, more often than not, abstained from voting or took a ‘wait and see’ approach. They were ineffectual or used as a safety net while members voted all over the place. Pansy could sense Harry would eventually really shake things up. After making her choice in taking his hand, her magic again teased her with vague whispered hints of something powerful forming around Harry. Something she was a part of now.

“ Please Draco… Don’t let me down here, ” Pansy thought to herself as she made her way back with Tracey. She really did want things to work out with him.

Her magic was saying there was a chance things would. Pansy tried to help that chance without overplaying her hand. She knew doing so would be a bad idea. Push too hard and Draco would choose his father’s side out of stubbornness and defensive sense. Push just enough and allow the right amount of his own choice, and Draco could really change the Malfoy family. Harry seemed to realize something similar to that, if what she saw between him and Draco was anything to go by.

She really hoped things played out the best way for her. She hated how it seemed for now Harry had to be the one who could make it happen or not. She hoped her time to help with Draco’s change would come. Tracey teased Pansy about being okay with the betrothal due to his looks and that was part of it. She also felt through magic he could end up being the best for her own future as a wife and mother. There was also the fact she enjoyed her time with Draco when he wasn't being too much The Prince of Slytherin House.

Harry wondered what would become of this new development in his life. He had no idea he would meet anyone at all related to the Street Knights in the Magical World, apart from those he introduced to them. He also wasn’t fully clear what to make of them mentioning he was powerful in their world. He had ideas, but felt it would take that visit to Gringotts over the summer to really understand.

As Harry lay in bed that night, he thought over the meeting again. “ I guess I should start thinking about what I want to do in Magical World some. Boss might have known this was coming in some way, given a few of the things he said to me before starting Hogwarts, ” Harry thought. Whatever was the case, he still had time before he could start acting on all of that, so Harry finally drifted off to sleep that night.

Chapter 14: Rounding out the Year

As the second half of the school year continued to march onward, Hannah found herself looking up at the enchanted ceiling during dinner in contemplation from time to time. More specifically, she was contemplating the stars it reflected. That conversation with Harry had really gotten her thinking.

She told him ritual magic was a huge part of why they studied the stars and their movements. She hadn’t told him how ritual magic was far less prevalent than it used to be and many felt Astronomy was only still studied out of routine. Many felt the only importance left was studying the moon and its phases. Ritual magic was powerful, but much of it was lost now or in ways simplified, even if that meant it was less powerful.

There were other rituals seen as useless now and no longer had any effect when it came to magic. You could practice one of these rituals but it would no longer work, even if the main stars were still around to be used. This lessening of magical effect was noticed by their world at large, but the reason behind it, or if it mattered at all, was heavily debated.

Most thought the lessening of magical power was just the natural order of things. Others felt it was because spells had been refined and wand making advanced enough, power wasn’t as needed as it used to be. There was also how some of the more powerful feats of magic of old served little purpose. For instance, why would you need to levitate a whole building?

Some thought this lessening happened because magic became too diluted over the ages. Those people usually believed it was due to the loss of blood purity. Some went even further and blamed it on muggleborns and claimed there was a finite amount to magic overall and muggleborns were essentially stealing it from true magicals. They weren’t too vocal about this in polite society, but even Hannah knew some of the gossip in those camps. She, like many others, felt they were only muttering such beliefs now because You-Know-Who lost in the end.

Now, Hannah thought there might be more to the loss of ritual magic strength. Harry mentioning how stars were hundreds and thousands of these light years away and may no longer exist despite being visible, really got her thinking. She was wondering if there were stars required for some of these rituals that no longer existed and weren’t even visible now. Perhaps, these stars were just not seen as important to be mentioned at the time of a ritual's first use, but actually were unknowingly vital to its success.

This theory she had of overlooked stars caused Hannah to wonder if there was even more to magic that was overlooked. Maybe more ancient magics thought to be lost, or no longer effective had factors people didn’t know existed in the past. “ Maybe there is still very much more to magic that we don’t know. Maybe there was much more to everything ,” Hannah thought to herself.

Hannah sighed as she ended her musings. She had a feeling she now knew more of what Harry meant about Space being hard to grasp. It was very much unknown and thinking on it was fascinating, but left you questioning even more in general. Hannah was glad for their discussion though. She now had some different goals on what she wanted to accomplish later in her life. She wanted to look more at overlooked aspects of magic. She wasn’t sure what to think about having such a goal already. She wasn’t even finished with her first year.

“ Is it a good thing? Or a bad thing to decide such things when I’m barely twelve? ” she thought to herself. Hermione would probably say it was a good thing. Others would probably say she was thinking too much about the future and needed to lighten up. Susan could go either way, but would say it was up to her alone. That answer was true, but not helpful. Hannah would have to ask Harry what he thought on the matter some other time.

[-] [-] [-]

“So… I have to ask,” started Hermione. She was a bit nervous for this. It was unusual for her to actually have time like this with these two people. It had been slowly happening more often as of yet. Hermione also wasn’t entirely sure this wasn’t something calculated.

“What is Potions class like for you two and your house?” Hermione asked.

“It is very important. It is kind of an unspoken rule Slytherins make sure they do really well in Potions. Professor Snape is our Head of House and it would be seen as an insult to everyone else if a Slytherin did terrible in Potions, compared to how they do in other classes,” Pansy said.

She and Tracey were visiting with Harry and the others. They made sure it was in a way that wouldn’t get too much unwarranted attention. Pansy was being very careful about it. She sort of took on a lecture tone when talking with them, if not slightly condescending when others were around. In truth, she was happy for this. Her family did believe part of the answer to preserving traditions was sharing them with muggleborns. Unfortunately, the only people who would push anything dealing with traditions saw it was purely up to muggleborns to figure this out on their own and right away. Actively helping them was seen as a big no-no.

It was rather intriguing how little the Light Alliance put into action when it came to helping muggleborns in such regards. They more often than not merely talked about how welcoming wizarding society should be to muggleborns. When it came to action, they left muggleborns to do their own thing for the most part. The Light side might act this way because they feel any efforts they put forth would be met with too much push back. This was very likely true, but Pansy felt that wasn’t a reason not to try a little. She also felt if they weren’t so opposed to all that was “Light and Dark” stuff, inroads could have been made and the push back lessened.

“That means when it comes to Crabbe and Goyle, passing is all they have to achieve,” Tracey said with a giggle. Everyone knew those two were just muscle pretty much. They knew some magic, but were far from bright. Tracey was taking less caution when it came to interacting with Hermione and the others. Pansy was envious in a way that her friend didn’t have to use as much caution.

“What about how he treats Gryffindor?” Susan asked.

“That’s easier to answer than they would say. They don’t really try hard in the class. They feel Professor Snape’s preference for his house extends to grading as well. They always complain about how unfair he is and how Dumbledore always vouched for him and that made it so he didn’t even get in trouble for his treatment of them,” Tracey said.

“They fail to realize even if Professor Dumbledore vouched for Professor Snape back after the war, he still has to uphold some standards when it comes to grading at the very least,” Pansy said with a huff.

“Most seem to come to realize this during second or third year, from what I know,” Tracey added.

“That is something we sort of figured out, but still wanted to actually know,” Harry said.

“I suppose that is true. Though Professor Snape is far from invoking kindness, he has been fair to me. I’m supposedly the worst thing ever according to some Slytherins and he still grades fairly enough,” Hermione said with a frown. Things were getting better in that regard with the Slytherins, at least when it came to the ones who talked to Harry from time to time. Others still made it obvious they wished she never returned after Christmas.

“You would think it was more obvious to others. Professor Snape has been here for several years now, and Aurors require a NEWT in Potions. You don’t have just Slytherins running around as Aurors. In fact, I think there are fewer of them than the other houses,” Susan said in musing.

“How many actually care about the whole blood purity thing?” Hannah asked.

Harry also seemed very keen on hearing their answer. He was waiting till later to ask such a question, but he wanted to know what they said. He just figured it would be best to ask something like that in a much more private setting.

Tracey and Pansy gave frowns to each other. Tracey sighed. “Not as many as you would think apart from when it comes to marriage and continuing their lines. Sadly, the ones who are more vocal about such things are powerful politically and financially,” she answered in a low tone.

“What are your thoughts on such things?” Hermione asked pointedly at Pansy.

“Hermione…” Harry warned her quietly. There was nothing wrong with asking questions in general, but Hermione just made it much more personal.

“I have to know…” Hermione answered quietly in an apologetic tone.

Pansy frowned at her. She knew this would come up eventually. She had hoped the Brightest Witch of her Age, would have the foresight to broach this subject far more carefully than this. She remained outwardly silent for a moment. She had to figure out how best to answer this.

“My family cares very much for Tradition, especially when it comes to important matters such as marriage. We are also aware, despite what we may or may not think, that our family tree, as most of the purest, does have the occasional muggleborn in it,” Pansy said.

Hermione was in though on that. It was a very good non-answer. She was trying to figure out what Pansy meant by it.

“I do warn you, Hermione Granger, even the Lightest of the so-called ‘Light Families’ care to a degree about their background and lineage. They may not be actively against muggleborns, but they aren’t all exactly banging down the doors to be involved with or marry them,” Pansy said.

“Think about Ernie,” Susan suggested quietly. He took pride in his family coming from a long line of Pure blood magicals, but he was still friendly to Hermione and Justin was his best friend.

Hermione was in thought.

Pansy gave a scoff. “Even the muggle loving fools of Weasley are considered a pure blood family and have been for a long history. Even if they are seen as Blood Traitors, they usually end up marrying pure or half bloods,” she said.

She then gave a slightly malicious smile that wasn’t aimed at Hermione, the frizzy haired girl could tell at least. It was fully aimed at the Weasley family. Hermione was frowning deeply in response. She was pretty sure Pansy was acting that way towards them because she was so close to Draco.

However, Pansy’s words were something she found surprising.

“Most of those families also share much the same attitude towards Squibs that those they would call the worst of worst have. If you ever happen to become friends with those of the Weasley family, or on good speaking terms with them, ask about their cousin whose an accountant. Gossip regarding old wizarding families, both great and small, is well circulated. It isn't too far of a stretch to guess what they say might have more of a lip service element to it than they claim,” Pansy said.

Hermione didn’t expect that considering what she heard of the Weasleys. They always seemed to take pride in being so-called Blood traitors. She also heard Ron a few times talking about how much his dad loved muggle things. She knew what Squibs were and what they were thought of by the Slytherin families. She wondered if maybe this was Pansy being Pansy and not part of the whole Draco vs. Ron thing extending to her. When Hermione happened to look to the side, she was further surprised to see the inclined heads of both Hannah and Susan as they avoided eye contact. That was more telling to Hermione on what the truth was.

“Both worlds have problems. Both worlds have less than great views on certain aspects. Muggles aren’t perfect and neither are magicals,” Harry said in a bid of easing the building tension. This caused the others to relax as they realized he had a point.

Pansy seemed to be in thought. “That is partly what I was pointing out. It isn’t simple. It isn’t a question that should so easily be asked as a possible accusation. Perhaps I did go a little too far in answering that question,” she admitted.

She did have to be Pansy, but she possibly crossed a line. This is why she wished Draco would make up his mind, or her magic would be clearer in speaking to her. She wanted to no longer have to worry about such things. She could play the role, but she didn’t like it. Maybe one day she could at least take a break from it.

Hermione was in thought. She was about to say something, but chose not to say it. “Perhaps the fact she didn’t out right proudly proclaim she was a blood purist is a sign, ” she thought. She would think on it more and pay closer attention. Maybe she did need to be more careful with such a question. Harry had warned her, but she continued forward regardless on the subject. “Maybe I’m trying to skip straight to running instead of walking with them, ” Hermione thought. They were still fairly new in interacting with each other. Harry usually seemed to have a good idea about this stuff and didn't seem to make social mistakes. She wished she had such a gift.

Hannah decided it was her turn to move their talk along. “What is your History class like?” she asked.

“The Gryffindors use it for sleep, gossip or to study something else entirely. Our house is usually attentive. Many use it as practice for when they later take up their lordship or ladyship duties,” Tracey answered first.

Pansy smiled and added in a friendlier tone, perhaps as a way to show she meant no harm earlier, and said, “The Wizengamot may be where laws are made, but most of the time it is optional and sessions are usually people prattling on and on about one mundane topic or another. A good lord or lady, a good Slytherin, will attend all sessions and use them as a chance to study the other members. You can learn a lot from members during such sessions. Professor Binns’ boring and monotone lessons are perfect practice for this.”

“Some will take notes as practice for paying full attention, despite how boring they think something is,” Tracey added.

“Others will use it as a way to practice observing other witches and wizards. The furthest along will both take notes and observe the others at the same time. Many of us are taught the importance of multi-tasking,” Pansy said.

Their conversations continued a bit longer. It was mostly the Hufflepuff’s asking questions, but eventually the Slytherins had their turn. Most of the questions they asked were questions you usually asked someone you were just starting to get to know. Tracey and Pansy had been in contact with Harry for a while now, but they were getting to better know the other girls.

[-] [-] [-]

The year was slowly marching towards the end it seemed. It then chose to speed up far too quickly for everyone when exams were coming around. Hannah was again glad to have Hermione as a friend. The frizzy haired girl came up with the perfect study schedules for exams and learned how and where to include breaks using Harry’s examples from earlier in the year when the made such schedules.

Because of the schedules, Hannah did not end up having a break down as she was sure she would otherwise. Several students had break downs and some did better at handling exam time than others. One thing Susan, Hannah, Tracey and even Pansy noticed; was how it was surprisingly the muggleborns who seemed to take things the best.

“Why is that?” Pansy asked one day as this was mentioned.

“Muggles have formal schooling for six years before Hogwarts starts. We learn Math, Science, Reading, Writing, Language and more. Exams like this are already common to us by the time we come here,” Hermione explained.

“I’ve heard most magicals are home schooled by their family or tutors if they can afford them. The advantage I can see to something like that is you can go at your own pace. The downside is you don’t have experience at a formal test setting in school. Tutors may test you, but it isn’t the same as having an end of the year school wide test. Is that correct?” Harry asked.

“Pretty much. I guess I can see why they seem to handle it better in that case,” Pansy admitted with a frown and sounding more placating then truly understanding. She had to seem a little reluctant in her answer, just in case someone was overhearing.

The Slytherin girls had spent more time with the others since their first round of questioning. Hermione learned how to work with them and the importance of Pansy’s demeanor towards her and Harry. She had seen the real Pansy from time to time, but it was still something rare. In a way, she was publicly trying to treat Pany as Harry sometimes did Draco, friendly if a little distant at times. Hermione supposed it was an apt comparison. It also allowed Pansy to keep appearances as needed with her fellow Slytherins.

Tracey on the other hand didn’t really need to worry about that as much. She was more open, if still guarded as a Slytherin would be even around their friends. Tracey’s position was fine so long as she didn’t start braiding Hermione’s hair in the middle of the Great Hall or making a show of hugging her a lot. Hermione did learn to deal with it in the best way she could. Tracey and Pansy were her first friends not into hugs. Mostly because she had limited experience with friends in general and her first friends had no problem with her hugging nature.

Hannah and Susan had it much easier when it came to Pansy and Tracey. Both were from the wizarding world and at least weren’t seen as the worst of Blood Traitors. Susan also had bonus points in her favor, since Pansy could write off any overly friendly interaction as building an in-way to the Head of the DMLE through her niece. This was even more acceptable given Madam Bones saw Susan as her own daughter and closest family.

[-] [-] [-]

The Hufflepuffs hadn’t really thought too much more on Flamel and the stone for most of the year once they figured out who Flamel was. It wasn’t until after exams the subjects came up again. It was when they were all meeting in a way that allowed Pansy to be Pansy instead of Pure-Blood Princess Pansy Betrothed to Draco, Heir of the Malfoy Family. The group had just been sharing some of the more adventurous aspects of their year.

Tracey and Pansy had their fair share in the form of plotting comeuppance for deserving members of their house. It was more of a cloak and dagger thrill kind of adventure from the Hufflepuffs. However, the two Slytherin girls would admit piecing together the puzzle around the out of bounds third floor corridor and smuggling an illegal baby dragon off the premises, kind of out ranked their year adventure wise.

“Really?! Fluffy?” Pansy asked still in shock at the overly cute name for a giant three headed dog. The Hufflepuffs all four chuckled to that and nodded. They all had the same reaction to first learning his name.

“Hagrid is great and all, but he really as a skewed view on magical beasts. He is also very loyal to Dumbledore, but he is good sorts. He does to an extent know not to share some secrets with the Headmaster. He knows I’m a Street Knight and has even met a lot of them at my Birthday Party last summer. It happened after we returned from shopping in Diagon Alley. Despite that, Dumbledore seems to still believe I’m with my Aunt and Uncle, since he hasn’t said anything about it. I’m sure I would have been called to his office at least once if he knew truth. I haven’t been with them since I was eight years old,” Harry said. He then had a thought cross his mind thinking again on Hagrid, but left it to the side for the moment.

“I still can’t believe he had a baby dragon and wanted to raise it in his hut… It’s made wood! How’d even get one in the first place… They’re hard to find even through illegal means,” Tracey said shaking her head as the others chuckled.

Hermione’s eyes then momentarily lit up as it seemed she figured out what Harry did. She was about to say something, but Harry discreetly reached over and squeezed her leg real quick indicating to her not to say anything at the moment. Hermione gave him a quick look, but it lasted only a second and she understood the message. It seemed Harry didn’t think this was Tracey’s and Pansy’s business.

They talked a little longer before both Slytherin girls left so as not to have been gone for too long. As she left, Pansy quickly said, “By the way, Harry. Draco asked me to pass along a message to you in case I meant you first. Even if you aren’t trying out for Seeker, he still wants to race you for fun on brooms more meant for such things next year.”

Harry chuckled. “I’ll think about it. That is still next year. I also wish him luck with his big plan, but I’ll still root for Hufflepuff when they play Slytherin,” he said.

“Naturally. It would be boring if you rooted for Slytherin during such matches. He wouldn’t have a chance to boast when he catches the snitch first otherwise,” Pansy said with a teasing smirk. Harry gave a chuckle and shook his head.

Once both girls left, Hermione looked to him. He nodded. “I was thinking about that too. We know someone is trying to get the stone and they are being mostly meticulous with their approach. No doubt they would have learned about Fluffy and Hagrid isn’t shy about his love for dragons. He causally told Jett and me about it when we first met,” he said.

Hannah and Susan then gasped in comprehension as well. They were both a little ashamed they didn’t think of that sooner. Susan was especially disappointed. She usually considers herself a little bit of an amateur detective, even if she doesn’t want to be an Auror.

Harry sensed this and smiled to them. “Don’t feel down about it. Hermione and I both just now figured it out,” he said to them.

“And we’re supposed to be the top of our year,” Hermione said in comfort smiling to her other friends. She then turned serious and asked, “Should we go and ask him?”

Harry took in a deep breath and let it out. “I suppose so. If we can figure out who is going after it, we can try to start professors McGonagall and Dumbledore and maybe even Snape down the right path to finding who it is,” Harry said.

“Let’s go then. The sooner the better,” Hermione said.

“Why is it you didn’t say something while Pansy and Tracey were here?” Hannah asked as they got up.

“I felt it was kind of our business to see through to the end. I do trust them to an extent, but I haven’t fully figured out the best way to handle them just yet. People have different needs and could require a different approach, even on the same matters. It is one of Boss’ most important lessons he gave me,” Harry said in answer as they left for Hagrid’s.

[-] [-] [-]

“I can’t believe it!” Hermione steamed. “He just blabbed about such a secret in the middle of a bar?! He didn’t even try to at least keep it private. Didn’t even try to catch a name or any kind of identification from that man? Then he gets mad at us for getting him to say too much?”

She sighed. She didn’t hate Hagrid and she kind of understood where he was coming from in how he reacted to them, but he was frustrating at times. All adults were like that though she realized. It was something she started to learn this year at school after being around Harry and the others.

“We know, Hermione,” Hannah said. She wasn’t steaming, but it was obvious she was upset as well.

“So much for figuring out more to set the professors on the right path…” Susan said with a frown.

“I suppose we can still try, but we shouldn’t push it. We will speak to Professor McGonagall first and then Dumbledore if that doesn’t work. Chain of command and all of that. Adults really hate it if you circumvent it too eagerly,” Harry said.

When they spoke to Professor McGonagall, it did not go well. She didn’t take them seriously and claimed she should expel them for even bringing up the stone in the first place. She then dismissed them with a warning. Thus, the Hufflepuff four did not press their luck further with her.

“Dumbledore then?” Hannah asked with a sigh. This was getting more frustrating. It wasn’t like they were the Weasley Twins trying to pull a prank.

Harry nodded. “Hopefully it works. At the very least, I have a feeling he would be happy and willing to have a conversation with the boy who lived. He’d really want to look good to the public and playing nice with the savior is a way to do that,” he said in a manner that showed he wasn't impressed by that.

“That seems a little…” Hannah started.

“I know. But you forget that Dumbledore is Headmaster. Supreme Wugwump. And Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. He is as much politician as he is Headmaster, even if he is one the good ones. Admittedly, I’m still not sure about that,” Harry said.

Hermione looked about to argue, but gave a slow nod. “He left you with them after all,” she said in understanding.

Harry nodded. Dumbledore may have some kind of ulterior motive. Or perhaps all three of his positions stretched him a little too thin and bred an amount of incompetence for at least one of his many duties. Dumbledore may be a good man and even a great man if you asked the right people. He was still one person, no matter how powerful. There was only so much he could do and focus on in life.

“Did ya see that?” Seamus said to Ron and Dean.

“I did. I suppose he does have to get from place to place. But it still is really weird seeing him on a broom…” Dean mused in reply.

“It is also kind of funny. I can just imagine him humming a tune as he flies around for some reason. I mean… He’s Dumbledore,” Ron said getting a chuckle from the others at the image he gave them.

“Wait! You mean you saw Professor Dumbledore flying away on a broom?” Harry asked.

Ron nodded. “Yeah. Like we said. Strange sight. You’d think he'd Apparate or something instead. Guess he loves a good flight as much as anyone,” Ron said.

The girls were more surprised by this than Harry was. Actually, Harry was probably just as surprised as them, but he hid it better. “That is something…” Harry said as he moved them along. They couldn’t have an outburst here. Ron might get ideas to do something himself. He seemed to always be eager for adventure around the school, when he wasn’t ready to get into it with Malfoy.

Ron also might want to try to save some face considering how poorly Gryffindor did in Quidditch this year, despite his constant belief and claims otherwise. The team still had one more unusually late match in the year for the cup, but unless Gryffindor somehow won by at least 800 points, the winner of the cup was assuredly Slytherin. They just barely scrapped a victory over Hufflepuff, but that essentially won them the final, no matter who they played.

“Great!” Hannah said with a frustrated sigh once they were safely in their dorm room. “Dumbledore’s gone… What do we do now?” she asked feeling almost helpless. The stone was going to be stolen and they had no idea by who and no one seemed to take their warnings seriously.

Harry was in thought as he started to pace in the center a little.

“Could we say something to you aunt?” Hermione asked Susan in desperate hope.

Harry paused. That could work if it was possible.

“If we had some kind of evidence apart from seemingly unrelated tidbits and deductive reasoning. If we were Aurors she would tell us to follow our leads and possibly offer help, but she would emphasize the need for evidence. Catching criminals is only half the job. The other is making sure they go away. We aren’t even that though,” Susan said.

“Tonks?” Hannah suggested feeling maybe there was a desperate strand or two of hope left.

Harry shook his head. “She’s still busy with her last NEWT. Plus… She has to think about her future. It would look really bad if she let a bunch of first years drag her along on what looked like a wild goose chase, especially if we are panicking more than needed here. I’d rather someone like her have the chance to become an Auror and do some real good that way,” he said.

The girls thought more on what to do after begrudgingly agreeing with him.

Hermione spoke after a moment. “Do we snoop around the castle? Stand guard near the corridor?” she asked. Their options seemed very limited by this point.

Harry was in thought again. “I’m not sure. If it is someone on staff, they could insist we go outside or claim we’re up to no good right after finishing exams. Snooping around the castle and following people is suspicious in the first place. McGonagall already gave us a warning. If we aren't careful, she might go through with her warning before we do any good.”

“Standing guard would be just as troubling then…” Hannah said.

Harry nodded.

“Are we going to have to go ourselves?” Susan asked rubbing her chin in thought.

The others looked to her.

“We know that this person is being careful, but only to a degree. With Dumbledore out of the castle and most of the professors busy with grading exams or last-minute NEWTs, they have as perfect a shot as possible. I don’t think the thief would be as concerned with covering their rearguard,” she said.

“They’d either count on no one coming after them, or for the protections to reset behind them, or to finish up before it mattered,” Hermione suggested as Susan nodded.

Harry frowned… he didn’t really like this, but this was seemingly their only option left.

“Okay. I don’t like it… But you might be right. We should go together and be careful. Our goal will be to buy time for the others to show up. There has to be some kind of alarm or something we can possibly trigger that would alert the Professors. Perhaps in their eagerness they will just avoid such things instead of wasting time dismantling them,” Harry said.

The others nodded and he could sense how nervous they were. He was nervous too. He gave a wry grin as he said, “You wanted more adventure. Here we have it, Hannah. It isn’t dancing trolls on top of flying dragons, but still an adventure.”

Hannah laughed to that as a way to break the tension she was feeling. The others soon followed needing the break as much as she did.

“Let’s go. We know how to distract Fluffy. I’m pretty sure that obstacle resets itself,” Harry said. The girls nodded and they started making their way. Each were hoping they would get there and find out nothing happened. That their fears were unfounded. They weren’t counting on it though.

Chapter 15: Where No First Year Has Gone Before

“It’s kind of amazing this cloak fits all four of us,” Susan said. She was blushing a little bit and looked away hoping no one noticed. The other girls were also blushing and Harry was mostly focused on the task, so Susan didn’t need to worry about it. It was still embarrassing being that close to Harry and the others. It was also really warm from all of their bodies pressed together, since there was only so much room under the cloak.

They were debating if they should use the cloak or not at first. They ended up deciding it was for the best. They were worried Professor McGonagall might decide to check on the corridor for them. Once they were outside the door and knew the corridor was clear, they took it off. They were catching their breath as they steeled their nerves in front of the door.

“Alright… We know music soothes Fluffy. We don’t know how attentive he is currently,” Harry said as he handed the flute Hagrid made for him to Hannah. She had taken some lessons in a couple of different instruments and seemed a better choice for providing music than him.

Hannah nodded as she took the flute and held it to her lips ready for use.

Hermione approached the door first. “Here it goes,” she said. She swallowed and then said, “Alohomora!” The door unlocked once again. “Either Hagrid forgot to tell someone, or the thief is already inside ahead of us,” she said.

Harry opened the door carefully as she backed away. She wanted to help, but didn’t trust herself not to panic if she was the first to meet Fluffy again. Harry entered the room and felt both relief and dread at what he saw inside. “There’s a magical Harp playing,” Harry told them quietly.

The four Hufflepuffs entered quietly. Hannah and Susan both gasped seeing Fluffy for themselves for the first time. Harry and Hermione quickly approached the trap door while their friends collected themselves. Harry opened it and peered down inside. It was completely dark.

“Lumos Oblese!” Harry said sending an orb of light down the hole. He saw a plant and noticed some vines retreat from the light. He frowned. Any Hufflepuff worth their salt was good at Herbology, so he knew what was awaiting them below. “Alright… There’s a large Devil’s Snare at the bottom,” he said quietly to the others.

“Good thinking actually. It will serve as both a soft landing and a defense mechanism,” Hermione said.

“Who wants to go first?” Harry asked.

“Shouldn’t the guy go first?” Hannah asked not liking the idea of going down the hole first, even if it was lit up.

“If you don’t mind possibly being caught by Fluffy suddenly waking up,” Harry countered giving her a look.

“Okay… Point taken,” Hannah said as she went down first. Once she landed, she quickly got free and cast a blue fire orb similar to what Hermione used from time to time for warmth during winter. This would keep the vines away, but the large leaves would remain to provide the others an equally soft landing. Hermione went next with Susan behind her. Harry joined them last just as Fluffy woke up and barked at all three.

“Glad I went first after all,” Hannah said with a relieved sigh.

“It looks like we have more than just Devil’s Snare to worry about here,” Susan said with a frown. There was a corridor in front of them that was decently lit. What got her and the others’ attention, was the number of magical plants lining it. There were even some hanging from the ceiling and attached to the walls.

“Well… It is a good thing we’re Hufflepuffs,” Hannah said.

“And Neville is very excited and knowledgeable about the subject while loving to talk about it,” Susan added as Hannah nodded in agreement.

“I will admit I was upset not being able to take top of that class, but then I realized just how much work he puts into it,” Hermione said. It was impressive even by her standards. The group looked over the plants in front of them and remembered what they knew about them.

Neville studied with them a few times in Herbology. Sometimes their study sessions would end up being bonus classes with him as the instructor. Neville loved having something he wasn’t a complete failure at and eagerly shared what he knew about plants with them all. He even recommended some books to read on plants, if they wanted. Hufflepuffs weren’t strangers to hard work and so the group did read some of the books.

“Free Dream. Sleepy Princess. Fire Bloom. And Sexius Vivakiss?” Hermione said with a sigh as she leaned on a nearby wall. This was a very overwhelming combination of plants.

“Can’t just burn through them then… Anyone know any blizzard spells?” Hannah asked with a frown.

It was indeed a very potent combination of plants. Free Dream and Sleepy Princess were used to create a special dreamless sleep potion. On their own but together like this, was a very different matter. Sleepy Princess puffed out spores that put whoever inhaled them into a sleepy daze. It wouldn’t be too bad usually and easily avoided, but in a corridor like this that wasn’t an option. The puff of spores would easily surround you and the effect would be concentrated. Free Dream on its own was very different from the potion it was used in. The scent of the plant would put you into what muggles would call a Lucid dream if you were tired enough, which Sleepy Princess would assure here.

They also couldn’t just burn it all away because of how well-placed the Fire Blooms were. Heat, even fire, would just cause it to do as the name says and bloom. It would absorb the heat energy and effectively protect the other plants. If it wasn’t for their strategic placement, the Hufflepuff Four might have options when it came to using fire. Firebloom obviously enough did very poorly when it came to cold. The plant was rare, especially in Scotland with the harsh winters.

What really made this abosolutely terrible, was these plants combined with Sexius Vivakiss. It was also known as Succubus Kiss. The plant mixed with the right ingredients could be a lust potion, a fertility potion, or used as a healing paste for your privates. The plant on its own fed off sexual energy so long as you were trapped in its grasp, thus the nickname Succubus Kiss.

This might not be seen as too bad by some. However, prolonged exposure resulted in it converting a magical’s magic and life force into sexual energy. The combination would effectively drain you of your energy sexually. Sexius Vivakiss had plant parts that would assist both males and females in doing its deed.

“In other words… We would experience a lot of naughty fun for a very long time and maybe even to our deaths. If we aren’t careful,” Hannah said as all four blushed deeply at the notion.

“Focus… So, any ideas?” Harry asked.

The girls got over the revelation of their possible doom through sexual bliss and started to think. Fire was out. No one knew a blizzard spell. They could try to activate the various spores from the plants earlier, but how would they get through safely?

Harry hummed in thought. He tried using a cutting curse. He thought the spell might cause enough of a disturbance the plants would activate. His curse triggered some, but not enough at the same time. Getting caught by one of these plants’ traps could be the end for them, if they were held up long enough.

“Does anyone know a spell that would act like a muggle gas mask? Meaning it would keep us from inhaling any spores?” Hermione asked.

Hannah shook her head. Susan frowned as she said, “I know of the Bubble Head Charm, but that is really advanced stuff. Sixth year I believe. I don’t know the incantation or wand movements either.”

Hermione then got an idea. “Do you think if we hit them with a powered Aguamenti spell that could work? A couple of us could target the plants to set them off from a distance. The others could fill the corridor with enough of a downpour it washed the spores to the floor,” she suggested. It was a plan that took Harry's original idea and made it workable with a spell they could all do easily. The plants didn’t continuously puff out their spores, because they would have a short resting period. They could time this right and by working together make it through the corridor.

The group thought that over. “Sounds like our best shot. Let’s see if a powerful Aguamenti can set them off in the first place though,” Harry said.

Hermione volunteered to try it, since it was her idea. “Aguamenti!” she said as water spouted from her wand tip. She aimed it at the plants. It took some time finding the sweet spot, but it did work. A plant in front of them puffed out its spores. They were far enough away to not get hit by them.

“Alright. That part works. Come on Susan, let’s see if we can get the spores to wash down to the floor,” Hannah said.

“Aguamenti!” both girls said. Hannah aimed at the plants. Susan willed her spell to act more like a sprinkler than a hose. The plan sort of worked.

“Let’s try it again with all of us,” Harry suggested. The girls nodded.

With four shouts of “Aguamenti!” they went to work. One triggered the plants and the others made it a downpour. That worked! To try and test it a little further, since the spell wasn’t too taxing on their magic, they tried it with two doing each job. That almost worked, but it was still too risky for their liking.

“Looks like one has to trigger and the others keep the downpour going,” Hermione said.

“We can do this,” Harry started. “The person triggering the plants just has to move their wand from plant to plant while the rest of us keep it going.”

Their plan decided. The four got to work. Hermione aimed at the plants and the others kept the indoor rain going. The group slowly moved forward. Fortunately, they knew this plan could stand a chance, because Sexius Vivakiss preferred unaware targets that weren’t moving. This was the one workable weakness in this setup they could find.

Once they finally got through, the group took a quick breather. “I’m really glad there was only that one Devil’s Snare,” Hermione said.

The others winced at her statement. It was true. If more of that plant was added into the mix, it would have been game over for them even with their plan. They weren’t sure if they could have someone keep a fire or light spell going strong enough to combat that plant along with everything else.

“To be fair, that could have been seen as taking a step too far. If there was only one of us here, that trap would have been far worse. It seems the defenses are better than we thought they would be,” Harry said.

“That makes me wonder how powerful of a witch or wizard this thief is,” Susan said.

“Good thing our plan is to just distract and buy time then. Outright defeating them will probably be impossible. Distracting has a chance, even if it is small,” Harry said.

“Then we better hope there are alarm spells or wards here that will notify someone,” Hannah said as the group nodded in agreement.

[-] [-] [-]

“That’s Professor Sprout’s defense line down,” Harry said as they moved forward. They soon found themselves in a dark sewer like corridor that really smelled foul.

“Don’t like the aroma here,” Hannah commented covering her mouth the best she could with her robes.

The group kept marching forward and came across a large lump of something on the floor. “Okay! Lucky that thing is dead…” Susan said as she swallowed what was probably vomit. When they got closer, they noticed the lump was a dead troll laying on the floor. It was far more massive in size than the rumors regarding the size of the Halloween troll.

The group skirted around it and kept going forward. “Do you think all of the professors had two traps?” Hermione asked.

“Maybe…” Harry said as they carefully continued.

Soon they heard what sounded like thousands of wings flapping in the air. It was easier to see in this room and there was a door at the other end. “Guess not,” Harry said as he looked up. He saw what appeared to be several flying keys zooming around above them. This seemed more like something Professor Flitwick would come up with than that troll. He wasn't sure how a professor got it in here. If what he heard was true, the troll was probably Professor Quirrell. It was surprising the fearful man could pull that off, but then again it might be more proof he was faking it all to slack off in teaching.

“Do you think?” Susan hinted as she looked towards the door on the other end.

Hannah moved forward and tried the unlocking spell on the door. Hannah shook her head. “Nope. Just goes to show we could get through that first door because this thief already removed what was keeping it locked,” she said. Clearly, the thief knew how to easily bypass this room and felt leaving it how it was would be good enough.

“Any ideas?” Hermione asked.

Harry looked around and almost smiled. He walked over to a part of the wall with four brooms hanging on it. “Not sure why the answer is provided, but here we go,” he said pointing to the brooms.

“I think this one is all you, Harry. We’ll figure out what key you need based off the door lock. We’ll be ready to catch or defend you once you get it,” Hermione said. There was no telling what would happen once he had the key. The others could try to attack. His broom could simply vanish. They only had ideas, not even educated guesses, on what could happen.

“Sounds like a good plan. I’m the best flyer in our bunch. I bet those keys will start chasing me once I get the right one. I can probably out run them, but you girls need to be ready to unlock the door once I toss you the key,” Harry said.

Harry hopped on to a broom. He tested it a little just slightly off the ground. The broom was steady enough and in decent enough condition. It made him wonder why this room seemed to give you the key to pass onwards. He would almost swear this whole thing was some kind of test. Could that be it? Could it be Nickolas Flamel wanted Dumbledore to make this all a test of some kind to find a worthy successor for the stone? Harry kind of doubted that, but it was a remote possibility.

“ Maybe it’s to throw you off. Give you a false sense of security before you enter the next room, ” Harry thought to himself. That seemed more likely and not as stupid of an idea as this all being some kind of test.

“look for a fancy old-fashioned silver key. Kind of large,” Hannah shouted to him.

“Got it!” Harry replied. He zoomed up above and started to fly in a searching pattern. He soon found his target. He wasn’t one of the Street Knights best lookouts for nothing. Harry rose up a bit to get a good angle on the key. It was flying in a rather predictable pattern.

Harry dashed forward on the broom. He grabbed the key! Suddenly all of the other keys paused for a moment before aiming for him and shooting after him.

Harry dived and weaved. He zigged and zagged. He even flew upside down for a moment to dodge a group of incoming glittering key missiles from his side. He managed to keep a hold of the key in his hand the whole time.

“This way!” Hermione shouted.

Harry shot towards them. He got ready to throw the key when he was close enough it couldn’t escape. Susan caught it! She quickly shoved it into the keyhole and unlocked the door.

The girls quickly dived inside after firing off a couple of Immobulus charms at the keys chasing Harry. The flying boy managed to pitch himself forward off the broom and into the next room and Susan slammed the door shut from behind him. They heard several sharp keys hit the closed door as soon as she jumped away from it.

“Good thing you decided with exams coming up it was time to start working on next year’s spells, Hermione,” Harry said with a relieved grin. Hermione blushed happily at the praise. “Good job everyone,” he said causing Hannah and Susan to blush in a matching happy manner as well.

[-] [-] [-]

“Now what?” Hannah asked as they stared into the room they entered. The group looked around and weren’t sure what their next move should be.

“Move forward. With caution. I’m thinking that one seemed easyish to throw us off guard,” Harry told them.

“I don’t know about it being easy… But I get what you mean,” Susan said. She really didn’t want to see what Harry considered tough, if that was supposedly easy.

The group kept walking forward holding on to each other. “Whoa!” Hannah shouted as they all four stopped. They were suddenly upside down.

“This can’t be good,” Hermione said. Her eyes were wide as she looked at what should have been the floor but was now the ceiling. There were even upside-down braziers below them. She gulped and really hoped she didn’t fall from the floor to the ceiling.

“Keep going,” Harry ordered. The girls took in deep breaths and continued. “Focus on what is in front of us,” Harry told them calmly. The girls nodded and felt comforted that Harry was here to keep them from freaking out too much.

Eventually the world righted itself. The group still collapsed to the ground in relief for a moment. It was really weird what they just went through. It felt like the blood had been rushing to their heads. “How did you know to keep going forward?” Hermione asked.

“I felt a little off when I looked up as well. I also noticed we weren’t falling and were being held to the inverted floor. I’m guessing if we looked too long or took too long to move it would have caused us to pass out or something,” Harry said.

“I guess that is Professor Flitwick’s line of Defense down. That means we have McGonagall, Snape and possibly Dumbledore left. I still don’t get how it was Professor Quirrell was able to get that troll in here, yet fainted at the Halloween Feast,” Hannah said.

“More proof he’s been faking it as far as I’m concerned. I’m not sure why, but it feels like he is doing it to slack off,” Harry said as Hermione nodded in agreement.

He briefly wondered if maybe it was Professor Quirrell trying to steal the stone. He didn’t think so though, but it could possibly be true. Harry just felt that Professor Quirrell lacked the ambition to try that on his own. They doubted he was working with others. There was little reason for them to believe this was a group heist.

[-] [-] [-]

The group walked a little more. The room seemed to be really long here. As they kept going, the group seemed to relax a little and feel some pride in themselves. “I know we aren’t finished yet,” Hannah started. She gave them a big smile. “But I can’t help feeling we’ve done pretty well so far.”

“I know what you mean. We’re just first years and we’ve made it this far already,” Susan added.

“I just wish this corridor wasn’t so long,” Hermione said. She then smiled as well and said, “I’m glad to be here with my best friends though.”

Harry nodded and smiled as well. “I wouldn’t want to be here with any other girls. Most guys would probably be jealous I get to go on adventures with three cute witches,” he said giving them an easy-going smile.

The three girls blushed to that, and felt really happy. They eventually took a bit of a rest since it seemed to be a really long corridor. If they weren’t in as good of a mood, they might have started to wonder why it was taking so long and how far it actually stretched. It was like they had been walking in it long enough to have taken a lap or two around the lake.

However, the group was feeling too relaxed and happy to care about that. In fact, they were so relaxed, Hermione and the other girls decided to take off their outer robes and undo a couple of buttons. It was really warm in here, but not really unpleasantly warm. They just wanted a little less stuffiness with their clothes. “I can’t wait until summer. I’m looking forward to going to the beach with my family and putting on a new bikini,” Hermione said.

“What’s a bikini?” Hannah asked.

“Magicals don’t have bikinis? It’s muggle swim wear for girls. It comes in two pieces that are similar to undergarments I guess you could say. Though they come in a variety of styles. There are one-piece swimsuits as well. They cover you up a bit more, but are more like having your panties and bra connected as one piece of fabric. I like to tan a little when vacationing, so bikinis are what I prefer,” Hermione said.

“That sounds… scandalous,” Susan said eagerly.

“Really? What do witches wear usually when it comes to swimming?” Hermione asked.

Harry was staying very quiet as he listened in. He was daydreaming about seeing Hermione, Hannah, and Susan in bikinis. He didn't want interrupt what they were discussing. He felt it might lead to something really interesting.

“Swimwear is different from robes. I guess some French styles may be similar to what your one piece sounded like, but most are a bit longer than that. Their form fitting, but end just above the knees,” Susan said.

“That’s sounds… Well… about right, I guess. For the wizarding world. Everything seems to be a bit behind the times compared to the muggle world. The law-making parts and some societal preferences are really way behind. I can’t imagine wearing such a swimsuit personally. I like to tan, but if that much was covered up the tan lines would be really awkward,” Hermione said.

“Wouldn’t there still be tan lines even with what you were saying?” Hannah asked.

“Yeah. But sometimes, I undo my top to keep that from happening when I’m lying flat on my stomach. I’ve actually gone to a nude beach once with my parents…” Hermione said. She seemed very forth coming with what she was saying. It was girl talk though, or at least she thought it was. Harry was somewhere, but probably not listening she figured. “ Maybe he’ll get some ideas… ” Hermione thought with a hint of lust to her inner voice that wasn't usually there.

Hannah and Susan were blushing furiously at that. They also were very intrigued. “Can… can you show us? We don’t usually get tan lines, because witches and wizards use sun block spells,” Hannah said.

Susan’s eyes widened and she took in a deep breath.

“I-I-I suppose…” Hermione said. This was really weird, but didn’t girl friends do things like this with each other? “But only if you two show me as well,” she added. The other girls blushed and nodded. They prepared to undress more.

Harry blushed from where he was. This was amazing! He really wanted to see this. Why was this happening though? Weren’t they doing something here? Something important? Hannah, Hermione, and Susan all three took off their shirts after tossing aside their neckties.

Harry stared in awe. They were all three so freaking sexy. Harry blinked at that. This wasn’t right. “Crap!” he shouted. The girls looked to him all at once.

“Ohhh… You’re here after all. Want to join us? I’d really like to see you without a shirt again. You’ve been teasing me enough throughout the year,” Hermione said with a seductive giggle that Harry found extremely captivating.

“What?!” Hannah asked.

“He likes to lose his shirt in his sleep,” Hermione said with a perverted look that was out place on her, but gave Harry wonderful ideas.

“This isn’t right! Damn! We aren’t through it yet!” Harry shouted to them after shaking his head clear again.

“So? I’m sure Dumbledore made sure it can’t be taken. This would be so much more fun… You were saying how lucky you were. How jealous other guys would be,” Hermione said far too seductive for herself.

The three girls were down to their bras and panties. They started crawling towards Harry. Each of them were giggling and giving him sexy looks. “You know. The Succubus Kiss probably would give me a vision of mounting you and riding you in a way all of those romance novel heroines would be jealous of,” Hannah said.

Harry tried pinching himself.

“Harryyy… Join us… please? We’ll make it worth your while,” Susan whined with a really cute and sexy pout.

Harry slapped his face.

“He just needs a better preview of what’s in store, girls,” Hermione said. She gave him a wink and reached around behind her back. She undid her bra. She was about to remove it.

Harry shot a stinging hex at himself. A very powerful one. He hissed and winced as he shut his eyes by instinct.

When he opened them again, his surroundings looked very different. The four of them were sitting in the middle of a room that wasn’t too large and they were all still fully clothed. The girls looked dazed and were making sounds with their hitching breaths. Each girl had rosy cheeks and were holding themselves in rather embarrassing and provocative manners. He could have sworn they were drooling even.

“Probably best I snap them out of it and don’t go into detail… And don’t ask what they saw,” Harry told himself.

He started using the stinging hex on each of the girls. He chose to ignore the sounds they each made as they came out of it. He was blushing though. When it came to girls, Harry was more… aware of them than usual for someone his age. He figured it was because of how quickly he had to grow up before Hogwarts.

“What… What happened?!” Hermione asked as the blinked.

“Some kind of charmed something. I guess Professor Flitwick felt he had to pick on Quirrell’s slack,” Harry said.

“What was I doing?” Hannah asked blushing.

“Did I really d-,” Susan started.

“Doesn’t matter. We need to go. No telling how long that trap kept us,” Harry said cutting her off. He really didn’t want them dwelling on it either.

Hermione cast a time spell. “It wasn’t too long it looks like. It felt a lot longer,” she said. The group continued and didn’t mention what happened to them. They would just keep their charmed visions to themselves.

[-] [-] [-]

“Any ideas?” Susan asked.

They were in an empty room that seemed to be made of dirt all around them. There was a locked door on the other end. It also wouldn’t open with an unlocking charm. The group looked around the room.

“This is probably Professor McGonagall’s doing,” Hermione said.

“I’m guessing no one knows a transfigure door away spell,” Hannah said.

“It also seems protected from magic in general,” Hermione said.

Susan then got an idea. It was a bit of a long shot, but it could work. Maybe. “This could be transfiguration at a very basic level,” she said.

“The walls?” Hermione asked. It could be possible, but they had no idea what was the right one.

Susan shook her head. “My aunt told me about a case she went on where they found a locked door to a dark wizard’s hidden study. They wanted to get inside to hopefully secure even more evidence against him. She said the magic protecting the study was so basic that it took them a long time to figure it out. The dark wizard was laughing at them the whole time. He even mocked them saying if they got inside, they would find more than enough to give him three lifetimes in Azkaban at least,” she explained to them.

“What did they do?” Hannah asked. This was a story Susan hadn’t even shared with her yet.

“They basically used generalized transfiguration magic on a sturdy enough material that it formed the key as they guided it to the lock,” Susan said.

“That could really work! It would make sense for McGonagall as well. She talks about how important the basics are and people rarely study them enough,” Harry said.

“So, we transfigure part of the wall or floor into something stronger and force it in?” Hannah asked.

Susan nodded. “And someone can focus on levitating it while someone else pushes it in,” she said.

“Let’s get to it them. Do any of you feel a little fatigued? There is no shame. We have been at this trip a really long time now. Better you rest yourself a little longer than force yourself,” Harry said.

“I could use a little break,” Hannah said with a little shame despite what Harry said.

“Hermione and I will do it,” Susan suggested.

Harry was about to say something, but Hermione cut him off. “Susan’s right. You need to look out for yourself as well, Harry. You had to use really powerful stinging hexes earlier on the three us,” she said.

“Okay,” Harry said with little complaint. He wasn't feeling any sense of magic exhaustion but maybe he just didn't know the symptoms well enough. They also didn't know what else they might come across on this journey.

Susan and Hermione quickly got to work. Susan levitated while Hermione forcefully transfigured. It was a tough process for them both. This level of transfiguration required power and noticeably drained you a little. The channeled levitation also took a bit of a toll as well.

After some work, they all heard a click as the door unlocked. “Yes! We did it!” Hermione said as she and Susan high-fived each other while beaming.

“Yes. Very good job,” Harry said smiling to them. They beamed at the praise and moved forward into the next room.

This room was well lit and large. There was a massive chessboard in the middle of it. On the other side of the room, they saw a door that was suddenly blocked by large chess pieces holding swords to cut off access.

“To proceed. White must win the match,” a voice said that sounded like McGonagall.

“Great…” Hermione said. “Anyone really good at wizard’s chess?” she asked with a sigh.

The others shook their heads. Harry had only played a couple of games and wasn’t fond of it. He preferred not to limit his tactics to stringent rules, so it didn’t even really serve a purpose in helping there. He also preferred to go through other mental exercises he felt were of better benefit anyways. Chess was a mental exercise in a way that supposedly helped you think tactically, but Harry felt it didn't really have much of a real life application. Your opponent in a real fight wouldn't be limited to L-shaped maneuvers only.

The four badgers walked around the room seeing if there was another way around it. They tried damaging the guarding stones at the end of the room. They didn’t fight back, but they were instantly repaired and their stances didn’t allow you to pass through. Hannah paused and looked at the board. The others figured she was preparing herself for playing though.

After a moment, she spoke. “If the king is beaten or knocked off the board, it is a win, right? I know people usually stop with checkmating it. However, the loser usually forfeits at that point since the next move would end the king,” she said.

“I suppose so…” Hermione said feeling a little bemused by the question.

“What are you getting at?” Harry asked her.

Hannah smiled. “Transfiguration obviously,” she pulled out her wand and pointed it at the square the black king was on top of. “Rockus Crumbless,” she said with a wave of her wand in a pattern.

The square below the black king changed into sand, which in a way made it no longer part of the board. It felt as if the room froze and was heavy with magic. It was like the magic was trying to decide if that counted as a victory or not. Hannah held her breath. She hoped her plan worked. It was kind of a roundabout way to win. It sort took a different approach and look at magic to achieve it.

“White Wins,” the room’s voice said sounding a little puzzled. The stones guarding the exit quickly moved to the side and let them pass.

“That was incredible!” Susan said once they entered the next room, which seemed to be a break-room or at least with no traps. The door at the other end wasn’t even locked. They tested it but paused for a moment to rest and steel themselves yet again. Maybe this room was meant to test their nerves after everything else and fill them with anxiety of what was behind the door.

“How did you think of that?” Hermione asked Hannah.

Hannah looked to Harry and blushed a little before she smiled to the others. “Harry and I had a discussion about the differences between Muggle Astronomy and Magical Astronomy. He told me about Supernovas and how the night sky shows us stars that might not even exist anymore,” she said.

“Supernovas?” Susan asked.

“That’s what we call it when stars explode. It takes a long time for light to travel through space, so it is theoretically possible everything we see in the night’s sky isn’t there anymore. Apart from the sun, the moon and planets in this solar system,” Hermione quickly explained.

“Whoa…” Susan said in awe.

“Since that talk, I’ve been thinking a lot about how there might be more to magic and especially ancient lost magic. Mostly about there being other factors behind certain rituals or magics working that aren’t currently known. I guess the talk kind of taught me too look at what isn’t said or at least other approaches,” Hannah said.

“I’m glad our talk had that much of an impact. I’m also glad you thought of such a solution. I would not have liked our chances of playing through,” Harry said.

Hannah smiled to that.

“I wouldn’t have thought of that. I think too much within the bounds of rules,” Hermione admitted. “Good job, Hannah,” she said to the other girl.

“That is impressive,” Susan said giving her friend a hug in thanks for getting them through the room.

[-] [-] [-]

“Now we just have Snape left,” Harry said bringing them back on track.

“Yeah. Do you think he did two as well?” Hermione asked.

“I don’t know. It could be possible. It could also be he didn’t since he has been possibly taken a more preventive approach. He seems to have been the only professor who’s been keeping an eye out,” Harry said.

The room they next walked into suddenly lit up with flames as the door behind them closed. Black flames popped up in front of the door going forward and purple flames blocked the door going back. There was a table in the middle with several vials on it and a piece of parchment on the edge.

“What do we have here?” Hannah asked the others. They all looked around the room. The flames weren’t heating up the place, but they could tell crossing them unaided would be very bad, if not fatal.

Hermione stepped forward and grabbed the parchment. Her eyes widened as she read it. “A logic puzzle!” she said in awe.

“Listen here,” she started.

Danger lies ahead of you, while safety lies behind,

Two of us will assist you, whichever you would find,

One of us seven will let you move forward,

Another will transport the drinker backward,

Two among the number hold only nettle wine,

Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.

Choose, or be forced to stay forevermore,

To help with this choice, here are these clues four:

First, however slyly the poison tries to hide

You will always find some on nettle wine’s left side;

Second, different are those who stand at either end,

But if you wish to progress, neither is your friend;

Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,

Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;

Forth, the second left and the second right,

Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.

“I don’t really like riddles…” Hannah mumbled while frowning.

“Then it is a good thing I’m claiming this one. I find it rather brilliant really. Very Professor Snape like too. I’m sure even you and Susan can admit the wizarding world is sometimes lacking in the ways of logic,” Hermione said.

The two girls looked like they were almost offended. They sighed together and nodded. It was true. Most Wizards and Witches formed uniquely due to magic being all around them. They rarely thought beyond just casting the spell they needed to accomplish their task. Trying to figure out the inner workings of magic was for others who chose to specialize in such subjects.

“So, what is the answer then?” Harry asked calmly as he looked at the table. He had an idea, but wanted to hear Hermione’s response. It would confirm his thoughts or prove him wrong. He trusted her opinion that much.

Hermione read over the clues a couple more times to make sure she had the right answer. “The small one will take you through. The tall one will take you back,” she said.

Harry nodded and picked up the small one. “Thanks Hermione. Good job. However this plays out… You three have been great friends and a great amount of help. I couldn’t have done this without you all. Though I would prefer if you didn’t complain about not having enough adventure in the future, Hannah,” he said with a smile.

The girls giggled including Hannah. They needed a quick break in the tension of their journey. “Puffs stick together,” Hannah said with a smile. She then blushed and said, “I’ll keep the bit about requesting adventure in mind.”

“I hope this is almost over,” Susan said.

“Maybe the thief will be stuck in whatever the last line of defense is,” Hermione said.

“We can only hope,” Harry said with a smile to them all. He really loved having them as friends and roommates.

He then took in a deep breath and looked to them seriously. The girls felt a little anxious suddenly.

“However… Now comes the hard part,” Harry said.

“What do you exactly mean?” Hermione asked warily. Harry seemed to be holding the potion to go forward tightly. She didn’t like the looks of this.

“I’m going forward alone. There is only enough for one person. It might refill. But we don’t know if it will. The thief could have found a different way through. If it does refill, we don’t know how long it will take,” Harry said calmly.

The girls sniffed and tried to hold back tears. “Don’t do this, Harry… Please… There has to be another way,” Hermione pleaded as she came over and hugged Harry tightly. Harry returned it with one hand. He kept the other one firmly grasped on the potion.

Hermione sighed to herself. Her little plan didn’t work. She was going to try and sneak it from him. She planned to hold on to it until they figured out what to do for them all to go forwards.

The other girls hugged him as well, but they weren’t going to try anything. It was like they understood he wouldn’t back down from this and trying to trick him wouldn’t work.

“Don’t worry, you three. I’m only going in there to buy time. That will be easier with just myself. No one to be taken hostage and used to force cooperation from the rest of us,” Harry said.

The girls backed up.

“You three have an important task anyways. Go and find someone. Any professor. Send Dumbledore an owl post if needed. Tell Professor McGonagall I came here on my own. Then she will hopefully decide to come after me, even if it is just to give me detention or expel me in person. That way once she gets here, she’ll have no choice but to believe us,” Harry said.

“I still don’t like this, Harry…” Hermione said with a pout and tears in her eyes.

“None of us do,” Susan added wiping her own tears.

“We can’t stop you, can we?” Hannah asked. Harry shook his head. “Make sure you live then. I don’t want to lose a precious friend. We also have to train those trolls to fly dragons,” she said with a weak smile to him.

Harry gave a soft chuckle. “I’ll do my part. You three do your part,” Harry said with a smile. With that, he took a gulp of the potion. “I feel really cold, but comfortable…” he told them.

“Go on ahead,” Hermione said sniffing again.

Harry bid them farewell once more. None of them realized he crossed through an alert line while passing through the magic black flames. A certain professor paused in what they were doing for a moment and blinked a couple of times. Their eyes widened and they just realized something important.

“Best of Luck, Harry,” Hannah said under her breath as Harry exited the room.

“Let’s get going, girls. We don’t want to let him down,” Susan said. She was determined to do their part quickly. The sooner they got help the better. Hermione nodded and gave one last look at the opposite door as they passed around the other potion.

She really hoped she would see Harry again. There was so much more she wanted to do with her life and she wanted to experience it with all of her friends, especially Harry. The girls passed through the purple flames. They focused on the task in front of them. The mission wasn’t over yet.

Chapter 16: Mirrors and Dark Lords

Harry hoped the girls would be able to move fast. He wasn’t sure who he would find at the end of this hall, but he was sure he could buy time for them. To be honest though, he wasn’t sure what condition he would be in by the time they brought help, especially if it takes them too long to find someone.

Harry turned around the last corner and came to a dead stop.

“Huh. I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised,” Harry said causally.

“That’s all you have to say, Potter? Not going to accuse someone like Professor Snape of being the likely perpetrator? He does seem the part after all,” Professor Quirrell said without turning around. He was looking at a mirror in the middle of the room for some reason that Harry didn't know.

Harry gave a chuckle. “He isn’t the one using an obviously fake stutter for the whole year and acting overly afraid of his own shadow to the point of parody,” he said.

He was buying time and a great way to do that was to get the other person talking. Seeming confident could make an enemy more wary of you, causing them to act slowly and carefully trying to figure out what you were planning. It could also amuse them into humoring you, especially if they thought they were the ones in control and you didn’t pose a threat.

With Quirrell, it was the latter.

The turban wearing professor gave a dark chuckle. “I suppose it all was a tad much. It worked though. Wizards don’t usually have much in the way of logic and common sense,” he said. The man then gave a condescending laugh. “Professor Snape’s little test is proof enough of that. Seriously… a logic puzzle of all things? He really should have known it wouldn't hold anyone with an ounce of sense up for long. The fact you, of all people, made it through is proof enough,” he scoffed in dark amusement.

“Enough of that though,” he then said. He quickly used a spell that shot ropes at Harry. That might have been enough for your normal first year, but Harry wasn’t normal.

The Hufflepuff quickly side-stepped the ropes. Professor Quirrell actually looked surprised for a moment. He then did a motion with his hands at Harry. Wandless magic was really impressive, but Harry could sense the energy of the spell. He was a Street Knight. He actually had instincts magicals usually didn’t have. Harry quickly dived behind a pillar to evade the spell.

Professor Quirrell was again surprised, but quickly reacted and shot his rope spell at the pillar. Harry had unwittingly trapped himself by diving behind something which blocked his line of sight. “Foolish, Potter. Breaking line of sight. You can’t dodge what you can’t see. I will admit it was an impressive display though,” the man said as he rounded the corner thinking he would see a tied up first year with a scar on his forehead.

Harry dived behind the pillar and quickly dropped into a squat. The ropes wrapped around the pillar and would have captured him, if he wasn’t a quick thinker. Harry had known how to fight for a few years now. He had been in fights before as well.

When Professor Quirrell rounded the pillar confidently, he was shocked to see Harry wasn’t there. He quickly looked to his left and before he looked to his right, he felt a hard punch to his gut. The man stumbled back a few steps hissing in pain. Potter had used some kind of magic to cause the punch to hurt far more than it should. It even seemed to burn a little. It seemed it wasn’t a perfect spell to use though.

Harry was shocked for two reasons. First, his punch seemed to have a lot more power to it against Quirrell than it should, even if he was a lazy wizard who relied too much on magic. Second, his knuckles seemed to have been burned a little. It wasn’t anything too bad for him. You couldn’t come out of every fight unscathed, even if you were the clear victor. It was a surprise though and his surprise cost him.

Quirrell quickly cast his rope spell again. This time Potter was caught in it and tied to the pillar. He then turned the boy around so he was facing the center of the room too. He could keep an eye on the child while he figured out what to do with the mirror this way.

“Spunk will only get you so far, Potter. I would deal with you now, but I have more important matters to attend to,” Professor Quirrell said dismissively. He approached the mirror again. He once more looked at it. “What to do… Count on Dumbledore to come up with some trick like this,” he mused to himself sounding almost impressed.

Harry tried to think of what to do. He wasn’t sure what was with this mirror, but he didn’t want Quirrell figuring it out. Harry decided to keep Quirrell talking and hopefully distracted. “So, you had everyone fooled? Well… Except me that is. A first year,” Harry said.

Quirrell gave a chuckle as he pondered the mirror’s trick. “You really are amusing when you want to be. Too bad you’re such a nosey brat. Perhaps you can stay around as a court jester or something once this is all over. Yes, I did have everyone else fooled. Except for Professor Snape. The foolish man thought he was intimidating me though. So, I guess he was partially fooled. HA! To think a first year from the muggle world, was smarter than Hogwarts’ man-sized dungeon bat,” he said.

“Did you let the troll in? You did happen to faint forward. Not really the regular way to do so,” Harry said.

“I did. Everyone really thought it just happened to wander in on its own. Really… I know Professor Dumbledore is a fool, but to think he was so incompetent even his own staff believed a troll to just wander past the wards so easily. I have a gift with trolls. Always have. I’m sure you saw what I did to the one on the way here,” Professor Quirrell said.

Harry was about to keep him going, but took a break in their conversation. The last thing he wanted was to press his luck too much and get a gag put in his mouth, magical or otherwise.

“What to do… I see myself giving the stone to my master, but how do I get it,” Professor Quirrell muttered to himself.

Harry looked at the mirror. It was actually rather fancy. The mirror was full length and held in a very ornate looking golden stand. There was a large inscription along the top of it. “ Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi? What language is that? ” Harry thought to himself.

He looked over it a couple more times and couldn’t help but give a mental sigh. “ Really? I show not your face, but your heart’s desire. It's just backwards. That's a very basic and poor code to use. It’s like using Pig Latin and thinking you’re a scholar in foreign language, ” Harry thought to himself. He felt so stupid for not figuring it out right away.

Harry then gave an almost silent gasp as he realized what the inscription meant. He knew how the mirror worked! That was even more stupid! He doubted he was that smart. He wasn’t dumb, but he figured only someone like Hermione should figure out Dumbledore’s trick that quickly. Professor Quirrell didn’t seem as immune to wizard stupidity as he thought he was. Harry then quietly gasped again. “ Oh… That is clever, Professor Dumbledore, ” Harry thought in praise.

Harry was about to speak again to distract Quirrell, but he must have been louder than he believed with his gasping. Almost as soon as he figured it out, he seemed to feel some kind of really sharp pain in his forehead, right behind his scar of all things. Quirrell must have figured him out and was doing something to him with wandless magic.

This was something new to Harry. He had felt quick and sharp headaches before a few times throughout the year. Most of them were in DADA oddly enough, but it was never to this level. Harry thought the headaches he felt around the turban wearing man were from that awful stench that followed him everywhere. Harry’s senses were a bit sharper than most.

This was different though. It felt like something was pounding against his head. Like it was trying to drill inside him. He grunted to himself in effort. He wasn’t sure what was happening, but he would be damned if he didn’t fight back against whatever this was. Harry tried to just shrug it off in general, but that wasn’t working.

Suddenly though, it seemed like he was starting to get a more acute sense of what the pain was. He almost visualized it in his head. He then gave a mental growl at whatever the thing was and it seemed to fire back from him. Curiously enough at that same time, Quirrell let out a grunt of pain and jolted forward. It was like something slammed in the back of his head.

“He knows! He knows. The boy knows,” a wheezy voice said that seemed to come from the back of Quirrell’s head. It seemed dusty and very weak.

“Potter! What do you know?” Quirrell growled out suddenly.

Harry blinked for a moment and then smirked. “You’re gonna ha-ha-have to be more sp-sp-specific, p-p-professor. I know a lot of things,” Harry said.

“At first, I thought you were amusing… The mirror! Potter! What do you know about it?” the man demanded.

“It looks very pretty. I can see… My reflection in it,” Harry quipped. He really hoped the cavalry would show up soon. That second voice caught him off guard and threw him. He couldn’t help but press his luck at the moment in his surprise with his attitude.

“Let me speak to him…” the second voice said.

“But… Master… You’re too weak,” Professor Quirrell said. This time it was obvious he wasn’t faking his fear.

“I’ve strength enough… for this,” the voice said.

“As you wish, Master…” Quirrell said reluctantly.

He started to unravel his turban. Many students wanted to know what was under his turban. When it was off, Harry could only think, “ What the fuck?! ” Harry didn’t easily swear. He usually avoided it. Overuse of swearing lessened its impact. That’s why a lot of people who swore all the time thinking they were tough for doing so, are actually wrong.

However, it was a very appropriate use this time.

Under the turban wasn’t a stack of garlic.

It wasn’t hair permanently dyed a hideous neon purple.

Under the turban was another face stretched across the back of his head. It was hideous and ugly. “I’d prefer the neon purple…” Harry muttered.

“That humor again. I find it more entertaining than my vessel. Patience is something someone like myself knows the importance of, Harry…” it said.

“I’m guessing you’re Quirrell’s master. Voldemort?” Harry asked.

“Indeed, I am… This is what you did to me, Potter. Forced into a shell of my former glory. Reduced to living off of another. Sharing their body… Me. The Greatest Wizard there ever was!” Voldemort said.

Harry remained silent. He wouldn’t want to test Voldemort too much. He was actually scared and grossed out by this turn of events. He wanted to say something along the lines of, “Not all that great really… I mean look at you… You said it yourself. A shell of a wizard.” Instead Harry just listened.

“But Harry. You can fix this. You can save me…” Voldemort said.

“Why would I do that? What reason do I have for it?” Harry asked in a voice far calmer than he really was. He was thinking what to do. He couldn’t get to his wand. It was in his pocket. He would need to remedy that in the future, if he lived through this. He could try to use his hands, but he was tied up at the moment.

“You have courage… I can appreciate that. Your parents had it as well. They were foolish though. It was too late for your father. But your mother, she didn’t have to die. I can sense you are different from them both. You aren’t foolish…” the Dark Lord said.

Harry remained quiet gain.

“I also know such implied threats aren’t appreciated by you and would never work. You’re in Hufflepuff. The house for the dunderheads most would say…” Voldemort said.

Harry couldn’t help but glower at those words.

Voldemort continued, “I, however, am not so foolish as they. I can appreciate Hufflepuff traits. Hard work is something any great wizard realizes has immense value. And more importantly to me. Something I have never taken for granted… Something I have always held in high regard…”

He paused for a moment. Harry had to appreciate Voldemort had a good sense for the dramatics.

“Loyalty… Yes… Help me here as only you can, Harry. Show me such loyalty and I will return it in kind… Those you cherish will be left alone. They will be safe. They will be under my protection. Once I return to my rightful place in Britain… No one will bother them again,” he said.

He still wasn’t finished though. “Even your muggle-born friend. My followers will return to me once I regain my strength and body. I have my beliefs that align with their own, but I am as always, a wizard of my word. They will not dare to defy me. I could tell them she was to be worshiped and placed on their shoulders and they would comply. Help me here, Harry… With that which is in your head. And I give you my word. Loyalty for loyalty. Life for life,” he finished.

Harry pretended to be in thought. The others had to be close now, right? Time seemed to be going by much slower than usual here though. “Loyalty is something I hold in high regard,” Harry said.

“One of our many similarities. Just as I know you love magic and see Hogwarts as a home. Think on how we are similar, Harry,” Voldemort said.

“However,” Harry started. Voldemort gave a slight frown. “I do not give my loyalty so blindly. I do not give it to wizards who tried to kill me when I was baby. No deal, Voldemort,” Harry spat out the last words. He would not let Voldemort make a mockery of something such as loyalty. He knew the man was lying. He would not honor his word to Harry, even if he did. Harry knew his own life would be taken by the man as soon as possible.

“Use him! I tried to get him to see reason. He is just as foolish as his parents. Force him to look into the mirror!” Voldemort wheezed out to Quirrell.

Professor Quirrell grinned as he used his wand to force Harry into looking at the mirror. Harry closed his eyes. “Open!” Quirrell growled as magic forced Harry’s eyes open.

There was actually a curious part of Harry that wondered what he would see in the mirror. He wondered what his heart’s desire was. However, he did have to make it look like he wasn’t keen on looking into the mirror. They couldn’t know that he fully appreciated the purpose of the mirror’s trick and wasn’t going to try to fight it. He wasn't so foolish as to think if he somehow got the stone it would be safer.

Harry stared. He then blinked. “Huh… That is something,” Harry said.

“What do you see, Potter!” the two-faced man hissed in his ear.

“I-I-I s-s-seeee… I-I-I se-se-se-see,” Harry said in a mocking imitation of Quirrell’s fake stutter.

Quirrell poked Harry’s face with the tip of his wand and said, “I’m tired of your cheek! Potter...”

Harry wanted to groan at that terrible pun.

He instead provided an answer. He needed to get the man off guard, so he could hopefully make a move. “I see Professor Dumbledore giving me the House Cup! It’s repeating though. I’m winning it seven times. Once for every year I’m here! Hufflepuff is getting the House Cup seven times in a row! We beat everyone. Slytherin, Gryffindor. Even Ravenclaw!” Harry said in excitement and joy.

"He lies! He lies! He lies!" Voldemort kept shouting. Quirrell was seething in anger distracted by his master’s shouts and Harry’s audacity to claim he wanted something so stupid and trivial as the House Cup.

The self-proclaimed Dark Lord wasn’t wrong in his claims. However, Harry achieved his goal. Whether intentional or not, Quirrell had released his bindings. Harry wasn’t about to reach for his wand though. He wasn’t a match for Quirrell in that regard. He instead elbowed the man causing him to let out an “Oof!” in pain before then knocking the man’s wand out of his hand as Quirrell doubled over from the elbow to his gut.

Harry then turned around and sent a quick and powerful punch to his face. “Ahhhh!!” Quirrell cried in pain as his face seemed to be burning. Harry punched Quirrell again. He wasn’t going to lose his advantage this time. Each punch hurt him as well, but he could survive the pain. He wasn’t a stranger to pain. He had two fists and alternated between them. There was no letting Quirrell have a chance to counter the onslaught.

“Kill him! Kill him!!!” Voldemort screeched.

“Master… It burns! I can’t!” Quirrell whimpered in pain.

“Get him! Get him! Don’t be useless!” Voldemort growled in anger from the back of the DADA Professor’s head.

Harry kneed Quirrell in the gut and punched him again. Harry then decided to slap the man across his face. If skin contact affected him this much, more skin had to be more effective Harry thought. He knew it would hurt him more as well, but this was a life or death fight. Harry needed every advantage he could use no matter the cost.

Harry grunted through the pain he felt as he slapped the older man’s face. He grabbed the man’s face with both of his hands. He yelled in pain.

However, the pain Harry felt was nothing compared to what Professor Quirrell was enduring. The older man was screaming in pain as his face and then body seemed to steam. It was as if he was melting.

Then Quirrell seemed to explode!

Smoke seemed to escape from him. A cloud with a snake like face howled in both frustration and pain. The cloud quickly shot for an open vent and escaped Hogwarts. Voldemort couldn’t last long in this form. He needed a new host body and that had to take priority over the stone, even if the dark lord knew this meant the stone was out of the question completely. Voldemort knew Dumbledore would get rid of it after this.

Harry was panting as he fell to the floor in a sitting position leaning against a pillar. He took in labored breaths. He was still mostly awake and the pain wasn’t overwhelming him yet. He heard the sound of several footsteps rushing down the hall towards him. He looked up to see a worried and startled group of girls.

“Hermione... Hannah… Susan,” Harry said weakly to them. They all three looked beautiful even covered in dried sweat and dirt.

They were too shocked and worried to move after seeing Harry in his current state.

An ancient wizard came from behind them. Professor Dumbledore was shocked as well. Harry took in a deep breath as he swayed a little where he was sitting. “I beat him. I got him… He vapored away. Voldemort escaped,” he said wanting to get the truth of what happened out before it was too late.

Harry then felt the last of his adrenaline leave as the pain started to overwhelming him and he swayed and slumped to the side. “Harry!” three voices shouted.

The last thing Harry saw was Hermione catch him just in the nick of time before hit the floor. He wanted to smile to her and let her know he was alright, but he was too weak and tired at the moment. The fight was taking its toll on him now. He instead relaxed completely in her arms and took in the scent of her hair one last time.

If he died, at least his last living memory was something so wonderful.

He really hoped he only felt like he was dying though. He wanted to make what he saw in the mirror a reality. It was a goal worth fighting for in every way.

Chapter 17: Finally Meeting the Headmaster

Notes:

This chapter marks the end of First Year, but not of this story. Just felt I should clarify I will not be dividing it up into multiple books. Hopefully everyone is enjoying the story so far. I have really appreciated the support and feedback I've received so far.

Harry suddenly shot upright in a bed. He quickly calmed and looked around. It was blurry and he realized he wasn’t wearing his glasses. He squinted and looked around to get his bearings.

“You’re awake!” he heard a familiar voice say to him.

“Yes. I am. Where are my glasses, Hermione?” Harry asked.

She quickly handed them to him and he put them on. He could see clearly now he was in what was probably the Hospital Wing. “Are you okay?” Hermione asked him quietly.

“As much as can be. How long was I out?” Harry asked.

“A couple of days…” Hermione said with a worried frown.

Harry sighed. “I guess it could have been worse,” he said to her. Hermione held his hand a moment and nodded. “How long have you been here?” Harry asked her.

Hermione smiled. “Susan, Hannah and I have been taking turns watching over you. School’s finished pretty much and we can easily read ahead while waiting. Tracey has taken a turn or two as well. She claims to be keeping Pansy updated…” she explained. She gave a slight frown towards the end.

“Do you not like that?” Harry asked her.

Hermione sighed, but gave a nod. “I don’t see how she can say she's on your side, but only visit once with Tracey. She seems to take her role exceptionally serious,” she said.

Harry nod in thought. “I can see where you're coming from. But I think she really does take her role seriously. Probably sees it as very important to do so. Considering all that happened down there… I think she might be right,” Harry said.

“What happened after we left?” Hermione then asked.

“A very astute question, Miss Granger,” a wise but grandfatherly voice said.

“Headmaster Dumbledore?” Harry and Hermione asked together as they looked to the tall man with his long white beard and brightly colored robes.

“Last I checked that was my title and name,” he quipped with a smile. Hermione blushed a little, but Harry merely gazed down slightly. “I am sure you are very curious what all happened while you weren’t there, but I feel I must hog Young Mr. Potter’s time a little first,” he said.

“That might be for the best. I’d rather tell you and the others together, Hermione,” Harry said.

“You better,” she warned as Harry smiled and nodded to her. He would tell them everything, which will include this discussion with Dumbledore. The dark haired boy had a feeling it would be telling in a way.

[-] [-] [-]

Once Hermione was politely dismissed, Dumbledore turned to Harry. “Given how people are prone to gossip, whether magical or muggle, almost everyone claims to know the truth of what happened between you and Professor Quirrell. I would like to hear your truth, Mr. Potter,” the aged wizard said.

Harry nodded to the professor’s words. “First of all. We did try to do things the proper way. I do not want Hermione, Susan, or Hannah to get in any trouble,” Harry started.

Dumbledore looked over Harry while hiding his thoughts. “It is good to see you are so concerned for your friends. None of you are in any trouble though,” Dumbledore assured him.

“We first went to Professor McGonagall, but she shot our concerns down before we could even fully explain ourselves. She more or less said we would be expelled if she caught us near the third-floor corridor. She even claimed she should have done so right then and there,” Harry said.

“Perhaps she was a bit over zealous in her warning. I will speak to her about this. It is difficult to expel students. She most likely would not have done so. That isn’t to say she wouldn’t have given you detention for the rest of your years,” Dumbledore said with an amused smile at the end.

Harry didn’t acknowledge it one way or the other as he continued. “We next tried to find you, Headmaster. But over heard Ron, Seamus and Dean talking about how they watched you fly off on a broom,” he said.

“I was summoned to the Ministry of Magic. It was not for anything of too much importance, but I figured it would do no harm to go. Fortunately, I did leave an alarm rune of sorts just past Professor Snape’s addition to the protections. I was in mid-flight when it went off and headed back immediately. That is why I came across your friends on their way to deliver me a letter and already knew what it possibly meant,” Professor Dumbledore explained.

“That is something we hoped for and why we didn’t try to figure out if there was something like that or not. My intention from the start was to just buy time for them to seek out help,” Harry said.

“I was a bit surprised to see it was Professor Quirrell trying to get the stone,” Harry then admitted.

“Only a bit?” Professor Dumbledore asked for clarification.

“We’ve noticed he was faking his stutter and acting scared of everything to the point of parody. I’ve been around people who have real stutters and it is never as controlled and measured as his was. Our theory was he acted that way so he didn’t have to put in effort while teaching. We did not think he was going after the stone,” Harry said.

“It would have still been wise to approach Professor McGonagall or I with such theories and observations, Mr. Potter,” the headmaster said.

Harry looked to him doubtfully as he said, “What good would it have done? We’re just students. First years. He is... was... a member of your staff you hired for a position always hard to fill.”

Dumbledore didn’t really comment on that, but he could see where Harry was coming from.

Harry continued the story. “We sort of fought, but he got me in the end. Once he had me tied up to the pillar, he went back to looking at the mirror. It took me a little bit to understand the inscription on it and I guessed what your plan was. That was rather clever, Professor. Someone wanting the stone would also want to use it, even if it was handing it over to someone else. It was very unlikely anyone would just want the stone and nothing more,” Harry said.

Dumbledore couldn’t help, but smile to that. “I will admit I impressed myself with that a little. I did notice you never retrieved the stone yourself though. Why is that?” he asked.

Harry shrugged. “I figured taking the stone for myself would just make it easier for Quirrell to acquire it. As I said, my goal was never to defeat Quirrell. I only wanted to buy time. He is also a fully trained wizard,” he said.

“And yet you did end up defeating Professor Quirrell in the end,” Dumbledore said in a leading manner.

Harry nodded. “I must have given myself away or something. After figuring out the trick with the mirror, I felt a really sharp pain in my head. It was the worst headache ever! At the time, I thought Quirrell did something, but I soon discovered it was Voldemort who was doing whatever it was,” Harry said.

“Can you expand on that? Go into more detail, if you can,” Dumbledore said looking far less jovial and far more attentive as he gazed at Harry.

“It was like something was trying to drill into my head right around my scar. I guess since Voldemort gave me the scar it was rather sensitive to his magic. It kept trying to drill into me. I concentrated on fighting back and keeping it from entering. Eventually I seemed to visualize what it was in a very vague way. After what felt far too long, I won and it resulted in the magic shooting back and jolting Quirrell forward,” Harry said.

Dumbledore nodded to that.

“What did he do to me, Headmaster?” Harry asked.

“That is what we call Legilimency. It is a form of mind magic that allows the user to sift through your memories. It is not reading your mind as most would think. It is more seeing your mind and the more skilled the user is the more they can navigate it. The usage of such magic is illegal in most senses. It also requires eye contact. There are ways Voldemort could have made it so Quirrell’s turban acted similar to what muggles know as a two-way mirror. He could see you, but you couldn’t see him,” Dumbledore said.

“I see. What did you mean in most senses?” Harry asked.

Dumbledore nodded to that. “With such questions as that, you might have been able to do well in either Slytherin or Ravenclaw. Legilimency can be used passively. That is not regulated, because it is not very powerful and rather more difficult to prove. It would only allow the user to sense the target’s surface level thoughts in the way of emotions. Such usage can be easily substituted by just learning how people act and from experience with communicating with others. Passive Legilimency can also be easily fought back. If the target is able to control their emotions, then it will be of no help to the user,” he explained.

“Is there any way to fight it? I mean Legilimency as a whole,” Harry asked. He did not like the idea of someone reading his thoughts. Maybe not literally, like a reading a book, but it was still reading in a sense to Harry’s mind.

“There is. Naturally as is the case with most branches of magic, there is a counter or opposite to it. That field of study is known as Occlumency. It is not illegal to study Occlumency, but it is frowned upon if one is too obvious about it. After all, most would wonder why it was you were so eager to learn such a difficult and seemingly needless branch of magic, since Legilimency is illegal,” Dumbledore said.

“You said breaking eye contact ends Legilimency. But as you described with Professor Quirrell and Voldemort, there are ways around that. One of the most obvious is eye contact can be forced,” Harry said. He felt like he needed to explain his reasons for wanting to look into it.

“Indeed,” Headmaster Dumbledore said. “What happened after Voldemort revealed himself to you?” he asked moving the conversation back on track.

Harry made a mental note to look into Occlumency on his own time and continued explaining what happened. “He tried to butter me up, threaten me, guilt me, and even bribe me into helping him out. Claimed he would return to power and leave my friends alone. I doubted he would keep his word, and I also realized he wouldn’t allow me to live after helping him. Quirrell was next told to force me into looking at the mirror. I told them I saw Hufflepuff winning the house cup every year I was here,” Harry said.

“Is that what you really saw?” Dumbledore couldn’t help but ask more out of curiosity than anything else.

“Of course not. The house cup would be nice, but far from my heart’s desire,” Harry replied easily.

“What did you see then?” Dumbledore asked.

Harry looked to him neutrally as he said, “A goal I wish to achieve. Something actually worth striving for in my life.”

“Which is?” Dumbledore asked. Learning someone’s drive in life was important in figuring them out.

“What do you see in the mirror?” Harry asked.

Dumbledore thought about answering he saw a nice pair of socks that were very warm. He would claim as a headmaster he had more than enough books and no one realized the importance of good socks. He would use that as a way to hopefully get closer to Harry, while keeping the truth to himself. He realized Harry wouldn’t appreciate that though. The boy also wouldn’t fall for it. Dumbledore instead gave a slight smile as he said, “Touché, Mr. Potter. It is a rather personal question. Sometimes when you get to my age, you can’t help your curiosity getting the best of you in the hopes of finding something interesting in life. As your life continues, things become far duller or at least not exciting. Sorry for my carelessness.”

Harry gave a shrug showing no offense was had on his part. “To force me to look into the mirror, Quirrell freed me from the bindings. I used that chance to knock away his wand and fight him the only way I could. I noticed my skin seemed to burn him or something. It hurt me as well, but not as much as him. I really hoped it would knock him out. Then there would be even more time for help to arrive and you could ask him any questions you had. But that didn’t happen… He died… Or maybe he was already dead more or less,” Harry said as his voice trailed off in thought.

“What do you mean by that?” Dumbledore asked.

“Voldemort mentioned something about being forced to live off of another. He claimed from the start Quirrell was his vessel. He did not call him a vassal,” Harry said.

Dumbledore hummed in a way that showed he was impressed. “That is a very astute observation, Mr. Potter. As I said earlier, you could have done well in Ravenclaw with such care for details. You are right in that regard. Professor Quirrell had to give himself fully to Voldemort for such a thing to be possible. He was dead the moment he made that choice,” he said.

“Shortly before you all showed up, Quirrell seemed to explode and then Voldemort escaped in some kind of cloud form. He left through a vent in the room,” Harry finished.

“Thank you for sharing the full details of what happened, Mr. Potter. It seems only fair that you get to ask me questions in return, even if I may not be able to answer them all,” Dumbledore said with a pleasant smile.

Harry realized this meant there were things the headmaster wouldn’t tell him. He would pay attention to what those things were. “What do you think Voldemort will do now?” Harry asked.

“I guess he will find another way to return. I am not sure what way that will be. I am not even sure how he is still alive as he is,” the headmaster answered.

Harry frowned to that.

Dumbledore spoke again thinking maybe Harry was frowning in hopelessness or something similar. “However. This was a victory for us all, Mr. Potter. He will keep trying and trying, but we delayed him this time. You kept him from coming back now. If we do this enough… Then one day, with a little luck, we will stop him completely from returning and then truly defeat him,” he said.

Harry nodded to that. “Why do you think my touch hurt Quirrell the way it did?” he asked.

“I am not fully sure myself. I feel it was due to the magic your mother cast that night, even if we will probably never know what exactly it was. You mentioned how your scar was a mark from Voldemort’s magic. Your mother marked you as well that night. It is the reason why you must return to the Dursleys, even with your dislike of them. I have even heard of that to an extent,” the headmaster said.

Harry frowned deep to that. “What protection? I’m not sure what you think it is like living with the Dursleys, but they do not like me at all. They love reminding me how freakish I am. They have never stepped in to help me, especially if it was from my cousin. What kind of protection is worth such a cost, Headmaster?” Harry asked.

Dumbledore sighed to that and seemed to be every year he was age wise. “That may be true, Harry. But they have protected you. Your mother used a blood ward on you. That magic protects you from a lot. Voldemort’s followers are still very much at large. Many would use you for their political gain. That protection she gave you keeps those from the magical world who would wish you harm from ever finding you. It will keep doing so as long as you consider them your family and their house your home. Until you are of age,” the headmaster said.

Harry was silent in response. He then spoke again; with the hopes it would keep Dumbledore from looking too much into this. “I don’t like it, but I see where you are coming from, Headmaster,” he said carefully while showing his displeasure at the prospect.

Dumbledore seemed relieved hearing that. He figured it meant Harry would return to them without argument. “On the bright side, you only need to stay until your birthday each summer. That should be enough time for the magic to recharge and keep you safe,” he said.

Harry nodded to that. He saw it as the olive branch the Headmaster intended it to be. “What will happen with the stone and the Flamels?” he asked to move the conversation away from the Dursleys.

“So, you even found out about Nickolas!” he said in a bright and slightly proud voice. “The stone has already been destroyed. Once you told me about Voldemort, I convinced my friend and his wife to move forward their time table in that regard. Hogwarts was never intended to be the final resting place for it in the first place. They have enough of the elixir to finish out their lives as they see fit. When you get to be their age, you see death as simply another part of life and going into a final and eternal nap,” he said with a smile.

Harry supposed he could see that. He wanted to do much more in his own life, but he wasn’t well over 600 years old. He instead asked a question that he knew probably wouldn’t get an answer, but it would be good to see Dumbledore’s reaction. “Why is it Voldemort is after me? I was only a toddler and he went out of his way to kill me and my parents. Even if he loved killing, and especially babies or something like that, it seems… too targeted. too thought out,” Harry said.

Dumbledore sighed to that. “Alas… You have asked something I can not answer to you. The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with caution,” he said.

Harry frowned. “I feel it should still be told to me regardless. It is my life at stake after all,” he said.

“Learning the truth will change you. It will change everything about your life. Even more so if you learn it too soon, young Harry. You have not had an easy childhood; I will admit that. However, I will not rob you of it entirely,” he said.

“Any chance at a childhood ended the night my parents died and I was left with the Dursleys. You will have to tell me someday, Headmaster,” Harry said.

“I will. But you are still young enough to have some form of a childhood, even if it is just a couple of years here in a magical school,” Dumbledore said.

Harry gave a slow nod showing he was accepting of these terms for now.

“It will not give you the specific answer as to why Voldemort targeted you. But it may help you to better understand why such precautions in general, including hiding you from most of magical world, are needed for your circumstance. Find some time this summer to speak with the goblins at Gringotts’. Ask a teller to speak with the Potter Family Accountant. The visit will take a lot of time, so plan for that,” Dumbledore said. The headmaster really hoped this would convince Harry he was on his side and to trust his judgement in withholding the truth from him.

Harry almost said he planned on doing that, since Hagrid told him to do as such, but he decided to instead go along with it here. He nodded to the headmaster. “Thanks for the advice,” he said.

Dumbledore smiled and stood up. “I believe we are finished here. I feel if I hold you up any longer, I will have to deal with the ire of at least four witches, even if three are first years,” he said with a chuckle.

Harry smiled to that. “We are Hufflepuffs. We're big on sticking together and we can be rather stubborn on some matters. Goes with the whole hard work thing,” he joked.

Dumbledore chuckled to that. “I do have one last quick question, if you will,” he said.

Harry nodded.

“Why is it you did not go to the DMLE? Susan is a close friend of yours and her Aunt heads the department,” Dumbledore asked.

“We thought about it briefly, since it was an important matter. However, Susan pointed out we aren’t Aurors and we would need more than just deductive reasoning to convince her aunt to lend us her help,” Harry said.

Dumbledore nodded to that. “It is surprising how grown up you kids can act at times. It is good you and your friends at not quick to take advantage of such a connection. Good day to you, Mr. Potter. I believe Madam Pomfrey will clear you to attend the closing feast tomorrow night,” he said as he left.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry was actually cleared that night. He was glad to have a day to enjoy before the school closed. He was also glad certain people seemed to be giving him a bit of a breather after the whole trip through the trap door. He wasn’t so sure it was out of consideration for him though. He figured Tonks wasn’t hounding him because she was too drained after NEWTs. Pansy and Tracey were also keeping some distance for Slytherin reasons. They had an established relationship with Harry and the others, but it was still rather new as far as the rest of their house could tell and they were being careful with it.

Thinking about the Slytherin girls, Harry decided to make a stop. He was careful to make his approach near the end of Professor Snape’s office hours. Exams may be over, but teachers were still required to hold office hours until the students left.

Harry knocked on the door to Professor Snape’s office door. “Enter…” came the clear but obviously slightly annoyed voice of Professor Snape.

“Mr. Potter. What is it you want?” he asked as Harry entered.

Harry looked around to make sure they were alone. Professor Snape raised an eyebrow in question, but remained silent otherwise. He had a feeling Harry did not act in such a manner without good cause. “I felt it would be best to see what you knew of my encounter regarding the current topic of gossip,” he said.

“And why is that?” Professor Snape asked.

“Maybe because you were the only professor who seemed to have an idea something was going on regarding Ex-Professor Quirrell. I also feel a little disappointed in myself for not seeking you out that day,” Harry said.

Professor Snape’s expression remained neutral, but he was actual impressed a little with the boy’s maturity to admit he made a mistake. “ Further proof he takes more after his mother than that arrogant father of his, ” the man thought to himself.

“What is it that you wish to share, Mr. Potter,” he asked.

“First, could I know what Professor Dumbledore filled you in on?” Harry asked. He then added, “It would take up less time this way.”

Professor Snape decided to humor him and said what he knew. It was a little more than Albus shared with staff on a whole.

Harry was in thought as he said, “Then he didn’t tell you about the part regarding Voldemort.”

Professor Snape’s expression soured. “It seems the Headmaster left that part out when we met to discuss it,” he said.

“Voldemort was, in his own words, sharing Quirrell’s body. He had a vapor form on his own…” Harry said as he then explained the rest to the Potions Professor.

Snape was glowering once Harry finished. Harry knew it wasn’t aimed at him. Professor Snape always felt Dumbledore under utilized him as a resource on matters of dark magic. The aged Headmaster always claimed it was because of Snape's past fascination and he didn't want him to be tempted again. It annoyed Snape Albus had so little faith in his resolve after all that happened.

“It seems the Headmaster keeps much too himself, even when he shouldn’t. Is he always the type to figure he knows best?” Harry asked.

Snape looked to him sharply. “He usually does. The headmaster is a very accomplished wizard. He does have his faults, but you would do well to keep that in mind,” he said.

Harry raised his hands in a placating manner. “I’m not saying he isn’t. But usually isn't the same as always. I know for a fact there is one rather important matter he is very much wrong about,” Harry said.

“And what would that be? Mr. Potter,” Snape said in a level tone.

“We discussed many things after I told him what happened. One of them was why he left me with the Dursleys,” Harry said.

“He did what?!” Professor Snape asked in a far more emotional tone than he meant to use.

Harry’s eyes widened very briefly. This was not the reaction he expected to that revelation. “He left me with my aunt and uncle after that night,” Harry said.

“Why would he do that… He would know just as well as I Petunia hates magic and everything to do with her sister. I doubt her opinions on such matters have changed since that night,” Professor Snape said out loud to himself.

“He said it was for my protection. It would keep me safe from those that wished harm on me and keep me out of the public eye of the magical world,” Harry said. He was still shocked Snape seemed to know his mother rather well, if he knew that about his aunt.

Professor Snape calmed a little and took in a breath and let it out. “I do see the wisdom in that. Many wanted to know where you were for their own motives. He always said you were safe and would attend Hogwarts when the time came. He always left it at that. What does this have to do with your original thoughts regarding the Headmaster?” he asked.

“The thing is… He doesn’t know this, and I hope to keep it that way, but I haven’t been with them since I was eight years old. The protections he mentioned have been with me this whole time despite that,” Harry said.

Professor Snape blinked in surprise to that. “I see…” he said.

After a moment, the professor spoke again. “Why is it you've told me such information?” he asked.

“Dumbledore is many things, but he is still one man. He either didn’t know at all about what happened with Quirrell, or he did and let it happen regardless for whatever reason. I doubt the latter, but it is still a remote possibility. You on the other hand knew something was going on there and were trying to do something about it. I get the feeling there is a reason Dumbledore has vouched for you on many occasions, despite your past with the Death Eaters everyone knows about. Given your reaction to learning of my relatives and mother, I would guess you didn’t fully get on board with their beliefs,” Harry said.

Snape nodded to that. Harry was proving more interesting and cunning as their conversation continued. He started to think they were severely underestimating the boy. Professor Snape had for a while now felt Harry had a way of understanding people more than usual, even for an adult.

He gave a sigh. Something was telling him this was the right moment to share this. “At one time, your mother and I were considered the closest of friends. It was my own idiocy that put an end to that,” he said. He would not have admitted this, if he hadn’t already given himself away too much with his earlier reaction.

“I came to a point where I knew I had to choose a side. Who to place my trust in,” he said.

Harry nodded to that. “So then, you spied for Dumbledore?” Harry guessed.

Snape nodded to that. He wasn’t going to admit anything further now though. He then said, “I do appreciate you sharing this with me, Mr. Potter. In the future though, I hope you remember you are still a student and should mention such important matters to those in charge.”

“I can’t make any promises there. I should have gone to you on this matter, but I did not try to do this on my own. I first approached Professor McGonagall, but she didn’t believe we were telling the truth. Professor Dumbledore wasn’t available at the time either. I will try my best to remember to approach a professor first, though,” he said.

Snape looked to him with a leveled gaze. “I suppose that is the best I can expect,” he said. He then sat down and shuffled some papers around his desk. “If that is all you wish to share, you are dismissed,” he said.

“Thank you for your time, sir,” Harry said as he turned to leave.

“One last question, Mr. Potter. Merely out curiosity. Given you know of my past affiliations, how do you think I would have handled the situation? Why do you think I would not have returned to the dark lord?” he asked.

Harry paused but didn’t turn around. “You admitted you were friends with my mother. She was a muggle born witch. You knew her well enough to realize it was a bad idea for me to be placed with the Dursleys. I do not know all that happened, but I have a feeling you will never return to the dark lord fully. You will at most take up the role of spy again. If you really were on his side, you would not have cared for my mother at all. You would not have changed sides in such a way. You would have most likely used the good old Imperius defense like so many others did,” he said.

Harry then turned and looked to Professor Snape critically. “I think if you were down there, you would have done what I did, but with a different and possibly better approach. I feel you would pretend to help him out, but not actually do so. Once Dumbledore arrived, Voldemort would have still fled and expected you to continue your role here as way to keep tabs on the headmaster. Everyone knows the dark lord was wary of Dumbledore even at the height of his power, there is no way he would dare cross Dumbledore in his current weakened state. He would have no choice but to trust you to handle things here,” Harry said.

“I see… You may go,” was all Professor Snape said. Harry gave a nod of thanks and left. Professor Snape then waved his wand so his posted hours would show his office was closed.

Once the boy was gone, Professor Snape sighed and opened a hidden compartment on his desk. He took out a glass and a bottle of Ogden’s Old. He helped himself to a couple of quick shots before taking his time with an actual drink. He wasn’t much of a drinker, but this was not a regular day. It wasn’t even a regular overly annoying day.

Snape had to admit Potter seemed to have a gift when it came to understanding people. Harry had done a very thorough job guessing how he would react to the situation. Professor Snape also decided it was time he start his own work in fighting Voldemort’s return. He would still work with Professor Dumbledore whole-heartedly, but he would do his own investigation as well. Harry’s explanation of what happened under the trapdoor and description of Voldemort’s current state gave him some ideas where to start researching.

Professor Snape really did feel he was being under utilized by Professor Dumbledore. The headmaster had him keeping in contact with the old crew as a means of keeping an eye on them, which was good. However, Dumbledore should have been using him all along for his knowledge of the dark arts as well. There were some things a man like Dumbledore could never understand when it came to them. Just like there were some things the dark lord could never understand when it came to light magic.

Professor Snape helped himself to another glass of fire whiskey. He wondered just how long it would take for Harry Potter to figure out both Dumbledore and Voldemort. He already had a very good read on him and seemed to have a good idea about Dumbledore’s nature with the little interaction they’ve had. “ Dumbledore is definitely a good chance in defeating the dark lord. Harry may be an even better chance. Perhaps he already has the power to vanquish the dark lord…” Snape thought distractedly as he looked into the fire roaring in his office fireplace.

He looked away from it in shame. He knew he wasn’t a good person, but he also knew his own folly from that time. He wondered what would happen if he were to admit the full truth to Harry Potter, or the boy learned of it himself. As much as Professor Snape now regretted his actions, he couldn’t fault the boy for despising him in every way and seeking retribution. The professor hoped if that happened, it would be after the dark lord was fully defeated.

Despite his thoughts of guilt, Professor Snape couldn’t help but feel a little impressed with Harry. “ The boy clearly has grown up a lot more than any of us knew, ” he thought to himself. Professor Snape decided he would look into Harry’s past, but he would keep the findings to himself. It may be unfortunate Harry acts so mature for his age, and it probably means he missed out on a lot of what childhood should be like. However sad it may be, it is probably also for the best.

This Harry Potter wasn’t a fool. This Harry Potter was smart. This Harry Potter may actually have even the slightest chance against the dark lord. Professor Snape almost raised his glass to the boy, but didn’t because he knew that would please James far too much in his grave. There was no way the arrogant man wouldn't be laughing loud enough to be heard if his most hated rival praised his own son.

Snape would work in earnest to do what he could to help this fight. It was Professor Snape’s job and Dumbledore’s and others like them, to at least delay the dark lord’s return long enough so Harry had the chance the prophecy promised he would have. Professor Snape hoped when all was said and done, Voldemort was defeated and he wouldn’t be scolded by Lily too much in the afterlife for his terrible deeds.

[-] [-] [-]

The closing feast was enjoyable and eventful. Harry wasn’t sure what to make of it really. Dumbledore seemed to decide on his own that he needed to fulfill Harry’s fake desire. It was nice winning he supposed, but it was rather blatant what was happening and he didn’t like that. Handing out so many large amounts of last minute points for things such as “Staying calm and using logic when under fire,” or “Keeping your head on straight when the world seems topsy turvy,” was kind of stupid in Harry’s opinion. He didn’t get why the headmaster was doing it. He still clapped and cheered as everyone else did when Hufflepuff won the House cup and put an end to Slytherin’s uncontested winning streak.

After the feast, it seemed like no time at all before they were packed up and loaded on the train. Harry, Hermione, Hannah, and Susan shared a compartment on the way back. They had many visitors as well. One of them was Tonks who scolded them a little as she finally demanded answers. “You all know I want to be an Auror. Why didn’t you come to me? Catching and fighting dark wizards is what I will be doing with my life,” she said.

“We weren’t sure what would happen, if anything. We figured it would be best if you didn’t let a bunch of first years take you on what could have been a wild goose chase,” Hermione explained.

“My aunt would have frowned upon it. If you were an Auror who had already proven herself, she would have given you some leeway, but you haven’t even started training yet. Congrats by the way. I hope you do well,” Susan added with a smile.

“Fine… I’ll let you all off this time... And thanks,” Tonks replied with a large grin. She then grew serious and said, “In the future, you better keep me informed on such things. I want to hear from all of you plenty. You're my adorable Fristies after all,” she grinned wider at them.

“Hey! We aren’t first years anymore,” Hannah said with a playful frown.

“Doesn’t change things to me. You better come to me if you need help in the future. That’s why I want to be Auror... to help people. It would look really bad if my own first years didn’t even trust their RA to help them,” she said.

Harry nodded to her. “We will do our best to remember that. After all, in the future you will be a full fledged Auror who has proven herself time and time again,” Harry said giving her a bright smile.

Tonks’ grin grew even more. “You better believe I will be!” she said. She then said goodbye to them, since she wanted to spend plenty of time with her friends from her year.

Draco, Pansy, and Tracey were the next to visit. “I’m here to remind you that we have a race already picked out for next year, Potter. You better get a good broom, if not the best,” Draco said.

Harry chuckled. “I don’t remember saying it would happen. Just that it might happen. Anyways… I will make sure I get a good one. Maybe not the most expensive and newest, but it will be a good one,” he said.

“Oh? Not the newest and expensive one? I know you don’t have access to your family’s main vault yet, but you have told me about your trust vault. You could easily afford such a broom, so why not get it?” Draco asked.

“I could. But I just want it for leisure flying. I see it as being wise with my finances. Many times, ‘the newest and best’ broom is only marginally better. If I was going for the Quidditch team, I would get the top of the line, newest and best. Then the extra edge, even if small, would be worth it,” Harry said.

Draco smirked to that. “I guess you do have a point. My mother has talked about how many people who come into money don’t know how to use it properly and spend more than they can afford. That isn’t the case with me, but I can understand the importance of being cautious with your money,” Draco replied.

“Your mother gives you finical advice?” Hermione couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes. She does,” Draco started. He looked Hermione over for a moment and then continued in a tone similar to Pansy’s when she was explaining part of the wizarding world to her or Harry while staying every bit the Slytherin she is.

“The Lady of any prominent family has a good business sense. In the Malfoy family, the Lady Malfoy handles business and, in many respects, the social aspects of the family. Father handles the political aspects. It takes a lot of time and calculation in that regard for a family of our standing, so he is perfectly fine with her handling the finances,” he said.

The group all talked a little longer after that and Hermione was surprised how Draco was more tolerable than usual. He still made a priority of focusing on Pansy, Tracey, Susan and Harry the most. He also didn’t really hide he was doing so. Hermione still felt upset at this treatment, but she kept to herself about it for now. She still saw it as progress.

“Well then. As much as I have enjoyed our conversation, I must be off. There are many important people I must visit,” he said as the trio got up.

[-] [-] [-]

Later Tracey and Pansy returned on their own to visit with the Hufflepuffs. Draco had finished making the rounds with Pansy by his side and the two were doing their own thing now. “So… What do you plan to do next?” Pansy asked Harry.

Harry nodded as he looked to the doors. Tracey got the hint and secured them. He was still learning the right spells for such things. Slytherins learned such spells early on. “Headmaster Dumbledore may be content with just delaying Voldemort’s return. He may be okay with relying on a little bit of luck. I’m not going to do that. I have my own plans on what to try,” Harry said.

“What are they?” Tracey asked.

“I plan on undermining his followers before he returns. I have people who can look into things once I get back to the Knights,” Harry said.

“But the Death Eaters are in the magical world. I know the Knights are impressive, but they are still muggles,” Pansy said with a frown of confusion. It would be hard for muggles to find out much about the magical world, no matter how smart they may be.

Harry nodded to that. “Think about it though. They have a lot of money, but can it really all be explained by just old family money they inherited? How many have big businesses in the magical world. Everyone knows most of them got off on BS excuses. Most people would not be so eager to do business with them due public backlash. I’m sure they have some money that can be tracked through business with Gringotts, but only so much that they can pay off the right people and keep away from paying heavy taxes,” he said.

Tracey nodded in understanding of that.

“They have to be getting it from somewhere else. Even with their hatred of muggles, I’m sure they aren’t all foolish enough to not take advantage of the finical opportunities business in the muggle world provides. They could use it to avoid all of their business being with the goblins, who they see as even lower than muggles. That money has to be laundered somehow and probably go through some choke points to become legit in the magical world. I wouldn’t at all be surprised if they had some kind of operation that involved both the magical and muggle business worlds. Looking around on magical side may be difficult or close to impossible for now, but that is not the case for the muggle side,” Harry said.

“That could work… But will it be enough?” Pansy asked. She was actually impressed by this approach Harry was taking.

“It could work. It could work really well. In the 1920s and 1930s, Organized Crime first became a huge deal and problem in the USA. Big Shot Gangsters were on the rise. One of the most well known was Al Capone. He was pretty much untouchable. His organization owned the police in his area. He had strong political ties to all of the right people at all the right places. He and his men could be open about their violence and no one would stop them. Any convictions against him were discharged or dismissed easily. It was so bad the FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is in charge of nationwide security in the USA had problems taking him down,” Harry explained.

“That does sound rather similar to Voldemort during his height of power here...” Pansy said in worry.

Harry nodded to that. “However, he was eventually taken down. It was tax evasion that ultimately did him in, even the highest court in the USA couldn’t keep him protected for long. His organization started losing power then. They kept some control in the criminal underworld, but it was nowhere near what it was before and even that started to fade away before it too came to an end,” he said.

“That actually sounds like it could work… No one has ever tried that in the magical world as far as I know,” Pansy said. She was feeling even more relieved she listened to her magic and chose to side with Harry.

“It is such an effective method that many governments in the muggle world use it to bring down crime organizations. Sometimes even on the international scale. I’ve heard the FBI in the USA still hire a lot of accountants to help with following the money,” Hermione said. She was actually excited hearing this plan of Harry’s. She felt it would be too juicy if a muggle method brought down all of those pure blood idiots.

Harry nodded again. “Cutting off the money can even bring down whole nations,” he added.

The witches who grew up in the magical world were staring in awe at the idea now. “Wouldn’t they just switch to doing business with the Goblins, despite what they thought of them?” Hannah eventually asked.

“They would try. Maybe it would work, but then their money could be easier to track and used against them. There’s also the little factor of Goblin pride,” Harry said.

Tracey and Pansy gave him questioning looks.

“Goblins run a big part of the economy in the magical world. I spent some time looking them up apart from their rebellions Binns’ always drones on about. They would take it as one of the highest forms of insult a wizard went behind their back and did lots of business without them. Think of all the fees and opportunities they would miss out on,” Harry said with a smirk as the girls giggled.

“So, your plan is to start weakening funds You-Know-Who’s followers would have and to do so before they realize he's coming back?” Susan asked to clarify.

Harry nodded.

“If only Fudge had half the brain to think up such an approach… Then we probably wouldn’t have to worry as much about them,” Susan said with a frown.

She then looked to Harry and said, “If you can come up with evidence, I’m sure my aunt will be more than happy to follow the bread crumbs. After all… If nothing else, we can get them on willfully and knowingly breaking the Statute of Secrecy. She can wing that to bring up even more charges, since it is such a serious crime and hard to fake ignorance of.”

“Maybe your aunt will find a way to adopt a similar approach for the future,” Hannah said to her friend.

“Maybe…” Susan said in thought. It would depend on how well it worked for the magical world.

“I hope this leads to something. Hopefully it won’t take too long either. Who knows how long we have until Voldemort fully returns,” Hermione said with a worried frown.

“It will be one of the first things I start working on as soon as I return. I have some ideas on how the people I mentioned can find a trail to follow,” Harry said. The group then started discussing other topics that were far more pleasant.

[-] [-] [-]

It didn’t seem to take long before they were at Kings Cross. Tracey and Pansy said their good byes and gave summer wishes. Tracey mentioned Harry would probably receive something from her father as a way to officially meet each other and better affirm their alliance.

Hannah gave Harry and Hermione quick introductions to her father. They were short though. It turned out he was just as busy for the start of summer as he was for the start of Christmas break. “Maybe sometime you will get a proper greeting from him,” Hannah said to them before waving good bye.

Susan would have introduced them to her Aunt, but the DMLE were busy with a big case. Susan was picked up by a family friend before going home with them. Her Aunt promised to pick her up before the evening from their family friend’s home.

Before she sought out her parents, Hermione pulled Harry to the side. “What do we do about the whole magic connection?” she asked him.

“See how long we can stay apart before it becomes too much. It isn’t like I’m under house arrest or anything. We can easily make arrangements to meet up over summer. I kind of hoped we would… a few times…” Harry said as his voice trailed off a little bit towards the end.

Hermione grinned to that. “I’d love that! I’m sure we can work something out with my parents,” she said. She then gave Harry a tight hug. It was almost as if she was recharging her Harry battery or something. Harry could only happily return it before they both went their separate ways.

Harry quickly found Davey and Boss eager to greet him again. After a quick round of hellos, Harry turned to Jett and said, “Boss. I need to speak with The Goldsmith.”

“Oh?” Jett started. He then looked to Harry evenly as he asked, “Does this mean you’ve already started making plans for the Magical World?”

“Sadly, I have. Not entirely because of my own choice. I’ll tell you details on the way back. This is something best started on as soon as possible,” Harry said.

Davey looked worried. Jett gave Harry a nod. “Let’s get to it then,” he said as three made their way to the van.

“Is the magical world that bad?” Davey couldn’t help but ask.

Harry gave a small smile as he said, “Only some parts. Most of it is wonderful. I just now have a goal in mind and I will fight for it. After all… If the magical world wasn’t worth fighting for, I wouldn’t bother with what I have in mind.”

Jett gave a chuckle. “Maybe now you'll better understand why I’ve taught you all of those lessons I did. I knew there was something about you, Harry. It was even more obvious to me when you got your letter. I trust you’ll show the Magical World what it means to be a Street Knight?” he asked while giving Harry a knowing look.

“Of course, I will. The Knights actually already have a connection other than me in the magical world you could say,” Harry said.

“What would that be?” Davey asked.

“I’ve met the daughter of the man who gave Boss his sword all of those years ago,” Harry said.

“Maybe you should have been writing me more letters about your life at Hogwarts,” Jett said in surprise at this information.

“You taught me yourself there are some things you have to say in person,” Harry replied with a smug grin.

Jett gave a laugh. “Touché, Potter. Touché,” he said with his own grin as they all climbed into the van.

Harry had already learned and seen much about the magical world. He wanted to know more. He also wanted to do what he could to achieve what the mirror showed him. Defeating Voldemort was only part of it. A big part, but still just one part.

He would be a lot busier than an eleven-year-old boy usually wished to be over summer, but he didn’t know how to live his life otherwise. Just like he told Headmaster Dumbledore, he hadn’t had a normal childhood. The world would eventually see just how different a young wizard raised by the Knights could be. They would also realize you should never write off a Hufflepuff.

Chapter 18: Goblins and House Elves

Harry stepped into a shop on the very edge of the Rust District. The shop was unofficially part of the Street Knights. It was unofficially part of their organization, because the nature of its side business required them to be impartial. That didn’t mean the workers here would ever turn their backs on the Street Knights though.

“Welcome to Gold and Ruby Jewelers. How can I help you?” a pretty attendant said in greeting. The woman was in her early twenties with hazel eyes and dirty blonde hair ending just above her shoulders.

“Oh? Harry?” she asked in surprise.

“I didn’t think you would know my name,” Harry admitted in his own surprise.

“Even here we know about one of the youngest Knights, who is always spending time around Jett,” she said with a knowing smile.

“I guess that makes sense. That will probably make things a bit easier,” he said.

“My name’s Cheryl by the way. How can I help you?” she asked.

“Nice to meet you, Cheryl. I’d like to speak with The Goldsmith,” Harry said.

Cheryl blinked at that, but nodded for him to follow her. She led him to a back room that was mostly dark apart for some very bright adjustable lights around a workbench. There was a man in his early forties wearing Jeweler’s headgear as he examined a diamond set in an intricately crafted rose gold ring.

Harry and Cheryl waited a moment as the man finished what he was doing. He placed the ring down and raised the headgear he wore before looking up. “Oh? What does the little Boss want?” he asked with a smile.

“Little Boss?” Harry asked.

The man chuckled. “Some call you that at times. It’s because everyone is pretty sure Jett’s planning on having you succeed him. Even if it is years down the line yet,” he said.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Cheryl said.

“Thanks, Cheryl,” Harry called to her.

“Everything going alright in the store front?” the man asked her quickly.

“It is, Mr. Gold. Customers will probably start to trickle in about now,” Cheryl replied as she left. The store was called Gold and Ruby Jewelers because Mr. Gold and a woman named Ruby started it.

“So, Little Boss?” Harry asked again.

“Yeah. That’s what some call you. It does seem appropriate considering,” Mr. Gold said.

“Maybe that was Boss’ plan at one time, but now I think I’m due to follow a different path in my life. I will always be a Knight though,” Harry said.

“Some will be disappointed hearing that. I suppose that is how it goes though. So, what can I do for you? I doubt you’re here to ask for a custom piece of jewelry,” Mr. Gold said.

“True. This is a request regarding your other profession,” Harry said.

“Hoh?! This ought to be interesting,” Mr. Gold stated, not hiding his excitement and interest.

He was known as The Goldsmith because he crafted jewelry and he was good at following finical transactions of less than appropriate natures. He was a specialist in tracking precious stones, precious metals, jewelry pieces and coins of all types as well.

Harry hoped his skills would come into play regarding galleons, sickles, and knuts and businesses dealing with them in the muggle world. There should be a way to track them if his hunch was right, and Harry was pretty sure it was. Otherwise it would be far too easy for someone in the magical world to disrupt the cash flow of Death Eaters, especially during the last war.

“It will likely be exceptionally challenging. I want you to look into the trails of coins, probably even harder to find than the some of the rarest in our world,” Harry said.

“I’m liking the sound of this. Can I get others involved?” he asked.

“If you are very careful and would trust them with what you hold most precious,” Harry said.

Mr. Gold nodded his understanding. He would try to keep any help he involved to those who were Knights or strongly loyal to them.

“This could even be a bit dangerous to look into, so I understand if you can’t find anything easily,” Harry said.

Mr. Gold grinned. He had a sense of adventure in him. That was part of why he was so good at both his jobs. He got a lot of inspiration for his Jewelry pieces from ancient ruins of the world. The best way to get true inspiration was to go to the places. This adventure sense of his had played out well for him. He was seen as an expert in ancient jewelry despite his relatively young age compared to his peers in the field.

Harry pulled out the three coins. “I’m not sure how helpful these will be, but they are the key to what I hope you will find. See if there are any businesses familiar with such coins, but be discreet about it. Any businesses dealing with them will be as most subtle as possible. It might also be good to look for banks or investment companies that have dodgy reputations regarding how they maintain their business and wealth, even considering illegal sources. Like I said, this is possibly very dangerous,” Harry said.

Mr. Gold looked over the three coins and whistled. They were well crafted. Exceptionally crafted. He had not really seen them much that he could recall, though he did have a vague sense of déjà vu when examining them. “What else can you tell me?” he asked. He was very interested in this opportunity.

“I’m hoping that’s a positive answer,” Harry said with a smile.

“I’ve been feeling a little cooped up lately. My inspiration needs a bit of a break and a restart,” Mr. Gold said with a knowing smile.

Harry nodded and started explaining further details he was sure didn’t break the Statute of Secrecy. He tried to explain how to find answers from what might not be there as well. It was difficult to fully explain everything, but he did so carefully. This was important.

“I don’t expect results too quickly, but when you have something. Anything. Let me know. I’ll give you more details as I figure them out,” Harry said once he finished explaining it all.

“I’ll do what I can. Whatever your path may be, I get the feeling you will always be important around here, Harry. And Loyalty to those who deserve it,” Mr. Gold said.

“And we never forget that,” Harry replied with a nod. It was an unofficial exchange between Knights and allies when they finished business.

[-] [-] [-]

A pair of large lamp-like eyes on a creature with long bat-like ears, blinked a few times again as it frowned from inside a bush. He didn’t understand it. He had done it right. It was a huge risk for him to do so, but it was important. His master would make him punish himself for doing such a thing as this if it was noticed, but this was important. He had come here several days now and still had nothing.

Dobby was a House Elf. A magical creature bound to a family who served them so his magic would work. It was bad for House elves to not have a family or belong to an extremely magical place. Most were extremely grateful to have a family. Dobby was one of the unfortunate House Elves to be bound to a bad wizard family. He did not like his family and would prefer freedom and all the good and bad that came with it.

To Dobby, and many other House Elves, Harry Potter was a great and wonderful wizard. He was important to House Elves and Dobby would protect Great Harry Potter Sir. Dobby was finding ways to check up on him and hopefully convince Harry not to return to Hogwarts. Dobby’s bad master had bad plans for Hogwarts. Great Harry Potter Sir needed to be kept safe.

This was why Dobby came to a boring house in an equally boring muggle neighborhood. “ Theys don’t even paint houses different colors. Dobby would paints house pink and blue checkerboard! ” the house elf thought to himself. Dobby had come here looking for Great Harry Potter sir, but instead found family with a long necked unpleasant woman, a fat and mustached annoying man and an equally fat son.

“ These muggles be the kinds bad master claims all muggles is likes, ” Dobby thought to himself. Dobby knew otherwise though. All House Elves did. They were born with many skills and knowledge, which included some things about muggles and muggleborns. Dobby did not like these muggles.

The man and woman were extra loud while showing off fat man’s company car. The long-necked woman spent all her time eavesdropping on neighbors to learn gossip while tending her boring garden. The fat son was always grumbling as he worked outside on chores. Dobby heard him carrying on about not being fat but being big boned and more. Dobby wasn’t really paying attention. Dobby only wanted to find Great Harry Potter Sir.

He was at a dead end though. He would have to try more magics to try and find Great Harry Potter Sir. Dobby wasn’t looking forward to the risks this would force him to take. He would really have to punish himself later most likely. Dobby wished he had a good family he was with instead of bad master. Dobby loved working, as did any good House Elf, but working for bad master wasn’t fun.

“ Dobby wishes he had master like he’s sure Great Harry Potter Sir must be, ” Dobby thought as he left boring old Privet Drive for the last time. He had other plans in case he couldn’t find Harry Potter, but he hoped to find him before resorting to them. That one plan might get Dobby in trouble with more than just his bad master, but if he had no other choice, he would do it to save Harry Potter.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry looked around as he waited in the Leaky Cauldron. He had business here today, but he wouldn’t be alone. He gave a smile as a girl with bushy brown hair came over to him smiling widely.

“I’ve missed you so much already!” Hermione said as she gave Harry a tight hug and recharged what she called her Harry Battery. She continued to hug him tightly. She really liked how strong and solid he was in her arms. She felt good here with him, especially with her magic buzzing excitedly around her.

“I’ve missed you too, Hermione,” Harry said with a smile as he hugged her in return. He took in an inhale of her scent. It was nice seeing her again. He wasn’t lonely or anything like that, but he found himself really missing the magical world and his Hufflepuff friends. Letters weren’t enough.

“I’m still a bit surprised you wanted to meet today though,” Harry admitted.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Hermione asked.

“I’ll be busy most of it probably. I’ve been told it will take time in Gringotts,” he answered.

Hermione frowned to him. “I still get to see you now. I’m also sure you’ll at least get a break for lunch for an hour or two while they take care of things. I need to open my own account anyways,” she said.

“Okay. But I hope you don’t spend all of your free time sitting in the bank afterwards doing nothing,” Harry said.

“I plan on looking around near the bank if that is the case. Besides… it beats sitting around home doing nothing,” she barely mumbled the last part.

“Let’s get to it then. Shall we? I’m sure you’re right about lunch,” Harry said with a smile. He hated hearing how alone she was. He supposed it made sense given both her parents’ work. She was at least very responsible and capable of taking care of herself. He still didn’t like it. Hermione feeling lonely made him really sad, especially since she got along so well at Hogwarts with their house.

As they walked, both couldn’t help but hold the other’s hand. They each assured themselves it was just so they didn’t get split up in the crowd and nothing more. Any red cheeks or such were clearly because of how hot it was, being summer and all. It was not from holding the other’s hand.

Hermione was worried she would be scared coming to Diagon Alley without her parents. It was probably still a little scary, but she felt safe being with Harry like this. It was worth sort of guilting her parents to let her make this trip. She heard about a bus service while at Hogwarts called the Knight Bus.

The Knight Bus was really something to look at. It was a triple decker purple bus. The ride it offered left much to be desired. It was at least fast and very convenient. All magicals any age could ride it, so long as they had a wand. It required no magic usage and muggles didn’t notice when it appeared. Hermione did have some wizard money with her still, but the bus took muggle currency as well. The bus was how she got here safely on her own.

Hermione couldn’t help but look around Gringotts once she entered. There was something both extra magical and extra impressive about it. It was also a sign of the magical world. That was something she found herself missing while at home for the summer so far.

This was further proof to her she would one day be leaving the muggle world mostly behind. Even with all of the problems it had, she still felt she belonged more in the magical world than the muggle world. She was thinking all muggleborns felt this way eventually.

“I guess this is where we part ways temporarily,” Harry said getting her attention.

Hermione nodded. “I’ll see you later,” she said and got in line for a section of the bank specifically designated for opening accounts. There wasn’t too much of a wait, since most of the magical world already did business with the goblin bank.

“Next,” a goblin called in a no-nonsense voice.

“I would like to open a new account,” Hermione said.

“What currency will you be opening with?” the goblin asked.

“British Pounds,” Hermione replied.

The Goblin handed her a sheet of paper. “Hold on to this and take a seat over there. Someone will be with you in a moment,” he said.

“Thank you,” Hermione replied as she went to sit down and wait. She missed the goblin almost smiling in response. Working with muggleborns was always fun in his opinion. They were either terrified of you, as all magicals should be of the warrior race, or they were polite and business focused, something goblins really appreciated.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry had to wait longer than Hermione did for a teller to be open. She had just walked off with a goblin, who was fairly young, when he was finally called.

“Next,” the goblin behind a tall desk demanded.

“I wish to speak with the Potter Family Accountant,” Harry said.

A couple of goblins nearby paused for a moment to look over at him briefly. They soon went back to work though. Interesting it may be someone was asking for the Potter Family Accountant, but even if it really was Harry Potter, they still had plenty of work and business to do.

“I am required to say you will have to take a few tests to assure your identity. You and your family will be fined if you aren’t connected to the Potter Family,” the goblin said to Harry in warning.

“Understood. I still wish to speak with the Potter Family Accountant,” Harry replied.

The goblin looked him over briefly and nodded. “Wait over there and a representative will be with you in a moment to escort you,” he said in dismissal.

“Thank you, sir,” Harry said with a quick but slight incline of his head. The goblin hoped his respectful attitude would continue after he grew up. It usually didn’t when it came to witches and wizards.

It wasn’t long until Harry was following a goblin through a number of halls to the office of his family’s accountant. The goblin knocked on a large fancy oak double door. “Enter!” a goblin called from inside as the doors opened on their own.

The office on the other side was fancy, but not too fancy. It was clear the goblin’s office was designed to reflect he was affluent and too busy making money for frivolous spending on decorating it more than it was. The goblin in the office sat behind a large mahogany desk with a large chair that wasn’t too comfy. It was still comfy and fancy enough to show his status.

The goblin himself was slightly taller than most goblins and looked a mix of both business man and warrior. He was strong looking, but it was clear he could indulge himself when he desired. He was that high up in their hierarchy and successful in business.

The goblin nodded to Harry’s escort and the younger goblin left. “Before we can discuss anything, you must prove you are in fact a Potter, or at least have access to their vaults. Take up this knife and use it to prick yourself. Your blood will tell us who you are and if there is more than just natural magic in you,” the goblin said.

Harry nodded and made his way over. He took the knife and pricked a finger without flinching. The goblin was impressed by this, even if he would never admit it. Most wizards gulped or flinched at such a thing. The blood dripped into a fancy bowl with several runes on it. Harry’s finger soon healed and the magic bowl glowed.

Seconds later, a roll of parchment appeared in the goblin’s hands. The goblin looked it over and nodded. He placed it down and spoke to Harry. “What brings you to me today, Mr. Potter. You are not yet old enough to take full control of your vaults, even if you are the last of your family.”

“I was told it would be a good idea to meet with you regardless. I would have last summer, but didn’t have the time,” Harry said.

The goblin nodded. “My name is Goldbite. I am the Potter Family Account Manager. It is good to meet you, even if it is earlier than expected. It was still a good idea to meet like this,” he said.

“I’m Harry Potter,” he greeted in return. It was only natural to him, even if the goblin already knew his name.

“Since you are here. Let us get to business. There is still plenty we can do and I'm sure you have many questions,” Goldbite said.

“Where do we start first, Account Manager Goldbite?” Harry asked.

“We should start with an inheritance test,” Goldbite said. He then waved his hand over the bowl and some of the runes changed. “It is done in a similar manner to the affirmation test you just took,” he explained.

Harry once again took up the knife and pricked his finger. Again, he didn’t flinch. Goldbite mentally grinned at the boy’s tenacity. The bowl once more glowed and later a new roll of parchment appeared in front of the goblin who read it over.

“Well well. This is interesting. It seems you are in fact the heir to two houses. One of them is very ancient, even if it has been frozen waiting for an heir to claim it. I did have some dealings with your father after he was acknowledged as Heir Potter. It seems he did not wish to take up both houses,” Goldbite said.

“I don’t have to either, then?” Harry asked a little hopeful. He was prepared to be Lord to House Potter, but not so keen on being Lord to two houses.

“Sadly for you, that isn’t the case. Your father didn’t have to take both of them up, but because of that, you do. Too many of your family, for whatever reason, didn’t take up both lordships, so now you have no choice,” the goblin answered.

“What are the houses?” Harry asked.

“You are the heir to both House Potter and House Peverell. You may not be familiar with it, given your situation, but the Peverell family is ancient. One of the oldest. It was thought to have died out, but it seems it lives on in the Potter family bloodline,” Goldbite said.

“What all does this mean?” Harry asked.

“It means many things… This is probably going to take some time. I hope you don’t have plans,” Goldbite said.

“I was planning on having lunch with my friend. I was expecting this to take some time, but hoping I could still spend time with her later. We both wanted that,” Harry said.

“I too have lunch plans, so that isn’t a problem. However, the rest might not work out. Speaking of girls…” Goldbite said as he started to explain things to Harry.

[-] [-] [-]

Hermione gave a sigh as she waited in the Gringotts Lobby. This was better than being at home alone, but it was only just barely better. She really hoped Harry would come out so they could have lunch together already.

Opening herself an account went really well at least. The Goblin she worked with was surprisingly helpful she thought. She was also thankful for her parents putting money into a bank account for her when she was much younger. They put a decent bit in there, but it was still just a savings account. It had built up decently over the years at least.

Hermione was pleasantly surprised this made opening her Gringotts account easier. They did do some business with select muggle banks and the one her family used happened to be such a bank. Half of her muggle account was transferred over to Gringotts. She also found out this gave her more options with her account. She couldn’t do too much with it, but she had some options for growing it by going through the goblin she opened the account with.

The bushy haired girl gave a stretch just as Harry walked over to her. He looked troubled by something. Hermione frowned to that and quickly came over to him. “What’s wrong?” she asked in concern.

Harry gave a sigh as he thought over something. He then gave another sigh. “It seems the wizarding world has some really archaic laws when it comes to ancient and noble houses… I can see why my father never took up both houses,” he started.

“You’re heir to two houses?!” Hermione asked in surprise.

“Three possibly… The third is tricky though and only a maybe. I’m second or third in line for it… I am heir for two houses though. Since too many of my family only took up House Potter, I have to take up both so the second doesn’t actually die out,” he said.

“What is the second one?” she asked.

“House Peverell…” Harry said quietly.

“What?!” Hermione almost shouted.

“I guess it shouldn’t be surprising you’ve heard of it,” Harry commented with a small smile.

“I’ve read about it. In what amounts to wizard fairy tales… The tales of Beedle and Bard. One of them is about the three brothers of House Peverell. They came across Death who pretended to be impressed by them crossing a river that would have killed them. He offered them gifts claiming they had bested him and should be rewarded. One asked for a wand that can never be defeated. One asked for a way to call back the dead and further insult Death. The youngest asked for a special cloak so he could hide from even Death himself…” Hermione’s voice trailed off and her eyes widened suddenly.

“If that tale is true… Then that means the cloak you got… Is the one in the story!” Hermione said in quiet awe.

Harry’s eyes widened to that. “No way… That has to be just a coincidence. Susan said there are other invisibility cloaks, even if they are rare,” Harry said.

Hermione was still in awe, but decided to agree with him. It seemed too crazy these artifacts of Death were real. If one was, it meant the others might be as well. It was even more far-fetched her friend and crush had what was literally Death’s cloak. “Y-Y-You’re probably right… They are just stories for wizarding children, even if the family is real,” she said.

The two then took calming breaths. “What were you going to say?” Hermione asked after a moment.

Harry almost wished they continued their discussion about him possibly having Death’s cloak. He was pretty sure that was a safer conversation then what he was about to say, but he wouldn’t keep this from Hermione. She was his closest friend. If this ended their friendship, then it was best they got it over with now. Harry still sighed again. “It seems. I will have to marry two women at least…” he said.

“What?!” Hermione shouted this time. Luckily, they were outside by this time so people just gave them glares or shook their heads and marched off on their own business.

“I know… I don’t like it. I would blame my father, but we aren’t supposed to speak ill of the dead,” Harry said.

Hermione huffed in annoyance at the idea her best friend and crush couldn’t be kept to herself. If Harry wasn’t Harry and the whole magic calling thing didn’t exist, she’d toss any ideas of crushing on him out the window. “ At least he isn’t too pleased about having two wives, ” she thought to herself. Out loud she asked, “Why?”

“From what I was told, it is to keep the line going without fighting between children. It is also supposedly to keep the lines separate to a degree when possible. They don’t want Potter-Peverells. They want Potters and Peverells. Apparently, this is only an issue with houses of certain status. It also isn’t too common for too many wizards to walk around with multiple wives. Such a situation usually lasts for just one generation at a time,” Harry said.

“So… If you end up the heir of this other house. You would have to marry three?” Hermione asked incredulously.

“Yep. I wouldn’t have the option to turn it down,” Harry said.

“Is it possible you would have more wives?” she asked only a little dangerously.

“Only if I were to marry a girl who was the last of her line as well. She would keep her name and only children she had could carry it on. I was told that is even rarer to happen though. Usually a girl in such a situation would marry a man who was far down the line of secession for his own family, or didn’t belong to a significant House at all. She would also have to be the last of her own family,” Harry said.

“That means Susan is currently in such a situation,” Hermione said looking Harry over carefully.

Harry didn’t really respond to her comment. He liked Susan and she was cute, but that didn’t mean he was going after her or anything. “So. What do you want to do for lunch? I have an hour left until I need to meet with my family’s account manager again,” Harry said changing subjects.

Hermione knew what he was doing, but she couldn’t really be angry with him for doing so. The fact they had a limited time also spurred her into action. She would bring this up with him again later, but for now she wanted to enjoy the time she could with him for today.

“I actually have a place in mind. I saw it when I came shopping last year with my parents. We didn’t eat there since we weren’t sure about magic restaurants and food apart from The Leaky Cauldron. After going to Hogwarts, I think I’m ready for such a place. And you’re paying this time,” Hermione said brightly.

Harry raised an eyebrow at her in silent question.

“I put all of the money I had with me in my new account… I didn’t realize I wouldn’t have access to it until tomorrow,” Hermione explained as she blushed. She also sort of felt Harry owed it to her after telling her she had to share him with some other girl. Well… she only had to share him if she stayed with him and tried that kind of a relationship. She had thought about that a lot though and wasn’t willing to give up on that dream just yet. She promised herself she would make it up to him another time.

[-] [-] [-]

Despite the earlier bombshell, lunch was still very pleasant and enjoyable. The restaurant Hermione picked served Wizard cuisine from around the magical world. Both Hufflepuffs noticed there was some overlap between wizarding dishes and muggle dishes. There were also plenty of dishes that were clearly only found and served in the magical world.

Harry sighed as he stretched once he paid and they left. He made a point of ignoring the waitresses commenting on how cute it was to see such young love on a date. Hermione was blushing, but it wasn’t out of embarrassment of what the women said. She was really happy to realize they had essentially been on a date in a roundabout way. It wasn’t an intentional date, but it was still a date pretty much.

She looked to Harry and worried a little. “What’s wrong now?” she asked after he sighed.

“Not really looking forward to meeting with Goldbite again for possibly the rest of the day. What will you do?” he asked her.

“Is it wrong part of me wants to wait? Hoping we can actually have more fun together? Even if only for supper?” she asked in a small voice.

“I get what you mean. I wanted us to do more than just lunch. I think waiting until supper would be bad though. Who knows how long the rest of the day will take. I wouldn’t want your parents worrying about you,” Harry said.

“I suppose so…” Hermione said with a frown. Her parents had partly agreed to her solo-trip because they would be busy until late tonight with the business aspects of their practice. They said she’d probably have to make supper herself, have leftovers, or order delivery. She doubted they would notice if she stayed until supper or even afterwards in Diagon Alley.

She didn’t want to say that to Harry though. She didn’t want him feeling sorry for her considering he didn’t have parents. She also kind of liked how people usually figured she had a perfectly wonderful home life. Her parents didn’t treat her badly or anything and she had them both, which was good. She really had it well off compared to many others. She knew this, but still felt rather lonely at times anyways.

The two gave each other good bye hugs before they parted company again. Harry went to Gringotts and Hermione decided she would look around some of the shops before heading home. She really wanted to be out of the house and she wasn’t counting the backyard today. They did at least decide to meet again this summer and hopefully soon. When they met again, it would just be for fun and seeing each other. They wouldn’t have to worry about any business dealings with goblins. Hopefully…

[-] [-] [-]

“Before we continue, do you wish to ask anything?” Goldbite asked Harry as they got ready to continue their business.

“I do actually. Why is it Dumbledore had my trust vault key?” Harry asked.

“Ah. I probably should have covered that earlier. There was a lot we had to discuss though and it isn’t that big of a deal. He had your key because he’s your Magical Guardian,” Goldbite said.

“That sounds like a rather big deal to me,” Harry said more pointedly than he meant to speak.

“It isn’t really. I think you’re misunderstanding what it means. A magical guardian is not the same as a parental guardian or the muggle concept of guardianship,” Goldbite said.

“What does it mean then?” Harry asked.

“Professor Dumbledore is the Magical Guardian for all Muggleborns and others like you. He does not really have any power over you or anything. He was holding your trust vault key because it had to be held for you until you received it, since it is a magical object. He could not access any of your money and can’t really control your life or anything like that. So, don’t worry about such things,” the goblin said.

“Why is a magical guardian needed then?” Harry asked.

“That’s because of wizarding politics at its finest. A group of individuals wanted to make it so muggleborns weren’t allowed to attend Hogwarts. Some still want that now, but they also want to kick out muggleborns altogether. The group I’m talking about just wanted them out of Hogwarts. They passed a law that forbade muggleborns from going to Hogwarts. To get the bill passed and to pretty it up, they worded it so it boiled down to you had to have a magical representative to attend Hogwarts. That would allow wizards in your situation to still attend by giving them such representation,” Goldbite said.

The goblin grinned as he continued, “But the wording left open a loophole. The opposing party, who wanted to have muggleborns attend Hogwarts, took advantage of that loophole. They did so in a rather marvelous way, if I say so myself. They declared the Headmaster or Headmistress of Hogwarts would be considered the magical guardian for all muggleborns or muggle raised witches and wizards. They also worded it in a way to show they were doing the magical community a favor. They wouldn’t have to worry about finding magical representation for all of the children who needed it after tracking them down. Hogwarts would handle that.”

He was a goblin. They had their dislike of witches and wizards, but they would admit wizards really did make politics juicy and interesting. They had made it into almost an art-form, similar to how goblins did so with greed and business.

“That was well played,” Harry had to admit.

“Now then. Shall we discuss your parents’ Will?” Goldbite asked.

Harry frowned. “I wasn’t aware they had one,” he said.

“Understandable. I have paperwork here that says your parents’ Will was sealed by Albus Dumbledore,” Goldbite started.

Harry frowned to that. It seemed despite his supposedly limited power over Harry’s life, Dumbledore had done a lot to influence it. Harry glared at that thought for a moment, but then sighed. “I think I know why he did. I didn’t think he could though,” Harry admitted.

“He had to bend the rules a little and use a favor or two probably. We can execute it here, since your parents gave us a copy as well. We’re considered to technically be an independent nation. I am not sure what influence opening it here would have when it comes to the Ministry of Magic. We can… levy fees against Dumbledore for interfering with the reading of James’ and Lily’s Last Will and Testament if you want,” Goldbite said.

Harry thought about it for a moment and shook his head. “I know why he did it. He is wrong to have done so, but I would rather not have him notice we have executed it here. Would Gringotts be able to fulfill it?” he asked.

“We could in many ways. When it comes to guardianship though… No, we can’t,” the goblin said.

“I believe that may work for the best,” Harry said.

“Why do you think Dumbledore sealed it? If I may ask,” Goldbite said.

“He is under the false impression my mother, in her last moments of life, used a blood ward to give me extra protection. He knows enough my mother and her sister never got along. My aunt would not be listed as a potential guardian but her being a blood relative was needed for the blood ward. This protection my mother gave me keeps those in the magical world, who would wish me harm, from finding me and doing so. It also keeps me out of politics before I am ready,” Harry said.

“That does sound like a good reason. But false impression?” Goldbite asked.

Harry nodded. “Yes. I haven’t been living with my Aunt and Uncle since I was eight years old. I prefer my current living situation to anything Dumbledore might think up supposedly for my own good. He may legally have limited influence over my life, but I can see him willingly bending more rules and laws, claiming it is for my own good and the good of the magical world at large, or something like that,” Harry said.

“And sadly the wizarding world would side with him on such matters,” Goldbite said in agreement.

“That’s what I believe. I would rather not have Dumbledore actively working against me. I haven’t been bothered by him all this time. I wish to keep it that way. My mother’s protection still works exactly as he explained to me at the end of this last school year,” Harry said.

“Do you still wish to hear it?” Goldbite asked referring to the will.

“Yes. I do,” Harry said.

[-] [-] [-]

Once Harry was finally finished with Gringotts business for the day, it was early evening. He thought back on all he learned. It turned out he actually had a number of people he was to have possibly gone to in the event of his parents’ deaths. Harry begrudgingly admitted Dumbledore’s interference seemed to have worked out for the best in many ways. Unintentional on Dumbledore’s part, he was sure though.

Harry could have gone to the Longbottoms, but he knew that wouldn’t have ended well. Alice Longbottom was his Godmother, but Goldbite informed him she was in St. Mungo’s Mental Ward permanently along with her husband. That meant at best Harry would have been with Neville and his Gran. At worst, who knew what would have happened.

The one thing that was very curious was his Godfather’s situation. Both his Godparents underwent a Godparent Ritual, which meant there was no way they could have betrayed him without endangering their own magic and life. What was really odd was how Goldbite informed Harry everyone was under the impression Sirius Black was responsible for his parents’ deaths. The will proved that wasn’t the case, but he was still in Azkaban for killing them anyways.

Harry asked if there was anything that could be done about this and Goldbite told him it was minimal. The Goblins could have someone look into it in the wizarding world, but that was about it. The matter would have to be handled with the Ministry of Magic and that would be tricky, especially depending on how Sirius was thrown into Azkaban in the first place.

This explained why Harry was in line for the Black Family. It also meant there was a very good chance Harry would have to find a third wife. His Godfather was unlikely to sire an heir while in Azkaban. Goldbite assured Harry, due to the inheritance test, he was the next in line after Sirius if the man had no children of his own.

The Heir for two families, possibly three, quickly realized after that there was indeed a lot of paperwork in the magical world. He found this surprising to an extent. There weren’t receipts for most purchases, but for a lot of things there was a huge amount of paperwork.

“The British Ministry of Magic’s love of bureaucracy is second only to Gringotts,” Goldbite jokingly told Harry while flashing him an unsettling goblin grin. Harry was proud he didn’t too noticeably flinch at the sight.

Harry felt exhausted after everything that happened that day. There was still more that had to be handled with Gringotts, but that would have to be on another visit. The goblins had to work out some matters first. Harry was informed he would receive a notice once they were ready for him to meet the Account Manger again. He was looking forward to finally going to bed that night as he arrived home.

However… There was an odd creature standing on his bed with large eyes.

“Dobby finally finds Great Mister Harry Potter sir!” the small creature said with joy as he bounced on his tiny feet.

Harry sighed to himself and hoped this wouldn’t be too much trouble. He had a feeling he shouldn’t count on that fleeting hope.

Chapter 19: Dobby’s Determination, Harry’s Resolve

“No offense… But who and what are you?” Harry asked.

“Dobby is named Dobby. Dobby is House Elf,” the small creature answered.

Harry knew a little bit about house elves, but not much. He did know you had to be careful with what you said to them. They would feel compelled to help a wizard, even if they weren’t a part of the family the elf served. This could lead them to taking drastic actions if you were asking them to go against their family. The action they took could vary greatly depending on their family’s rules and the Elf’s interpretation on how to obey them.

“Can you tell me what family you belong to?” Harry asked carefully. His thinking was a yes or no question would be best. He was not forcing Dobby to say who his family was.

Dobby seemed relieved by the way Harry asked the question. “Dobby wishes he could tell Great Harry Potter Sir what family he works for, but he cannot,” the small creature answered.

Harry accepted that answer and figuring pushing further would be bad. “Why are you here?” he asked. This felt safe to ask and allowed Dobby to work within his family's rules.

“Dobby wishes to save Harry Potter Sir. Dobby wants to warn you there be danger at Hogwarts this year,” Dobby said.

“More so than usual? We did have a troll break in last year. My friends and I also took on a lot of tough magical challenges the staff created. We even had a professor possessed by Voldemort who we faced at the end of the year,” Harry said.

The creature flinched at the name of Voldemort. Harry was disappointed even magical creatures acted in such a way because of the name.

“Dobby… Is not sure… Dobby does know this danger be terrible and be very dangerous! Harry Potter Sir could die from it! Lots of good witches and wizards childs could die from it. Mister Harry Potter Sir’s friends could dies from it,” Dobby said.

“Can you tell me what this danger is?” Harry again asked carefully and managed to keep calm. He wanted to lash out and get defensive with Dobby saying his friends could die, and expecting Harry not to be there for them. He had a feeling that wouldn’t work out either though. All of those lessons from Boss kept paying off it seemed.

Dobby looked disappointed in himself, but answered the best he could. “Dobby cannots say! Dobby tells Mister Harry Potter Sirs it is really terrible! Harry Potter Sirs must not die!” he said.

“Why are you saying I in particular must not die?” Harry asked.

“Harry Potter Sir is too great too wonderful to dies! Harry Potter Sir beated bad dark lord wizard, but he is still in danger from this. Sir means a lot to House elves! Sir means lots to plenty of peoples!” Dobby said.

“Does this danger have anything to do with You-Know-Who?” Harry asked.

Dobby looked to mull over the question. He shook his head after a moment. “No, it does not do with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Bad dark lord wizard is not only danger in magical world... There’s others befores him,” he said.

Harry almost would have sworn Dobby was trying to tell him something here with the way he answered that question. It was like he wanted to give Harry a hint.

“What exactly are you asking me to do here?” Harry asked.

“Dobby is askings Harry Potter Sir not return to Hogwarts! Dobby knows Harry Potter Sir great wizard. Great person! He would not lie and tricks Dobby. He would not breaks his word! Dobby wants Harry Potter Sir to promise he not returns to Hogwarts until it is safes!” Dobby said.

“Safe is rather vague…” Harry started.

“Safes from this dangers. It be bads! It be closings Hogwarts maybes!” Dobby said trying to further emphasize his point.

Harry thought what to say here. He could tell the house elf was earnest in his request. If it wasn’t for his friends at Hogwarts, he might agree to it just to be done with this and simply go to one of the other well-known magical schools to finish studying. He was pretty sure he could manage that if he wanted.

Harry sighed. “I do appreciate your concern, Dobby. You are right about how I wouldn’t go against a promise I made in earnest,” he said.

Dobby looked hopeful. His large lamp like eyes seemed to glow. His large bat like ears seemed to perk up.

Harry hated he would be crushing the house elf’s hopes.

“However… I can’t turn my back on my friends there. I’m both a Street Knight and a Hufflepuff. Leaving them like that would go against everything I stand for,” Harry said.

Dobby frowned and large tears seemed to well up in his eyes. He sniffed and frowned deeper. “Dobby was afriads of this. Dobby hoped he could do somethings about Great Harry Potter Sir’s connection to friends. Dobby couldn’t finds Harry Potter Sirs soon enough. Great Harry Potter Sirs is too wonderful. Too great. To leaves them. Dobby asks once more. Will Harry Potter Sir please not return to dangerous Hogwarts?” he asked.

“I can’t and won’t make that promise,” Harry said seriously.

“Then Dobby must dos this. Harry Potter Sirs won’t be betraying friends... If he’s kicked outs of Hogwarts!” Dobby said.

Harry narrowed his eyes as the elf snapped his fingers. Harry’s eyes widened as a few things on one of his shelves started to float up and hover above the floor. Harry’s jaw opened as he watched them fall to the floor seemingly in slow-motion. They bounced back up a couple of times, in a way only magic could accomplish, before safely settling on the floor.

Dobby looked regretful as the things harmlessly landed on the floor. They wouldn’t break, but they didn’t need to break. Dobby was sure he accomplished what he wanted. “Dobby is sorrys!” he cried before snapping his fingers again and disappearing. He had to hope that was enough. Dobby wouldn’t be able to return anymore this summer. There was only one last plan he had. Dobby hoped it didn’t come to that.

Harry could only stand there in shock for a moment. He then jumped and frowned as he heard an owl hoot from nearby. It dropped off a letter before leaving again.

The young wizard held the letter in trembling hands. He feared what it meant. He was curious as to why there wasn’t an official seal on the letter though.

Harry swallowed and opened it.

“Dear Harry. My father wishes to formally meet with you next week. He’s also hoping to meet with Jett unofficially as well…” Harry read aloud.

He sighed in relief as he slumped on to his bed. He suddenly sat upright again and waited in silence. He was wondering if maybe it would take a moment for the Ministry to send him a notice regarding what just happened. Dobby used magic and Harry was sure he had done so in a way it would be detected.

Dobby’s plan was obvious. Get Harry expelled for breaking the laws about underaged usage of magic and doing so near muggles. Harry wouldn’t have betrayed his friends, but couldn’t return to Hogwarts either. Had the house elf not wanted to force Harry out of Hogwarts, he would have appreciated the manner Dobby used to accomplish his goal.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry relaxed a little after an hour passed. He hadn’t received any notice from the Ministry of Magic or Hogwarts. He was curious about that. He doubted Dobby messed up in what he planned to do. He could tell the elf was determined to keep Harry from returning and knew what he was doing. Harry did know the trace on his wand didn’t trigger since it wasn’t used. “ Is that enough to keep me safe though? ” Harry thought.

Harry doubted that was the case. The magic should have been sensed by the Ministry and there weren’t any other magic users in the area, so they would assume it was Harry. Maybe the fact he wasn’t with the Dursleys, where he was believed to be, meant they didn’t know any magic had been done around him.

“Not likely…” Harry said to himself. He had a feeling sensing magic was a lot more precise, impersonal and couldn’t be tricked so easily. He supposed there was a slim chance it wasn’t precise enough to sense his magic compared to when Boss used his enchanted sword, but that probably wasn’t it either. There would have been some problem with Boss using his sword sooner if that could be sensed at all. Especially, given how many enchanted items were rather illegal from what Tracey told him.

The only explanation he could think of was the Rust District was in a dead spot regarding the Ministry’s magic sensing abilities. He wasn’t sure about that either though. He decided to just take it as a stroke of good luck and leave it at that. “ I’m not about to try using my wand to see if the Ministry picks it up or not,” Harry mentally told himself.

He had a feeling he wouldn’t be immediately expelled, but it could be possible. If it was only a warning he received the first time, he would rather not waste it. He had no need to use magic here. Using up his warning or getting in worse trouble was too much of a risk for something so trivial.

Harry instead sighed and relaxed fully. He was even more ready for sleep after the encounter with Dobby. He would read the letter from Tracey more thoroughly in the morning and speak to Boss about it before replying.

[-] [-] [-]

“I do like the sound of that,” Jett said as Harry finished talking to him about Tracey’s letter. “It would be nice to see him again. In a way, part of me wants to know what he thinks about how I’ve turned things around here. Go ahead and make the arrangements, Harry. We’ll set up an appropriate place for such an important meeting,” he said.

“Thanks, Boss. I feel this meeting will be key in what I do with my future in the wizarding world,” Harry said.

“Making alliances is important if you intend to do more than just survive,” Boss said in parting. He was impressed with Harry already taking such steps. He hoped he could help Harry in the ways he could. Some believed he was raising Harry to take over the Knights in the future. That was never his intention, but it wasn’t something he discounted either.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry felt a little nervous as he made his way to meet Lord Davis. The Davis family may not be as powerful and wealthy as say the Malfoy family, but they were still one of the ancient and noble houses. Since this was an important meeting with allies, Harry wore some nicer clothes. He wasn’t wearing a full-on suit or anything like that, but he was well dressed for someone his age.

“How may I help you, young man?” a well dressed man asked as Harry entered the place where the meeting was. It was clear the man was being polite, but didn’t think Harry belonged there. Harry supposed this was understandable. He was alone in such a place.

“I’m Harry Potter. I believe you’re aware of why I’m here,” Harry said carefully.

The man’s eyes lit up in recognition. “That would explain it," he said to himself. He turned and spoke to Harry, "If you will follow me, Young Mr. Potter.” He then led Harry from the entrance Lobby.

The meeting was being held in a country club of sorts. It had a golf course and even a really nice pool. The place was usually seen as a finer dining establishment that occasionally held events for members. It also had plenty of meeting rooms that could be used.

They were going to have some lunch as part of the meeting so this was a great location. This decision was more of a business tactic and Harry did feel uncomfortable about it. At the same time, he was determined to get more used to such things. He was the heir to two, possibly three, houses that were very important.

If his parents were still alive, he would never be doing something like this so young, on his own. If he was just a regular kid, he would never be doing something like this period most likely. As Harry told Dumbledore though, any chance he had at being a regular kid ended when he was placed with the Dursleys. He may not be able to take up his lordship yet, but he was still the head of his family and had to start acting as such in some ways.

As the two walked through the halls, Harry was soon greeted by Tracey. “Good to see you made it,” she said as she came up next to him. She looked to the man leading Harry and said, “I’ll take him from here.”

The man nodded in understanding. This whole thing was weird, but the club was loyal to the Knights. It seemed fitting to him in a way the Little Boss was involved in such situations. It was just hard for the man to wrap his head around how different some children could be. He was used to children either being nervous or the parents desperately trying to keep them under control. Two children arranging for some kind of fancy meeting was very different.

“Father is happy to have this meeting. Your dealings with him today should go well. I’ll still help where I can, but while I will be entering the room with you, I will stay mostly quiet during the proceedings. I am to mostly be an observer as Heiress Davis today. As such, do not take offense if it seems to my father as if I'm not there. I felt I should warn you of that,” she said.

“Thanks for the warning. I guess I should act the same way. Is that correct?” Harry asked.

Tracey nodded. “In the case of this meeting, Yes. You are Heir Potter the unofficial head of your house. My dad is Lord Davis, Head of his house. My getting too involved with such a meeting would be seen as an insult to you. You requesting I be more involved, would be seen as an insult to him. My father wouldn’t take insult, but he sees it as his duty, through our alliance, to help prepare you for such things. So, he would lecture for such a thing,” she said.

Harry nodded to that. “That is a bonus I had kind of hoped for,” he admitted.

“Good to hear,” Tracey said as she opened the doors.

Lord Davis was tall and fit for a wizard. He looked to be in his early forties, but still had the air and dignity of someone far older. This was something Harry had noticed seemed more common in the wizarding world. It seemed magic slowed the aging process in some ways after a certain point. The man gave a smile that was the right amount of approachable and polite. He was wearing dark blue and green dress robes designed to pass in both worlds, even if it meant he would extraordinarily well dressed in the muggle world.

Harry came forward and offered a hand to the man. “It is good to meet you in person, Lord Davis. Your Daughter Tracey, has told me about you,” Harry said.

Lord Davis shook his hand firmly and smiled more friendly. “I’m glad to meet you as well, Harry Potter. May I refer to you as Heir Potter?” he asked politely.

“That will work fine in such a setting, Lord Davis,” Harry said. The man nodded to him and the two took their seats at the table as Tracey took her own seat.

“I will admit I’m impressed with the setting for our first meeting. I expected to meet somewhere in the Rust District,” Lord Davis said.

“Jett felt it was best to use something more appropriate for meetings that required formal or business settings,” Harry informed him.

“I look forward to meeting Mr. Manton later. I could tell there was something about him back then. As I can tell there is something about you, Heir Potter. That is part of the reason I was keen on meeting like this so soon. I do admit I look forward to the meal first though. I kind of prefer muggle food,” Lord Davis said with a slight smile to ease the atmosphere.

“The food here is rather excellent I'm told,” Harry said as Tracey opened the doors for the staff to enter.

[-] [-] [-]

The meal had been pleasant enough. Tracey was more actively participating during that, even if she was partly in charge of alerting the staff when they were needed. It was a strange set up, but it allowed them to have more relaxed conversation without having to worry about keeping within the Statute of Secrecy as much.

Once they were finished, a pitcher of ice water was left and Tracey informed the staff she would let them know if they were further needed. This was also a bit of real practice for her duties as a future Lady of her house. Given her family’s situation, she had to fulfill a bit of both roles as Lady and Heir in wizarding society.

“Now then, let us get to business,” Harry said as Lord Davis nodded.

“I am here to formerly solidify our alliance. I am aware you have many questions and I will do my best to answer them. I do plan to leave some of it for future to my daughter though. She will be the primary contact between us, since you are both at Hogwarts and established as friendly with each other. I’m also here to formally thank you for how you helped her and her friend during their visit to the Rust District those years ago,” the Head of House Davis said.

Lord Davis then stood up and gave a slight bow to Harry. “Thank you for your aid during that time. The Knights have treated my family well and we wish to do the same in return,” he said as he sat back down.

“What do you wish to ask first?” The lord asked Harry.

“I would like to better understand why you wished for this alliance and what you hope to gain from it,” Harry said.

“I will not lie. We do hope this alliance will be very beneficial to us. We will do what we can to aid you in what you hope to accomplish in the future,” Lord Davis said.

“Tracey tells me your family is in the neutral camp,” Harry said.

Lord Davis nodded to that. “We are. We do tend to lean a little towards the Dark Alliance at times, depending on if what they are wishing to accomplish is actually for keeping traditions or not,” he said.

“I’m under the impression a good number in the dark alliance are of similar stance. It seems some feel they have no other choice in the matter,” Harry said.

“That is rather astute of you, Heir Potter. Sadly, much of the neutral camp are mostly there to protect themselves from having to choose a side though. We sort of see it as a place for those who don’t see the world as just black and white. We wish that was how most in the neutral camp treated it,” Lord Davis said.

“I prefer that interpretation. That is how we in the Street Knights see the world,” Harry said.

“I wish to ask where you feel you will end up aligning yourself politically. You need not answer yet, but it would be good to think on it and start acting accordingly,” Lord Davis said.

Harry gazed at Lord Davis thoughtfully. The man wouldn’t admit it, but he felt as if Harry was reading him. It wasn’t in the way of Legilimency, but he could tell Harry was thinking on something he seemed to see. It partly terrified Lord Davis someone so young could do that. More than that it impressed him and made him feel even more certain aligning with Harry Potter was for the best, even without the prophecy.

“I am not familiar with such proceedings, but I do know vows and oaths exist in the magical world. How are such things handled when it comes to alliances usually?” Harry asked.

“It depends, but usually just a verbal vow with no magic is used. Some cases a vow or oath with magic may be used as a way to protect information. In very rare and usually frowned upon ways, a more permanent and deeper vow is made. There is what we call the Unbreakable Vow. These are rarely used and it is seen as very aggressive and even insulting to require such a thing. The Unbreakable Vow will take your life if it is broken. Magical binding Contracts can be similarly nasty, but those are more flexible in their use. If anyone ever asks you for such a contract, read it very carefully and have an expert you trust look it over as well,” Lord Davis said.

Harry nodded to that.

“That all said. Vows and such can be used and worded in a way that simply protects those involved and does not result in harm to either party,” Lord Davis further explained.

“Something of that nature may be best later on. I do intend to do some things that might require such protection. I have some plans I do wish to achieve in the magical world and feel I must do so as a Street Knight. There are problems I have already noticed I wish to fix,” Harry said.

Lord Davis gave a slight grin to that. “As I said before, I knew there was something about you, Heir Potter.”

Harry nodded to that. “To answer your question earlier, I plan on being a part of both the Light and Neutral Camps. I also plan on hopefully working with some in the Dark Alliance who feel it is their only choice and truthfully have more neutral leanings,” Harry said.

“That will be tough,” Lord Davis said.

“I feel Boss has taught me a lot to help with that. I am also hoping, given our alliance and others I may form in the future, I will be capable of doing so,” Harry said.

“I do believe you could possibly learn to do such things from the shadows. I'm aware of how the Knights operate after all. Publicly, you will have to choose a side though. That will limit how much you can do and how much you will have to leave to others. House Davis can help with the neutral camp at least. It will still be tough though,” he said to Harry.

Harry nodded to that, but then grinned. “I believe I am in a position that will allow me to be an active and open part of both the Light Side and the Neutral Camp,” he said.

Lord Davis raised an eyebrow to that. Tracey blinked in surprise at Harry’s claim. She knew his family was powerful and he did have the weight of his status as The-Boy-Who-Lived, but that would more or less force him to pick the light side. Picking the neutral camp would limit what he could do. It is hard to explain and mostly just works due to the mental gymnastics the wizarding world takes, but if he could indeed be in both, that could work for the best and make him very powerful.

“That is a very unusual claim. What exactly do you mean?” Lord Davis asked.

“Before we move forward, is there anything we need to do to officially become allies? There are some big implications to the answer of your question,” Harry said seriously.

Lord Davis would admit he was intrigued by this. He also felt maybe it would require a lighter form of a magical oath. He thought carefully on how to word it, but this was something he had prepared for. He nodded and spoke. “I do think I have an oath that will suit this situation. You do have your wand correct?”

Harry nodded. “I do,” he answered.

“I will give you a magical oath. Raising your wand and accepting it will not break any laws or rules. Giving an oath in return can be done, but I would have to use my own magic to first secure this room from detection. I could get away with it, but doing such an action too often would cause a few eyebrows to raise in the Ministry. I will word the oath in a way that is rather open and only requires your acceptance. Keep that latter information in mind for the future,” Lord Davis said.

He was really taking a big risk here, but he doubted Harry would abuse what was about to take place. He also thought again over the prophecy for his family. Many would say he was being reckless, but he felt the rewards in this case would be more than worth it. Harry was a Street Knight and a Hufflepuff, so loyalty was not something he would take lightly or abuse.

“Thank you for explaining. This gesture means a great deal to me,” Harry told him.

Lord Davis raised his wand and said, “I, Lord Nathaniel Davis, do hereby pledge to keep Harry James Potter’s, Heir to House Potter, secrets so long as they do not harm my family magically or physically. My family and I will do the best we can to aid Heir Potter in his future endeavors. So, mote it be.”

Harry raised his wand and said, “I, Harry James Potter, Heir to House Potter and Heir to House Peverell, do accept Lord Davis’ oath.”

There was a flash of light showing the oath was accepted by magic as well. When the light faded, Lord Davis sat still in shock but didn’t show it. Tracey wasn’t as practiced as her father, so her eyes widened and her mouth hung open in surprise. “That is an old and powerful name… Is it true? No Potter has used that name in the past,” she couldn’t help but ask.

“I went to Gringotts recently and spoke to my family’s account manager. I took an inheritance test as well. Goldbite informed me I was heir to both houses and what it entails. He also explained to me, since none of my relatives in the past have taken up the name of Peverell, I have no choice in the matter for the sake of keeping the house alive,” Harry explained.

“Oh…” was all Tracey could say in response.

Lord Davis couldn’t help but smile in triumph. Harry having both of those names really did put him in a very strong position. “You could pull off what you said earlier with both of those names. There will even be a good few in the Dark Alliance who will not shy from positively interacting with you. You will still have to prove yourself, but I feel it won’t be any more than you already would. With the right people, you could turn this world upside down and easily bring about change,” Lord Davis said. Harry could probably even become Minister if he wanted with a few short years of political experience, if even that.

“That is part of what I plan to do eventually. Before that though, we will have to deal with Voldemort and his Death Eaters,” Harry said.

“I’ve heard you already have some ideas on that. It is an interesting approach. Has there been any progress on that front?” Lord Davis asked.

“I have already gotten in contact with someone who I feel would be the best choice for looking into it. Not much other than that yet though. Not surprising with the little amount of time that has passed,” Harry said.

“The fact you already have some ideas and started acting on them, puts you ahead of most of the magical world in that regard. There are some tricks I can use that would help with those plans and won’t draw attention to me,” Lord Davis said.

“That is more than I had hoped for at this point. I will keep you informed on my end,” Harry said.

“I will do the same. I feel this is a meeting that will determine the fate of the magical world. The-Boy-Who-Lived not only intends to be active in our world and make changes, but he has even more tools at his disposal than most know,” the older man said.

A part of him felt excited about this and couldn’t help a smile forming. “I really look forward to how a magical, raised by the Street Knights, changes things up. I will start looking into others who can join us and keeping tabs on those who might be the biggest obstacles,” he said.

“I appreciate that. I do hope to keep this from Dumbledore as much as possible. I don’t feel he is truly an enemy, but I would prefer he not have an excuse to turn his eyes on us,” Harry said.

“That will be a challenge, but it isn’t impossible. I will keep that in mind. I can see him trying to reign you in if he learned too much too soon. I do hope you have a chance to get it across to him you aren’t an enemy, but you aren’t his tool either. He is a great man and very respected. He won’t mention it and he tries to avoid it from happening, but he has a much larger ego than people realize. I fear that is what happens with old wizards like him,” Lord Davis said.

“I agree with you on that. I’ve figured that since I first learned of the magical world and how he wished for me to stay with my relatives. They hated me in every way and my aunt despised my mother. Yet Dumbledore believes it was best for me to be raised by them and he wouldn't budge on matter when asked,” Harry said. There wasn’t anger in his voice it was just a fact.

“If you ever did wish to fight against him politically, that information could be a useful tool. That would be a fight best saved for after dealing with the Death Eaters and their master completely,” Lord Davis said.

“I will keep that in mind. Though hopefully such a fight won’t need to occur. Thank you, Lord Davis,” Harry said as they started wrapping up the meeting.

[-] [-] [-]

“I must admit I’m really impressed with all you’ve done, Mr. Manton. I knew there was something about you and that’s why I gave you the strength you needed to accomplish your goals. I did keep in touch and informed the best I could, but you still have impressed me. You’ve done a lot more than I thought you could by this point,” Lord Davis said to Jett with a fond smile.

Jett smiled back. “It means a lot to me hearing you say that. A part of me felt I had to accomplish all I could and then some, so you wouldn’t regret the chance you took,” he said.

Lord Davis gave a chuckle. “I wish even half of the magical world had such a drive,”

Jett chuckled to that as well. “Harry’s told me much about the magical world. I feel I can understand your sentiment,” he said.

“Speaking of Harry. I had no idea you would end up being so important in his life. You’ve done more good taking him in as you have than you know. I’ve heard you saw him as a protege of sorts. Is that true?” Lord Davis asked.

Jett gave a fond smile. “I would have helped him as I have many others after meeting him and learning of his situation. However, just as you sensed something in me. I sensed something in him. I wasn’t sure if he would end up leading the Knights one day or anything like that. But I could tell teaching him all I could was important. Learning of his position in the magical world. I feel the lessons I’ve taught and plan to teach to him, are even more important,” he admitted.

Lord Davis nodded to that. “I think you’re right there. I’ll be helping him how I can, but learning from the leader of the Street Knights will give him an edge the magical world isn’t prepared for. And that is a good thing. I’m not saying I wish we were like the muggle world, but we definitely need a kick in arse, as they say. We are too stuck in our ways. I don’t want to get rid of our traditions or heritage, but we need changes for our world to survive. The lessons you’ve taught Harry will only help him in that regard. I can tell he has big plans, even if he doesn’t fully realize how big they are yet.”

“I hope he brings the Street Knights’ way to the magical world,” Jett said.

“I do too,” Lord Davis said gravely. Knowing how the Street Knights work, he felt the magical world could benefit from learning those ways as well. Harry was the only one at the moment who could accomplish such a feat.

The Head of the Davis Family then brightened up and said, “Let’s continue. I feel there is still a lot you wish to show me.”

Jett nodded to that. “There is,” he replied.

The two men continued their tour. Lord Davis was grateful Tracey was staying with Harry currently. He just knew she would be too bored otherwise. She would never show or admit it to him, she took her position in the family seriously. He was still glad she got to hang out with a friend who wasn’t in Slytherin over the summer break. He wanted her to experience as much as she could as a child.

[-] [-] [-]

“This place really is something,” Tracey admitted to Harry. He gave her a short tour of the parts of the Rust District she hadn’t seen last time. They also made a few stops as well on the way. One of those stops was the Arcade he and his friends liked to frequent.

That had been as amazing to her as learning of magic was to muggleborns. When she was here with Pansy, they had thought about going to the arcade before they ran into the trouble they did. After Harry and the others rescued them, the group did other things instead. She really did love going to that place to have a milk shake.

“I’ll take that as the good kind of 'something',” Harry said with a chuckle.

“Well… I am a Slytherin. We always have to keep a certain distance from others. Seeming impressed, even around friends, is a big no-no,” she explained with a smile.

“Does it get exhausting?” Harry asked.

Tracey was in thought for a moment. “It does. That’s just how it is though. You get used to it and learn how to deal with it all in an appropriate manner,” she said.

“I don’t think I’d like being in Slytherin. I don’t think I could handle it,” Harry said.

Tracey looked him over intently. “I think you could. Merlin help the magical world if you had ended up there. A Slytherin you… Is kind of scary. Most would figure you were the next Dark Lord. If you still got on people’s case for using less than polite language regarding muggleborns, then the magical world wouldn’t know what to do with you. If you ended up in Slytherin, you would also clearly have the ambition and cunning to use that to your advantage. If others knew what your plans were, they might think you actually were more of a true Slytherin than any others,” she said.

Harry nodded to that. “I guess I could see that. There is reason to argue a truly ambitious and cunning person would avoid going to the House of the Cunning and Ambition. People would underestimate you if you weren’t there and that could be very useful,” he said.

Tracey gave a smirk as she said, “I’m beginning to think that you really are a true Slytherin, Harry Potter.”

Harry frowned a little. “I wouldn’t have admitted it, if that was my true character,” he said flatly.

“Is that so?” Tracey started.

Harry remained impassive.

Tracey couldn’t help but give an amused smile as she said, “Maybe you’re admitting it to throw me off.”

Harry chuckled and shook his head. “Try not to get too carried away with the Slytherin thing. That would lead to a life of paranoia,” he said.

Tracey giggled. “Yes. It would,” she said as they continued their way.

Chapter 20: Shopping and Book Signings

Harry was both excited and worried about shopping for his school supplies. He was excited because he would be doing so with his friends from school. He was worried because said friends were all girls and everyone knew girls were extra crazy about shopping. They never let guys know why either.

Harry tried asking Davey for answers, but she would just giggle and wink as she said, “We have to have some secrets. I can’t go and expose every female secret to a boy. Even if he is like a brother to me.”

Harry vowed to one day find a means to figure out all of these female secrets just because Davey said she wouldn’t tell him.

Harry was a little disappointed he wouldn’t be able to meet Tracey during the trip. She was busy with family matters the day they were going to do their shopping. “ I really don’t envy Tracey. She has to learn how to be a proper Pure Blood Lady and how to be the Head of her family, ” Harry thought to himself.

He figured it would be difficult enough with what he had to do as Head of the Potter and Peverell families. He really hoped he wouldn’t have to add Head of the Black Family to that list. He will be getting help from Lord Davis, but it is still a lot work. Harry couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to learn all of the things a Pure Blood Lady learns on top of everything else. Especially after the conversation with Draco on the train after first year.

[-] [-] [-]

“Hello Harry!” Hermione said happily as she met him in the Leaky Cauldron. It was the obvious staging area for this shopping quest. Hannah and Susan would be joining them soon enough. Susan’s Aunt, Madam Bones, was going to be their escort for the trip.

“Hey Hermione,” Harry said in reply. She gave him a hug before breaking it off quickly, for her at least. This caused Harry to raise an eyebrow in question. Hermione loved hugs and he loved her hugs. It was odd for her to break them off quickly like this.

“My parents are right outside. I told them I wanted to first check if anyone else was here real quick,” she explained quietly with a smile.

“How was the calling thing?” Harry asked.

“Not too bad. It was manageable. Probably because we already met up earlier this summer,” Hermione said.

“Good to hear. I’ve missed you obviously, but it wasn’t anything uncontrollable for me,” Harry said.

“I wonder why it doesn’t seem to affect you as much,” Hermione asked mostly to herself.

Harry gave a shrug. “Maybe it’s because I hold on tight to bonds anyways, so it is already natural for me to feel connections to others and I have experience with them and somehow that carries over to the magical world. I don’t really know. I’m just guessing,” he said.

Hermione placed that idea in the back of her mind for later. It wasn’t a secret she didn’t really have any friends or people she was close to outside of her parents before Hogwarts. Maybe Harry was right. Maybe it was more of a deep crush and she just wasn’t used to it. It could be possible these things were different in the magical world. Whatever the case, they could look more into it this school year.

“Well then. Shall I meet your parents? Get your dad’s whole overprotective dad routine out of the way?” Harry asked half-jokingly.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “My mom keeps him in check. Even so, I think if you are just you that would be enough,” Hermione replied. Harry nodded.

“Lead the way,” he said with a small smile.

[-] [-] [-]

“So, you’re the reason my daughter decided she wanted to learn cooking?” Hermione’s mom asked, causing Hermione to frown in response. The mother hid a laugh in reply to her daughter’s expression.

Hermione then blushed a little as Harry looked to her quickly. She cleared her throat and said, “Mom. We discussed this. I’m a Hufflepuff. We have a kitchen in our dorm rooms.”

“So, you’ve told me,” Hermione’s mom said causally. It was obvious she wasn't buying that excuse.

“It is nice to meet you, Mrs. Granger. What Hermione says is true,” Harry said in greeting.

“I’m happy to meet you as well, Harry,” she replied.

Harry then continued his point in defense of Hermione’s words. “Some of the students make it a tradition to host a meal in their dorm rooms a couple of times a month. Professor Sprout has even said she might start up an old Hufflepuff tradition again.”

Hermione nodded to that and smiled. “Our Head said Hufflepuff used to have a big potluck feast each semester where every dorm room cooked enough to share with the others,” Hermione added.

“Fine,” her mother relented with a smile. She then whispered to Hermione, “The fact he so quickly came to your side is a good sign. I’m rooting for you, dear.” Hermione blushed again. She was thankful her dad was meeting Harry at the moment. They were too busy to see her blushing so much.

[-] [-] [-]

Mr. Granger looked the boy over. Harry was pretty strong looking for his age. He could see why his precious little girl might have one of those terrible and damnable crushes on him. He really didn’t like it though. He still reached out a hand to shake Harry’s in the way a real father would when meeting some boy that might get ideas.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Harry,” he started with a neutral smile. “My daughter is very important to me. She hasn’t had a lot of friends and such before. I’m so glad you’re a friend of my daughter’s. You better not hurt her though. Of course, a real friend would never do that to someone they were friends with. I hope you will always be Hermione’s friend and never hurt her,” Mr. Granger said. He was placing a lot of emphasis on the word ‘friend’ each time he said it. He squeezed Harry’s hand a little harder each time as well.

Harry showed no signs of weakness. He had no problems with the extra tight and strong handshake either. He gave a friendly smile and said, “I'm glad to meet you, Mr. Granger. Hermione is very special. A real Hufflepuff will always be sure they don’t hurt their fellow Hufflepuffs. Even if I wasn’t a Hufflepuff, I would never hurt those I consider important to me.”

For some reason, Harry felt he should avoid using the term ‘friend’. He didn’t want to limit his relationship with Hermione by using such a word. He also felt it showed he would remain strong, even under a protective father’s gaze. He held the handshake firm and didn’t relent. Harry didn’t see a need to tighten it in return to prove something either.

Mr. Granger looked the boy in the eyes. He couldn’t help but feel both annoyance and respect towards Harry. The boy wasn’t hiding that there might be something more than just friendship between him and Hermione. This annoyed Mr. Granger. At the same time, Harry had a strength to him that few had, let alone at his age. Mr. Granger could also tell Harry meant what he said. The father felt respect towards the boy as a result. It was still annoying though.

“When are the others due to arrive?” Mr. Granger asked after a moment.

“They should be here soon,” Harry replied.

“I’m still worried about this whole magic shopping thing,” Mr. Granger casually admitted. The magical world made him feel more than a little uneasy.

“If it is any help,” Harry started. Mr. Granger looked to him. “Susan’s aunt, who is escorting us, is the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement,” Harry said.

Mr. Granger nodded to that. “That does help a little,” he admitted. That also meant Harry wouldn’t try anything with his precious little Hermione either. The boy wouldn’t dare do something so heinous as looking at his daughter too long, or with too much interest under the watch of such a person.

It was then the doors to the Leaky Cauldron opened and a severe looking witch and two girls walked inside. “Hello Harry! Hello Hermione!” Hannah greeted them cheerfully as did Susan.

“It is good to see you both again,” Hermione said with a smile as she gave them both hugs in greeting. Both girls happily returned the tight hug. Seeing this interaction made both Mr. and Mrs. Granger happy. They had heard about their daughter’s other friends as well, but it was nice seeing them in real life with her. Their daughter had already gained so much in the magical world.

“I’m Amelia Bones. Susan’s Aunt and the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement,” the severe woman greeted the Grangers politely.

Susan told her aunt it would help put Hermione’s parents at ease knowing such a person was helping their daughter today. They would be staying for some of the trip, but sadly not all of it. They had a business appointment they needed to make in the area after lunch. They would return to take their daughter home after spending time with the others in the Leaky Cauldron at the end of the day.

After the Grangers greeted Madam Bones and the other two girls, the Head of the DMLE turned to Harry. “I'm glad to meet you in person, Mr. Potter. You have been a great friend to my niece,” she said with a fond smile.

Harry smiled in return. “She has been a great friend. She has also been very helpful in explaining things about the magical world to both Hermione and I,” he told her.

“As a model Hufflepuff should,” Madam Bones said proudly. She then gave a slight frown. “I am sad I didn’t get the opportunity to meet your guardians though. Not only do I want to make sure those around my niece are being properly taken care of, but your whereabouts and who is looking after you, are both big mysteries.”

“From what I have been told, that is for good reason,” Harry said.

“True. I don’t think it should be such a mystery to the DMLE though. At the same time, I can understand why it is,” she said.

The truth was it might be for the best so few knew where Harry stayed. The boy looked healthy enough and seemed to have been well cared for. She still wanted to know more as the head of the DMLE and an ex-Auror. She could appreciate the secrecy tough, even if she didn’t like it.

“Can we get going?” Hannah finally asked after a moment.

“Yes, we can,” Madam Bones replied as she led the way.

[-] [-] [-]

Shopping had been very successful so far. The kids had most of their supplies already. They would be getting books last for the day. Susan told her aunt of Hermione’s habits regarding shopping for books. She even mentioned Harry could take plenty of time as well.

Lunch had been wonderfully pleasant. The Grangers really enjoyed the place Hannah picked out for them all. It had more choices than the Leaky Cauldron and the muggles loved seeing the variety of food.

“I had kind of feared the worst after what Hermione said about the meals at Hogwarts. I’m glad they feed the students well, but it sounds like the selection is rather limited and on the heavy side,” Mrs. Granger said.

“Hogwarts’ food is very good, but I agree with you. It would get old if all of our world’s food was the same,” Madam Bones said.

The kids were having their own conversation during the meal. In the meantime, Hermione’s parents asked Madam Bones plenty about the magical world. She helped put their minds at ease with her answers, while also worrying them in other ways. They both accepted there wasn’t much they could do about that though. Hermione was a part of the magical world now. Seeing how happy she was, they understood she couldn’t go without it anymore.

Once lunch was over and the Grangers left, the remaining group headed to Quality Quidditch Supplies. Harry was very insistent on getting a broom. Hermione seemed curious about them as well, but it was obvious she didn’t really have plans of getting her own. She wouldn’t say ‘No’ to riding with Harry though.

Harry loved seeing the store. It was really cool seeing all of the Quidditch stuff. He never knew there was so much to it. He didn’t really know about trying out for the team though. He didn’t know what position he would be suited for and the team was pretty good already. He still made sure to look at everything in the store. He looked at each of the brooms carefully. He even managed to get a fact sheet which explained all the details for the different brooms on sale.

The boy did surprise Madam Bones when he actually went for last year’s broom model. The Nimbus 2000 was really good, but she figured he would pick the newest and most recent broom. She learned he could easily afford it.

When she asked Harry why he chose the Nimbus 2000, he actually had a very well-reasoned answer. “The differences aren’t that significant. I’m not on team where even the slightest edge would be beneficial to me. I just want to fly for fun,” he said to her. This answer actually earned some respect from Madam Bones. It wasn’t often you would come across people with such self-control and logical reasoning, especially if they had plenty of money and were young.

[-] [-] [-]

“All that’s left are books,” Madam Bones said once they finished up the rest of their shopping. Hermione and Harry both seemed to brighten hearing that, Hermione especially so. The girl was bouncing on her feet in eagerness. Madam Bones was wondering if she might have to drag the girl out of the store herself before they finished for the day.

When the group arrived at Flourish and Blotts, Madam Bones frowned. The place was jam packed. It seemed there was some kind of event going on today.

“I think I’ll wait outside for this one. If you need anything, I’ll be right out here. I’ll come and get you all if you take too long,” she said.

The place was too crowded for her liking. She was tempted to give the store a citation for breaking fire code, even if it was rather lax. She at least knew the kids were trustworthy enough to handle one store on their own. Plus, given Hermione’s love for books, Madam Bones doubted the frizzy haired girl would let her friends do anything that might endanger the precious tomes. She just might have to be personally dragged out of the store at the end of the day.

“Okay, Auntie. I don’t blame you… I would ask Hannah to grab the books for me, but I know she wouldn’t let me get away with that,” Susan said with a giggle as Hannah nodded in reply while grinning.

Once Madam Bones left, Hannah turned to the others. “I wonder what’s going on today?” she asked as her friends shrugged in reply.

Harry decided to politely ask one of the people waiting in line. “Excuse me, ma’am. What's going on here exactly? If you don’t mind my asking,” he asked.

“Oh no worries, dear. It’s a book signing. Gilderoy Lockhart is here himself!” she answered without looking.

“Really?” Hermione asked in surprise.

The woman turned to look at them and nodded.

“That’s surprising…” Harry started. “He’s the author of all our school books this year. I wonder what he’s like.”

The woman blinked and looked to him in disbelief before smiling. “He is amazing! He’s been all over preforming great deeds and writing about them. He’s got the best of smiles as well,” she said dreamily. She then looked at Harry closer and blinked. “Wait a minute! Aren’t you… Harry Potter?!” she asked in surprise this time.

Harry gave an almost unnoticeable sigh to that. “Yes. I am,” he replied. He was about to leave it at that and slip away to look at the books, but it seemed her words got the notice of the other people in line.

“It’s really him!” one lady said to another. More started to whisper to each other, which in turn got more people’s attention.

Harry still might have been able to slip away, but just then a pompous voice spoke up. “What is going on here?” a man asked. He made his way over to the commotion.

The man was wearing rather extravagant and flamboyant robes. He also had wavy blonde hair and teeth so white and straight his smile could only be accomplished through magic. He gave a gasp and his eyes widened. “Is that you, Harry Potter?” he asked almost as if he knew Harry personally.

Harry didn’t even reply before he was swept up by the man and posing for a picture. Harry didn’t even know where the cameraman had been hiding until then. “Harry Potter! It is so good to see you. Together, you and I are front page news!” Lockhart said giving a big gleaming smile at the camera. Harry was still surprised, yet appeared neutrally polite to the outside observer.

Hermione and the others were shocked by the way things turned so quickly. They weren’t sure what to do here to help. Hermione additionally seemed to be a bit starstruck at Lockhart's appearance. Harry wondered about that and part of him didn't like it.

Before any of them could regain their bearings, Lockhart spoke up clearly to all of the gathered people. “Ladies and Gentlemen. This is the perfect chance to let you all know a tiny but wonderful secret I’ve been desperately keeping,” he said as he moved a little away to better stand out on his own.

Harry frowned to all that just happened. He needed to get a better hold on his celebrity status in the magical world. He thought he would be okay given how some people saw him in the Street Knights and how people acted at Hogwarts. It seemed; he underestimated the people at large. He was not happy someone just took advantage of his presence to improve their own status like that. He took a little solace in the fact it was mostly harmless and Lockhart had moved on already. The man unwittingly gave Harry a reprieve by speaking to everyone again and drawing their attention.

All of the people were whispering to each other as they wondered what Lockhart was about to say. “No doubt Harry Potter came here today, like all of you wonderful people, to buy my new autobiography. Magical Me! However… he will get more than just the book for free,” Lockhart said as a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“He’s so generous…” one of the fan witches said to another quietly.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! I am very pleased to announce to you all first! Harry, all of his friends, and fellow students will be getting the real magical me in person,” the man said with a gleaming smile.

The gathered people gasped in excitement as Lockhart smiled to them all.

“That’s right! I am very pleased to announce I will be taking up the post as Professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts!” Lockhart said.

The gathered group cheered happily to this news.

Lockhart gave an amused laugh before quieting them all down. “I felt it was only right that I better help our young and promising witches and wizards. They are our future, even I should do my part to ensure they can be the best they can be. My books are wonderfully detailed and very authoritative in how to deal with all manner of threats in our world. But there is little that can replace personally sharing our experiences with the witches and wizards of tomorrow!” he said.

“He’s so wonderful! He’s always thinking of the children and our future as a society,” another older witch said with a dreamy sigh.

“Yes. Yes. We are all excited,” Lockhart said with a chuckle. He then clapped his hands together and said, “Now then. Let us all get back to the reason we have gathered here today. On with the book signing!” People cheered to that as well.

Harry took that as his cue to fade into the background and go get his school books. He probably wouldn’t spend as much time as he usually would in a bookstore. There was no way he wanted to chance Lockhart swooping him up into something else.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry had his books and made his way to the exit of the shop. He was going to wait there for the others.

“Bet you loved that, Potter,” Draco started from where he was sitting on a set of stairs with Pansy by his side. Harry gave them a nod in greeting. Draco then gave Harry a smirk. “Famous Harry Potter. Can’t even go to a book store without making the front page of the newspaper and getting his picture taken,” Draco drawled out in a tone Harry knew well enough showed the boy was joking.

Harry gave a scoff and looked over to Professor Lockhart briefly. “Such publicity could be a handy tool, but I would much rather it be on my own terms. Not so some peacocking buffoon of a wizard could prop himself up,” he said.

Draco gave a chuckle to that. “Yet that peacock is to be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. Clearly, Dumbledore couldn’t get anyone else,” he finished with a scoff.

“I bet a sixth-year student could do a better job instructing than him,” Pansy said with a frown at the man. He was smiling brightly as he signed a witch’s book while she gushed over him in front of everyone.

“All they’d have to do was read from the books without stuttering and demonstrate a spell or two and be deemed DADA Professor of the decade,” Harry said earning laughs from both Draco and Pansy.

“Even given who they are… I still find it surprising he has so many fans. Maybe he should instead teach a class on being a mundane celebrity,” Draco said as he looked over the gathered witches.

“I doubt he’d be good at that. Just look at his fans,” Pansy said with a disgusted look on her face. “Bored and lonely house wives who probably haven’t felt an intimate touch in years. It shouldn’t be surprising they all seem to be… shall we say… rotund?”

Draco laughed to that. “No wonder Molly Weasley is here in that case,” he said darkly while smirking again.

“Hey!” a voice shouted from nearby. “You take that back! Slimy Snake,” Ron said with a glare. His face was matching the color of his family’s trademark hair.

“Oh? Heard that did you? So sorry… I didn’t even notice you were there. The scent of these books must have surprisingly covered up your stench, Weasley,” Draco said in the tone he always reserved for Ron personally.

Harry mentally sighed. Ron and Draco were about to go at it again. He doubted Draco hadn’t noticed Ron was nearby. Ron was far from stealthy and the two loved going out of their way to get into a row with each other. They were both always surprisingly aware of the other’s presence when they were nearby. Most of the time Ron and Draco were the first to notice the other.

They didn’t get the chance to continue their fight though. For better or worse, it was Ron’s dad who cut them off. “What’s going on here?” Mr. Weasley asked as he came over to them. He was carrying a cauldron stuffed far more than was probably safe. “Oh… Draco. Come on Ron. Let’s get going. We still have a lot to do and you know how your mom gets,” he said to his son.

“Yes. Please do stop pestering your betters, boy,” a new voice said.

Draco’s dad came forward. He looked almost exactly like a spitting image of Draco, but older. Judging by the barely contained contempt on the elder Malfoy's face, it seemed Draco shared his father’s dislike of the Weasleys.

“Come along Ron. We don’t have time to waste,” Arthur said ignoring Lucius Malfoy’s comment.

“Can’t even get a break when outside of the ministry? I do hope they at least pay you extra for such… pointless devotion,” Lucius said. He picked up a book that was about to fall from top of the stack Mr. Weasley held. He gave the book a disgusted look before placing it back in the cauldron. “Clearly, they don’t. Why even bother working so hard in such a department? The Ministry doesn’t actually care much for muggles. Why do you? No proper wizard should,” he said with a sneer.

Mr. Weasley looked livid now. Harry guessed Ron inherited his dislike of the Malfoy family from his father. “Some of us have a different opinion on what makes a proper witch or wizard. Muggles are still humans and should be treated as such,” he replied.

“If you love them so much… You should do us all a favor and snap your wand to join them. We’d be even better off if you took your brood with you,” Lucius said with a dark smirk.

“That’s it!” Mr. Weasley said before he shoved the cauldron over to Ron, who barely managed to save it from crashing to the floor. Mr. Weasley lunged at a surprised Mr. Malfoy who quickly responded in kind. The two men started throwing fists at each other and glared at one another while calling out rude names.

Draco was actually appalled by his dad’s behavior. He still hoped his father won. A Malfoy shouldn’t lose to a Weasley. Ever!

Ron was cheering his dad on. “Give him a left, dad! Give him a right! Give him the old Weasley one-two!” he cheered as he tried to keep the cauldron and books steady. Harry thought it was actually impressive how well Ron succeeding in that task.

The fight didn’t last long.

“What in the?!” a voice growled out as a giant of a man picked them both up by their robes. “Arthur?! Lucius?!” Hagrid asked. “What are ye doing?! In front of the children no less,” he said with a shake of his head.

The two men looked like overgrown children who had just been forced to break up a quarrel with each other. Both men were small compared to Hagrid, but they were fiercely glaring at each other.

Harry only didn’t laugh because he knew it wouldn’t go over well. The scene looked like something out of a cartoon to him. If they each took a Pepper Up Potion, causing their ears to steam, it would be a live action version of a cartoon fight.

“Ye should both be ashamed of yerselves,” Hagrid chastised them before placing them back down.

Mr. Malfoy tried to smooth out his robes and pretend he hadn’t just been easily manhandled by Hogwarts’ Keeper of Keys and Grounds. “Come, Draco. There is much we need to do and your mother will be expecting to take you and Pansy robe shopping,” Mr. Malfoy said as he tried to save some dignity and left with the two following him.

Harry could tell Pansy was using all of her Pure-Blood Princess training to keep from laughing as she walked with Draco and his father.

“Come on Ron. Like I said… We shouldn’t keep your mother waiting,” Arthur said as he took the cauldron back from his son and they left as well.

Hagrid shook his head at the lot of them. “Can’t believe they did that in a bookstore of all places. See ya at Hogwarts, ‘arry,” Hagrid said with a grin before leaving. He would have stayed to talk to Harry a little but he was very busy himself.

[-] [-] [-]

“Done!” Hannah said cheerfully as she suddenly came up to Harry with Hermione and Susan in tow.

“I’m surprised you finished already,” Harry said to them with a teasing grin as he looked to Hermione in particular.

“We had to pull Hermione away from an aisle displaying previous editions of the same book next to each other,” Susan said with a giggle.

Hermione blushed and looked away as she said, “I’m surprised you’re ready, Harry.”

Harry nodded in reply. “After the whole Lockhart thing. I wasn’t really in a browsing mood,” he said.

“Oh…” Hermione replied. She gave a frown. “I can see that,” she admitted sadly.

She had thought Lockhart was interesting and kind of handsome, even if Harry was more so in her mind, but now she didn’t like the man. If he caused Harry that much trouble, she couldn’t really like him. Harry loved books too and Lockhart ruined a part of the trip she knew Harry was looking forward to along with her.

Harry squeezed her shoulder and smiled. “I did at least get to see something very entertaining,” he started. He didn’t want her or the others thinking the day was ruined.

“What happened?” Hannah asked.

Harry’s smile grew. “Hagrid handling Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy like naughty school boys,” he said now laughing like he wanted to earlier. The girls were stunned for a moment as they pictured that. They soon joined him in laughing.

“Let’s get going,” Susan said after their shared laughter. “My Aunt won’t like us keeping her waiting a moment longer.” The group followed her out of the store. None of them wanted to keep the Head of the DMLE waiting, even if she was off-duty.

“I was about to go inside and see what all the ruckus was about, but it seems Hagrid took care of it. Mr. Malfoy looked unusually pale when he noticed I was waiting out here though,” Amelia said as the group came over.

The four children looked to each other and snickered. “ What did I miss? ” the Head of the DMLE wondered as she led the children back to the Leaky Cauldron to finish out the day.

Chapter 21: Magical Barriers and Flying Cars

Harry had to admit he was excited about going back to Hogwarts. He was eager to go on the start of the school year train ride. He also looked forward to taking his Nimbus 2000 for a flight as well. He would probably have to remind himself a number of times you weren’t allowed to fly brooms in the halls.

The end of summer had been pleasant enough. He actually went on another trip to Diagon Alley. Hermione came again, while once more using the Knight Bus. Tracey joined them this time and brought with her a ‘reluctant’ Pansy. It was actually an enjoyable time for them all, even if Pansy acted like she was acting like it was fun for her.

One thing Harry really enjoyed was going to a crowd free Flourish and Blotts. There weren’t any book signings by future foolish Defense Professors. No lines you had to maneuver around just to get inside. This trip they had plenty of time to look at the store. It was actually the main stop on their trip.

While at the store, Harry found a book that seemed to be a continuation of the one he got last year, but never got around to reading fully. He didn’t see it as his fault. Magic was new to him and fascinating. The book was more advanced stuff anyways, but he did try the meditation exercises from time to time.

Harry got that book as a future investment. He really needed to up his magic game. He was far behind where someone like Voldemort probably was at his age. He did not want to just barely scrape by, if even that, against the Dark Lord once he returned. Harry wasn’t foolish. He knew it was only a matter of time before Voldemort returned. Harry wanted to be as ready as possible when the time came.

There was something unfortunate about his returning to Hogwarts. Harry couldn’t get there as early as he would like this year. Things were busy with the Knights and it was a tight schedule just dropping Harry off at the train station. “Maybe next time I’ll try the bus Hermione always seems to take, ” Harry thought to himself as he rode to the station.

[-] [-] [-]

“Harry!” Hermione said as she gave him a hug once she saw him. They hadn’t even passed through the barrier yet. She was happy to find him so soon.

“Well. Didn’t expect to meet you again so soon,” Harry joked with a grin.

“Happy chances, right?” Hermione asked with a smile of her own.

Before Harry could answer, they were greeted again, “Hey you guys!” Hannah said with a bright smile.

“Hannah?” Harry asked in surprise. She wasn’t carrying her trunk or anything. She was also alone.

“What are you doing out here?” Hermione asked her fellow Puff.

“I was waiting for you two. Susan grabbed us a spot on the train towards the back. We got here early so I figured I might as well wait and lead you both to our compartment,” Hannah said.

“It is good to see you again. And that was a pretty good idea. We don’t have to check every compartment now,” Hermione said.

“I’m actually surprised to see you here without your parents, Hermione,” Hannah said.

“I was just about to ask the same thing,” Harry added.

Hermione gave a sigh. “An emergency popped up at their workplace today. At first, it was just going to be my dad who took care of it, but then it turned out to require them both,” Hermione explained.

“How did you get here then?” Hannah asked.

“I took the Knight Bus,” Hermione answered simply. She then cocked her head to the side in thought and added, “Huh. I think I’m getting used to it.” Hermione frowned to herself as she concluded, “I’m not sure if that’s a good thing…”

Hannah couldn’t help but giggle to that.

“As long as it doesn’t become your preferred method of travel, I think you’ll be okay,” Harry said with a chuckle.

“Agreed. It is very quick and very convenient, but boy is it uncomfortable and definitely a wizard kind of thing,” Hermione answered with a giggle of her own.

“Well then. Let’s get going! I’m sure Susan’s feeling lonely about now,” Hannah said urging them forward.

“Alright,” Harry said as he took the lead towards the barrier. He was ready to pass through when suddenly he was jolted as his cart came to a dead stop right in front of the wall. “That’s odd…” Harry said.

“What is?” Hannah asked.

“The barrier’s closed…” Harry said perplexed.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him before placing her hand on the wall where the entry should have been. “So, it seems…” she said as her hand touched cold and solid stone.

“Really? You think I was making that up?” Harry asked her with a raised eyebrow.

“You never know…” Hermione replied with a cute blush as she looked to the side.

“I just came through it though,” Hannah said as she too touched it with her own hand. Harry didn’t bother her about triple checking him. Hermione wasn’t sure what to make of that.

Harry looked to his watch and frowned. “We still have time,” he said. They weren’t late or anything. It was kind of close, but they knew the barrier didn’t actually seal until after the train departed and only the workers were left on the platform.

The group tried a few different methods of going through the barrier. They even all three pulled out their wands and poked the wall randomly. “Maybe poking unknown magic with our wands… isn’t the best idea,” Hermione said after a moment with a nervous gulp.

The three stopped. Hannah blushed and suddenly found a strand of her hair extra interesting. Harry cleared his throat and acted like he hadn’t just done what was possibly the stupidest thing to do with unknown magic.

“What’s going on here?” a woman asked from behind them.

The three turned to the voice and were greeted with the sight of the Weasley family in full force.

“Harry?” Ron asked in question.

“Hey, Ron. The barrier isn’t working,” Harry told them as he pointed to the wall.

“Why’s that?” Ron asked. Harry shrugged his shoulders in reply.

“Oh no! I don’t want to miss the train!” a girl’s voice said.

Harry looked to the youngest of the family and only daughter. “You must be Ginny. Ron’s mentioned you a couple of times. It’s your first year, right?” he asked.

Ginny’s face turned as red as her hair and she nodded. She then nervously tried to hide behind Ron.

Ron looked to his sister with a raised eyebrow. “What’s gotten into you?” he asked her. “Usually you never shut-up. Let alone act all shy like this.”

“I-I-I don’t know what you’re talking about…” Ginny said as she made of point of not looking at her brother.

Ron shook his head and decided Ginny was mental, as were all girls.

“Ronald… Don’t be like that to your sister on her first day,” Mrs. Weasley scolded him.

“Hmmmm…” Fred interrupted before Ron could retort and probably stick his foot in his mouth again.

“Yes… Very serious…” George said giving an exaggerated thoughtful nod.

“Indeed, my less than handsome half,” Fred said.

“Fred… Now is not the time. But we all know I’m better looking,” George said.

“The barrier is indeed stuck…” Fred said as if he made some amazing deduction.

“I think we actually have the answer to this problem,” George said with a mischievous grin. Mrs. Weasley was looking backwards trying to locate her husband and Percy and missed their shared looks. If she had seen them, she would not have been pleased.

“You two can really fix it?” Ron asked incredulously.

“Ron… Ronald… Bilius. Buddy,” Fred started.

“Why you got to go and say my middle name,” Ron grumbled while looking angry.

Hannah couldn’t help but giggle at hearing Ron’s middle name.

Ron frowned deeper.

Harry was impressed he hadn’t laughed. He was also impressed Hermione only managed not to giggle because she placed a hand over her mouth to stifle it.

“Because, our unfortunate younger brother of debatable intelligence… You doubt us. Have some faith in your wonderful older brothers,” George said.

“Wonderful my foot…” Ron grumbled.

“Nevertheless… We have a solution!” Fred said.

“Yes indeed,” George replied.

Both of the twins pulled something out of their pockets. “We have never come across a problem dung bombs can’t solve!” they said together as they held them up high. All of the gathered Hogwarts students looked to them horrified.

“George! Fred! You are not about to just do what I think you are going to do…” Mrs. Weasley shouted in warning.

The twins quickly put their tools of choice away and hummed innocently. “We have no idea what you’re talking about, mother dearest,” they said in unison with far too innocent voices.

Mrs. Weasley was about to rip into them, but they were saved by the arrival of Mr. Weasley and Percy. “What’s going on here?” Mr. Weasley asked brightly as Percy gave the twins a look. He heard the tail end of their mother’s shout.

“Barrier’s stuck,” Fred answered.

“George and I checked it just to be sure,” George added.

“Let me have a look then,” Mr. Weasley said as he moved forward. The father of the Weasley family brought out his wand and waved it over where the barrier was. “Interesting…” he said to himself.

He stepped a little closer and waved his wand while saying a spell the kids didn’t recognize. A white misty weasel was floating in front of him as he said something to it. The misty creature then popped away. “Help should be on the way,” Mr. Weasley told them all.

Hermione, Harry, and Hannah were in shock seeing the magic he just did in the middle of the station. “You just did magic in the middle of a muggle train station?!” Hermione asked in a mix of awe and worry.

“Ahh. That. No worries. The barrier actually forms a bubble of sorts. No muggle noticed and it was essentially cloaked by the barrier so no Ministry rules were broken,” he said.

“A bubble? Why?” Harry asked.

Mr. Weasley smiled. “If it was just flat against the wall, then the slight magic discharge from people passing through it would be noticed, or at the very least raw magic would escape into the train station... This place really is so fascinating. How on Earth did Muggles build it!” he said as he started looking around.

“Arthur! What is going on here?!” a new voice asked as Professor McGonagall approached them quickly.

“Oh. I didn’t expect you to answer,” Mr. Weasley started a little nervously.

“I should think it obvious with such a message!” The Deputy Head said. Mrs. Weasley gave her husband a look which made it clear they would be discussing this matter later.

“Well… it is kind of an emergency. The barrier’s acting up,” he said in his defense.

“Is it now?” Professor McGonagall asked in surprise. She no longer seemed angry with Mr. Weasley so he thought he was safe.

“Yes. House Elf magic possibly... I didn’t want to examine further given it is technically in Hogwarts’ jurisdiction,” he said.

“Then it was right you called me. Next time though… Don’t make it sound as if You-Know-Who arose again,” Professor McGonagall said.

“I wasn’t that bad… I was just excited by how curious it was,” Mr. Weasley defended himself.

Professor McGonagall heard none of it. She was busy looking over the barrier herself. She gave a nod after a moment and started moving her wand in motion. She let out a stream of incantations unheard by the others.

Suddenly there was a light blue flash. “That should do it. I told the train to wait for you all. Enjoy the ride,” she said while waiting for them to pass through. She wanted to make sure nothing else happened.

Harry gave the still blushing and very shy Ginny a smile as he said, “Looks like you’ll get to enjoy your first Hogwarts Express ride after all.”

Ginny smiled and giggled in happiness. “Thank you,” she mumbled out to him.

Harry didn’t get why she was thanking him. He also found it curious both Hermione and Hannah seemed to step in closer to him. It was as if they were getting ready to protect him from something. Whatever the case may be, he was just glad they would get to enjoy the train ride as well.

Harry also had a feeling he knew who was responsible for the barrier acting up.

“Too bad it was easily fixed. Would have been cool if we had to like, take the flying car to school instead,” Ron said to Ginny who nodded in agreement.

His comment was unfortunately overheard by others.

“Flying car?! Is that so, Arthur…” Professor McGonagall said severely while looking to the man.

Arthur gave a nervous laugh and smile in response.

“I knew this would happen someday…” Mrs. Weasley sighed with a shake of her head as the kids all walked through to Platform 9 ¾.

[-] [-] [-]

Hannah led both Hermione and Harry to the compartment she and Susan saved. After a quick round of greetings, they settled in for the ride. “That whole thing was weird,” Hannah commented after they recounted it to Susan.

“Yes, it was… Mr. Weasley spoke of House Elf magic being used as well,” Hermione started.

“I think I know who it was,” Harry said surprising them all.

“How?” Hermione asked.

“I was going to mention it later once we were all in our dorm. I actually had a house elf visit me over the summer. He couldn’t say what family he belonged to. I was careful when talking to him. His name was Dobby,” Harry said.

“What was a house elf doing visiting you?” Susan asked in surprise.

“He didn’t want me returning to Hogwarts. He wouldn’t say what it was, but was carrying on about some kind of danger. I asked as much as I could and dared. He wasn’t even sure how dangerous it would be compared to what we faced last year, but was certain it was really bad,” Harry said.

Hermione frowned. She kind of understood the whole house elf thing, but it still bothered her a little. It was something she hoped they could change once they were out of Hogwarts. “Is it usual for a house elf to just visit someone like that?” she asked.

“No. It isn’t. House elves rarely have much to do with a wizard who isn’t part of their family or working where they do. They usually won’t do something unless ordered to do so,” Hannah said.

“It sounds like this Dobby was doing just that though,” Susan said.

“Is it possible it was someone’s idea of a joke?” Harry asked.

“Unlikely. You’re on good or neutral terms with most people at our school. There might be some from families who followed You-Know-Who that don’t like you, but they wouldn’t act carelessly like that,” Susan said.

“Did Dobby… do any of that punishment business?” Hermione asked carefully. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer.

Harry shook his head. “Nope. I’m not sure if that was because of how I talked to him or not though. I was very careful,” he said.

“I guess we should be prepared for something to happen this year…” Hannah said with a frown.

Susan nodded in agreement. “Even if it was some kind of weak ploy for you not to return… Best to be prepared. Auntie is always going on about how even witches and wizards outside of the Ministry should be ever vigilant. She kind of gets that from Moody I believe,” she said.

As they continued to talk, Hermione finally asked something she was curious about. “So how illegal is a flying car exactly? Professor McGonagall seemed very unimpressed with that, especially considering who it was,” she asked.

The door to their compartment was opened at that moment and a voiced soon joined them. “Who has a flying car?” Draco asked in curiosity.

Hermione was caught off guard by his sudden appearance and simply answered, “Mr. Weasley.”

“Does he now…” Draco said as he wore a victorious smirk while Pansy stood by his side with Tracey right behind them both.

“It is very illegal,” Pansy answered.

“To think, Mr. Weasley has a flying car... Ha! Such a hypocrite,” Draco said as he gave a chuckle.

“I’m guessing he’s in trouble then?” Hermione asked.

“Oh… he will be. I will have to tell father about this,” Draco said.

Hermione gave a frown to that. She really didn’t want to be caught up between Draco and Ron. She also felt sort of surprised, if not a little pleased, Draco was actually talking to her so causally. He was usually politely indifferent at best. Mostly ignoring her without being too obvious at worst.

“Even if he is within the laws, it will not look good on him. He made those laws and really pushed for them. If he is abusing them... Regardless, he will be investigated,” Pansy said.

“Just the fact he is doing something that possibly skirts the line is big news in the ministry. He’s usually seen as one of the least likely to do anything troubling. He even prides himself on that,” Tracey added.

Draco actually gave a slight frown. “It is a pity he made the laws he did regarding that. Father was on board with some other investors to bring in magic carpets to Magical Britain. Mr. Weasley’s law forbids them though. If he is in enough trouble over this… It could be used to benefit us,” he said in thought.

“Magic carpets?!” Hermione couldn’t help but ask in surprise.

Draco was mulling over the possibilities of this new information, so it was Pansy who replied. “Some of us were hoping to bring them over as a family mode of transportation. It was a niche market that could have really taken off. If the law didn’t prevent it.”

“How do magical families usually travel?” Hermione asked.

Tracey answered this time. “Usually by portkey. It isn’t pleasant, but is convenient and less taxing on one’s magic when it comes to family travelling.”

“Not brooms?” Harry asked.

“Not brooms. It can be rather uncomfortable for longer flights with a family in tow, even with cushioning charms and such,” Draco answered Harry.

“What about… Apparition? I read a little about it in a book this summer,” Hermione said.

Harry couldn’t help but give her a teasing grin as he asked, “Just a little?”

Hermione blushed cutely and looked to the side as she quietly said, “There was too much I wanted to look into and not enough time… There’s never enough time.”

“Apparition requires certification. You have to be of Age or very close to being of Age to take the classes. I believe we learn that in our sixth year at Hogwarts,” Tracey answered the question.

“There is side-along-apparition. But that would be very taxing on one’s magic, especially if done too frequently, even for the best us,” Pansy added.

“Yes indeed. It is not a good method for family traveling. Speaking of brooms though,” Draco started with a grin. “Did you get one?” he asked as he looked right at Harry.

“Yep. I got a Nimbus 2000,” Harry answered.

“I got Nimbus 2001. It ought to be interesting to see how they stack up against each other. Especially with you flying the Nimbus 2000. If our flying lessons were anything to go by,” Draco said.

“Is that your plan to assure your position on Slytherin’s team?” Harry asked.

“A part of it… Let’s just say Slytherin will be the team to beat this year. Even if it is unlikely someone will,” Draco said with a smirk.

Harry gave his own smirk in return. “I’m also very interested to see how the two actually perform. On paper, the Nimbus 2001 should win, but you shouldn’t always trust what’s printed,” Harry said.

“I am glad to see you aren’t chickening out. Though no one would blame you if you did… considering,” Draco said with a smirk.

“I may not be recklessly brave, but I know backing down too quickly is never good,” Harry said in reply.

“Until we have our race then, Potter,” Draco said as he dismissed himself while Pansy and Tracey stayed behind to visit with Hufflepuffs.

“So long, Malfoy,” Harry said in reply as the boy left.

[-] [-] [-]

As the train came to a stop at Hogsmeade Station, Harry was excited to see how the other students got to the castle. “I’ve heard 2nd years and above go to Hogwarts via magical carriage. They supposedly pull themselves,” Hermione said noticing Harry’s excitement.

“Hogwarts: A History didn’t say anything about it?” Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head. “The carriages were an addition made after the book was written,” she said.

Harry supposed magical carriages made sense. He gave a thoughtful frown though. He was wondering how self-driving magical carriages were allowed but flying carpets weren’t. Wouldn’t both be considered muggle items?

He was about to voice his question and hopefully have a great conversation with Hermione and the others about it, when he rounded the corner. However, the sight before him threw all chances of such a conversation out the window. His dorm mates didn’t seem to notice him coming to a dead stop.

Harry looked around and noticed the reactions of students were very mixed. Many seemed to not notice anything. Others seemed wary of something that could supposedly drive itself. A select few seemed to be seeing what Harry did. These carriages weren’t self-driving. They were instead moved by strange and horrifying creatures.

The creatures resembled horses a slight bit, if they were mashed together with reptiles. They were black with skin barely stretched over their skeletons. They also had bat like wings. Their eyes were an eerie solid white.

“Ah. So, you can see them too,” a voice said from behind Harry.

“Cedric? You can see them?” Harry asked in disbelief.

Cedric nodded to him. “I first saw them a couple years back. Needless to say, I was shocked to see them. I looked into them all I could. It was actually visiting Hagrid one time that gave me the answer. I don’t take Care for Magical Creatures after all,” he said.

“What are they? How come not everyone can see them?” Harry asked.

“They’re called thestrals. Despite their looks, they’re rather gentle so long as you don’t threaten them,” Cedric said.

“I’d hate to meet anyone who would dare threaten such creatures…” Harry said.

Cedric gave a small chuckle. “Agreed on that point. Only those who have witnessed death, can see them. I first saw them after I was with a muggleborn friend whose elderly aunt died of cancer. I was there for them as they said their goodbyes and she passed away. It was one of those times I wished healing potions worked on muggles. Considering healing potions use your own magic to heal you… They aren’t much help for muggles,” Cedric said.

“I’m sorry to hear that about your friend. Are they okay now?” Harry asked.

“They are. They’ve long since dealt with their feelings regarding their aunt’s death. It is surprising that you can see them though. Unless… Do you remember your parents’ deaths?” Cedric asked.

“No. I don’t,” Harry said as he shook his head.

“I’ve been more than nosy enough for the night. I won’t pry further. You should probably catch up to your friends. Witnessing The Sorting for your first time after participating in it is really something,” Cedric said just as Hermione looked back and called for Harry to join them.

“See you around, Cedric,” Harry said with smile to older student.

“See you, Harry,” Cedric replied with his own grin.

“What were you talking to Cedric about?” Hermione asked after Harry caught up to them.

Harry quickly thought what to say here. Hermione and the others couldn’t see the thestrals. He’d rather not spoil their excited mood with such a revelation. Harry smiled as he answered, “He was telling me a little about how much fun it was to witness The Sorting instead of being in it.”

“I’m excited for it too,” Hermione said. She had a feeling Harry wasn’t telling her everything, but decided he probably had a good reason for that. She really was excited for the Opening Feast anyways, so she put it to the back of her mind.

“I wonder how many first years we’ll get,” Hannah said excitedly.

“I wonder if Hufflepuff will be the biggest house for first years this year too,” Susan said.

The group chatted happily as they enjoyed the carriage ride to Hogwarts. Harry was glad he didn’t say anything about the thestrals. That would lead to questions about why he can see them. Harry would rather not think about that.

When he was briefly on the streets, before Jett found him, he had seen some terrible things. He saw what desperate people can and will do. The Street Knights prevented stuff like that from happening in the Rust District. Harry along with many others were thankful for this blessing. That was part of the reason why so many were loyal to the Street Knights. “Loyalty to those who deserve it.” Keeping people from turning on each other in desperation definitely put you in the category of those who deserve it.

Chapter 22: The Other Side of a Sorting

Harry was eagerly anticipating the start of The Sorting Ceremony. There was a lot of talking going on around him. It seemed everyone was eagerly awaiting the important ceremony. The Great Hall hushed as the doors opened in Professor McGonagall walked inside and stopped half way up the center aisle.

“What is it you seek to tell us, Professor McGonagall?” Dumbledore asked in a ceremonial tone of voice.

“The First Years have arrived and are ready,” Professor McGonagall replied.

Professor Dumbledore smiled as he said, “Well then… Bring them in here so we may all welcome them to the Hogwarts Family.”

“As you wish, Headmaster,” Professor McGonagall said with a curt nod before returning back through the doors.

“Is it always like this?” Harry asked an older student sitting next to him.

“It is. Sometimes Professor Dumbledore changes the wording a little, but it's pretty much always this way,” the student replied.

The doors opened again and a line of first years came in following Professor McGonagall. They were all wide eyed and looking around in awe. Harry couldn’t help but give a chuckle, as many others did. They were all remembering how they felt the same way when they first came to Hogwarts. It felt so long ago to Harry, but it was just one year since.

He took a better look at the first years. He easily caught sight of Ginny. Her flaming red hair and freckles caused her to stand out, as it usually did with all of her family. She looked nervous but also excited. There was a first year boy with mousy brown hair and an old muggle camera. He was eagerly taking pictures of the Great Hall and anything else it seemed. The last first year who stood out to Harry was a petite girl with straggly waist length dirty blonde hair and large silver eyes. She gave of this impression she could have arrived at Hogwarts purely by accident.

“First years...” Professor McGonagall started getting everyone’s attention. “When I call your name please step forward,” she said.

Just then the Sorting Hat spoke. “Now now Professor… We all know there is a certain order to things,” it said.

Professor McGonagall gave a sigh and said, “If you insist…”

“I do…” the hat replied before breaking out in song.

[-] [-] [-]

“Fairly even split this year it seems,” Hannah commented as she helped herself to seconds on pudding.

“It usually seems to play out that way. We were all sure it was intentional, until your year,” a seventh year replied.

“That is curious…” Hermione said in thought. “It also seems their class is a little bigger than ours,” she added.

“That bounce back we talked about last year,” Ernie supplied with a nod as he helped himself to another roll.

Harry was thinking over the results as they were talking. The camera boy, Colin was his name, ended up in Gryffindor. Ginny also ended up there with her brothers, even if she seemed to have a slight frown for a moment after the hat was removed from her head. The interesting girl, who was named Luna Lovegood, seemed to have a debate with the hat and complained about not even getting a name as she joined a slightly worried looking Ravenclaw table as a few other students chuckled at her.

Harry could only guess the Ravenclaws weren’t sure what to do with a girl having discussions with a talking hat. Harry thought it made sense she would do that. It wasn’t often you came across a talking hat, even in the magical world.

“Perhaps it was because she voiced parts of her half of the discussion out loud, ” Harry thought to himself.

“Oooo!” Hermione started.

“What?” Harry asked.

“I just realized Helga Hufflepuff’s portrait will talk again tonight. I can ask her more questions!” Hermione said smiling.

Harry frowned. “Isn’t tonight for the first years to ask questions?” he asked.

Hermione gave a pout. “I suppose you’re right…”

Harry gave her a friendly smile. “Let them get to experience something that amazing tonight. You’ll probably get more chances before we graduate. Besides… Isn’t it more exciting to figure things out on your own?” he asked to cheer her up, even if her pout was, as always, cute.

Hermione smiled brightly to him. “You’re right,” she answered. Hermione then looked from side to side and leaned in towards Harry.

Harry was curious about this and responded by leaning in towards her.

“There’s something I want to try tonight. I’m hoping it can be just for this once at least. Maybe more nights if we agree on it,” Hermione whispered to Harry while blushing. She was really doing something very bold, but she couldn’t stand being apart from Harry for so long over summer. She felt they needed to make up for it. It didn’t matter that she said she managed the calling during the summer. There was a difference between managing something and not being bothered by it. It had very much gotten to her, even if it wasn’t wholly unpleasant of an experience. The calling had given her some very interesting Harry filled dreams.

Harry gave a nod. “I’m guessing this has to do with that ,” he started. Hermione nodded. “Okay. You can tell me once we’re ready for the night,” he said to her.

Hermione felt very relieved by his answer. It was embarrassing enough just talking to him about it. She didn’t want others overhearing her. She didn’t want to even imagine the rumors it would spread. She still felt excited about it though. Excited in more than one way too. “I’m pretty sure my parents would disown me if they knew… I’m still going through with it, ” she thought to assure herself.

For better or worse, Hermione still felt she needed to get in with Harry early. She needed to make him better understand her intentions to be by his side. She knew he would have at least two wives. She wanted to make sure she was one of them. That was way far off in her future, and maybe she partly felt this way, because this was the first time she ever had a guy she really liked.

Whatever the case, she was ready to go all the way if needed to get her place. She just hoped it wasn’t too soon they were betrothed or whatever was needed in Harry’s situation. She really hoped they could first be, dare she say it, boyfriend and girlfriend. Though, part of her felt being betrothed at a young age, like Pansy was to Draco, could be romantic. It gave this feeling you two were destined for each other or something similar.

Harry didn’t notice as Hermione blushed even deeper and stared at him with love struck eyes. Most didn’t notice this. Hannah however did. She gave a giddy grin at Hermione and only kept from giggling because Susan asked her a question at that moment.

“What are you looking forward to this year?” Susan asked.

“Huh?” Hannah asked while blinking.

Susan sighed and repeated her question, “What are you looking forward to this year?”

“Ohh… Hard to say. I don’t think it will be too much different from last year. It isn’t until next year we select electives. But I will tell you what I’m not looking forward to,” Hannah started as she gave a giggle. “Lockhart’s class.” Susan giggled to that.

Hannah started speaking again. “I get the feeling he’ll be an even more useless professor than Quirrell was, and he had You-Know-Who stuck to the back of his head.”

Susan giggled a little too much in response. She was actually a little ashamed of herself. Susan felt it things were different; she might have actually started crushing on Lockhart like some many other girls already were during his intro speech. However, after the whole thing at Flourish and Blotts’, she wasn’t so keen on him. He gave off this vibe that his favorite part about being the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor was the chance it would give to bring himself more fame and credibility. She wouldn't be surprised if he already had at least two books lined up detailing his time DADA Professor.

Hermione huffed loudly and gave a frown. “I agree with you there. After that whole thing… I read the books when I could for his class. They're more about him than what he did. There was one where he wrote on and on about how his favorite color is Lilac… How does that in anyway help in dealing with yetis?”

Hannah giggled to that.

Hermione wasn’t done yet though. “Then… In his Voyages with Vampires. He talks about how he wants to start his own line of hair care products! He didn’t even say how he supposedly made it so the vampire could only eat lettuce after their encounter. It just talks about how the village celebrated his victory. It has some vague action in it, but that action seems more like… Something out of a show on the telly. And not even a good one!”

Hermione seethed a moment more before calming down. She then blushed to herself, but luckily everyone figured she was just still angry. She returned to her dessert and acted like she hadn’t just gone off on their new professor’s books.

Harry was chuckling to her comparison and so were the others familiar with the muggle world. The magicals were a mix of impressed and confused. It was Ernie Macmillan who finally voiced what the other magicals were wondering. “What’s a telly?” he asked.

The other magicals seemed focused on their own plates, but were eagerly listening just in case someone answered him.

“I’ll tell you when we get to our room,” Justin said with a grin. He loved it when he had an excuse to be the one sharing information for once. Too often was he the one being told about something. It was nice being able to return the favor.

“Thanks, Mate,” Ernie said with his own grin.

There was a barely audible collective sigh of disappointment from the other magicals. They wanted to learn what this telly thing was, but weren’t about to ask. Harry and the others in-the-know chuckled quietly in return. A couple whispered to their own friends they would explain after dinner.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry and Hermione were in their room after the opening feast getting ready for bed. “You know. Being on this side of the sorting, it doesn’t seem as… big of a deal,” Harry said. He wasn’t sure if that best explained his thoughts on the matter though.

Hermione nodded in understanding. “I think that’s because it isn’t as big of a deal if you aren’t the one going through it. It is just another part of the opening feast. I wouldn’t be surprised if some even wished it would go faster. That way they could finally eat after the long train ride,” she said from behind her changing area.

“So, what was it you wanted to mention in private?” Harry asked as he stepped out from his changing area.

Hermione blushed and paused for a second with her pajama pants half way up. She was thankful Harry couldn’t see her blush. She then finished dressing for the night and stepped out as well. She came over and looked to Harry sternly and said, “I was thinking we should try something different tonight.”

“What?” Harry asked curiously.

“I think we should… well… sleep in the same bed tonight. I'm curious how that will affect it,” she said.

Harry seemed completely calm on the outside. Inside his head, he was a storm of thoughts. They had slept together before, but still in their own beds. This seemed a huge difference from that. He was of two minds on the matter. One side of him was screaming how this wasn’t right and they were too young. The other side of him really wanted to try this for many different reasons and not just to test the whole calling thing. It also said why care what was considered right or wrong by others considering how different his life was.

“Are… You sure?” Harry asked. His voice only wavered a little as he looked over Hermione in her pajamas.

Hermione stepped closer so he wouldn’t doubt her sincerity. “Yes. I am,” she said looking him right in the eyes and only blushing a little bit. She fully trusted Harry not to do anything she wouldn’t find agreeable, but there was still a part of her that almost hoped something like that would happen. She was still serious about the whole calling thing. Their previous attempts had shown the connection seemed stronger when they were closer together. You couldn’t really get closer than sharing the same bed, unless that bed was a twin size. The beds at Hogwarts were full sized though. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not in her opinion.

Harry swallowed. He couldn’t really say no to this. The part of him that wanted this was taking over and it seemed Hermione was very determined. She could be dissuaded even at her most stubborn, but it took a lot of work and usually wasn’t worth the effort. Harry took in a steeling breath and nodded. “Alright. We can try… Which bed?” he asked.

Hermione blushed at that, but Harry didn’t notice because his mind was too busy with thoughts of his own. This really shouldn’t matter, but she was wondering if maybe it would. “Mine…” she finally said quietly. She looked to him and added, “We can try yours another time if you want.”

Harry swallowed and the two nervously climbed into Hermione’s bed. He was hoping maybe the long day of traveling would help him fall asleep quickly. He wasn’t sure if he would sleep otherwise. Luckily, Hogwarts always gave them at least one free day before classes started. If they arrived on a Friday, they got a whole weekend.

The two second years were in bed together, but both were extra rigid. Despite her eagerness for this, Hermione was too scared to move and tried to lay as still and perfectly straight as possible. Harry was much the same way. Both were also very silent. It was like they feared breathing to loud would cause something to happen.

Hermione was disappointed in herself for two very different reasons. The first and more logical reason was how she felt it was wrong for her to act this way. She trusted Harry fully. Being this rigid and unable to relax while in bed next to him, seemed like it was saying the opposite.

The other and sillier reason, but to her just as important somehow, was she should be using every advantage she had to getting Harry’s attention as a girl and this was the perfect chance. She was physically maturing the earliest in their year, which kind of made sense given she was the oldest. She was more in league with the girls in third year than her classmates in second year. Lavender was the second oldest girl in their year, but her birthday wasn’t until December.

Lying in bed with Harry should be a chance to experiment with the calling and get closer to him. There was also that side of her hoping something would happen while they shared a bed, because that would indeed get Harry’s attention to her as a girl. With the way she was acting, such an event was less likely to occur.

Harry was being very careful, but he was still keenly aware of Hermione. He could feel the warmth from her even at this distance. He liked it. Maybe too much… It also seemed his nose was somehow picking up her scent.

Maybe it was some kind of memory thing because of how often they had been close to each other. His mind must be sensing Hermione was really close by and that was bringing back to his senses her wonderful scent. He could also picture how very pretty she was in her pajamas she wore, even if he couldn’t make her out in the dark next to him.

It would be a couple of hours before either of them drifted off to sleep that night. Neither of them would say a word to the other.

[-] [-] [-]

“I’ve heard about you. Your dad runs that magazine, doesn’t he? What was it called... The Quibly? Or something just as dumb,” a first year Ravenclaw girl said with a harsh giggle.

“The Quibbler. It isn’t dumb. Most people just aren’t prepared to understand the things we cover,” Luna defended.

“People aren’t prepared to understand?” a different girl asked with a scoff. “I certainly hope I’m never prepared to understand that drivel,” she said.

“You’ve read it?” a third girl asked.

“A couple of times. I thought maybe the fact it wasn’t mainstream meant it might have some extra value. It does… If you want a good laugh at absurdity. It talked about some insane theory about tooth decay or something,” the second girl said.

The other girls, minus Luna, laughed out loud to that.

“The Rotfang Conspiracy isn’t a laughing matter. It is about a secret subset of Aurors who are planning to undermine the Ministry of Magic to control it with Dark Magic and gum disease,” Luna corrected with a frown.

“Are you serious? Gum disease? Where do you even come up with something like that?” the first girl said laughing at Luna.

“It’s obvious… No one thinks Gum disease can kill you, so no one would think there were ways to use such a condition as a means of attack on someone,” Luna said matter-of-factly.

The other first year Ravenclaw girls, including the two who hadn’t even said anything, stared at her in a mix of awe and disbelief. They weren’t sure what was worse. How insane her theory was, or the fact she was able to even come up with such an idea about attacking someone with gum disease. For some reason, they didn’t even entertain the idea it was her dad that came up with the theory and Luna was just repeated what he had said to her about it many times.

“Do you all see how dumb it is now?” the girl who claimed to have read The Quibbler asked through a laugh. “The rest of it is usually about made up animals that don’t exist and how to search for them. Pure rubbish,” she finished.

“Most people said that about at least half of the creatures Newt Scamander wrote about in his books when he first started. Now, he’s seen as the leading authority in Magizoology and his books are well respected,” Luna countered with a frown. She hated the way people were so closed minded. If you never believed in incredible things, then you would only ever experience average things at best.

“Newt Scamander doesn’t just make things up. He has plenty of experience, knowledge, and evidence for his claims. He’s actually done incredible things and plenty of research. He doesn’t just… write fake articles in some random basement somewhere,” one of the girls said while giving Luna a disgusted look. She shouldn’t dare compare her dad’s paper to Newt’s books.

With a few more rounds of laughter at the Quibbler and Luna, the other first year Ravenclaw girls went to bed. Luna went to bed as well, but she was far from falling asleep. She was kind of disappointed in Hogwarts so far. It had started out well enough, the sorting hat was such a gentleman and great conversationalist. She was still bummed they were interrupted and she didn’t get his name.

After that, things seemed to get worse. Luna wanted a fresh start when boarded the train. She thought Hogwarts would be that. She knew what the less informed masses said about The Quibbler, but she didn’t think it would follow her here as well. She loved her dad and she loved his paper, but she did at times hate it.

After… After her mother died, her dad and The Quibbler weren’t the same. Luna partly hated The Quibbler at times because of this. It swallowed all of her dad’s time and focus. She usually only saw him at supper where he went on about his most recent articles and then when he wished her good night. She wouldn’t mind his decision so much, but she would admit the quality of The Quibbler had diminished a good amount without her mother.

Luna sniffed quietly in her bed with the curtains drawn shut. She missed her mother. Her mother was actually a very well-respected Spell Researcher and Spell Crafter. Her mom also provided some very good articles in the paper. She would examine the flora whenever they went on their trips in search of magical creatures and write about her discoveries in the paper.

Her mom had actually discovered a good number of equivalent ingredients for potion making. She also periodically added to the Magical Master Ingredient Identification Index. It was a project she started with others that cataloged the different names used for ingredients around the magical world. Sadly, with her mother gone, the M.M.I.I.I wasn’t getting the attention it needed.

Luna looked up as she lay in her bed. She gave a strange look as an odd speck of light came into view and hoovered above her. There were a couple of others that soon joined it. Luna used to try and ignore or get away from Wrackspurts. They liked to make your brain go all fuzzy and get you confused. Or that’s what she thought when her dad explained them to her.

Recently, she noticed there seemed to be more to them. It took her some time, but she realized they weren’t purposefully making your brain fuzzy or confusing you. That was just a side effect people suffered if they didn’t know how to listen to them.

“What are you here to tell me?” Luna asked quietly to the tiny lights.

The lights whirled a little faster and blinked a couple of times in response.

Luna let out a sigh and smiled to them. She didn’t quite get it, but she knew they were telling her things would turn out really well for her, even if they were really tough at first. She needed to learn how to better understand Wrackspurts. She was new to this whole listening to them thing and it wasn’t easy, even for her.

“Thanks,” she said to them with a small smile.

The lights seemed to almost bow, if that was possible, as a way to say, ‘You’re welcome’. They then circled Luna one more time shining brighter for her and zoomed away.

[-] [-] [-]

Ginny was humming to herself as she wrote in her diary. She was a bit bummed she wasn’t in Hufflepuff with Harry. Tom from the diary told her it was probably impossible for a Weasley to go anywhere but Gryffindor. She gave a little giggle to that.

Tom really was charming and funny with his sense of humor. He also made a good point when he said there wasn’t anything saying she couldn’t be friends or more with someone who wasn’t in Gryffindor during her school years. She would keep that in mind and hopefully find a way to get to know Harry. She only hoped Harry wasn’t to focused on just Hufflepuffs, and she wouldn’t be blushing too much and acting far too shy. All guys liked shy girls, but only to a point. That’s what Teen Witch Weekly said in an article from a while back.

“You’re Ginny Weasley, right?” a voice asked.

“Hmmm?” Ginny responded as she blinked a couple of times.

“I was asking if I had your name right,” a girl with dark brown, almost black, hair asked.

“Sorry about that… I was caught up in writing in my diary. Yes. I am Ginny Weasley. You’re… Samantha, right?” she asked.

The girl smiled and nodded. “Yep. That’s me! What’s it like having so many brothers?” she asked.

“Ugh. I don’t mind them usually, but I do have to try extra hard not to be annoyed by them at times. Ron loves pointing out I’m the youngest, even if we usually got along well enough. The twins are okay and don't usually target me with their pranks. Bill’s my favorite and Charlie’s pretty cool too, but he’s always way too fascinated by dragons. It’s a surprise he doesn’t constantly run face first into things. What with the way he’s always thinking about one of the many dragons he watches over,” Ginny answered.

Samantha and her other roommates giggled to that. Apart from not being in the same house as Harry, Ginny couldn’t really complain about her start of the school year. She was excited about it, especially because Tom promised he would soon be strong enough to show her many of Hogwarts’ greatest secrets. He told her the ambient magic of the school could act as a sort of power conduit for the diary and memories stored inside it.

“Does your mom? You know. Expect you to be all extra proper as a witch because of your brothers?” A different girl asked. Ginny thought her name was Bianca.

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Yeah. She does. I make a point of acting as opposite of the well-behaved girl she wants me to be as possible, just to show her. I guess I don’t mind dresses and all of that stuff, but it just gets in the way when you aren’t at some dance or whatever. Soooo that means all of that is almost always in the way,” she said with a smile as the other girls laughed.

Ginny then gave a stretch and a yawn as she closed the diary and put it away. She had been feeling more tired lately. Tom suggested it probably wasn’t anything to worry about and would be good in the end. She wouldn’t have trouble getting into a sleeping pattern suitable for Hogwarts.

“I think I’m going to bed. I’ll see you all tomorrow. We should go and explore the castle and learn its layout,” Ginny said.

“That way we’re extra ready for our first day of classes!” Samantha said cheerfully with a nod of agreement.

“Exactly!” Ginny replied as she got ready for sleep.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry was the first to wake up the next morning. He felt something really warm and pleasant pressed up against him. His mind finally cleared and he looked to his side. His eyes widened and he wanted to jolt up, but he couldn’t. He was trapped like this.

It seemed Hermione decided Harry was the perfect body pillow during the night. She breathed softly in her sleep and was wrapped around Harry tightly. Harry would admit he liked being in this situation. It was really nice having Hermione wrapped around him like this. Harry decided to just lay there and not disturb her sleep.

He thought over the night the best he could. They hadn’t shared dreams as far as he could tell, but Hermione’s presence was far stronger in his dreams. He also felt her warmth and comfort the whole night as well, once he thought about it. He was glad certain things hadn’t happened, though that might not last much longer with the way Hermione was squirming in her sleep.

Harry blushed and tried to summon up all of his will power. The last thing he needed was for Hermione to wake up noticing he had boner. He was pretty sure she would hate him for the rest of her life if that was the case. She would probably see it as some kind of betrayal.

It was a losing battle, but he tried to tough through it all. Hermione let out a soft sound that was deathly close to a moan. She then seemed to shift in her sleep and wedge Harry’s arm further into her chest. She let out a long breath that tickled Harry’s ear. Her wonderfully disheveled hair was flayed out on top of him as she lay there. He couldn’t help but take in the scent of her hair.

Harry lost his battle in the end. He hoped maybe it would wear off before she woke up. Apart from waking up like this, it was easily one of the best night’s sleep he ever had. He could only guess it was because of Hermione’s presence while he slept, that he somehow felt.

Hermione eventually woke up. Harry didn’t get his wish. Hermione blushed as she noticed Harry had a hardness in a certain region. She acted like she was still sleepy though and not fully awake as she took notice of it. She then acted like she had barely registered the world around her as she sat up in her bed.

The moment he had enough freedom of movement Harry tried to shift so it wasn’t obvious he had an erection. He looked away and blushed. He really hoped Hermione hadn’t noticed anything. She wasn’t yelling at him, so that had to be a good sign.

Hermione felt both embarrassed and kind of happy that morning. She couldn’t believe she ended up using Harry like a body pillow in her sleep. She was also surprised by what she noticed when she woke up, but that made her kind of happy. It was a good thing he reacted that way to her, right? It meant he saw her as a girl and not one of the guys or something.

“Sorry about that…” she said softly to Harry while looking away. She was glad he couldn’t see her bright pink cheeks.

“No worries,” Harry said. His voice was higher due to relief than he wanted it to be. He was pretty sure girls didn't like guys who had high voices.

They were silent for a moment before Hermione’s brain fully kicked in. She got up and went to her desk to pull out her journal. Harry was glad she seemed focused on her journal and he quickly moved over to his side of the room.

“So. What was it like for you?” she asked.

Harry felt more relieved she was moving on and he guessed she hadn’t noticed his morning reaction. “I don’t think we were sharing dreams this time. Though… I’m not sure how to say it… I could feel you there next to me as a presence. You were also in my dreams,” he said.

He hoped she didn’t ask for details on that. It would be too embarrassing and she would probably feel betrayed and disgusted. In his dream, they were kissing and she was undressing for him.

Hermione blushed. She both wanted and didn’t want to know details. She wondered if Harry dreamed of her in the same way she had dreamed of him. She feared pressing that topic though. It would be too distracting or disappointing. She really didn’t want to admit how she dreamed about him, only to learn his dreams were of them studying endlessly or something boring and unromantic like that.

“I kind of get what you’re saying,” she started. “It was kind of like that for me as well. The dreams were my own, but I felt you there next to me. I also felt… right… or something… It was the best sleep I ever had too,” she admitted.

“Same here…” Harry said. He was wondering what she meant by feeling right. He looked her over again where she was sitting at her desk. Hermione looked amazing in the mornings after just waking up. It was hard to describe how this was the case, but it was. He had almost forgotten what it was like to see her every morning like this. He was missing that now and wondered how he survived the summer without seeing her more.

“Sooo…” he started as he looked away. “Do you want to keep trying this?” he asked. Harry prayed his hopefulness didn’t come through in his question. Even with the whole morning thing and how rigid he was last night, he really liked sharing a bed with her. He wanted to experience it again.

Hermione blushed and seemed to focus on her journal. “I think we should. We at least need to see if using your bed makes a difference. We should see if things change over time as well,” she said coming up with any logical and scientific reason she could for them to continue sleeping together in the same bed. It was most assuredly not because she wanted to be with Harry even more, especially after how the calling was over the summer.

“I think you’re right,” Harry answered. He would put up with the difficulty of falling asleep, if it meant they could continue like this.

“Then its agreed,” Hermione said with a pleasant smile.

The two managed to meet the other’s eyes fully for a brief moment before both blushed and turned away. Harry gave a stretch and cleared his throat. “We should probably get ready for the day… Breakfast, you know,” he said.

“Yeah… You’re right,” Hermione said.

[-] [-] [-]

“It really is odd not having Tonks here with us,” Hannah started as the four sat together in their living room area that evening. They spent the day catching up with other friends and getting familiar with the castle again. They also checked for any new quirks it developed over the summer. That was something Tonks told them they should do every year. She explained to them Hogwarts liked changing things up.

“I know what you mean. I keep looking over to where her room was,” Susan said with a frown as she did once again. She expected to see their RA come out giving a comically large yawn with an equally unique hairstyle for the day.

“Did you all write her over the summer as well?” Hermione asked.

They all nodded.

“I only did a couple of times because I figured she would really need to focus on her Auror training. I was surprised she answered my letters at all. Her answers were short, but that’s more than I expected. I always tried to give her words of encouragement in the letters,” Harry said.

“We’ll probably all get letters from her in the next few days,” Susan said.

“Why?” Hannah asked.

“She’ll soon find out if she made it through the first selection process. Before she can start at the Auror Academy, she has to pass a selection exam. They are given some classes and material that will be covered in the first rounds of testing. It’s to see if they even have what it takes to learn how to be an Auror. It takes more than just scoring high on your N.E.W.T.s to even start the process,” Susan said.

“Wow… I didn’t know it was that tough. I didn’t think it was easy, but that is tougher than I thought it would be,” Hermione admitted. She thought getting into the Auror Academy was similar to getting into a university. That was usually based on your grades and a standardized test. Having actual classes just to have a round of tests just to see if you can start, was a lot more difficult and involved than that.

“I’m guessing you know this because of your aunt?” Harry asked.

Susan nodded. “She often complains about how they handle it all. She doesn’t want to get rid of the current system, but she wants to change it. I’ve overheard her complaining about it a number of times with others,” she said.

Susan then gave a slight giggle. “I’ve also noticed her complaining really takes off right around this time of the year,” she said.

“I hope Tonks makes it,” Hannah said in worry after a moment.

The others nodded in agreement. They wanted to say Tonks was perfectly able to make it, but they were just now second years at Hogwarts. They weren’t really the best judges on how a seventh year really measured up compared to others. Tonks was super amazing to them, but they knew her as a seventh year when they were just starting to learn about magic. They still believed in her though.

“Whatever she says in her next letters, we should make a point of showing we’re here for her and believe in her,” Hermione said. They nodded again in agreement. Hufflepuffs stuck together no matter what. That included after leaving Hogwarts in their minds.

Chapter 23: The Lockhart Experience

“Seriously,” Ron started nearby as both Hufflepuffs and Grffindors waited for their first class to start, which was Herbology this year. “What is with all of these girls? They’re already going crazy about Lockhart and we haven’t even started school yet. Well… We’re about too, but you know what I mean,” he complained to Neville.

“I guess?” Neville started unsure. He hadn’t really been paying attention. He was nervous the first day back. He constantly worried what would happen his first day that would embarrass him at the start of the year. Something always happened like that to him, even if this was just his second year.

“Lavender’s been constantly carrying on about his articles in that Teen Witch magazine she seems to worship. So many of them were all sighing and being dreamy last night in the common room and again this morning,” Ron grumbled.

“I hear ya,” Seamus started. “Bloody crazy, I tell ya. We know nothing of value about him. He could be a complete fraud for all we know. Damn annoying how so many girls are all starry eyed about him already. It was crazy when he introduced himself,” the Irish boy complained. The truth was he was a bit jealous Lockhart got so much attention from all of the girls. That didn't mean what he said wasn't true though.

“Good Morning everyone,” Professor Sprout started with a big smile as she placed down a box filled with ear muffs. Ron and Seamus stopped complaining, but gave each other nods showing their agreement that girls were just mental.

“This year we have a long-term project we will be going over along with our usual lessons. I'm most excited to have a batch of mandrakes this year. Be warned though. They are dangerous,” she started.

“We will start off by repotting some. Now before we get started, who can tell me something about mandrakes?” she asked the class.

Hermione’s hand immediately shot up. “Miss Granger?” Professor Sprout called with a fond smile.

“Mandrakes have powerful restorative properties. They are often used to reverse transfigurations or those who have been cursed. They’re also used in many antidotes. They’re dangerous because their cries are fatal to all who hear it,” Hermione answered easily.

“Excellent! Ten points to Hufflepuff!” Professor Sprout said with a smile.

“The mandrakes we are working with are currently only seedlings, so their cries won’t kill you,” the professor said.

Several students sighed in relief.

“But it will land you in the Hospital Wing for a couple of days at least,” she added.

The students no longer felt relieved.

“Now then everyone, four to a tray and all of you make sure to grab a set of ear muffs. They will protect you from the mandrakes’ cries,” she finished.

The students quickly got into groups and many of them quickly grabbed a set of ear muffs. They didn't want to end up with the fuzzy pink ones. When it was Hannah’s turn pick a pair, she gave a shrug and grabbed the pink fuzzy ones. They reminded her of one Tonks’ favorite hair colors.

The students were soon ready to start and Professor Sprout seemed almost a little disappointed she didn’t end up with pink fuzzy ear muffs. “When I give you the signal, put on your ear muffs. Pull out the mandrake by the base right above the soil of their current pots. Be careful, they can put up a fuss. Then you will put them in the new pot and bury them with the provided soil,” she instructed.

She counted down to three and they all got started.

Even with the ear muffs, everyone could still hear the mandrakes’ terrible cries. The mandrake Harry first pulled out looked like the ugliest baby he had ever seen. He involuntarily gave it a grimace. Surprisingly, the mandrake made a face back at him. Harry was intrigued and made another face at it. The mandrake seemed to chuckle like a baby would at someone giving it funny faces. Harry gave it a smile before placing it in the new pot and burying it in new soil.

After that, Harry did the same thing with the other mandrakes he had to repot. Hermione, Hannah, and Susan were very intrigued by this. They tried their luck with their own mandrakes. It seemed to work really well. Soon instead of terrible cries, their mandrakes gave laughs that might be annoying, but much preferred to the alternative. No one else seemed to notice what they were doing though.

Once the class came to an end, they removed their ear muffs and Professor Sprout gave a bright smile. “Well done, you four! What made you think to try that?” she asked them. The class was paying attention now.

The girls looked to Harry. “I made a grimace at my first one and it laughed. I tried it with the others after that. I was thinking of how babies like it when you make silly faces at them. It seemed to work and Hermione, Hannah and Susan tried it as well,” Harry explained.

“Excellent thinking, Harry. That is a method I have heard of before, but usually people just quickly repot them to get it over with. It will be interesting to see if this has any effect on the ones you all repotted,” Professor Sprout said.

She waved her wand and the pots from their tray were given special markers for further study. “Take ten points for Hufflepuff. For your unique approach,” she said.

“Very well class. You are all dismissed for the day. Read the section in your books about Mandrakes and write ten inches about them for your assignment. And Mr. Weasley… I remind you, purposefully writing large does not count,” she said.

Ron turned red and left quickly as the other Gryffindors laughed at him. Ron always tried some trick like that thinking it would make his assignments easier. It sometimes worked, but most of the time it didn’t. He was barely above the bottom of their year as a result, even if he was still passing.

[-] [-] [-]

As they walked the halls, Harry gave a sigh. “We have Lockhart next,” he said with a frown. The man already tried to approach Harry a couple of times that morning, but the girls didn’t let him get near the fellow Hufflepuff. None of them were looking forward to his class. Hermione, Hannah, and Susan were probably the only girls not excited about him.

Hermione didn’t get the other girls. She could understand crushing on Lockhart, since she realized she probably would have as well, but Harry was so much better. Other guys were as well.

Cedric was very much the charmer and handsome to boot. Some of the Ravenclaws had a very dignified scholar appeal to them and weren’t on the bad looking side either. Harry was still the best in her mind and part of her was secretly glad the other girls were foolishly crushing on Lockhart instead. Things really were complicated in her mind.

Hermione was disappointed more girls weren’t crushing on her superior choice. At the same time, she was glad not to have the competition. Hermione knew and understood a lot of things. Feelings and crushes weren’t a part of those subject though.

When the group entered the DADA classroom, they were all staring in awe. The room was covered from wall to wall in pictures of Lockhart. All of them were giving that cheesy smile of his girls still seemed to fall for and some of them were even winking and waving at different students. Add to that their books all had Lockhart on the cover as well, and he literally was everywhere in the room.

As they sat down, Harry shook his head. “If you looked up narcissism in the dictionary, I bet you would see a picture of Lockhart,” Harry said causing Hermione and Hannah to giggle.

Susan was too busy staring in disbelief at their new professor’s choice of décor. This wasn’t even his office. It was the classroom. This took vanity to a new level. She was shocked when she heard a girl nearby give a dreamy sigh as she smiled at the pictures in return.

The doors soon opened and Lockhart marched inside smiling widely as he stood at the front of the classroom. He gave a goodhearted chuckle and picked up one of Neville’s books. “Me,” he said with a chuckle as he pointed at his own portrait on the cover.

Susan blinked in disbelief. She couldn’t believe she had ever entertained the idea of crushing on him.

The Professor continued. “Gilderoy Lockhart. Order of Merlin, Third Class. Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League. Five time. Five time… winner of Witch Weekly’s Most-Charming Smile Award. But I don’t talk about that…” He gave Parvati a wink as he added, “Too much at least.”

Parvati giggled and smiled at him brightly.

“I didn’t get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her. Though I’m pretty sure such a method would work on any Succubus,” he said with a chuckle. Most of the girls in the classroom giggled at his poor attempt of a joke.

Susan stared at him with her mouth open in disbelief. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. Hannah shook her head. Harry was surprised he would joke about such a thing in front of second years and he was further surprised every girl wasn’t angry at him for such a joke.

“Now then. In all seriousness. The Dark Arts are no laughing matter. In this class, I will prepare you to face against the worst and darkest the wizarding world has to offer. It is for this reason I decided to take this post, despite everything else I could be doing over the course of the year. There is no greater calling for those of us who are so experienced, than to teach our young and prepare them for the future,” Professor Lockhart said.

Harry wondered if maybe he was wrong about Lockhart. The guy was definitely vain to a level unheard of and would make even the leader of a Hair Metal band seem humble by comparison. He still might actually be a half way decent DADA Professor after all.

“But first! A little quiz. Nothing to worry about. I just want to see how much you’ve already learned from my books. I need to get an idea where the class stands,” he said.

Once the quizzes appeared facedown on everyone’s desk, Lockhart said, “You have thirty minutes startinggggg… Now!”

Harry turned over his quiz and that brief moment of thinking Lockhart might be a halfway decent professor quickly died. It was then raised from dead; burned and killed again before being buried at least 30 feet below the surface. Next, a large imposing tomb was placed on top of it with at least 50 magical locks on the first of twenty gates. Each gate had an increasing numbers locks applied to it, before you even entered the first part of the tomb. The questions were that ridiculous.

What is Gilderoy Lockhart’s favorite color?

What is Gilderoy Lockhart’s secret ambition?

What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart’s greatest achievement to date?

What does Gilderoy Lockhart enjoy doing each seventh moon just before sunrise?

The questions continued... There were 54 of them in total. The last one was:

What is Gilderoy Lockhart’s favorite introductory phrase to say every third public appearance he makes?

Harry looked up in disbelief. Some girls were scribbling away frantically. Ron banged his head on the desk a fifth time in a row. Neville watched in concern for his fellow lion’s health. Seamus was obviously doodling something that was probably very inappropriate on the quiz. Knowing Seamus, it was probably phallic or resembled a girls’ boobs.

Harry looked next to him to see a flabbergasted Hermione sitting there. “What is it?” he whispered to her.

Hermione blinked. “I’m not sure which I find more destressing…” she whispered in worry. “Is it the fact I actually know the answers to these questions? Or that I’m seriously considering purposefully throwing a quiz for the first time ever? Maybe it’s the fact I’m thinking about leaving it completely blank.”

Harry wanted to laugh at her destress, but knew that would be bad. He instead placed a hand on her and gave her a smile. “It is just a quiz that doesn’t even count. He said so himself. No one will judge you, or doubt you’re the brightest witch of our age, if don’t take it seriously. Don’t worry about it. I know you aren’t about to let ignoring or throwing assignments become a habit,” he said to her in comfort.

Hermione felt relieved hearing that and placed her own hand on his and squeezed it to show her thanks.

[-] [-] [-]

“Tut Tut… I’m a little disappointed. Many of you need to brush up on your reading. How could you not know The Flying Shindig Wands are my favorite folk wizard band? I clearly say it in chapter 7 on page 120 of my recent best seller for the tenth week in a row, Magical Me,” Lockhart said.

“That’s not even an assigned book!” someone shouted from the back of the classroom.

Lockhart promptly ignored that person and gave a friendly chuckle. “We have a lot to learn it seems. Today I have a particularly exciting lesson planned,” he said.

Lockhart waved his wand and a covered birdcage appeared on his desk. “As I said before, I will be showing you any number of the worst horrors the wizarding world has to offer. Sometimes… you don’t even realize what truly is scary in this world until you face it. Sometimes the most overlooked and insignificant thing can be the hardest to deal with,” he said in a manner that easily set the mood.

Lockhart tapped the covered cage with his wand. It started to shake where it was and it sounded like some things were pelting the cover trying to tear through it. “Yes… there are dangers of all sizes in this world,” he said.

Some of the people closest to the front looked a little worried and were focusing on what he was saying despite everything. They didn’t like whatever it was that was under that cover.

“Behold! The Blue Terrors of Cornwall!” Professor Lockhart said as he dramatically removed the cover to the cage with a wave of his wand.

The creatures inside it were electric blue with large black eyes. They had mischievous looks and grinned showing off their white needle like teeth.

Seamus let out a loud laugh. It was as far from a scream of terror as you could get.

“Yes, Mr. Finnigan?” Lockhart asked with an amused smile.

“Well… They aren’t that dangerous, now are they?” he answered.

“Be careful, Mr. Finnigan… These creatures are not to be trifled with. They abducted and drove Dymphna Furmage crazy to the point she went on a campaign of destruction trying to drive them to extinction. She might have even succeeded, if she wasn’t mortally afraid of them,” Lockhart said.

Seamus looked like he didn’t believe Lockhart for a minute.

“It seems we have some doubters in our presence. Let’s see what you all make of them!” Lockhart said before tapping the cage again, causing the door to open.

Pure pandemonium followed.

The pixies let out shrill sounds that might have been laughs as they darted around the room. They picked up erasers filled with chalk and threw them at each other before then targeting students. One of them acquired an inkwell and plunked it down on another’s head while giving a shrill laugh and tapping the outside with its long tiny fingers. Two of them picked up Neville by his ears and tied him to a ceiling fan with his cloak.

Another let out a terrible laugh and darted under Lavender’s robes. When it reappeared, it held a pair of pink and white striped panties. It took what seemed like a deep sniff of them and threw the article of clothing at an unsuspecting Justin. Lavender let out a cry of embarrassment.

A different pixie appeared with a pair of old boxers and gave an evil grin while holding them menacingly. Several students quickly hid under their desks hoping to not be its target.

Justin was staring in dumbfounded awe while holding Lavender’s panties. She quickly grabbed them from his hands and the two ducked under his desk just as the boxers flew their way. She was blushing red and put her panties back on while Justin kept watch for errant inkwells, erasers, quills, books, shredded parchment rolls and a surprisingly mature bra for the girls in their year.

Lockhart was sitting at his desk blinking in shock. He then straightened up and said, “Come now. They’re just pixies, as Mr. Finnigan told us. You just need a simple spell to round them all up.”

Professor Lockhart rolled up his sleeves and dramatically brandished his wand. He gave it four waves and said, “Peskipiksi Pesternomi!” Only Lockhart was surprised when his spell had no effect, most of the class was otherwise too occupied to notice his failure.

Hermione was blushing up a storm from next to Harry. He was too busy keeping an eye on the pests to notice her red cheeks. She shifted uncomfortably where she was next to him. She couldn’t believe what just happened. She didn’t even notice as a pixie stole her bra and started throwing it around the classroom. She was too embarrassed to say or do anything about it at the moment.

She took some solace in the fact no one seemed to realize it was her bra and the pixies seemed to love stealing undergarments from both guys and girls. There was currently a pair of tighty whiteys sailing through the air. Three pixies were playing keep away with them. Another bra was hanging from Neville’s left ear and Ron was desperately trying to get a pair of boxers off his head as two pixies laughed and held them down around him.

When the students saw Lockhart’s wand fly out the window, they realized all was lost. The bell then rang and the students scrambled to the exit. Lockhart reached the classroom doors and shut them as he said to Hermione, Harry, Hannah, and Susan, “Well then… I’ll let you four handle things from here!”

They were flabbergasted for a moment. Then Hermione’s bra hit Harry in the face. Hermione was mortified and now angry. “Immobulus!” she shouted freezing all of the pixies in place.

Harry scrambled to remove the bra from his face. He had no idea who’s it was. He was pretty sure they wouldn’t want his face trapped inside it though. He looked around and cheered, “Way to go, Hermione!”

Hermione blushed as she quickly grabbed her bra and hid it away. She felt happy Harry was praising her and glad he didn't realize she owned what had just been on his face.

“Can we use a freezing curse on them now? I wouldn’t mind if we used Incendio instead…” Hannah said dangerously. She was another victim of the pixies' prank. It was her bra hanging from Neville’s ear. Thankfully, it was only her and Susan who knew this.

“Let’s just get them back in the cage. Lockhart might force us to pay for damages if we accidentally hit one of his portraits,” Harry said.

[-] [-] [-]

It fortunately didn’t take them long to round up the pixies thanks to Hermione’s spell. They weren’t sure what to do about Neville though. He had Hannah’s bra on his left ear and a pair of stained undies on the right side of his head. “Can you please get me down?” he begged them.

“We aren’t sure how,” Harry admitted. Susan used a levitation charm on Hannah’s bra and discreetly passed it to her friend. The girls then grimaced at the stained underwear. Harry sighed and levitated them off. It was silly to be so grossed out by them. Disgusting as they were, it wasn’t like any of them would actually touch the underwear.

“One of us can use magic to unhook his cloak and the others can use cushioning charms below him,” Hermione suggested. Now that she had her own very private article of clothing back and no one seemed any the wiser, she was focused again.

“Can you believe him?” Neville said with a sigh as he got up from the ground. Hermione’s solution was the best answer they had and it worked well.

“No. I can’t,” Harry said. He then grinned and said, “I think I know the answer to question number three on his quiz though.”

“What is his greatest achievement to date?” Hermione asked with a puzzled look.

“Yep. It really takes talent of a certain sort to be so soundly defeated by pixies, especially when you’re the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. And to think he has all of those titles,” Harry said.

“Maybe he should have tried smiling at them,” Susan added.

The group gave a much-needed laugh to that as they walked to lunch together.

[-] [-] [-]

Thankfully the rest of the school day was nowhere near as chaotic as Lockhart’s first class. The news of the disastrous lesson quickly made the rounds. Most of the girls still defended Professor Lockhart. A few were relieved everything was so crazy no one knew whose underwear was all stolen by the pixies. Justin seemed to have a dazed look the rest of the day and Lavender blushed as she stole glances at him during their shared breaks.

“Are you okay, Justin?” Ernie asked when they were in the hallway outside after supper. He hadn’t seen what happened to Justin in the class. He was too busy getting ready to dive out of the way of flying objects if needed.

“I think I got a taste of heaven…” Justin said in a faraway voice.

“Okay…” Ernie said in worry for his friend. He had no idea what his friend was carrying on about. He was wondering if maybe the pixies did something to him and they needed to visit Madam Pomfrey.

Lavender happened to be nearby at that moment and blushed before hurrying back to her dorm. She was both embarrassed and kind of happy to hear Justin say that. She knew he was talking about her. He wasn’t too bad looking and seemed dignified from the right angle, once she thought about it. He was friendly and outgoing as well. Lavender’s thoughts were of Justin all the way to her room. Her brain shifted gears quickly once Parvati pulled out their favorite fashion magazine though. They had important things to discuss about the latest showing of dress robes for teen witches.

[-] [-] [-]

“They’re even more insufferable…” Ron grumbled as he made his way to breakfast the day after DADA.

“I agree,” Seamus said.

Neville shook his head. “Even I don’t see how so many of the girls can defend him after what happened yesterday,” he added.

“It is amazing to what lengths girls will go to defend their crushes sometimes,” Harry said.

“I’m a girl and I agree it is ridiculous. That class was an embarrassing mess. He is such a fraud! Peskipiksi Pesternomi? Really… did he just make up words and expect them to work? It takes a lot of study and practice to craft a new spell,” Hermione said with a frown as Hannah and Susan both nodded in agreement. It didn’t matter that Hermione understood these girls’ actions, there probably wasn’t much she wouldn’t do for Harry, but it was disappointing how they were doing all this for Lockhart of all people.

“Why is it only you three aren’t crushing on Lockhart?” Ron complained as they went to their own tables. Hannah wasn’t too bad looking, but Hermione’s hair was a mess and she was too brainy. Susan’s aunt was the Head of DMLE. The three were in Hufflepuff as well. They didn’t count, especially because they weren’t in Gryffindor. He wished Lavender and/or Parvati weren't impressed with Lockhart like these three.

Harry sighed as he and the girls sat down. “It seems once again DADA will be useless. I hate how the class that should be the most important is always a mess,” he said in disappointment.

“I wouldn’t mind that so much, but even the books are useless this year. Unless you care about Lockhart’s love of Ogden’s Old Firewhiskey,” Hermione said with a huff. After having realized the truth about Lockhart, she was starting to really hate him.

“This. This is why my aunt complains so much about education at Hogwarts sometimes,” Susan said with a shake of her head. “She’s actually tried to encourage a few retired Aurors to sign up as DADA professors a few times, but they always see teaching a bunch of children as nothing but a hassle.”

Their conversation was then interrupted by the morning Owl Post. All four of them received letters identically sealed in similar envelopes. Hannah opened her letter first and grinned as she saw the writing inside. “They’re from Tonks!” she eagerly told the others. They quickly opened their own letters to read them.

My cute and dear Firsties (I guess I can’t say that since you are all in your second year now) I’m happy to say I made it through the first round of testing!

I really appreciate all of the support you four gave me and I am sorry I was never able to give any of you proper replies. I still won’t be able to do that. For better or worse, my next couple of years will be even tougher than this last summer was. I’m glad I made it and I’m eager to learn all about being an Auror. If nothing else, I will at least finally get proper defense lessons.

Until the middle of next spring, I will be having Auror classes. Classes won’t end there, but after that we also have a mentor from either currently active or recently retired Aurors. The winter after that we start shadowing Aurors while they go on missions and working their day at the office. It will be very tough but interesting these next years. I will still write you all when I can.

Yours Truly,

Tonks (Future expert Auror and former best RA Ever)

The Hufflepuffs smiled to that. They were happy their RA was achieving her dreams. “We’ll just have to again study DADA on our own. There’s bound to be some good books in the library. Maybe I can order some for us through Owl Post,” Harry said.

“Are you sure about that?” Hannah asked. She gave a frown and added, “That might get expensive…”

Harry grinned to that and leaned in closer. He motioned for them to do the same. “I actually spoke to the goblin in charge of my family accounts. I can afford it. So long as they aren’t over 1000 galleons in one order,” he said.

Hannah and Susan both looked to him in surprise.

Hermione sighed. “You might as well tell them rest as well now,” she said to him.

Harry looked to them and nodded. Fortunately, they were alone at their end of the table. “I also found out I have to continue not one but two, and possibly three, bloodlines,” he said with a sigh at the admission.

“Wow…” the two girls said together in awe.

“I’ll tell you more when we're alone tonight,” Harry said.

[-] [-] [-]

Hannah and Susan were both sitting on a couch in shock. “You already knew about this?” Susan asked Hermione.

“I met Harry in Diagon Alley the same day he found out about that. I didn’t have anything going on that day, so I took the Knight Bus to meet him there,” Hermione said.

“You are the heir to both the Potter and Peverell lines?!” Hannah asked. It was her third time asking that since Harry finished explaining it to them.

“And possibly the heir to the Blacks as well. I could ask my aunt to start looking into Sirius’ file. If he really was your Godfather and took that ritual… There is no way he could have betrayed your family," Susan said.

Harry shook his head. “Not yet. Goldbite is looking into things the best Gringotts can. Once he has more on information on that, then we can decide if we get your aunt involved. I don’t want her to accidentally endanger her position by looking into this. I get a feeling it is important she keeps her position, and not just because she is a department head,” Harry said.

“Okay… I still wish there was more we could do… To think, you could have had or even lived with a Godfather this whole time,” Susan said.

Harry frowned in thought to that. He had thought about that situation as well. He now had a clear answer to it though. “I don’t like the idea of him possibly being innocent and in prison at all. But honestly… I wouldn’t want to have been raised any other way. It sounds terrible, but I believe my being a Street Knight is better than anything else that could have been. I’ve learned a lot and I’ve been surrounded by people, family, who care about me,” he said.

“It is your life. What you think about it matters the most,” Hermione said in support of him.

“You might actually have to marry three wives?!” Hannah asked. She was still hung up on that part of it all. She gave a look to Hermione. Hermione wondered what she meant with that look. She would ask Hannah about it another time in private.

“The third is only a possibility. But I will have to have two. I explained this to Hermione, but the wizarding world doesn’t want Potter-Peverells. They want Potters and Peverells. I figured you would know this,” Harry said.

“I’m just shocked…” Hannah said.

“Aren’t we all,” Susan said. It was the truth, even if Hermione and Harry already had come to accept it. With those words, the group was mostly quiet the rest of the night before finally going to bed.

Notes:

Decided to add this at the end. I probably waited a little too long to add it, since it was after the chapter was posted. I am hoping people don't mind the scene with the pixies too much. I just for some reason felt they would be juvenile and perverted like that. I may have gotten a little carried away though and felt there wasn't a better way to have pure pandemonium then people's undergarments flying around with everything else.

Chapter 24: Draco's Plan

Draco gave a frown as he looked at the newspaper clipping in front of him. It came with a letter from his father. He was sitting in one of the study halls as he looked both over again. He wanted to believe his father had the right of it, but he couldn’t help feel this was a missed opportunity on his father’s part. He knew his dad was worried, though he didn’t show it, about Mr. Weasley’s Muggle Protection Act. However, this seemed a less effective battle to wage here than the one to repeal Mr. Weasley’s laws about muggle objects being illegal to enchant.

His dad already supposedly had options setup to circumvent the Muggle Protection Act. There wasn’t really a benefit to fighting it either. There was no way anyone would find the ‘possibly embarrassing’ items in the Malfoy Family private collection. They were too well guarded and his dad had connections who would inform them of any searches for such items on their manor, surprise or otherwise.

Both Draco and his mother agreed this was the best opportunity to repeal or amend the law to allow for magic carpets or other forms of magical family travel. That would have been a boon to their finances. It didn’t matter such a boon wasn’t needed. A Malfoy should always be looking for an opportunity to prosper further, or so his father had kept telling him while his mother additionally emphasized this lesson.

Draco dared not dwell on it, but he felt his father might be losing his way. He didn’t want a Weasley besting them in any way himself, but this seemed pointless. The Muggle Protection Act was already going to be reworded many times, which meant it could be easily fixed in such a manner it was mostly ineffective or benefited them.

Fighting it was something best done in secret. Mr. Weasley would push for it, but no one would bother to really look at the new wording they slipped in for the bill before it was made law. Mr. Weasley would have been too thrilled to even look it over in detail himself. The man was loony about all things muggle and immediately got behind anything that seemed to benefit muggles or safeguard them.

Arguing about this bill publicly was a mistake. It would force people to look at it in detail and pay more attention to it. The incident exposing Mr. Weasley’s flying car after it was investigated by third parties, did hurt his character some, but it wouldn’t do anything for fighting against his proposed bill. In fact, it would do the opposite. It would make the law more set in stone and devoid of loopholes, even if only for the Ministry to save face from one of their employees’ blunders and open abuse of their laws regarding muggles.

Stressing instead how even Mr. Weasley saw the benefits of having a flying family vehicle, would allow for change to the laws banning such items. He wasn’t officially the Head of his Department, but he was unofficially in charge of it, even if it was a rather pathetic department. One could also apply just the right amount of pressure on Mr. Weasley to get his endorsement of such an amendment, even if he only did so to get everyone to overlook his embarrassment regarding the flying car.

Such a move would have allowed the Malfoy family to get in early as investors for a new market that could even go beyond just family transportation. There would be a possible market for collecting magical modes of transportation beyond just brooms. People loved collecting specialized items and would pay top dollar for them.

You could even have businesses all about personalizing such modes of transportation. Brooms were amazing, but very limited when it came to customization. That would not be the case with flying carpets or any other manner of vehicles.

“What is father getting at… ” Draco thought to himself.

“Well. This is odd. It is rare to see you so focused on something,” Harry said half-jokingly as he made his way over to Draco.

“Sometimes there are important matters that do require my full attention. Such matters are most certainly not many of our classes,” Draco said with a dry laugh.

“What is it then?” Harry asked.

Draco seemed to debate if to say anything. He decided since it was Harry it would be okay. He just wouldn’t say too much. “My father’s recent actions,” he answered.

“I read about that,” Harry admitted.

“It was a wasted effort on his part. It didn’t make a difference and never would have,” Draco admitted.

“How so?” Harry asked.

“He shouldn’t have been so focused on the Muggle Protection Act. That is too much of a stretch given the circumstances, even if it would have been a bigger win. The best action would have been going after the laws about using magic on muggle objects,” Draco said.

“Well, he is a Slytherin. Maybe he was going for the bigger victory. Or maybe…” Harry started in an almost leading manner.

“Maybe what?” Draco asked quicker than he wished.

“Maybe he is focusing his ambition too much on getting at Mr. Weasley, personally,” Harry said. He took a mental note of Draco’s far too quick response. It was as if Draco feared he overlooked something regarding his father.

“I can see him doing that, even if it is disappointing... A Malfoy should never lose to a Weasley, ever… But we should pick the best battles. Not just any battle,” Draco said.

Harry nodded in agreement to that. “Ambition is good, but should be tempered. With thinking like that, you could end up becoming a very definitive Lord Malfoy in the future, Draco,” Harry said.

Draco smirked to that. Harry was right. Maybe he should pay more attention to his father, but not just to learn from his successes and words, but also his mistakes and failures. Draco decided he needed to start thinking more on the direction he wanted to take the Malfoy family in the future. He still had a lot to learn and plenty time before he was to take Lordship of the family, but having an idea about the path he would choose was a good thing.

Draco looked to Harry and smiled. “By the way. Since you’re here, if you want to see my plan come to fruition. Go to the Quidditch Pitch this Saturday after breakfast,” he said.

Harry looked Draco over and gave him a questioning look. “Would that be allowed, even though I'm in Hufflepuff?” he asked.

“Trust me. Flint’s not about to say ‘no’ to me. You aren’t on the Hufflepuff team and after that day it won’t be a secret for long anyways,” Draco drawled out. The truth was having Harry witness it first-hand would probably help spread the word even faster, or at least give more credence to what happened.

Harry thought it over and gave a nod. “I did have some plans, but they can be postponed a little. I have a feeling it won’t take long for me to see how your plan has succeeded,” Harry said. He and the girls were planning to pay Hagrid a visit. They could easily visit him after seeing Draco’s plan in action.

“Then it is decided. You can bring along the others if you want as well. Tracey and Pansy will both be there and will appreciate the company,” Draco said.

“The girls would like that too,” Harry said as he dismissed himself.

[-] [-] [-]

The rest of the first week went by quickly. When it came to their second DADA class, Lockhart had students take turns reading from the books out loud. He would nod in satisfaction and make movements to help emphasize how amazing each of his supposed feats were. Many were starting doubt the truth of what he wrote in the books.

Transfiguration and Charms were as expected. Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were probably the most consistent teachers. Professor Sprout was really good too, but she liked to spice the lessons up every now and then. You couldn’t know exactly how her classes would go. This was a good thing in the eyes of the students. It kept things from getting too boring or routine.

Professor Snape was Professor Snape. Hufflepuff again had Potions with Ravenclaw this year. No one noticed, as they were busy with the lesson, but Professor Snape was giving Harry a glance every so often during their first class. His expedition to find out more about the boy over the summer had turned up only what Harry already told him. Harry was no longer staying with the Dursleys and from what Snape gathered hadn’t been for many years.

Professor Snape did learn the boy spent time out on the street, but not exactly where specifically or what became of him after that. He would be looking into it more when he could. By this point though, Professor Snape hoped he didn’t find Harry. That would mean pretty much all who would be after the boy couldn’t find him either. A fully revived Voldemort probably could with some work, but Voldemort wasn’t anywhere near full power yet. Professor Snape also had a feeling Harry would take it into account and plan accordingly when that eventuality came to pass.

“I wouldn’t be surprised after our meeting at the end of last year, if he already had a plan or two in action for such a situation ,” Professor Snape thought to himself. One of the things he enjoyed about his Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw class was how he could relax and think about more than who would soon have an exploding cauldron or not.

The Hufflepuffs were never too much trouble in general, but the ones in this year were very exceptional as far as the Hufflepuffs go. The Potions Professor appreciated that. He had more than enough on his plate as it was, especially with this year’s Gryffindor/Slytherin class.

Just as the Hufflepuffs this year were exceptional for their house, the Gryffindors were more dunderheaded compare to the other years. Ron and Draco being in the class made for a right mess. As much as Professor Snape wished was the case, he couldn’t place all the blame on Weasley, even if Ron was usually the one responsible for their arguments.

Draco did his best to make the class hell for Weasley and his attempts could be less than safe. The worst part was Snape couldn’t really call his Godson out in class. They did meet in his office outside class, but even then, Snape had to word things so it seemed he was critiquing the boy’s methods than the action itself.

Professor Snape had no qualms about the Gryffindor and Slytherin rivalry. He just wished they wouldn’t bring it to his class. Such things were best for outside of class and in the hallways, preferably out of sight so you wouldn’t get caught.

Fortunately despite how intense things could get, they rarely, if ever, had to worry about sexual interactions of the illegal sort happening at the Hogwarts level. It wasn’t because there was some kind of sense of honor or unspoken rule that kept such unpleasantness from happening. It was simply the Slytherins usually detested the Gryffindors to a level they wouldn't engage in such activities. The Gryffindors felt the same way more or less. There were also all of the portraits in the castle. Most didn’t actually appreciate being used as the Headmaster’s spy network, but in such a case they wouldn’t mind seeking out the nearest member of staff to intervene.

One curious fact about such things, was how it was actually the most bigoted who were the least likely to get involved such attacks. People like Theodor Nott, who at times complained how lax the other Slytherins were when it came to muggle-borns. Were less likely to have anything sexually to do with a so called Mudblood. They dared not taint their purity in such a manner.

Professor Snape thought on that a little more. He regretted using that vile term on Lily when she was alive. He had since then avoided such terms, even when interacting with such crowds. What stood out to him, was how while no one stopped Mr. Nott from using such a term, most didn’t bother with using it themselves at Hogwarts. That was unusual. There were usually a good few who did use it and others usually laughed at the term's usage. He wondered if that was again Potter’s influence seeping into Slytherin. Draco wouldn’t even use the term.

He of course, ever being the Slytherin he was, found a way to play that to his advantage. He often said using such a term gave them too much credit. After all, distasteful as it was and how they hated the term, it still was giving them special attention. It showed you were so disgusted by muggle-borns, you used a term outside of the acceptable vernacular when referring to them. Such an action implied more effort on your part when speaking to them. It also gained more reaction from others and thus put muggle-borns in even more spotlight than they deserved.

Privately, Professor Snape learned Draco was at a point, due to his time with Potter, he didn’t see the reason for using such words. He was actually more neutral towards muggle-borns than he used to be. He was being a proper Malfoy and starting to look for possible opportunities muggle-borns could offer. Professor Snape wasn’t sure if that was a good way of looking at things or not, but he internally preferred it to Lucius’ outlook.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry, Hermione, Hannah and Susan made their way to the Quidditch Pitch for Draco’s surprise. Draco came to Harry yesterday and clarified they should have an early breakfast. Harry and Hermione had no problems with this. They were usually early risers.

“And you’re used to being up and awake this early?” Hannah asked after covering a yawn.

Hermione was the one who answered. “Harry likes to work out in the mornings before taking a shower and going to breakfast,” she said.

“Ohhh? And you know this how?” Hannah asked with a teasing lilt in her voice.

“Of course, I do. We share the same bed—room,” Hermione replied a little oddly.

If it wasn’t so early on a weekend, Hannah might have noticed Hermione’s slip. The blonde girl was too busy trying to cover another yawn though. Susan did notice and paused in her steps for a moment. She shook her head and continued. She had to of heard Hermione wrong just then. She was sure she did. Hermione was too strait laced for such things and they were too young. Right?

When they were about half way to the pitch, they heard a voice call out to them. “Hey! Wait up,” Tracey said. She and Pansy made their way over to the others.

“Good Morning,” Hermione greeted them.

“Morning,” the girls replied together.

“So… I guess you two already know what Draco’s Plan is,” Harry said with an amused chuckle.

“I’ve known about it since he first came up with it,” Pansy said proudly.

“You are his betrothed…” Tracey said with a playful roll of her eyes.

“Still doesn’t change the fact I knew about it from the beginning,” Pansy teased back. She then added, “It was a resounding success as well.”

“I have an idea of what it is, and I look forward to being proven right,” Harry said with a grin.

“What do you think it is?” Hannah asked curiously.

“We’ll find out soon enough. I won’t ruin his moment,” Harry said. Hannah gave a cute pout in return. Harry wondered when she learned to give cute pouts as well. Did girls have classes on this kind of thing they all attended?

When they got to the stands, they were all six a bit surprised. They didn’t see any green and silver. In fact, all they saw was red and gold. They were quickly noticed by the Weasley twins. Fred or George flew over to greet them.

“Harry! We knew you secretly loved us, since most of the school does. We didn’t expect you bring a whole brigade of girls with you though,” Fred said with a laugh.

George seemed to suddenly appear next to his twin. “We also didn’t know you would come all the way out here just to watch the master beaters of Quidditch at practice,” he said.

“Oliver isn’t going to be happy about this. I’m pretty sure he didn’t sleep at all last night and is extra cranky this morning. Why else would he come up with such an insane practice plan,” Fred said.

“Even more so because two of them are Slytherins,” George said a little less than jovial as he looked at Pansy, who tossed her hair to the side, and Tracey. Tracey was wondering how this would go down. It could get really bad with Slytherin and Gryffindor meeting like this.

“What’s going on here?” a voice said as a burly sixth year boy flew over to them. “What are you doing here? Are you spying on us?” Oliver Wood asked accusingly.

“I don’t know about Harry and the Puffs, but the Slytherins don’t need to worry about spying on us for their team…” George started.

Oliver looked to him with a raised eyebrow in question.

“The whole team is already on the way,” George finished and answered with a tilt of his head where a group in silver and green were walking their way.

“What?! I booked the pitch for today! We’ll see about this,” Oliver said just as the Slytherin team arrived.

“Well. This is interesting. Draco told me Potter and his friends would be here, but he didn’t mention the whole team of Gryffindor losers,” Flint said with a scoff at Oliver.

“What are you doing here, Flint? I booked the pitch for the whole day right after the opening feast,” Oliver asked icily.

Harry, Hermione, Hannah, and Susan took a few steps back. They weren’t about to get in the middle of this. They knew how Oliver was when it came to Quidditch and from what they had heard, Flint was more or less his Slytherin versioned equivalent. Pansy and Tracey took their places alongside the Slytherin team.

“Ah. About that,” Flint said with a smirk. He handed Oliver a note.

Oliver took the note with suspicion and read it aloud. “I, Professor S. Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practice today on the Quidditch field owing to the need for training their new Seeker. ”

Oliver gave a frown and distractedly asked, “You’ve got a new Seeker? Where?”

Draco took that as his cue and stepped out from behind the older Slytherin boys with a smirk on his face and Pansy by his side. “Right here,” he said confidently while causally holding his brand-new broom matching the rest of his teammates.

Harry hid a chuckle. It was just as he thought. He was pretty sure Draco learned about the new brooms in advance and got his father to buy them for the team. Draco was a pretty good flier, but he was a Slytherin. They didn’t like relying on just one means of accomplishing their goals. They usually made sure to have a contingency or two. Something to get them over the edge.

“Aren’t you Lucius Malfoy’s son?” Fred asked not hiding his dislike of the new Slytherin Seeker.

“Funny you should mention my father,” Draco started. All of the other Slytherins grinned and showed off identical brooms. “I’m not all that’s new this year,” Draco said as he brandished his own brand-new Nimbus 2001.

The broom was easily picked out as a masterpiece. It was highly polished with a silver and black finish and sweeping gold lettering saying the name. It was obvious right away the broom was well made and the whole team had them. This was a huge edge on the competition.

“It’s the newest model. I believe it only came out last month,” Flint said in a purposefully offhanded manner as he flicked an imaginary speck of dust from his broom. “I’ve heard it easily outstrips the Cleansweep 7. Let alone the old Fives,” Flint said as he first eyed Oliver’s broom and then twin’s brooms.

Draco gave a chuckle. “They might as well auction those brooms off. I bet an antique collector or museum would bid on the fives,” he added. That got the Slytherin team howling with laughter.

The Gryffindor team had no idea what to say to this. They were too shocked to see the whole team had the best broom available. Oliver begrudgingly led the Gryffindor team back to the lockers as the Slytherins howled in a new round laughter at the defeated looks the team had. Gryffindor had enough problems getting a decent Seeker. Having to face against a team full of Nimbus 2001s was pretty much guaranteeing Slytherin the Quidditch Cup this year in their eyes.

Once the lions were gone, Draco turned to Harry and the others. “So… Pretty impressive plan,” he said.

Harry nodded. “It is. I had a feeling it might be something like this. I do have to admit it is impressive you seemed to know well in advance about the new brooms,” he said. Draco had been teasing this plan of his a long while before the broom was announced.

Draco smirked to that. “A Malfoy knows information can be even more important than money at times,” he said.

“I’m a little surprised its allowed,” Hermione couldn’t help but comment.

Draco somehow smirked more in response. “Students second year and above are allowed to buy their own brooms. I was deeply concerned something might happen to one. Father and I decided seven was the right number to buy and insure I was never forcibly grounded. I was so impressed with the new broom I decided to share the others with people who could appreciate them to an equal degree. It isn’t our fault the rules say nothing about the amount of brooms you can own. They just say you have to be in your second year at least to buy any broom,” he said to her as the Slytherin team laughed again.

Hannah and Susan were both looking at the brooms as much as they could. They now knew why Harry and them being here wasn’t a problem. It wouldn’t take long for the whole school to learn about the Slytherins’ brooms. They gave it until after lunch for word to spread, at most.

“And how did you handle the situation with Oliver?” Harry asked wondering about that.

Draco gave a chuckle. “I will admit that was a bit of a potential problem. However, there is a bylaw that allows for a Head of House to provide a note to overwrite any bookings of the pitch once a school year for a new member of their house's team,” Draco said.

“We have six total,” Flint added with a dark laugh. He was the only returning member of the team.

“We probably won’t need to worry about it again, but it does make for a good weapon,” Draco said.

“Ha. Oliver is always a hopeless idiot when it comes to Quidditch. He gets booking happy, especially at the start of the year. This will teach him, and we can do this five more times, if needed,” Flint said with a sneer at the lockers where Oliver was with his team.

“I suppose we best be going now,” Harry started.

Draco gave a nod in agreement. “I was more than happy to share this plan’s completion with you, Potter. But you are right. Quidditch practice is always held in private. That’s why Oliver left. He wouldn’t want to give anything away. Not that it matters,” Draco said.

“Then I guess I’ll wait for the grand reveal at Slytherin’s first Quidditch match,” Harry said as he and the others left.

[-] [-] [-]

“Hey. Wait up,” Tracey called to the group of Hufflepuffs after a moment. She and Pansy made their way over to them again as they paused in their steps.

“They won’t even let you watch?” Hermione asked in surprise.

“You heard, Draco. Quidditch practice is private. We aren’t like Gryffindor, who allow friends to watch a practice,” Pansy said.

“Understandable, I guess. An audience could be distracting,” Harry said. “We’re actually going to visit Hagrid now. You could come along if you want, but you have been warned... Don’t eat any rock cakes he offers you.”

Tracey laughed to that and Pansy looked like she almost wanted to laugh as well.

“Seriously,” Hannah started. “Don’t. Anything else he offers is fine. For some reason, he can’t get rock cakes right though.”

“Duly noted,” Tracey said. She turned to Pansy and asked, “Will you come too? I kind of want to actually meet Hagrid like this.”

Pansy was in thought for a moment. She was torn on how to proceed. She wanted to go after hearing so much about him previously, but she wasn’t sure if it would be a good idea for her situation.

Harry seemed to pick up on this. “Of the adults I’ve met in the magical world, I consider Hagrid the most interesting. I even consider him a good friend. I am careful in what I say around him, because he can blab, but I actually trust him the most of the adults at Hogwarts,” he said seemingly in thought out loud.

It took the others a moment to realize what he was doing. Susan picked up on it first. “Hagrid knows a lot about all of the previous students while he’s been here as Keeper of Keys and Grounds. It is rather surprising what he knows about people. I also think of him as a good friend,” she said.

Pansy smiled warmer than she usually smiled for a brief moment. “Well. I suppose I should meet such an unofficially important person,” she said. Harry and Susan provided her the perfect reasoning for visiting Hagrid with them. If questions were asked, she had an appropriate answer.

“You should also watch out for his dog, Fang. He can be… overly friendly,” Hermione said.

Pansy frowned for a moment and nodded in thanks. She cast a spell on her robes under her breath as they came to the door and she heard the dog’s booming barks. She used a spell that should hopefully repel any overly friendly dog slobber.

“Shut it, Fang. I heard ya the first twenty barks,” Hagrid growled out. The Hufflepuffs snickered to that.

“Good ta see ya, Harry!” Hagrid started before he even fully opened the door. He was grinning widely as he added, “Good ta see you lot as well!” He then actually blinked for a moment after looking them all over. “I can’t say I was expectin’ you two,” he said in shock. He then grinned after a moment and said, “As they say though. More tha merrier. Come on in everyone. Tea will be a minute. Help yerselves to some rock cakes in the meantime.”

“Thanks, Hagrid,” Harry said as he led the others to sitting down. It was surprising they all fit honestly, but they managed and weren’t too crammed.

Once tea was served and Hagrid offered them something other than just rock cakes, he asked, “So. What brings two Slytherins here? Especially with a group of Hufflepuffs?”

“Is it wrong for Slytherins to come here?” Pansy asked sounding almost offended. She was too occupied with Fang to be full on offended. Fang seemed to decide the Slytherin Princess needed extra doggy affection. She wasn’t sure if her spell would hold at this rate. She also wasn’t exactly trying to shoo Fang away or anything either.

“Ain’t nothing wrong wit that. Just ain’t usual. Most usually ignore me best they can, and some snicker behind me back. Just find it strange you would all be here visiting together. Even if you lot are known to visit from time to time,” Hagrid answered.

“Oh…” Pansy said. She wasn’t really at the top of her game with Fang and everything. He was surprisingly warm and soft to the touch. You just had to watch out for doggy drool.

Tracey was a bit surprised by Pansy’s behavior. She decided to elaborate. “We actually all came from the Quidditch Pitch together,” Tracey said.

“Oh? Bit early l for them to start practicing,” Hagrid said.

“Draco had been telling us all about his plan to get on the team, so we went today to see the results,” Harry started.

“He’s on the team? Probably bought his way on,” Hagrid couldn’t help but mumble the last part.

Pansy frowned and did respond to that. “He merely assured his position in the most effective way he could,” she said. She almost scoffed, but tried her best not to do so.

“If ye say so,” Hagrid said.

“Pansy is right. I’ve flown with Draco before. He’s good and he knows the game. Being in Slytherin he needed a little extra edge because that is how it is,” Harry said matter of factly.

“I suppose I was just letting me old rivalries get the best of me. Sorry ‘bout that. What was his plan exactly?” Hagrid asked in a manner showing he was trying to make peace and hadn’t meant any offense.

Pansy seemed satisfied and because of that she wasn’t too abrasive as she said, “He bought himself seven brooms. They just all happen to be Nimbus 2001s and he’s lending the extras to the rest of the Slytherin team.” She smiled in pride. Draco was her betrothed and it was a clever approach.

Hagrid blinked in disbelief for a moment. He then shook his head and said, “Trust a Slytherin to do something like that. Can’t say I like it, especially because that means the season is more or less over before it began… But I guess in a way I have to admit it were a neat little trick that works.” He still frowned at the thought of that.

Hagrid loved watching Quidditch games and he only really took sides when Gryffindor, his old house, was playing, but this year he would probably only watch one or two. It would be a race for second between Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor. Gryffindor would probably lose too. Their seeker wasn’t too bad, but their performance was rather lackluster in games.

“There did end up being an issue today though,” Hermione started.

“Oh? How So?” Hagrid asked.

“Apparently Oliver Wood booked the pitch for Gryffindor today. Slytherin ended up being allowed to practice instead due to their new Seeker and school bylaws,” Hermione said.

“Really?! Oliver already had it booked?” Hagrid asked in surprise. He then hummed in thought. “That would explain why I heard that racket early this morning, but that was before the sun even rose up…”

“They had been out there that long?” Hermione asked in shock.

“It seems so,” Hagrid said.

Pansy frowned to that. “Oliver made it seem like they just started practice though…” she said.

“Would Oliver use all of that other time just for a strategy meeting?” Harry asked.

Hagrid and both Slytherin girls were in thought for a moment before nodding together in sync. “I wouldn’t put it past him. Even we’ve heard how he’s infamous for his many and often bizarre strategies and love for team meetings,” Tracey said.

“Really?” Hermione asked in disbelief. She couldn’t believe someone would be that intense about Quidditch, especially at the school level.

“Yep,” Tracey said.

Hermione then looked to Tracey and Pansy in question. “How do you all even know that?” she asked.

Pansy giggled. “The rest of the team is just as well known for grumbling about him. They aren’t quiet about their complaints on the matter. They can easily be overheard in the halls or at meals,” she said.

She then decided to actually move the conversation onward. “Susan said you knew a lot about previous students here. Is that true Hagrid?” she asked while rubbing Fang behind his ears. It was something giant Boar hound fully approved of.

“Aye. To an extent you could say,” he answered warily. He wasn’t really one to give out people’s secrets, at least not intentionally.

Pansy gave a nod and asked, “What were my parents like?”

Hagrid felt more at ease with that. He gave a friendly smile. “Your father wasn’t very talkative and rather no nonsense, but seemed to be respected by his house,” he started.

“That sounds like father. He’s always been strict, but not to the point some parents are. He also has a belief that if you don’t open your mouth too much. People can’t learn something to use against you,” she said.

“I can see that about him. Your mother was different though. She wasn’t really the Pure Blood Princess type all the time,” Hagrid said.

Pansy actually looked up surprised to hear that. Her mother usually made sure everyone thought she was the perfect pure blood wife and Lady. “Really?” she asked.

“Really,” Hagrid started. He then grinned and said, “She knew how to play the role to perfection, but she had plenty of moments where she… as they say… let her hair down. She got away with it because she knew how to get others to do the same. She especially focused her methods on someone if they tried to call her out on her supposedly improper behavior. ‘Cept in their cases it weren’t always at tha best moments for such behavior. Most learned their lesson quick.”

Hagrid spoke a little more about Pansy’s mom and dad. Pansy was actually really happy for this trip. She liked getting to see her parents in a different light. She knew they too were students at one time, but she could never really picture them that way. Hagrid was good at painting them in such a light.

Hagrid eventually turned to Tracey and spoke to her. “Your dad was actually one the more interesting Slytherins in his day. He was careful about it, but he actually spent a good amount of time with muggle-borns,” he said.

Tracey smiled to that and nodded. “He’s always felt we shouldn’t shun them. He’s always been of the belief we should accept them and teach them about the magical world they were entering. That is actually one of the things my mom has said she always liked and respected about him. He knew how to save face in front of the house as well though,” she said.

“Heh heh. Your mom was actually rather besotted with him from her first year at Hogwarts. He didn’t really turn her away neither, despite her being three years behind him. Many suspected they already knew they would be married because of family contracts or such,” Hagrid said.

“They weren’t. Dad just didn’t mind her presence for the most part. He figured she was just crushing on him because he was older and would soon move on. Eventually they became more friendly and then when she started growing up. He was the one seemingly besotted with the other. Oddly enough, her feelings had never really changed. She just got better at being more… Slytherin with them… I guess you could say. Keeping things to herself in private and all of that,” Tracey said.

“Maybe you ought to be telling me more about your parents’ time at Hogwarts,” Hagrid said with a chuckle causing her to blush a little. He then discussed more things about her parents and this time they were new to her.

As they were finishing that discussion Hagrid gave a thoughtful hum. “Now that I think about it. Yer mum was also the type to talk ta muggle-borns in her later years. She must have really agreed with your father's choices,” he said.

“She actually did. It took her a while to get the courage to talk to them like he did though. That’s why it wasn’t until her later years. At least that’s what she told me,” Tracey said.

“I wish more agreed with that approach,” Pansy of all people said. She was currently giving Fang belly rubs on the floor.

“I agree, but why do you think that?” Hermione couldn’t help but ask.

“I wouldn’t have to be as careful when visiting with you all for starters. It just makes sense really. My mom even agrees in private and my dad doesn’t disagree with such notions. The simple truth is that while muggle-borns are still the minority in our world, they are growing in number and won't stay that way. My mom complains about how if only people would pay attention and listen, they would realize why it was happening and it is one of the few things magic has made clear. Sometimes I have to remind her not everyone can listen to magic like we can. It comes very naturally to her and she’s learned how to understand even the more confusing messages… if you will,” Pansy said.

“I may have asked this before, but can anyone learn to listen?” Hermione asked.

“Yes. Listening isn’t really the problem. Understanding what you hear from magic is. It can drive people mad if they try to listen and aren’t careful. Some get lucky and it will only be confusing for them,” Pansy said.

“How would it be confusing for them?” Hannah asked as the others listened intently.

Pansy was in thought for a moment. “It isn’t like this, but for the sake of example this could work. Let’s say I can see flows of energy around me and their different colors. That’s how magic chooses to speak with me. I would have to learn how to read what the different color combinations mean and the movements to their flows. That is how I would listen to magic. Needless to say, it can be overwhelming seeing different colors and flows all the time,” she said.

Hermione and the others nodded. They could easily see what she was saying.

“I've learned how to filter out all magic says. I can only listen when I concentrate at least a little bit. That is actually why true seers have so many and varied methods they use to try and focus their gift, even if they can’t control the message that speaks from them,” Pansy said. She started to stroke Fang again. He had just nudged her with his nose. She had accidentally stopped the important duty of petting him.

“If you don’t learn to do at least that, it is bad. You could walk around seemingly in trance the whole time. You could even start mumbling to yourself and carrying on about things no one understands. Even if you learn how to listen without being overwhelmed, you still need to learn more. You could still come off similar to those who can’t filter things out. Some people are born able to filter things out instinctively but not perfectly. They still have to learn to understand as well,” she continued.

“What would it be like for someone in that case?” Harry asked curiously.

“What do you mean?” Pansy asked.

“What would it look like to them?” Harry clarified.

Pansy nodded in thought a little. “Again, it isn’t necessarily like this. They could see magic communicating to them, but not understand it. Honestly, they probably have it worst of all people. From the start, they would see or hear things others didn’t. Magic’s whispers aren't overwhelming to them but not clearly communicated either. The messages could take the form of tiny flying pink elephants with fluffy squirrel tails. It could be anything really. Maybe they just always hear voices whispering to them constantly, or they just see a bunch of colorful tiny lights winking at them. Anything really,” she said.

Pansy then frowned a little. “It is really difficult because the symptoms I spoke of are so similar to what people would describe as madness, even in our world. Someone in that situation could also be mistaken for experiencing side effects due to a bad magical accident. My family has been trying to see if there are ways of figuring out the difference. If nothing else, finding out which people are suffering would allow us to help them filter it out and they could at least better function in their lives. Maybe if some were gifted enough, they could learn how to listen and understand from us. Listening to magic has been in my family a long time, but it wasn’t and isn’t exclusive a gift to us. We just have a better knack for it and know how to teach ourselves to listen and understand without being overwhelmed,” she said.

She then answered the question she knew Hermione would ask. “Sadly, our methods aren’t guaranteed to work on others and could even make things worse for them, unless circumstances were right. It is very difficult to learn if those correct circumstances are present in someone or not. It would be a bit of a waste to try and refine our methods, so they could help others at this point. Since we can’t even pick them out from others.”

Hermione frowned to that. She was glad Pansy answered her unasked question. She wasn’t bothered by this regarding her situation with Harry. They had long since figured out what they experienced was different from Pansy’s listening to magic.

[-] [-] [-]

The rest of their time with Hagrid was light-hearted and enjoyable. It was actually later than they thought when they decided to return to the castle. Once Tracey and Pansy split while they were still outside, Susan turned to the others and giggled. “Does anyone else agree with me when I say Pansy might be Fang’s favorite person apart from Hagrid?” she asked giggling more.

“I thought it was adorable,” Hannah said trying to hide her own giggle.

“It was too funny considering how she seemed so opposed to the idea of meeting Fang at first. She even had that spell she used to doggy slobber proof her clothes,” Hermione said giggling far too much to be appropriate.

“Yeah. I didn’t know she used it because she planned on playing with him so much,” Harry said with an amused chuckle.

“For some reason, I always thought she was a cat person,” Susan said in thought. “That was impressive hearing what she had to say about the whole magic listening thing she’s mentioned a couple of times before.”

“I always thought it would be a gift. But she made it sound like it took a lot of work and even discipline. No wonder she’s so good at playing the role of a Pure Blood Princess,” Hannah said.

The others nodded in agreement and changed the subject once they stood before Hogwarts. They knew well enough to not speak of such things here. They may not like the role Pansy usually plays, but they respected her wishes not to expose it to others. Speaking of such things casually inside Hogwarts was only tempting trouble.

The Hufflepuffs did turn out to be right regarding the brooms. Everyone was already talking about Slytherin’s new brooms. While most tried not to show it, the other Quidditch players were really worried for this season. It already looked like Slytherin would again grab the cup. Harry and others admitted they saw the brooms when one student asked if it was true they were there. Draco's Plan really was a resounding success.

Notes:

I kind of hope people are liking how I’m approaching Draco in this story. I was kind of going for he isn’t going to be as terrible as he was in canon. At the same time, I still want him to have a certain air of superiority he feels compared to others. He will be more independent here and on better terms with Harry, but he is still Draco. Where this leads him? We will see.

I was kind of thinking how he would be seen by others at Hogwarts. Most of the time he isn’t really hated by people outside of Gryffindor it feels. After all, his Potter Stinks badges were popular all throughout the school. He also isn’t often called out for his actions, even by other students. I know his dad has money, but even before Lord Malfoy loses power people don’t bow down to Draco so to speak. I see this meaning he is usually accepted as he is, most even outside of Slytherin agree with his thoughts, or no one really cares that much about him outside of Slytherin and Gryffindor.

Chapter 25: About Diaries and Chance Meetings

Notes:

We get into mature stuff here a little. It isn’t really scenes or anything like that. It also isn’t really anything I feel warrants a warning apart from the story's rating. I’m not sure when I should start adding tags to this story. I’m thinking I’ll wait until I have actual scenes. I will also add a tag saying when the naughty stuff starts as well, so people don’t expect from the start.

I have said this to different people in comments. When it comes to sex scenes and such, I will have breaks and warnings in the story when it starts and when it ends. That way people who don’t want to read that stuff can skip over it.

Scenes will also be self-contained. I will keep most, if not all, story elements out of them. No major story elements will take place in those scenes, or if they do there will be something going back over the story aspects right after the scene.

As the year continued, the first year Gryffindor girls were unsure about their roommate. Ginny started wonderful enough. She was lively and lots of fun to talk to, even though she spent time with that strange girl from Ravenclaw. That didn’t stay the case though.

Ginny started to withdraw from the others. She spent a lot of time writing in that diary she had. She even started spending less time with her strange friend from Ravenclaw. Her roommates could understand that at least.

Loony Lovegood was getting a reputation and not a very good one. She talked about the strangest stuff and got defensive if you said anything about the paper everyone learned her father printed. The other first years didn’t get it. The Quibbler was a joke. Surely even Luna realized that.

Whatever the case, Ginny seemed to be more and more in a daze lately. She was growing paler as well. The other girls were worried she was coming down with something, but her brother Ron kept saying she was probably just homesick. Her fellow first years had no reason to doubt the family she was closest too, so they left it at that. It wasn’t like her grades were slipping or there were other worrying signs. Sometimes she actually had surprisingly advanced answers to questions and assignments and earned their house points. Ultimately her roommates decided she was just extra giddy at first and trying to come off as outgoing instead of shy. The way she would blush furiously at times, got them to believe she was actually surprisingly shy as a person.

Ginny woke up with a gasp. She blinked a few times and looked around the dark room. “ That was a rather intense dream, ” she thought to herself.

She blushed as she looked down and noticed the less than dry condition of her privates. She heard it was possible for girls, though rare, because usually wet dreams were something only guys supposedly experienced. She also felt a strange ache in her lower region, even with the pleasure she experienced. She didn’t get it. There was no reason for that she could remember.

She had been spending more and more time writing Tom lately and she would admit she even dreamed about him a little. He was just so charming and she could tell he was really handsome. He always made her feel so cute and pretty. Even with her freckles! There had been a time or two when she was alone that she… enjoyed herself… while writing to him. But to have such intense dreams? That was unexpected.

[-] [-] [-]

Tom in the diary felt both dirty and a sense of accomplishment. His experiments were proving more and more successful. He wasn’t fond of young girls or anything like that. He preferred girls his own age. (It didn’t matter they were extremely easy for him, even without magic being involved.) He still took control of the first year girl, who came to possess his diary, and did some less than proper things with her. He had been charming her so she would keep close to the diary and allow it to slowly leech magic from her.

When he started taking control of the girl, he had experimented more and more with her. He didn’t like it and felt kind of dirty, but he got her to masturbate in her bed a few times while he controlled her. He would try it another time or two until it was a complete success.

He did not do this because he found her attractive or anything like that. She was just a first year girl. Even if she was in her fifth year, he would only use her for a quick pump and dump at most. He didn’t like girls with so many freckles, but he loved the rush of power he experienced when getting girls to do what he wanted sexually. He even went after girls who weren’t very pretty, if they were in an established relationship. Something about girls giving themselves to him when they had a boyfriend or more, gave him a satisfying rush. He also loved blowing his load on them too. He never finished inside a girl. Doing such a thing did have a certain allure to him, but he never came across a girl deserving such an honor. He would not impregnate just any girl.

No, the reason he had this first year girl masturbate in her bed, was a way to test his level of control over her. He needed to make sure he could do whatever he needed and wanted to with her for his plans. That meant he needed total and complete control over her that wouldn’t be interrupted. Surprisingly, the best way to test such a level of control was through self-imposed sexual gratification. If he could get her to orgasm from masturbating in her bed at night without waking up or being any the wiser, then he knew he had it.

He was close now. A couple more nights and that would be it. He would then use this slip of a girl, to explore the castle. He needed to learn how it had changed since his years at Hogwarts before creating the diary. He next needed to fine tune his control over the girl and figure out how her body would work. Clumsily controlling her body’s movements would not suffice. He needed her to sneak around the castle unnoticed and fulfill the tasks. That required finesse.

He wasn’t even sure if he would be able to open the chamber with her as things were. Would the special ability needed transfer through her? In theory it should, but he wasn’t one to put faith in untested theories, even if his brilliant mind came up with them. No, a true Slytherin shouldn’t take chances like that. He wasn’t a foolish naïve Gryffindor. Slytherins were cunning. They didn’t tackle things head first or bumble their way through things. They were smarter and better than the others.

Tom really hated how he would need to keep flattering and charming the first year girl for a little bit longer. There was a part of him that wished a fourth of fifth year girl found his diary instead. He would even settle for a third year girl. Then he could at least enjoy that part of his plan more.

[-] [-] [-]

Luna sniffed as she leaned on a wall. She gave a shiver in the cold corridor. Why was Hogwarts filled with so many closed-minded people? Even the older Ravenclaws teased her. She hoped maybe they would entertain her theories for the discussion at least. The worst part was how sneaky they all were about it. There was no way she could go to their head of house about what was happening.

Professor Flitwick was stern about these matters, but required evidence because of how serious he took them. Unfortunately, he was also a Ravenclaw himself and had their usual flaws. He had a tendency to get carried away studying in his office. He even ended up staying the night there many times. His office was different from his living quarters and would require her to sneak through the castle to reach it.

Luna sighed as she looked to the moon out a nearby window. Looking at her namesake did help calm her. It didn’t change the fact she was stuck outside of her room in nothing but her used and damp towel though. Her roommates ‘accidentally’ locked and sound proofed the door to their room. Her wand was trapped inside, so magic was out of the question. The house elves also seemed extra diligent tonight. They had taken her dirty clothes away to be cleaned immediately, so she didn’t even have those to change back into after her shower.

Luna didn’t mind being naked and even found it kind of liberating most times, but she didn’t like being naked with only a wet towel in a cold corridor. She would air dry eventually, but it would be really bad until then. She wished she knew where the house elves stayed in Hogwarts so she get their help, but she didn’t yet. It was something she planned on figuring out after tonight. She wasn't about to try and sneak around castle in just wet towel tonight.

Even with the worst roommates ever, things wouldn’t be so bad at Hogwarts for her. However, Ginny, her best friend, seemed to be far away in mind and spirit now. The Wrackspurts were really concerned about her too. They would turn a dark almost black purple around Ginny at times. Luna didn’t know what that meant, but she figured it was bad. She really needed to learn how to better understand them.

Ginny started to ignore Luna after some time at Hogwarts. Ginny started to ignore pretty much everyone, so Luna didn’t take it personally. She also seemed paler as of late. Ginny always had fair skin, but it usually worked well for her with her many freckles. Luna tired many times to tell her friend they were charming and cute, but Ginny would just flustered and drop it. Ginny had never been so pale she was almost sickly in appearance like she was presently.

Whatever was happening with Ginny, she wouldn’t say to anyone or go see Madam Pomfrey about it. Her brothers seemed concerned, but their worry wasn’t to a level they would force her to do something about it yet. Ron had been saying she was just homesick at first, but even he realized it was something else now. He figured it was just girl problems though. Ronald was never the best when it came to things like that. He was good for the occasional laugh, but that was it.

Luna gave another shiver. Maybe she should find a secret hideaway in case this happened again in the future. She was happy her roommates hadn’t ‘accidentally’ shot a powerful stinging hex at her bum this time. That had been a very uncomfortable day until it wore off. She couldn’t even sit on the toilet properly most of that day. Luna didn’t want to think what effect a damp towel in a cold corridor would have on her rear in such a case.

She really wished the Wrackspurts would tell her clearly why going to Hogwarts was right for her. She had a chance to go to Beauxbatons. There was no way her father’s reputation and paper would follow her to a different country. But the Wrackspurts kept telling her Hogwarts it was.

“Why can’t I enjoy The Quibbler like I used to anymore? ” she wondered with that thought. She had spent more time reading it lately without the joy she used to have. Despite what they said about it that first night, her roommates were very keen on taking it from her. She offered to get them copies as well, but they would just laugh at her and kept stealing her copy. They would ‘forget’ she wasn’t finished with it yet and dispose of it properly when they finished. The most she would get from them as an apology was a giggle and a cheeky insincere ‘Oops, sorry Loony’.

At least her classes were alright, except Defense Against the Dark Arts. Luna didn’t understand how so many girls could like Lockhart. He was kind of handsome, but he always prattled on and on about his awards and all of the praises he got from others over the years. His lessons had already devolved into overly dramatized reenactments of scenes from his books. That really said something given the scenes in his books were fairly dramatized themselves from the start.

The guys seemed to understand this about him, but they didn’t see Luna as at least one girl who wasn't crazy. They decided it was even weirder she didn’t carry on like the others did. She even kept quiet about the theories her father told regarding some of the events Lockhart mentioned. Even with such measures, it still seemed people weren’t open to talking with her in any truly friendly ways.

Daytime wasn’t usually too bad for her. First of all, she was properly clothed most of the time during the day. There were a few times her undergarments ‘misplaced themselves’, or so her roommates claimed, but those days had actually been rather exhilarating for Luna. Usually, when she had her panties and bras on, Luna would just take to wondering the castle and keeping out of everyone’s way.

She had actually come to meet and get to know some of the ghosts because of her explorations. That didn’t include the Grey Lady, Ravenclaw’s house ghost, she didn’t really give Luna the time of day. Then again, she didn’t give anyone the time of day, not even most of the other castle ghosts.

[-] [-] [-]

“Oh. We’re so sorry Loony… We didn’t realize you were stuck outside all night,” one of the girls said in a poor attempt at an apologetic voice.

She then giggled and added, “Especially since you were naked. It’s a good thing you weren’t caught. Who knows what could have happened?”

Another girl scoffed. “Even if she was completely naked, I doubt the most perverted of perverts would want anything to do with her. Everyone knows she Loony Lovegood and that doesn’t have anything to do with her sexual preferences.”

Luna just ignored them as she dressed. Her cheeks were bright red though. She would not be hanging around the common room before curfew today. She was fed up with it all and needed to be away from them. She would start keeping her wand close at all times as well.

Maybe if she tucked it behind her ear, she would always have it and no one would be able to take it from her. If she ever ‘accidentally’ got locked out again, she could just “Alohomora” the door open. At the very least, she could find a nice abandoned classroom and transfigure the desks into a comfy bed. She would be sure to give it a big warm and fluffy pink comforter and lots of pillows.

[-] [-] [-]

Luna was wandering the halls of Hogwarts. She wasn’t fully sure where she was in the castle. She guessed it was near Hufflepuff possibly. She sort of just went with the flow. If she got worried, she would just ask one of the more helpful portraits or maybe a Hogwarts’ Ghost how to get back to the entrance hall.

It was fun to wander. She loved it when her father let her travel with him on his journeys, but that wasn’t always the case. Sometimes he was too excited and forgot her at home. He would always write an apology and be sure to get her plenty of wonderful and curious souvenirs on his return when that happened. Other times the place he was going was too dangerous for her to come as well.

Earlier this year, he left her home alone for a couple days. He wasn’t sure if he would finish his trip in time for her to make it to the train station. He had her stay home alone so she could make it just in case. He wanted her to make it to the train on time, but it was important he followed that lead on the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. It was the most elusive of elusive creatures. If he found it, The Quibbler would get the notoriety it deserved. Finally!

Luckily in the end, he made it back the day before she needed to be at the train station. He got to see his little moon flower off to school after all. It was sad the lead didn’t pan out though. He also wished he took her with him. It was a rather lovely trip despite the disappointing end.

Luna was looking at a portrait of an empty room on the wall as she was lost to her musings.

“You’re Luna, right?” she heard a voice say from behind her.

She mentally sighed and got ready to defend herself as she turned around. However, she wasn’t ready for the Wrackspurts to start buzzing excitedly, or to see such intense green eyes. She quickly realized who it was that called to her. Everyone knew Harry Potter, and that didn’t even take into account his whole The-Boy-Who-Lived title. She didn’t think he would be one to pick on her. He seemed rather level headed and fair to people.

“Yes. And you’re Harry Potter,” she said. She was unsure what he wanted and her voice came out a little dream like. It was even worse because she couldn’t help focusing on the Wrackspurts zooming around behind him. She didn’t realize it gave her the appearance of looking at something just past him.

Harry wondered about her strange look. “I remember you from the Sorting Ceremony,” he said to her.

Luna blinked and focused on Harry instead of the Wrackspurts behind him.

“You actually seemed interesting compared to the others,” Harry said.

“How so?” Luna asked.

“It was your conversation with the sorting hat,” he answered.

A girl then appeared behind him. She had frizzy hair and a light tan. Luna seemed to remember once hearing her name was Hermione. It was a pretty name and stood out in her mind. The Wrackspurts were lazily circling around the girl. Luna felt they were saying she could potentially be important.

“What was it you discussed with the sorting hat?” Harry asked.

“Many things. I even debated if he was the only ‘thinking cap’ or not. He said he was. I replied he couldn’t be considering Ravenclaw’s famous Diadem. I pointed out it might be missing, but that didn’t mean it was actually gone,” Luna said.

“I’ve heard of that,” Hermione suddenly said. Luna looked to her. Hermione felt a little uncomfortable but gave a weak smile as she said, “Sorry. I’m Hermione Granger.” The girl’s large silver eyes gave her a very different look from others.

Luna’s gaze seemed to ease up. “I’m Luna Lovegood,” she said.

“I’ve heard of you…” Hermione started. She stopped herself from saying more. Harry seemed interested in the girl and she didn’t want to mention the things she heard about Luna. Saying such things might upset him. Harry hated rumors and such.

“What else did you ask the hat?” Hermione asked trying to cover her slip.

“If there were any unknown secret ancient houses or rooms. He was a bit reluctant to answer, but I think it was because he wasn’t fully sure if he could say something or not. I’m not the Headmaster, so he didn’t have to say something in answer to such questions. He then challenged me by asking if I knew his name,” Luna said.

“Did you?” Hermione asked in genuine interest. She hadn’t even thought the hat would have a name.

“Nope. I think it was his clever way of answering my question, but instead I started suggesting names. Hershel isn’t it. I think it would be good name for a sorting hat. It seems to have a sense of wisdom, the name Hershel,” Luna said with a thoughtful look as she placed a finger on her lips.

“It was when I got to the sixth guess, Jerimiah, he said with such a curious mind and eagerness to ask questions no one else would. I should be in Ravenclaw. I think he was right with his decision, but acted out of worry I would guess his name,” Luna said.

“Why would he be worried about that?” Hermione asked.

“Maybe it is a case where learning his name would give you power over him. Names can be powerful,” Luna answered in full sincerity.

“That is quiet the conversation. With me, we only discussed the differences between the houses. I really don’t get why the other members in your house seemed worried about you talking with the hat. Even in the magical world talking hats are rare,” Harry said.

“That could also be an interesting discussion…” Luna started.

Hermione then asked a question. “I’m curious. Why are you here staring at a portrait of an empty room? How did you even end up here?”

“I was looking to see if Vincent the Unseen was really invisible or not. It could be a joke. It could also be he was hiding under an invisibility cloak for the portrait,” Luna said.

“How would you know the answer to such a question?” Hermione asked with a frown.

“If it was just a joke then he wouldn’t ever appear and there would be a sense of emptiness to the portrait. If he was under an invisibility cloak, you could look carefully enough and see something. Invisibility cloaks don’t really turn you completely invisible. Well most don’t. There is that one from the fables…” Luna said as she tapped her cheek with a finger in thought.

After a moment, she spoke again. “You see. Most invisibility cloaks only reflect the light around them. If you look closely enough you can see it shimmer in the light. Of course, most people using such an item don’t have a tendency to stick around. They usually want to keep from being found and so they keep on the go. Obviously, this makes it almost impossible to see such a shimmering,” Luna said.

Hermione found that interesting. She wondered if there might be a way to check such things without staring closely at a corner of a room and getting lucky. It could be there was a muggle method, wizards usually overlooked, that would do the trick. She then blinked and said, “That doesn’t explain how you got here,”

“I walked. Where am I exactly anyways?” Luna asked as she looked around curiously. It was almost as if she just now realized there were walls in the corridor around her.

“You’re actually between Hufflepuff and the Entrance Hall,” Harry answered.

“We aren’t supposed to tell people where our house is,” Hermione said with a frown.

“I didn’t tell her. Just said she was between Hufflepuff and the hall,” Harry countered.

“He is right. There could be several floors below me I would need to walk through to get to your house. It’s also possible you two came through one of the many secret passageways before entering this hall on the way from Hufflepuff. It could even be the secret passage actually takes you several floors up. Or maybe to a pocket dimension first!” Luna said bouncing on her feet a little. She was getting excited with her guesses.

There were so many possibilities! She doubted it would just be around the corner of the hallway they just turned. That was possible and maybe the most likely, but it wasn’t any fun to think of that as the answer. Magic should be fun and not too practical all of the time. She thought it would be really cool if each house was actually in a different pocket dimension and Hogwarts served as the anchor to the real dimension and school for them all.

“I see…” Hermione said with a frown. She wasn’t sure about this Luna girl. She didn’t seem that bad, but she was odd. A little too head-in-the-clouds with an over active imagination for her liking, but not really a bad person. “We should get going, Harry. We’re holding the others up,” she reminded him.

Harry nodded. “When you decide if Vincent the Unseen is real or not, go down this way and turn left at the second corridor. That will take you back close to the Entrance Hall. Nice meeting you, Luna,” Harry said and pointed in the right direction before he left with Hermione. She only gave Luna a polite wave in farewell though.

“Thanks! Nice to meet you too, Harry,” Luna said. She was actually really happy by this chance encounter. Maybe the Wrackspurts were telling her they could become good friends with their behavior at that was why she was supposed to be at Hogwarts. She would like that. Ginny was far away and Luna had hoped to make some friends at Hogwarts. Friends were nice.

Luna stared back at the portrait on the wall once again. She focused and suddenly grinned. “You transfigured yourself into a flower pot! That’s amazing!” she said to it.

A flower pot in the painting wiggled and spun. A few seconds later a rather handsome and elder gentleman gave her a smile. “Very astute. Not exactly correct,” he said.

Luna nodded thought. “You glamored yourself as a flower pot,” she supplied.

“That’s the right of it. Glamors are usually only detected if you are looking for them. Witches and Wizards instinctively look for them if they are talking to someone long enough and only think the spell would be used on their face or hair. No one thinks to use such magic to disguise themselves as an inanimate object though,” Vincent said with a smile.

“That's really wise and cunning,” Luna said impressed.

“Well. I was in Ravenclaw, but realized that didn’t mean you couldn’t learn from the other houses’ preferred qualities. Too many people try to fit the stereotype of their house, so to speak. How did you figure it out?” he then asked her.

Luna grinned. “It was hard to see, but the shadows were just off a little too much,” she said.

Vincent held his chin in thought. He nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. Sadly, I doubt I’ll ever be able to trick you again,” he said with a small smile.

Luna continued to grin. “Thus, are the limits of a portrait. Change something around too much and it will stick out. I’ve got the background memorized. I would notice if there was anything amiss next time I looked at it,” she said.

“In most cases, small changes work. I actually sometimes get a kick of purposefully changing something just a little bit. It’s funny when returning students stare at the painting. I can tell they think something is off, but can’t place it. They eventually give up and jot it down to their eyes playing tricks on them or some other trick of the light,” he said.

Luna gave a giggle. “I should get going now. It was nice seeing you, Vincent the Unseen,” she said with a laugh.

Vincent shook his head in amusement before turning back into a flower pot. This time he made sure the shadows were just right.

[-] [-] [-]

Tom from the Diary was extra pleased with the results of his experiments. They were a complete success. He would no longer have to do such inappropriate things with the first year slip of a girl. He had to do some rather unsavory tests just to be sure he had the control he needed.

Since he didn’t even have Imperius as an option yet, Tom needed to have passive control over her. That would allow her to mostly remain under his influence and no one, especially his damnable Transfiguration Professor who somehow gained position of Headmaster, would notice something completely off about her.

If he exuded full control over her at all times, it would be noticed and unnecessarily draining on him. If he left her alone apart from when he fully controlled her, she might eventually gain enough independence and willpower to break his grasp. Worse than that, she might remember all she did under his power and tell others.

He had to do some bizarre tests to figure this out though. It was mostly because he was overly thorough in experiments. One such experiment was to have her go a couple of days without proper hygiene. He wanted to see if the constant uncomfortable feeling of grime and dried sweat would break her out of the spell. It was surprising what factors could break such control. Once that one was a success, he never did such a thing again. If anything, she probably took better care of herself than usual after those experiments.

The final test was to have her go around without undergarments. He wanted to see if his passive hold over her would withstand sudden intense stimuli. He couldn’t really have her poking herself with a quill to test it without drawing attention, so this method worked instead. It was actually surprisingly effective as well. Not much actually compared to the intensity of a sudden exhilarating breeze on one’s uncovered privates.

He concluded that test was a success in an unexpected manner.

One day Ginny was walking the halls with that annoying camera toting mudblood boy. Tom vowed that annoyance would be the first human victim. While they were walking the hall, they came across a stairwell Peevees had chosen for some mischief. The poltergeist was occupying a nearby suit of armor. Whenever students came that way, he would do something to the stairs. It ranged from causing them to turn into a slide or becoming sticky to simply being excessively breezy.

Ginny walked up first and Peevees sent a force of wind strong enough to knock her forward. She stumbled and her robes lifted above her head and exposed her. She was there on the stairs with her uncovered asshole and pussy on display for that camera mudblood. The boy was too shocked to take a picture, as he usually did by instinct.

Tom was pleased by this event, because it proved his passive control over her didn’t break. She didn’t even blush and just stayed in that position. Tom took full control and had her stand up and turn around. He then used her to cast a series of spells which caused Colin and Peevees to forget the details of what happened. It would seem strange and garner unwanted attention if it got around Ginny went without undergarments, especially if she didn’t act embarrassed when exposed to someone.

Tom Riddle was further impressed during that encounter how easy it was to bend her magic and cast advanced spells through her. This was promising for his future plans.

The diary's inhabitant made sure there weren’t blank spots in their memories of the event. Instead, he had them believe Ginny blushed and shot a spell at the suit of armor to chase off Peevees before warning Colin to forget almost seeing her panties. Colin merely gulped and nodded enthusiastically before running away, glad he hadn’t accidentally taken a picture.

This was still a full success and meant he was finished with uncomfortable tests. Though he did find some amusement in the thoughts of Ginny somehow surviving it all. She would be little better than a thrall to him if such a thing happened, even if only he knew this. He thought it would be entertaining to have the precious daughter of the Weasleys, whore herself out to anyone for a knut starting at the end of her first year. It would serve the foolish muggle loving bloodtraitor family right if their daughter gained such a reputation and it was more than just a rumor.

What mattered most currently was he could now passively control Ginny without notice from others. He did still have to take full control of her when it came to speaking Slytherin’s Noble Tongue. You couldn’t just hiss at the opening and it would work, even if you somehow knew the right pattern years later after hearing it just once. No. Parseltongue required more than just the sounds and motions of the mouth. It required the right magic as well, which was instinctive for speakers.

Any thoughts otherwise were something of pure fiction and at best be what less superior people called an ass pull. It would probably be written by an author as an attempt to have a character shine and give their forced love interest a chance to gush about them. It would be a poor attempt to show how the two ‘really belonged together’ despite seeming to usually hate each other. Such a notion was just plain silly.

The chamber would have been discovered by accident long ago, if it was that easy to open. Probably by someone drunk who thought it funny to make hissing noises at the sink with the snake engraving. There’s no way Salazar Slytherin would let such thing happen. He was, in Tom’s mind, the greatest of the founders.

“ Now I just need to learn the castle’s changes fully, ” Tom thought as Ginny went about her business as usual. Halloween was coming up. From what Ginny wrote, that was the day everyone celebrated his older self’s defeat. It would be the perfect chance to announce his inevitable return. He would strike fear in the mudbloods and those who sympathized with them.

More than anything though, Tom Riddle looked forward to how Dumbledore the Annoying responded to the Chamber reopening after all of these years. He couldn't wait for the Headmaster to twist himself knots trying to figure out how it happened and who was responsible. Yes. Halloween would be so much fun. This year would be so much fun... for him.

Chapter 26: A Ghostly Party

Harry gave a yawn as he woke up for the day. He was again being used as a body pillow by Hermione. He enjoyed this just as much as the first time and it was equally frustrating in a certain way. He did love feeling her warmth and her body there with him, but it never made falling asleep easy.

The frizzy haired beauty fell asleep too easily in his opinion. It wasn’t fair. How was he supposed to fall asleep hearing a beautiful girl’s even breathing as she found her way to laying her head on his chest? It wasn’t fair, even if he really liked it.

Harry usually fell asleep eventually, but it sometimes took a while and resulted in him being half-asleep the next day. Harry carefully extricated himself from Hermione’s grasp and opened a drawer from his nightstand. He took out a bottle of a clear and odorless liquid and took a quick gulp of it before putting it back. Harry knew he would be out of luck without this potion.

The potion was called Wakey Wakey, which was a ridiculous name and why most also called it The Rise and Shine instead. It wasn’t anything terrible or habit forming. The potion was essentially magically charged caffeine. Harry didn’t like the idea of being a 12-year-old already essentially drinking some super magic coffee, but he kind of was. Luckily, he only needed the potion a couple of times a week.

There were a few times he used it three times, but that was because of tests and needing a little extra boost after studying most of the night. Hermione insisted they always sleep together and Harry wasn’t really going to say no to something he liked, but it meant he was kind of her schedule. When it came to tests, Hermione really studied late into the night. Harry eventually convinced her to end earlier than she usually preferred, but it was still late for most people when they had school the next day.

Hermione woke up and let out a moan as she stretched. Harry blushed and quickly looked away. Hermione really needed to realize she knew how to drive him crazy in the mornings. Girls shouldn’t moan so carelessly. It was dangerous for guys like him, especially the way she stretched and her night clothes showed off the slight but noticeable curve her body had. Then there was the dangerous zone that showed part of her flat lightly tanned stomach.

“Whelp… I’m going first,” Harry said as he left. He made sure it wasn’t too quick of an exit. He was really grateful Susan and Hannah slept in later than they did. He really didn’t want to think what it would be like waiting for one of the two restrooms with his morning condition.

“See you then,” Hermione said in the middle of a yawn. She soon smiled as she realized they were getting close to Halloween again. She really hoped nothing like the troll would happen again this year. If it did, she might start to think Halloween was cursed or something.

[-] [-] [-]

“I didn’t think we’d run into you again like this,” Hermione couldn’t help but say in surprise. She and Harry were again in a corridor with that Luna girl. Hermione actually started to have a bit of a soft spot her, even if Luna was just as crazy as everyone said. Hermione could emphasize with the girl being shunned by everyone in her year and more. She still didn’t believe the theories she heard people say girl spouted regularly.

“Are you looking for another invisible wizard portrait?” Harry asked jokingly. He was actually a little concerned for Luna. He looked into her a bit after their first meeting. No matter what she said, there was no way she just happened to be staring at portraits while wandering the halls. There had to be a reason she took to wandering halls far away from her own house. He did not like what he discovered. He wasn’t sure how to help her though.

If Luna was a second year, it would be easy. He could tell others he found her kind of interesting and that would be why he hung around her sometimes. That would get people to back off her a little bit and maybe they too might find her more a curiosity than just plain weird. It would also sort of mark her as not okay to make fun of incessantly. Still not the best situation to be in as a person, but better than what she was going through currently. Luna was a first year though, and Harry didn’t have any idea what pull he had with them.

Luna gave the two a wide smile. She liked how the Wrackspurts were less lazy around Hermione this time. She took that to be a good sign. “I was actually wandering the halls talking to one of the House Ghosts earlier,” she said.

“Which one?” Hermione asked curiously. She had never really thought to talk with the ghosts. She supposed they would know all kinds of things about the school and magic. Maybe she should try, Friar Puck was very friendly and always happy to help his fellow Hufflepuffs.

“Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington. Most just call him Nearly-Headless Nick. I personally call him Sir Nick. His real name is too long and Nearly-Headless Nick is a bit disrespectful given he has a title of nobility,” Luna explained.

“What did you two talk about?” Harry asked.

“Many things. We ended with him asking me to attend his Deathday Party. I agreed to go, though I don’t think he will get his wish, even with my say,” Luna said.

“Ghosts celebrate their deaths?” Hermione asked in wonder.

“Yes. It can be depressing, I guess. But not to ghosts. Most of them chose to become what they are. Some even see it as the day they found complete freedom. They can go anywhere they wish and the only thing they really have to worry about is exorcism. Those aren’t common even in the magical world,” Luna said.

“So, they throw a party and get all their ghost friends together?” Hermione asked more in thought than wanting an actual answer.

“That is what a party is, or so I’ve heard,” Luna answered easily and almost frowned to herself.

“What was it Sir Nick wanted from you?” Harry asked. He didn’t like how she answered that previous question. Surely even she had some friends, maybe from before Hogwarts?

“He wants me to try and convince the Headless Hunt to let him join. It seems he has tried many times, but is always turned down. I don’t think my word will help any, Daddy says the Headless Hunt is very strict about who can join, but I still want to help Sir Nick. He is a rather nice deceased person, even though I’m not in Gryffindor,” Luna said.

“Ooo do you think we could go as well?” Hermione asked with eyes lit in curiosity. She thought this would be a very interesting learning experience. She doubted many mortals got to experience such an event.

“Would he mind?” Harry asked. He too was a bit curious about a Ghost’s party.

“I don’t think he would mind. So long as you tried to help him as well, even if it is futile,” Luna said.

She was actually hopeful here. She had never been to a real party with friends. Ginny was her only friend growing up and the Weasleys weren’t exactly able to give real birthday parties with lots of people attending. She did at least get to go to their family celebration. Ginny always liked it when it wasn’t just her brothers celebrating her birthday.

Luna herself didn’t have a large family for throwing parties. Her dad also had a habit of going on expeditions during her birthday. He usually brought her along on those occasions recently. Luna suspected he did it to get her mind off things. She did get to have Ginny sleepover a time or two as a belated celebration at least. That was a lot of fun. They did all of those party things like braiding hair and such. They didn't really do Truth or Dare though. Ginny and Luna both agreed two people weren't enough for such a game. Luna hoped maybe one day she would get to see what it was all about.

“I would actually like to go too. We can see if Hannah and Susan want to come,” Harry said more to Hermione. He turned to Luna and smiled as he said, “Thanks for what could be the best Halloween plan.”

Luna actually blushed at his thanks. She never did or said something someone called the best. “Ummmm… You’re welcome. I hope to see you all there,” she said with a smile. She really hoped the Wrackspurts wouldn’t have too much fun with her for her reaction. They did like to tease people that blushed in such ways, even if only she saw this. They would turn all pink and briefly behave extra floaty around the person. Sometimes they would even pretend to be all swoony.

“I hope to see you there as well,” Harry said in return.

They were about to leave but Luna stopped them again. “Oh, one thing you might want to know…” she started.

They looked to her to continue. Luna almost didn’t want to. She was scared this might change their minds. “Ghosts… Like having really spoiled food at their parties. They can’t eat real food or taste it. They can smell food, and the stronger the smell the more they like it. So be prepared for that,” Luna said.

Harry and Hermione looked to each other for a moment. Luna was worried how they would react. The truth was Hermione felt even more excited now. She had an excuse to research new spells to help with such a thing. “Thanks for the warning. Do you go to Deathday parties often?” Harry asked.

Luna felt relieved he hadn’t suddenly felt revolted by the idea. She shook her head furiously. “This will be my first! Daddy’s been to them before. He’s told me all about them. The first time it was for research. After that he went to them for fun. He’s always said with the right magic and potions, Deathday parties were smashingly fun,” she said.

She then crinkled her nose cutely in thought. “He’s never told me what those spells and potions were though. He usually gets distracted or says to wait until I’m older,” she said. She was saying it was just dad, but the truth was both her parents went to such parties. She just didn’t like thinking on her mom too much. That made her weepy eyed and sad.

“It’s a good thing he told you about them at least,” Harry said.

“We’ll see you then Luna,” Hermione said as the two turned to leave again.

“Bye…” Luna said softly. She felt a little lonely now that they were leaving. It was odd to her. They hadn’t really known each other or talked for too long, but she knew she would miss them and have to go back to her regular day. It was getting a bit more difficult to make her days not regular. Friends seemed to make every day not regular and not boring. She would just have to wait until the party. Fortunately, it wasn’t too long until the then, but it was still a wait.

[-] [-] [-]

“I’m almost tempted to go with you all. A Deathday party does sound surprisingly interesting,” Cedric said to Harry and his girls. Hermione pointed out it would be a good idea to tell a few people what their plans were including their Head of House. Since they didn’t have an RA this year, an older student had to do. Cedric interacted with them enough and he was probably one of the most responsible of the older students, even though he was just in his fourth year. Everyone was sure he would be male Prefect next year.

“It does sound interesting, but we also won’t be able to really eat anything there,” Harry said.

Cedric chuckled to that. “Good point. I do have plans for after the feast anyways and there’s no telling how long that party will last,” Cedric said.

“You’ll have to tell us all about the feast this year,” Hannah started.

“And you all will have to tell me all about the Deathday party,” Cedric said giving her a smile. Hannah blushed, since pretty much no girl was immune to the famous Cedric smile, even with Lockhart as competition this year. She made a squeak sound and nodded quickly in answer.

“I’ll do what I can to look after you all, and Miss Luna,” Friar Puck said as he hovered nearby. He volunteered to be their official deceased escort to the party. Professor Sprout wanted them to have someone watching over them, even at a ghost party. The House Ghost quickly volunteered, since he was going to the party already.

Harry already met with Sir Nick earlier in the week and told him they heard about the party. Sir Nick was pleasantly surprised they wanted to come and did ask them, as Luna said he would, to put in a good word for him. Harry agreed and would do as he said, but he also agreed with Luna it probably wouldn’t matter.

He and Hermione toyed with the idea of seeing if maybe there was a way to make Nearly-Headless Nick, Truly Headless Nick. They weren’t sure about that being possible. It still did make for some interesting conversation. Harry wasn’t as scientific about it as Hermione was though. She even added notes to her journal about the ideas they tossed around.

[-] [-] [-]

As the group left, Friar Puck led the way to the party. “Remember the spell I found,” Hermione reminded them all. She found an old Herbology spell that essentially acted like a gas mask. It was a spell they weren’t supposed to learn until their fifth year when they started working with plants that had spores you needed to be careful of.

“I won’t be forgetting that spell ever. It seems so useful and isn’t too hard to cast. It would have really come in handy last year going through that first section of the trapdoor corridor,” Susan said and the others agreed.

“I’m still surprised the adventures you four got up to during your first year alone,” Friar Puck said with a friendly chuckle. Despite their wishes otherwise, their trek to get the stone was well known, even if the students had long sense moved on to other gossip. They all guessed everyone felt it was just normal for Harry Potter and anyone who was with him to have amazing adventures. Harry blamed it on those damn books about him. He might actually talk to Goldbite to see if they could do something about them.

The group kept walking and soon entered a corridor deep below. There were floating candles that were melted on fake skulls giving off a dark blue light. There were black drapes hanging above some of the candles. There were even a few tombstone decorations with what looked like Deathday wishes on them. As the students looked around, suddenly a group of what looked like skeletal bats flew above them. The effect was far more chilling and frightening than the live bats in the Great Hall above. They next made out what looked like two rusted axes above a doorway.

“Sir Nicholas really went all out. He was rather excited to have so many living guests coming to his party. He originally thought about going for something far more somber, given it is his 500th Deathday, but figured this would be better in the end. I do hope Miss Luna will be okay. She didn’t want to wait for us outside of the party,” Friar Puck said.

It was getting a bit chilly as they continued forward. Hermione seemed inspired by the décor, so she cast her blue fire spell to keep them warm. She was good enough at it by this point she didn’t need a bottle to contain it. She cast it two more times to cover their whole group in eerie blue flame light which hovered around them as they walked and kept them warm.

Once they entered the doorway at the end of the hallway, the sight was something to behold. There were hundreds of ghosts floating around everywhere! They talking to each other and sampling the ghost preferred refreshments. “Good to see you all made it. Hello Friar Puck,” Luna said in greeting smiling brightly despite herself.

“Hello Miss Luna. Kind of you to wait by the entrance at least,” Friar Puck said.

“Hello, Luna. I’m Hannah. Nice to meet you,” Hannah said in greeting.

Luna kept smiling as she said, “Nice to meet you too.” The Wrackspurts seemed to be telling her Hannah was friendly too.

“I’m Susan. Nice to meet you,” Susan said next. She was more timid than her friend Hannah, but still seemed nice to Luna.

“Nice to meet you too,” Luna greeted. She was so happy to greet so many people. She even got to greet Harry and Hermione again. She hadn’t even counted all of the ghosts who greeted her yet. They were people as well. They were just deceased.

“Ahh. So good to see you all, my friends,” Nick said in welcome. His voice had an almost melancholic sound to it. It seemed he was too happy for the living guests to even act depressed on his Deathday overall though.

“Good to see you as well, Sir Nick. This really is something,” Harry said as he looked around in awe.

“Glad you think so. I will admit it has been quite the turn out. Many ghosts have traveled from far away to visit. That includes a rather enchanting woman ghost I met from Egypt,” he said.

“Was she an ancient Egyptian Witch?” Hermione asked in eagerness.

“Afraid not, Miss Granger. She was a magical tomb raider. She has had quiet the life and afterlife,” Nick said. He then greeted a ghost couple really quick and returned to them again. “I am glad to see you as well, my gentle Friar,” he said.

“I wouldn’t miss your Deathday celebration, especially your 500th. I have the honor to being their chaperon as well,” Friar Puck said with his friendly smile.

“Feel free to look around. It will still be a while until Sir Patrick Delaney-Podmore arrives,” he said in a manner that was a mix of bitterness and surprisingly happiness.

“I’ve never seen so many ghosts in one place before,” Hannah said as they made their way to look around.

“I haven’t been to many events with a bigger turn out than this. I am concerned how many are here for the Headless Hunt and not Sir Nicholas though. The Headless Hunt is very popular and Sir Nicholas did mention more than a few times they would be making an appearance. I worry he is in for a disappointing end tonight. He is a friendly sort, but Sir Patrick is the type who loves to be the center of attention. From what I’ve heard thanks to ghosts who knew him in life, he is even more so eager to be the center of attention in death,” Friar Puck said with a worrying frown.

The group continued to look around. The refreshment table was horrendous and they made a point of not looking at it for long. “Oh no…” Hermione started suddenly.

“What is it?” Harry asked.

“It’s moa… Myrtle… She’s a ghost that haunts the second floor girls’ bathroom. She’s always crying and wailing. It makes it rather difficult when having a pee,” Hermione said. The other girls couldn’t help but look when Hermione pointed her out. They quickly acted like they hadn’t seen her.

Harry noticed a girl ghost who looked to be in her fourth or fifth wearing Hogwarts robes floating over where Hermione looked when mentioning her. “I wish she wasn’t so depressing,” Luna started. “I would love to have a chat with a Ravenclaw student ghost,” she said.

“Is she that bad?” Harry asked.

“Poor Miss Warren has yet to accept her death. She is a rare case of someone who became a ghost, but didn’t choose it. I, myself, was similar, but I took a liking to it soon and saw it as a chance to help others. We’ve obviously tried to help her. Thus far all efforts have failed. Hopefully with time she will grow past it. She is rather young as a ghost and was so when she died. That is probably why it is so difficult for her,” the friar said. He then excused himself momentarily to enjoy the refreshment table.

“That's putting it lightly. She usually floods the toilets with her crying. Even going in there to freshen up can be a mistake,” Hannah said.

“No one really uses that toilet anymore. I’ve heard girls in their most desperate, will relieve themselves in the hallway and just vanish it afterwards. That's if they can’t make it another toilet instead,” Luna answered rather causally. The others were too surprised by her bluntness to feel embarrassed by what she said.

“She’s earned the nickname Moaning Myrtle because of all of that,” Hermione said.

“It isn’t very nice to say that about poor Myrtle…” a cackling voice said. It sounded sad in a very insincere and mocking manner.

“Great… Peevees,” Susan muttered.

“It is odd to see a firstie and a group of second years at a Deathday party. Such events aren’t usually very… Lively,” he said laughing at his own terrible joke.

“Nibbles?” he then asked as he smiled wickedly and thrust a tray of rotten food under their noses. He was disappointed their only reaction was a slight look disgust. They weren’t about puke from the stench even. He frowned. “You five are no fun. And so rude,” he said.

He then called out, “Oh Myrtle… Did you hear what they had to say?” Peevees said grinning.

“Wha-wha-what is it?” a high-pitched whining voice asked.

“They were calling you names,” Peevees said thinking he had the students.

“Actually…” started Harry confidently. Peevees didn’t like it, but couldn’t interrupt. “Luna here was telling us she wished she could have conversations with another Ravenclaw,” Harry said.

Myrtle blinked to that. Harry responded too quickly for her to just pass it off as a taunt. “R-r-really?” she asked in surprise.

“No… They. Weren’t…” Peevees said trying to get the best of them again. “They were calling you names,” he tried once more.

“I’ve always wanted to know what Ravenclaws learned in the past years. I think it would be really interesting to compare notes,” Luna said with a big Luna grin while ignoring the poltergeist.

“I… Don’t know what to say,” Myrtle replied. She was actually half tempted by the girl’s offer. She might be dead, but she was still a Ravenclaw. Intellectual pursuits were still enticing for her.

“They were calling you Moaning Myrtle. Saaad Myrtle. And Pimply,” Peevees cackled doing his best to ruin the ambiguous mood.

Myrtle was about to start crying at that, but Friar Puck returned. “Ahhh. Miss Warren. It is good to see you out and about. What brings you here?” he asked.

It seemed even Myrtle found the Friar agreeable. She sniffled but didn’t burst into tears, as rare as that was. “S-S-Sir Nicholas invited me. Said I should see what it is like… The… perks... to being… dead…” she said before flying away.

It seemed her resolve could go only so far. She shot from the room, but fought back her tears for the moment. Peevees still chased after her calling her Pimply and seemed to consider the night a success despite not getting to Potter and the others.

Sir Nicholas came over to them and smiled as he asked, “How has it been?”

“Interesting to say the least. It’s amazing to see all of the different ghosts,” Harry started.

“I like seeing their clothes. Their styles are kind of interesting. Are there any naked ghosts?” Luna asked.

Sir Nicholas blinked to that. “There are a few, but they mostly keep to themselves. For obvious reasons,” he said.

“Awww… I don’t see why. If I was a naked ghost I would go everywhere. It would feel so freeing,” Luna said.

Harry was blushing furiously and the other girls were as well. Luna definitely had a habit for asking the strangest questions. Harry doubted anyone else would think to ask about nude ghosts. Now, he was more curious than he should be about the topic. Were there Nudist Colonies for ghosts? Did they haunt muggle nude beaches for their afterlife? Why was he even thinking about such things?

“You say that now… I suppose some are in the decent enough condition to go around in such a manner,” Sir Nicholas couldn’t help but answer. He originally came here to check on them quickly before giving his speech. Luna changed that with her unexpected question.

Just then he heard a familiar horn to any ghost. He was glad he had been distracted. He dreaded to think what would happen if he was set on giving his speech just as the Headless Hunt arrived. “That would be Sir Properly-Decapitated Podmore,” Sir Nicholas said with a sigh.

[-] [-] [-]

When the Headless Hunt arrived, the atmosphere of the room shifted. It seemed even those here for Sir Nicholas were still happy to see the famous Headless Hunt arrive. Their horn sounded again as a group of men mounted on ghostly horses rode through the wall.

Each of them was doing something to show they were fully decapitated. One had his head constantly bouncing and rejoining his body in time with his horse’s gallops. A different one was holding his up with an arm and rotating it. A third ghost pretended to drop his head by accident and his horse kept kicking it forward as they galloped around the hall.

Harry and the others tried not to seem to amused with Sir Nicholas there next to them. The hunt’s antics were still entertaining and amusing though. The ghosts seemed to agree as well. After a few more pranks on each other, the hunt came to a halt. The leader, who turned out to be the ghost who let his horse kick his head around, hopped off his horse. He made a show of letting his head wobble much more than it should.

“Nick!” he said in an overly jolly manner. “How are you?! Head still hanging in there, my friend?” he asked grinning around the room getting chuckles from some ghost guests.

“Sir Patrick. You took your time getting here I see,” Nicholas said a little rigidly.

“You know how it is. Always having to scramble around I am. I’d lose me head if wasn’t tied on. Still do even then!” Patrick said as he rapped on his own head with a ghostly fist. The head fell loose and rolled along his out stretched arm, where he caught it. There were more chuckles to that. Harry would have joined in, but he didn’t like how the man was trying to show up Nicholas like this.

“Live ‘uns huh?” he then asked as he looked to the group of living guests. He gave an affectionate laugh as he said, “I hope we dead folk aren’t… boring your heads off!” His then fell promptly to the floor.

There were more ghostly chuckles this time.

“That was a terrible joke,” Luna said.

That got Sir Patrick’s attention. He was shocked at the small first year girl. She was staring at him intently with her large silver eyes.

“You’re also being a rather rude ghost guest to the host,” she said.

Sir Patrick blinked in surprise. He was kind of feeling a shudder as she looked to him with unimpressed silver eyes. There was something about them. He was dead and felt she was seeing through him, and not in the literal sense. “You have a point there miss. Us ghosts seem to forget ourselves after death,” he said apologetically.

“Thanks again for the invite,” he said in a more polite tone to Sir Nick.

Sir Nicholas was surprised by this turn. He seemed to decide something himself in that moment. He would still broach the subject, but he would do so later. He did have guests to entertain and as much as he hated to admit it, Sir Patrick was good at that. “I’m glad you arrived. I have a speech to give. After that… Well… do your thing I suppose,” he said as he floated over to the center of the room.

“Dear departed Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is my great sorrow that I died this day 500 years ago. But as some ghost philosophers say, death is but the start of a glorious afterlife…” Sir Nicholas continued his speech. The Headless Hunt seemed a little restless, but they listened to speech with earnest.

Once his speech was finished, Sir Nicholas thanked the many guests and introduced Sir Patrick and the Headless Hunt. He then joined Harry and the others once again. “I must admit Young Miss Luna here is probably the first to call out Sir Patrick on his behavior since his death,” he said smiling to her in fondness as Sir Patrick’s head flew over the crowd while he attempted to yodel.

“Death is no excuse for bad manners,” Luna said with a nod.

“I suppose it would be best for you all to leave soon. You might be able to catch the tail end of the feast,” Sir Nicholas said.

“Didn’t you want us to try and convince Sir Patrick to let you join the Headless Hunt?” Hannah asked.

“I did, but even I know it is in vain. Sir Patrick is many things, but most importantly he is strict about the rules of the hunt,” Sir Nicholas said with a hint of sorrow in his ghostly voice. “I do appreciate you all showing up and willing to help me,” he added in thanks to them.

“It is getting late. They still need to worry about curfew,” Friar Puck said. “I enjoyed the party, Sir Nicholas. May your days of death be eternally pleasant,” the ghost friar said with a bow.

“Same to you, my good friar,” Sir Nicholas replied.

The group left just as they heard Sir Patrick call out, “Come on Nick, my friend. You may not be a part of the hunt, but you have the best musical trick of any ghost! Our quintet is not a quintet without you.” He was giving a friendly smile to Sir Nicholas.

Sir Nicholas shook his head and gave a chuckle that was a mix of exasperation and amusement. He floated up and joined the others just as Harry rounded the corner. Harry was really curious now, but had a feeling ghost music wasn’t exactly meant for mortals to hear.

“It seems the Deathday Party won’t be as disappointing as I feared. It is surprising to think about now, but the two were actually good friends early on in Sir Patrick’s Ghost life. That was before he joined the Headless Hunt and became their leader. Things have unfortunately soured between them these last 300 years. I’m sure you all picked up on that a bit,” the friar said as they followed him. None of them could contemplate that sort of time frame, but understood what he meant.

[-] [-] [-]

As the group made their way to Hufflepuff, Harry paused in his steps. The others were really alarmed by this, especially seeing his face.

“Let meee rippp…. Let me tearrrrr…. So hungry… So thirsty… Let me sssspill blood, ” an inhumane voice said. Harry couldn’t tell if it was just in his head or not though.

“What’s wrong, Harry?” Hermione was the first to ask in worry.

“You all don’t hear that?” Harry asked back.

They shook their heads except for Luna. She seemed frozen in her own terror. She couldn’t hear what Harry was talking about, but the Wrackspurts were fleeing and telling her to do the same it felt. She had never seen them act this way. It scared her.

“What are you talking about?” Hannah asked.

“Sssweet blooodd…. Tassssty blood…. Hungry… ” the voice continued and seemed to move.

“It’s headed upstairs!” Harry said. He started making his way there. The group were worried now, even Friar Puck.

“This is bad… It’s some kind of voice seemingly coming from the walls,” Harry said.

“A voice… What is it saying?” Susan asked in fear.

“Bad things… Terrible things!” Harry said. He started moving a little faster as the voice seemed to move faster.

“Harry… You’re worrying us… What is this voice wanting to do?” Hermione asked.

“I’m worried about what’s making the voice instead of the voice itself. It wants blood,” Harry said.

“Nexxxt timeeee… pleasssse… Pleasssse…” the voice soon said before it started to disappear.

Harry froze in place. “It’s over. Whatever it was doing is over… for now,” he said.

“Where did you hear this voice?” Friar Puck asked.

“I heard it in the walls. I just heard it upstairs though. Saying next time please,” he answered.

“Wait here you all,” the friar said sternly as he floated up through the ceiling.

“What is this?!” they heard the friar shout from above moments later.

The students quickly ran up to join him. Their curiosities overpowered their fears. They had not expected the scene before them. There was water on the floor coming from a nearby bathroom. There was something blackened hanging from a torch.

The most unsettling part of the scene was the bright red writing on the wall.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS IS OPEN. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

“I think we know what trouble Dobby warned me about,” Harry said darkly. The other girls nodded in agreement, except Luna.

Luna was confused by Harry’s words, but more than that she was worried by the writing on the wall. Why did the Wrackspurts say Hogwarts was where she should go? Why would they with this happening? Why?

Soon they heard a loud racket, it seemed the feast just ended, but it was odd everyone was coming up to what was the second floor. Harry figured maybe they heard Friar Puck’s shout earlier. Whatever was the case, Harry really hoped telling others their plans would help out here. It would look really bad for them to be here otherwise and he didn’t think they would be able to disappear unnoticed in time.

The hall was soon crowded with students from all houses. Everyone started to whisper. One voice was overheard by everyone. “Ha! Enemies of the Heir beware? That means you… mudblood filth…” it was Theodore Nott. He was smirking at everyone as several people gasped at the word he used. Nott figured this would show them all, especially those damn Slytherins that dared be friendly to Harry Potter and his mudblood whore.

Draco frowned at Nott. Many others did as well. It wasn’t that none of them agreed with him, but he really did not know how to use tact it seemed. How were they even sure this Hire was a Slytherin? They only had a petrified cat and some words on the wall as evidence. That was not enough for any real conclusions to be drawn.

“What is going on here?” a voice everyone knew and loathed shouted from nearby. Filch came through the crowd looking as unpleasant as ever having been drawn there by the ruckus. He was probably about to hand out detentions for made up excuses, but instead he looked in shock at what was hanging on the wall.

“NOOOOO!!!! Mrs. Norris!!!! No no no!!! Who did this?!” he shouted in rage.

“It was you, wasn’t it!” He shouted at a random first year who squeaked.

“We just got here…” the girl said as she tried to hide behind an older student who looked to be her brother or at least a close relative.

Filch turned on the next group and stomped over towards Harry and the others. “It was you. Wasn’t it? I never liked you. Always knew you were trouble! Had it in for me!” he raged at Harry who remained calm. Filch was about to carry on more but was stopped.

“I highly doubt young Mr. Potter, as talented as he may be, could do this Argus,” it was Professor Dumbledore this time. He was examining the hanging cat.

“I’m familiar with this exact case! So unfortunate I wasn’t here on time. I could have saved Mrs. Norris with just a simple spell,” Professor Lockhart said giving what he thought was an intellectual face. There were a few girls who sighed lovingly at it for a moment despite the situation.

“He’s gone and killed her!” Filch argued and pointed at Harry.

“She isn’t dead. She is just petrified,” Professor Dumbledore said.

“Ahhhh… That was my… second guess. The two are very similar you see…” Lockhart added to save his reputation, but no one was really listening to him now.

“Though it is odd Potter and his friends were here before everyone else. It is possible they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Professor Snape said neutrally. He then added, “I don’t remember if they were at the feast or not though.”

“They weren’t,” a first year said. They then blushed and slunk back into the crowd when Professor Snape looked to them for a further answer. He was playing his part, especially after just telling Mr. Nott they would be having words about his… lack of decorum… in private. Snape had every bit of faith Harry Potter had a reason, or at least an alibi, for not being at the feast.

“They went to a Deathday Party for Nearly Headless Nick,” Cedric provided.

“Is that so?” Snape asked.

“We were curious and thought it would be fitting for Halloween,” Hermione added.

“I was actually their escort to the party,” Friar Puck added.

“They also made me aware of their plans as well, Professor Snape,” Professor Sprout added. She had just finished a discussion with Professor Dumbledore about how long it would take for their mandrakes to be ready.

“There you have it, Severus,” Professor Dumbledore said. Professor Snape took that as his cue to back off and still save face with his house. “Argus. We will be able to save her. It just so happens with the Mandrakes we have here this year, we can make a restorative draught,” the headmaster said.

Filch didn’t look happy. He did look begrudgingly accepting though.

“Everyone Please report back to your House. Prefects. If you would be so kind as to lead the way,” Professor Dumbledore said. “I will still need to speak with you six, since you were the first on scene,” he added quietly to Harry and the others. They could only nod in agreement at the moment.

Notes:

I actually wanted to get this out in time for Halloween, but even before I made this chapter and the previous one separate, I just couldn't do it. It took me too long to get the scene at Hagrid's from chapter 24 written and life has been extra busy recently.

Chapter 27: Writings, Races, and Bludgers

Harry and the others were in a classroom with the professors on the opposite side along with Filch, who was giving Harry the stink eye. While they acted innocent, Filch was sure they did it. He was pretty sure all of the students in Hogwarts were involved. Those nasty little monsters were always jealous of his precious Mrs. Norris and they were always fouling up his halls with their muddy shoes and such. That, or they hated him because they knew he was a squib. The looks he sometimes got led him to believe a good number of the students knew the truth.

“Who wishes to start?” Professor Dumbledore asked calmly.

The group looked between each other, but mostly to Harry. Harry gave a sigh. “We were coming back from the Deathday Party, when I heard something. The others didn’t hear it as they were busy discussing the party,” he said.

“What was it you heard?” Professor Dumbledore asked as he gazed at Harry. It was bit infuriating at times he could only use passive Legilimency, even if he understood why that was the case. Not being able to still made situations like this troubling.

“It was something terrible. It was hard to really describe. I couldn’t hear it fully anyways. It was coming from up above us,” Harry said.

“That was when I told them to wait. Harry seemed deeply worried and I figured it would be best if I went first. I am a ghost and I was their escort for the night. I floated upstairs to check it out and then shouted in my surprise. The others came up after that and we all saw that horrible scene,” Friar Puck said.

“I should have been there. I had thought many a times to patrol more on Halloween,” Lockhart said as he nodded to himself seemingly in determination. He then looked sorrowfully as he added for effect, “I saw something similar during my many travels, of course. I could have saved poor Mrs. Norros from her grisly fate.”

“Mrs. Norris… She hated it when people teased her about her name,” Filch said with a sniffle.

If it was anyone else, Harry might have felt some sympathy, but it was hard to feel that for Filch.

“Did any of you notice anything in particular about the scene?” Dumbledore asked.

Luna almost explained what she had seen with the Wrackspurts, but didn’t say anything. No one would listen to that anyways.

“Miss Lovegood?” Dumbledore asked looking right to her.

Luna’s eyes seemed to widen as she searched for something people wouldn’t mock her for, as an answer. “Just that it seemed to be outside of Myrtle’s bathroom. I’m guessing she flooded the toilets again by all of that water on the floor. Peeves chased her away from the party calling her names,” Luna added.

“I will attempt to ask her questions later. Thank you for that,” Professor Dumbledore said with an encouraging smile to her.

“Perhaps if I mix that spell and that potion… I could bring her back. Mrs. Nurrus hasn’t been departed for too long,” Professor Lockhart said with a nod.

“Mrs. Norris is just petrified,” Professor Snape growled. He really hated the new DADA professor and that wasn’t even taking into account the man had the position he wanted.

“Ahhh yeah… That’s what I meant. Mrs. Norrimus could have been saved sooner… There is a little risk to my plan though. Perhaps it is best we hear again what Professor Dumbledore’s plan is,” Lockhart said trying to cover for himself.

“In a moment, Professor Lockhart,” Dumbledore said as he looked the group over.

“It’s like they said. I didn’t notice that about the floor though,” Hermione said as she looked to Luna a little impressed. The girl was odd, but she was nice enough and she was a Ravenclaw. It shouldn't be so surprising she picked up on something like that and knew what it most likely met.

“What could do that?” Hannah asked in a small voice.

“Ahhh Perhaps…” Lockhart started but held his tongue when he saw Professor Snape’s glare. Harry couldn’t really blame him here. Anyone would falter with Professor Snape’s glare. “The headmaster has some ideas?” Lockhart finished.

“There are far too many things that would cause petrification,” Dumbledore started.

Friar Puck gave the headmaster a look. He was debating on if he should mention what Harry actually heard or not. “Are you sure about that… After all… The writing,” Friar Puck said neutrally.

“I am not fully sure about that. It could easily be a Halloween prank and most likely is at this time. The two might not even be connected. Let us not rush to conclusions,” Professor Dumbledore said.

The ghost friar didn’t show it, but he was very disappointed in that answer from the headmaster. The ghost was now wondering how seriously he would handle this situation. It seemed to Friar Puck the Headmaster’s priorities were information control instead of actual solutions.

“You are the Headmaster,” Friar Puck said seeming to nod in acceptance.

“What about my cat?!” Filch asked after a big blow of his nose into a dirty handkerchief.

“It will take some time, but as I said. We will be able to save her once the mandrakes are ready. There is a potion that will reverse the effects. And it is without any risks, undue or otherwise,” Professor Dumbledore said.

“I will be more than happy to brew it myself, Headmaster! I feel so terribly sorrowful Mrs. Morris has been a victim of something so heinous!” Lockhart said.

Harry figured it was about time the useless DADA Professor said something. They had gone a full five minutes without him trying for everyone’s attention. It seemed even the infamous Snape Glare couldn’t hold down the Five Time Winner of Witch Weekly’s Most Charming Smile Award for long.

“Last I checked… Professor Lockhart. You were the Defense Professor. Not the Potions’ Professor. If you are willing to exchange positions… Perhaps something can be arranged. But books alone can’t teach Potions,” Professor Snape said. It seemed he didn’t appreciate his credentials as Potions’ Professor being insulted by insinuating, he couldn’t do it. He was also the main potion brewer for Hogwarts, as described in his job.

“Ha hah… I am sorry for my excitement, Professor Snape. I believe you are more than capable. I merely wished to provide my expansive assistance, if needed,” Professor Lockhart said trying his luck with his smile on Professor Snape.

The Slytherin Head of House was not impressed. In fact, it seemed to have the opposite effect on him.

“I believe we are done here,” Professor Dumbledore started. “Friar Puck, if you would be so kind as to continue escorting your young charges,” he said.

“I would be more than glad, Professor Dumbledore. I hope this will all soon be past us,” the friar said with a ghostly bow.

“As do we all,” the headmaster said. “Pomona. We have a few more details to discuss,” he added to the Head of Hufflepuff as the others were dismissed.

[-] [-] [-]

The group all stayed together and were mostly quiet as they walked the halls. They made sure to escort Luna to her dorm. “Here will be fine,” she said in front of a mostly blank wall. “It isn’t much further and you know how they are about these things… I wish… I wish it wasn’t such a frightful end tonight… I’m sorry for telling you about the Deathday Party,” she said with sadness in her voice.

Harry placed an arm on her in comfort and smiled as he said, “Apart from that business. It was actually a rather enjoyable night. Thanks for telling us about the party.”

Luna felt really happy at that and her large eyes widened in surprise.

“I’m with Harry on this. You didn’t have any control over what happened to Mrs. Norris, Luna. Don’t worry about it,” Hermione said as she repeated Harry’s gesture.

“I’ve never been to a ghost party before. If there was food we could eat there, I doubt any other Halloween could top spending one with hundreds of ghosts. And the Headless Hunt!” Hannah said with a smile.

“I really enjoyed it as well. If the night was ruined. It would have been ruined regardless of if we went to the Deathday party or not. So like Hermione said, don’t worry about it. And thank you, Luna,” Susan said.

“It was enjoyable spending time with not only my own house students, but a pleasant Ravenclaw as well,” Friar Puck said with a friendly smile and nod.

“Thanks…” Luna said more choked up on emotion than she wanted them to realize. She managed to keep her wits about her though and bade them good night. Not even her terrible roommates could ruin the night she felt.

[-] [-] [-]

Friar Puck continued to escort Harry and the girls all the way back to their room. He even entered after them as well. “What is it, Friar Puck?” Harry asked.

“I felt I should tell you this… It is part of the reason why I didn’t tell Professor Dumbledore everything,” Friar Puck said.

Harry and the others looked serious as they listened.

“This business with the chamber… It happened before… about Fifty years ago. Someone was caught back then, but most know now they weren’t responsible. It all did stop so no one looked any deeper or much cared to do so. They wanted to just be done with it. If it gets that way again… Be careful. I didn’t mention the voices you heard at first, because you didn’t. I thought about adding that later, but Dumbledore’s response left me wanting,” the friar said.

“Why is that?” Harry asked.

“Professor Dumbledore was here back then as well. He was the Transfiguration Professor and Head of Gryffindor, but he was still a professor here. He knows what those words mean. It is possible this is somehow a prank in poor taste, though surprisingly accurate or coincidental… But the way he answered. I’m afraid he is more concerned with covering up than actually finding a solution at the moment. He probably sees the presence of Professor Sprout’s Mandrakes as reason enough to focus more on the political side of things,” the friar said with a frown.

“That doesn’t seem right…” Susan said.

“Should we tell your Aunt?” Hannah asked.

Susan shook her head. “Remember what Mr. Weasley said about the barrier?” she asked.

“It was Hogwarts’ jurisdiction…” Hermione replied.

“That means the ministry can’t come here easily. They would need more than just our word…” Hannah added with a frown as Susan nodded to them both.

“Surely Dumbledore wouldn’t leave it alone though…” Hannah said in worry.

Hermione frowned. “I can see it… He thinks he’s taking the right approach already. Perhaps he knows even more than everyone else about this and wants to keep it to himself for whatever reason,” she said.

“That seems like Dumbledore to me,” Harry muttered darkly. When they others thought over Harry’s situation again, they couldn’t help but agree with him. What lengths would Dumbledore go to just for covering this up?

“That is why I sadly agree you made the right decision not mentioning hearing the voices. Hogwarts’ staff didn’t have much of a problem using a scapegoat last time after things went too far… I only hope that won’t be the case this time as well,” the friar said.

After a moment of silence, the friar turned to them and gave a bow. “I am happy to have been of service tonight. I look forward to seeing you all again,” he said as the others bade him farewell in return. They were going to eat and then try to go to sleep for the night.

[-] [-] [-]

It was astonishing how quickly students at Hogwarts could shift gears. The first few days after Halloween all anyone could talk about was the Chamber of Secrets. Hermione even got Professor Binns’ of all professors to speak about it. He said it was a legend and eventually got fed up they were discussing something other than Goblin rebellions, which was actual history. It was probably the first time in his afterlife he actually paid attention to his class though.

People came up with all kinds of wild theories about where the chamber was and what this beast of Slytherin’s was. Seamus really got into it. He had all kinds of theories with plenty of Seamus Grade evidence backing each one. This meant it was all made up. He was mostly mature about it, for Seamus anyways. He only once asked Lavender to show him her Chamber of Secrets hidden under her robes. She was deeply offended and the other girls were as well, but what surprised Seamus was how Justin looked about ready to hex him.

Despite all of the talk about the Chamber, it was only a few days before it moved on to more important things such as Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. Quidditch was always a big topic of discussion and since no one really cared for Filch’s cat, it wasn’t surprising people moved on quickly. The only time Filch’s cat mattered now was if you happened to walk too near it with Filch watching, which was any time he wasn’t having to take care of something else in the castle. He was even having his meals right next to her. He was sure someone would try and return to the scene while everyone else was eating. Filch only wished he didn't need any damnable sleep.

With the first match coming up, everyone was talking about the Slytherins’ new brooms. It was even worse because Fred and George managed to sneak a peek at one of Slytherins’ training sessions after a few attempts. Oliver was usually above such methods, but the Nimbus 2001s were an exception. The results of their spying equaled a much more concerned set of twins who couldn’t even joke about the brooms.

“It was like they were nothing but silver and green streaks flying through the sky,” Fred said in pure awe.

“I could almost swear I felt the air burst around them when they came a little close to our hiding place,” George added as his twin nodded in agreement.

The people gathered were equally stunned by what they heard and how serious the twins were when speaking about it all. It really said something if the infamous pranksters weren’t joking around. “Really?” Padma asked. The worries of Slytherin's brooms extended to all houses, even Ravenclaw wasn’t an exception.

Harry and Hermione were sitting at a table nearby as they overheard the people speaking. They weren’t as concerned due to just enjoying watching Quidditch games. Harry might enjoy playing them, but he really didn’t see a reason to get too carried away about a team when he wasn’t even on one. He never really got into a sports team like so many did. Maybe it was because he knew there were many more important things in life. You live on the streets for a while and you soon realize just what actually matters. Sports teams do not.

The gossipers soon left and Harry and Hermione soon found themselves joined by Pansy and Draco. “Evening Draco,” Harry said in greeting.

“Harry,” Draco replied. He gave a nod to Hermione in greeting as Pansy gave a small wave to her.

“We just overheard the twins talking about your brooms,” Hermione said in conversation.

“It does seem such talk is making the rounds,” Pansy admitted.

Harry gave a chuckle as he asked, “So… Was it your idea or Flint’s to let them get away with spying on you?”

The Slytherins were stunned for a moment as both Harry and Hermione laughed. Draco then chuckled as he said, “As much as I wish I could take credit, it was Flint’s idea. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you two pieced it together.”

“They did talk about how it took them a few tries. We’ve also talked about the mental aspect of the game and all of that. I guess I should have thought Flint right away. You’ve talked about how he is good at getting in the opponent’s head,” Harry said.

“I’m a little surprised the twins didn’t suspect much the same, since it took them a couple of tries first. Especially after the brooms flew really close to their hiding place,” Hermione said.

“They’re too used to not getting caught. They don’t think it’s possible they would be discovered unless they intended it,” Pansy said with a scoff. It was foolish to let overconfidence get the best of you. Slytherins hated that. They would act like they were confident as bloody hell, but the true members of their house were never that confident deep down. They just knew how to hide what they really felt.

“To their credit,” Draco started surprising the others. “They might not have been caught, if Flint hadn’t stepped up security during our practices. When he realized they were there, he signaled to us we were being watched. We made the best of it, and tipped our hand a little, but not too much. None of us were going all out at that practice. We were working on our stamina game. We weren’t slacking, but we weren’t full throttle either.”

“I’m honestly more surprised you complimented a couple of Weasleys,” Harry said with a shake of his head.

Draco smirked. “Even I’ll admit they could make great ne’er-do-wells with their sneaking around,” he said.

Harry shook his head. He should have known there would be a back handed side to that compliment. Draco was very good at those when he wanted to be. Weasleys being involved definitely warranted such action in Draco’s mind.

“By the way,” Harry started.

“Yes?” Draco asked.

“I was thinking for our race we could do it the weekend after the first game. Even with the edge you have, I wouldn’t want to split your focus,” Harry said.

Draco smiled to that. “I was actually about to suggest the same thing,” he said.

“Good to know we agree then,” Harry said.

They talked a little bit longer before parting company. One thing Harry did notice between Draco and Pansy during their discussion was how they actually had contact with each other a few times. He was pretty sure they did such things on a regular basis, being betrothed and all. It was different actually seeing them having such contact with each other though. Harry couldn’t help but feel a little jealous about it. He slept with Hermione every night, but he kept himself from having any contact with her beyond what friends would have.

“ Again… They are actually betrothed and it seems Draco is actually interested in keeping with Pansy. We aren’t even boyfriend or girlfriend, ” Harry thought to himself as a way to fight back the jealousy with logic. He wasn’t sure how much longer he would be able to do that.

[-] [-] [-]

As the Quidditch match drew closer, people were getting more excited and worried. Many were torn between wanting to see the Nimbus 2001s in action, and troubled by how one-sided it seemed the season would be this year, and maybe even the next couple after that. Most weren’t sure how anyone else would be able to keep up with the new brooms.

“I mean… Gryffindor has a good team, but their seeker is very hit or miss… The twins also have those old brooms,” a couple of Ravenclaws were whispering to each other the day before the match. It was going to be Sunday.

“True, but you see… They’re beaters… Speed isn’t as important for them,” one said.

“But it certainly wouldn’t hurt for them to have it,” another countered.

Harry gave a yawn as he walked past them. He was thinking maybe he should have taken the potion that morning after all. Their whole house stayed up late the night before since it was the weekend. Most of them were spending time in the common room and some started making fun of Professor Lockhart’s classes. That evolved into a competition of sorts. People broke into groups and were coming up with the best impersonation of Lockhart re-enacting the scenes from his books. It was great fun.

Harry made his way to his room. It was the weekend so he was thinking maybe to take a bit of a nap. He was surprised to see Hermione there. He was thinking she would be in the library at this time. Worse yet, she didn’t look too happy.

“What’s wrong?” Harry asked.

“I noticed you left the drawer to your night stand open. I was going to close it and found this,” she said as she held up the bottle of Wakey Wakey.

“Crap,” Harry couldn’t help but say.

“How long, Harry?” she asked.

Harry sighed. “For a while actually. I only take it twice a week, sometimes a third time if I’m really tired in the mornings. It isn’t really anything bad,” he said.

“You’re not getting enough sleep and using a potion to make up for it. That doesn’t sound good,” Hermione said.

Harry didn’t like this. He was worried she would end their nights because of this. “I didn’t say it was good. Just it isn’t bad,” he said.

“What is it then?” she asked. There wasn’t really any way to make out what the potion was. That was by design. Many wizards and witches would add a little of it to their morning drink of choice, but Hermione didn’t know that yet.

“It’s called…” Harry started and gave a sigh. “It’s called Wakey Wakey… Silly name really. Most usually call it—” Harry was cut off.

“The Rise and Shine,” Hermione said. She then breathed a sigh of relief. She had feared the worst! It still wasn’t good though. “Why?” she asked.

Harry looked a little nervous as he gave a slight frown. He took in a deep breath and let it out. “It’s difficult for me with you sleeping in bed with me. I really like it, but… I have to contain myself, don’t I?” he said.

“Contain yourself?” Hermione asked. That was not the answer she really expected. She thought maybe he was having nightmares or something. He talked about how he used to get them and he did get them from time to time now. She always feared they were much worse than Harry let on and also happened more often.

“Well… yeah… I mean you’re you… It isn’t easy… I’m sure you’ve noticed certain things…” Harry said actually blushing as he looked away.

Hermione blushed as well as she looked down a little. “Oh…” she said softly.

“Like I said, I like it. It’s just I don’t want to accidentally do something. I don’t want to upset you and you start yelling at me or shooting hexes at me,” Harry said.

“I ought to hex you for keeping this to yourself,” Hermione said with a pout as she blushed.

“What?” Harry asked.

“It isn’t exactly easy for me,” she said.

“You fall asleep so quickly though,” Harry said a little confused.

“Not always…” she said while not meeting his eyes. She sometimes played asleep while accidentally on purpose maneuvered herself to a more comfortable position, usually with Harry as a body pillow. “I’ve also wakened up before you a few times…” she said shifting a little. She may or may not have enjoyed herself a time or two when that happened. She was always careful about it though. She did not want to be discovered in such a manner.

Harry blushed to this getting the implication. “So… What are we going to do?” he asked.

“Neither of us wants to stop… I don’t like the idea of you having to… contain yourself,” Hermione started. She then sighed in defeat. She was going there. “For crying out loud… I’m perfectly fine with us… well you know…” she said blushing.

“Really?” Harry asked in shock. He knew she liked like him, but he didn’t know she would be ready for such things. He figured with the way she was it would be some kind of hand holding for a year then maybe some kissing. He figured she was the type who would want to take things extra slow.

Hermione sighed. “I’m pretty sure we both know we’re going to be a big part of each other’s life. We are trying to figure out the whole calling thing, but that much is already clear,” she said.

Harry nodded. He had been thinking the same thing for a while now. There was no other reason they would have whatever this calling thing was.

“If I’m going to be a part of your life like that. And you a part of mine. I don’t see why we can’t… you know… do some things. I don’t want to go all the way yet, but I can’t stand leaving it how we currently are. I know they’re betrothed… but I’m a little jealous of Pansy and Draco,” she admitted.

Harry chuckled to that. She looked to him with a frown. “I feel the same way,” Harry said with another chuckle.

“That’s a bit of a relief,” Hermione said. She then looked to him seriously as she said, “I know it is still a way off. I know people would probably carry on about how we are too young for anything and don’t know what we’re doing. But I don’t care anymore. I doubt many have their magic literally calling to someone else like this. I know you will have to marry two, maybe three, or even more girls. I’ve come to accept that.”

Harry frowned to that. It upset him she had to come to accept anything of the likes.

“I’ve decided…” Hermione started blushing and squirming a little again. “That I can at least try to have you to myself, a little earlier. I’m hoping… Maybe… I can be...” she faltered. She had already decided this long ago, but saying it was something else.

“If you want to be Lady Potter…” Harry started getting her attention.

Her heart was beating so fast.

“I wouldn’t mind that… I kind of would prefer the whole boyfriend girlfriend thing first. And not to think too much about the rest yet,” he said.

Hermione was beaming and hug tackled him. He was completely caught by surprise. She even went so far as to kiss him on the lips quickly. When she broke the kiss, she blushed furiously. “I want that as well,” she said quietly into his ear.

Harry was grinning widely. He had a feeling things would be a lot better now. If he still needed the potion some mornings, he was sure she would as well. He was pretty sure any reason they needed it would be due to having too much fun the night before.

“Do we need to set limits?” Harry asked.

“Considering what I just said… I think anything apart from going all the way now is fine. Unless you want to set limits. I don’t want you containing yourself any longer though,” Hermione said.

She was happy and surprised at herself. There was no way her parents wouldn’t be disappointed in her, if they didn’t outright disown her now, but she didn’t care. Maybe her friends and their bending or breaking of the rules for adventures was rubbing off on her.

“I really like the sound of this,” he said grinning to her. He then turned a little serious as he said, “I don’t want you containing yourself or anything like that either.”

Hermione blushed and smiled. She could live with that. She really liked this turn in their relationship. “Okay,” she said warmly.

“I think I’ll be enjoying our nights together even more now,” Harry said.

Hermione gave a giggle as she added, “We might both need the potion tomorrow morning. I don’t know how much sleep we will get tonight.”

Harry only grinned in response.

[-] [-] [-]

When the Quidditch game came, it turned out to be just as everyone feared. The Slytherins seemed just like streaks in the sky to the audience. Not even Gryffindor’s famed Chaser Trio had much of a chance to score points. The twins, who put up an admirable performance, did some good but it wasn’t enough for a victory. Slytherin easily won their match, and it was a sight of both fear and awe to behold as they raced through the sky.

Harry did find it a little interesting he actually spotted the Golden Snitch a couple of times, and even kept track of it during the match, before either of the seekers. Draco wasn’t fooling around either. He was arrogant and wouldn’t mind showing off he was better, but even he knew he needed to play his best in his first match. It didn’t matter how good his broom was, this was his first test and Flint wouldn’t have taken kindly to him not handling it seriously.

“That was something…” Hermione said with a hint of awe. She wasn’t really a fan of many of the Slytherins, nor much of one for Quidditch, but she could still tell what she witnessed was impressive.

“That’s putting it lightly… I don’t think even Our house will stand much of a chance against them. The only way anyone can beat Slytherin this year is with luck and catching the snitch early in the game,” Hannah said.

“What do you think Harry?” Susan asked.

“It might take more than that. Draco isn’t about to slack off and he does have some good skill with flying. I did see the snitch before the players did, but even then, it would be a feat to catch it. Part of the game is keeping an eye on the opponent’s Seeker in case they see it first. Draco could easily catch up to most with his broom,” Harry said.

“How do you think your race with him will go?” Hermione asked.

“I think it will be close. I’m fine with that. I am only doing it for fun and I think Draco is as well,” Harry said. He then chuckled and added, “That doesn’t mean either of us will take it lightly. My broom and his are pretty close, but his is supposed to be better. I’ll admit I have better skills, but I don’t know if it will be enough to cancel out his broom’s advantage with him as the flyer.”

There was a light of excitement in Harry’s green eyes. Hermione blushed as she looked at them and leaned in closer to him. It really wasn’t fair he had such wonderful eyes. Girls really didn’t stand a chance, especially her.

“You’re really excited about this aren’t you?” Hannah asked with a giggle.

“Yeah. I’ve flown some on my own, but this will be fun. I love flying and it will be cool putting my skills to the test against Draco,” Harry said as he ran a hand through his messy hair while smiling. He didn’t notice as the girls blushed while watching him do that.

[-] [-] [-]

“Seems we’ve really drawn a crowd,” Draco said with an amused drawl as he looked at the students waiting for the race to start. There were a number of people thee from all of the houses.

“I’m surprised there aren’t more Quidditch players here,” Harry said.

“For one, the Beaters are all busy,” Draco said.

“Why is that?” Harry asked.

“There is a reason why everyone, including Slytherin under our breath, will admit the twins are the best beaters at Hogwarts. There’s an annual competition called the Beater Beatdown, similar to what the pros have,” Draco said.

“That sounds cool! I didn’t know there were more competitions in Quidditch than just the games. Are there other competitions?” Harry asked.

“There are, but I think we should get this race started,” Draco said as he floated up to their starting line.

“About that… I didn’t think the path for our race would be so… involved,” Harry said with an amused smile.

“A simple drag race isn’t enough to suffice, or truly answer if the differences between our brooms are that significant,” Draco said. He left out the rest of his reason for this change.

Draco noticed last year at the Quidditch matches, where he sat next to Harry, the Hufflepuff was able to see and follow the snitch. He also knew how skilled Harry was from their Flying Lessons. Draco was starting the last phase of his plan, that he kept to himself and didn’t even tell Pansy.

He figured Harry was the only one who could provide any challenge for him. Since the Hufflepuff refused to try out for his team, Draco took it upon himself to find a way to challenge himself and push himself further in at least Quidditch like conditions.

Once this race was over and it was as close as he felt it would be, he would mention to Harry they should do it again. He would make each race more and more interesting and essentially serve as extra Seeker practice for him. Draco was very sure if he constantly challenged Harry this way, he himself would only improve, no matter the outcome of each race. That would make him an even stronger opponent and not just because of his broom.

Draco still wanted to win, but with Harry if they were close, he could accept that and was sure few would complain or doubt his skills as a result. They would probably be even more impressed, the others in their year already knew how skilled Harry was at flying. They knew keeping up to him, even with a better broom, would require talent and skill.

Flint wasn’t so keen on letting Draco race like this. Begrudgingly, he let Draco have his way because of the brooms this time. After this race, Draco was sure Flint would see the benefits as well. Flint was in the crowd watching, even if he was disguised thanks to glamor charms. Pansy had signaled to Draco he was there. She was pretty skilled at sensing such things, even when compared to older students.

Padma Patil flew over to them on a borrowed school broom. Harry and Draco wanted someone to be their starter. They agreed someone from Ravenclaw was the best bet. A Hufflepuff or Slytherin might be seen as partial in this race. Gryffindor was out as well, because of how much they got into it with Slytherin on a regular basis, especially after the game. Padma would also serve as finish line judge if needed, since they were doing two laps around the course Draco set up.

“Ready…” she started.

Draco and Harry each leaned down on their brooms. They were making themselves as streamlined as possible.

“Steady…” she continued.

Both boys took in a steeling breath and focused.

“Gooooo!!!!!” Padma yelled as she sent sparks into the air from her wand.

Draco and Harry shot off with blinding speed. One was a green and sliver streak. The other a black and yellow one. Each boy was wearing robes to represent their house. They were keeping pace on the straightway with each seemingly taking turns at gaining a lead! The boys tried their best to bring out even more speed from their brooms.

Draco started to eek out just a nose length’s lead right as they came to the first corner. Draco had to slow down just a hair to make it. Harry didn’t even have to do that and so he took the lead on the first turn.

They then came to a section with climbs and drops marked by levitating flags Draco had an older student in runes setup for them. The climbs ranged and varied in height and steepness. Draco was surprised here that neither of them could gain a lead, even when they came to the steepest one which ended out just above the ground.

Harry was grinning widely the whole time. He was loving this! He enjoyed flying, but it had never been this thrilling before, even when he really let loose on his own. Once this was over, he would have to thank Draco for setting up such a fun course.

The two flying streaks were now on a zig zagging portion of the course. This required a lot of handling and maneuverability. The two again held pace pretty much with Draco gaining a slight lead towards the end, but he wasn’t letting up at all and was pushing himself to the max.

Next, they had a series of loops they would take and ended in a corkscrew. Harry and Draco climbed at about the same speed, but it was Harry who started to take the lead this time as he was able to descend faster than Draco. The Corkscrew came up and Harry had to slow down just a hair on the climb, but Draco couldn’t really catch up here. Harry made up for the slightly slower climb with a faster descent.

The last part of the course was a series of wide lazy turns mixed with straight dashes. This section would be what probably determined the winner on their next and final lap. Draco managed to close the distance barely and was slowly gaining on the dashes. That slightly better top speed was coming into play there. Their skills were matched well enough Draco could push it as an advantage, even if it was only slight.

The crowd gasped out loud as the two zoomed across the line and started their second lap. However, soon the race took an unexpected turn for both Harry and Draco.

“Watch out! Runaway Bludgers!” someone randomly shouted.

Suddenly, twelve Bludgers came shooting towards both Harry and Draco. They were even in formation. Harry and Draco soon had to abandon their race as they had to dodge the foul temperamental Bludgers.

The two started ducking and weaving. They couldn’t risk slowing down either. Harry even had to roll his broom upside down for a little bit. The two of them weren’t able to avoid getting hit, but they were able to minimize the damage.

The Hogwarts’ Beaters came out in full force when they saw how the Bludgers were acting. They hoped their shout would be enough, but something was up with these Bludgers. Soon all eight house beaters were joining forces to keep the pissed off Bludgers at bay from Harry and Draco while someone hopefully figured out a plan. The two boys were too close to only focus on one of them.

Eventually, it was Hermione who came up with a solution. She sent a blasting hex at a Bludger that just missed Harry’s head. A couple of the beaters soon pulled out their wands and dropped back just enough to blast at the others. Hogwarts would just have to pay for new Bludgers. With all of these witnesses, no one feared getting in trouble or singled out for blowing them up. The remaining Beaters tried their best to protect Harry and Draco while sending one or two away at a time to be blasted.

When the last one exploded, Harry and Draco were both barely able to stay on their brooms. They stayed up just long enough to hear Fred breathlessly say, “Don’t know what happened... We were all busy getting ready for the Beater Beatdown... When suddenly they all went mental!”

“We need to get them to Madam Pomfrey,” one of the Hufflepuff beaters said as the others caught their breath and nodded.

Harry and Draco toppled over just then. Luckily, they were barely above the ground and Hannah and Tracey managed to cast cushioning charms where they fell.

“We’ll take them,” Pansy said as she and Tracey helped Draco while Hermione and Susan did the same for Harry. Hannah was going to stay to help explain things and pass on the news to them later.

“We’ll be explaining things here it seems,” George said as all of the Beaters present and most of the gathered crowd saw Professor McGonagall making her way over to them with Madam Hooch behind her.

[-] [-] [-]

“Goodness! What happened?” Madam Pomfrey asked as the group entered the Hospital Wing.

“Bludgers went crazy! Started attacking them,” Susan said breathlessly.

“Get them on these beds,” she directed the girls.

Once Harry and Draco were laying on a bed each, she started running diagnostic spells. She tisked and shook her head. “The things that happen at this school!” she complained.

“Will they be okay?” Hermione asked in worry.

Madam Pomfrey let out a breath. “Don’t worry, I’ll be able to heal them up. They won’t be leaving until tomorrow before lunch at the earliest though,” she said.

All four girls let out a collective sigh of relief.

“You four best be going now! They will both need plenty of rest. I suspect they won’t even be awake until late tonight at the earliest,” Madam Pomfrey said as she shooed them out of the wing.

The girls weren’t happy with this, but felt too relieved to say anything or put up a fight. Madam Pomfrey quickly got to work once the crowd left.

[-] [-] [-]

Early that night both Harry and Draco let out groans as they woke up and winced at the tenderness of their injuries.

“Guess we’ll call it a draw this time,” Harry said. He and Draco chuckled to that before wincing again in turn. Laughing hurt too much. They both had a feeling it would be a long night.

Chapter 28: Unfortunate Confirmations

Notes:

Made some changes to the discussion about the Gringotts' letter. Originally, they acted as if they hadn't already known about Harry being the potential Heir to House Black, even though they discussed it a few chapters back.

Harry woke up late in the night after feeling a shifting weight next to him. After their shared laugh that hurt, Madam Pomfrey gave both him and Draco a sleeping potion. Sadly, what Harry felt wasn’t Hermione shifting positions to use him as a pillow. It was instead a familiar small creature sitting next to him on the bed.

“Dobby?!” Harry started in a whisper as he made some distance between them. It wasn’t much given the size of the beds in the Hospital Wing. “What are you doing here?” he asked with narrowed eyes.

“Why does Master Harry Potter sirs insists on ignoring Dobby’s warning?” Dobby asked with a frown.

“We discussed this. I can’t just abandon my friends like that,” Harry said with a matching frown.

“Master Harry Potter sirs… Keeps stayings at Hogwarts despite what Dobby does,” the elf said with a shake of his head.

“What all did you do?” Harry asked accusingly.

Dobby winced a little as he answered, “Dobby’s barrier didn’t work. Dobby getting Harry Potter sirs expelled didn’t work…”

“I figured you were behind the barrier. I wasn’t the only one you inconvenienced with that,” Harry said.

“Dobby knows. Best if no ones returned to Hogwarts this year, especially your Grangey” Dobby replied.

“Luckily, I didn’t even get a notice from the Ministry after your stunt over the summer,” Harry said. Both were keeping their voices down during their heated discussion, so they wouldn’t disturb anyone else.

“Odds that beings… Dobby’s plan should have at least gotten yous that,” Dobby said in a thoughtful manner.

“Yeah… It didn’t work. That was odd, even if I’m grateful it failed,” Harry said equally in thought.

For a moment, it was almost friendly between them as they thought on the topic of Dobby's failed attempt at getting Harry expelled from Hogwarts.

Harry then narrowed his eyes again. “What else did you do?” he asked.

Dobby swallowed and shifted uncomfortably. He looked around in almost a panic. “Dobby had to punishes himself after his Bludgers didn’t work,” he said a little fearfully.

Harry would have maybe felt a little sympathy for him with that, but he was too livid. The only reason he wasn’t yelling at Dobby was because they were in the Hospital Wing and there were other patients apart from Draco. “You did that?! You not only endangered me… You also hurt Draco,” Harry said dangerously.

“Dobby did no such thing… technically… It was the bludgers that did it,” he said in a poor attempt to defend himself, but it still seemed to satisfy him and his house elf magic.

“What were you thinking? You could have gotten one of us killed,” Harry said in an angry whisper. It was taking a lot of control on his part not go off on Dobby and rip him a new one as they say.

“Dobby only wanted to grievously harm… He didn’t want to kill or anything… Just hurts you bad enough to sends you back homes. Hogwarts is much too dangerous… Surely Harry Potter sirs knows this,” Dobby said.

“What do you know about the chamber? Dobby?” Harry asked. He actually sounded less angry and more extra curious.

Dobby looked around and then said, “Dobby can’t stays any longers… Dobby has to gos. Harry Potter sirs should as well!” The small house elf then popped away.

Harry wondered why the quick exit, but then he heard Draco groan and sit up. “Talking to someone Potter?” he asked in a sleepy drawl. Harry found it very fitting Draco could accomplish such a voice in his sleepiness.

“Nope. Just suddenly woke up and groaned in pain as well. I only feel slightly better than earlier,” Harry said.

Draco only nodded, but he wasn’t about to fall back asleep.

After the silence seemed to drag too much, Harry turned to him and asked, “What other competitions are there apart from the Beater Beatdown?”

Draco gave a stretch and groaned only a little this time. This one at least felt more out of stiffness than pain. “There’s the Keeper Keep Away and the Chaser Compendium,” he started.

“Seekers don’t have something?” Harry asked.

Draco shook his head and took a sip of water from a glass on the nearby nightstand. “Everyone agreed Seekers were too important to chance giving anything extra away about them, as could happen in a challenge. Or to risk injury, which could also happen depending on the challenges,” he said.

“What’s the Beater Beatdown like?” Harry asked seeing the logic to this decision. Seekers were the ones to end a game and they were usually one of the biggest targets.

“It is actually rather interesting. It has three parts. The first is a point contest. They have a number of targets and a few Bludgers they can use to hit them. The second section consists of going after a target designated the other team’s Seeker and keeping them off the snitch stand in. The longer they do that the more points they get. The last one is keeping a target designated their team’s Seeker safe for a period of time. They get more points for lasting longer in this last event. The scores from both teammates are added up together, since it is a solo competition but they are partners. The winners are declared the best Beaters in the league for that year. It is just bragging rights and prize money, but it is fun to watch and gives the professional Beaters a chance to work out the off-season rust before starting practice again,” Draco explained.

“I’m surprised there isn’t a team competition for Beaters,” Harry said.

“That could be used to get a sneak peek at their tactics they use in games. They try to keep these challenges as separate from actual games as they can,” Draco said.

“Keeper Keep Away is rather self-explanatory, but what are the details?” Harry asked. He was finding this all very interesting.

“It is a timed event where the Keeper defends one goal from as many Quaffles as possible. They have to worry about multiple balls to make up for just having to defend one ring. They get points for every goal that is successful. Meaning the lower their score the better,” Draco said. He thought it was actually kind fun explaining the magical world to Harry.

“Most of the names make sense… But Chaser Compendium?” Harry asked with a chuckle.

“Yeah… They wanted to keep the whole alliteration thing and felt contest or competition was too simple. It kind of works because the Chasers also have a few different contests they participate in, like the Beaters do,” Draco said.

“I would think it would be hard to keep that too separated from actual games without making it kind of boring,” Harry said.

“According to Quidditch History, it did take them a while to make it entertaining. The first contest is pretty much a dash and score event. They start a good distance away from rotating goals and end with a quick score in one of them. They get four chances at it. More points are earned for how quick they do it. They use a regulation broom of medium tier to make it a fairer event,” Draco said.

“That is a pretty good idea. What else?” Harry asked.

“They also have a penalty shoot-out against a magical stand in for a Keeper to be consistent. Obviously, the more points here they better. The last event is a team effort. The chasers from the same team work together passing back and forth before shooting a goal at one of three goalposts. The event is timed, so they can’t just slowly pass to each other and take forever as a way to more points. The three goalposts are set for different difficulties and there are three lines they choose to shoot from. They get points for each pass and set values for the line they choose and the goal they pick, if they score,” Draco said.

“That sounds really cool as well. It tests their teamwork, their tactics and their scoring abilities,” Harry said.

“All of the events are entertaining, even if games are more exciting. And the last stage of Chaser Compendium is setup so very differently from an actual field it isn’t too similar,” Draco said.

“Does Hogwarts just have the Beater Beatdown?” Harry asked.

“It does. It also only uses the first phase of the contest. That by itself is deemed good enough for students,” Draco said.

“They don’t really advertise it,” Harry said.

Draco hummed in thought for a moment. It was a little curious they didn’t make a big deal out of it. “I guess they figure it isn’t exciting enough for most students to bother watching. They won’t tell you not to go, if you decided you want to watch it. There is also a certain matter of safety as well. I would say. Even the best beaters at Hogwarts, are still just students. They aren’t really seen as good enough to make sure students watching won’t get hurt. I imagine after today, that might change. They could decide it is too dangerous period and do away with it. At the same time, this was the only instance of something like that happening,” Draco said.

“Meaning it could be deemed a strange and rare exception,” Harry finished as Draco nodded in agreement.

[-] [-] [-]

The two boys then heard what sounded like voices as the doors to the Hospital Wing burst open. Draco and Harry both immediately pretended to be asleep, but were paying attention to the commotion.

Professor Dumbledore came into view carrying what looked like the front of a statue. It was hard to make out details in the dark. Professor McGonagall soon appeared carrying the feet. They both placed it on a bed. “Get Madam Pomfrey,” Dumbledore whispered as McGonagall nodded in understanding.

“I heard you both come in... What Happened?!” Madam Pomfrey asked as quietly as she could despite her shock at what she saw.

“Another attack… Petrified. McGonagall found him,” Professor Dumbledore said.

“I think he was sneaking around trying to get night shots of the castle. He’s taken almost every other possible picture. There’s no telling how long he had been like this before I found him on my rounds. He wasn’t in a commonly traveled part of the castle,” Professor McGonagall said with a sigh.

Harry and Draco quickly gave each other a glance in the darkness. Everyone knew the one student most obsessed with taking pictures. Harry didn’t need to see who it was. It could only be Colin Creevey.

“This is not your fault, Minerva. You did all you could,” Dumbledore said to her.

“It still wasn’t enough,” Professor McGonagall said in sadness.

“As I said. He is just petrified. We need to count our blessings at a time like this and try to improve going forward. Perhaps it is lucky he had his camera with him,” Professor Dumbledore said.

“You don’t think he managed to get a picture of his attacker? Do you?” Professor McGonagall asked in a small amount of hope.

Professor Dumbledore simply picked up the camera and opened it. Black noxious smoke hissed from it. Harry could make out the smell of burnt plastic even from his bed. Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey gave choked coughs as they both fanned away the smoke.

“Melted…” Professor McGonagall said in disappointment.

“What does it mean?” Madam Pomfrey asked looking to Dumbledore.

“It means… The Chamber really is open again,” Dumbledore said with a sigh.

“But surely… Who could it be?” Professor McGonagall asked as Madam Pomfrey hid a gasp.

“The question isn’t who… But how…” Professor Dumbledore said.

Neither woman seemed to understand what he meant by his question. But Harry narrowed his eyes and his lips thinned as he understood the true implication of Professor Dumbledore’s words.

With that, the professors and Madam Pomfrey left for the night.

“Hermione will need to watch out,” Draco said in warning as he turned to Harry solemnly. He may have his own thoughts regarding muggleborns, but he knew Hermione was important to Harry. He was a little unnerved when he saw Harry’s expression through the darkness though.

“It seems things are even worse than Friar Puck said,” Harry whispered just loud enough for Draco to hear.

“What do you mean?” Draco asked.

“The ghost Friar told us Halloween night, Dumbledore was a professor here last time the chamber was opened,” Harry replied.

“Really?!” Draco gasped. Sure, he heard about it before from his dad in a letter, but even then, his dad implied it was most likely more legend than truth. He said all pure bloods should be safe, even if the legend came true. He too believed it was most likely a prank or a warning to muggleborns. He still warned Draco to be careful regardless.

Harry nodded to him. “It’s worse than that though,” he said as he looked to Draco seriously with a deep frown.

“How?” Draco asked.

“Think about what he said and how he said it,” Harry said in a leading manner.

Draco narrowed his eyes in thought. He then opened them wide.

“Exactly… Professor Dumbledore knows who did it last time and most likely again this time,” Harry said.

“And he isn’t doing anything about it?” Draco asked in disbelief. Surely, Dumbledore, the muggleborn loving Headmaster, would do something if he knew about this. There was no way he would leave it alone. He wasn’t possibly that daft.

“Friar Puck told us he figured Dumbledore was more concerned with keeping it quiet than actually solving the problem,” Harry said.

Draco shook his head and scoffed. “Father always said Dumbledore was the worst Headmaster ever at Hogwarts. I always thought it was because of differences in politics and beliefs. It probably is for my father. But it seems he was right, even if for the wrong reasons,” Draco said.

“You’re right about that,” Harry answered coldly. The two then tried to go back to sleep once more after taking a sip of the potion vial Madam Pomfrey left each of them earlier, after they were first admitted to the Hospital Wing.

[-] [-] [-]

Once Harry and Draco were finally freed from the Hospital Wing, Harry told his friends what was overheard during the night. He noticed word of Colin already made the rounds, but he didn’t have the details people were saying about it yet. The reaction to the attack on Colin was much different from Mrs. Norris. Now, it was obvious humans could be targeted and not just disagreeable cats owned by disgruntled school caretakers.

“I know it’s really unsettling Professor Dumbledore seems to already know all about what is happening and isn't doing anything about it. But I still can’t get over the fact Draco actually told you I needed to be careful. It’s almost like he does consider me a friend, or at least not just another muggle-born,” Hermione said from next to Harry in their bed.

Harry gave a chuckle. “Do I need to worry about my girlfriend going after the supposed Slytherin Bad Boy?” Harry asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Yes. Because I find it soooo hot how he usually treats me indifferent, when he isn’t usually ignoring me. I soooo totally want to be treated like that all the time,” she said dryly.

“I don’t think he’s about to ditch Pansy,” Harry replied jokingly.

“I’m totally fine with just being his Muggleborn Witch sex toy,” Hermione replied jokingly in return.

The two laughed to that for a few seconds.

“You Know…” Hermione hummed in thought after a moment.

Harry felt a little worried suddenly.

“Dramoine doesn’t really have as nice of a ring to it as Harmony does,” Hermione said with a giggle.

Harry rolled his eyes, but secretly felt very relieved. “Hannah would have a field day with it anyways,” he said getting Hermione to giggle again. As unfair as girls giggling was, Harry really liked it when Hermione did just that in response to something he said.

Hannah recently started giving out nicknames to various couples, potential or otherwise. Dansy was what she called Pansy and Draco. She jokingly called Harry and Hermione, Harmony. She also threw out Luvstin every now and then, given the way Lavender and Justin seemed to be doing a little dance around each other lately. She really found it romantic how Justin came to Lavender’s defense when Seamus made that terrible joke earlier in the month.

“I didn’t ask earlier, but how did everyone react to Colin?” Harry asked seriously.

“It was much the same you briefly saw after getting out of the Hospital Wing. I really wish you could have made dinner,” Hermione started.

She let out a sigh. She wasn’t keen on admitting it, but after Colin was attacked, she was scared. Having Harry with her made her feel a lot better about it all. She did find Draco’s warning touching, but she also knew he wasn’t just saying it out of concern for her. Hermione had little doubt she would eventually be a prime target. She hoped this business would be stopped before then though.

Harry seemed to sense her discomfort. He shifted position and pulled her in tighter to his chest and held her in his arms. Hermione liked using him as a body pillow, but after they decided to take things to the next level, she found herself enjoying this position better. She liked feeling Harry wrapped around her like this. She was on her side and her back was pressed right up against him.

“Most are worried,” she continued. “Nott and a few others are acting like they own the place,” she said.

“Nott’s an idiot and few actually agree with his thoughts. Most of the Slytherins don’t really have too much of a problem with muggleborns. They may not be friends with them, but they mostly adopt a live and let live mentality, if they don’t just usually ignore muggleborns. From what Draco told me, the group Nott’s with lately have always thought the worst of muggleborns,” Harry said to her.

“I’m glad he isn’t the majority, but they’re probably all safe from whatever this is anyways. I doubt they care too much about it in all reality,” Hermione said a little bitterly.

Harry gave her neck a kiss and shifted her so she lay flat on her back looking up at him. She blushed with Harry positioned above her like this. She really liked this position too. Harry looked to her and said, “Many of them are worried as well, even if they don’t show it. They may not be targets, but they could still get caught in the crossfire of whatever this is. There’s also the fact it could cause the school to close. That would affect them just as much as everyone else. Remember, Friar Puck told us the school almost was closed last time,” Harry said.

“I’m really worried,” Hermione admitted.

“I’d be concerned if you weren’t,” Harry said. He kissed her again and she returned it.

Harry caressed her cheek and ran a hand around her ear and through her messy hair. Hermione gasped a little and blushed. She still wasn’t used to such intimate contact, but she loved every minute of it. She would usually return his gesture by running one of her hands through his messy hair. She would even place a hand on his chest as well sometimes.

The two eventually returned to laying on their sides. They actually found this position surprisingly comfortable. It felt pretty nice to them and Hermione didn’t have to worry about hiding her delighted blushes when Harry sometimes ran a hand across her and touched her intimately. He seemed to have a habit of caressing her butt in particular. Hermione was really happy she told him to stop ‘containing’ himself.

Hermione rarely was successful in hiding her reactions at this kind of contact, despite her efforts. She wasn’t sure why, but she especially liked him touching her butt. She felt… sexy when he did. It was a new feeling to her. If you knew any of the girls she went to school with before Hogwarts, none of them would say Hermione Jean Granger could be seen as sexy. There was also another unexpected benefit to sleeping like this she never thought she would really like, but already loved.

Harry’s morning condition, as he called it, usually resulted in a little discomfort in her mornings before she adjusted. She would shift so his erection slipped right into the crevice of her ass. She found his hardness very pleasant positioned between her butt cheeks. He was definitely a very good size in length and thickness already. She also liked to think she was partly responsible for his erection, even if she knew the famed “Morning Wood” had little to do with actual physical stimulation.

This did make the original plans of not going all the way too soon a bit more difficult for her. She would have dreams of what it would be like to feel him like this inside her. Her heart would always beat faster and she would feel herself getting deeply aroused. She realized she would be more than happy if he wanted to go further with her. She also really liked that idea.

Hermione wondered if maybe she should stop controlling herself as well. She had to an extent, but she still tried to hold back a bit. She wondered what would happen if Harry woke up to the sounds of her pleasuring herself in the morning with his dick between her ass cheeks. It was something she had done before and part of the reason she occasionally took awhile for her morning shower. She also took advantage of his absence when he went off to shower or got in a morning workout.

“Maybe I should happen upon him during such a workout and let nature take its course… ” Hermione thought to herself squirming a little in delight. Then the gates would truly be open and she wouldn’t have to be careful anymore. Though Harry told her to not contain herself as well. She wanted it to seem natural when she completely gave on doing such a thing, or to at least have a reason beyond her own horniness to do certain things he would notice.

She knew her parents would really be aghast to learn this about their little girl. There was a rebellious part of her that wanted to make it partly clear to them she wasn’t their perfect little bookworm anymore. She was coming to realize, that while she did care some about what her parents thought of her in some aspects, it wasn’t to the level she used to be. She still didn’t want to give away too much though.

The only way her parents would figure any of this out is if she or Harry told them. Harry wasn’t about to let it slip and there was no way she would in reality. She didn’t want anything getting in the way of what they were doing. Her parents might try something if they learned the truth. If she and Harry went further, it was their decision to make.

“I should probably be more wary of my own urges… ” Hermione thought in a mix of feelings while she blushed at her naughty thoughts.

She wanted to go all the way with Harry. She wanted to figure out everything he enjoyed with her body and what she enjoyed with his. She even had naughty thoughts on how it tasted. How it smelled. She wanted to give in to Harry fully. She trusted him to not do anything she wouldn’t enjoy. She really wanted to experience all of those wonder but naughty things.

She also felt maybe she was getting a little too carried away and was letting those trashy romance novels, she and her mother both enjoyed, bleed into her desires. Hermione felt she was wanting to run, jump, swim with their relationship when they had just pretty much started to walk. Despite Hannah calling them Harmony, she and Harry were both carefulish around the others. They would be closer to each other in public, but they kept most of their change in relationship and personal activities to their bedroom.

Hermione thought on all of this as she lay there in Harry’s arms and slowly drifted off to sleep. She had momentarily forgotten her worries regarding the Chamber of Secrets and Colin’s attack. She just focused on how warm and comfortable she felt in Harry’s arms.

[-] [-] [-]

“So… Have you all heard what everyone’s been talking about lately?” Kimberly Haywood asked Harry and the others at breakfast. She was another Hufflepuff in their year. She had black hair, brown eyes and tanned skin. She enjoyed gossip from around the school, but not the extent Lavender and Parvati seemed to enjoy it.

“About the Dueling Club?” Hannah clarified.

“Yeah! What do you all think?” Kimberly asked.

“I think it’s a good idea. I’d like to learn how to actually defend myself. I know Dueling isn’t the same as a real fight, but it’s bound to be better than anything we usually learn in DADA,” Hermione said.

Lately, she was even more about learning how to actually fight in the magical world. It was probably because she was pretty sure she would be a likely target. She was the worst sort of muggleborn. One who was actually very good at magic. Someone like this Heir to Slytherin would hate her very existence.

“Yeah. Lockhart’s dreamy and all, but even I’ll admit he’s not exactly teacher material. I’d love to spend a night with him at an event where he acted out scenes from his books with actual actors though,” Kimberly said a little dreamily. She was a fan of Lockhart, but tolerable because she didn’t think he was absolutely perfect at everything. She still happily sighed longingly at him in class with the other girls.

“Then there was last year,” Susan said with frown.

“Don’t remind me…” Kimberly said with her own frown.

“The sad part is everyone’s heard it’s been like that for a while now,” Harry said.

“Yeah… I really hope we have someone good running the Dueling Club,” Kimberly said.

“I’d like it if it was Professor Flitwick. He’s a good teacher and I’ve heard he’s a three-time International Dueling Champion. He’s very well respected among the dueling community. I really hope its him!” Hannah said excitedly.

“Sadly, he doesn’t have anything to do with the Dueling Club,” said a slightly dreamlike voice suddenly.

“Eeep!” Hannah said as the voice came right from next to her. “Luna…” she said breathlessly.

“Hello, Luna. You really shouldn’t sneak up on people like that,” Harry said.

“Ohhh…” Luna said. She then turned to Hannah and said, “Sorry… I was just answering your question.”

“Just… like Harry said… Be careful next time,” Hannah said.

“Does Professor Flitwick know who is running it?” Kimberly said. She wasn’t sure about the girl sometimes called Loony, but if she was on good terms with Harry. She couldn’t be that bad.

“If he does, he isn’t saying. Naturally, everyone in Ravenclaw has been asking him about the Dueling Club, because he’s so well known as a champion,” Luna said.

“That’s a shame. I really hope it isn’t… You know what... I’m not going to say it. I’d be tempting fate like that,” Hermione said shaking her head at herself.

“Hermione… It’s too late now. We all know who you were hoping it wasn’t,” Susan said with a sigh. The others joined her.

It was going to be Lockhart. They just knew it now. They were still going to go. Maybe there was a very slight chance it wouldn't be him, or at least he wouldn’t be the only one running it.

Before they said anything else, the owls flew in to deliver the morning post. Harry watched above even though he hadn’t expected anything this time. It was always wonderful to watch the Owl Post arrive. Hedwig also liked to come say hello sometimes as well.

In fact, Hedwig landed right in front of him, but it wasn’t just for a visit this time it seemed. She had letter tied to her leg. “Hello girl,” Harry said as he stroked her head feathers briefly and offered her some bacon, which she gladly took as he untied the letter. The envelope was blank apart from his name, but the script was extra professional looking.

Luna was staring at the letter with wide silver eyes, or maybe it was something just above the letter she saw. Harry wasn’t fully sure.

“You should open that in a safe place. It’s very important,” she said in a kind of distant voice before she blinked and nodded to him.

“Thanks…” Harry said a little distracted by what just happened.

“How do you know that?” Hermione asked.

“I have my ways…” Luna said with a carefully neutral expression. It was obvious she was hiding something, but the others decided not to press her this time.

Harry made a mental note to ask her later when he had a chance. He quickly finished his breakfast and took the letter. “See you all back in the room,” Harry said to the others who nodded in return.

[-] [-] [-]

Once Harry was back in their room, he opened the letter carefully.

Dear Heir Potter,

I have an update regarding one of the requests you made of Gringotts over the summer. We are still hard at work on getting a full audit of your accounts. This is regarding a different matter.

At your request, we inquired into the situation of your Godfather. As we discussed, what Gringotts could do in this matter was limited. We have done what we can. It is potentially a big mess. From what we can find, your Godfather was never even given a trial. He was sent directly to prison.

You will have to work on this from here on your own end. It would be good if you had connections to someone in Law Enforcement who could inquire further. Gringotts’ will still do business with your Godfather regardless of how, or if, he were to escape such a situation. We are not necessarily beholden to Wizarding laws in every manner.

If you, or certain acquaintances, were able determine those responsible for falsely imprisoning such a client of Gringotts. We would be more than willing to levy fees and other certain practices against them. Our investigator on this matter is willing to fully cooperate if there is enough here to make a case and sort it all out. They however wish to remain anonymous until such a case is possible through appropriate law enforcement channels. I regret to inform you that is all we can do at our level as things stand, Heir Potter.

Sincerely,

Goldbite, Potter Family Account

Harry was angry. He then gave a scoff just as Hermione and the others entered.

“What is it?” Hermione asked in concern.

“It's a rich load of BS is what it is," Harry said. He shook his head in disgust. He then looked to them and said, "Gringotts finished looking into things on their end. There isn't anything more they can do for now."

"What did they find?" Susan asked. This was probably a sign it time they start trying to bring it to her aunt's attention.

Harry sighed to this. Hermione gave him a hug. He appreciated it, especially right now. "It seems he didn't even get a trial," he said with a deep frown.

"Wow..." Hannah started. "It was one thing thinking something went funny with the trail and that got him in Azkaban. Not having a trial at all?!" she said while shaking her head in disbelief.

"It is very wrong! Is what it is," Hermione said sounding a bit livid.

"So, the Ministry is covering up the fact they have an innocent man who was never given a trail in Azkaban," Hannah said.

"They don't know he's innocent because there wasn't a trial and Dumbledore illegally sealed my Parents' Will. They don't know about the Godparent's Ritual," Harry said.

"And with Fudge in power… He's much more likely to keep with the cover up and go to extremes preserving it, instead of admitting the ministry made a mistake… Even if it was before his time," Susan said. She then sighed, "This is why Auntie really hates politics."

"It isn't the best situation, but it is time to get your aunt involved. Goldbite informed me if the DMLE got something going, their investigator would fully cooperate. Until then though, they wish to remain anonymous," Harry said.

"I don't blame them… This could get very nasty… I'll try to figure out what it would take for my Aunt to get involved. She would know how to approach this without getting in trouble before it blows up," Susan said.

“I really appreciate this,” Harry said. He actually came over and clasped her hands to show his sincerity. Susan was blushing and nodded to him. “The Street Knights will always be my family and I will never replace them, but I wouldn’t mind growing my family. Not only should my Godfather be free, but I would love to have family in the wizarding world too,” he said.

“I’m really glad I can help then, Harry,” Susan said quietly in a sweet and breathy voice.

“ And he was saying she wouldn’t be a potential girl… He doesn’t seem to realize he could be a good chance for her as well. She has to carry her family’s name, even if it has power, I doubt there are many guys who would want to take their wife’s last name, ” Hermione thought to herself. Susan was blushing so much and Harry was doing all he could to accidentally en-trance her like that. Hermione was pretty sure he had her heart as well now, and he didn't even know it.

“I really wish I could help,” Hannah said with a frown.

Harry stood up again. Susan gave a sigh of disappointment. “Your support alone is more than enough, Hannah,” Harry said to her with a friendly smile.

“Still… If there ever comes to be something I can help with. Please feel free to ask me,” Hannah said.

“I will,” Harry said.

Hannah then straightened up and said, “That goes for you two as well.”

“Thanks, Hannah,” Susan and Hermione said together.

“Still… Three wives, huh?” Hannah started in a teasing voice.

Harry blushed. He had a feeling Hannah would be having a lot fun with his situation.

“At the least…” Hermione said giggling.

Hermione really wasn’t helping on this matter either. Harry decided it was plenty time to get ready for class and commenced with doing so. Hermione and Hannah found far too much joy with his insistence on getting ready. Susan was in a bit of a dreamy state thinking of only what she truly knew. Though, Hannah and Hermione could probably make good guesses.

[-] [-] [-]

Luna walked into her room and was surprised when she opened the door and her roommates seemed to be looking friendly at her. She wasn’t sure what was going on here and the Wrackspurts weren’t helping. It seemed they were a little miffed as well, but Luna felt they were more miffed about what they were sensing than what would happen, if that made any sense. It was almost like they were surprised what would happen was something she would ponder and even kind like, even if in a possibly shameful way.

“Luna! So glad you made it back already,” Sally said. She was the leader of the group of girls.

“Really?” Luna asked in disbelief.

“I guess we shouldn’t be surprised you wouldn’t believe us,” said Connie. She was a girl with blue eyes and dark brown hair.

“Which is exactly why we are about to propose this idea we have,” Teresa said. She was a muggleborn girl who had a lot of older cousins who acted like older brothers to her.

“What are you talking about?” Luna asked with a tilt of her head.

“We were thinking it wasn’t right for us to act how we did. We wanted to come up with a way to start anew, on the right foot this time,” Sally said as the others nodded.

“We also realized it wouldn’t be simple. Which is why we are going to do something that is kind of like an initiation,” Gertrude said. She had dark blonde hair and hazel eyes and was a little taller than the other girls.

Luna looked to them with narrowed eyes. The Wrackspurts gave a feeling as if they were still miffed and were shrugging at her.

“It sounds bad. I know. But we all did something like an initiation with each other earlier in the year,” Sally said.

“A few times actually…” Connie said with a half frown.

“Oh please. None of us complained and we all kind of liked it,” Ellie said. She had black hair and yellow eyes. Luna always wondered if she was somehow related to Madam Hooch, even if her eyes weren’t hawk like yet. She was also the one to first scoff at mention of The Quibbler.

The other girls blushed to Ellie’s words.

“This is a little different though,” Sally said getting them back on topic.

“Yep! It was my idea really. My cousins told me about it. It was something they did for newcomers to their sports club,” Teresa said with a smile.

“What is it?” Luna asked.

“Ever hear of an Atomic Sit-up?” Teresa asked.

“No. I haven’t. Atomic… Isn’t that what muggles called their powerful weapons?” Luna asked.

“It is, but this different. It is very different,” Teresa said as she gave a rather mischievous smile. Luna didn’t think it looked wholly pleasant.

“If this is what it takes... Daddy always said you should try to make friends when you can,” Luna said.

“Huh… I’m actually surprised he would say something like that,” Ellie admitted.

“How about we just get started?” Teresa asked. She turned to dirty blonde haired girl and said, “Luna. You need to wear a special blindfold for this. You aren’t allowed to see while you do the sit-ups. We also decided just a regular one wouldn’t work. We each have something for you to smell at the end of each sit-up.”

Luna took in a deep breath and let it out. “Might as well get this over with,” she said.

“You’ll only be doing one for each of us. It isn’t that much work on your end. Nothing compared to what we had to do more than once for our own initiations,” Teresa said with a roll of her eyes.

“Exactly. We felt we should go easier on you after everything that happened this year, but it shouldn’t just be automatic. That would seem disingenuous,” Sally said.

Luna gave one last look at the Wrackspurts. They were a deep pink almost red color. She almost blushed at that coloring. She knew what it meant and that really was surprising for her. Now she got why they seemed so miffed about it all, why would she end up finding out something delightful, but probably embarrassing about herself here?

The situation was even more curious now. Luna’s Ravenclaw curiosity was coming into full effect. She only hoped it wouldn’t get her in trouble. Ravenclaw curiosity could do that with ease at times. It happened to everyone in their house at one time or another.

“Now, lay down…” Teresa said to Luna. This was going to be good.

Loony really could be such a gullible fool at times. They would be nice to her after this. How could they not? They wanted to know what she did about Harry Potter. He was The-Boy-Who-Lived! Why and how was she on friendly terms with him? What did she now know about him, no one else did? Maybe they would all learn his type after they ‘befriended’ Luna and naturally asked about her other friends.

That was the plan anyways. They were all still going to have at least a little fun with Loony here and now. They still couldn’t believe she was going along with them so easily after everything that has happened. Then again, she did usually blame it on made up creatures.

Chapter 29: Harry Takes Action

Luna woke up the day after her so-called initiation. She had mixed feelings about it. She wasn’t exactly sure what that Atomic sit-up had been and she hadn’t really minded the smells she had to smell, even if they were very different from anything she had smelled before. They weren’t pleasant smells, but there was something about them that oddly enough made her body feel kind of hot and a little naughty. She in a way kind of liked them somehow.

She had some ideas what the smells were, but she was going pretend she didn’t. It was really kind of embarrassing having done that... and a bit confusing for her. She would have much rather experienced what she thought it was with girls she actually liked and without the mystery around what happened. She wasn’t even sure if it was something she was into or not, but she was curious about new things that had never crossed her mind before last night. Luna might have talked to Ginny about it all and maybe asked some questions, but Ginny was lost this year… Luna wasn't sure she could talk to Hermione or the other Hufflepuff girls about it all.

“ Whatever the case. What’s done is done. I’ll be nice in return if my roommates are serious about this, ” Luna thought to herself. She was really glad she had people she called friends in Hufflepuff at least.

“Morning,” Connie said to Luna with something that was almost a real smile.

“Good Morning,” Luna replied with an actual smile. She would put in some effort, but she wasn’t counting on the girls to really match it.

[-] [-] [-]

Luna was surprised how things were going lately. Her roommates had actually tried it seemed at first and Luna almost believed friendship could be possible despite everything. When they kept asking her about Harry Potter, Luna figured out what they were really doing. She had said some different things about him that were still safe to say at first. As they kept asking, she only told them things anyone would know about Harry. What surprised Luna was how even after that, they were… polite at least. She hoped it would last, but wasn’t sure it would.

At the moment though, Luna, like everyone else, was interested in the Dueling Club.

“I’m getting really bad feelings about this,” Hermione said with a frown in the dining hall after lunch, but before needing to run off to classes.

“You were the one to pretty much hint at and imply that person would probably be in charge of it,” Hannah said with a sigh.

Hermione frowned deeper. Hannah was right, but she didn't like it.

“You are all looking at this the wrong way,” Luna said to them.

“What could possibly be the right way?” Hermione asked with almost a huff at herself.

“I thought it would be obvious,” Luna stated.

“Luna,” Harry started. The dirty blonde looked to him with her large eyes. “I do think of us as friends, but you have a very unique and different approach to things. What you think is obvious few others probably would,” Harry said.

“Ohhh,” Luna replied with almost a slight blush to her cheeks. She was happy and caught off guard when he said they were friends.

“We do like that about you,” Hermione supplied thinking the smaller girl might mistake Harry’s words in some way. He was pretty good with words, but Luna was well Luna.

Luna gave a nod. “I figured that, since he said we were… friends,” she said giving a small smile. “Thanks for clarifying though, Hermione,” Luna quickly added. She didn’t want to come off as mean. She was usually rather blunt about things, but that could lead people to thinking she was being mean or something. She was still learning about this friend stuff, but she loved it.

Hermione seemed happy with that. “So, what is this right way of looking at the Dueling Club?” Hermione asked. This time she sounded more curious and less huffy.

“Obviously, Professor… Him… Will have to demonstrate with someone as a volunteer. We’ll get to watch them make a bigger fool of Professor… That person… It will also be a rather amusing… what is the term muggles use? Ah Yes! It will be an amusing train wreck to watch,” Luna said nodding and smiling. She wasn’t sure why they didn’t say Professor Lockhart’s name, but she guessed it was a bit of a game or something. It was kind of fun coming up with ways to say it was Lockhart she meant, but didn't say his name.

“Usually it is something along the lines of. You can’t help but watch the train wreck. It isn’t usually meant to be positive. But I get where you are coming from, Luna,” Harry said giving her smile.

“Oh? Thanks for telling me how it is,” Luna said as she smiled back to him. Her cheeks were feeling a little warm again and the Wrackspurts were acting up as well. She pretended not to know what it all meant. Was she allowed to do that whole crush thing? Luna wasn’t sure, but she felt very pleasantly warm. She didn’t want to do something that would ruin the whole friends’ thing though.

“I get what Luna’s saying now! We should go, but mostly just to watch. Maybe learn a thing or two, if we’re lucky,” Hannah said.

“Hopefully whoever faces The-Professor-We-Really-Don’t-Want-To-Have-To-Name,” Susan said giving a giggle as the others laughed. “Hopefully. They will be competent at least, and we can learn something from them,” she finished.

“We will see soon enough,” Hermione said.

[-] [-] [-]

Luna noticed her roommates were now being indifferent towards her. She could live with that. It would be nice if it stayed this way at least. It was disappointing they didn’t really want to be friends with her. Luna liked having friends and she would welcome more. Luna really hoped more than anything, it wouldn’t get back to how it was. She didn't like that at all. She didn't think or want to accept it as easily as she did, from before she had more friends.

[-] [-] [-]

“I can’t believe I’m actually saying this…” Fred started as Professor Lockhart and Professor Snape took to the demonstration stage in the middle of the hall.

“… But for once I’m rooting for Snape,” George finished as Fred nodded in agreement.

Everyone had been very excited about the Dueling Club, but that excitement dropped a noticeable amount once Professor Lockhart revealed himself to be the leader of this club. Several students guessed this would happen, but there had always been that small amount of hope they were all wrong. Professor Lockhart taking the stage, threw all of that hope out the window.

The gathered students seemed to be of mixed feelings when Professor Snape was revealed to be helping Lockhart with the club. The Slytherins were absolutely delighted by this. Most of the Gryffindors could be heard groaning and Ron was outright grimacing. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were either neutral or happy about this. Many of them viewed Professor Snape as one of the more competent professors, even if he wasn’t very pleasant as a person.

However, when Lockhart and Snape faced each other, most of the students were of similar sentiments as the twins. Harry and some of the other students were keen on what they would see apart from Professor Snape making Lockhart look even more a fool. They paid close attention realizing this demonstration would actually teach them a decent bit, if they focused on Professor Snape's actions.

“Now then, we will give a demonstration to start things off. Professor Snape has graciously decided to help and told me he has some experience in dueling. Don’t you worry though… You will still have your Potions’ Professor, even after I’m finished with him. Ha Hah!” Lockhart said with a wink to the crowd. A few girls still sighed dreamily despite what most of the students thought of the man by this point.

“Let us begin!" he clapped happily. "First, we will bow to each other,” Lockhart started as he gave a flourish of a bow towards the other professor. Professor Snape seemed to barely lower his head in return. It was a bow in the loosest of definitions.

“Next, we will take our stances!” Lockhart said as the two stood opposite each other. Lockhart was using a very flamboyant stance that was probably completely open and did nothing put show off his colorful robes. Snape was standing straight with his body aligned with his wand and minimizing exposure to his opponent. Most students quickly realized who actually had the better stance of the two. It was not Lockhart.

“On the count of three, we will cast our spells,” Lockhart said.

He cleared his throat and started counting down. “One. Two. Three!” he shouted.

“Expelliarmus!” Professor Snape quickly shouted without a wasted movement. A jet of scarlet colored light shot from his wand at incredible speed. The spell quickly struck Lockhart and sent him tumbling backwards as his wand shot up into the air! Lockhart was a pile on the floor right up against the back wall.

He soon stood up and regained him composure and acted as if he purposefully hit the back wall. “Ha Hah! Very good Professor Snape! The disarming charm is very handy. As you can all see… I do not have my wand,” Professor Lockhart said as he raised his hands to further emphasize the point.

“Ah! Thank you, Miss Brown,” he said as Lavender blushed and handed him his wand back. She quickly shrunk back into the crowd after that though and stood next to a giggling Parvati.

“That was a very good shot, Professor Snape. However… I will point out that I knew the instant you pulled back your wand what you intended to do. And a number of other mistakes!” Lockhart the Useless said with his normal chuckle.

“I’m sure,” Professor Snape said in his usual voice as he narrowed his eyes on the other professor. It was clear he wasn't buying it.

“Yes. Yes. A very good spell,” Lockhart said as he cleared his throat. “In fact. I think that will be the perfect first spell for everyone to try. Everyone. Pair up! You will be disarming and only disarming, your partner,” Professor Lockhart said.

[-] [-] [-]

It took a little time, but everyone found a partner.

“Be careful. Millicent is likely to toss aside her wand and start pulling your hair,” Pansy carefully whispered to a nervous Hermione, who ended up paired with Millicent Bulstrode of Slytherin.

“Tha-thanks…” Hermione whispered back as she gulped and gave a nervous smile. Millicent was a large girl with a jutting jaw and large hands. She looked to Hermione and seemed to smirk at her as she folded her arms.

Luna cocked her head to the side and looked at her partner. She was actually paired with a fifth-year girl from Gryffindor. She wasn’t really sure if this was fair or not.

The other girl looked a little uncomfortable at Luna and seemed to feel the same way. “Wouldn’t this be picking on a younger student? ” the fifth year girl asked herself.

“I guess it is all fair, if we stick to just the disarming spell,” Luna said with a hum of thought as she placed a finger to her pink lips. The older girl blinked a couple of times and slowly nodded. It was odd, but she felt like this Luna girl read her mind or something before answering.

[-] [-] [-]

“Bollocks…” Justin said with a frown.

“Something wrong?” Harry asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. It was kind of funny hearing Justin swear. Justin was usually very well-mannered and purposefully polite, even to his closest friend Ernie.

“I really didn’t want to have to face you, Harry. Everyone knows how good you are at spells and such,” Justin admitted.

“Anyone you wanted to be paired with in particular?” Harry couldn’t help but ask.

“I suppose Seamus. He’s being extra well… Seamus… lately,” Justin said in thought.

“Maybe next time. He’s paired with Neville right now,” Harry said taking a stance.

“True,” Justin replied as he took his own stance.

The two boys stood a little distance from each other and gave one another a bow.

“On three, everyone. Remember! You are only going to be casting the Disarming Spell and no others,” Professor Lockhart said.

As soon as Lockhart counted down, it was pure chaos. Harry wouldn’t have been surprised if he later found out he and Justin were the only ones who bothered to cast to the correct spell at each other. Harry dodged instinctively as Justin was hit and his wand fell to the floor.

“You okay?” Harry asked as he helped the other boy up.

Justin seemed to shake himself back into sense as he sighed. “I knew I wouldn’t hit you. You dodged,” Justin said with a slight frown.

Harry gave a chuckle as he said, “Sorry about that. Instinct really.”

“Whatever it was. It was effective,” Justin said.

“Yeah. It is. I wonder why they don’t really teach how to best dodge spells in defense class. I mean even the Unforgivable Spells can be dodged. If a spell doesn’t hit you, it won’t work,” Harry said in thought.

Justin nodded in thoughtful agreement. The two then decided to look at the surrounding chaos.

[-] [-] [-]

Hermione was doing her best to stay out of Millicent’s reach. The larger girl forwent using her wand and lunged at Hermione. Hermione was so busy dodging the other girl she didn’t think to try a spell on her.

Seamus was covered in soot. It seemed his spell backfired on him. Justin managed to not grin too much at the sight. Neville seemed to be wondering if he needed to apologize to Seamus or not. He hadn’t cast a spell yet, but maybe he was just so clumsy it seemed to affect others around him as well.

“Stop!!!” Professor Lockhart shouted to the hall.

The students actually paused in their actions.

The Defense Professor gave a sigh. “Perhaps we should show you all how to block unfriendly spells,” he said. He looked over the students and then looked to Professor Snape. Professor Snape gave him a sneer as if he was daring the Defense Professor to challenge him again to demonstrate how to block spells.

“I think…” Lockhart said as he turned from Snape. “Yes. I think it would be best if Professor Snape and I got two student volunteers… That way… we can take care of any unfortunate mishaps,” Lockhart said giving a wide grin as if he was covering for something.

Justin frowned as he said to Harry, “He probably just doesn’t want to face Professor Snape again.”

“I’m sure even a fraud like Lockhart realizes Snape is better than him at dueling,” Harry replied to Justin.

Justin shook his head. “To think, I actually thought he was impressive after reading his books a little,” he said. Harry gave a chuckle to that.

“Let’s see here…” Lockhart said looking over the crowd.

“Might I suggest a student from my own house?” Professor Snape interjected.

“Sure,” Lockhart replied.

“Draco,” Professor Snape called. Draco marched up to demonstration stage and smirked at the crowd.

“Well then… Seamus?” Lockhart asked in thought.

“Bad idea… His wand likes to backfire… a lot,” Snape said. “I think Mr. Finnigan likes the explosions,” Professor Snape finished with a slight frown.

Seamus gave a wide grin in response as a few of his housemates laughed. Harry was instead concerned with the gleam he saw in The Twins’ eyes. He had a feeling they just might take Seamus under their wing. He wasn’t sure if that would be hilarious or terrifying. Maybe it would even be both.

“Mr. Longbottom then?” Lockhart asked.

Professor Snape shook his head. “The boy is a clumsy mess even in the best of times. There’s no telling what will happen with him on the stage,” Professor Snape said.

Neville looked sheepish to everyone and gulped as he tried to meld into the nearby wall.

“How about... Ron Weasley?” Professor Lockhart asked.

Professor Snape grinned to that. Draco grinned widely from by his side. “I think that will be an excellent idea,” Professor Snape said.

“Do you have any reservations? Mr. Weasley?” Professor Lockhart asked the youngest Weasley son.

Ron grinned in response. “I don’t mind. It would be nice to put the Stuck-up Snake in his place,” Ron said as he stepped forward confidently.

Harry and a number of others groaned to this. Most of the students knew this was a bad idea, especially the second years. Ron and Draco never mixed well with each. Putting them together was asking for nothing more than an extra helping, or five, of trouble.

The students watched as Lockhart seemed to be attempting to instruct Ron on some complicated maneuver to block spells. It was so complicated that even Professor Lockhart couldn’t get it right. He ended up dropping his wand with an “Oops! Seems my wand is a little excited. Ha Hah...”

Ron gave a slow nod as Lockhart explained what was supposed to have happened instead.

Everyone had a feeling Draco would be winning this round with ease. Fortunately for Ron, everyone, including most of the Slytherins, decided it was Professor Lockhart’s fault the second year Gryffindor would be utterly defeated by his arch-rival in this duel and weren't going to hold it against the Weasley boy.

To start things off, neither boy bowed to the other when Lockhart instructed them to do so. “Let’s just skip that part… Shall we?” Lockhart said giving a wain smile. He was starting to think this might be a bad idea.

Then the spells started to fly…

When dust settled, Draco was the winner.

“You know…” Justin started. “I actually think Ron did pretty well. He did manage to hit Draco with a couple of spells,” he said. Harry nodded in agreement.

“Well… I think… we’ve had enough for today,” Lockhart said as he looked over the hall with a wince. He was going to have to do a lot of repair work. Professor Dumbledore insisted on this or Lockhart wouldn’t have been able to hold this meeting for the Dueling Club. He was starting to think maybe this should be the only meeting for the club.

Professor Lockhart was many things. Many great things, if you asked him. However, he was not a fan of cleaning up. He was even less of a fan of cleaning up other people’s messes. At least, not when there isn’t fame or fortune to be had for doing so.

Saving a town from an incompetent mayor was grand! Cleaning up after a bunch of students finished their club activities, was not grand in the least bit and far too tedious. Gilderoy Lockhart didn’t have the time for it. He had fan mail to answer! Luckily, he would have a helper from Ravenclaw during their detention to help, starting next week.

[-] [-] [-]

While everyone was busy talking about the failure that was known as the Dueling Club, Harry’s mind was elsewhere. He couldn’t just standby anymore. He needed to do something about Luna. About Slytherin’s Heir. Something about anything going on at Hogwarts. He was trying to stay out of it all, especially because of the warning Dobby gave him. Harry wasn't about to leave Hogwarts, but he was being careful. It didn't matter the house elf was terrible about giving warnings, Harry did give it credence. He couldn't keep doing that now though.

It was because of this Harry found himself carefully wandering the halls at night just past curfew. Hermione would probably be upset with him, but she actually called it a night early. He was able to slip out of bed and their room unnoticed. Luckily, tomorrow was the weekend so they didn’t have classes. Harry hoped that would be enough time for him to make it up to Hermione, if he needed to do so.

Harry walked the halls carefully and quietly. He was fully alert and looking around the mostly quiet halls. Most of the portraits had called it a night as well by this point. Harry found that odd when he thought about it. Why would a portrait, even a magic one, need sleep? Was it a habit carried over from their lives? It was something to contemplate at a later time.

The magical street knight decided to begin his own investigation where it all started. He would then go where he learned Colin Creevey was attacked. Harry did have to do a little sleuthing to get that information.

The dark haired boy managed to get this information thanks to a quick look at the incident report back before he and Draco were released. It seemed even if Dumbledore wanted to keep things under wraps, he still wanted the truth recorded in detail. Perhaps, he was going to use it as a means to get more money once this was all over. Harry didn’t know. Maybe it was just more information the headmaster wanted to collect.

Harry soon found his way to the scene of the first attack. It wasn’t too hard given how infamous the place was and the fact the words couldn’t be washed away no matter what Filch tried. Harry looked over the scene trying to concentrate on anything. It was long after the attack, but maybe there was still something everyone overlooked. This heir only wanted to remain unnoticed to an extent. That was an easy deduction given they left a message on the walls that couldn’t be removed. They weren’t fully covering their tracks or working completely in secret for whatever reason.

Harry wondered if the water being on the floor that night meant anything apart from Myrtle flooding the restrooms again. Harry couldn’t really figure anything out from just thinking on it though. He hoped the spell he found while preparing for this trip would prove as useful as he thought it would be.

“Fleetprinto,” Harry said after waving his wand over the area.

Soon there were sets of glowing footprints of different intensity he could see. This spell was an old tracking spell most people probably didn’t care for, since it was a Hufflepuff who created it. It was hard to explain fully how the spell worked, but essentially it picked up trapped magic or energy echoes from previous foot traffic. There were limits to how far back prints could come from though. It would usually be a mess to use it in such a place as well.

However, Filch kept pretty much all students away from here. He wasn’t here as often anymore, but people still avoided it. After Colin’s attack, people felt as if the place was bad luck. There were rumors Colin took a picture of the wall the day before he was attacked and that was what made him the first human target.

This was exactly why Harry found it interesting to get such a reading from here as he looked at a very bright set of footprints. It seemed someone, he had no idea who, was frequenting the place and even the bathroom. “I wonder if ghosts leave footprints, ” Harry thought. That could explain it.

Myrtle came here a lot and it was known as her restroom and most girls avoided it. He would have to test the ghost footprint theory later. It still seemed it would be odd for her to be traveling exactly as a living human would though. He figured she would just float through the wall to get inside. She hated being a ghost, but didn’t seem to have problems using the advantages a ghost had. At least, that is what Harry figured from what he knew of her.

Harry wished the spell could be used more specifically. He could try following the footprints in the opposite direction, but as soon as he hit an area with large foot traffic it would be all but impossible to follow the trail. “Still it might be a good idea to look around the area a little past just the bathroom, ” Harry thought as he recalled that night again.

He started to slowly walk as he tried to figure out how the beast, whatever it was, entered and exited what Harry thought was the nearby wall. It sounded like it was in the walls that night at least. For Mrs. Norris to be attacked, the creature would have to enter the hallway briefly, unless the cat was attacked somewhere else and moved here. Harry didn’t think that was the case though. He heard that voice sound disappointed at the attack’s result that night. It seemed Friar Puck just missed the creature and Slytherin’s Heir before he floated up to see what happened.

“That would mean… ” Harry thought as his eyes widened. It was actually possible the friar did just miss the culprit. Perhaps they just missed the heir right after he finished setting up the message on the wall. It would be possible to slip away and hide somewhere before blending in with the crowd. Everyone was solely focused on the wall and the entire student body showed up to the area that night.

Harry looked at the only place someone could hide in the situation, even briefly. “But… Do I even dare enter a girls’ restroom?” he asked himself. Harry stared at the door. What could he even gain here? Myrtle would be the only possible witness and he didn’t know if she was in or not. She might not have even been paying attention to what happened that night, apart from her own crying.

The messy haired boy decided the girls’ restroom was a dead end, unless he convinced one of the girls to lead him inside. He moved on to the next spot. He could try his tracking spell there, but he wasn’t sure it would give any workable results. It was out of the way, but still a place that got more foot traffic. There could still be something worth looking into at that location, he decided.

[-] [-] [-]

Unfortunately, Harry’s plan soon changed. He barely dodged a couple of Prefects patrolling together. It was Ron’s older brother Percy and a girl from Ravenclaw with long curvy blonde hair. The two were both paying attention to their duties and each other.

If Harry was one for gossip, he was sure this would be extra juicy. Percy Weasley possibly having a girlfriend? The strictest of Prefects who made a habit of getting on couples’ cases for indecent behavior? And he was here, kissing a girl while on patrol?! That was something Lavender would do almost anything to learn. As matters currently stood, Harry hoped they wouldn’t get too distracted with each other and move a little faster.

It took a few minutes and while the two did sneak kisses with each other, they thankfully didn’t go any further. Percy decided they needed to pick up the pace and pay more attention. The girl, Penelope Harry thought her name was, blinked for a few breathless moments as her cheeks were full of color before she looked disappointed as Percy continued forwards. “Best of luck, Percy. Something more will need to happen between you two or she might end it, ” Harry thought as he started to move again.

When Harry was close to his destination, he heard the sound of someone crying. It wasn’t too loud and it seemed as if the girl was trying to hold back. He was mildly curious, but wasn’t sure if he should help her. He wasn’t even sure who it was, really. He was here with a goal in mind and shouldn't deviate from his plan.

That soon changed.

“Stupid me… I said I would keep it on me at all times!” the girl scolded herself between sniffs.

Harry recognized her voice instantly. It was Luna. Harry frowned and made his way over to her. He wanted to figure out what happened to Colin, but this was more important.

“Luna?” Harry asked quietly as he rounded the corner.

Luna looked up in surprise and her eyes widened. She then blushed, since she was in only a towel. Harry looked to the side so she wouldn’t feel as uncomfortable. “What are you doing here?” she asked in a voice very unlike her usual dreaminess.

“That’s not important now. What happened, Luna?” Harry asked. He carefully looked towards her with one eye. It would be too awkward to not look at her while talking. She was covered, even if only by a damp towel ending above her knees. Harry wished this happened under much different circumstances. It would be nice to see a girl in just a towel with slightly damp hair otherwise, but this didn’t seem like a good time for such encounters.

Luna looked to the side. “The house elves are extra diligent tonight it seems. And I forgot my wand, but I could have sworn I had it with me before I took my shower. My roommates also seemed to have forgotten I wasn’t in bed yet and locked the door before soundproofing it,” she said.

Harry sighed and leaned against a nearby wall to keep some distance from her. He didn’t want her feeling anymore embarrassed than she probably did by standing too close to her. He wasn’t going to just leave her though. “Does this happen often?” he asked knowingly.

Luna seemed to freeze up for a moment before she gave a weak shake and answered even more weakly, “No… I mean… I am forgetful…”

Harry frowned. “You really shouldn’t lie like that, especially to a friend,” he said.

Luna froze again. She then sighed. “It has happened before, but it has been a while and the last couple of times I had my wand with me. I could just get back inside those times,” she said.

“How come you haven’t told Professor Flitwick or a Prefect?” Harry asked.

Luna seemed to try and shrink in on herself. She was still careful with her movements. She really didn’t want to accidentally show Harry something private in this situation.

“Professor Flitwick takes things seriously, but he has to catch them in the act or have evidence. The Prefects… mostly look the other way. It doesn’t get violent, so they don’t seem to think intervention is needed,” she said in a small voice.

Harry then figured out a plan on how to help Luna. It was a bit of a rushed job and a long shot, but it could work. If it did, it would be very effective. “Where is Professor Flitwick right now?” he asked.

Luna looked to him curiously. “He’s in his office again,” she answered.

“I know what they say about such topics, but how close is Ravenclaw from here? Just give me a general idea,” Harry said looking her right in the eyes. He was too determined for his eyes to wander in this situation.

“Not far at all,” she said curiously with her head cocked to the side a little. If it was any other time, Harry would think about how cute Luna looked like that.

“If Professor Flitwick were to come this far, would he most likely return to his office or head on to his private quarters in Ravenclaw?” Harry asked.

Luna studied Harry. It seemed more like she was distracted. The Wrackspurts were very active now. This was a very important encounter they were telling her.

“He would head to his private quarters. At this time at least. It is late and the weekend. He might have accidentally fallen asleep at his desk though. He does that from time to time and that makes things even worse in this regard,” Luna said.

Harry nodded to himself. “Luna. I want you to go back to your dorm and pound on the door and scream at it. Yell at them to let you in,” he said.

“What good would it do?” she asked.

“Just do this and keep at it until the time is right to stop. You’ll get it soon enough,” Harry said as he stood up and made his way to Professor Flitwick’s office. The locations of the professors’ offices weren’t a secret. Each professor at Hogwarts had assigned office hours and some even had unofficial office hours they told their students about.

“Okay…” Luna answered as she headed back. She didn’t get it, but the Wrackspurts were really excited. She figured that meant she should do as Harry asked.

[-] [-] [-]

Professor Flitwick had once again fallen asleep in his office. This actually happened with many of the professors. Though admittedly, he probably did this the most often of them. He was well liked by his students for his classes and his teaching methods. This all required he spend a good amount of extra time planning his lessons and his office was the place for that. It wasn’t uncommon for him to get carried away and lose track of time before falling asleep.

The tiny professor soon snapped awake and blinked for a couple of seconds. He looked around and noticed his office door seemed to be shutting slowly. The tiny man did a quick spell to make sure nothing was out of place. Content with the results, he was about to fall asleep again when he heard something outside in the halls. It wasn’t anything too alarming, but it was something he felt he needed to investigate.

Professor Flitwick got up and made his way out of his office. He quickly cast a few spells to close, lock and secure his office. He was being careful in case this was a distraction to get him away from his office. Some pranking student, probably a Weasley with an identical twin, could use this as a chance to sneak inside it.

“Hello?” the tiny man called in a vain attempt to get an answer. It was possible if he startled whatever, or more likely whoever, made the noise they would give themselves away. Nothing happened this time though.

He walked further down the hallway. He then heard the sound coming further down a different hallway. He frowned in thought and cast a spell he muttered under his breath. It would let him know if there was anything with less than good intentions near him. It was an over precaution he would admit, but he had just been startled out of his sleep.

“Negative,” he told himself. He walked over to where the sound was coming from again. This was a curious situation and he would admit he appreciated the mystery. He was a Ravenclaw after all.

Professor Flitwick soon realized he was being led through the castle by the sounds. He also realized he was being led closer to his own house. It was all very curious indeed. The sound was also growing quieter and quieter. He was starting to wonder if maybe there was some truth to the rumors about Hogwarts speaking to staff or students on occasion.

Eventually the sound completely diminished. Professor Flitwick was both disappointed and a little relieved. It was too bad he didn’t find the solution, but it was nice that the mystery lived on. He could continue to explore it and come up with new theories later. Professor Flitwick gave a yawn and a stretch.

“Guess I’ll just head to my private quarters. It will be nice to sleep in my real bed for a change, ” he thought to himself. He had been spending more nights in his office lately. When that happened, he usually only got a transfigured bed for sleeping at the best of times. Other times he just fell asleep in his chair at his desk.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry gave a grin of accomplishment as he watched Professor Flitwick head towards Ravenclaw. It had worked! He was taking a bit of a gamble here. Professor Flitwick could have just fallen right back asleep, or taken more action in response to his leading. He hadn’t expected to use this Street Knight skill while at Hogwarts, even though he gave it a magical twist. Whatever the case, he had a feeling things would work out for Luna now.

He didn’t think Professor Flitwick was a bad Head of House or anything. The little man was just getting a little too caught up in his instructional duties and his Head House duties suffered a little. That wouldn’t be a problem if the Prefects did their jobs in Ravenclaw. Harry believed they were the ones at fault here along with Luna’s roommates for what was happening to her.

Harry gave a stretch and decided he best head back now. He stayed out later than he intended tonight anyways. “Hope it all works out for you, Luna, ” he thought despite his beliefs it would be fine.

[-] [-] [-]

Professor Flitwick frowned once he entered Ravenclaw Tower. He first thought everyone was in bed as they should be, but then heard a girl yelling at her door. As he approached the source of yelling, he heard her banging on the door as well. He frowned deeper. This was not looking good. It seemed he would have to speak with his Prefects after this, along with the girl’s roommates.

“Let me in! Please! It’s cold out here in just my towel!” Luna shouted in vain. She hated this. She felt stupid too. How could this accomplish anything? She banged on the door again.

“Miss Lovegood? What is going on here?” Professor Flitwick asked with an edge in his voice.

“Professor?” Luna asked in shock. She then said, “I’ve been locked out. I was taking a shower and when I finished my clothes were gone and my wand too…”

Professor Flitwick looked angry now. It was terrifying to see the little man so angry. He came up to the door and cast a spell on it. Soon they could hear the conversation from the other side.

“I can’t believe Loony actually thought we would be her friends. She’s too weird. The fact she even agreed to an Atomic Sit-up in the first place should have let her know we wouldn’t be friendly to her,” Sally said with a chuckle to the others.

“Yeah. We were only nice thinking she might get us some news on Harry Potter, but she didn’t tell us anything we couldn’t easily figure out on our own,” Gertrude said with a giggle.

“She should be more grateful to us, we weren’t too mean to her. I mean it isn’t like we well… farted on her or something while she did the sit-up. Sometimes my cousins said they would do that with someone they weren’t too friendly with when getting them into the Sports Club,” Teresa said with a laugh.

“I can’t believe you stole her wand again,” Connie said in disbelief after she giggled a little.

“The loony bint makes it too easy. She even really believes the house elves are the ones taking her clothes. They wouldn’t do that. They are diligent, but they get laundry from our hampers or floors in here,” Teresa replied with a smirk.

“You know this how?” Sally asked with an amused raised eyebrow.

“I’ve tested it. With her underwear before. I tossed them into a corner of the common room. They stayed there for a couple of days. Probably until the elves came to clean the common room more thoroughly,” she replied with a dark giggle.

“I’m pretty sure Harry Potter only dares talk to her because he sees her as a charity case. Really… Does she think anyone believes her about them enjoying a Deathday party?” Connie said with a shake of her head after a moment as the others laughed.

Just then the door to their room burst open with force. It even shattered before it was magicked back together. None of the girls noticed it get repaired. They were all way too frightened when they saw Professor Flitwick standing there next to Luna, who was in what looked like a transfigured bathrobe. The look in the tiny man’s eyes reminded them that their Professor, while usually calm and easy going, had a goblin’s ferocity and was a renowned International Duelist Champion. He was not one to test.

“I thought it was clear what my stance on bullying was. It seems I need to re-educate my Prefects on these matters and remind them to enforce the rules for all students. I would ask you each to explain yourselves for locking Miss Lovegood outside, but I overheard enough to gather what happened. You will each be getting a week of detentions and I will be taking 30 points each from Ravenclaw,” he said.

“But professor—” Sally started before she was silenced by the man.

“I was not finished. Miss Lassiter, I will be taking an extra 30 points for being the one in charge of the bullying. And you…” Professor Flitwick turned towards Teresa. “While I appreciate the sharing of knowledge, especially in regards to muggle traditions, I do not consider making someone do an atomic sit up such an exchange,” he said.

She gasped and her eyes grew in worry.

“Yes. I know what that is. The fact you dare think it funny to do such a thing sets a bad example and gives more fuel to those who agree with certain beliefs regarding muggle-borns. I will be taking an additional 20 points from you. I also expect all five of you to write apologies to Miss Lovegood for your actions. I want a minimum of ten inches. I will be reading them first before passing them on to Miss Lovegood. So don't try anything,” he said.

Professor Flitwick shook his head. “I honestly expected much more from Ravenclaws. We are not the house of bullying and being nasty to each other. We are the house of wisdom and learning,” he said.

“Now. I expect you all to go to bed and sleep. You will receive details regarding your detentions tomorrow,” he said. The man then waved his wand a few times and left the room. He would know if they tried anything with Luna again. He doubted they would, but it was a possibility. He would make a point to further stress he was not okay with his students bullying each other, and he knew where to draw the line between joking and being mean.

Luna carefully and quickly put on her pajamas and went to bed. She grabbed her wand and used magic to shut her curtains tight. She then took in a deep breath and cheered into her pillow! Finally! It would be over. Harry did it! He even did it in a way no one would think he or Luna were responsible for what happened. Luna felt like she would finally no longer have to worry about the bullying, or at least not as badly and from her own roommates. The Wrackspurts seemed to be celebrating as well.

Luna had a feeling her roommates wouldn’t bother with her at all after this. She would much rather they act like she wasn’t there, but behave themselves, than for things to stay how they were. She had friends she could talk to instead. Maybe even more in certain cases. She blushed at her silly dreaming and cheered into her pillow one last time before trying to fall asleep.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry gave a mighty yawn as he was about to sit down for breakfast.

“Stop yawning so much,” Hermione said a little testily.

Harry yawned again and said, “I can’t help it. I’m really tired.”

“That’s what happens when stay up so late... even if it is the weekend,” Hermione said in a huff. She really missed Harry sleeping next to her last night. She hadn’t admitted it to him, though. It was too embarrassing and frankly a little worrying for her. It was just for one night.

Before Harry could reply, a dirty blonde streak shot straight for him. Harry was surprised to get a Luna hug like this. He wasn’t complaining though.

“Thank you so much!” Luna said to him as she happily buried her face in his robes.

Harry smiled to her and returned her hug. “I guess this means it worked out,” Harry said.

Luna gave him a bright big grin as she looked up to him. She actually had tears of happiness in her large silver eyes. She buried her face in his robes again. She wasn’t about to let go yet. She didn’t care anymore that she was full on crushing on him. She didn’t care if she was allowed to crush or not. She was too happy to worry about anything like that.

“I feel like I missed something,” Hermione said. She then quietly added, “And probably should apologize for how I’ve been acting this morning.”

Harry and Luna didn’t hear that last part though. Harry looked to Luna seriously and said, “If they start again, you better tell me. No more of those lies either.”

Luna gave a happy sniff and nodded her understanding. “I’m really glad it’s the weekend,” Luna said.

“Why is that?” Harry asked.

Luna grinned and hugged him again. “I’m not letting go any time soon,” she said.

Harry gave a chuckle and stroked her hair. It was softer than it looked.

Hermione was trying to be patient. She also hated that she now realized even more than before Luna would be one of Harry’s wives. She couldn’t really be upset or threatened by the girl. Luna was strange, but Hermione would admit she was cute. Hermione also realized she had developed a soft spot for the girl. She still wanted answers. This was clearly something important.

Harry looked to her and said, “Part of the reason I was so late last night, is because I found a way to help Luna and not have it traced back to us. Wouldn’t want the bullies to have a new target to blame.”

“You did?” Hermione asked. She was impressed. It was something that bothered them all, but they weren’t sure how to best help their young friend.

“He did!” Luna answered. She held him a little tighter. It was going to be hard letting go of him for even a little bit today.

“I’ll tell you everything later,” Harry said to Hermione.

“I’d like that… But only if Luna doesn’t mind me hearing it,” Hermione said while looking at the small girl.

Luna was in thought for a moment. The Wrackspurts were telling her this was the right thing. She didn’t need them telling her that, but they were being very distracting. She nodded to Hermione. “I’ll come as well to better explain it,” she said.

Hermione came over and hugged Luna too. “I’m glad about that, but more importantly. I’m glad things are going to be better for you now,” she said.

Luna had to admit she liked Hermione’s hugs too. She never really hugged other girls much. Luna never really had many people to hug apart from her parents and sometimes Ginny, but the red haired girl was usually bashful about such things. Friends really were wonderful though, even when they were so different from each other.

Chapter 30: The Attack Before Christmas Break!

“What do you think of this Heir business, Draco?” Harry asked one day as they both just finished an assignment.

“I’m not sure what to make of it. It seems too brazen of someone, if you ask me. And I don’t mean just because they're attacking students now,” Draco said.

“What exactly do you mean then?” Harry asked.

“To call themselves an heir to a founder? Yeah. That is not something you should claim lightly. Wizarding Society as a whole take family names and positions seriously, regardless of their thoughts on muggle borns. To say you’re the heir of a founder… Let alone daring to say you’re Slytherin’s Heir? That is not something someone would do as just a joke,” Draco said.

“I’m guessing there isn’t anyone in Slytherin with strong enough ties to claim they’re an heir?” Harry asked.

Draco shook his head. “It is possible there are a number of students descended from Slytherin here… Maybe even yourself… But none that can call themselves his heir. Someone of that level of status in Slytherin would be known, if not extremely proud of the title,” Draco said.

The two lapsed into silence for a moment before Draco then gave a chuckle.

“What?” Harry asked.

“Nothing. I was just wondering if Crabbe and Goyle would be asking me about it again tonight,” Draco said.

“I take it they’ve asked you a lot,” Harry said.

Draco nodded. “Oh yes they have. I’ve lost count of how many times. I would be annoyed, but it’s Crabbe and Goyle,” he said.

“How are things with them? What do they think of our talking to each other? I’ve noticed they aren’t usually around when we have our discussions,” Harry said.

“They’re Crabbe and Goyle. They’re fine with it. I was concerned a bit at first. I’ve started to question some things, but I wasn’t sure where they stood on certain issues,” Draco said.

“Where do they stand?” Harry asked.

“Wherever I do. That’s exactly what they said,” Draco replied. He then shook his head in disbelief as he added, “I’m not sure if they’re that dedicated to me, or if they usually just leave such decisions to others.”

Harry gave a laugh. “Truly a perplexing question,” he said. Draco chuckled to that.

“I wondered what they would think about it. Especially given the way our first meeting went,” Harry said after a moment.

“You mean during first year on the train going to Hogwarts?” Draco asked.

“Yeah,” Harry answered simply.

“If anything… You gained their respect by not backing down and they could tell you weren’t just blowing hot air,” Draco replied.

He then gave a stretch. “The reason I don’t usually involve them in our discussions, is because they would serve no purpose. They can be useful in other ways in other places during such talks,” Draco said.

Harry nodded in understanding. “Things do seem to be good between you three during classes and such at least. It is also good to have people play to their strengths,” Harry said.

“Very true. Pansy also likes the space we have when Crabbe and Goyle aren’t around,” Draco added.

“So… How about that Dueling Club?” Harry asked with a grin.

Draco smirked to that. “As useless as I figured it would be. Though it was entertaining,” he said.

“Is that before or after your duel with Ron?” Harry asked.

“The first part was entertaining too. But the best part was getting to put Ron in his place,” Draco said still smirking. Harry gave a chuckle and shook his head. “What did you think of it?” Draco then asked.

Harry was in thought for a moment. “As odd as the expression was… Luna was right to call it a very entertaining train wreck. I will admit I did learn a couple of things from the first demonstration though,” Harry said.

“Entertaining train wreck?” Draco asked curiously.

“Yep,” Harry answered giving a chuckle.

Draco shook his head. He only knew Luna in passing, but that seemed like something she would say. Draco wasn’t sure what to make of Harry’s close friendship with the strange girl. He just took a neutral stance on it. Maybe it was another case of Harry seeing something no one else did. Her being kind of cute, even if odd, probably helped matters too. If she wasn’t talking about strange creatures so often, she could be very popular.

Draco did wonder though if there was more than just friendship there. Harry was pretty much as close to dating as you one could be with Hermione without making it official. Why was Harry surrounding himself with other girls as well? Harry wasn’t the type to always look for opportunities in dating regards. He was very much a Hufflepuff in that way, but there was no way he and Luna were just friends. They were too close for that.

There was one reason, one obscure reason, Draco could think for it. However, he was pretty sure Harry was only going to be head of one family. He didn’t have a need for two wives. “But if he did…” Draco thought. That would be something. Harry was going to be very powerful politically as it was. If he was heir and later head for two ancient and noble houses? That would be enough to rock the British wizarding world to its core.

“How exactly did you learn anything from even that?” Draco asked after a moment. He was using mulling over the odd expression as a means to pause and think for a moment.

“Professor Snape taught us a decent stance, even if he only showed it. We also learned a new spell. Professor Snape didn’t waste any wand movements and while they were quick… they were still visible and easy to read,” Harry said.

“That is true. I already knew that stance of his, so I guess I didn’t pick up on that,” Draco said. He would have to correct that mistake. It was easy to get caught up in what you knew and think some of the things you see as regular were the same for others.

“There’s also one more thing,” Harry said grinning.

“What was that?” Draco asked.

“Professor Lockhart can do a great imitation of a ball being thrown against a wall,” Harry said.

Draco then laughed to that as Harry did as well. They were thinking about all the rolling Lockhart did after being hit by Professor Snape’s spell before he hit the back wall. The man did do a pretty remarkable job, for anyone else at least, in acting unaffected by that.

[-] [-] [-]

Luna gave a sad hum as she read the letter from her dad. She loved her daddy, but he could be really annoying at times. He just sent her a letter saying he won’t be home for Christmas this year and she should probably sign up to stay at Hogwarts. That might have been fun if the circumstances were right, but that wasn’t the case this year.

Ginny was as distant as ever and her family were worried about her. They were taking her home for the break and Luna really hoped it would help her friend. She didn't know what to do. Harry and Hermione were spending part of the break together again. Susan and Hannah were visiting their families once more. Luna still wouldn’t have minded staying at Hogwarts for the holiday on her own, if she didn’t realize recently how much she actually hated being alone.

She had been very attached to her friends in Hufflepuff after her roommates ended their bullying. She knew she would be spending all the time she could around Harry and Hermione that weekend, but she kept doing that afterwards as well. She would probably be seen as clingy, but Harry and the others didn’t seem to care if she was. They even seemed to kind of think it adorable.

Luna wasn’t sure if that was good or not. Was she adorable, adorable? Or was it little kid adorable? She didn’t want them thinking that. She was just a year behind them. She was new to this crush thing, but was pretty sure you didn’t want any crushes you had seeing you as a little kid. If they thought her adorable, adorable… that was probably really good.

“Maybe I’ll see what the ghosts do for Christmas… Maybe there will be secret passageways only open for Christmas break, ” Luna thought to herself. Something like that would usually cheer her up. It would be exciting for her! This time though? She sighed at the thought. It was just her trying to cover up how she would be missing her friends.

“What’s wrong?” Harry asked as he happened to pass by at just that moment. Luna blushed a little bit at being caught sighing.

“Nothing…” she tried.

“Really? That was kind of a big sigh for you,” Hermione asked.

Luna thought what to do here. She decided to hand them the letter. It would be easier.

“That’s terrible…” Hermione said as she finished reading it.

“Leads are important. And usually daddy would just take me with him,” Luna said.

“It still sucks,” Harry said.

Luna could only nod to that. She wanted to meet her daddy again for the holidays. She missed him and wanted to tell him all about her friends. He would be so genuinely happy to hear that. Her father hadn’t really been genuinely happy, since her mom died. Hearing his daughter was having a good year at Hogwarts and made friends would be a great Christmas present for him, Luna thought.

Harry looked to Hermione in question. She blinked in thought a couple of times and gave him a nod.

“If you wanted…” Harry started, getting Luna’s attention. “You could come and spend Christmas with us,” he said.

Luna’s eyes widened, but she dared not smile. “Really?” she asked in a breathless voice.

“We’d love it! You could even spend the second half of Christmas with my parents and me,” Hermione said with a smile.

There were two reasons she said that. One was really shamefully petty. A really small and nasty part of Hermione didn’t want Luna spending Christmas with Harry alone. Fortunately, this mattered to her in an amount equal to how petty it was.

The second reason, and most important and bigger reason, was because she never had a friend sleepover at her house. Hermione loved the idea of that! She couldn’t have Harry do that yet, and she didn’t really count her time at Hogwarts as a sleepover. It also meant Luna wouldn’t have to be alone at Hogwarts for the holidays. Hermione knew how lonely something like that would seem after having friends. She had always been fine being alone, but that was before she had friends and knew how important they were.

Luna smiled to that. She grinned widely to that. “I’d like that,” she said.

Hermione then made a happy noise and hugged Luna tightly. “It will be so much fun! I have to tell my parents!” she said.

“Will they understand?” Harry asked.

“I’ll tell them Luna’s father suddenly had a business trip pop up on him,” she said.

Luna nodded. “It is the truth,” she said.

“It’s settled then. I’ll arrange things with Boss. If for some reason Hermione’s parents oppose the idea, you can stay with me the whole time,” Harry said.

Luna blushed deeply to that. She really liked that idea. She felt she liked it too much. She wasn’t sure what she would do being alone with Harry for that long. The silver eyed girl was actually hoping she ended up spending the second half of the holidays with Hermione and her family, oddly enough. That wasn’t as… troublesome for her. She really liked Hermione and even thought her pretty, but she wasn’t as dangerous for Luna’s heart and feelings as Harry was. It was a good dangerous, but still dangerous.

“Great!” Hermione said. She then gave the younger girl a smile and said, “I’m pretty sure they’ll be happy to have you stay with us, Luna. They’d like meeting another witch in training I think.”

Luna smiled. “This might actually turn out to be one of the best Christmases I’ve had in a while,” she said while feeling warm in her heart. She wouldn’t be alone for Christmas. She would be with friends!

“I know I’m looking forward to it,” Harry said with a grin.

Luna looked to him with her large eyes as she said, “You really like the idea of having two lovely witches with you.” They both missed the hint of mischievousness in her voice.

Harry blushed and Hermione gasped at him a little. She then giggled and said, “I think Luna and I will have a lot of fun with you.”

Harry grinned and said, “Doesn’t change the fact I’ll have two lovely witches with me this Christmas.”

Hermione blushed and Luna did as well. They looked to each other and then to Harry. Luna’s heart beat faster as strange and new ideas filled her mind. There were also some less strange ones as well, such as the three of them enjoying Christmas Celebrations together. She had to admit Harry was fast on his feet so to say. He took their teasing in stride and returned it.

To cover her sudden awkwardness, Luna spoke up. “I can’t wait to see how muggles celebrate Christmas,” she said smiling to Harry and Hermione in turn.

Hermione smiled as she said, “We’ll make sure you get to experience plenty of a muggle styled Christmas.” She felt that would be a great way to keep Luna from feeling lonely, since her dad wasn’t spending Christmas with her. She really couldn’t believe that. That was terrible and incredibly irresponsible for a parent to suddenly leave and tell their child not to come home for Christmas.

[-] [-] [-]

Luna found herself extra cheerful as the Holiday Break approached. She was really looking forward to it, despite not going home. Harry had since told her about where he lived. He told her about the Rust District. He told her about his past and how he no longer lived with his Aunt and Uncle. She really liked the idea about The Rust District. It sounded so very interesting. And she would get to see all of it over the break!

The first year Ravenclaw girl was so happy she actually found herself skipping a time or two in the hallways. She was even humming Christmas Carols. The dirty blonde also looked forward to meeting Hermione’s parents. She wondered what they were like. Hermione said they weren’t really that interesting, but warned they might ask her a lot of questions.

Luna thought it would fun to explain things about magic to muggles. Hermione gave her a few pointers on how to approach explaining things to them. She also asked Luna not to say much about Harry and her. Luna didn’t get that, but decided to follow Hermione’s example there. Besides, there was so much more to talk about than Harmony, as Hannah called them. Though that would be a great topic.

The young girl soon saw Harry, Hannah, Susan, and Ernie coming out of the library together. “Hermione isn’t with you all?” Luna couldn’t help but ask instead of a proper greeting.

Hannah hid a giggle behind her hand. “She was… But it’s Hermione and that is a library. She’s gotten better about it all, but she is still hard to tear away from books,” she said.

“I haven’t said it to her, but I’ve wondered why she isn’t in Ravenclaw. She’s really smart and she loves learning. That is pure Ravenclaw all the way,” Luna said.

“You’ll have to ask her yourself one day,” Harry said.

“So, what were you all doing in there?” Luna asked.

“We were studying a bit, but then we started talking about the heir. Justin’s been worried lately,” Ernie said.

“Most muggleborns are to an extent, even if they act like they aren’t,” Susan said.

“True. I’ve told him to try and play it safe and keep a low profile. No reason to be taking unnecessary risks, so close to the Holiday Break. He’s never really had much reason to keep it to himself he’s a muggleborn before though, so I worry. He loves talking about it and we all usually love hearing all about it,” Ernie said.

“He shouldn’t really be ashamed of being a muggleborn,” Luna said.

“Not saying he should be. He’s great for talking about the muggle world and magic world as well. He’s great at explaining things to us and drinks up all we tell him about the magical world. Just been saying that ain’t something you should go around spreading with this heir business afoot,” Ernie said. He then frowned. He really was worried for his best friend.

The group walked together a little and then ran into Hagrid. He was hard to miss being so large and wearing that coat of his. “Hagrid?” Harry asked.

“Ah Harry, Hannah, Susan… You must be Luna Lovegood. You look a lot like your mother…” Hagrid said sounding saddened at the end, even though Luna gave a warm smile. He then turned and looked to Ernie and said, “You look like your father, but got your mother’s hair, Ernie.”

Ernie smiled to that and asked, “What brings you inside, Hagrid?” He hadn’t really talked to the giant of a man before, but his parents told him he was a friendly sort and was great to listen to when he talked about something.

“Sad business, I’m afraid. Something’s been killing the roosters. Needing to ask Dumbledore to place a charm around the coop ta keep it safe and ward off whatever it is,” Hagrid said with a frown.

“Sorry to hear that… What would be attacking the roosters?” Ernie asked.

“It’s either foxes or a Blood-Sucking Bugbear, near as I can tell,” Hagrid replied.

“I hope you get what you need from Dumbledore,” Harry said.

“I be hoping as well. Be seeing you all around,” the large man said as he left the students with a farewell wave.

[-] [-] [-]

The group walked a little further and around a corner. The five students then came to a dead stop. “Ahhh!” Hannah screamed after a moment as she grabbed Susan tightly. Susan was staring with wide eyes as tears formed in them and she sniffed.

“What happened?!” Ernie asked in breathless voice. “I was just saying…” he said in shock. He took in a breath and let it out as he clenched a fist and shut his eyes tight trying to fight back tears. “Why didn’t he listen…” Ernie muttered.

Luna stared as well. She was no longer in a cheery mood. She was also glad she wasn’t staying at school over the Holiday Break. The small blonde girl grabbed Harry’s arm and squeezed tightly. She scooted in as close as she could and shivered. She may be glad she wasn’t staying here, but she really hated that her dad was leaving her for the Holidays now. “Why couldn’t he have gone on a trip later? ” Luna thought in worry. She wanted to hug him tightly and make sure he wouldn’t disappear as well.

In front of them, there were two motionless figures. One was a dark grey almost black semi-transparent figure floating off the ground eerily. It was Nearly Headless Nick. Next to him, was a smaller figure. This one was Justin. He looked frozen in terror. He pretty much was. He was petrified just like Colin and Mrs. Norris.

Harry frowned at the scene. He almost wished he was staying at Hogwarts this Christmas Break. He would have the full run of the Castle and no distractions. He could start getting to the bottom of this business. He would have to really work hard on figuring this out once he returned. He had no doubts Dumbledore would again prioritize controlling the information over actually doing something to stop the attacks. He didn’t get how the man could just leave it like this when he clearly knew what was going on.

“What do we have here?” an annoying voice asked as Peeves came floating through a hall. He then froze in shock himself. He then took in a deep breath.

“You better not make a joke of this,” Harry muttered darkly to the poltergeist.

Peeves actually seemed a bit worried at those words It was almost like he believed Harry was serious. He then shouted, “Attack! Attack! No Ghost! No Wizard! No Student is Safe! Attack! Attack! Run for your lives! The Heir is Back!” He then shot off through the halls continuing to shout.

It wasn’t long until a number of students nearby and a few professors arrived. Everyone started to whisper among themselves. They were mostly worried about Sir Nick. They didn’t know what could do that to a ghost.

“What is going on here?” a strict voice called.

It was Professor McGonagall.

“We just came from the library and were talking to Hagrid before we found them,” Ernie said.

“Just like he said. There was another attack and we just found them,” Harry added.

Professor McGonagall looked over the two figures. She and Professor Flitwick started to discuss what to do. They easily floated Justin to the Hospital Wing, but they weren’t sure what to do about Nearly Headless Nick.

Everyone started gossiping about the double attack. “And so close to Christmas…” a fifth year girl said to her friends in worry.

“Ye notice how Potter was at the scene of two attacks?” Seamus said in a hushed whisper to Dean that was purposefully loud enough to be over heard by Harry passing by.

“What are you playing at, Seamus? Another one of your true tales?” Harry asked dangerously. He did not like being accused of attacking Justin. He was angry the problem hadn’t been solved, despite Dumbledore seemingly knowing who was responsible for the attacks and the chamber.

“I’m just saying. Might fishy, that is,” Seamus said staring at Harry without backing down.

“Justin is a fellow Hufflepuff and a friend,” Harry said.

“There ain’t no way it was Harry. The two of them have always gotten along well. Plus, like Harry said… Justin is a fellow Hufflepuff,” Ernie defended him.

Dean nodded in agreement with the two. “Why would he have attacked Colin? How could he have attacked him? Surely you remember the bludger attacks? Harry and Draco were both in the Hospital Wing after that,” Dean said.

Seamus raised his hands in surrender.

“You have a big fat mouth, Seamus. You should be careful. One day it will get you in trouble,” Harry said.

“Is that threat?” Seamus asked.

“Just stating a fact. Can’t believe you have the nerve to suggest I would attack a friend. Most of the time your tall tales can be mildly amusing. This is not one of those times,” Harry said coldly.

Seamus swallowed nervously. “Alright… I get it. Sorry for saying it,” he said in a poor attempt to apologize.

Harry shook his head and left with the others. Luna stared at Seamus in disappointment for a moment longer. The Irish boy gave a shiver. She didn’t say a word, but her stare alone was enough to get to him. Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything. He would admit he did have a big fat mouth.

[-] [-] [-]

For the remainder of the school year, no one shut up about the heir and the chamber. The Hufflepuffs seemed a little subdued, since Justin was attacked. The badgers also seemed to be purposefully sticking closer together, regardless of if they were pure blood, half blood, or muggle born. Surprisingly, Lavender seemed a little down as well and she was glad to have Parvati to cheer her up.

Theories around the school grew wilder and wilder as to what Slytherin’s beast was. Many started guessing who the heir could be, but no one really had solid guesses. Harry’s name was briefly mentioned, but mostly to point out how absurd it was to say he was Slytherin’s heir.

When the Holiday Break finally came, the student body couldn’t have been more relieved. Almost everyone was leaving this year. With the beast and heir running around, no one wanted to stay in the castle with most of the people gone. Everyone figured that would mean the heir would have free run of the castle and could attack students whenever they wanted. With so few people here, students feared you would get attacked and no one would find you until after the break.

Luna was even more glad she was going to have Christmas with Harry and Hermione. Not only would the school halls be extra lonely, they would be extra dangerous if she stayed. She did feel a little guilty though. She might not have decided to bother her dad with the details of her holiday break. A spiteful part of her felt angry about what he did. If her dad decided going on a trip to search for some creature without her was the best idea for Christmas, he didn’t need to know what her plans were. It wasn’t like it would be hard for an owl to find her anyways. She wasn’t even sure by this point if he would even send her a letter Christmas Day.

“I’m being silly…” she thought to herself at that. She would just have to see on Christmas Day if he did or didn’t. Surely, he wouldn’t be that forgetful… She hoped.

Despite it all, the feast the night before everyone would leave saw the school in high Christmas Spirits. Many were making up for the scare they had this year with levity and Christmas Joy. They also really appreciated the Christmas decorations around Hogwarts. If one paid enough attention, they would realize there was also a sense of relief underlying the change in mood. There was no way the heir would get anyone while they were at home with their families.

[-] [-] [-]

“Is it always like this for non-first years?” Luna asked from where she was sitting in a carriage going to Hogsmeade Station.

“Nope. We rode from the train to Hogwarts in magical carriages without anything pulling them,” Hermione answered.

“Last Christmas it was like this though. With the reindeer and everything. I think they do that to give everyone a Christmas feel,” Harry said.

“I like it. I can’t wait until next year where I also get to ride one of those magical carriages,” Luna said happily.

Harry was in quiet thought on the matter. He didn’t know much about what happened to Luna’s mom, but he did pick up she died not too many years ago at least. It was the way Luna usually danced around her mom or quickly moved the topic to her dad. He decided he would wait, but it was possible Luna might also see the thestrals. It wasn’t anything to mention now though and ruin the good mood.

Luna was actually eagerly sitting on her knees on top of her seat looking out the carriage window. She really liked seeing Hogwarts covered in snow like this. It was very Christmasy and she liked that. She really didn’t like being outside in the cold to look though. Inside a warm carriage, was much better.

Luna gave a nod to herself as she smiled and said, “Hogwarts really is very Postcard Pretty like this.”

[-] [-] [-]

The train finally pulled into the station and Luna all but ran out to the platform. She was excited and also wanted to do this quickly, since she wouldn’t be meeting her daddy. She constantly asked questions about what all they would do during the break on the train.

As soon as Harry and Hermione finally got off the train, which felt like forever to Luna, she grabbed both their hands and dragged them through the barrier. Harry barely was able to grab their overladen cart with all of the trunks. Hermione luckily managed to get a better hold on Hedwig’s cage too.

There were so many people in the station proper. It was decorated up for Christmas as well with lights and hollies and all kinds of things. Luna stopped and stared in awe at the Christmas lights. Wizards usually used magical candles for light decorations. She was also amazed at the large tree reaching up to the high ceiling. It was probably even taller than the biggest tree in Hogwarts’ Main Hall.

Hermione grinned as she decided she would get her parents to take her and Luna on a tour around London to several of the best and biggest Christmas trees. She hadn’t done that in a while. She was sure it would be a lot of fun with Luna and the younger girl seemed to really like Christmas decorations.

“I always tell daddy we should do more decorating for Christmas,” Luna said. She gave a slight frown as she thought of her mom. Her mom was always the one to decorate for Christmas. After her death, their house had been on the dreary side by comparison the last couple of Christmases. Luna was wondering if that was why her dad decided he needed to go on his business trip this year.

“I see them Harry!” Hermione said and shook Luna from her sad thoughts. Luna looked around and saw Hermione waving to a couple of people. One of them was a girl who looked to be a couple of years older with bright blonde curly hair and a big smile. The other person was an older man of decent height with salt and pepper hair.

“Davey! Professor?” Harry greeted them.

“Hello Harry! Hello Hermione!” Davey said cheerfully.

“Harry. Hermione. I’m here because Boss is busy making sure this is an even better Christmas and he said he’d be damned if he let anyone interfere with that,” the Professor said as he gave Harry a firm hand shake.

Davey was busy giving Hermione a friendly hug.

“This is Luna Lovegood,” Harry quickly introduced the girl.

“Hello. I’m sorry about intruding like this…” Luna started.

Davey smiled and gave her a big hug. “Don’t you worry about that, Luna. I love your name,” Davey said.

Luna blushed as Davey hugged her. It was really warm and she was also a little caught off guard that the Wrackspurts seemed to really like her. Luna thought they liked Harry, but they seemed to like Davey even more. It was something curious.

Davey then gave a giggle as she stood back up and turned to Harry. “You brought home another girl this year. I think your starting to form a pattern,” she said.

Harry was blushing as Hermione giggled after greeting the Professor herself. Luna grinned happily. She really liked this atmosphere already. It was really warm and friendly.

Harry then smiled and shrugged his shoulders at Davey. “You did warn me,” he said causing Davey to blink a few times before she burst out laughing again. She didn’t expect Harry to throw her teasing about him collecting girls before he started school back at her like that.

“I wonder if you’ll bring another one home next Christmas then,” she whispered to him before snickering. Harry blushed. He should have known better with Davey.

[-] [-] [-]

“Welcome to the Rust District,” Harry said with a fond smile to Luna.

Luna was looking around at everything she could. It was such an amazing place she could already tell. The way it was decorated up for Christmas was wonderful too. She found all of the muggle things in the shop windows as they walked really curious. She only wished she had at least twenty more eyes to take it all in.

She even found the Warehouse area amazing as well. It was so cool the way it was set up. The noise of people laughing and talking together happily made her feel like she was in Felix Summerbee’s famous pub. He was the one who created the Cheering Charm and made his pub at the time the most cheerful place in all the land. Sadly, it suddenly disappeared a couple of generations after his death. No one knew why.

Luna’s dad suspected it was elves. The legendary Jubilee Elves that were always a cheerful lot. He said they were so impressed with his pub and work they took it with them when many of the magical creatures and peoples of yore went into hiding around magical Britain. He also told her if a Witch or Wizard managed to get in contact with them and earn their respect and trust, they would be whisked away to where the pub stood now in their realm, wherever that was.

Luna actually believed that story, or at least she wanted to believe it. She really liked it. She just wished they knew how to get the attention of Jubilee Elves. She supposed it made sense no one knew, or if they did, they didn’t share the knowledge. Something like that was more or less sacred now.

It felt way too quickly for Luna before they were outside of where they would be staying for the Holiday Break. “Enjoy the tour?” Davey asked as she grinned from the kitchen area as she cooked for them.

“There wasn’t enough time,” Luna said with a cute pout.

Davey chuckled as she said, “Then it is a good thing you are staying for a while.”

Luna smiled to that and nodded. “What I did see is amazing!” she said. Luna then went off as she talked about everything she already saw. Davey listened as she cooked away and hummed Christmas songs to herself.

Hermione added in her own thoughts every so often and explained some general muggle things to Luna. Harry provided more context given it was his home area and the Rust District was unique for the muggle world. Luna was really enjoying her holiday break already.

“Oh yeah. Remind me after supper to give you a package that arrived for you, Harry,” Davey said. She then asked, “Who wants to set the table?”

Surprisingly it was Luna who eagerly volunteered. She smiled happily as she set the table for everyone. It would just be the four of them tonight. Luna was really looking forward to a home-cooked meal for once.

She hadn’t had one in about two years. Her daddy always got carried away with the Quibbler and Luna hadn’t really learned much about cooking yet. They usually had sandwiches and other easy to put together meals that didn’t require much work. They even sometimes had cereal for supper. They did go out from time to time and Luna always had leftovers after that.

Having a home-cooked meal like this, was really nice Luna thought. She felt all warm inside. This was definitely something she needed. The last time Luna had a proper Christmas was before her mother died. As much as she loved her dad, things had been really off in their home since then.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry looked over the package Davey told him about after supper. It was small and there was a letter with it. Harry did what came naturally and opened the letter first.

Dear Heir Potter,

This is not customary of Gringotts’ but I figured you would like this as an early Christmas present. We came across it while going through your family’s vault. It is much more a task than we first thought it would be, but we are hard at work on it. I will keep you updated. Enjoy.

Sincerely,

Goldbite (Potter Family Accountant)

Harry opened the package after that. He stared in awe. It was a small leather-bound book with a dark brown cover. Across the top of the book in gold script letters, was a name, “Lily J. Evans”.

Harry sat down on his bed and opened his mother’s diary. He started reading with earnest. He would have to be careful he didn’t stay up all night reading it. He had a lot of things he wanted to do with Luna and Hermione tomorrow.

[-] [-] [-]

“Luna?!” Hermione said with a gasp as she sat on her bed in the room she was sharing with the younger girl.

“What?” Luna asked innocently.

“Y-Y-You can’t be wearing that…” Hermione said with a blush.

Luna frowned as she looked down at her favorite nightgown. “What’s wrong with it? I’ve always loved this nightgown,” she said.

“N-n-nightgown?! More like nightie…” Hermione said as she looked over the other girl. Luna twirled around trying to see if something was wrong with it.

The Ravenclaw girl was wearing a very sheer, almost transparent nightgown. The only reason her modesty was preserved was because she wore a pair of pink panties with it. Her growing chest was barely covered by what looked fake feathers. The rest of it was sheer and didn’t at all hide her light colored skin, slim waist with just a little curve and smooth flat stomach. It was far too mature in Hermione’s mind.

“I don’t get the problem. We’re just sleeping. When I’m at home, I usually sleep naked. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t appreciate that though,” Luna said.

Hermione blushed again. “Just don’t go sneaking into Harry’s room dressed like that,” she said.

“Why would I?” Luna asked in confusion. She may be crushing on Harry, but she was pretty sure sleeping with a boy was kind of a big step.

“Just. Don’t do it,” Hermione said again as she sighed and plopped down on her bed. She might as well get used to it. When they would be visiting her house, the two of them would be in the same bed. It wouldn’t be a sleepover if they weren’t.

[-] [-] [-]

“You seem a little tired, but in a really good mood. I’m guessing the package was something really good?” Davey asked as she served a yawning Harry his breakfast after the girls.

“It was. It was a diary from my mom during her school years,” Harry said with a tried grin. He gave a yawn and added, “I might have stayed up too late into the night reading it.”

“That’s really good to hear!” Hermione said.

“Hermione’s right. Don’t forget you have company though,” Davey said.

“That’s why I plan to read it in the evenings or at nights only. Just need to be more careful,” Harry said.

“Anyways. I was planning to take Luna to see the arcade,” Harry said after a few bites.

“Are you sure…” Hermione started. “If you want to read more of your mom’s diary… We won’t stop you. Will we? Luna?”

Luna was a little torn here. She wanted to Harry to take all the time he needed, but she also really didn’t want to spend her whole Christmas sitting around while Hermione and Harry read books.

Luckily, she didn’t need to say anything. Harry shook his head. “Like I said. I’ll read after we finish for the day,” he said. Harry then turned to Luna and grinned as he said, “I wouldn’t want to miss your reaction to seeing an arcade.”

Luna smiled warmly to that and blush a little in happiness. She liked that they wanted to do things like this with her. “I look forward to pretty much anything you have planned,” she said.

[-] [-] [-]

The next few days were amazing for Luna. She couldn’t believe the things muggles had. It was amazing! She didn’t get how it was Hermione couldn’t believe most of the things she had talked about over the year considering all the stuff muggles had.

Pictures that moved for over an hour, almost two, and going to all kinds of places? Colorful screens playing music and sounds that let you control what happened on them? These fixed motorbike things that leaned with you and moved a person on the screen according to what you did? Multiple people able to play these video game things at the same time? How could Wrackspurts, Nargles, and Crumpled Horn Snorkaks seemed unrealistic by comparison?

Whatever the case, this holiday break was amazing. Luna also quickly came to love the Rust District and the people she met. It was pretty quickly, probably too quickly if you asked most people, but Luna had kind of come to see Davey as the older sister she never had. Maybe she just really wanted someone like that in her life or something and the older blonde happened to fit the bill. It didn’t help that Davey seemed to adore her as a little sister in return. Luna wasn’t sure if Hermione or Davey were more huggy as a person.

Luna also loved how cheerful Davey was. Luna volunteered to help out whenever she could. She loved setting the table and listening to Davey hum Christmas carols while she prepared their meals. There was also one night while they were relaxing that Luna asked the older girl brush her hair. Davey was more than happy and hummed again while she did so. That made Luna remember how her mother used to do the same when she was alive. She felt cared for in a way she hadn’t since then.

Something else that was a lot of fun were the snippets Harry talked about from his mother’s diary. “You know how Hagrid said my mom couldn’t stand my dad at first?” Harry started one night.

Hermione nodded. Luna was listening very intently from where she sat in front of the fireplace with her recently combed and brushed hair, while she wore a thick and wonderfully woolly bathrobe at the moment. Hermione would have freaked out if she wore just her pajamas in this setting, even if they were really comfy. Luna still didn’t get what the problem was there. Seriously, she wasn’t about to go strutting around in front of Harry or something.

“It’s different seeing it in her own words. It is kind interesting though. It seems my mom read back through it sometime much later. She added notes in the margins about how she was surprisingly blind to his feelings towards her, especially back then. Hagrid did say my dad pretty much liked her from the start,” Harry said with a fond smile.

Hermione smiled to that. “To me that shows you’re more wonderful than your dad was. You aren’t as obtuse about such things,” she said. She had few doubts about his feelings towards her and they were just in their second year.

Harry chuckled to that. “I also find it interesting that he and his friends called themselves The Marauders, but they really were impressive, even if they were pranksters. They learned to be animagi in their fifth year without anyone knowing or helping them,” Harry said.

“Wow…” Luna said in awe. It was not an easy feat to become an animagus. It was even more difficult to do it on your own.

“That’s impressive... but so very dangerous! They should have never done something like that so young,” Hermione said.

“Kind of like how a bunch of first years went after the Sorcerer’s Stone to protect it from Voldemort?” Harry asked in amusement.

Hermione blushed. “That was different. We had a good reason,” she said.

“True,” Harry said. He turned a little serious and said, “They also had a good reason for what they did, even if becoming animagi was foolish.”

“What was it?” Luna asked.

“Turns out their friend, Remus Lupin, was a werewolf. They learned to be animagi so they could be with him during his transformations,” Harry said.

“They were friends with a werewolf?!” Hermione asked in shock.

“Yep. He was also the best student out of their group and later became Prefect,” Harry said.

“I don’t know… That all sounds too dangerous to me,” Hermione said.

“It makes sense,” Luna said nodding in thought.

“How?” Hermione asked her.

“Werewolves are dangerous to humans when their transformed. They’re not a danger to most animals tough. Just like how Werewolves usually aren’t a danger to humans when they aren’t transformed. Well… no more dangerous than your average witch or wizard. Daddy hates how they’re treated by other people,” Luna said.

“I’ll agree with your dad on that,” Harry said. He knew a little how they were treated. He hated it. They would be right at home in the Rust District, if it was a magical place after going through that.

“I’m surprised they were friends with a werewolf. You hear about them, but I have yet to meet one. It is sort of like they're just a story in a way. A true story, but still a story,” Hermione said.

“That’s because they usually keep it to themselves so people won’t hate them for no reason,” Luna explained.

“That is terrible,” Hermione said. The others nodded in agreement. “What animals were your dad and his friends? Did your mother know and write about it?” she asked.

“She did in her later entries. Apparently, my dad thought they had the perfect combination. He was a large Forest Buck. Sirius was a large black dog some mistook for a Grim at times. He had fun with that as a way to get back at people. Peter Pettigrew was a rat. He needed help with getting his form right at first," Harry said. He wondered what it would be like to be an animagus. He wondered what animal he would be.

"My dad and Sirius were able to keep the transformed Lupin in line with ease, so they never lost track of him. Peter’s rat form allowed him to help them get in and out of where Lupin was usually locked up during transformations. Being able to have his friends there with him during that time made it bearable he always told them, according to what my mom wrote,” Harry finished.

“That actually makes it sound more endearing than dangerous now,” Hermione said with a smile. To have friends that would go that far for you? That was rare. She wasn’t an expert on friends, but even she knew that. She did feel her friends would be like that. Luna nodded with her in agreement.

They talked a little longer until Harry checked the time and said, “Well. It’s about time we got ready. Davey will be upset if we aren’t ready to walk right out the door when she comes to pick us up for caroling.”

“I can’t wait! I never got to do that before, even though we would always sing them together,” Luna said. Davey was so excited about taking them all caroling. It being Luna’s first time, she went all out and picked an outfit for the young girl. She would have done the same for Hermione, but for some reason the Hufflepuff girl didn’t want Davey measuring her to make the outfit fit just right. Hermione could be perplexing at times like that to Luna, but she still really liked her.

[-] [-] [-]

Luna was grinning from ear to ear in her Christmas elf outfit. It even had ears to match. Davey had one as well with different colors. Hermione did have a Christmasy outfit of her own, but it wasn’t as great as Luna was sure Davey’s choice would have been for the other girl. Harry was well dressed in warm clothes wearing a Santa Hat and Christmas vest to round out their group.

The Ravenclaw girl decided Davey was right about Christmas Caroling being the best thing ever. She loved it. The people they sang for loved it as well. Some gave them each a cookie or a small cup of Hot Chocolate in thanks.

Luna decided that should be the currency for a Christmas Carolers. Cookies and Hot Chocolate were the greatest of Christmas treats. They made her want to sing even more. She would dance too, if given the chance, but she was pretty sure that might be too much for the others.

They just finished singing another song and were laughing in good nature with each other as an elderly couple joked a little while thanking them.

“That’s the best singing I’ve ever heard!” said the older man smiling to them.

“I’m surprised heard a single word,” his wife said.

“Huh?! What was that?” the man asked.

“I said… nevermind. Do you want some hot cider?” she asked him.

“Of course, I do! Tis’ the season,” he replied grinning to her.

“Talk about selective hearing…” she mumbled.

“That just means whatever I do hear is worth it,” he replied as he chuckled and winked at the kids getting them to laugh. His wife shook her head but laughed as well and smiled to him before thanking them again and wishing them a merry Christmas.

The group rounded a corner when they heard someone call out to them. Well. He only called out to Harry.

“Harry?” a man asked in shock from nearby.

“You know Harry?” a female asked.

“I do…” the man replied.

Harry turned and looked over to man. He didn’t recognize him. At the same time, he felt an odd sense of familiarity to him. It was like something from his past he couldn’t clearly remember. He would listen to the man though. Harry did recognize the man’s female companion, so that was a good start.

Whatever was happening, it seemed his Christmas would be a bit more interesting…

Chapter 31: A Werewolf’s Chance Meeting

A man who looked a good bit older than he actually was gave a sigh to himself. He was dressed in clothes that weren’t exactly tatters, but made it rather obvious he didn’t have much luck in the way of finances. He looked down at the statement in his hands again and sighed once more. He could handle it, but it was further proof he needed to figure something else out soon. For most in his personal situation, he was probably better off with his money, but that came at tremendous sacrifice and he was still far from secure financially.

People like him had it pretty tough. They weren’t welcomed in the magical world, but still were a part of it. Some tried to get by in the muggle world, but that had its own difficulties. His kind had to take off more time than most businesses appreciated. There were very few employment opportunities they could get, which had the luxury of a flexible work schedule.

The man’s name was Remus Lupin and he was a werewolf.

Werewolves weren’t exactly how muggles envisioned them in their movies, but the parts about the transformation being rough was true. They usually couldn’t even keep their minds clear while transformed. They additionally had to take time off around the full moon due to the adverse effects of their transformation afterwards. This really hurt job prospects they had. Outside of the full moon, they were the same as any other witch or wizard, but most magicals still saw them as dangerous and dark creatures.

There was a potion that helped with their transformations and let them keep their mind’s clear. However, it was difficult to make on your own and pricey to acquire otherwise. There was also the whole prejudice against werewolves that some potion sellers used to refuse business with them. The potion also didn’t help much in circumventing needing time off around the full moon.

This all meant Remus had it really bad in the magical world and only a little bit better in the muggle world. He could usually find temporary employment eventually, but it didn’t pay the best and it wasn’t exactly convenient. Sometimes it was rather dangerous on top of everything else. There was little chance that kind of employment could be a career.

“Where to go now…” he wondered to himself regarding his immediate future plans. He had never been able to settle down anywhere and had to move around a good bit. Muggles would notice something was off with werewolves, even if they usually decided it had to do with drugs or alcohol. This meant rumors popped up around them and eventually they would be shunned by those in the muggle world as well. It was bad for business to have that employee who always seemed to have a really bad hangover, even if it was actually only about once a month this happened.

Remus Lupin was very fortunate for a werewolf over all though. He couldn’t deny it. When he was younger, he had the best of friends. Sadly, the war claimed that from him. One friend turned traitor and the others died because of that.

At the very least, the traitor was in Azkaban, but that didn’t bring the others back. He was thankful for the traitor being caught, even if it was odd that he couldn’t remember there being a trial for him. It would have been huge deal news wise, but things really were even more of a mess back then for werewolves. He usually figured that was why he couldn’t remember it.

Remus took another sip of the drink in front of him. He was in the type of place that didn’t welcome or shun his kind, a dank and dingy pub. In places like this, if you kept to yourself and paid for your drinks, you were usually tolerated. He couldn’t spend too much time here though. His funds were limited, even if they hadn’t run dry just yet. He would need to do something about them.

“Should I go there? ” he thought after a contemplating his drink a little. It seemed fitting really. The place had a bad reputation and was usually left alone. Maybe he could stay there a little longer than usual. At the very least, it would be nice with winter coming.

There was a different option, but it wasn’t one he really counted as a choice. He could join one of the packs, but even that would be rougher than usual for him. He smelled too much like humans for those kinds of werewolves usually. They also lived rather savage and barbaric lives and the main pack in this part of the magical world was run by the worst of the worst. The beast of a man who turned him, Fenrir Greyback.

Fenrir Greyback was the pack leader of the biggest and most violent Werewolf pack in magical Britain. Other packs would be wary of Lupin because of his association with Fenrir. It was rather well known Remus fought against the beast of man. While he won that confrontation, it seemed most likely, even to him, Fenrir hadn’t taken him seriously. Fenrir said he could go, but once he returned that would be end of it. Remus wouldn’t be allowed to leave alive ever again.

The worst part about Fenrir was the fact he loved being a beastly werewolf. He saw himself as more than a man or a wizard. He embraced the transformation and the hunger for carnage that came with it. Fenrir even went so far as to look more beast than man on a regular basis. No one was sure if this was glamour magic of some kind, or if he had given in that much to the werewolf. Fenrir also loved turning children and did it on purpose. Remus was one such victim.

Fenrir liked getting back at wizards by turning their precious children into werewolves, even for the merest of slights. Other times he did it just because he felt like it. He especially enjoyed it when girls he turned were thrown out by their families and usually came to him around the age of fifteen. He always made them perform sexual acts to earn their place in his pack. More than anything else though, he liked the sense of power he got from corrupting, and usually ruining, the young by infecting them.

“No… The packs are out of the question, ” Remus told himself. He wouldn’t return willingly to Fenrir’s pack. He’d ultimately rather try to start his own pack and that wasn’t easy or likely to happen. He would have to go that place. He only hoped The Rust District wasn’t as bad as the rumors said.

[-] [-] [-]

A bell to a diner rang as a trio of men walked inside. “Hello and Welcome!” a man behind a counter said with a smile.

The trio walked up to him and one asked, “What’s the special today, Pops?”

Pops gave a smile as he said, “An American dish this time. Chicken Fried Steak.” The man was known as Pops because he was middle-aged and rather welcoming. He treated most of the people in the district as family of some kind. He even helped solve disputes between people numerous times. On top of that, many of the children came to see him as a father figure, if they didn’t have one already.

“Sounds interesting, but I think I’ll take my usual this time,” the man said.

The other two with him chuckled. “You always say that. You’ll never find out what else is good if you never try something different,” the youngest in the trio said.

“And since I already know I like my usual, that doesn’t bother me,” the first man said in return with a grin. The other man, the third in their party, shook his head and laughed before they ordered their meals.

After the trio placed their orders, they took notice of the man sitting at a table in the corner quietly eat a meek meal and sipping a cup of tea. The leader of the trio nodded to his companions. The two picked a table as he went and talked to the man. He approached and remained standing. “Haven’t seen you here before,” he said in a causal tone.

“I’ve never been here before,” Remus replied neutrally. He expected this would happen sooner or later. He noticed there were patrols in the Rust District and they were more formal and organized than places like this usually were. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing as of yet. He did notice the politeness between the trio and the diner’s owner was genuine and not forced by either party. That was potentially at least a good sign.

The man nodded and looked him over. “You can stay here so long as you follow our rules,” he said.

Remus looked to him carefully. “What are these… rules?” he asked. He didn’t want to seem too used to such treatment, but needed to know how to avoid causing trouble. He doubted he would be able to find anywhere else before winter settled in until next spring.

“Don’t cause any trouble for others. You are allowed to defend yourself though. I can promise you’ll only have to deal with the Street Knights if you’re in the wrong and in trouble. We also encourage you to cooperate with any authorities should you be required. You can still keep your privacy as long as you cooperate. No one will ask anything unrelated to the matter they are discussing with you,” he said.

Remus couldn’t help but blink to that. “What authorities do you mean exactly?” he asked in a little confusion.

The man gave an easy smile that was friendly but not overly so. “Any patrols like us. Law Enforcement. Fire and Safety. Authorities,” he said.

Remus was in thought and surprised by this. Usually in places run by gangs or groups or whatever they called themselves, they were the end all be all. You were usually threatened if you cooperated with Law Enforcement, even if the local Law was in the pockets of the people running the area.

Remus gave a nod after a moment. “I understand,” he said.

“Good. Pops here can help you find a place to stay if you plan on being here long term and through the winter. Welcome to the Rust District,” the man said before joining the other two as their meals arrived.

Once the trio left, Remus spoke to the proprietor. “That was different from what I expected,” he admitted.

Pops gave him a nod in understanding. “The rumors aren’t true. This place isn’t paradise or a utopia, but it isn’t too bad either. The Street Knights aren’t like other gangs. They could also tell you fit in with us in a way,” he explained.

“In what way?” Remus asked curiously.

Pops gave him a serious look as he said. “You’ve been tossed aside, slipped through society’s cracks, or maybe a mix of both. That’s how most of us here are.”

Remus nodded in agreement to that. It described him perfectly. “Why keep the rumors around then?” he asked.

Pops grinned to this. “We don’t have a problem with business and capitalism here, but we like to keep the worst parts of it away if we can. We don’t want people finding out it isn’t too bad of place here and the more well-off people moving here thinking it would be quaint or something. That would mean the large soulless corporations would soon follow. They would force out the people here, who have nowhere else to go, and put up some giant strip malls or something,” he said.

Remus nodded to that.

“So about getting you some place to stay…” Pops started. Remus listened to him without complaint. He was surprised how many options he seemed to actually have here.

“What kind of skills do you have?” Pops asked after most of their discussion was over. He only broke it off to help customers until his employees showed up to start their shifts.

“A bit of this and a bit of that,” Remus stated before listing off the surprisingly vast list of skills he picked up over his years in the muggle world. Pops nodded in thought as he listened.

[-] [-] [-]

Ginny lay awake in her bed at Hogwarts. She was deeply worried. Colin Attacked?! Luna spending most of her time hanging around Harry Potter and the other Hufflepuffs?! A Dueling Club?! Justin Finch-Fletchely and Nearly Headless Nick attacked at the same time?! It was all so much and she didn't remember it.

“What’s been happening to me? ” she thought in worry to herself.

She had been losing a lot of time it seemed. She really didn’t know what to make that. She didn’t even know who to talk to about it. She tried approaching her brothers, but something seemed to keep her from saying anything. She didn't get it.

Ginny curled up under her covers as tears formed in her eyes. She wouldn’t cry! She was supposed to be the tough little sister, who older brothers didn't mess with. But this was really getting to her. She was thankful she would be heading home for Holiday Break soon. She really needed some place safe and familiar right about now. She wanted her family.

Suddenly, Ginny seemed to grow completely calm again. It was like something came over her, but in the darkness of her dorm room in the middle of the night no one noticed. She let out a calming sigh and gave a stretch. She then closed her eyes and went to sleep.

Riddle was surprised she still had so much spunk left to break free of his causal control like that, even if for only a moment. He would admit it was rather entertaining how she freaked out and the way her mind raced trying to piece everything together. It was a futile attempt on her part. She was too much his by this point. It still gave him an idea on how to better entertain himself in the coming months.

Riddle decided he would have to lay low again for a while. Dumbledore might actually start to take action and the Diary’s memory had no doubt the man was already piecing things together. If he was pushed too much too soon, the headmaster may no longer be content with just controlling information regarding what was happening at Hogwarts. The aged wizard might decide to end it all. Riddle was sure Dumbledore couldn’t enter the chamber properly yet, but he might be able to figure something out there, if he really wanted to do something more about the attacks.

The shade from the diary sighed to himself. It would do well if he slipped towards the back of Ginny’s mind over the break too. He doubted her mom or dad were a threat. The mother would be too happy with all her family visiting. The father was nothing more than a muggle loving fool of a wizard that wouldn't even stand up to his wife if needed. However, the oldest brother, Bill, he could be a problem. Bill was a Gringotts Curse Breaker working in Egypt. Bill was not an opponent Riddle wanted to face before fully manifesting.

Tom Riddle would easily admit the ancient Egyptian wizards were capable of some amazing feats when it came to protections and other forms of so-called dark magic. He fully intended to commit a decent amount of time to studying them once he was back to full power. He had no doubt his older self did much the same, but Diary Riddle wouldn’t have to wait until after graduating to get started. Diary Riddle didn’t need to return to an orphanage during the summer either. There were so many possibilities this time around, so it was best not to risk them.

Bill was very familiar with such magics and how to overcome them. He'd be able to figure out something was really wrong with his sister, if Riddle wasn’t extra careful. Bill might even be able to figure out exactly what was going on and how to end it all. The oldest Weasley son could really interfere with Diary Riddle’s plans and that would not do.

“No. I don’t want to get his attention. Best let Ginny seem to recover and get a little bit back to her old self over the break, ” Riddle thought to himself. Now that he thought about it, this could play in his favor. The brothers still at Hogwarts might decide they were just overreacting to what was clearly a bad case of homesickness after all. That would keep them from breathing down her neck in ‘concern’ as much. They would go back to happily ignoring their little sister most of the time again. Like they always did.

“ Ha! Families… Such foolishness! If they actually cared about their little sister, their behavior wouldn’t default to mostly ignoring her. Love, even with families, was so stupid and weak, ” the shade thought before resting himself. It was foolish how much Dumbledore obsessed over such notions.

[-] [-] [-]

“Thanks again for coming by. I really appreciate your help. Here’s your payment,” a beautiful woman in her late twenties said with a smile. She had lightly tanned skin, bright blue eyes and luscious silky raven locks.

“No problem, Miss Serene,” Remus said with a grin.

The young woman gave an enchanting laugh to that. “If you say so. Mr. Moony,” she said in reply before waving him off once more as he laughed in return.

Remus had been very fortunate here in the Rust District. He already had an apartment he was staying in for the winter, or maybe even longer. It wasn’t fancy or anything like that, but it wasn’t a dump either. It was cozy and warm. He was even able to acquire a fair amount of Wolfsbane Potion with the money he earned.

He mostly did odd jobs, as usually was the case for him, but he had plenty here and many more made a living the same way. Remus had made a bit of a name for himself as a handy man, of all things. He wondered what his long-departed friend James would have thought of that. Remus was the eager bookworm in their group and yet he did most of his work with his hands the muggle way.

Remus also made it well known he didn’t usually take jobs around the full moon. He had an explanation for this ready, but never needed it. People here just accepted it and easily called for someone else during that time. The few times some of his regular clients called him in a panic, he knew who to redirect them to in the area. Others did the same for him in return from time to time as thanks.

Remus really was surprised to say he had regular customers here. Miss Serene was one of them. Of course, Serene wasn’t really her last name. He full name was Betty Fisher. Betty Serene was her name from her days before coming to the Rust District. She was a stripper in those days.

[-] [-] [-]

Betty Fisher was an eager gal who dreamed of becoming an actress when she was a teen. She thought she found an easy path to that dream when she was kind of scouted at the age of 16. She knew she was going to be a stripper first when scouted, but accepted that. She was told and thought it would be a good way to make a living while she used her day light hours to chase after her real dream. The person who scouted her was an older woman who claimed she would help Betty out.

The young Betty thought working under a woman would make things better. It did in some ways, but not as much as she thought it would. Betty was of course very popular at the time. She loved being in the spotlight, even if it was on a stage with a dancing pole and naked. She made good money and the place she worked at was fairly safe and clean.

The mistress of the business did help her some with commercial spots on tv occasionally, but show business was extremely hard to break into for anyone. It didn’t matter if you were a young and beautiful woman who just reached her age of majority. There were plenty of hopeful young people.

It wasn’t until Betty was given a private business meeting that she realized her mistake. She was called into the Mistress’ office and given an actual interview and everything. She was even close to getting the job and told there was just one last thing she had to do to put her up and over the rest of the competition. She was asked, in a very roundabout but nevertheless clear way, to give sexual favors then and there.

Betty politely refused. She was asked one more time with more emphasis on how this was her big chance and maybe even her last good chance. She was even assured it would be just that one time, so long as she did well with her chance. She still refused.

The men and woman she was meeting didn’t force her or anything. They even admitted they respected her decision. They politely ended the interview there and told her she still might get a role, but her chances weren’t the best they could have been.

Betty was never asked for sexual favors again. She still continued her job as a stripper without any real problems. It was a few months later she realized what was happening. She first noticed it as her shifts were moved around. Then she had less hours. She asked about this and the mistress just shrugged her shoulders and said that was just how things were at the moment.

Young Betty wasn’t really stupid, even if she was blinded early on by the promise she was sold. Betty came to realize, even if she was still very beautiful and popular during her shifts, she was still very replaceable. There were plenty of younger and even prettier girls eager for a chance like she was. They also weren’t as opposed to the offers Betty refused. Her wishes and morals were respected, but she still faced consequences for them.

It eventually got to the point Betty was dismissed from her job. She hoped maybe her best customers would throw a ruckus at her dismissal and pressure the Mistress to bring her back. That never happened though.

When her funds started to dry up, Betty realized there weren’t many options for an ex-stripper who didn’t even finish her A Levels in school. It didn’t help that her style and looks at that time seemed to hint at her past profession. It did get her plenty of attention and looks, but not really from potential employers, unless she were to decide to become a whore.

She grew desperate when she noticed one of her former co-workers had made it into show business. Betty feared maybe she would have to betray her morals if she even wanted to survive by that point. It was then she was met by a group of Street Knights and made her way to the Rust District.

At first, she worked part time at a bakery. She wasn’t really happy with that work though. It was alright pay, but the hours were very irregular. She wanted more in her life. She also at that time hated being called Miss Serene.

One day she was approached by Jett and a couple of other Street Knights again. She was meeting with them privately. Betty partly feared for the worst despite herself. She had only been treated respectfully here, but she wondered if that was only for a time.

“So, Miss Serene. How are you doing?” Jett asked.

Betty couldn’t help but wince a little at hearing her stage name. “Could you not call me that. Please?” she asked.

“What’s the problem, Miss Serene?” Jett asked her, acting a little confused.

“I don’t go by that name anymore. I don’t like it. I want to leave that in the past. At all costs,” she said.

“Miss Serene,” Jett continued. “Are you truly satisfied with your current arrangements?” he asked.

She didn’t meet his eyes as she said, “I’ll live…”

“That doesn’t answer the question, Miss Serene,” one of the other Knights said to her. He placed emphasis on her stage name. The others spoke to her as well in turn. All of them used her stage name.

“Why are you doing this?!” she asked. “I told you I want to leave that behind me,” she said almost pleadingly.

“But it is a part of you. It is your past. It has shaped who you are greatly. Refusing it is not healthy. It will only keep bothering you, even if you manage to leave it mostly behind and move on with your life, Miss Serene. Something you have yet to do after all this time. It will eventually come back to haunt you. Own it. Remember all you learned. You don’t want to just drift through life, Miss Serene. Owning your past will be the key to your future,” Jett said.

“How?!” she asked feeling kind of angry now. She wasn’t going to do anything, but she did not like this.

“You were a stripper. You learned skills because of that,” Jett said.

“How to take off my clothes for money?! Flirt with men no matter what they think of me or say for a better tip? Be reminded of the fact I didn’t want to bend over and let two men and a woman have their way with me for the job of a lifetime?!” she asked now feeling livid. “I hardly see how those are any lessons worthwhile,” she scoffed.

Jett gave her a neutral expression as he said, “Wrong lessons, Betty.”

She blinked. “What do you mean?” she asked in confusion. She was caught off guard here as he used her first name on purpose.

“You learned how to fix make-up," he said causally with shrug. He then looked to her seriously and said, "You also learned how to diet properly. You learned how to exercise. We know you weren’t the type to starve yourself to keep slim. You learned how to stay healthy in general. Those were some of the reasons why you were popular at your last job. You never let yourself go. You still keep in remarkable shape even now, when you're just here stuck in a bakery working a cash register all day. It is obvious you have more to thank for your looks than just good DNA. You have skills many young women, who aren’t going anywhere near such a profession, would want to learn or be helped with in their own lives.”

“I suppose you have a point there…” she said unsure.

“You just need some lessons to become a fitness trainer. Something you’ve shown interest in on more than one occasion. Something that will be more than just ringing up customers who buy cakes or biscuits. You don’t have any interest in learning to become a baker yourself, so there isn’t too much reason to stay working here,” Jett said.

“Do you mean it? Wouldn’t a fitness trainer need a university degree?” she asked in question. There was also a hint of hope in her voice.

“You aren’t going to be coaching a team or working for professional athletes. You don’t need a degree in something like Sports Medicine or Sports Science. There are plenty of gyms in the area within an easily traveled distance. We also know you really don’t want to leave the district,” Jett said.

“It is my home,” she said easily.

Jett smiled to her. “All you need is to learn some lessons so you can safely help others without hurting them,” he said.

“I… I think I would like that,” she said. Part of the reason she first wanted to become an actress was so she could move people and make a difference in their lives. Seeing a movie, play or tv show with great actors and actresses can really reach out to people in ways. This wasn’t the same, but she could still help people.

“So… I ask you again, Miss Serene. Is this all you really want in your life?” Jett asked with a slight smile.

She sighed and shook her head but gave a soft smile in return. “I still don’t really like that name, but I suppose I can live with it. I might even like it as a playful nickname someday. I do want more and I will do what I need to do,” she said.

“We should never fully forget our pasts. They make us into who we are for better and worse. It is good you are at least taking the right steps now, Betty. This is what you need to do…” Jett said. He and the others explained to her who to contact and what she needed to learn. They even explained the different options she had for her new chance in life.

[-] [-] [-]

To Remus, it was stories like Betty’s that proved to him he did belong here in many ways. He fit in here and wasn’t constantly worried what he would have to do. He was now instead looking forward to enjoying some of the Christmas festivities in the area. He already planned to go to the giant Christmas Eve Feast in the warehouse with Betty and some other friends he made here.

He first learned about her nickname when he overheard some people call her by it. She always jokingly replied with a nickname of her own for them. Remus asked her about it and apologized for being nosy.

“Don’t worry about that. Just give me a nickname to call you in return, or I’ll make one up. I will refer to you by it whenever you use my nickname though,” she said with a laugh.

Remus then told her his old school nickname. He even told her how he came about it to a degree. He left out the werewolf bit and magic school parts. He simply said he made some friends at a boarding school when he was younger. He gave her the story he gave most muggles when they asked about him. He had to come up with something believable for job interviews when it came to his education.

There were many stories in The Rust District like Betty’s. He liked learning about them if he was fortunate enough to hear them. These people here understood him. They knew what it was like to be him in many ways. None of them were werewolves, but they still knew what it was like in his shoes.

He could really relate to them as well. He learned a good bit about the Street Knights during this time. No one in the Rust District didn’t learn about them. He liked what he knew about the group in charge. He liked their smart Hufflepuff approach as he called it. He was close and loyal to his friends as they were to him, until one of them turned traitor. He was agreeable with the whole loyalty to those who deserve it mentality, instead of being blindly loyal or closing everyone out.

“I wonder what Harry is up to now. He’d be in Hogwarts. His second year now, ” Remus thought to himself as he made his way back to his apartment. He wished he could do something there. He wanted to be with Lily’s and James’ son. He wanted to be there for the young boy and do so in the Street Knights’ way.

Sadly, his being a werewolf, complicated things. It would be quite the uproar for a werewolf, no matter how close he was to the parents, to approach The-Boy-Who-Lived. Remus didn’t even know where Harry lived. He could guess, but that didn’t help much. He decided if he ever crossed paths with Harry by chance, then he could start to work on some kind of relationship. He could do what he should have from the start as soon as Lily and James died. He could help look after the boy.

All he could do for now though was trust Dumbledore, unfortunately. Remus tried speaking to Dumbledore and finding a way to meet the boy a number of times over the years, but his old headmaster didn’t do anything about that. A lot of people knew Albus Dumbledore had hidden away the boy. They just didn’t know where.

Remus guessed it was probably somewhere in the muggle world. Most thought it would be in the wizarding world, but that was wrong. There were plenty who would take The-Boy-Who-Lived in their household, but it would be a political mess for the most part. Harry would also be treated like a messiah or something equal to that. It would be tough for a young boy growing up with people literally kissing, if not all out worshiping, the ground he walked upon. He could grow up with an ego to rival James’ during his early years, when he was a far cry from the man he grew to be.

The other most likely option would be the isolation a young Harry would face in life. Being up on a pedestal, was very much the lonely existence, especially if you didn’t even fully know why you were there. Remus doubted Harry remembered even a sliver of what happened that night. That could be a confusing life to live. The werewolf only hoped wherever Harry ended up, Dumbledore had done the best for the boy.

[-] [-] [-]

“Ha ha! I still don’t believe it, Shorty. But that is funny, especially if it is true,” Remus said as he and his small group of friends made their way to the Christmas Eve Feast. Shorty was actually really tall, and that was why Betty nicknamed him Shorty. The man found it really funny. They all traded tales with each other on a regular basis. Shorty liked to talk about some of the pranks he pulled when he was growing up, especially after he learned Remus, of all people, was surprisingly a prankster himself.

“I assure ya! It is true. Whether you believe me or not is up to you. At least you can appreciate the humor either way,” Shorty said with a chuckle.

The group of adults sat down as Betty said, “I still find it interesting you were a prankster too, Remus. You are so much the brainy type.”

Remus smiled to that. “That’s why I was a prankster with my friends. James was the one who came up with most of the ideas. I was the one who figured out how to make them happen and keep us out trouble from the school rules,” Remus said.

Shortly laughed. “And to think… You were the one the teachers thought would keep the others out of trouble,” he said shaking his head.

Betty smiled to that. “Didn’t you hear him, Shorty? He did keep them out of trouble. Just not in the way the teachers would have preferred,” she gave them both a smile.

The two laughed to that after a second. “I suppose he did,” Shorty said.

[-] [-] [-]

It was after the feast Remus found himself completely shocked. He was walking Betty back to her place. Shorty was continuing the party with some work buddies of his. That was his plan from the start. He spent before and during the feast with Remus and Betty. Afterwards, he would meet up with the others.

“I’ve always loved this place during Christmas. I wonder if young Davey will make the caroling rounds again,” Betty said with a warm smile.

“That would be something. So far this has been one of the better Christmases for me since I was young,” Remus said.

They walked quietly enjoying the night as a light snow fell. Remus found the Rust District to be surprisingly Christmas Card worthy at times. The place was old and the residents did a good job of decorating it. The streets with most of the shops were especially well decorated.

It was kind of interesting to Remus that he noticed a lot of people from outside of the Rust District shopped here. It was lucky people hadn’t started noticing the rumors weren’t exactly true. Perhaps the Street Knights put on a bit of a show or something. That way people didn’t feel too threatened, but weren’t about to try moving here. There was a part of him, one he thought a bit foolish, that dared think the shoppers were mostly in on keeping the secret as well. He knew the Knights were powerful, but he doubted their reach was that expansive.

Their quiet night eventually came to an end when they heard a group of children laughing from nearby. Remus smiled. “I still find it amazing the place is safe enough children don’t have worries going out at night,” he said.

“One of the many things I love about the place. Jett and the rest of the Knights work hard to keep it that way. That’s part of the reason they encourage people to work with law enforcement and such. They do so themselves and it has paid back in spades,” Betty said.

They then heard the children start to sing Christmas Carols together. Betty smiled. “It seems young Davey will be making the rounds of Christmas Caroling after all. We should go,” she said with a lovely smile.

Remus went with her. He didn’t have much choice since he was walking her home. He wouldn’t complain though. He really enjoyed the company and the carolers were actually pretty good from the sound of it. Once they rounded the corner, just as the current song ended, Remus stopped dead in his tracks. He knew those eyes and that hair anywhere, even after all of these years.

“Harry?” he couldn’t help but ask in shock.

Betty looked between the two in surprise. “You know Harry?” she asked Remus.

“I do…” Remus started.

Harry for his part was listening. He knew his unasked question was about to be answered.

“All of those stories I’ve told you… Our group’s ringleader’s full name was James Potter and he later married Lily Evans and their son was Harry James Potter,” Remus said.

Harry looked carefully at the man hearing that. “You knew my parents,” he said simply stating a fact. “What’s your name?” Harry asked.

“Remus Lupin…” Remus answered easily.

Harry seemed to ease up a little. He knew Betty well enough and her body language showed Remus wasn’t lying when he said he talked about his parents with her, even if he didn’t use their last names. “You were the one they called Moony?” Harry asked.

“Yeah… I’m surprised you know that… We called your dad Prongs,” Lupin said with a smile.

Harry fully relaxed at that and smiled. “Davey,” he started.

She looked to him in question.

“I’m going to have to cut our caroling short tonight I’m afraid. I really want to talk to Mr. Lupin here,” he said.

“Promise me you’ll double your efforts tomorrow… And we can use my place. I’d like to hear from someone who knew your father at Hogwarts as well,” Davey said.

“Thank you. And I will double my efforts tomorrow,” Harry said with a smile.

“Let’s go then… After we see Miss Fisher home. It looks like he was walking her home,” she said.

“Do you mind?” Harry asked the two adults.

“Not at all,” Miss Fisher said with a smile to Remus. “I’m sure Remus here wants to talk to you as well.” She knew about his concerns over his friend’s son, but he couldn’t find him until now. She was surprised said son turned out to be the one some called Little Boss, Harry Potter.

“Thank you, Betty,” Remus said quietly as he squeezed her hand lightly to further show his appreciation.

[-] [-] [-]

Once they escorted Miss Fisher home, Remus followed Davey, Harry and two other girls who went to school with him. Remus soon learned their names were Hermione Granger, a muggle-born, and Luna Lovegood, the daughter of the well-known eccentric creature chaser Xenophilius Lovegood.

Davey served them all tea quickly as they looked to each other. Remus was still in shock at all that was happening. He did not expect to meet Harry here of all places. The werewolf also picked up on Harry being a member of the Knights. He really wondered about that. He doubted Professor Dumbledore would place Harry here. The atmosphere was polite between them all, but there was an edge to it that Remus was starting to pick up.

Their tea cups were filled and steaming and they all took their first sip. Once they placed them down, the atmosphere grew heavy. Remus was shocked to have three sets of female eyes looking at him with barely contained fury. The wolf inside him was more terrified of the glowing green eyes which held no signs of fury though. There was however a heaviness to their neutral gaze.

“Did you know Headmaster Dumbledore placed me with my mom’s sister and her family?” Harry asked in a grave tone.

Remus’ eyes widened. He then turned angry himself. “No… I did not. Albus Dumbledore wouldn’t tell me where you were. I wanted to meet you, but knew… due my…” Remus started as he looked at the others in the room.

“They know,” Harry told him neutrally, without the edge though.

“Due to my condition as a werewolf... I felt without permission from Albus, who many knew hid you away somewhere, it would not go well for me to visit you. In the worst of possible circumstances, it could end up with me in Azkaban,” Remus said darkly. He would later ask about them knowing he was werewolf, but the current topic felt much more important at the moment.

He then looked to his cup in anger. “Had I known you were placed with Petunia Dursley… I would not have waited until I hoped we came across each other in the right circumstances,” he said.

Remus then growled a little as he held his cup tightly. He was careful not to break it at least. “I can guess why you are here then,” he said sounding angry at the Dursleys.

He then blinked. “Wait a minute… Albus doesn’t know, does he?” Remus asked.

“No, he doesn’t. What do you make of that? Mr. Lupin?” Harry asked.

“I’d hope it stays that way… He has to be up to something if he placed you there of all places. It probably isn’t exactly for your best interests either… Petunia…” Remus in his anger almost spat the name.

“She hates magic with a deep envy. She denounced her own sister because of jealousy. She refused to even show up to Lily and James’ Wedding because of her hatred and jealousy. There is no way you should have been placed there… more evident since you are here… Which means you either ran away or were tossed out… Probably the latter knowing them,” he said griping his wand tightly in his pocket.

Harry looked to the others and nodded. All of them relaxed. “Mr. Lupin. May I call you Remus or Moony?” Harry asked in a much friendlier tone.

Remus seemed to snap out of his anger. He was furious about what happened, but that wasn’t important. He had the chance he really wanted here. He could be there for Harry. He could help James’ and Lily’s son. He gave a smile as he said to Harry, “Yes. You may call me either of those. May I call you Harry?”

Harry smiled and nodded. “I’m glad I finally get to meet you, Moony. I may have been kicked out by the Dursleys, but it was for the best. I have family here, even if not by blood. Hopefully we can be family as well,” Harry said.

“I would like that. I may not be a Street Knight, but I promised myself if we met again, I would do what I could to live up to their motto with you, Harry,” he said.

Harry grinned. “Good! I always do that myself. After all… I’m not just a Street Knight. I’m also a Badger. It'd look pretty bad for my house, if I didn’t live up to the Street Knight motto,” he said.

Remus gave a laugh. “I wish your father was still alive, Harry. It would have been funny to see his over exaggerated sadness you weren’t a Gryffindor like him. However… he’d soon smile and say, ‘I’ll just have to be the dad to best Badger who ever attended Hogwarts’. Your mom would be happy you were less likely to be a slacker like your father was early on, since you were in the house of the hard working,” Remus said with a smile as Harry and the others laughed to that.

“Tell me more,” Harry said eager to listen.

“Only if you tell me all about your first year and a half at Hogwarts,” Remus countered.

Harry smiled and said, “Deal!”

The group all felt they received their best Christmas Present ever early that night as Remus shared his tales of James and Lily. Harry and Hermione enjoyed sharing the tales of their first year at Hogwarts. Luna was able to happily pitch in some when it came to the current school year. Remus was really interested when she got to the part about them all attending a Deathday Party. Harry really had himself some interesting friends. James and Lily would be proud of him for that. The group’s many stories continued late into the night before they finally went to bed.

Chapter 32: Christmas Surprises

Notes:

This is probably the longest chapter of this story so far. I first go into more explicit sex scenes here. Nothing too major. It is touching and feeling. That kind of thing. I will be providing warnings before such scenes start and a note when the scenes end.

I wanted to have a good bit happen additionally in this chapter. That way people will realize that while the story has sex scenes, they are not going to be the main focus. I would like it if you told me what you think, if you decide to read those parts.

“I still can’t believe Sirius was thrown into Azkaban without a trial. You said you found out he was your Godfather and underwent the godparent ritual. That means he is completely innocent. Surely, it would have been mentioned in your parents’ Will,” Remus said as he sat at a table waiting for breakfast with Harry and the others.

“It is mentioned in their Will. The thing is, Dumbledore had the Ministry’s copy sealed. I only learned about it because Gringotts has a copy as well. They were the ones to execute it. You are mentioned in it as well, but it requires you to make an appearance at Gringotts without them summoning you. I think they expected you to be there when the Will was read. I doubt my parents thought Dumbledore would seal it away,” Harry said.

“And he did so despite it being wrong and knowing so himself. Just because he thought Lily gave you protection which required you live with blood relatives. But it isn’t required and you don’t need to be with them. He probably didn't even verify you had this protection,” Remus said as he shook his head.

It seemed too many people were holding Dumbledore on a pedestal. Everyone, including himself, figured the old headmaster knew what was best and always did the right thing. It seemed even Dumbledore was human after all.

“So, what will you do?” Harry asked.

“I’ll pay Gringotts a visit. Since most of my work is in the muggle world, I use one of the banks associated with them for my banking, so I don't frequent the actual bank. I have no idea what your parents would have left me and I doubt the goblins told you what it was,” Remus said.

“That’s right. They mentioned to me you were in it and if I ever came across you to pass on the message. They couldn’t send you something saying as such, but I could. I’m sorry for not sending you an owl, but I’m not sure it would be safe. It would seem odd if I sent you an owl considering we never met and I shouldn't know who you are yet. I figured that would tip Dumbledore off and he would do something claiming it was for my own good. I don’t want to fight him and I doubt he is secretly evil, but he does act like most elderly people do. He thinks he knows best in all things. Even if he was usually be right, usually isn’t the same as always,” Harry said.

He left unsaid the parts about feeling maybe he was abandoned by Remus, since he was left alone with the Dursleys. Those feelings quickly left once he knew the man had no idea he was staying with them. Remus had made it very clear he would have done something if he knew that happened. Harry felt this was a true chance to start again with each other without anything, including feelings of resentment, getting in the way.

“I think your approach was probably the wisest option. Let Dumbledore think he is right and things going as he wants. To me, it says something that he hasn’t bothered to check up on you all of these years. It does not say something good though,” Remus said.

“What do you think we should do about Sirius?” Hermione asked.

Remus was in thought for a moment going over ideas. “I think you are all taking the right steps there. We need to make sure everything is done properly in that regard. Otherwise Fudge is just as likely to try and sweep things under the rug, no matter the cost, then see this fixed. If it is handled properly and proposed to him as a way to correct a previous administration’s mistakes... he will be much more likely to see Sirius gets that trial,” he said.

“That’s what we were thinking. Susan said she would try to carefully get the idea in her aunt’s head this holiday break,” Hermione said.

“That will be a big help,” Remus started. He then gave a chuckle.

“What is it?” Luna asked.

“I was just thinking James would probably be disappointed his son was using such a connection to make sure the rules were followed, instead of getting away with breaking them,” Remus said with a smile.

Harry laughed to that and smiled. “I get the feeling there is a lot I’ve done that would disappoint the marauder in him. Yet my mother would be proud I wasn’t as eager to get in trouble,” he said with a grin.

“That I will agree with. However… He couldn’t have been prouder you were going to such lengths to help someone important to you,” Remus said.

“I really wish I could just sit here and listen to stories about my father, mother, and all of you,” Harry said.

Remus gave a chuckle. “We would need a time turner just so there would be enough time for half of the tales I have. I’m just glad we’ve finally met and we can bemoan not having enough time for old school tales about your father,” Remus said with a smile.

“You are here now. That means Harry and you can talk like this any time he returns from Hogwarts,” Davey said. She turned to Harry and smiled warmly to him. “I’m really very happy for you, Harry.”

“What is a time turner?” Hermione asked after trying to hold in her question for just a moment longer. She didn't want to interrupt Remus' stories about their days in school. Unfortunately, she couldn't hold back her eagerness for long.

“It is as it says. Time turners are very rare and controlled by the ministry. They’re hour glasses that you can turn and thus wind back time. Depending on their size, they work for an hour to at max a whole day per full turn,” Remus explained.

“That sounds amazing!” Hermione said in awe.

“Yes, but they have drawbacks,” Luna said in warning.

“What are they?” Hermione asked with a little frown.

“Your body is still awake that whole time. Meaning if you use an hour long time turner four times in a day, you are actually experiencing a total of 28 hours,” Luna said.

“Wow… That could be really bad…” Hermione said.

“That is why they’re controlled by the ministry. You also can’t bump into your previous self or be seen by others as you turn back time,” Remus explained.

“What would you do to offset the main drawback?” Hermione asked.

“How do you think you could offset it?” Remus couldn’t help but ask. He liked helping others find the solution to their questions. It was something James and Sirius had hated about him at times.

Harry was the first to reply after a moment. “Extra turns. That way you have time to rest and recuperate,” he said.

“Very good, Harry. If I was a professor, I would give Hufflepuff ten points for your answer,” Remus said with a smile.

Harry grinned to that. He didn’t usually care about getting points, but getting them from someone like Remus? That would be worth feeling good about accomplishing.

“I suppose you would also need to do something to remind yourself of the actual days too… Do you physically age while turning back time?” Hermione asked.

“You do, but minimally. It would take a lot of time turner usage to actually be noticeable. In someone your age, everyone would just think you were going through a growth spurt,” Remus said. Hermione nodded in thought to that.

“Did you have anything planned for today?” Harry asked Remus.

“Nothing that can’t be changed. I was going to mostly enjoy some Christmas tea in front of the fire in my apartment, as I read a book with the radio on low in the background. That isn’t really much different from my usual evenings though. Did you have something you wanted to do?” Remus asked. He then looked to Davey and added, “Apart from giving it your all while caroling tonight with Miss Davey here?”

Davey grinned to that from where she was cooking breakfast.

“There is something I would like to do before that. I do plan to give it my all while caroling though. I did promise her,” Harry said. He was glad Remus mentioned that, he might have almost forgotten.

“What is it?” Remus asked curiously.

“Something we can do after breakfast,” Harry said just as Luna got up to set the table for Davey.

[-] [-] [-]

“This is interesting. I’ve never come to this part of the Rust District,” Remus said as he crouched down and seemed to examine the ground in the area where they stood.

“I’ve felt the energy here plenty of times,” Harry started.

“This area isn’t being used for anything?” Remus asked.

Harry shook his head. “It’s mostly ignored by the Knights and everyone else,” Harry answered.

“I’ve felt it too. Last Christmas when I visited. It feels stronger this time though,” Hermione said with a worrying frown.

Luna was blinking in awe as she looked around the place. Why hadn’t she felt this sooner?! The Wrackspurts were really zipping around excitedly. It was like they felt at home or something. More at home than they did during their best days in the past.

“That’s because this place is protected by ancient power and you are closer to it. There are old protections here as well. Some that I will admit are impressive,” Remus said as he looked around and seemed to sense something.

“What all does it mean? Is this why I haven’t been noticed by the Ministry?” Harry asked.

Remus looked to him in question. “You’ve done something that should be noticed by the ministry?” he asked.

Harry shook his head. “Not me in particular. This summer a strange house elf visited me. He kept going on and on about how I was the great Harry Potter sir and shouldn’t return to Hogwarts. He never really said why,” Harry replied. He felt like there was something more he should add, but it didn’t really seem to come to him at the moment. He was more concerned about what this place was anyways.

“He used his magic in a way that should have gotten me noticed and a warning letter at least,” Harry explained further.

Remus nodded to himself in thought. “I will need to examine it a little more, but it is very possible this place is a source,” he said.

“What does that mean?” Hermione asked.

Luna’s eyes were wide. “It means this is a place magic comes from. A place that produces its own magic energy!” she answered excitedly.

“Exactly. Again. If I were a Hogwarts professor, I would award you points for your answer, Miss Lovegood,” Remus said. Luna beamed to that. She wasn’t usually the type to earn points.

“Is the Rust District safe?” Harry asked in worry.

“Very much so. In fact… With the right wards and such. This place could be a magical community,” Remus said. He was eager to look more into this place.

“Like Diagon Alley,” Hermione said.

“Yes. But much bigger. It might also partly explain why the Rust District is usually left alone or forgotten, even by muggles. This could have at one time in the past been a bustling magical community. Many used to exist when we were more scattered throughout, but have since been forgotten,” Remus said.

“Could it be again? What about the muggles in this area?” Harry asked. This could be something amazing. Something he would want to help make happen. He needed to know more though.

“I would have to look around. Depending on the age… It could even be legally grown without alerting the ministry right away. It could also be an exception to the Statute of Secrecy. All of the people here, including the muggles, could be considered in the know so to speak. Similar to how Miss Granger’s parents are,” he explained.

Remus saw a lot of potential here. Judging from the look in his vivid green eyes, Harry saw just as much or even more then he did.

Harry looked to him seriously and said, “Do what you can to verify that. This could be a place for magicals similar to the Rust District for muggles if that is the case.” Harry hoped it was. Meeting Remus and knowing what he did about werewolves, and sometimes even muggleborns after Hogwarts. He wanted to help the best he could.

Remus studied Harry carefully. “ James. My departed friend. It seems your son is thinking up something even grander than your greatest schemes at Hogwarts all combined, ” he thought as a smile grew on his face.

“I give you my word I will, Harry. I would be honored to do so. I can tell you have something extraordinary planned,” Remus said to the young man.

“Just the beginning stages…” Harry said.

Hermione held on to Harry in awe. She didn’t know what he could be thinking. If he really was thinking to start a magical community… That was something she never dreamed she would be witness to in her life.

“ How could boring old bookworm me get caught up in all of this? ” she wondered to herself. She wasn’t really complaining at all, but she was overwhelmed by the atmosphere she felt. She wondered if this is what people felt in the days of old, when they became a part of something they knew would go down in history.

Luna watched as the Wrackspurts acted so different than ever before. She felt it was like they were telling her she just witnessed a moment in magical history being made. She wondered what it would be. She was also starting to think her heart was even more doomed than it was earlier. There was something drawing her to Harry it felt like and it was now growing some. It was exciting and worrying for her. Her life would be very different from now on. She felt that mostly would be a good thing though.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry was lying awake in his bed that Christmas Night after they returned from caroling. It was a bit difficult sleeping without Hermione, but usually he managed it after some time. This night however, he was thinking on different things and sleep was more difficult to come by.

Harry was roused from his musings when he heard his door open. He looked up and saw a familiar beauty with wild hair. Harry smiled as he asked, “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Hermione blushed as she closed the door behind her. She came over and sat on the edge of the bed for the moment. “I didn’t want to spend Christmas Night without you. I figured you would feel the same way,” Hermione said.

Harry sat up and warped his arms around her. He took in her scent as held her tight. “I was just thinking how I really missed sleeping with you,” Harry whispered in her ear.

Hermione turned around and kissed him with blushing cheeks. The light in his room was just enough he could make out her lovely rosy cheeks. He kissed her again and deepened it. The two continued that until they broke apart for air. They both felt they really needed that kiss.

[-] [-] [-] (NSFW material starting here)

Hermione stood up and blushed anew. “Harry…” she started softly.

“Yes?” he responded.

“I want you to lay down and close your eyes until I tell you it is okay to open them,” she said. She was going to give him that special Christmas present she planned.

Harry looked her over one more time and laid back down before closing his eyes.

Hermione was still blushing as she made sure Harry wasn’t peeking. She fully intended to show him all of her, but was a little embarrassed to do so at this moment. She was taking steps. They were progressing faster than most would agree with in general, but she didn’t care. She wanted this.

She also wanted Harry to look at her whenever he wanted. Maybe in the future she would make a habit of always getting completely naked before getting in bed with him. Her heart beat faster at that thought. There was that very sex-oriented part of her that wanted to body to be fully accessible to Harry at all times. Hermione always felt embarrassed by that part of her, even if she indulged in it a decent amount when playing with herself.

Hermione swallowed and let out a breath she was holding. Harry was about to say something, but she placed a finger on his lips. She knew he was going to give her an out and she would probably take it, but she didn’t want to do the noble thing here. She wanted to do the naughty thing.

“Here goes nothing,” Hermione said quietly.

Harry blushed as he heard the sound of rustling clothes. He was really getting excited now. He was starting to think sleep wouldn’t happen tonight.

Hermione blushed as she removed her pajama bottoms and then removed her panties. She placed them neatly and tucked away in a corner of the room. She didn’t want anyone to accidentally see them if they looked in on the two of them. She actually gave a gasp as she felt the cool but still pleasant air on her bare pussy. She blushed and realized she was already dripping a little down there due to her excitement.

She came over and lifted the bed sheets. She paused and stared in awe for a moment. Harry was hard. She really was very tempted to go all in tonight after all. “That damnable sex crazed horny brain part of me! ” she swore to herself.

It wasn’t fair. Harry looked so big, even with his pants on. She squirmed a little as her horny brain gave her all kinds of deliciously naughty thoughts about his cock. She once again cursed herself for reading those really naughty books, even if they were so trashy but wonderful.

Harry blushed. He felt Hermione staring at him. She was staring at his crotch in particular. He might have done something, but he was too focused on his thoughts of how she was at least partially naked. His sharpened senses could pick up her scent as well. It was so very wonderful, naughty and stronger than usual.

Soon he felt her warmth against him. He instinctively went to wrap his arms around her. Right away she made a ridiculously cute and sexy sound as his fingers came in contact with her warm bared skin.

“Y-y-you can open your eyes now,” Hermione said quietly in a higher than normal voice.

Harry did. It was much easier to not have to focus on keeping his eyes shut. He was both relieved and disappointed when he saw she was wearing her usual night clothes. He soon got over that, because he was feeling her wonderful smooth and warm lightly tanned skin. Hermione let out cute noises as he caressed her.

“Should I stop?” Harry asked after a moment. He was worried maybe he was taking too many liberties here with her.

“No…” Hermione said breathlessly. “I wanted to do this as a Special Christmas present for you,” she said.

Hermione then shifted a bit so she could kiss Harry. “And for me too…” she said softly to him. She then took his hand and started to guide it along her body. She then guided it up her night shirt and on to her breasts. She wasn’t wearing a bra or anything under her loose-fitting night shirt. She let out a sensual sound as she said, “Touch all you want tonight.”

Harry blushed and swallowed. He couldn’t believe how amazing this was. She was giving him so much permission. He gave her a kiss. He then moved his hand from the underside of her boob and ran it along her smooth warm stomach. He wanted to ease into the really good stuff. Hermione had so much warm and lovely skin to touch and such a lovely scent to enjoy. There was no reason to rush.

Hermione gasped as Harry touched her on her stomach. She had no idea how that alone could feel so wonderful and sexy in this situation. She really hoped Harry touched her plenty. She would wait until he went for her privates. It would be more than worth it. She wasn’t going to hold herself back tonight either. If Harry’s actions got her to orgasm? Then Harry would just get to see his girlfriend orgasm for the first time. She was pretty sure he wouldn’t be complaining about that.

Harry kept kissing her along her neck and every now and then on her lips when she turned her head to better face him. Harry never realized how amazing girls were. He knew Hermione was wonderful, but she was even more amazing and wonderful than he thought. He wanted to do all he could to make her happy and pleased.

Harry placed a hand to her bare butt. It was very warm. Harry’s heart started to beat faster. He had come to really love Hermione’s butt for some reason, and now he was getting to touch it without any clothing in the way. It was really intense, even if he really liked it. Hermione’s less than subtle sounds of approval weren’t helping matters either.

Harry gave her a long kiss and decided he would touch there and see how she reacted. Hermione’s breathing was fast, she was lightly sweating and her face had a lovely flush to it. She gave him a look he couldn’t quiet place, other than as really hot. She also had a couple of hair strands plastered to side of her face by sweat. It was a heavenly sight to behold.

Harry’s hand lowered and Hermione’s breath sped up and she moaned in apprehension. She was surprised her heart beat couldn’t be heard throughout all of the Rust District. She had loved all Harry was doing to her, but she was really eager now. She was really horny and wanted a sweet release! She knew what he was thinking of doing and she wanted to feel it as well.

Hermione was half tempted to place his hand where he wanted to go and beg him to stop being cautious and do it already. Her body was his to touch and feel and play with as he wanted tonight. That included her drenched pussy and anus.

It was then that the door opened and Hermione and Harry both gasped and quickly tried to hide under the covers, even though they were perfectly covered as it was. Hermione was blushing up a storm. She should have just gotten in bed and pulled her pajama bottoms and panties down instead of taking them off completely. What would she do if this person, or anyone else, threw off the bed sheets?

[-] [-] [-] (End of NSFW scene)

“Awww…” a cute light voice whined from the door way.

“Luna?!” Harry and Hermione asked together. They actually looked to see who it was instead of pretending to be asleep, in some vague hope they would be left alone.

Hermione blushed as she saw it was indeed Luna. She was in that far too sheer nightgown for Hermione’s taste. Really… Luna was lucky Harry didn’t have his glasses on. With the lighting from the door behind Luna, it looked like she wasn’t even wearing panties under that really sheer, pretty much transparent, nightgown. Hermione thought it was far too adult for the girl. It even caused her to think confusing thoughts when she saw it the first night she and Luna went to sleep together.

“I didn’t think you two would leave me alone…” Luna said with a sad sniff.

Hermione and Harry looked to each other and sighed. “You can climb in as well. If you want,” Harry said.

Luna seemed to instantly cheer up and she closed the door again. The small girl came over to the bed.

“You’re on the other side of Harry,” Hermione quickly clarified.

She was only a bit relieved it was Luna and not someone else. She still didn’t want the girl picking a spot that would give away she was naked from the waist down. Also, by this point, her night shirt was riding rather high, even if she was still comfortable.

Luna climbed in and snuggled up to Harry and gave a lovely smile. Harry wished Luna had at least waited a while longer, but he couldn’t stay mad at her cute face. She was also very warm there next to him. Her breathing quickly evened out and grew soft as the girl seemed to seek him out even more in her sleep. It was far too cute to be fair.

Harry gulped, as he realized something. “Oh no… I’m in bed with two really cute witches and one of them is mostly naked while the other is barely wearing anything at all, ” he thought. Harry really hoped when they woke up, the girls wouldn’t be upset to see him sporting a morning boner.

Hermione really felt frustrated. Luna had to just happen to come in now… There wasn’t anything that could be done about it, but she wouldn’t be surprised if she was still really wound up come morning. She blushed as she realized something. Harry was probably still hard. Luna shouldn’t have to accidentally discover that about boys yet. She was too young… right? It wasn’t just because Hermione wanted an excuse to maybe get a little relief to the fire in her core.

Whatever the case. Hermione shifted positions so she was actually laying on top of Harry and his erection. She shifted herself so she wouldn’t be crushing it. With a little maneuvering, that Harry persevered through somehow, Hermione seemed to find the perfect spot. She could feel him against her and he didn’t seem uncomfortable. He even seemed a little grateful. Maybe he was worried about Luna accidentally finding that part of him too?

Eventually both Harry and Hermione fell asleep as well.

[-] [-] [-] (Kind of naughty scene)

Once morning came, Hermione was the first to wake up. She felt strange as she lay there on the cusp of waking. It was as if there was a weight on top of her. She also seemed to have rolled off of Harry in the night. Hermione opened her eyes slowly and took in a morning breath that seemed different. It had a certain different taste to it or something. It wasn’t a strong difference, just barely noticeable.

When Hermione opened her eyes fully, she blinked quickly a few times. She then blushed. She then stared in shock. Luna’s crotch was right in her face. It seemed the blonde girl moved around in her sleep. Hermione blushed more as she looked up a little and realized Luna’s far too mature night gown was only half on the girl right now.

Hermione blushed deeper as she saw one of Luna’s small growing breasts on full display with a bright pink and hardened nipple. She also wasn’t fully sure that wasn’t the top of Luna’s pussy peeking out. Her panties seemed to have moved downward in the night somehow. The younger girl seemed far too relaxed as she continued to sleep in such a manner.

“That girl… ” Hermione thought. She would say Luna was cute and there was a part of her that wouldn’t mind seeing much more of Luna, in the right circumstances, but she really didn’t want Luna’s crotch in her face like this. She was really glad the girl didn’t have morning gas or anything. Hermione had no idea what to do here tough. She didn’t want to accidentally knock Luna off the bed or do something worse.

Luna shifted again in her sleep. She seemed to somehow roll over fully while staying on top of Hermione. Luna’s panties seemed even lower now. Hermione blushed and panicked a little. She really didn’t want to see Luna’s exposed butt and anus first thing in the morning.

Hermione’s movement caused Luna to wake up and the two jostled a little while Luna was still sleepy. The girls then fell out of the bed and crashed to the floor. Luna’s panties came fully off and Hermione was now pretty much face first in the younger girl’s exposed crouch. On top of that, Hermione's waist was still visible on the bed and pointing towards Harry.

“Oww…” Luna said as she woke up and then blushed. She was wide awake now, but dared not move. She just stared in shock. She had thoughts racing through her mind at Hermione’s position. There was also the fact she could tell Hermione hadn’t been wearing anything but her night shirt last night. She felt a little funny in that good but still embarrassing manner.

Harry began to stir on his bed.

“Harry! Don’t you dare sit up yet,” Hermione ordered in panic.

Harry remained laying down, but looked to the side and blushed. He could see all of Hermione. He could see her pussy with her rich brown tamed pubic hair and her puckered asshole. Harry blushed deeper. His erection decided it wanted to stand tall and proud at such a glorious and wonderful sight. His sharp senses also made this more difficult as he could smell Hermione’s scent. It was stronger because it was morning, like usual, but there was nothing covering her this time. It was actually a little intoxicating to him.

“Luna…” Hermione whispered to the other girl as she got her face out of the blond girl’s pussy. “Panties…” she said lowly as she looked to where they flew.

Luna blushed and grabbed them before quickly putting them on and standing up. Hermione soon followed her in standing up. She was blushing furiously. Harry had seen all of her… She wanted him to see all of her, but not in such an embarrassing way. She also didn’t like getting that close to Luna’s pussy by accident. She looked to the younger girl who was blushing and squirming a little where she stood as she looked back to her.

“Are you two okay?” Harry asked as he put on his glasses. He sat up at an angle where they hopefully wouldn’t see his morning wood.

Luna just blushed deeper and kept squirming as she looked at them both and Hermione in particular. She understood now what girls meant by saying there was a fire inside their nethers sometimes.

“We’re ummmm… fine…” Hermione said breathlessly. She looked to Luna who nodded. “Luna just has a tendency to move in her sleep it seems. We were in an awkward position as we woke up. That’s all.”

“As long as you two are okay,” Harry said.

“I think I’ll take the first shower,” Luna said as she left blushing. She was going to be making heavy use of the shower. Hopefully no one would hear her as she extinguished the burning heat building inside her.

Hermione looked to Harry and sighed. She sat down next to him on the bed.

[-] [-] [-] (NSFW stuff starts again.)

“Are you okay, Hermione?” Harry asked her as he placed an arm around her.

Hermione was blushing so much she was surprised steam wasn’t coming off of her cheeks. “Honestly?” she asked.

Harry nodded.

“No, I’m not. I’m even hornier than I was last night when Luna walked in on us,” she admitted with a cute pout as she looked away. She didn’t want to accidentally be that close to Luna’s pussy, but she still was and it got to her. There was that super perverted side of her that wanted to see how things would have played out with them in that situation if it progressed.

A sexually curious part of her wished she ‘accidentally’ on purpose took a slight lick. She wondered what other girls tasted like down there. She knew how she tasted. Damn! She was far too horny.

Harry blushed. He gave her a kiss and whispered to her, “Do you want us to do something about that?”

Hermione’s breath hitched. She sure did. She wanted to do so much! Probably more than she would if she wasn’t horny as bloody hell. “Might as well,” she said quietly and stood up.

“I intended to show you everything, but I didn’t want it in that kind of an embarrassing manner,” Hermione said. She took in a deep breath and tossed off her night shirt completely. She squirmed in a sexy way as she stood there with her hands behind her back. She would never admit it, but she was trying to further show off her body to Harry.

Harry looked over Hermione’s naked body in awe. He had a couple of times seen magazines, but they were nothing compared to seeing a girl naked in real life like this. There was also the fact Hermione was close to his age and not in her twenties or thirties like the women in those magazines.

He looked over her lightly tanned naked body. Her slight curves, with their pale pink nipples, really stood out thanks to her flat stomach. He also liked that she had hair down there. It seemed really hot and sexy to him. From what he saw of those magazines, the girls in them shaved down there. This was hotter to him. It was more primal, natural or something else hard to describe.

“A-a-a girl’s nipples aren’t usually poking out and hard… I’m really horny,” Hermione said while she kept blushing.

Harry absentmindedly nodded as he came over to her. He placed a hand on her cheek and gave her a kiss. “You’re beautiful,” he said breathlessly to her. He then caressed her body with his hand as he kept her lips busy. He was trying to keep her distracted from how he was probably flubbing this up to unimaginable heights.

He also kind of hoped she didn’t notice how hard he was. This was about her at the moment. He figured if they got too carried away, Luna or someone else might walk in on them again. He really liked the idea of helping her out here though. He would take care of himself in the shower, even if it wouldn’t be as wonderful as doing something with her.

“Harryyyy…” Hermione said in a breathy voice. “Do-do-do you want to see me back there too?” she asked.

Harry blushed. Hermione blushed as she got her answer non-verbally. Harry really was big for their age, so it was noticeable if he grew harder. She really wanted to explore that further sometime. She instead lightly separated from him and turned around while she blushed even further. She was surprised she wasn’t passing out from how overwhelming this was.

Harry looked to the curve of her backside. He felt it many times and seen it in her night clothes, but this was a million times better. He ran a hand along her butt cheeks. They felt so nice and warm. He blushed as he leaned in and took in a slight sniff without really meaning to. It was really amazing to him and more intoxicating this close. It was like concentrated Hermione, if that made any sense.

“C-c-can I spread them?” Harry asked about to kick himself. He wasn’t sure why, but he really wanted to see her asshole again and close like this. Hermione blushed and instead of giving him an answer, she placed her hands back there and spread her rear cheeks for him.

Harry blinked as he looked at her puckered back entrance. It was a thing of pure sexiness to him. He wasn’t sure why, but it was. He guessed he was what people called an ass man. He was further surprised when he saw a drop of clear liquid drip from her pussy. “Wow…” was all he could say as he inspected her closer.

Hermione couldn’t believe this. She was also surprised how wonderfully naughty posing like this for Harry was to her. “Harrrrry…” she whined a little. She really needed something, and she needed it now.

“Alright,” Harry started. “Ummmm… brace yourself? I’ll just touch your pussy… Ummmm… can you give me hints as we go?” he asked.

“Just do it!” Hermione said impatiently. She feared the universe would do something to stop them and make her feel even more crazy horny, if they didn’t hurry up. She didn’t mind feeling horny, but it was really building up and it would be too distracting throughout the day.

Harry gulped and hoped he got this right. He got close and took in a calming breath. He carefully placed a hand near her wet pussy. It was so amazing how girls were down there. Hermione took in a shuddering breath as she felt him touch her down there. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before! She’d even swear it was almost enough for her to orgasm at just that.

Harry was surprised how warm and wet she felt like this. He also liked hearing her sweet moans. Harry guessed he was really lucky she was so wound up. Otherwise he probably wouldn’t have been able to get her feeling good at all.

“Mmmmore…” Hermione cried in need.

Harry blushed. He wasn’t sure what to do. He blushed as he got a better angle. He could almost swear he felt heat radiating off of Hermione. He looked the best he could. He then took a finger and inserted it into her pussy, which seemed to have bloomed a little.

“Hmmmmm!” Hermione moaned out. That felt amazing to her! “Keep it up!” she cried out cutely in need.

Harry gulped and started to push his finger in and out of her. Hermione seemed to shudder in response to his actions. Harry then cupped his hand on her so he could better finger her. It was really hot touching her like this. Much better than even last night was, and that was amazing too!

Harry eventually dared to add another finger. That seemed to really get Hermione off. She moaned out and threw her head back in pleasure. She then seemed to give into instinct as she started to move in a way that matched his fingers' movements. “Hmmmmnnn. That. Feels. Good…” Hermione mumbled as she continued moving. It was so amazing for her. She never wanted to take care of things on her own again after this! That would be boring and bland by comparison.

Harry was in pure awe at how wet and warm and tight she felt. He also liked how she was moving like that. He was pretty sure the only reason he might make it to the shower in time is because he was using all of his focus on her. But damn was she making it difficult for him. He wouldn’t complain though. He really liked seeing this side of her. Hearing her sounds of pleasure really did something to him as well. He also saw how beautifully bright pink her face seemed from the side.

There was a part of him that was surprised how sexy girls were. He was surprised it wasn’t illegal to be honest. How wizards could stand a chance, he didn’t know. Hermione seemed to start to sweat just a little in her exertion and from the heat of the room. That was just plan unfair! It was too much how even sweat from girls could be sexy like this.

Harry started to pump his fingers faster. It was like some deep instinct knew what to do here. Hermione started moving faster and moaning more. Harry was worried maybe they would be heard by this point. He now sped up with purpose.

Hermione responded in kind and eventually threw her head back again and seemed to sing a song of pleasure to the high heavens! Her body shook a little with the most satisfying and intense orgasm she ever felt. She probably would have collapsed to the floor if she wasn’t already propping herself up. She was breathing deep ragged breaths as she sank to the floor.

“Wizards cheat! I swear…” Hermione thought to herself. They shouldn’t be allowed to use fingers like that on a witch. No witch could stand a chance, she was sure. It still felt so wonderful and she couldn’t help but give a very wide and dazed grin as she caught her breath.

Harry was staring in awe. He hadn’t even realized it would be like that. He started to slowly notice his pants felt sticky and warm. “Damn… Witches cheat. I swear! ” Harry thought as he blushed at the condition of his pants.

It also wasn’t fair that Hermione looked even more the wild beauty as she sat there on the floor. She leaned her back on the chair she used to keep herself up earlier. Her body was flushed and her chest was heaving as she caught her breath. Her hair was wilder and also slicked with sweat around her face. She also had a light sheen of sweat on her body, which looked like something from a dream.

Hermione then stood up and with that wide grin, came over and gave Harry a big naked and sweaty hug. Harry blushed as he returned it. He would need that shower after all it seemed. Witches really did cheat.

“I love you…” Hermione said in a breathy whisper as she hugged him and kept grinning happily.

Harry swallowed and said, “I love you too.” He hugged her back. He always liked her hugs, but this was probably the best Hermione hug yet. It was too warm, sweaty, and her scent was almost too strong for his unusually sharp senses. It was still the best despite all of that.

[-] [-] [-] (NSFW scene ends.)

Breakfast that morning clearly wasn’t awkward or anything. Luna just happened to look to Harry, then to Hermione, then blush and repeat a few times. Nothing more! She also just happened to look at Hermione a little more and blush deeper every so often. Nope, that clearly didn’t mean anything.

Nothing at all embarrassing happened that morning and her shower for sure wasn’t much longer than needed. Nor did she… enjoy… herself during the shower in a way that would get Mrs. Weasley to call her a Scarlet Woman. Nope, nothing like that at all.

Fortunately, Remus, who was joining them for breakfast again, and Davey didn’t ask questions. Davey did give Luna and Hermione each a look briefly, but it seemed more like a cat-who-caught-the-canary look than anything showing she was upset. She did look to Harry and chuckle a little mischievously at him. Harry was very certain once Hermione and Luna left, Davey would be grilling him for answers just as a way of teasing him.

“So…” Davey started.

Luna seemed to sit up straighter and blush as she took extra interest in her plate of food.

“What do you have planned for today?” Davey asked. She tried not to take too much pleasure in the way Luna reacted.

“Harry and I will look more into that area with the energy,” Remus said.

“Then we’ll bring it up with Boss. I have some ideas I want to run pass him,” Harry said.

“That sounds good. What will you two do? You aren’t being picked up until tomorrow afternoon,” Davey said looking to Luna and Hermione.

“I guess we’ll pack,” Hermione said.

“Already?” Luna asked curiously.

Hermione nodded and smiled to her. “We’ll leave out the clothes we want to wear tomorrow and pack most everything else. That way we’ll have the evening and afternoon free,” she said. Luna nodded and smiled to that.

[-] [-] [-]

“How old is that structure?” Remus asked as he and Harry walked around the area. He was looking towards what looked like an old small castle tower or something of the sorts.

“Not sure. It's always been here from what I’ve heard. Some think it was here even during medieval times. If it was… It really would have taken magic to keep it from falling apart,” Harry replied.

He looked thoughtfully at the building in question. He never really dared look too closely at it. It seemed a little too unnecessary as a risk, even if it was very interesting. He was busy most of his time in the Rust District though. There was so much more to area than one building that may or may not be a ruin from a few centuries back.

Remus hummed in thought. “I will take a closer look at it another time. It could be very dangerous and even if you are very competent with magic… You are still a second year student,” he explained to Harry.

“That’s why I thought to bring this up to you. I’m brave. Some would even say very brave. However…” Harry started as he gave Remus a grin. “I’m not in Gryffindor,” he said.

“And that’s a bad thing how? It is the House of the Brave and the Courageous,” Remus replied.

“Yeah… But there are limits before bravery and courage become foolishness and recklessness. Gryffindors don’t usually figure that out until they’ve already gone too far,” Harry said.

Remus paused in his steps and then let out a laugh. “I can see why people would think that. And I wouldn’t really argue with them too much on the matter,” he said as he gave another chuckle.

The two laughed a little longer before getting back to their current goal. They were doing their best to get an understanding of how big the magical area was physically. Remus told them the physical area would tell you how big the magical area could be without causing a strain on the region’s magic. The physical area still had to exist, even if it could be hidden away before adding things such as expansion wards. He emphasized you had to use expansion wards and not an expansion charm, that was too temporary for actual physical land.

“I suppose we should meet with Jett now,” Harry said after they finished looking over the area.

Remus nodded. “I know what I need to do. Once we get his permission and you head back to Hogwarts, I’ll get started. Finding out the age of that building will be key. I have a feeling it is a magical property. If it is old enough, we won’t have to actually get formal permission from the ministry until we are ready to make the place a formal magical community. We will just make sure nothing happens to draw their attention before then,” he said.

“Why do you want to start building the community before telling them?” Harry asked curiously.

“If we do that, it will be easier to get their approval and convince them this place is an exception to many of the rules. If they get involved now… That would be a lot of bureaucracy and the ministry will get heavily involved and the final community won’t be the place you want it to be. They would relocate all of the muggles in this area. They would make it blend in as much as possible with muggle society,” Remus said.

“What exactly does that mean?” Harry asked.

“It means strip malls, offices, maybe some higher end housing towards the edges. The full works of everything you want to avoid. They would want to limit the number of muggles who could possibly be exposed to magic by as much as possible. The effective way of doing so is making sure the area around the magical community is as exclusive or limited as possible when it comes to muggles in the area,” Remus said.

“But malls and offices would have a lot of muggles in the area,” Harry stated.

“They have no problem with people coming here for business or shopping, so long as most leave and live somewhere else. It is easier to repel muggles by making them eventually remember something they need to do after some shopping, then trying something similar if their home is in the area,” Remus replied.

“But Diagon Alley is in a pretty populous place with a lot of businesses,” Harry started.

“Hermione was right to compare this place to Diagon Alley. It too is an exception to many of the laws. It is a very old magical community. Many think it goes back as far as the 1500s. Some of the buildings in the area go back much further. It wasn’t until about the 1500s it was formally recognized as a magical community, even if it is mostly shops and businesses itself,” Remus explained.

“It too dates back to before the Statute of Secrecy,” Harry supplied in understanding.

Remus nodded. “And it was already a rather bustling magical community before it was formally recognized.”

[-] [-] [-]

“This is something you want to do, Harry?” Jett asked seriously.

“It is. I will do all I can to help with it. I will fully commit to it. The magical world needs to learn the way of the Street Knights. I view this community, especially if it will become as amazing as I believe it will, as the perfect chance to introduce our ways. I also think it will really help out the Rust District as a whole,” Harry said.

Jett stared at Harry and the boy returned the stare. Jett soon smiled. He wouldn’t say it, but in this moment, he felt almost like he believed a proud father would of their son. “I like it. We will need to learn a lot more first and it will be hard work. I still like it. It will be nice to see that part of the district put to a good use,” Jett said.

Harry smiled widely to that. He felt great about this. He was sure this would be amazing. He also felt like he was making Jett proud of him at this very moment.

“I give you permission to do all you deem necessary to fully understand what that area truly is. We will help as much as we can,” Jett said to Remus. He was showing the man the Knights would fully back him and Harry in this endeavor.

“I will help as much as I can as well. I can even fund it a lot too… Soon at least…” Harry said.

“How is that? I believe you can only access the trust vault your parents set up at this moment,” Remus couldn’t help but ask.

Harry smiled. “That’s right. I hadn’t gotten to that part yet. The goblins are currently fully assessing the value of my vaults. I can’t do too much with the money personally, but from what I have read… Payments can be made directly through Gringotts. That would allow my family’s accountant to see the money is being used properly and keep track to make sure I don’t bankrupt myself,” Harry said.

“When you say vaults… I get the feeling you don’t just mean your trust vault and the Potter family vault,” Remus said.

Harry nodded. “I think it is time I tell you more about what I discovered when I visited Gringotts before the school year started,” Harry said.

“You might want to sit down for this, Mr. Lupin,” Jett said as he did so himself.

Remus had a feeling he was about to learn something that would send his mind reeling. He did at least think it would be a good kind of reeling. “ Either way… I doubt this will be a Christmas holiday I ever forget, ” Remus thought as someone brought in tea for them and Harry got ready to tell Remus more.

Chapter 33: New Year and New Worries

Luna gave a stretch as she woke up in her bed back at home. Her dad made it home a couple of days before she had to head back to Hogwarts and they were spending them together. She was surprised how much she ended up enjoying her holiday break over all. It had started off seeming it would be so lonely without her dad, but she ended up having the best Christmas since her mother died.

Hermione and her family really took a shine to having Luna over for Christmas. She felt very welcomed in their home. They even took her to see a bunch of muggle Christmas trees around the area.

Luna decided muggles definitely did the whole Christmas thing better than magicals. She thought the tree at Hogwarts was huge. It was nothing compared to some of the ones they showed her. She didn’t even get how they could grow trees that big and tall without magic.

She loved muggle Christmas lights more too. They didn’t have literal fairy lights, but the lights they did have were more impressive to her. Luna also really liked the whole Santa thing. Hermione said he wasn’t real, but she agreed with Luna he would probably be a wizard. There was no other way he could cover pretty much whole world in one night, even if you took into account time zones and such.

The Ravenclaw first year did apologize to Hermione a couple of times in private for what happened in the Rust District. She had felt really lonely Christmas Night, but she would have waited a bit before joining them, if she knew what Hermione had planned. That was part of the reason she took her time in the shower the next morning. She wanted to give them time to be with each other in that kind of a way. She also felt really hot and bothered after Hermione was that close to her privates.

Luna did really enjoy herself in that shower. She had a lot of ideas pass through her head. They involved both Hermione and Harry. Though given what happened, Hermione occupied more of her thoughts. Luna decided she was far too sexually curious for her good. Part of her really wanted to see Hermione back there too. Luna was surprised she kind of wanted to do that atomic sit-up thing with Hermione standing above her. " Perhaps that's why the Wrackspurts acted the way they did at that time, " Luna thought to herself.

Luna blushed as she rolled to her side. She really didn’t get why she was interested in these things so much. She really wished her mom was here, or at least she had someone she could talk to about it. She was curious about it all! She couldn’t ask her dad though. That was not only too embarrassing, but he wouldn’t know what to do. He would probably run off to follow some sudden lead he forgot if she asked him about that kind of stuff.

She couldn’t really ask Ginny’s mom either. Ginny was still acting weird as it was. Luna really was worried her oldest friend no longer wanted anything to do with her. Even if things were still good between them, Luna was pretty sure Mrs. Weasley was the last person to ask about such things. If she knew what Luna was thinking, Mrs. Weasley would probably call her a scarlet woman. The term didn’t really have an exact meaning, but Luna knew it wasn't a nice thing.

Luna sighed and sat up again. She stretched once more, but this time made her way to her bathroom. She would get her mind off of things and enjoy the time she had with her daddy before the break was over. She would have to thank both Harry and Hermione again when she saw them. She would also ask them how she could show her thanks to Davey, and Hermione’s parents.

[-] [-] [-]

“How was Luna over the second half of the break?” Harry asked as he and Hermione sat in a compartment on the train. They were waiting for the others to join them.

“She was a lot of fun! We loved getting to show her a muggle Christmas. She really liked it too. She also had plenty to talk about with my parents and kept from going too Luna on them. I can appreciate her thoughts now, but it would have been too confusing for my parents. Magic at a very basic level is confusing enough for them,” Hermione said with a fond smile.

“Was she a problem when it came to sleeping?” Harry asked.

“No, she wasn’t. I think it’s because it was just the two of us and I do have a big bed,” Hermione replied.

Luna did still move a little in her sleep, but the worst that happened was actually kind of cute. Hermione woke up a couple of times with Luna happily snuggling up against her. She even got used to Luna’s far too mature night clothes by the end of the holiday break.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Harry said with a smile.

“Hello, you two!” Hannah said as she and Susan entered the compartment.

“Did you have a good Christmas?” Susan asked.

“Yes. How about you two?” Harry replied.

“I did. I also mentioned what we discussed to my aunt,” Susan said.

“Any luck there yet?” Hermione asked.

“Too soon to know for sure, but she did have that look she gets when she’s figured something out. I think that’s a good sign,” Susan said.

“My Christmas was about the same as usual. It was nice though,” Hannah said next as the others looked to her.

The compartment door opened again and this time it was Luna. Hannah and Susan decided she looked a lot happier than she did before the break. The group then settled in and told each other more about their break.

[-] [-] [-]

At the new year school feast, Hannah had a rather pensive look on her face about half way through. “What’s on your mind?” Hermione asked.

“I’ll mention it when we get back to our room,” Hannah replied. She didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere. She also didn’t really want to be overheard by others.

When they got back to their room, Hermione looked to her and asked again, “What is on your mind?”

Hannah sighed. “We might want to sit down for this…” she said.

Once they were all seated, she spoke again. “Tell me. Did any of you mention what's been going on here this year to anyone?” Hannah asked.

They were in thought for a moment. “I’m talking about the chamber and the attacks in particular,” she added darkly.

Three sets eyes widened at that.

“No!” Hermione almost shouted in shock.

“I didn’t either… I would have mentioned something like that to my aunt for sure!” Susan said in disbelief.

Harry stood up and started to pace agitatedly. Why didn’t he mention that at all? He would have surely told Lupin about it. “What’s going on here? We even had a friend attacked,” he said.

“That’s what I want to know,” Hannah said. She shook her head. “I don’t like what I’m thinking… I really don’t. I didn’t say anything either. There were a couple of times I felt as if I wasn’t saying something I should about the year when talking to my parents…” she said.

“You just thought… It wasn’t anything worth ruining the Christmas mood for…” Susan answered in worry.

Hannah nodded.

Harry was glowering now. “It’s Dumbledore… It has to be!” he said.

“How?” Hermione asked in horror. She really didn’t like the idea of a headmaster doing something like this to their students. She couldn't think of another answer though.

Hannah made an agitated sound. “The only thing I can think of is a compulsion charm of some kind,” she said through gritted teeth.

“That can’t be legal…” Hermione said in a pleading voice.

Susan swallowed. “It could be… It could be justified as sort of using a long lasting and more powerful but subtle cheering charm almost. Dumbledore’s also really respected… All he’d have to do was say something along the lines of wanting his wonderful students to enjoy their Holiday Break. He could even say he underestimated it would be that intense,” she said.

“I really don’t want to hate Dumbledore… But he’s only giving me reasons to do so with this whole chamber thing,” Harry said as he sat down. Why couldn’t the headmaster just solve the problem already? He clearly knew what was happening and he was even willing to go to such lengths to keep the students from leaking the information.

“You’re right, Harry," Hermione started with a sad sigh. “He is too focused on information control than actually solving the problem it seems.” She hated having to admit such a thing about a person in such an important position. There wasn't any other explanation coming to her mind.

The group weren’t sure what they could do about this though. It was rather disheartening to know their headmaster, who was supposed to have the students’ best interest at heart, didn’t really seem to care about what was happening. It was like Dumbledore felt it was too much of a hassle on his end to do anything about it all. He seemed to be banking on it only happening a couple of times before then ending.

“One thing is clear to me,” Harry started. The girls looked to him. “We’ll have to take it upon ourselves to solve a Hogwarts problem again,” he said with a frustrated sigh. The girls couldn’t think of a way to counter what he said.

[-] [-] [-]

Amelia Bones was not in a good mood. This wasn’t too unusual given her job, however the reason for her bad mood this time was very unusual. She couldn’t believe no one seemed to realize what was possibly happening at the ministry. She knew there was corruption, but she never knew they would purposefully throw someone into Azkaban without a trial.

Her niece mentioned something that got her thinking about what happened to Sirius Black. Everyone was sure he was responsible for the deaths of James and Lily Potter by handing them over, but he should have still had a trial. There was a very remote possibility he did and everyone forgot, but Amelia doubted that at the moment.

“Such an event would have been huge! No one should be wondering if the trial happened or not. It would have been all over the paper. People would probably still be talking about it even today! It would be used as an example for both Defense Attorneys and Prosecutors when it came to studying wizard law. It would be touted as a great Ministry success in putting someone so guilty and from such a proponent family in Azkaban. It would be their go to excuse whenever someone mentioned corruption in the ministry and how the old pure blood families seemed nigh untouchable, ” she thought to herself as she made her way to her destination.

She was going to look into the matter now. She would be careful with it as well. This needed to be done without much notice for now. She already had ideas on how to broach the subject with Minster Fudge in a way he couldn’t and wouldn’t say no. She needed to be fully sure first. She even had a plan on who to get to further investigate the matter. She needed to check the very basic things first.

“Morning, Madam Bones,” a clerk behind a desk greeted her.

“Morning, Clyde,” she returned.

“What brings you here?” Clyde asked.

“I need to look up some records on previous trials. It is for an ongoing investigation,” she said.

“Oh? Okay,” Clyde said as he handed her the sign-in sheet.

Amelia nodded as she signed in. “Will this be all?” she asked.

Clyde looked it over and nodded. “Remember. You can’t remove any files. You can make copies of them though,” he said.

Amelia shook her head. She knew he had to say this, but it really was annoying for her. This was far from her first rodeo. Looking through previous trials was common for an Auror. In fact, it was so common it gave her an idea on how to be even more thorough about this and not take up too many official resources.

“When you're finished, ring the service bell inside,” Clyde said as he opened the special doors to the records room for her.

“Thanks, Clyde. Have a good day,” Amelia said as he nodded in reply.

Once inside and alone, she sighed. This could take a while. It was important though. She would not allow such an injustice. It would look bad for the Ministry on a whole, but in particular the DMLE, if there was someone in Azkaban who never had a trial. Let alone if it was proven he was innocent. There was still a chance for them to make it right though.

[-] [-] [-]

It wasn’t long until everyone was back into the groove of school. Harry and the others started to look a little more in earnest for anything regarding the chamber, but weren’t having much luck. They were looking through books about creatures hoping to find what Slytherin’s beast could possibly be. There was a surprising number of things that could petrify. Sadly, they didn’t have much else to go on at the moment. There wasn’t much they could do to narrow it down.

They even tried writing down the little they did know on a magic board. It wasn’t much. A strange voice. Mrs. Norris’ attack and the puddle of water. The message about the heir and the chamber. Colin’s attack and his damaged camera. The chamber having been opened before years ago. Justin’s attack along with Nearly-Headless Nick.

It helped them keep track of everything, but they didn’t really have a place they could keep it outside of their dorm. They wanted to get Luna’s help on it, but they had to pass everything on by mouth to her or write it down on parchment. That did help, but seeing things written down on a board would help more. You could make connections that you didn’t from just hearing it said or seeing it scribbled out on parchment.

Harry and the others feared looking for help from their house mates on this matter. The Hufflepuffs would help in full force. Sadly, that would get Dumbledore’s attention. Given the headmaster was prone to covering up instead of solving the problem, they agreed that was a bad idea. There was no way he would just leave it be if a whole house was looking into the matter with strong determination.

“I wish there was a way we could look more into the last time the chamber was open…” Susan sighed for probably the hundredth time.

They tried that approach, but it seemed the Headmaster, or maybe his predecessor, covered up information from the previous incident. The group really hated how much people in power were more concerned with information control, even if they understood why. It did exactly what its purpose was. It made finding the truth more difficult.

“Even the lead from Draco all that time ago, didn’t pan out. You would think you could find something about the student who died. At the very least, a memorial at the school or something,” Hannah said with a frown.

“We’d have to go to the ministry for an archive of that. I might have tried to ask my aunt, but we know information is being controlled and controlled heavily. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were looking through correspondence on the matter. A spell that would find out if anything regarding the chamber or the attacks was mentioned. It could even be used to spoof a reply, if they were desperate enough. Which it seems Dumbledore is,” Susan said with a heavy frown.

That was another possible trick people tried she learned from her aunt. She was surprised how much her aunt’s lessons regarding Aurors and dark wizards were coming into play in her life. She didn’t want to be an Auror, but it almost felt like magic was trying to pull her that direction for whatever reason at times. It was like magic wanted her so used to such things that it only seemed natural for her to become an Auror after she graduated.

Hannah placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder and smiled at her. Hannah knew what was going through the mind of her friend to an extent at the moment. Susan smiled back to her in thanks after taking in a relaxing breath. She really was lucky to have such a great best friend.

“There’s also the whole Sirius thing. If she is taking action on that, she'll probably be very busy. Speaking of Aurors… I wonder how Tonks is doing,” Hermione said to the others.

They were all kind of wondering the same. “She hasn’t said anything to us. Maybe that means she is too busy with her Auror training. I kind of get the feeling if she had quit or failed out by this point, she would have said something to us. Even if it was only to have our support and let her focus on something different from leaving her dream behind,” Harry said.

[-] [-] [-]

Madam Bones sighed as she waited in her office for two people to arrive. She had no doubt they would be the best for this important case at this stage. She had not found a record of Sirius Black’s trial. At the same time, she felt she could trust these two to be as impartial as possible while also very determined to see this completed properly. That was key to taking any further action. The last thing she wanted was to allow someone loopholes to free other “potentially innocent” residents of Azkaban "unfairly tried". She had no doubt all of those so called innocents would have brazenly showed off their Dark Mark during their trial or something.

There was a knock on her office door. “Come in,” she called.

“You wanted to speak with us, Madam Bones? You haven’t forgotten I’ve made it clear I intend to retire after training my charge. Have you? I don’t want to be dragged further into DMLE business. I’ve had my time,” a grizzled man with a magical eye and wooden leg grumbled out.

“I have not forgotten, Alastor. I’ve come across something troubling, but a big part of it will be office work more or less. I figured it would be the perfect chance for you to get your charge, Ms. Tonks, familiar with assuring her cases are tied shut with little room for the accused to wiggle out of a conviction,” Madam Bones said.

“Oh?” Alastor Moody asked as his eye seemed to whiz about in its socket.

Next to him, a young woman fresh from Hogwarts looked a little astonished she was getting such treatment. She knew many had said they had high hopes for her, especially because of her unique abilities, but a personal assignment from the Head of the DMLE was unexpected. Her bright pink hair styled in a bob cut turned a little darker in color briefly.

“You do have the best conviction record. You would know what all to look for in a trial,” Madam Bones said.

Moddy nodded to that. “I’ve always hated office work in the past, but I knew how important it was,” he said.

“What are we going to do?” Tonks asked curiously.

“More like. What is this about,” Moody corrected.

Madam Bones took in a deep breath and let it out. “During the course of the holiday break, my niece mentioned something that really sparked my interest and got me racking my brain on something important,” she said.

Tonks couldn’t help but smile as she said, “That sounds like Susan. She was rather quiet compared to the others, but when she said something it was important and got you thinking.”

“That’s right. You were her RA,” Madam Bones said as Tonks nodded.

“What was it you discovered?” Moody asked.

“There is a chance, an awful chance, that there may be an innocent man in Azkaban. One who never received a trial,” Madam Bones said.

Moody’s scarred face grew dark at the implications of what she said. He had no sympathy for those in Azkaban, but that was because he was sure those there deserved it. Someone being there who didn’t have a trail? That was not to be taken lightly. “Who is it?” he asked.

“Surprisingly, it is the seemingly most notorious of criminals,” she said.

“You can’t mean…” Moody started as his eye started to whiz about even faster.

“I am referring to Sirius Black,” Madam Bones said.

“What?! My cousin?!” Tonks shouted. Madam Bones was thankful she had wards in place to keep from being overheard, even from the loudest of shouts in her office.

“It would seem so. I have checked the records myself and there is nothing mentioned of his trial. I also realized I don’t remember it actually taking place. I only remember everyone saying he was guilty and went straight to Azkaban,” she said.

“This is a very serious matter, Madam Bones,” Moody said.

“I know it is. That is why I want you two to thoroughly check over the records of trials from that time. There is a very remote possibility the record was lost. However, someone who people claim was as heavily involved in Death Eater activities as Sirius was, would be mentioned in other trials. His trial could also be sited when convicting others,” Madam Bones said.

“What will we do if it is discovered he didn’t have a trial? I don’t like the idea of others being given a second chance simply because he didn’t have a trial. In fact… I might even go so far as to say if he was used as evidence in other trials… Well… Official channels correcting this mistake should not be used,” Moody said.

“You can’t be suggesting my cousin be left to rot if it turns out he didn’t have a trail?! Can you?” Tonks asked in horror. She always figured Moody had the strongest sense of justice in the DMLE.

“I did make a point of only saying official channels be avoided,” Moody growled to her.

“Oh…” Tonks’ eyes widened at the implications.

“I do not believe that will be the case. That however, is the reason I want you two looking over all of the trials from that time frame. It will be a lot of work, but it will also really help out young Ms. Tonks here. She can learn how to ensure she continues your tradition of highest conviction rate. We need to make sure this is handled properly in every way we can,” Madam Bones said.

“I agree,” Tonks said quickly. She would go through the pain of all this research. She wanted to be sure if he was guilty, he was tried and found guilty. If he was innocent, she wanted to make sure he had the best chances of being released after his trial. She grew up being told by her mother Sirius' betrayal was both surprising and very terrible.

Moody was nodding in thought. He could get behind this. He also realized he was in the best position to ensure this happened. He was known as Mad-Eye Moody and seen as a little crazy, but very respectable. He was seen as less full-on crazy and more overly paranoid by other people. Though he personally believed himself to be the right amount of paranoid. He knew more than anyone else what dark wizards were capable of doing. It made perfect sense he would have his initiate painstakingly go through old trial records with him. No one would wonder what they were doing or interrupt them.

“This would be a great opportunity to teach you one of the most important, if not least exciting, aspect of being an Auror, Initiate Tonks,” he said to her. She nodded in agreement.

Tonks wanted to make her little firsties… actually, they were second years now… either way, she wanted to make them proud. Learning all she could from the greatest Auror, if not most paranoid, was the best chance of accomplishing that.

Madam Bones slid a piece of parchment to Alastor Moody. “That is a list of the current residents of Azkaban. I am sure you know why you need to carefully go over their trials in particular,” she said.

Moody looked over the list and nodded. “I’ll even be extra attentive to my own cases,” he said. Pretty much everyone knew Moody was his own biggest critic.

Madam Bones handed him another piece of parchment. “This is a list I complied of cases for those who were acquitted from their trails as well. The purpose of looking them over is to be sure Sirius Black wasn’t mentioned in them either,” she said.

Moody looked over the list and handed it to Tonks. “Is this part really necessary?” she asked as she looked it over.

“Even if it wasn’t... It would be good to see them as well. As they say, you should learn from others’ mistakes. Sometimes a technicality or even something small, can be all the difference between a conviction or an acquittal in trial,” he said to her.

“That will be all. Is there anything else you wish to discuss?” Madam Bones asked.

“Do you have a second group in mind for going over this stuff as well? Wouldn’t want anyone to claim biases were used in this endeavor,” Moody said.

“I'm working on that. That won’t happen until after you two have finished though. If it is proven, however unlikely it is, his trial record was just lost… It would be a waste of resources for them to look into this as well. I plan on assuring if we find out Sirius Black never had a trial, Minister Fudge won’t want to, or be able to, just sweep it under the rug and pretend this never happened,” Madam Bones said.

“Good thinking,” Moody said as he looked into her eyes. He liked the determination in them. He always appreciated how she never let politics get in the way, but once you have power and are in an office of some kind… Politics can become more enticing as a means of keeping your position. From what he saw, Madam Bones still hadn’t succumbed to such practices… yet, at least.

“Come, Tonks. I doubt I need to tell you how little time we have to be wasting about,” he said as he proceeded to the door. Tonks was quickly by his side. He was right. They had a lot of work to do.

“ Best of luck… ” Madam Bones thought as they left.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry gave a sigh as he plopped down on their bed. “Why does this have to be so frustrating?” he said with a scoff of disappointment.

“I know how you feel,” Hermione said as she sat down next to him on the bed.

They weren’t making progress in their search regarding the chamber. “I know we didn’t find much when it was first mentioned, but still…” Harry said.

Hermione nodded. “You hoped maybe looking in earnest would get some results,” she said.

Harry nodded. “It didn’t…” he grumbled. He wasn’t in the best of moods at the moment. “I hate that!” he said.

Hermione sighed as well. She really wanted to do something to get their minds off their failure in learning more about the chamber and beast. She blushed as an idea came to her mind. “I think we should get our minds off it for a while. You know… Come back later refreshed,” she said.

“How?” Harry asked looking to her.

Hermione continued to blush and said, “I have an idea…” Her voice tapered off.

“What is this idea?” Harry asked.

She looked to him. Her cheeks were pink. “Well… I never returned the favor… For when you… Over Christmas…” she said.

[-] [-] [-] (NSFW Scene stars)

Harry was blushing now. “You don’t need to worry about that… I was more than happy with helping you out… You also let me well... look at you back there,” he said and looked away from her. He was pretty sure his cheeks were bright red.

“Maybe… I mean you did… smell me back there…” she said blushing at the memory as her breath hitched. She still didn’t get why she found that so hot later after it happened.

“You… Noticed?!” Harry asked in worry.

“I did. I don’t mind it. It was different, but I kind of liked it in a strange way,” Hermione said.

“Oh…” Harry replied with wide eyes.

“Regardless of that… I want to return the favor… I’m also really curious…” Hermione said turning to him again.

“About what?” Harry asked.

Hermione almost licked her lips as she looked to his pants.

“Ohhhhh,” Harry said in surprise.

Harry didn’t know what to think about Hermione wanting to see his dick. “Well… I did get to see yours… I guess it only makes sense you see mine… Are you sure about this?” he asked.

“I am… Are you not?” Hermione asked in sudden worry.

“I don’t have a problem. I told you I didn’t want you to contain yourself. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t think this was going a step too far,” Harry said.

“I’m not containing myself…” Hermione said as she sort of crawled over to him. There was a lustful gleam in her eyes. Harry thought it was so very hot.

Hermione was close to him now and he was about to undo his pants. Hermione stopped him. “I-I-I want to do it…” she said.

Harry gulped but nodded. His dick was really feeling a need to spring free. His pants were far too tight all of the sudden. It seemed his penis was extra eager for Hermione's attention.

Hermione looked at his pants and reached out to start taking them off. She was really excited. She had felt Harry pressing his dick up against her a number of times. Now, she would get to see it and much more. She started undoing his belt. She then unbuttoned his pants.

She was breathing heavily as she looked at his zipper. She swallowed her nerves and unzipped his pants. She then looked to Harry who stood up a little. She pulled his pants down.

She was looking at his boxers now. There was just one piece of cloth between her and the penis that had been in many of her dreams and fantasies. The only reason Harry’s penis hadn’t burst out of his boxers was a button on the fly. The tent it made was clearer than ever to her.

“Here goes…” she said as she pulled his boxers down.

“Watch out,” Harry warned too late.

Hermione’s face was smacked by his dick. She was in a daze for a moment. Part of her really liked that his dick smacked her. It was that damnable lusty perverted part of her that always wanted really kinky things to happen.

Harry blushed as he said, “Sorry… I should have said something sooner…”

Hermione either didn’t hear him, or she didn’t care. She was staring at his dick which was proudly standing tall. “ How did his pants contain such a thing? ” she wondered to herself. She also kind of wondered why she hadn’t been hurt by it smacking her face. It did a little maybe, but the sensation was already gone. And that lust overpowered everything else.

“Wow…” she said breathlessly looking at his dick. She couldn’t keep herself from wetting her lips this time. There was so much she wanted to try. “ Need to take this in steps, ” she scolded herself.

This was about Harry and learning more about his body. This wasn’t about her this time. Though… there wasn’t anything that said she couldn’t enjoy herself too. “ Maybe a little bit later, ” she thought.

Harry was blushing at how close Hermione was to his dick. He also felt a little uncomfortable, but also kind of nice, with the way she was staring at his dick. He was really glad he was a very good size, especially for his age. He would rather her stare in awe than say something terrible like “It looks so cute…”. That was something no guy ever wanted to hear a girl say about his dick.

He also felt a little conflicted when it smacked her. There was a part that thought it kind of hot, but only because she didn’t seem to be bothered by the action. He wasn’t able to think clearly at the moment. He could feel her warm breath on the tip of his cock.

He was about to say something to her, since she was staring so much. He didn’t need to though. Hermione now reached out and touched it. Harry took in a shuddering breath. A girl was touching his dick! It was so different from touching it himself.

Hermione started to touch his dick. It was warm. It felt solid, but was also pliable. She licked her lips again as she looked at his cock. A part her wanted to just go all slutty out on it and put it in her mouth. She felt that would be too much at this stage though, and really troubling. She might not want or be able to turn back if she did that so soon.

She instead wrapped a hand around it. It was really big in her hand, but she could just wrap her fingers around it.

Harry grunted a little.

“Is this wrong?” Hermione asked.

“Not really. Just different, but be careful… It is surprisingly sensitive,” Harry said with a blush.

Hermione nodded and went back to examining Harry’s dick. She leaned in closer and took in a deep sniff. “Whoa…” she said in a moan.

“Sorry?” Harry asked. Did it smell that bad? He didn’t know.

Hermione took in another inhale and shook her head with a lusty smile. “I like it…” she said. She honestly liked it too much. Smelling Harry’s cock did things to her brain. It really seemed it would unleash her extra perverted kinky part of her brain. She took in another deep sniff and moaned as she exhaled.

Harry felt a little strange when Hermione sniffed his cock, but he also kind of liked it. He figured this meant he knew how Hermione felt when it came to him sniffing her asshole over Christmas. He wasn’t about to stop doing that, or passing up opportunities to do so again. He really was perverted he guessed. He liked doing that too much, especially when he could look at her ass too.

“ I’m not just an ass man… I’m a very perverted ass man… ” Harry thought to himself.

Hermione took in another sniff and just caught herself as her other hand almost slipped into her skirt. She blushed and mentally shook her head. She needed to learn more about Harry’s cock. She started to stroke it. Harry made a gasp sound.

She liked running her hand along it. She also liked how Harry was making sounds of approval. It was mesmerizing how it seemed his cock was getting harder and less pliable in her hand as she continued.

Soon Hermione forgot all about examining his dick. She was liking how Harry’s dick seemed to get harder in her hand. She started concentrating on it. A deep part of her. An instinctive part of her. Said to keep going with what she was doing.

Harry seemed to be trying to keep himself from making too much noise, but she could hear his sounds of approval. Hermione wanted to see what would happen if she kept going. She noticed some fluid leak from the hole at the top of his penis. She took her free hand and touched it.

Harry gave a gasp at her gesture.

It seemed he liked this. She also found it kind of fascinating. She knew of Cowper’s fluid, or as most called it, pre-cum. Feeling it for herself was much different.

“Hermione… If you keep doing that…” Harry tried to warn her. He was getting close.

Hermione seemed too enthralled by his cock though. She was now eye level with it. She was staring right at the tip with lust filled brown eyes.

“Hermioneee,” Harry tried to warn again. He didn’t want to cum in her eye or something. He was pretty sure that was a bad idea.

She was speeding up her stroking though.

Harry wanted to warn her, but could only grunt. He then shook a little as his cum blasted from the end of his cock. He closed his eyes as he was overcome by pleasure. He felt his cum spray out. He was feeling too good to pay attention to anything else.

Once his orgasm subsided, he didn’t want to open his eyes just yet. He was still feeling good, but more than that… he feared if he opened them, he would see an angry Hermione. He hadn’t heard her shout or anything though.

Hermione happened to blink just as Harry blew his load. She kept her eyes shut as she felt his cum splatter on her face. She gasped and gave a small moan at the sensation. It was so hot and sticky! He seemed to have so much too. She felt so perverted and kinky letting it splatter on her face like this. She loved how naughty she felt.

Harry opened his eyes carefully. He looked at Hermione. He blushed. Her face and even some of her hair was covered in white. He was worried what she thought of receiving his cumshot, but he had to admit he found it really hot seeing his cum on Hermione.

It was hard to describe why he felt that way. Maybe it was because of how naughty the sight was. Maybe it was something deeper than that. There was a very deep part of him that felt cumming on her was kind of claiming her as belonging to him. It was such a deep and wrong thought, but it was there and he liked it.

He also felt proud? Impressed? Surprised? Yeah… Surprised how much cum he seemed to have. “Ummmm… are you okay?” Harry asked warily.

Hermione seemed to come out of her shock at his words. “ He came on me! He came all over me! It feels so hot! So sticky! The smell! ” Hermione’s thoughts raced as she kept her eyes closed.

“ The smelllll… ” she thought in a much different voice. She would describe it as sultry or sensual, if it was a voice to be described.

“That was a lot…” Hermione said in astonishment.

“Ummmm… Sorry?” Harry asked unsure.

Hermione reached up and used her fingers to wipe his cum from her eyelids. She realized she got really lucky there. She needed to be more careful in the future. While there is a part of her that seemed to really like being covered in Harry’s cum… It was like his dick was rewarding her for a job well done or something… She was pretty sure getting it in the eyes was bad.

“No… Don’t worry about that. I’m not angry… I’m just surprised,” Hermione told him. She wasn’t ready to go full on embarrassing and admit she liked it.

She now opened her eyes and saw the cum on her fingers. She blushed as she examined it. The cum was sticky and warm. She even, without really paying attention, brought a covered finger to her nose and took in the smell.

“Ohhhh wowww…” she moaned in response. This did even more things to her brain than just smelling Harry’s cock. She would later think to herself that was why she did what she did this first time. It would be too embarrassing otherwise.

Hermione looked at it with dazed eyes. She then placed the finger to her lips and gave it a lick. She blinked in surprise for a moment. She then licked again. It was salty. It was warm. It was a different taste unlike anything else. She didn’t really like it, but she kind of also loved it… if that made any sense. She also wouldn't mind tasting more of it.

Harry was staring in awe at Hermione’s actions. He couldn’t believe it. It was so damn hot though! “ Witches really aren’t fair! ” he thought to himself. His cock seemed more than ready again. He was a little miffed by this. He was pretty sure there was supposed to be a down period or something.

“Mmmmm…” Hermione accidentally let out as she licked her fingers clean. She then blushed. She looked to Harry. It was like she hadn’t even realized he was there for a moment. She was about to panic or something and try to excuse her odd behavior. Instead she noticed his dick seemed ready again.

“Oh wow… It’s hard again!” she said in shock.

Harry blushed at this. “Sorry?” he tried.

Something seemed to click inside of Hermione. Maybe it was better to say something gave in instead. She gave a lusty look to him. “Don’t apologize for something like this…” she said. She then brazenly licked her lips while looking at it.

She wanted to try again with the handjob. But she wanted to change things up. Hermione stood up and almost tore her clothes off. She wanted to do more with this chance. She also decided to enjoy herself as well this time. She felt more turned on than a heat lamp and it was equally wonderful and unbearable.

Harry stared in awe as Hermione took off her clothes in front of him. It was only a thousand times better seeing her get naked with some of his cum still on her face and hair. He also liked the fiery look in her honey brown eyes. While she stood there naked in front of him like that, he thought she looked like a young sex goddess.

She positioned herself in front of him again. She once more wrapped a hand around his cock. “Ready for another round?” she said in a voice that was heavier in lust than her usual.

Harry gulped and grinned. “If you are? I’m not about to complain,” he said.

“Good,” she said with a sultry giggle. She licked her lips again and started stroking his cock. She wanted to see him cum on her this time. She found a way to aim his cock. She pointed it at her growing breasts.

“ Pity my boobs aren’t grown enough yet. I’d like to try giving him a boobjob. I’ll just have to wait until we’re older, ” she thought in that lusty voice again. She realized her perverted and horny side was almost out in full force.

Harry let more of his sounds of pleasure slip out this time. He didn’t feel a need to hide he was completely enjoying this. It was also impossible with how eager Hermione was in her stroking. Then she again proved how unfair witches were.

Hermione shifted positions a little. She wanted Harry to get a good look at her. She also wanted to make what she next planned a bit easier. She slipped her free hand down to her eager and wet pussy. “Ooooohhhh,” she moaned out as she played with her pussy.

She couldn’t help it! Stroking Harry’s cock. Wearing some of his cum on her face. Playing with herself in front of him. She felt all kinds of hot and horny and a rush of pleasure much stronger than most before. That time over Christmas when Harry finger fucked her, was probably the only time she felt more pleasure.

Her breathing was getting faster. Harry’s was as well. His cock seemed to be getting harder. It wanted to make things more difficult for her by twitching. Hermione kept her aim though. She worked herself a little more. She wanted to watch Harry cum on her and cum herself as well.

“Hermione!” Harry warned. Hermione heard this time. She took in a deep breath and braced herself.

Harry grunted and his cum blasted out again. This time it splattered all over Hermione’s small boobs. Harry shook with orgasm as more cum spurted out of his tip, coating her lightly tanned skin in white.

“Hmmmnnn!” Hermione moaned as the hot stuff landed on her chest and stomach. A little went wild and got her chin. She shook with her own orgasm as well. She thought the smell was even stronger this time and she really liked that.

She caught her breath as she looked at her breasts. “Wowwww…” she said as she took in the sight. Harry’s cum was white, sticky, thick and hot. She felt even more naughty with his cum on her naked body like this. It was unbelievably amazing!

“Wow… Indeed…” Harry said as he caught his breath as well. He had no idea how awesome it was to cum with a girl. He also realized that he did like seeing her in his cum. He didn’t really focus on that primal part of him that felt pleased with himself for marking his girl. He also didn’t really shove it away either. So many feelings were rushing through him at that moment. The main one was obviously pleasure.

“That was incredible…” he said.

“Yeahhhh…” Hermione replied. There was a part of her that wanted to just lay down there next to Harry and go to sleep. She didn’t care that she was covered in his cum. She just wanted to lay with him and be by his side after that.

Harry motioned for her to sit next to him. She smiled warmly as she did just that. He wrapped an arm around her and held her close. He didn’t care that she had cum on her body. Hermione leaned in to him.

Hermione felt different feelings bloom inside her chest now. She was familiar with them. She felt happiness. She felt a sense of belonging. She felt acceptance, even in such a naughty state. She felt deeply cared for. She felt loved…

[-] [-] [-]

A few minutes passed as they held each other. Hermione was starting to feel a little on the cold side. She also felt uncomfortable given her current state. The evidence on her body of what they just did was drying. “As much as I just want to stay here in your arms forever, I should probably go and clean up,” she said.

Harry sighed. “I suppose so. I should probably do the same,” he said.

“Hopefully both restrooms are open,” Hermione said. She had a feeling she needed a lot more time than he did. She also made a mental note to look for spells that could help with clean up in the future. She wondered if the library had a naughty section for such things.

Fortunately, both bathrooms were open and the common room empty. Hermione was able to sneak to one while wearing only her outer school robes. “ To think! At one time, this was all there was to the Hogwarts’ uniform, ” she thought to herself. She found it a little delightfully naughty, but too risky for normal attire.

She wanted Harry seeing her naked plenty. She did not want anyone else seeing her like that. It would be too easy for mischievous boys to use some kind of wind spell to cause chaos with a girl’s robes. She was now starting to think naughty and kinky things were going on everywhere at Hogwarts in those days. It was something part of her craved would happen again, and another part was thankful that wasn't the case now.

It took Hermione a while to clean up after their fun. She wasn’t sure if she was fully clean even. She now blushed furiously. She realized how much she really pressed her luck. She didn’t remember wiping her face or anything before going to the bathroom. If Hannah or Susan were in their living room, they would have seen a cum covered Hermione coming out of her shared bedroom.

“ I really need to be more careful… ” Hermione thought to herself. She needed to set up something in her room. She wanted to at least keep from advertising what she had been doing with her boyfriend. The smell alone would probably be more than enough, but robes kind of hid that. They didn’t hide her cum covered face or hair though.

[-] [-] [-] (NSFW ends)

When Hermione got back from the bathroom, she saw Harry relaxing on their bed in just his pajama pants. He gave her a smile. Hermione blushed anew seeing him shirtless. She had just seen his dick and played with it. She shouldn’t be acting like some shy maiden around him now. She still returned the smile and felt wonderfully warm inside.

After what they did, she felt much closer to Harry. She liked this feeling of new closeness. Hermione came over and snuggled in with Harry. Harry wrapped an arm around her and placed a kiss on her forehead. She giggled and smiled. “I think I’d rather have a sweet kiss on my lips,” she said.

Harry chuckled. He kissed her on her lips. Hermione closed her eyes and reveled in the kiss. “Is that better?” Harry asked with a grin after he broke off the kiss.

“Much,” Hermione said almost breathlessly. “So much better… I think I’ll snuggle in with you for the night,” she said grinning to him and giggling. Harry chuckled to that as they both got more comfortable together.

As the two slowly drifted off to sleep, they both realized something exciting and wonderful. “ This will be my first Valentine’s Day while being with someone! ”

Both of them started think of a few different plans they had for the day as exhaustion slowly claimed them. Before this year, it was a day of nothing but annoyance to them. They never really had a reason to enjoy the day. This year it was different though. This year they actually had a reason to enjoy the holiday.

As they slept, neither of them knew just how important the day would end up being. And not for nice and lovely reasons.

Chapter 34: Valentine’s Disaster

February came surprisingly quick. People were more at ease than they had been in a while. Most didn’t care to think why they failed to mention the attacks to their families. Nothing happened since the double attack, so people were feeling almost as if maybe it could be over. They were still wary and chose not to speak of the heir or his beast casually. They didn’t want to tempt fate.

Professor Lockhart on the other hand wasn’t wary of such topics. He actually went so far as to say it was some kind of prank a student pulled and realized they went too far with it. He bragged about how they probably knew he was on the case now and feared him capturing them. He even came up with a supposedly great idea to boost morale around the school.

“That is why I’ve come up with a great idea for some Valentine’s Day fun! One of my favorite holidays,” Lockhart said after dinner the night before Valentine’s Day. He clapped his hands and the doors opened as a group of dwarves marched into the dining hall.

“My friends here have agreed to delivering all of your Valentine’s Day wishes and letters! They’ve even agreed to singing Valentines as well!” Lockhart said with his usual chuckle at the end.

The dwarves looked like they only begrudgingly agreed to singing valentines. Harry guessed Lockhart paid his ‘friends’ really well if they agreed to that. He heard dwarves were very strong and not to be taken lightly, even in friendly negotiations.

“So… Feel free to send that note to your crush or the love of your life. Why not make an event of the whole day tomorrow! I’m sure my esteemed colleagues will be more than up for challenge,” Lockhart said giving them a wink.

The other professors looked as if they regretted him coming up with this idea. He wasn’t wrong about a morale booster being good, but this hardly seemed the proper way of handling it. Professor Dumbledore seemed as if he might be regretting allowing this to an extent. He knew it would at least distract everyone, which served an important purpose.

“Perhaps, Professor Snape will teach you how to brew up a love potion,” Lockhart suggested.

Harry didn’t need to see Snape’s look to realize you would be signing your own death certificate asking him such a thing. He despised people treating Potions frivolously. A love potion was the most frivolous thing you could do with Potions.

“Feel free to make the best of this wonderful holiday! I look forward to everyone’s enjoyment of the day,” Professor Lockhart finished as they were dismissed for the night.

“I think we can all agree this will turn out to be a disaster,” Hermione said once they were alone in their dorm. Harry, Hannah, and Susan easily agreed. The idea was kind of nice, but the execution would be terrible. It was Lockhart.

[-] [-] [-]

Ginny took in a deep breath and let it out. She threw the diary into the Girls’ toilet through a window. No one would find out what she did. She noticed things changed over the holiday break as she stayed away from the dairy. She pulled on all of that Gryffindor courage she had to resist the temptation it offered her. She still didn’t have any memory of the time she lost to it.

She decided to just toss it after other attempts failed to get rid of it. It was starting to become too strong for her once more. Tom was so very enchanting and flattering and handsome, but he was dangerous. It was dangerous. She didn’t like whatever it was the dairy had her do, even though she had no idea what happened. That lone fact made the whole situation even worse.

“No one will find it in there! Everyone avoids Myrtle’s bathroom, ” Ginny thought in relief as she quickly made her way to breakfast that day. She had a valentine she wanted to send, even if it was very embarrassing. Perhaps it would at least lighten up his day, even if it was only a laugh at the wording. Ginny was sure he could at least appreciate the feelings in it. She was very relieved she didn’t need to add her name to it.

Shortly after Ginny disappeared out of sight, Luna came walking out of the bathroom looking a little confused at the object in her hands. It was some kind of diary. She felt it might be able to help them in their search though. It was old, but in good condition and was dated from about 50 years ago. It might be a bit of a long shot, but they would take anything at this point.

She was visiting Myrtle, since the ghost was a Ravenclaw herself, when the book came flying through the window. It almost went through Myrtle. That would have set the ghost girl off. Luna didn’t mind Myrtle too much, until the ghost girl started crying and carrying on again.

The Ravenclaw first year was still wary of the object. She would let the others figure out if they wanted to examine it further. She had a feeling Harry would be able to do so and keep his wits about him. She wasn’t sure when to give it to them though. She wanted to give both Harry and Hermione Valentine’s Letters, but she would do so in person. That might be the best time.

She heard muggles gave valentines to friends as well. She didn’t want to use the ‘service’ Lockhart spoke of though. She felt if you were going to give out valentines you should do so in person. At the same time, she wanted to do so in private. The last thing she wanted was everyone seeing her giving letters to them both. She wasn’t embarrassed, but she knew it would be annoying if anyone else found out apart from her Hufflepuff friends.

[-] [-] [-]

Valentine’s Day was as terrible as the Hufflepuffs feared it would be. The day was a mess. Lockhart’s grumpy and gruff voiced cupids were constantly interrupting classes to deliver their cards. Lockhart’s esteemed colleagues were not at all amused by this.

The students found some amusement in the situation at first. Some of the more popular witches and wizards were almost mobbed by the volunteer cupids. Cedric was able to take it in stride and even thanked the dwarves for their deliveries. Others were stuck horrified in place, or tried to escape with little success.

Harry was surprised to get a few himself. He decided to try the Cedric approach. It might be a bit embarrassing, but not as bad as it would have been if he tried and failed to escape. The surly messengers of love were very determined and strong, especially for their size.

Some of the letters were actually amusing. He looked at Hannah and Susan with a raised eyebrow. The two girls giggled and gave him very saucy winks. Their joint Valentine’s card talked about how they would be willing to join him and Hermione in whatever they got up to in private. It even suggested a strip study quiz. They needlessly explained it to him in the card. The last to answer, or whoever got a question wrong, had to take off a piece of clothing.

Harry also received a card from Pansy, which was very Pansy and kind of funny. It went on about how he was good looking and impressive and a very fine wizard… for a mere half-blood at least. It also talked about how if she wasn’t already spoken for, she might briefly give him the privilege of a young pure blood lady’s attention.

Tracey also sent him a card as well. Her card was so overly lovey-dovey and girly it could only pass as a joke given who she was. She added winking faces and glitter covered pink hearts to it. She joked about showing him how families in the past solidified alliances when they involved a witch and wizard of the same age.

Harry looked over to Tracey. She gave him a very overly showy and ridiculous blown kiss. The Slytherins around her laughed as it happened. Harry raised an eyebrow at her before casually catching the blown kiss. He cracked up as he passed the card to an extra interested Hermione. She too was laughing after reading it.

Right after lunch, Harry was actually ambushed. “Oi! You ‘arry Potter?” an extra deep and gruff voiced cupid asked him.

“Ummmm… yeah?" Harry answered unsure.

“I’ve got a singing Valentine for ya,” it replied.

Harry was standing there stunned as the gruff voiced dwarf blew on a harmonica to tune his voice. The tuning did nothing for his voice though. The singing was way too ridiculous sounding and the words matched it.

His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toaddddddd,

His hair is as dark as a blackboarddddd,

I wish he was mineeeee! He’s really divineeeeeeeee!

The hero who conquered the Dark Lordddddd DAAA!

The dwarf finished the last line quickly, but decided to add an extra syllable at the end. The other students in the hall busted out laughing at the singing valentine. Harry wasn’t sure if he should laugh or not. It was very ridiculous, but he didn’t want to seem ungrateful in case the girl who sent it was there. He had to wonder if they chose such silly words on purpose, or if they really had tried hard to come up with them on short notice.

Luckily, Harry was saved by the bell. And Percy! “Alright! Get going everyone. That’s the bell. Time for classes. Don’t make me take points,” Percy said in warning. Everyone quickly left the scene and hurried to their classes. Many were still laughing at it all.

Harry didn’t notice as a very pink faced and heavily freckled Ginny Weasley ran by quickly. That was even worse than she thought it would be. What had she been thinking?! Harry didn’t seem upset by it at least, which was more relieving to her than she thought it would be. Everyone else laughed so much though. She hadn’t expected the dwarf to deliver it in front of everyone like that! She’d ask for a refund, but the service was free.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry had planned to do something with Hermione for Valentine’s Day, but with all that was happening he wasn’t sure it would be a good idea. The dwarves were relentless. They didn’t enter the houses though. Many took refuge in their common rooms or bedrooms for most of the day. The fun had long since worn off.

Shortly before dinner they were told by their heads of house, the dwarf cupids had all retried for the day. It felt almost too late to do anything special for the day by that point though.

Harry and Hermione were making their way to the dining hall when they heard a very familiar dreamy voice speak to them. “Good. I found you two. I was hoping you could meet with me quickly after dinner. I had planned on doing this sooner, but with all Lockhart did… I’m sure you two understand,” Luna said.

Harry and Hermione looked to her and each other before nodding. “Okay, Luna,” Harry replied for them both. Luna seemed very happy they agreed. The two had no idea what it was she wanted, but if it made her that happy it had to be something good.

Once they finished their meal, they followed Luna to an empty classroom. The girl seemed to be blushing as she handed them each a card. “I heard muggles like to give out Friendship Valentine’s Day Cards,” she said with a dreamy but slight embarrassed smile.

Hermione and Harry opened their cards. Harry looked down and read his.

To my favorite wizard.

I’m glad the Wrackspurts told me you and Hermione would be important friends for me. They didn’t tell me how important you would be, or how quickly you would become that important in my life though. I know I’m different, but you’ve been a great friend to me anyways.

You even invited me to your home and showed me the wonders of the Rust District over Christmas. I don’t talk about it, but you’ve probably guessed by now. My mother died a couple of years back. Daddy handles it the best he can, but Christmas is difficult because of how much mom loved it. He hasn’t outright said it, but I feel that is why he happens to come across leads to follow around Christmas.

You helped give me the best Christmas I've had since mom died. I felt at home for once in a long time over the holidays, even though I was just a guest.

I don’t know if I would call your eyes green as a fresh pickled toad, but Happy Valentine’s Day anyways!

I suppose I should add one of those sayings...

I’ll never take you granite.

Love,

Luna Lovegood.

There was a little drawing of a Luna stick figure holding a rock at the bottom surrounded by a heart.

Harry gave a chuckle at the last line, but he was grinning widely. He could feel how much Luna cared for him in her Valentine’s Day Letter. He also found it very touching she delivered it herself.

He would give her a tight hug, but it seemed Hermione’s letter was just as personal and touching. She probably would have squealed at how cute Luna’s letter was, if she was that way. Instead, Hermione was holding Luna tightly in a hug and sniffing happy tears. Luna was blushing, but smiling just a happily.

Harry thought it was interesting Luna talked about the Wrackspurts telling her something. He would have to ask her about that later. It could just be Luna being Luna, which was fine. It could also be something more.

“That was a great Valentine’s Day letter, Luna,” Harry said with a smile once Hermione finally let Luna go.

Luna smiled back at him. “I really meant it all,” she said.

“I could tell. I really liked it. Thank you,” Harry said.

“Even the saying at the end?” Luna asked curiously.

Harry chuckled again. “Even that,” he said before giving her a hug.

Luna’s heart skipped a beat or two in the hug. She didn’t care this time though. Her heart could feel whatever it was wanting to feel at the moment. She hugged Harry just as tightly in return. Despite everything, this was turning out to be a great Valentine’s Day for her. She gave her cards to her favorite witch and favorite wizard. They both gave her hugs in thanks.

“Oh yeah,” Luna said suddenly as they were about to leave the room.

“What is it?” Harry asked.

Luna looked a little unsure as she pulled out what looked like a small book. She held it for Harry and Hermione to see. The two looked at it and then each other.

“I found this earlier. I was visiting Myrtle. She is actually interesting company, when she isn’t crying. This was thrown through a window and landed in the toilet Myrtle usually occupied. She was hoovering about the sinks instead this time though,” Luna said.

Harry took the small book from her hand. It felt strange to him. He got a sense it was an important key to their questions about the Chamber and everything. He flipped through the empty pages and frowned.

“It’s very heavily enchanted. The book was completely bone dry when I pulled it out of the toilet,” Luna said.

Harry now found the blank pages more interesting. Hermione did as well. She also looked like she wanted to dissect the small book in hopes of learning the enchantments. “What do you make of it?” Hermione asked. She ran a finger across the name Tom M. Riddle on the cover.

“It might be a long shot. I was thinking it could be a clue to what’s going on. I just had this feeling it could be. I looked into the name. There’s a trophy for Special Services to the School with his name on it,” Luna said.

“They don’t just hand those out to anyone,” Hermione said.

“Look at the date!” Harry said excitedly.

“That caught my attention too,” Luna said.

“50 years ago! That’s when the Chamber was supposedly last opened,” Hermione said in her own excitement.

Harry nodded and looked to Luna. “Thanks again, Luna. You’ve really made this an important Valentine’s Day,” he said.

Luna seemed to glow in happiness hearing that.

“We should get started on this tomorrow. We will want all the time we can get. If we start working on it tonight, we won’t get any sleep,” Hermione said. Harry nodded in agreement.

As the three friends left the room, they went their separate ways. Harry and Hermione were discussing what they would try with the diary. Luna felt really happy.

Suddenly though, Luna felt uneasy. She looked back to where Harry and Hermione rounded a corner. Her eyes widened. Something seemed to be hanging around them. She remembered giving them her Valentine’s Day cards just minutes ago. There was something else though… Something the Wrackspurts were saying was dangerous. At the same time, it was also important for them to get it.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry gave a sigh after they returned to their dorm room. He placed the diary down for the moment. He looked to Hermione and said, “I was really looking forward to my first Valentine’s Day with a girlfriend, but Lockhart had to go and ruin it.”

Hermione nodded and frowned. “I was looking forward to my first Valentine’s Day with a boyfriend, before he ruined it. I really don’t like that man. It’s bad enough he’s a complete fraud. To ruin such a day as well? That’s makes him even worse,” she said.

Harry nodded. “At least the card from Luna was nice,” he said.

Hermione smiled to that and nodded. “I found it really touching,” she said.

Harry suddenly got an idea for something they could do together. He grinned at Hermione. “I have an idea,” he said.

“What is it?” Hermione asked.

“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you. Follow me and close your eyes. Don’t let go,” he said to her with an offered hand.

Hermione’s heart was beating so loudly she was sure it would jump out of her chest. She smiled and her cheeks pinked a little as she took his hand. Such a simple gesture they had done many times before, but it was so amazing this time. “Only if you give me a kiss,” she said before closing her eyes and puckering her lips.

Harry gave a chuckle and met her lips. The two kissed a couple of times as she stood with her eyes closed. She was liking this even more. It was like something from a romance novel in her mind. This was better though. This was her real life.

[-] [-] [-]

“Woooooo!” Hermione cried out in excitement despite herself. She was a little scared at first, but she was loving it now. It probably helped she had Harry to hold on to tightly as he flew them through the night sky. He was also going at an acceptable pace to her. Well… an acceptable fast pace for her. He at least wasn’t doing any dangerous tricks.

“I had a feeling you’d like this,” Harry said. He was loving it himself. He was flying on a clear half-moon night filled with twinkling stars. It was also really nice when Hermione leaned in to keep a tight hold on him. He could feel her chest on his back and it was wonderful.

Hermione giggled. “I don’t mind flying like this at all!” she said in glee. She liked wrapping her arms around him. She got to hold on to his surprisingly chiseled chest and abs. She didn’t care her breasts were pressing up against his back. It wasn’t anything he wasn’t a little familiar with already. She knew he would become very familiar with her breasts and more in the future.

They kept flying through the night sky. Harry would make plenty of turns and such, but it was never anything more than delightfully thrilling for Hermione. This really was as romantic as she thought it would be. It was a great way to make up for the terrible Valentine’s Day sponsored by Lockhart.

Harry eventually slowed down and flew lower. Their feet were just barely skimming across still surface of the lake. Hermione looked down at their reflection and leaned in closer. She buried her face in the back of Harry’s neck before looking at the reflection again. She really liked the picture their reflection showed her. She wished they had a camera to capture the moment.

Harry looked to their reflection as well. It was beautiful seeing Hermione riding on the back of his broom like this. Her beautifully wild hair was tamer than it had been when they first met. Harry knew her hair would eventually be lovely lush curls of dark brown.

He would miss seeing her beautiful wild hair. He also looked forward to how her hair would be in the future. It would also be a weight off her mind. He would hopefully still see her sexy and wild bed head in the future.

Harry grinned as he pictured that sight. It would be beautiful seeing her look to him with her hair splayed out everywhere behind her. He imagined her naked and on top of him in the mornings. Harry blushed to the vision.

“What are you thinking about?” Hermione asked playfully.

“Ummmm… Nothing?” Harry suggested.

Hermione giggled. “Nice try, but I’m not buying it,” she said.

Harry blushed. “It's embarrassing,” he admitted.

Hermione giggled and leaned in to whisper lowly, “That only makes me more eager to hear it.”

Harry gulped to that. Witches really weren’t fair… “I was sort of thinking of an older us?” he tried carefully.

“Ohhh? And what were… sort of older us… doing?” Hermione asked. For all her teasing though, she was blushing herself as ideas filled her head.

“I was thinking how I’m pretty sure your hair will be lovely and lush curls in the future. I was thinking I would miss your beautiful wild looking hair. Then I hoped you would still have massive bedhead in the mornings,” Harry said.

“You see that as a good thing?” Hermione asked in genuine surprise.

“Yeah. A very good thing. You looked like a wild sex goddess to me,” Harry said. He blushed a little and hoped he wasn’t being too forward with her.

Hermione blushed at that. She never really noticed he thought that about her. She kind of liked how he thought her hair would be anything but messy and frizzy in the future. She would admit it was tamer this year than previous years, but that wasn’t saying much.

“Wild sex goddess…” she said quietly.

Harry hoped she wasn’t going to be angry about that. He decided to focus more on flying. It really was a wonderful night for it.

[-] [-] [-]

Right as the night ended, Harry turned to face Hermione and held the broom steady. She blushed at how close they were like this. It was ridiculous she was blushing. They had been much closer and with a lot less clothing. Seeing his intense green eyes under the moon and star lit night sky, was something else. Her heart and body stood no chance to them.

Harry turned to better face her. He leaned in closer. Hermione blushed and closed her eyes as she wet her lips in anticipation.

Then Harry captured them!

Hermione eagerly returned the kiss in kind. It was a much more thrilling kiss then the others they shared. They kept it going a good while.

When they finally took a break, Hermione was breathing a little heavily to catch her breath. Her cheeks were a beautiful rosy color. Her lips were a deep red. She felt so very weightless and not because they were hovering on a broom.

“Wow…” she breathed out.

“Yes. Wow,” Harry replied with a grin. He gave her another quick kiss. He then winked at her and said, “For the return trip.”

Hermione couldn’t help but giggle to that and smile. She had what she felt was her first magic kiss. That was all she could describe it as. What else could you say about a kiss on a broom under the night sky above a lake? It was magic in the most magical way. She had a very wide grin on her face and lovingly held on to Harry as he flew them back.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry looked at the diary in thought. He and the others had tried many things with it, but kept it secret and to their dorm room alone. None of their attempts produced any results. This made them all more curious about it. If it was so well protected, it had to have something important in it. They just weren’t sure what it would be.

“By this point, I’m almost tempted to just use it as a private diary in place of my own,” Hermione said as she looked over to where Harry was. She was pretty sure whatever you wrote in it would be kept secret for all of time.

Harry then got an idea. He was pretty sure it was a stupid idea, but he couldn’t see any harm in it. Harry dipped his quill into an ink pot and let the ink drip on a blank page.

The ink disappeared!

“Whoa!” he said, getting Hermione’s attention.

“What is it?” she asked as she came over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Watch this,” Harry said as he repeated the action.

Hermione gasped as she watched the diary seemingly absorb the ink. “Write something,” she whispered to him.

Harry took in a deep breath and thought what to write. “I’m going to be careful with this,” he said.

He intended to write in it, but he wasn’t going to let on Hermione was watching. He hoped she wouldn’t be offended he wasn’t going to mention her. He would even ignore any attempts she might make to get him to mention her as well. Harry had a feeling it would be best if the diary didn’t think there was an extra observer. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt that there was more to this diary. As if... it was almost alive.

“Hello,” Harry wrote on a blank page.

The ink was again absorbed and his greeting replaced by a completely different script.

“ Hello. Who is this? How did you come by my diary? ” the writing replied.

Harry and Hermione were both wide eyed. Harry wrote more. “My name is Harry Potter. Someone tried to flush it down a toilet before I found it.” He felt it best to leave Luna’s name out of it as well.

“I’m Tom Riddle. It isn’t very surprising someone was trying to get rid of my diary. I know things. Information the powers that be at Hogwarts wouldn’t want getting out. Fortunately, I knew a way to better preserve my memories. ”

“I’m attending Hogwarts now! What sort of things are you talking about? I too have noticed the powers that be will go to extraordinary lengths to cover up information,” Harry wrote.

“It is probably one of the biggest cover ups at Hogwarts. There was a place called the Chamber of Secrets. We were always told it was myth and nothing more. But someone opened it. Students were attacked. One was even murdered in the end! Those in power did all they could to cover it up and have it omitted from the annals of history. ”

Harry was in shock and paused before writing again. Was this a good idea? Was this too convenient? Something that seemed to have all of the answers suddenly appearing in the Myrtle’s Bathroom? At a time like this?

Harry looked to Hermione. She squeezed his shoulder tighter and nodded to him. It seemed she felt the need for answers was greater than worries of caution. He gulped and continued writing.

“It’s happening again! Those in charge are more concerned with controlling information than doing anything about it.” Harry wrote quickly.

The script reappeared and seemed to be in a bit of a rush.

“That’s exactly what happened while I was there in my fifth year! It was the reason why I chose to throw their warnings out the window and solve the problem myself. I found out who did it. I turned them in even. Killing a student was too much to be left ignored. They still hushed me up. Gave me an award and everything. I was worried if I stepped out of line something would happen. The cover up went to the highest levels! ”

Harry blinked in thought to that. He didn’t doubt it, but this seemed a bit fishy. It was like the diary knew exactly what to say and how to say it to him personally. He would keep this in mind has he continued.

“Who was it?! What was the beast?! How did you solve it all?!” Harry wrote in eager script.

“I can show you. That way you don’t have to just take my word for it, ” the ink replied.

If Harry didn’t know any better, the writing almost felt smug now. The tone seemed different from the hurried scrawl earlier. It seemed measured and calm rather than desperate, if that made any sense.

Harry looked to Hermione. “Need to be careful,” he said to her. Hermione blinked a couple of times and slowly nodded in agreement.

“I’m ready. I feel that same call to action you did.” He wrote.

The pages of the diary started to flip quickly. The book seemed to float up in the air. Hermione grabbed on tighter and moved in as close as she could. She wasn’t going to let Harry face this alone.

Suddenly, everything went white.

Harry felt as if he was sucked into the book with Hermione right behind him. Harry wanted to yell, but Hermione’s scream of worry beat him to it.

Just as suddenly, the two found themselves in the corner of an office. Everything looked greyscale as well. Proof this was a memory of the past, even if it was a bit dramatic in Harry’s mind.

[-] [-] [-]

“Where are we?” Hermione asked after regaining her balance.

“The headmaster’s office, I think.” Harry said as he looked around the room.

The two looked towards the desk in the center of the room. There was a boy, probably Tom, who looked to be in his fifth year. He was from Slytherin judging by his uniform’s colors. He also had a Prefects’ badge. On the other side of the desk, there was an aged wizard sitting in a high back chair. He was not Dumbledore though. They waited while Hermione held Harry’s hand.

“Again. I am sorry, Tom. We cannot let you stay for the summer, like we have previously,” the aged wizard said.

“It’s the attacks isn’t it, Headmaster Dippet?” Tom asked. The man nodded his head. “Has there been any progress?” Tom asked carefully.

“The truth is… We have not made any progress on solving the mystery. Only theories at the moment,” the headmaster said with a frown.

He stood up and looked out his widow as he sadly said, “I fear we will have no choice but to close Hogwarts and hand over the matter to the DMLE. Who knows how long it will take them to find answers. This may very well be the last school year of Hogwarts.”

Harry saw the disappointment and anger in Tom’s face at hearing those words. Harry could completely agree with the emotions Tom was experiencing. He would feel the same way hearing such news.

“What if... What if the attacks stopped?” Tom asked.

Headmaster Dippet turned around quickly and looked to Tom with curious eyes. “It would take more than just that. A student’s death is a very serious matter. We would need the culprit and maybe the beast as well,” he said.

“But… If you had all of that… Would you be able to keep the school open?” Tom asked as he looked forward seriously.

“Yes. We would. Do you know something, Tom?” Dippet asked.

“I’m just wondering…” Tom said. It was clear to Harry, and maybe even Headmaster Dippet, Tom knew something and he wasn’t sharing. Probably so it wouldn’t just be covered up, if the earlier conversation was to be believed.

Headmaster Dippet looked to Tom as if trying to read him. “If there isn’t anything else… You should probably head back to your dorm. I’ve kept you more than long enough,” the headmaster said.

Tom stood up and bowed before leaving.

Harry should have expected it, but he was still surprised when both he and Hermione seemed to be dragged along behind Tom. Hermione gasped in surprise herself. They didn’t even have to walk.

Tom was walking through the castle’s halls and Harry felt it was odd it seemed they hadn’t changed much since the memory. Maybe it wasn’t so odd given Hogwarts was not just a castle, but a magic castle. It was still strange some of the more decorative cobwebs were almost exactly the same.

“Where are you going, Mr. Riddle?” a voice both Harry and Hermione recognized asked. It didn’t matter that it seemed younger. Dumbledore’s tone was still distinctive. His appearance was startling though.

Dumbledore was dressed far more professionally and his beard more less unkempt. He looked a good bit younger as well. His gaze however still had the same quality it did in the present. It was filled with wisdom, though in this case it seemed to be wisdom beyond his years, instead of matching his advanced age.

“I just came from Headmaster Dippet’s office, Professor Dumbledore,” Tom replied.

“What was it he wished to speak with you about?” Dumbledore asked. He seemed to regard Tom Riddle with some level of suspicion.

“He was informing me I would not be able to stay for the summer, as I have in the past,” Tom replied with a carefully neutral gaze. It seemed Tom had his own suspicions regarding the Professor and future headmaster. Something else that seemed too inline with Harry's own thoughts on Dumbledore.

Dumbledore’s gaze eased up and filled with a certain level of sadness. “The attacks have been weighing heavily on us all. I suppose you more so than others in that regard,” he said.

“Indeed. Hogwarts is my home, professor. I only wish to do what I can for it,” Tom said.

“I’ve held you up long enough, Mr. Riddle. Do be careful as you return to your dorm. The halls are not safe, even for exceptional Prefects such as yourself,” Dumbledore said as he started walking off.

“I appreciate your concern, Professor Dumbledore,” Tom said as he too started to move.

As soon as Dumbledore was well out of sight, Tom took a much different route than would lead to Slytherin. The boy then slipped into an old passageway. On the other side of it, Tom entered an unused classroom. He then waited.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry and Hermione were wondering why he was waiting in this particular spot. They might have spoken to each other, but felt they should keep conversation to a minimum. It was like they not only felt, but experienced, Tom’s own anxiousness at what he was about to do.

The two looked to each other in surprise once they heard another voice they recognized, even if it was much younger. “Come on now. Keep calm. I won’t let anything hurt ya,” a much younger Hagrid said.

The giant of a man was instead a giant of a boy. He looked to be in his third year. He was wearing Gryffindor colors on his robes and crouching over something hidden in a box. “Keep calm. Don’t ya worry none,” Hagrid soothed to whatever was in the box.

The box was rather sizable, but seemed small next to Hagrid. He was still rather large even though he was barely a teen.

The box shook!

Tom seemed to steel himself as he came out of his hiding place. He carefully made his way to Hagrid. He even positioned himself in a manner that cut off escape for the large boy.

Tom brought out his wand.

Harry heard Hermione gasp as she seemed to put pieces together as well. There was only one reason Hagrid would be featured in this memory. Harry didn’t like it. Hagrid never mentioned why he was expelled from Hogwarts in his third year. Harry hated how they would soon find out what happened.

“Hagrid. It’s over. I have to turn you in,” Tom said calmly as he held his wand ready.

“Tom? What are ya talking about?” Hagrid asked as he tried to hide the box. It was shaking even more than earlier.

“I don’t think you did it on purpose. I’m pretty sure you were only being kind to it. But a girl is dead, Hagrid. They’ll close Hogwarts at this rate,” Tom said.

“What?! You can’t mean…” Hagrid said in shock. “He’d never!” Hagrid almost shouted.

“You may see it as a friend. But it is still a beast. A beast that is very dangerous,” Tom said. His wand seemed to be lighting up. He hadn’t even said an incantation.

“Ya’ve Got it all wrong! He’s been terrified of whatever it is! It ain’t him! He’d never hurt no body,” Hagrid said in defense of what he was hiding.

Just then the box finally tipped over.

Hermione screamed as something large and hairy with a black body and too many legs shot out the box and charged for them. Harry could only stare as it ran forward. He knew it was just a memory, but whatever this thing was... It was terrifying.

Tom quickly shot a spell towards it!

The beast gave a cry and jumped forward with all of its eight legs spread out.

Tom barely dodged out of the way.

The giant monster continued to run as fast as possible to escape.

“Hurry! Yer still a baby. Be careful! Save yerself!” Hagrid cried at the monstrous thing as he tackled Tom. Hagrid was trying to keep the prefect from attacking the thing. Tom may have been the more experienced wizard, but Hagrid was too large for him to counter quickly enough and do something about the escaping monster.

The scene started to fade…

[-] [-] [-]

Suddenly, Harry and Hermione were in their room again and could see in color.

They looked to each other. Both of them weren’t sure what to think. They really didn’t want to think Hagrid was the heir. At the same time, that monster he was keeping did seem to be very dangerous, even more so if it really was just a baby as Hagrid said.

It was very much within Hagrid’s character to find something so terrible and dangerous and see it as cute and innocent. He would protect something he saw as a pet with all he could. They remembered how difficult it was for Hagrid to part with the dragon last year. Would he go so far as to put a creature’s safety above a student’s? Even after it murdered someone?

Still…

“Hagrid did it?” Hermione couldn’t help but ask confusion and worry. Harry looked to her just as confused and worried.

Chapter 35: The Lives of Crabbe and Goyle

Notes:

Fair warning. This chapter is mostly a side step to the main story, but fear not… It does get back to where the last chapter left off at the end. I just really wanted to try something different.

I got this idea in my head on how I want to portray Crabbe and Goyle in this story. I also felt I’ve neglected some of the side characters in this story lately as well. I’ll try to better balance them all in the future.

Crabbe and Goyle weren’t the brightest of the lot. Everyone knew this, even Crabbe and Goyle did to an extent. Their intelligence, or lack thereof according to some, didn’t matter to them. What mattered was they were loyal to Malfoy.

Their fathers were loyal to Lucius Malfoy and followed him whenever they could. Their fathers’ fathers were loyal to Abraxas Malfoy. Their fathers’ fathers’… fathers… were loyal to Abraxas’ father. The truth was all the Crabbe and Goyle fathers were loyal to Malfoys for as long as the families were allied.

Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle weren’t smart. No, they weren’t smart at all really, but they had their Malfoy and that was what mattered. Their fathers understood this too. That's why, while their Malfoy occasionally had concerns how his father would react if he didn’t follow in his footsteps, they didn’t have such worries for their own lives. Their fathers would understand and even be proud of them.

If their Malfoy didn’t join the dark lord and they followed him, their fathers would be proud of them. It took strong Crabbe and Goyle loyalty to follow their Malfoy, even against his own father and the Dark Lord. Whatever happened they would do the family proud.

In fact, Crabbe and Goyle loyalty was so strong it was even ambitious. Hufflepuff wouldn’t even dare separate them from their Malfoy. Draco did have his time apart from them, but that was fine. They were there for their Malfoy when needed. The three of them still laughed together plenty and hung out on numerous occasions, especially in class or the common room.

They were curious what it would be like if Draco did side completely with Harry Potter. The two were on friendly terms and Draco was still a powerful and respected Slytherin so far. Nott’s attempts to try and diminish Draco’s standing ended in spectacular failure. Nott’s attempts only missed ending in Crabbe and Goyle fists because Draco assured them Theodor Nott wasn’t worth their time.

Crabbe and Goyle did notice Nott had some on his side after Halloween, but those few weren’t surprises and weren’t the power in Slytherin. He lost most of support soon enough anyways. He was a big shot briefly when throwing around the word Mudblood everywhere, but even the ones who used the same term often grew tired of him. Nott, despite how he still acted like he was The Top Shit in Slytherin, wasn’t really a power in Slytherin anymore. He didn’t even get a boost after the double attack before the holiday break.

Ultimately, Crabbe and Goyle wouldn’t use that term if Draco didn’t. They would befriend Harry Potter and the others if Draco did and told them too as well. That would mean he no longer felt a need to toe the line and be extra cautious. As their time in school continued, it seemed that might eventually be the case. Draco seemed to be sensing something few others did about Harry.

It would take something major for Draco to cut ties with Harry Potter by this point. Crabbe and Goyle felt as if it would take the Dark Lord returning to full power while they were in school for that to happen. It would still possibly be debatable even then. Harry did defeat Dark Lord once after all. If the rumors regarding first year were anything to go by, it meant Harry defeated the Dark Lord twice already.

“I wonder what the muggle world is like?” Crabbe asked Goyle.

“I don’t know. Some of the things we’ve overheard are strange,” Goyle replied.

“You ever wonder if maybe they were rather impressive to survive without magic?” Crabbe asked.

Goyle was in thought. “Possibly… I can’t imagine what it would be like without magic. I used to think they were all just savages, but Draco’s been saying that might not exactly be the case,” he replied.

“I’m not about to go loony about them like Weasley… But I’m curious. Plus… a world where fists and strength rule? Sounds fun!” Crabbe replied with a grin.

“They have that saying though. Brains over brawn… Maybe there’s something to that,” Goyle said in reply.

“True… You could say brains were a strength of their own though,” Crabbe mused in thought.

“Or you could just pommel the brains until they were under your brawn,” Goyle said after a moment.

Crabbe laughed to that and banged his knuckles together. Goyle laughed as well as he clasped his friend’s shoulder. The joke was a good example of Crabbe and Goyle humor.

“So, are we going to ask Draco about what he knows of the heir tonight? Again?” Crabbe asked.

“I think we should. It’s funny having him tell us over and over again. He doesn’t seem to understand we’re intellectual enough we know word for word what he’ll say, by this point,” Goyle said with a laugh.

“That’s true!” Crabbe said matching his friend’s laugh.

It was another example of Crabbe and Goyle humor. They weren’t the brightest, but they also weren’t usually as dumb and clueless as everyone figured they were. It was funny outwitting people like that though. It also meant they could focus on more important things instead of their classwork. Teachers had low expectations for them and that suited Crabbe and Goyle just fine.

Their fathers taught them this was key for any true Crabbe and Goyle. They needed to watch their Malfoy’s back. They needed to practice fighting and looking imposing and being strong. Wizards underestimated the importance of strength and knowing how to fight. An enemy wizard can’t really cast a spell if they aren’t able to concentrate while a Crabbe or Goyle fist pommels them.

That was one thing they appreciated about Potter. He understood this importance. He would make for a good Crabbe or Goyle if he was one and had a Malfoy to follow of his own. They could sense it about Harry when they first met him on the train. They hadn’t gotten off on the right foot then, but Harry didn’t hold it against them or Draco.

They had actually been very impressed with him in that moment. It was so different meeting a wizard who knew it was still important to have a strong body. They'd bet Harry Potter could really surprise the hell out of some of the most competent Death Eaters with that thinking. Harry was fast and he was really smart.

Truth be told, Crabbe and Goyle hoped Draco sided with Potter in the end. However, they would always follow their Malfoy, no matter his path. That’s what a Crabbe and Goyle did.

[-] [-] [-]

Crabbe and Goyle were laughing as Ron Weasley got all worked up again. It was too easy for their Malfoy to do that. Draco could just smirk at Weasley and the fool's face would match his hair in color. This was something Crabbe and Goyle found hilarious. Draco however didn’t settle for something that simple alone.

“I find it interesting your family got your little sister a new wand, but not you. Perhaps even your muggle loving father is smart enough to realize you’re nothing but a waste of magic,” Draco said.

Ron almost growled at Draco.

Crabbe and Goyle smirked and cracked their knuckles. Ron’s face seemed to lose its color at the sound. Really… The youngest Weasley son shouldn’t try to sound like a beast if he didn’t have the backbone follow through. Beasts were to be respected. They didn’t back down so easily. They could tell real strength and knew how important it was.

“You’ll get yours… Malfoy,” Ron said as he left with a frown.

“You would think he’d grow a thicker skin by this point,” Draco said with a scoff.

“Ha! Weasley’s so skittish… he doesn’t even seem to realize he has a wand. Ha! Strength is important, but magic and skill are strengths too,” Goyle said with a deep chuckle.

Draco actually blinked for a moment. That was actually rather insightful for Goyle. He would wonder more about that, but then again, they did ask him once more about the heir. If he knew who this bloody heir was, he would have shared it with them by this point. Perhaps it was just a fluke that briefly came off as something more.

Draco then gave a smirk as he said, “Like I said. He’s just a waste of magic. Can’t even figure out something like that. It’s a miracle he’s somehow in the middle of our year.”

Crabbe and Goyle chuckled to that. They weren’t really in the top or middle, but that was because they had their own priorities. Ron acted like he wanted to be all smart and such, but then he spent more time trying to copy others’ work and not get caught instead. The lengths Ron went to for that goal, even baffled Crabbe and Goyle. Weasley really should put that effort into anything else, even if it wasn’t school work.

“Come Crabbe and Goyle. It’s time for our next class,” Draco said leading the way.

[-] [-] [-]

Valentine’s Day had been rather hilarious by Crabbe and Goyle standards. They didn’t get any cards or anything, but that didn’t matter to them. What was hilarious was how everyone else acted throughout the day.

Draco did get a number of cards. Not surprising considering he was the Malfoy Family Heir. Crabbe and Goyle found it too great how Pansy decided to “escort” Draco throughout the day. She used her wand to blast every card that came his way. She got points for her accuracy. She didn’t hit a single dwarf, just the cards they carried. This seemed to even impress the "volunteer cupids" a little.

There was one time a couple of the surly cupids came for Draco when she wasn’t around. Crabbe and Goyle loved that moment. Dwarves were strong! Great way to test themselves and see where they needed to improve. Goyle took one and Crabbe took the other.

The showdown happened towards the end of the day. Draco left to go for a walk around the castle and they went with him. Draco was showing the other Slytherins he wasn’t afraid of ‘Lockhart’s friends.’ He was above hiding away in Slytherin. They weren’t the house of the reckless like Gryffindor, but you weren’t supposed to show weakness to others in the house of the snake. Hiding from Dwarf cupids was showing weakness, even if many others did the same.

The two dwarves stood in front of Crabbe and Goyle. Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles. The dwarves grinned in a way only those with strength fully understood. Crabbe and Goyle looked to each other and grinned as well. Draco took a seat on a nearby bench. He could tell this would be entertaining.

“Oi, Lug. Seems we got a couple wizards who ain't ‘fraid,” one dwarf said gruffly to the other.

“I can appreciate that. Always nice to come across wizards that ain't ‘fraid to get down to the brass tacks. Right, Vergil?” the other said. The dwarf named Vergil nodded in agreement.

“Guess that means you two understand,” Crabbe said with a confident smirk.

Goyle smirked as well and flexed as he added, “You two got to go through us first.”

The dwarves seemed excited about this. They threw off their accessories and loosened their joints. It seemed this showdown already started in how Crabbe and Goyle reacted to their warm-up.

“First to draw blood?” Vergil asked as he limbered up his body.

“You got that right,” Crabbe replied as he loosened out his arms.

“However, this plays out. You two got yourselves friends in the dwarf kingdoms,” Lug said with a grin. He stretched out arms and continued to loosen his limbs. He sort of hopped a little in place too.

Goyle smirked. “Quite the honor. We’ll make sure you don’t regret it,” he replied. He cracked his neck and loosened up his shoulders.

Draco was watching with keen interest. He never learned much about the dwarf kingdoms. That was something else his father had never taught him, or maybe he didn’t even know much about them himself. Draco was curious just what being called Dwarf friend meant, since Crabbe and Goyle considered it an honor.

The two opposing forces charged each other. They slammed into one another. Goyle threw a hard punch. Vergil connected his fists with Goyle’s. The two gritted their teeth has they tried to push pass the other’s guard. They eventually both backed up a step or two.

Goyle went in again leading with his other side. Vergil met him again, but this time he pushed past Goyle’ guard. The Slytherin boy was ready though and dodged before throwing a kick.

Vergil smirked as he easily blocked the kick and stood again opposite of Goyle. “Seems you know a thing or two on how to throw hands. Pretty good for a wizard,” he said.

“Heh. Couldn’t consider myself a Goyle if I didn’t know how to throw down,” the strong boy replied.

“Let’s see just how good you can dance,” Vergil said as he charged forward again. Goyle smirked and got ready.

Crabbe was throwing punch after punch. The dwarf he was facing would dodge or deflect his attacks with ease. Some would think he’d be frustrated by this. Crabbe was grinning wildly though. He was learning so much in this fight already.

It was hard to find good practice in the wizarding world. He could already see ways to really take a fight against another wizard to the next level. A model Crabbe and Goyle knew how to change it up and combine fists with magic. That was the main goal they had when it came to magic.

“Not bad,” Crabbe said grinning in excitement.

“You’ve some good power. I can feel it. You need to up your speed though,” Lug replied with a matching grin.

“Ha!” Crabbe chuckled as he continued his fight. He started to include more complexity in his attacks.

Lug kept dodging and then threw a punch at an opening Crabbe had. Crabbe smirked as he threw up an open hand and caught the punch. He winced at the impact, dwarves were strong, but he got in a quick and strong jab to Lug’s side.

Lug broke free and made some space. He was grinning wildly himself by this point. “That’s the ticket. Your opponent moves too fast… Catch them,” Lug said in approval.

Crabbe nodded in understanding.

The two continued their showdown.

[-] [-] [-]

The fight continued. Draco was surprised how interesting it was. He always figured “Muggle Brawling”, as it was sometimes called, had no form or grace to it. There wasn’t much in the way grace here, but there was definitely form. That dodging Lug did, could be counted as a measure of grace.

As Crabbe and Goyle faced their opponents, it was becoming obvious the two sides were really enjoying this. They weren’t going straight for spilling blood. They were using attacks that couldn’t draw blood. It did show their skill and abilities though.

After a little while, it seemed they were getting a little more focused on winning the match up. Crabbe threw a fist the dwarf dodged yet again. Lug made sure his following attack couldn’t get caught this time though, even if his strength was too much for his opponent to try again.

Crabbe smirked and threw a right hook the dwarf hadn’t expected at that moment. It landed right on the dwarf’s face and split his lip. There was a little bit blood dripping from it as he stood back.

At the same time, Goyle threw a punch that wasn’t powerful enough and Vergil broke through his guard again. The dwarf hit Goyle right on the lip before it could be countered. Goyle had some blood dripping from his lip as they separated.

The two sides were tired and catching their breath as they faced each other. They were trying to figure out what to do here. As if to answer their question, a bell sound came from the set of wings Vergil tossed off earlier.

Crabbe and Goyle grinned.

The dwarves grinned.

“That what I think it is?” Crabbe asked.

“Aye. We’ll call it a draw this time,” Vergil replied.

“What’s going on?” Draco asked curiously.

Crabbe gave a chuckle. “That’s their alarm,” he replied.

The dwarves stretched and shook out their bodies. “We’re off the clock now. We ain’t working past what Lockhart paid for,” Lug replied.

The two sides looked to each again and chuckled. They then clasped each other’s arms. “You two should come by Dwarf Kingdom Lorenzeden. We could teach wizards like yourselves a thing or two,” Lug said.

“We will if Malfoy goes,” Goyle replied.

The dwarves looked them in the eyes. They grinned to each other. “If he’s got your respect, he’s a dwarf friend too. So long as he respects our rules,” Vergil said.

They looked to Draco. He was in thought for moment and gave a chuckle. “If I didn’t do that, I would be an insult to the Malfoy name,” he replied and stood up straight. Despite the things his family got into, they made sure to never truly disrespect certain magical beings, at least not to their faces.

The dwarves looked him over with discerning eyes. It was like they were seeing something more than just him. They gave Draco a nod after a minute. They turned again to Crabbe and Goyle and said, “He’s a good one.”

“Heh,” the two strong wizards replied. They smirked anew and said, “He’s our Malfoy.”

Draco once again wondered about that phrase. They liked using it. He wondered what it meant exactly. He was again wondering if there was more to the two of them and their families then what the Malfoy family knew.

“Heir Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle. See you dwarf friends later,” the two dwarves said together with nods before they picked up their costumes and left.

Draco gave an approving grin as he looked to his two friends. He waved his wand and Goyle’s lip healed. He then turned around and continued his stroll through the castle. They would end at the dining hall. It was about time for dinner.

[-] [-] [-]

Tracey gave a stretch. Pansy did the same. The two friends were hanging out together. “So… How many cards did you blast?” Tracey said with a laugh.

Pansy rolled her eyes. “I get it, but really. It should be obvious by this point a simple Valentine’s Day Card isn’t going to change anything between Draco and I. I’m not going to sit back either though,” she said.

“Any ideas on which witches sent them?” Tracey asked.

“A couple worthy of getting a reply from me,” Pansy said.

Tracey shook her head. “Sometimes I think you are a little too eager for things to work out between you and Draco,” she said.

Pansy almost blushed. Almost. “I would think it was obvious. He is quite the catch. I would be foolish to just ignore threats from certain girls. Some of them would be willing try something dangerous,” she said.

She knew where to draw the line. She did not cross it either. A true Pure Blood Lady should have elegance, beauty, and respect. They also won’t just lay down and let other witches encroach.

Some would think it was common for Pure Blood Lords to… peruse others. It was not. While an heir was important, there were rules and proper etiquette that should be followed. If a Pure Blood Lord were to have an heir with someone other than his Lady, he would have an heir, but the family’s status would take a significant hit.

There were ways to go about such things that should be followed. A Lord could do such a thing, but he would have to have his Lady’s approval. There would also be a stipulation the heir born outside marriage was just an emergency backup plan. Any children the Lady were to produce would have priority over the bastard heir, even if they were female.

There was also the fact it was rather easy to have one child. It was only a second child that could be a little difficult. Magic was strange like that. There were also plenty of families who purposefully left it off at one child. It made succession much easier and cleaner, even if there was some risk in having only one child.

“What do you make of this heir business? Has magic given you any clues?” Tracey asked.

Pansy shook her head. “Just to be careful and that it will be solved, but no hints as to when that will happen,” she said.

“I want to say we will be fine…” Tracey started with a frown.

“But Nearly Headless Nick was a pure blood, even if he is a ghost now,” Pansy added.

“Meaning either the label ‘enemies of the heir’ is a lot broader than we think, or this heir doesn’t care about collateral,” Tracey said.

“Do you think anyone else will realize that?” Tracey asked after a moment.

“Probably not. Most see him as just a ghost. Not even Draco has pieced that together yet. It could be Nearly Headless Nick is just an anomaly. But that lends more towards Slytherin’s Heir not caring about collateral,” Pansy said.

Tracey then decided to change the subject. It wasn’t fun talking about the heir and all of that. “So… Who do you think will come in second this year in the Quidditch House cup?” she asked.

Pansy was in thought for a moment. They both knew, as did everyone else, Slytherin was going to win it. It was already more or less a race to second with the other houses. She came to a decision. “I think it will be Hufflepuff. Cedric is good, even if he won’t be a match for Draco on his broom. I also think they will be playing Gryffindor in the game before the final match this year,” she said.

“They still don’t have a decent seeker,” Tracey said with a shake of her head. You would think Wood could find someone with at least a small measure of potential.

“I get the feeling the only way Gryffindor could have a good Seeker is if they used a time turner and forced the sorting hat to place Harry in Gryffindor,” Pansy said with a chuckle.

“Huh…” Tracey started. She then giggled and said, “I can see them being desperate enough to try something that ridiculous, even if it is pretty much impossible to work.”

Pansy froze for a moment and shook her head. “If that did work out… I’m pretty sure only Harry’s misadventures at the end of the school year would keep Gryffindor from winning the cup every year he was at Hogwarts,” she said.

“I’m glad it isn’t going to happen,” Tracey said.

“Why? Do you really care that much about Quidditch?” Pansy asked.

Tracey shook her head. “I enjoy the game and like it when Slytherin wins, but that isn’t what I meant. Think about it,” she said.

Pansy did for a moment but didn’t get what she was meaning.

Tracey sighed. “Harry wouldn’t be our friend in that case,” she said.

“Ohhhh… Yeah… that would be bad. I prefer how we are to that alternative,” Pansy said.

The two girls then collected themselves and left the room they were talking together inside of. If they were gone for too long, people might ask questions and make stupid assumptions. It wouldn’t be anything they couldn’t handle, but it would be annoying.

[-] [-] [-]

Draco snapped shut a book and placed it back on the shelf in the library. He was wondering why it was he hadn’t been taught more about dwarves yet. He also found it interesting Lorenzeden was a rather important Dwarf Kingdom. They weren't to be ignored even though dwarf kingdoms were actually just dwarf city areas instead of actual sovereign nations.

“It seems the whole thing with the dwarves is more interesting than I first thought it would be,” he said before getting back to the table he shared with Crabbe and Goyle. He looked to the two and raised an eye brow. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

Draco then smirked as he added, “Apart from the fact it is odd to see either of you two seriously reading a book in the library.”

Crabbe grunted. “These books are useless,” he said.

“Yeah. Completely bloody useless,” Goyle replied.

“They look so ancient they are barely holding together,” Draco commented as he quickly looked at the cover of one. He was surprised the books hadn’t just crumbled to dust in their hands. “What were you two looking into anyways?” he asked.

“A way to get stronger,” Crabbe said.

“Oh? Is that not what the dwarves said they would do if we visited Lorenzeden?” Draco asked.

“Yeah. But we need to get stronger first, and who knows when or if you will decide we should visit,” Goyle said.

“You two did seem to do pretty well facing them,” Draco said neutrally.

“They were just testing us,” Crabbe said.

“I did notice they were… Not necessarily playing with you two... but they were more thrilled about the fight in general. They weren’t eager to try and end it,” Draco said.

Goyle nodded. “It wasn’t a serious fight for them, but it was a fight they took seriously,” he said.

“Yeah. We need to prove ourselves again should we ever meet them, especially in Lorenzeden. Have to show them we ain’t weaklings,” Crabbe said. He then forced a fist into his other hand and grinned. “Have to show them we’re strong wizards.”

“Ha! Yeah. Don’t want them underestimating a Crabbe or Goyle, who have their Malfoy,” Goyle said with a matching grin.

“I will admit dwarves are something I have yet to reach in my studies as the future Lord Malfoy. What exactly is it they meant by teaching wizards like you two?” Draco asked.

He actually wasn’t sure if they would even be included in his studies outside of Hogwarts. Something rather disappointing if it was true. A Malfoy should always look for opportunities. From what he read, it’s very possible the dwarf kingdoms could offer many such chances.

“They know body magic. Fighting magic. Not the wand stuff,” Goyle said.

“They know how to make magic work with strength. It is why they are so bloody strong. Much stronger than they usually show wizards too,” Crabbe said.

“That is intriguing,” Draco said in thought. It made sense in a way. Dwarves were magical beings. They had to use magic in some way, even if it was just as a form of energy. Draco was starting to think there was even more to magic than the wizarding world knew. “You two seem to know a good bit about dwarves,” he said.

Crabbe and Goyle gave each other nods.

“Our families have always been interested in such things. It is kind of like our goal to one day learn enough from them to make our own techniques,” Crabbe said.

“Really?” Draco asked in actual surprise.

“Yeah,” the two said together.

“How come you’ve never mentioned this? I don’t think I’ve even heard your fathers mention it,” Draco said.

“Doesn’t really matter too much,” Goyle said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“We’ve got our Malfoy. That’s what really matters,” Crabbe said as he nodded.

Draco shook his head to this. It was surprising how strange Crabbe and Goyle were at times. He wasn’t really going to complain though. He looked over the titles of the books they were looking through. He was interested in checking Lorenzeden. If Crabbe and Goyle felt they needed to be better prepared, he had a couple of ideas maybe.

“Physical fitness and strength aren’t really things magicals are interested in usually. Most of the time they just use a potion or spell. I’m intrigued by the idea of visiting the Dwarf Kingdom. If you two are wanting something to get stronger…” Draco said.

Crabbe and Goyle looked to him curiously. Draco was honestly caught off guard by them showing so much interest in this matter. It really did seem to mean something much more to them than they first let on.

Draco looked around to make sure they wouldn’t be overheard. He even cast a basic Malfoy Family spell to encourage eavesdroppers to find something more interesting. It was a subtle way to get a little more privacy without out being forceful.

“It is something muggles would know a lot more about. I could ask Harry Potter if he might have some ideas or books to send your way. Write down what you two already do in that regard,” Draco said lowly.

Crabbe and Goyle seemed amazed and then grew more determined. “Ha! They were right,” Crabbe said regarding the dwarves parting words as Goyle chuckled in agreement.

Draco wanted them to keep it down, but presently he just made sure no one would be around to ask questions.

Goyle then added, “Once we do this. It will show others never to underestimate a Crabbe or Goyle!”

“Or their Malfoy,” Crabbe said as the two clasped each other’s hand.

Draco really didn’t get it. He felt they were carrying on a little too much. Then there was the whole ‘their Malfoy’ thing again. He just let out a breath and shook his head. “If it really meant that much, you two could have just said something,” me muttered to himself.

Once they were alone again, Crabbe and Goyle both looked to each other and chuckled. They would admit it was amusing how Draco acted right before they left the library. Being able to eventually prove themselves to the dwarves again meant a lot to them. It would mean a lot to their families as well. But not as much as being with their Malfoy.

“Really… Malfoys are smart. But they can’t understand the basics of Crabbe and Goyle loyalty,” Crabbe said.

“Too right!” Goyle chuckled. It was so obvious if their Malfoy didn’t want anything to do with the Dwarves, they wouldn’t either. Every Crabbe and Goyle understood this as soon as they met their Malfoy. It was just natural and how magic was to them.

“At least its bloody hilarious seeing them attempt to figure it out every once in a while,” Goyle added. Crabbe nodded in agreement as he chuckled again. Malfoys couldn’t usually appreciate Crabbe and Goyle humor like that either.

[-] [-] [-]

“I don’t believe it!” Hannah said sternly.

“But if the attacks stopped…” Susan mused in thought.

“It’s Hagrid though! There’s no way he could be Slytherin’s Heir. He was in Gryffindor. I don’t really believe in the supposed stereotypes of people in each house, but there is no way Slytherin’s Heir would end up in Gryffindor. The two houses hate each other and I’ve heard the hate goes back to the founders themselves,” Hannah said.

“I can see him not doing so intentionally… But that monster… Seemed it could think for itself,” Susan wondered still in thought.

“I personally think Riddle caught the wrong person. In the best-case scenario,” Harry said.

“And the real culprit stopped the attacks because it was too close of a call,” Hermione added as Harry nodded.

“Do you think it is the same person though?” Hannah asked.

“I’m not sure… Dumbledore’s words in the Hospital Wing seemed to suggest he thought that, but who knows. He was vague about it, even with his own staff,” Harry said.

“It could be a copycat or a successor. Maybe whoever it was last time passed down the secret to their son or daughter,” Susan said.

“That is possible. And that would still fit with Dumbledore’s words,” Harry said.

“So, we’re all agreeing it wasn’t Hagrid, but he became the unwitting scapegoat,” Hermione said. The others nodded. They felt there was no way it could be Hagrid.

Perhaps the beast, whatever it was, could be a lead though. Harry sighed, “I guess we have to look up monstrous magical spiders.” He wasn’t the only one to grimace at those words. The group wasn’t so sure they were that eager to find the answers anymore.

There was one thing though. It was on Harry’s mind. It wouldn’t go away either. “What is it, Harry?” Hermione asked.

Harry blinked at her.

“I know you well enough to tell when there is something really bothering you,” she said. The others looked to him as well.

“It might be nothing…” Harry started. He sighed. “I just feel like Riddle knew exactly what to say to me. If that makes any sense,” he said.

Hannah and Susan narrowed their eyes in thought.

Hermione gave a nod in understanding. “He did seem to be playing up to your distrust of those in power. Also, how you’ve noticed they have a tendency to err on the side of covering up, instead of solving a problem,” she said.

“Memories can be modified. There are always signs, but some of the best at modifying their own memories are really good at hiding the signs,” Susan said.

“What was the inside of the memory like?” Hannah asked.

Harry was in thought. “It was something small, but I noticed there seemed to be a lot of similarities between Hogwarts of fifty years ago and the present. Too many of them. I’m talking about small details. Like the decorative cobwebs,” he said.

“There was also the fact it was greyscale,” Hermione said.

Hannah was in thought. “The greyscale thing is rather common from what I know. My parents let me watch their memories of their wedding before when I was younger. I’ve seen inside a memory,” she said.

“They really did?” Susan asked.

Hannah blushed. “I was dreaming and carrying on about marriage to the perfect wizard at the time…” she said. Hermione and Susan seemed to understand her there and nodded in support. Harry didn’t really get it, but he left it alone.

“The cobweb thing… That is interesting. I know it is a very small thing, but I have noticed they sort of change. The obviously decorative ones, I still don’t get why that is a décor choice, were different last year. It is unlikely they would look perfectly the same fifty years ago,” Hannah said.

“Memory leak?” Susan suggested.

“What?” Harry asked.

“Well depending on how it is done… Small details like that can change based on the viewers. It is usually something only seen in an active memory though,” Susan said wracking her brain. Seriously, why was it her aunt’s unintentional lessons for Aurors kept popping up in her life. She didn’t want to be bloody Auror… mostly.

“That shouldn’t be possible with a memory supposedly from fifty years ago. Especially if it isn't shown to you directly by the witch or wizard,” Hannah said.

“What is an active memory?” Hermione asked.

“It’s kind of like a memory with some independence and flexibility,” Hannah said.

“What purpose does that serve?” Harry asked.

“It would allow you to change things up. To play out different possibilities. Usually active memories are used as a means of high level training or planning,” Susan said.

“It's mostly an Auror practice,” Hannah said. "They would use certain memories from senior Aurors to help train new ones."

“Which means, there would be no reason for what you two went through to be an active memory. It wasn’t being used to train you two for something. They also don’t last fifty years or more. They don’t come out of a diary either,” Susan said.

“Maybe there is something more to this diary,” Hannah said in worry.

“Well... I stashed it in the bottom of my trunk. There’s no reason to use it again. Whatever it is. I think what we saw was true to a point at least. There is the trophy Luna mentioned backing it up a bit. That beast is still a potential lead,” Harry said.

The girls each gave shivers. They really didn’t like the idea of looking up large and monstrous spiders. They didn’t have any other leads though. They were, however, all determined. If Hogwarts was almost closed last time, it is very likely it could be again. They doubted this heir was finished.

Notes:

We are getting close to the end of second year. Hopefully it hasn’t dragged too much. I will admit it stretched out more than I first intended. I don’t know the exact number of chapters remaining before the end of second year. I will say I already have the confrontation in the chamber along with the chapter after it pretty much finished. I am trying something very different with both of those parts. I’m looking forward to getting to them.

I would guess three chapters at a minimum remain before the end of second year. Possibly four. Things will really get moving next chapter and the way Harry and Co come about finding the information they need will be different from canon.

Chapter 36: Time Runs Out

Remus Lupin couldn’t help but smile as he walked around the new and growing magical community of the Rust District. It was still small, but there were already a good few here. The protections were easily agreed to by the others and some even knew of interesting ways to enhance them.

There had been a big surprise for Lupin after word started to spread carefully. He had not expected to see a couple who had made it work somehow. It was difficult for werewolves to have lasting relationships with people who didn’t also have the condition. That was however exactly what Mr. and Mrs. Timmins had done though.

The husband actually made a good living, but he used most of his finances in aiding research into Lycanthropy. In fact, it was a big thanks to Mr. Timmins the Wolfsbane potion even existed. He was the finical force behind Damocles Belby’s research in creating the potion and getting it approved by the Ministry.

His wife, Mrs. Timmins, was a werewolf. It seemed they heard about the growing community through a contact who knew they were well suited for joining it. They also had two daughters, both of which weren’t werewolves. It was seen as a gamble to have children if you were a werewolf.

All that was known for sure regarding such matters was if two werewolves mated while transformed, the female would get pregnant with wolf cubs. The wolf cubs would be very beautiful wolves and have near human intellect. Remus remembered hearing rumors such wolves formed a pack in the Forbidden Forest. The place was too large and the wolves too smart to know for sure though. They easily could have kept out of sight.

The Timmins had been a huge boon when building the community, especially to these early stages of the project. Mr. Timmins was helping make it so some of the members with experience in brewing could open up shop in producing Wolfsbane potion to sell at more or less cost to the community. Seeing him and his family also helped morale in the area. It gave Werewolves hope, something very essential at times to all humans.

There were a couple of families who had children that were turned, but hadn’t thrown them out. Remus was relieved about this. He knew he was one of the few who were lucky enough to have parents that cared for their child after they were infected. Too many would ‘misplace’ or send their child off somewhere they wouldn’t be seen by others. That was how strong the stigma against werewolves was. It was only slightly better nowadays.

There were also others who came as well. Mostly muggle-borns who had really bad luck after Hogwarts. They knew how stigmas worked in the wizarding world, even if theirs wasn’t anywhere near to the level of a werewolf. They had no problem living in the area with the appropriate precautions in place. They were a huge boon when it came to relations with the muggles of the Rust District and the Street Knights in particular.

Another thing that had gone well, is they already had a couple of full moons. Nothing bad happened during those nights. It was strong evidence werewolves in this community would not engage in what so many feared would happen. Wolfsbane was a great tool, but it was not the only one they had available and their plans for better access to the potion were still too early. There were other ways werewolves could keep from being a problem when transformed.

One of these other ways was a special ward a couple of muggle-borns helped create. It essentially stunned werewolves who got too close to it. There were plans to see about placing an array of them close to the edges of the community just in case. At the moment, most of the werewolves volunteered to have them placed close to their homes. The special stunning wards only worked on full moon nights. What many wizards who disliked werewolves failed to realize is most didn’t want to infect others. Fenrir Greyback was an exception and far from the rule. Most didn’t even want to infect their worst enemies.

Remus was really happy to see how Harry’s project was already going strong. He was proud to be a part of it. He just knew he was helping build something that would last and change the wizarding world for the better. “ I get a feeling this is still far from being complete. I can’t wait to see what it becomes, ” he thought to himself as he continued his stroll. He gave a friendly wave to group of children playing together in a front yard.

[-] [-] [-]

“I really hate this…” Hannah complained and blanched as she placed a book down. Magical Spiders were truly terrifying. She wouldn’t be surprised if the beast was a magical spider of some kind. Maybe not the one Hagrid had, but a different one.

Hermione frowned deeply at her book. “I really hope it isn’t what I think it is,” she said.

“It seems more and more likely it is…” Harry said.

Susan sighed, “It does seem like the type of beast Hagrid would raise as a pet.”

Luna was looking away as she held Harry’s sleeve. The magical spider from the diary was most likely an Acromantula. The things were huge and dangerous. One of the few things that scared them was a dragon, but only if they were alone or outnumbered. They did eat their own, but Harry and Co. couldn’t find anything that determined if this was only after death by natural causes, out of anger, or from hunger.

The giant spiders were able to grow up to 15 feet in length with females possibly growing larger. They also had near human intelligence and could use human speech. The things formed large colonies composed of up to hundreds of the nightmarish beasts. If things weren’t already bad enough, they saw almost everything as prey, especially humans young and old alike.

“ What the hell was able to scare one of these things? Even if they were young? ” Harry thought to himself. The one in the diary was apparently a baby, but still large enough it could have defeated Tom Riddle, if it wasn’t intent on escaping from something.

“I just had a terrible thought… Okay maybe two,” Hermione said to everyone.

“What are they? Can you start with the least terrible one?” Hannah asked in a pleading voice.

Hermione took in a steeling breath. “What if the one Hagrid had in the memory started a colony in the Forbidden Forest?” she asked the others.

All of them shivered at the thought. Luna made a muffled sound as she attempted to bury herself further into Harry’s sleeve.

“What could possibly be worse than that?!” Hannah almost shrieked.

Harry’s eyes widened and he looked to Hermione. “Are you thinking what I was thinking?” he asked.

Hermione looked to him question.

“The one we saw in the diary was terrified of something… Hagrid kept saying that along with him still being a baby,” Harry said.

“Yet he was still big enough he could have probably eaten Tom Riddle if he wanted. Instead, he ran away as quickly as possible in fear of something,” Hermione said.

Their friends were frozen in shock. That was more terrifying.

“Let’s take a break from this… maybe for a week or two?” Harry suggested as he saw how pale the others were. He felt about the same they did. He also didn't want to subject Luna to more of this. She may love magical creatures others doubted existed, but she clearly wasn't a fan such monsters.

“Thank Merlin’s beard,” Hannah said in relief as the others relaxed feeling the same way.

[-] [-] [-]

The second half of the year marched onward. Harry and the others took a much longer break from looking into magical spiders. People were also growing a lot laxer as well. There hadn’t been an attack since before holiday break. Many were starting to think maybe it had been some really terrible prank and after what happened to Nearly-Headless-Nick, they decided it was too much.

Lockhart was quick to try and take at least part of the credit, if not all of it. “Like I told you all,” he started in DADA one day. “They knew I was on the case and close to bringing them in. They decided to cut all ties and cover their tracks,” he said to them.

“In fact,” he paused for a moment to build suspense. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they hired a professional to do hide their tracks for them,” he said with a chortle at the end.

“Wouldn’t they just run if that was the case?” Seamus asked.

Lockhart tapped a finger to his temple and said, “Think about it… If they ran, that would be the same as admitting guilt. We would notice if a student suddenly turned up missing. They could then be found and brought in.”

Seamus thought it over and nodded in agreement. It was so obvious that was the case, now that he thought about it.

“I’m more than sure the attacks are over and done with,” Professor Lockhart said. “Now then… open your books to page 347…” With that, the class resumed.

[-] [-] [-]

Ginny gave a mighty stretch as she sat up in her bed. Things had been great! The diary was gone! There weren’t any more attacks! She was able to attend classes without falling asleep. She even started to actually return more to her old self again. She proved she was doing much better a couple nights ago before dinner. She got back at the twins for a less than nice joke using her infamous Bat-bogey Hex.

It was disgusting but got a lot of people laughing at them. The twins quickly ran for their lives. They spent the rest of the night hiding somewhere in the castle. They even apologized to her the next day in secret. Now if only Gryffindor stood a chance in Quidditch this year, things would be more or less perfect.

Though… she hadn’t returned to Luna yet. Ginny felt too unclean for her best friend. She did attempt to be nice to her in classes but kept her distance. Luna didn’t seem to understand the real reason Ginny was acting this way. Her best friend made the horrible conclusion she was avoiding her. Ginny wanted to try and sort things out with Luna in any way she could. It was rather difficult though. Luna now spent most of her free time with Harry Potter and the other Hufflepuffs.

Ginny heard what happened when it came to Luna earlier in the year. She had completely and utterly failed her best friend because of some dumb diary. “ What do I do about this… ” Ginny thought with a deep frown and even sniffed a little.

“Are you okay?” one of her roommates asked. It was Samantha, Ginny remembered. Her memory was still a bit of an issue, but just with the stuff during her time with the diary.

Ginny sighed. “I just realized I really messed up a lot this year. I’m hoping I haven’t done any permanent damage,” she said.

Samantha sat next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “We don’t know what’s been going on with you this year, but it seems whatever it was has passed,” she said. She gave the girl a smile and added, “We’re all more than willing to give a second chance.”

Bianca gave a giggle. “Especially with the way you got back at the twins! So good to see them get a taste of their own medicine for once,” she said with a smile as the other girls laughed.

Ginny grinned to that. “Fred and George are alright, but they do need to be reminded you will stand up for yourself from time to time,” she said.

Other than the thing with Luna, Ginny felt so very light after all of that time with the diary. She was glad to have flushed it away. This is almost how Hogwarts should have been from the start. Sadly, Luna was a big part of what Hogwarts was supposed to be in Ginny’s heart. She should have been the one to help out Luna instead of Harry.

It was wonderful Harry Potter helped Luna out, but it should have been her. After Luna’s mother died, Ginny promised herself she would be there for Luna by her side. The sorting hat actually teased her about belonging in Hufflepuff because of how much she cared about Luna. Ginny wouldn’t have minded that, since The-Boy-Who-Lived went there. She was even tempted to defy the supposed Weasley tradition of going to Gryffindor.

The hat then smugly said, “With such courage to defy expectations going back generations... you belong in GRYFFINDOR!” Ginny hated how smug the hat sounded about that. It was infuriating. How dare it tease her like that! If it was always going to put her in Gryffindor, it should have done so right from the start.

“Whatever happened to that diary you were always writing in?” one of the roommates asked.

Ginny shrugged her shoulders. “I lost it somewhere. I sort of felt I was getting a little too attached to it, so I just left it lost. No one would be able to read inside it anyways, and if they somehow did. It wouldn’t be that interesting to them,” she said.

“You were spending a lot of time with it,” Samantha admitted.

“It was the first time I ever had something like that. I might get a new one next year, but I'll know to limit how much time I spend with it,” Ginny said.

“Well… Whatever the case… How do you think the game against Hufflepuff will go? It is coming up soon,” Bianca asked excitedly.

Ginny gave a forlorn sigh. “I think we’ll lose. We need a better Seeker! If I had a broom and was in my second year, I might be tempted to try out for Seeker, even though I’d much rather play Chaser. Unless Oliver can sort out a good Seeker for next year, I’m afraid he won’t win the cup in his last year here,” she said.

“That’s a pity… He really is very good at Quidditch. He really knows his stuff. It’s his biggest passion,” Samantha said.

Ginny nodded. “On the bright side… I do think he’ll be able to go Pro. The Seeker may be our biggest problem, but it is mostly the only problem the team has. Oliver's really good as a Keeper and a team captain. The only reason teams usually beat us is because they get the Snitch first. He’s done an amazing job keeping the score low,” she said.

The other girls were eagerly paying attention to her words. They saw her as their resident Quidditch expert.

Ginny gave a frown. “Sadly, while our Chasers are obviously the best in Hogwarts. They aren’t to the level they can out score a team enough to force them to catch snitch and end the game while losing,” she said.

“Only Ireland’s that good,” Samantha said with a nod.

“They just need a little more experience with their team. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were in the next Quidditch World Cup,” Ginny said with a grin.

Ron may be bonkers for the Chudley “always in a rebuilding year” Cannons, but she actually liked Ireland and the Hollyhead Harpies the most. The Harpies she liked because they were an all-female team and the second oldest team in the league, but they weren’t usually World Cup material. Their games were loads of fun listening to on the Wireless tough. Ireland was her other favorite team that actually stood a chance of making it to the World Cup. They did so frequently and many times made it close to the final match.

“Don’t let Seamus hear you say that,” Bianca said with a giggle.

“Why not?” Ginny asked.

“Because he’s liable to ask you to marry him for actually 'getting it right' about Ireland,” Samantha said with a giggle.

Ginny rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure Seamus is liable to ask you to marry him if you just give him a pretty smile enough times,” she said. The girls laughed out loud to that.

They really hoped Ginny didn’t go back to how she was. When she wasn’t all obsessive with that diary, she was actually fun. When she was obsessive with the diary, she was a mix between creepy and scary, when she wasn’t sickly. They would end it and just move on if she did get that way again. It was too much for them after this whole year.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry sighed. Hermione sighed as well. They were going to meet with Hagrid regarding the beast he had in the diary’s memory. They weren’t looking forward to it. They liked visiting Hagrid socially, but not like this. They had to know though. Depending on his answer they might pick up looking into Acromantulas more. Something they really didn’t want to do, but would if needed.

Harry knocked on the door to the hut.

“Coming!” Hagrid said as soon as Fang’s barks subsided. “Ahh! Great ta see ye! Only you two this time?” he asked with a bright and friendly smile.

“I’m afraid so,” Hermione said in a friendly enough manner.

“Well, come on in then,” he said letting them inside and offering them tea. They gladly took him up on it. This wasn't going to be easy.

“Can’t believe ye both are gonna be in third year come September,” he said shaking his head in disbelief as he sat down across from them.

He turned to Harry and grinned as he said, “It feels like yesterday I was just bringing you to your aunt and uncle. I’m very glad ya got away from them. I feel it’s for tha best you ended up in the Rust District. Only wish yer parents never died in the first place.” He gave a sniff.

Harry and Hermione looked to each other with sorrow. They really didn’t want to talk about this heir business with Hagrid. They'd much prefer just talking to Hagrid like usual.

“So… What electives are ye taking next year?” Hagrid asked.

“Hermione’s taking all of them,” Harry said with a snicker.

Hermione gave a playful frown and lightly swatted him on his arm. Hagrid gave a chuckle to that. “If anyone can pull that off… It be you, Hermione,” he said with a grin.

“At least someone has faith in me,” Hermione said with a playful scoff.

“Never said you couldn’t do it. Just think it might be a little too time consuming,” Harry said.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

“What will you be taking, Harry?” Hagrid asked.

“I’ll be taking Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes,” Harry said.

“That will leave ye an open period,” Hagrid said.

Harry nodded and said, “I’ll be using that time for independent study. I figured I might as well do something extra productive during that time. I just didn’t find the other electives interesting.”

“I keep telling him they will all be very interesting,” Hermione said.

Harry looked to her with a raised eyebrow. “The only way Muggle Studies will be interesting is to see how outdated and ridiculous Wizard knowledge is on the topic. That novelty would wear off before the first week is over,” he said.

Hermione blushed a little as she looked to the side. “I’m sure it won’t be that bad… Or at least it will be interesting for the whole year,” she said.

She had been given a bit of a hard time for choosing that class. Everyone was in agreement she should be the one teaching the class. She should not be taking it as a student. She hated to admit it, but part of her agreed they might be right. It was the principle of the matter by this point though. She probably wasn’t going to continue it after the first year. It would have to be very interesting for her to continue a second year.

Hagrid shook his head in amusement. He then took a sip and said, “So… Is there anything else ye wish to ask? I get the feeling there is a reason it is just tha two of ye.”

Harry and Hermione sighed in almost perfect sync. Harry seemed to figure he was the one to first broach the subject. “First of all… Realize we don’t think it was your fault,” he started.

Hagrid gave them a serious look. This was looking to be really important.

“We don’t think you had anything to do with it,” Hermione further emphasized.

“But we do think you could give us a very important clue,” Harry said.

Hagrid sighed. “Ye mind if I add a little extra something ta my tea first?” he asked.

They nodded to him. Hagrid did just that and took a sip.

“We know why you were expelled,” Harry said.

Hagrid almost spit out his tea in shock to that. He didn’t think it would be about that. “How do ye know that?” he asked.

“We found something that was hidden away which revealed it,” Harry said.

“We also thought something was off about it all,” Hermione added.

Hagrid took a long sip and poured himself some more. “I don’t like talking about it,” he said.

“As we said, we don’t think you were in any way at fault. We think you were an unintended scapegoat,” Harry said.

Hagrid was in thought for a moment. He then gave a nod to them.

“I’ve always been fascinated by magical creatures, as you two very well know,” Hagrid said to them. “I got in trouble a good bit for my many pets during years as a student.”

He then took a long sip on his tea again. “But tha year I was expelled was for complete Hogwash,” Hagrid said.

Hermione and Harry nodded, even though both secretly think having a pet acromantula was a worthy reason for being expelled. That was actually getting off lightly in their opinion. They did think the reason he was actually expelled was, as Hagrid put it, complete Hogwash.

“Ye see I uhhhh… had a pet acromantula…” Hagrid said uneasily.

Harry and Hermione knew this but still stared in shock as he admitted to it. They knew the most obvious answer, but having him confirm it made it real.

“I know what ye’re thinking. It wasn’t like that though. Ye see Acromantulas are dead smart and they are very capable of forming bonds with others if ye raise them right. Aragog… That’s his name. I found him in a right panic that year. Things were happening. A lot like this year. That Prefect found me though. Claimed I was the one behind the attacks. He saw Aragog make an escape and figured he were the one attacking students,” Hagrid said.

“Why did he run?” Hermione asked.

“He was right terrified. Few things scare an acromantula, even when they’re small. Don’t know what it was in particular. I actually spoke ta him about it, they can speak our language ye see. He was so terrified he wouldn’t even say what it was that had him so worked up. I was then turned in by that Prefect and the attacks stopped. Poor girl that was… She died in tha restroom. Pity that. Really a pity,” Hagrid said.

“And when the attacks stopped, you were expelled?” Harry asked.

“More than that…” Hagrid said with a haunted look. “I ain’t talking about that though. Not enough of the good stuff to get talking about that,” he said.

“We understand. We just wanted to learn more about what actually happened from you,” Hermione said and Harry nodded.

“Ye might be able ta get more outta old Aragog if ye go and talk ta him. Just need ta follow them spiders to do that,” Hagrid said.

“I don’t much like the idea of doing that. We actually read a little about them. While they can form a bond, as you said, that bond is very tenuous,” Harry said.

Hagrid shook his head to that. Acromantula were just misunderstood. “Probably bad idea for a buncha second years going there anyways,” he said with a sigh. He gave stretch and asked, “Will that be all?”

Harry and Hermione looked to each other. “Yeah. That will be all. Thanks, Hagrid. Sorry to have asked to relive all of that,” Harry said.

Hagrid gave a small smile. “Aint nothing wrong with it. It were tough though. Have a good evening,” he said.

“Good Evening to you as well, Hagrid,” the two said as they got up to leave as Hagrid helped himself to another cup of tea with extra of the strong stuff.

[-] [-] [-]

“Well… We didn’t learn too much more,” Hermione said.

“We learned a girl died in the bathroom. Do you think?” Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head. “That has to be a coincidence. Besides, if Myrtle did know anything about what was happening. Surely, she would tell Professor Dumbledore, even if she is a ghost,” she said.

“Or at least Luna. The two spend a decent about of time together,” Harry said.

“Guess we’re back to the looking up Acromantulas…” Hermione said looking pale.

“Seems so,” Harry said with a sigh. He reached out and put an arm around Hermione and pulled her close. She seemed to feel a lot better with him holding her like that.

[-] [-] [-]

Diary Tom was growing impatient. This was not how it was supposed to go. Harry Potter had made contact with him. Tom figured Harry would be more and more curious about the memory he shared of his time at Hogwarts. The annoying boy had only watched the memory that one time and put the diary in the bottom of his trunk.

Tom was still patient for a good while. He knew how important it was to take your time before striking. He had first hidden his influence from the Weasley girl before she went home for the holidays. He even humored the foolish girl when she stayed away from the diary. He was curious how it would play out. He pretty much already had the influence he needed over her for his plans and could call upon her at his leisure.

When she tossed the diary into that toilet, he found it interesting a first year from Ravenclaw happened to be there and picked up the diary. He also found it rather amusing his previous victim was present as well. It was far too hilarious she was so pathetic she chose to spend her afterlife crying in the same toilet she wailed in during her last moments of life.

However, Diary Riddle realized the first year was actually friends to Harry Potter. He had been observant when using the Weasley girl as his vessel. He used his magic to subtly push the small Ravenclaw in the right direction. She was wary of the darkness in the diary. He merely assured her Harry would know what to do. That Harry could resist the darkness.

He hadn’t counted on the boy doing so well at exactly that in actuality. Harry had not at all been swayed by his influence. Tom could have gone with a brute force attempt, but he wasn’t so foolish. That annoying mudblood was with him almost constantly. He knew she would do something foolish and possibly ruin everything if he was too overt in his actions.

Perhaps he could have taken her on as a new vessel, but he wasn’t about to dirty himself in such a way. It didn’t matter she was rather attractive and using her as he pleased would really get to Harry Potter. It didn’t matter there was a certain delicious irony to using a mudblood to cull the other mudbloods from the school. He had high standards and wouldn’t sink to such a level.

The diary finally decided it had no other choice. It would tug on that link it had to the Weasley girl. He was ready to make his move. It was time. She would be the first sacrifice for his greatness, but there was something else he wanted to do first.

The diary concentrated on the link and its power.

[-] [-] [-]

Ginny groaned as she sat up in her bed with her brain feeling fuzzy. It was almost like when... She panicked! “What was I doing?! ” she thought in horror.

Her brown eyes went oddly blank. She almost mechanically opened her trunk. Tom was there and waiting for her. She was so lucky he forgave her for abandoning him! How foolish she was! She deserved the fate he had planned for her. It was the least she could do. In fact, she was honored to be chosen for such greatness after how she had failed him. This would all be for Tom’s sake.

Ginny left Gryffindor and ignored her roommates’ questions. They felt insulted by her blatant disregard of them. As they had kind of agreed to earlier, this was the last straw. “And here I thought we were making progress…” one of them said with a huff.

“Too true,” another said in agreement as the others huffed as well.

Whatever happened to Ginny was no longer a concern of theirs. She was acting strange again, except this time they actually felt extra creeped out for some reason. She passed by them serenely, but something was off about her. Really off. Best to just cut ties at this point. That’s what the wise voice in their heads told them at least. They saw no reason to argue.

[-] [-] [-]

It was almost time for the match that would decide who was second this year. Everyone was pretty sure it would be Hufflepuff. Gryffindor’s lack of a Seeker really hurt them in this match up. It wasn’t due to an unfair advantage like the brooms the Slytherins had this time either. Cedric was good as a Seeker. He was really good.

His athletic build and speed were a strong combination. He was the largest Seeker at Hogwarts, so none of the others could dare knock him about much. If they didn’t seem to more or less bounce off of him, he would remain steady and solid on his broom after their failed attempt.

Flint tried size in the past, but even he would begrudgingly admit Cedric was an exception that couldn’t be replicated. Slytherin would pretend otherwise, but the truth was last year the only reason they won the cup is because Gryffindor was their last opponent. The Lions' Seeker was so abysmal, Slytherin was able to score all of the points they needed to win the cup instead of Hufflepuff.

Harry, Hermione, Hannah, Susan and Luna were trying one last time before the game to put pieces together. They still didn’t have much. Luna confirmed Myrtle never told her about her death. The small blonde didn’t pry because she felt that would be rude. The others agreed they didn’t have enough evidence or reason to bother the ghost girl about it.

At the moment, Luna was balancing the magic marker they used for the board between her nose and top lip. She even looked at it cross-eyed for a bit hoping maybe that would give inspiration. It was just giving her a headache though. The others were looking through books again.

Luna looked to the board again and the marker fell to her lap. She looked at the board with narrowed eyes and asked, “Harry?”

“Yeah?” he replied.

“Can you describe the voice again?” she asked.

Harry let out a sigh and nodded. He wasn’t sure what good it would do, but he might as well humor her. “It seemed to be coming from the walls. It was inhumane and very bloodthirsty,” he said.

Luna was humming in thought. She wrote on the board “In walls. Not human. Bloodthirsty.” She tilted her head a little in thought.

“How would you describe the way it spoke? How did it pronounce words?” Luna asked.

The others were looking to Harry with keen interest. Harry rubbed his chin in thought. “Hissy,” he decided as the best answer.

Luna added that to the board and stared at it wide-eyed. Hermione gave a gasp. She looked to Luna who seemed to almost nod in agreement.

“Library! Go! Now! Bye!” Hermione said quickly as she grabbed Luna and dragged her off with her.

The three remaining Hufflepuffs looked to each other in shock. “Should we go with them?” Harry asked.

“I don’t think we should. Did you see the way she acted?” Hannah asked.

Harry nodded.

Susan gave a giggle. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up forcing Madam Pence out for being too loud and in the way,” she said.

Harry and Hannah laughed after they mentally pictured that. That was almost a good reason to join them. Almost…

“It is getting close to the game,” Hannah pointed out.

“Might as well go and cheer Hufflepuff on,” Harry said with a nod as he led the way.

[-] [-] [-]

Everyone was excited for the game, even if it was just to see who got second. The excitement was so palpable you could taste it. The players were all lined up facing each other and ready for the tip off. The crowd was cheering and people were stomping their feet in the stands.

Harry, Hannah, and Susan were sitting with the rest of Hufflepuff just as excited as everyone else. The Slytherins watching the match were even excited about it. They knew they had the cup in the bag this year. Draco was probably one of the best Seekers when it came to flying and he had a broom to accent his skills. They still wanted to watch the game. It was still exciting. It was still Quidditch!

However…

Some people pointed in the distance next to the castle. They could all see someone was quickly making their way to the pitch with purpose. Just when everyone could make out the figure was Professor McGonagall, she pulled out what looked like a megaphone.

“This game has been cancelled! Everyone is to report back to their dorms immediately. Prefects! Gather your house and lead them back. Feel free to use the emergency routes if you so desire,” Professor McGonagall said through the megaphone.

The students were abuzz with curiosity and disappointment the game was cancelled. They also seemed to make a point of following her directions, even if they did so while complaining. Harry, Hannah and Susan were surprised when Professor McGonagall came straight to them.

“If you three would follow me,” she said gently.

“What happened?” Hannah asked.

“There’s…” her voice faltered for a moment. “There’s been another double attack,” she said.

“Luna and Hermione?” Susan asked louder than she meant to speak.

Professor McGonagall gave a nod. “Follow me,” she said again.

Already whispers could be heard. It was a double attack! Another one!

This time though…

A pure blood was also a victim…

[-] [-] [-]

Harry looked again at the figures of Luna and Hermione. They were both petrified. Harry took in deep breath and let it out. It was odd how they were found. Both had hand mirrors with them. He had no idea what it meant. Hannah and Susan didn’t either.

After this attack, everything was different. No one felt safe. Not even the Slytherins felt they were untouchable. Luna may have been seen as on the crazy side, but her family had been pure blood for a long time. It was soon after the attack Draco mentioned to everyone Nearly-Headless-Nick was actually a pure blood in life.

Not even Theodore Nott felt like he was the big man in Slytherin anymore. He was actually rather scared. He talked big, but many knew his family, while pure blood, didn’t reach as far back as the Lovegoods in that regard. The Lovegoods weren’t some rich and influential pure-blood family, but they were old.

Everyone, including the Slytherins, were now realizing this meant one of two things. Either the phrase “Enemies of the Heir” had a much broader definition, or they didn’t care if anyone got in the way by accident. It was obvious now Dumbledore couldn’t keep it under wraps any longer. The Ministry finally took action.

Their choice of action only made things worse though. “Honestly… I almost think Dumbledore deserves it for his poor handling of the situation, ” Harry thought to himself. The headmaster was dismissed and Lord Malfoy delivered the message on the behalf of Board of Governors in person. It was still a bad idea though.

Harry especially didn't agree with what happened to Hagrid. He was arrested and taken to Azkaban, just so the ministry looked like they were doing something about the attacks. Harry heard about that place, and he could tell it was terrible. It was obvious this was the second time Hagrid was sent there. The first time was after he was expelled and that was what he wouldn't talk about no matter what when they visited him.

Harry looked at the two girls a little longer. “I should probably go, ” he thought to himself. The school was now under a very strict curfew. You weren’t even allowed to go to the bathroom outside of your house unsupervised. He was currently in the Hospital Wing well past curfew. He used his skills from the Knights to sneak in unnoticed. He had to see them again.

There had been some good news just that morning. The mandrakes were more or less ready, but the brewing would still take some time. Harry couldn’t look at this bright side though. He saw a new message on the wall on his way here.

This one said, “Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever.”

Harry was pretty sure the staff would be making an announcement about it soon enough. He was planning to go and find this chamber. He now had a couple of good ideas on where to start. He wasn’t planning to speak to a professor either. He wouldn’t put it past them to try and cover this up even now.

This was way he wanted to see the two girls one last time.

Before he was about to leave, Harry noticed something in Hermione’s hand. It was a piece of paper. He took it from her hand, how he wished it was warm like usual. He read the piece of paper.

The most fearsome of beasts is by far the Basilisk. The King of Serpents! They can live for many hundreds of years and grow to gigantic sizes. The basilisk is hatched from a chicken’s egg beneath a toad. It is the deadliest of any creature. Not only does it have deadly venomous fangs, it can instantly kill by just looking you in the eye. If you see it indirectly, the snake will petrify the victim instead. Spiders flee before this mighty serpent. It is their mortal enemy. The only thing the Basilisk fears is the cry of a rooster, for it is fatal to The King of Serpents.

Now, Harry understood why the two reacted to him describing the voice as hissy. He didn’t even need to see Hermione’s note about it getting around the school using the pipes to know why he heard it in the walls.

Harry quickly left. He needed to get some supplies. His time was short though. He was on the clock. Whoever was taken into the chamber probably didn’t have much time left.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry planned to get some supplies really quick and leave, but he was cut off by Hannah and Susan who were wearing their school uniforms. “I need to get going,” he said to them.

“What’s in the bag?” Hannah asked.

“Supplies,” Harry said.

“Why?” Susan asked.

Harry sighed. “I don’t know what all I will find, but I am going to the chamber. Myrtle won’t be able to escape this time. I’m pretty sure she’s the one who died last time. No evidence, but I have to do something. I overheard a couple of portraits complaining about her bathroom flooding again,” he said.

“We’re coming with you,” Susan said.

Harry raised an eyebrow at her. He handed her the torn piece of paper. “That’s what’s down there,” he said.

Susan was stunned. Hannah curiously looked on as well. She was wide eyed and stunned after seeing the scrap of paper too. Harry was almost to the door. He used their shock to his advantage.

“More reason we’re coming too!” Hannah called to him.

Harry sighed and shook his head. “Hufflepuff Loyalty…” he muttered. “Keep up then,” he said to them as he left. He had no time to argue. “Someone’s been taken down there,” he added before picking up pace.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry made his way to his destination with Hannah and Susan barely able to keep him in sight. He was not in a good mood. He hated how Hermione and Luna didn’t share their thoughts on the matter with them.

He mostly blamed himself though. He shouldn’t have let them go to the library together like that. He was foolish to think things were more or less in the clear. There hadn’t been any actual evidence to suggest so. He also felt stupid for not putting the pieces together himself! It all seemed so obvious now.

Harry heard the familiar wailing of a girl ghost. He wouldn’t let her continue. She had been missing earlier when he looked for her right after the attack. It seemed she was always in the bathroom, except for when it was convenient and you actually wanted to find her.

Harry felt angry now. Myrtle had the answer this whole time! But she just wallowed pathetically in her own self-pity. She died 50 years ago. It was time to get over it.

Harry barged into the second-floor girls’ bathroom on his own. Hannah and Susan hadn’t caught up yet.

“What are you doing in here? Boys aren’t allowed!” Myrtle shouted in surprise.

“How did you die,” Harry said bluntly.

“Hmph! What is it to you?” Myrtle asked as she turned her ghostly nose up into the air.

“How did you die? You’ve had the answer this whole time to the chamber and told no one!” Harry said angrily.

“What does it matter to me? I’m just a ghost! I don’t feel anything! I’m just dead! People just make fun of me. Myrtle’s always crying! She’s so ugly. No one ever liked her,” Myrtle whined in a high-pitched voice.

She was about to continue her wailing again. How dare this second-year boy make demands of her?! Good looking people always felt they were owed something by everyone else and they were the only ones who mattered. They never think of people like her. They are always so selfish!

Harry didn’t let up on his gaze. “Luna was attacked,” he said lowly, just as Hannah and Susan entered behind him catching their breath.

“Ohhh…” Myrtle said as she deflated. “Oh no…” she said again in worry.

“She’s only petrified. But whoever did this, has to be stopped,” Harry said.

“I agree…” Myrtle said looking to him in full sincerity. She had been guilty of exactly what she accused him of doing. She was wrong to be that way, even in her death. She needed to make up her bad behavior, especially since Luna was hurt. She decided then to fully cooperate with them. She knew how important Luna was to them as well.

Harry got ready to finally hear her tale and at last get the answer to the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets.

Notes:

In case anyone is upset by how Myrtle behaved, realize she only encountered them a little at the party in this story apart from Luna. She's also on the selfish side, even in canon. We know she is always feeling pity for herself, and she also pervs on the students at Hogwarts when she isn't crying in the bathroom. She never even tried to tell anyone what happened to her. I'm pretty sure given how ghosts are in Harry Potter, someone would have asked her what happened hoping to solve the mystery of her death. I'm not saying it isn't sad what happened to her. Also, in this story, she will redeem herself greatly in the next chapter.

Chapter 37: Confronting a Future Dark Lord

“Wow… I can’t even imagine what that would be like,” Hannah said as Myrtle finished telling them how she died.

“Did you feel anything?” Susan couldn’t help but ask.

“No. I didn’t. It was actually rather anti-climactic in the end. I just saw the eyes of that Basilisk and I was dead. No pain. Nothing. I guess you could say I felt shocked at the lack of anything,” Myrtle said.

Harry was in thought as he looked around the bathroom. He stood up and looked at one of the sinks. It had what looked like a snake etching on it. “Was this the one he stood near?” Harry asked.

“It was,” Myrtle answered.

“Do you think that etching is a marker?” Hannah asked.

“I used to always think it was just something a Slytherin added,” Myrtle said.

Harry looked at it in thought. “What do you think the password is?” he asked.

Hannah raised an eyebrow and asked, “How many people do you know that can speak Parseltongue?”

“There probably isn’t a password,” Susan commented.

“Couldn’t someone just hiss at it and open the passageway then?” Harry asked.

“You can’t just imitate parseltongue and control snakes. That would be so ridiculous if you could just hiss a few different ways and it would work,” Myrtle said.

“There’s magic to speaking parseltongue you have to have. That’s why it is so rare and why everyone usually sees it as a dark art. If you could just learn to speak it, then it wouldn’t be as scary,” Hannah said.

“There would be books with translations and such,” Susan said.

“Okay. I get it. Dumb question,” Harry said. With how the wizarding world was at times, he wouldn’t have been surprised if you could just hiss a few times and get the Chamber opened. Sometimes it felt like some person wrote a bunch of rules for magic and then ignored them when convenient for their whims.

Harry focused on the etching. He took in a deep breath and spoke to it. “ Opennn, ” he hissed.

The three students and a ghost backed up as they heard the sound of stone moving around behind the walls. It was a little worrying to be honest. Harry wasn’t the only one fearing this entrance or the chamber below could just collapse one day.

“Whoa…” Hannah said as she looked at the large opening in the wall.

“How have you not noticed that before?” Susan couldn’t help but ask.

Myrtle frowned to her. “I don’t spend all of my time crying in her every single day…” she said in defense.

“Sorry. I was just wondering. That isn’t exactly subtle,” Susan said pointing out the large opening and the rearranged sinks.

“Maybe there’s magic the Heir used to drive others away,” Hannah suggested.

“That could be…” Myrtle thought out loud.

“As interesting as I am sure such a conversation would be… We need to get going,” Harry said.

“Right. Soooo… Who’s first to go into the creepy dark hole in the wall that leads to a chamber everyone thought was just a myth and houses a giant basilisk?” Hannah asked.

All four seemed a little apprehensive at her words. Harry swallowed and went first. “This is for Hermione and Luna,” he said just as he entered the opening. The others looked equally determined at his words.

[-] [-] [-]

Under different circumstances, Harry would have enjoyed entering the Chamber. It was like a big slide you would go on at a water park. It just wasn’t as pleasant. You were sliding on muck instead of water and it was really dark.

The exit point left much to be desired as well. Harry gave a groan as he stood up. The area the entrance led to was dark. Harry immediately used a light spell to see in the area. The place was surrounded by damp and slimy rock walls. The ground he stood upon was so dirty he wondered if the actual floor was a couple of feet below.

“Aaaaahhhhh!” Harry soon heard coming from behind him as both Susan and Hannah flew out of the slide. Myrtle floated in right behind them. She was looking around curiously. Harry hadn’t expected her to follow them.

“Yuck…” Hannah said as she stood up and grimaced at the state of her robes.

Susan looked like she was keeping her mouth shut so she wouldn’t accidentally puke after that long and twisty slide ride. She also looked like she wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to wash out the muck and dirt.

“I never knew it was like this below the school,” Myrtle said. She seemed to be a bit excited. Harry supposed she had long since learned the school’s layout, being a ghost and all. This was probably like discovering a new tasty treat for the first time to her.

“You know. If I was this heir person… I would have at least cleaned this place up a bit. Maybe put up some lights. If you’re going to have a secret lair… Go all out at least,” Harry said. He needed to say something to get his mind off the fact he might die down here. He had no idea how to deal with the Basilisk. Susan gave a giggle along with Hannah causing both girls to relax a little as they all focused on the task at hand.

“Well... Let’s get going,” Harry said as they walked forward.

The others followed but all of them felt uneasy. It didn’t help that they heard some kind of rumbling coming from somewhere above a few times. “Try not to think about that…” Harry told himself. He only had problems with small enclosed spaces when they were unstable… like this one.

There was a crunch sound and Hannah let out an “Eeep,” sound. She then let out a breath, but grimaced. “Animal bones…” she said to the others. They all felt relieved in their own right. Animal bones were creepy, but they weren’t a floor crumbling away or a boobytrap springing.

Harry was in the lead with the others a little way behind him. The rumbling sounds suddenly grew really loud. This time the ground even shook a little. “Brace yourselves!” Harry called just before part of the ceiling collapsed between them.

Once the dust settled, Harry stood up and looked around making sure he was okay and if we could find Hannah, Susan, or Myrtle. He frowned. “Are you alright?!” he shouted, but heard no reply.

Just as he feared he led his friends to their deaths, Myrtle’s ghostly head popped out of the debris. “Oh good! You’re fine. Hannah and Susan are okay as well,” she said before disappearing again.

Harry felt relieved and was now glad Myrtle decided to follow them. He wasn’t sure if he would have been able to figure out if they were fine or not otherwise.

Myrtle’s head popped back out again. “They said to continue while they figure out how to make an opening. Their wands are fine so they have options,” she said.

“I’m glad to hear that. Tell them I wish them the best of luck. I also hope they will be careful. The rocks could collapse again while they make that opening,” Harry said as Myrtle nodded and vanished again.

Harry looked back at the large rock pile behind him one last time. He really hoped he could get back through somehow and they would be careful. He also really hoped he lived so he could worry about if he could get back or not.

“Wait!” a high-pitched ghostly voice called causing him to pause and look behind him again.

“Myrtle? What are you doing?” he asked as the ghostly girl floated over to him.

Myrtle looked determined as she said, “I can’t just sit back. Not when Luna was attacked. I’m coming with you. I can’t really help Hannah and Susan anyways.”

“You already helped out by telling us what happened,” Harry said.

“And I could have done so much sooner. If I had, maybe Luna wouldn’t have been attacked. She may just be petrified, but that is by luck alone,” Myrtle said.

Harry looked her over. Luna’s attack had been worrying for many due to her blood status. With Myrtle, the attack was on someone she saw as a friend. Maybe even the closest friend she ever had in both life and death. Harry could appreciate her determination.

“The basilisk’s gaze can petrify you. Sir Nick was petrified when it looked at him,” Harry said in warning.

“I’m still coming,” Myrtle retorted.

“I’m not saying you have to leave. I’m just letting you know,” Harry said.

“Ohh,” Myrtle said as she paused for a moment.

“I honestly don’t know what to do about the gaze,” Harry admitted with a frown.

“I have some ideas. The silliest is I’ll be immune, since it was the gaze of the snake that killed me,” she said.

“A not as silly one?” Harry asked.

“Basilisks are dangerous and ancient. But they are also basic when it comes to evolution,” she started.

“Basic, but still the deadliest of creatures,” he said.

“That the crow of a rooster can kill,” she added.

Harry had to pause in step to that. He knew that was true, but it was something else hearing it said to him. Why would something so dangerous and so deadly be so easy to kill? You would think after some time they would have evolved past that.

“What are you thinking?” Harry asked her.

“The basilisk can kill with just its gaze. If you see the reflection, you are petrified. The basilisk attacks your very magical core with that gaze. That is how it kills with that alone,” Myrtle said.

“What about muggles then?” Harry asked.

“All muggles actually have magic cores as well. They are very weak, but not always and that is how muggle-borns come about. It is also the reason why almost every muggle/magical family will have all magical children. For their love of lineage and such, pure bloods really don’t know much about genetics. Most magicals don’t,” she said.

“That does explain a lot… but not what your plan is,” Harry said.

“Sorry…” Myrtle said with a slight ghost blush.

“I’m not being mean. Just getting back to the topic at hand. Hermione has a tendency to go off on tangents. The only reason she isn’t in Ravenclaw, is because she holds on tight to those she considers friends,” Harry said with a smile.

“I did like meeting you two, however briefly it was, at the Deathday party. We have to do this for her as well and whoever was brought down here,” Myrtle said.

Harry nodded in agreement.

“My point about attacking cores directly is this. A basilisk can attack several separate cores at once, all of those in its gaze, but if I were too… Quasi… possess you. That wouldn’t work,” she said while blushing.

“Ghosts can actually do that?” Harry asked a little worried.

“With magicals, it has to be voluntarily. We can possess muggles and squibs with more ease, but it would be very obvious to all other magicals if we did so to a magical. It isn’t obvious if we are voluntarily possessing a magical though,” Myrtle explained.

“So, it can’t be forced on a magical in any way?” Harry asked to be sure.

“Precisely,” Myrtle replied.

“What would it mean if we were to do this?” Harry asked.

“Ghosts have cores as well. It is the very reason we are able to exists in the first place. They are intangible, but they do exist. If we were to do this, our cores would be intertwined. They would be two wrapped into one. The Basilisk’s gaze would not be able to attack us. It couldn’t determine which one was which. As I said, it has to attack a single core, even if it can attack several separate cores at the same time,” Myrtle said.

“This still sounds like a long shot,” Harry commented.

“It has never been done before to my knowledge and it’s mostly something I came up with. I may spend a lot of time crying… But I have been… dead… for half a century. Ghosts don’t need any sleep, and I’ve never left Hogwarts’ grounds,” Myrtle said.

It was interesting to hear this about ghosts. Harry had never really thought too much about what the afterlife for a ghost was like. It sounded like something that could get a little stale to him though.

“So… being a Ravenclaw, I’ve naturally spent most of my free time in the library studying books. I don’t even have to worry about the protections around the restricted section. I can’t take the books with me. But I can read all of them if I want, for as long as I want. I just have to stay there while reading them,” she said.

Harry gave a thoughtful smile to that. He was pretty sure Hermione would want to become a ghost when she died after hearing that. Unlimited access to books? For all of eternity? That was probably her version of Heaven.

“I still don’t like it, but it is probably our best bet,” he said.

“If we knew each other better, we could try something different. I could keep watch while avoiding the eyes and you could follow my directions with your eyes closed while attacking. I don’t think we know each other well enough for that level of teamwork though,” Myrtle said.

“I’ll agree with you on that. Are you sure about this?” Harry asked.

“I already said I will do this for Luna, Hermione and whoever else is down here. I shouldn’t have been as selfish as I was earlier. I may not be a Hufflepuff, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care for my friends, few as they are,” Myrtle said.

“Just double checking. This is a very serious situation. I’m fine with this idea. What do you think will happen if you are wrong though?” Harry asked.

“It is possible the snake's attack could separate us before attacking us individually,” she said.

“When it appears, could you look for me? I would close my eyes and you can look. That way it will just petrify you and I won’t die. I know you are touchy about it, but…” Harry said.

“I’d rather get petrified and you stay alive to figure something else out,” Myrtle interrupted him.

“Let’s do this then. I think it is best if we do it now. That way I can get used to the possession before we have to jump into action,” Harry said.

Myrtle nodded in agreement.

[-] [-] [-]

Luckily, Myrtle knew what to do for this possession to work. They were able to get it together rather quickly. That’s why Harry was currently sitting in a meditative pose in the middle of a drawn circle with ghostly glowing flames at certain points. It wasn’t too complicated of a setup process, but took some work.

“Magics of Yore,” they said together. Harry in his normal voice and Myrtle in her ghostly voice. “I beseech thee. We wish to be two in one until our task is done. Hear our plea,” they finished together.

There was a ghostly wind in the area reacting to their call. It wasn’t cold, or warm. The flames burned brighter. The two gasped at the same time as they closed their eyes. Magic swirled around them. Harry could feel the energy from the magic. He could also feel Myrtle’s core as the two eventually combined into one.

Harry opened his eyes once the spell was complete. “This feels… Different,” he said in his normal voice. He was thinking it would be echoing or something. Then he realized Myrtle said it wasn’t easy to know if a magical was possessed willingly. Having an echoing voice would kind of give it away.

What he did notice was another presence inside him. That was Myrtle he could tell. It was cold, but not an uncomfortably cold. The coldness slowly ebbed away, but the feeling of another presence remained. His mind started to fill with knowledge.

“ Since we are one, you are learning everything I know, ” Myrtle’s voice said inside his head. It was similar to when the Sorting Hat spoke to him.

“ Does it go both ways? ” Harry asked mentally. He was sure if it did, it wasn’t much for her. It was probably all stuff she already knew for years.

“ It does… Wow… Really?! I’d never thought of that…” Myrtle said distractedly.

Harry raised an eyebrow. Maybe he was wrong. “ What are you learning that you didn’t already know? ” Harry asked in his mind. He was approaching this as he did during the sorting. It seemed to be the right way to do this.

“ It is hard to explain it all. I guess you could say your approach to things. The stuff you learned growing up in the Rust District as well, ” Myrtle thought.

Harry’s eyes widened to that.

“ I won’t tell anyone and they won’t be able to force it out of me, ” Myrtle told him. She felt his worry.

Harry relaxed. He liked that he was learning more magic. It did however mean classes would be even easier for him in the future. He decided he would focus on studying other things when he could, so Hogwarts wouldn't become boring.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry and Myrtle or Hartle, as Myrtle jokingly referred to them, came to a wall with giant stone snakes on it. They almost looked real. It was like they could just break free and slither over to you.

“I think we found it,” Harry said.

“The Chamber’s entrance, ” Myrtle added in awe.

He could feel Myrtle steeling herself. He agreed with her theory after learning what she did, but it was still a risk. A risk both of them felt was more than worth it to stop the attacks and avenge Hermione and Luna, even if they were still alive.

Harry looked at the giant snakes. It was really easy to concentrate on using his parseltongue ability with them. “Opennnn,” he hissed at them.

“So, that’s how it works, ” Myrtle said in thought regarding Harry’s usage of the snake language.

There was a grinding sound they heard coming from the giant snake door. Soon they heard several clicks from behind the door. Then the snakes started to move and unwind themselves. The door opened as they heard the sound of stone sliding along stone.

The chamber behind the doors was lowly light. There were pipes coming into it from the top and the sides of the area. The ceiling was really high with low lighting coming from something like sky lights, even though they were deep below the castle. There were snake head statues along the walls as well and at the opposite end there was a large statue of Slytherin’s head.

More importantly than that, Harry saw a figure he recognized as Ginny lying on the floor. He didn’t notice the other figure standing nearby. He immediately focused on the girl.

Myrtle did though.

“Be careful, Harry! That’s him. He’s the one who spoke to the snake the day I died, ” she said to him.

“Thanks for the heads up, ” Harry thought back to her. She would trust him here. He would know how to handle such a situation better than her.

Harry looked over Ginny in worry. Her body seemed faded. Her usually bright red hair seemed dimmed as well. Even when she looked her sickliest throughout the year, her hair had always remained Weasley red. Harry placed a hand on her cheek. It was cold.

“ What do we do? ” he thought to Myrtle.

“That book there. It seems to be draining her, and feeding him. It seems to be halted currently, ” she replied.

That was worthy of note. He just wasn’t sure what to make of it yet.

“She won’t wake,” Riddle spoke calmly to Harry.

“Tom?!” Harry asked in pretend surprise. “Sorry. I didn’t see you there. What do you mean? What happened to her?” he asked.

“I suppose it makes sense you would only notice her at first. As for her…” Tom started. He seemed to be acting like he was thinking over how to explain what was happening.

“She put her trust into something she shouldn’t have trusted. First years are often too trusting. Especially her. Alone. Mostly ignored by her brothers. Roommates having given up on her…” Tom said.

“You seem to know a lot about it. In fact… How are you here?” Harry asked looking to Tom with narrowed eyes.

Tom gave a chuckle. “Figures you would put two and two together. You are very different from any other Hufflepuff. If I didn’t know any better… I’d say you were being the perfect Slytherin and taking refuge in the least likely house.”

Harry looked to him calmly as he tried to figure out what to do.

“That is part of the reason I’ve been eager to talk to you, Harry,” Tom said.

“What do you want? I get the feeling you aren’t here to help,” Harry said coolly.

“Heh. Maybe you aren’t as smart as I figured. You haven’t even figured it out yet…” Tom said standing there looking half amused.

“Who are you really? How did you do this?” Harry asked.

“I suppose I'll humor you for a moment. I want to know how it was an unassuming toddler managed to defeat the most powerful dark lord seen in ages! The answer to why I am so curious is obvious,” Tom said.

He waved his wand in the air. It spelled out his full name. “I always despised my mother for giving me my father’s name,” Tom said as he flicked Ginny’s wand and the letters rearranged themselves to spell out:

I AM LORD VOLDEMORT

Harry looked at the words with wide eyes. “Really? He just used an anagram to come up with his name? How original, ” Harry thought sarcastically causing Myrtle giggle a little.

“So… Hagrid was a scapegoat after all,” Harry said.

Tom gave a cold chuckle. “That was all too easy. When they threatened to close the school, I had to end my fun and set up a patsy. He was perfect for the role. Always bringing in dangerous creatures, treating them like cute little pets.”

Tom gave a scoff. “For crying out loud, how could you ever consider an acromantula cute or little? Hagrid was always getting in trouble. He even tried to raise werewolf cubs under his bed during his first year. He was in trouble at least every other week for some such plan,” he said.

“Why her though?” Harry said standing up carefully.

“She was easy. I needed a vessel so I could prepare my own resurrection. I’ve always been interested in immortality. Why should wizards settle for death? Even if it is much later than filthy muggles. Many of my attempts failed. It seems some at least bore fruit to an extent. She was so trusting. So eager to spill her secrets to a diary that spoke back to her. She rarely bothered to even question what was happening,” Tom said.

He moved a little as Harry moved in counter.

“It was so annoying at first. Harry this. Harry that. The-Boy-Who-Lived is a hero. Too bad he isn’t in Gryffindor. His eyes are green as a fresh pickled toad. I wish he was mine. He’s so divine,” Tom said in a mocking voice.

He then gave a dark chuckle. “Once Hogwarts started and it got close to Halloween... Then things finally got interesting,” he said.

He cleared his throat to take up a mocking voice again. “Something’s wrong. I can’t remember what I was doing a couple of nights ago. I woke up in the dark surrounded by blood and dead roosters… I… I think I killed them… What’s happening to me?”

“Today… I don’t know what day it is. It seems like weeks have passed from what I last remember. There was an attack on a student… I hope it wasn’t me who attacked them. Those dreams… What’s happening, Tom?”

Tom gave a cruel laugh. “That was amusing. You however were unexpected…”

“How so?” Harry asked. Could he fight Voldemort here? The shade only had Ginny’s wand. Wands weren’t as reliable if it wasn’t yours. Would defeating Tom bring Ginny back?

“I hadn’t expected the opportunity your little friend from Ravenclaw gave me. More than that though… You seemed to resist too well. I even played into all of your own worries about what was happening and the obsession for coverups the Headmaster had, which even you noticed. Then… you just tossed my diary into the bottom of your trunk! Never bothered with it again,” Tom said. He seemed a little offended by the last part.

Harry gave a slight smirk to the last bit.

“I eventually had to use some magic, courtesy of my connection to this slip of girl, to come back to her. Possessing her had its points of amusement, but the whole overall process was slowing down much more than I anticipated or wished,” Tom said.

“Well I mean… you are the son of a muggle. At least my mom was a muggleborn and my dad a full wizard,” Harry said.

“I was finding our chat amusing. It seems you need to have your attitude adjusted. I am Slytherin’s Heir!” Tom said angrily.

Harry thought maybe he shouldn’t have provoked him so much. He figured a confrontation was inevitable, but wanted to pass some time first. He also had a feeling Tom was buying time for some reason as well. That wasn’t the case anymore.

“Sssspeak to me, Greatest of the Hogwarts’ Four! ” Tom shouted in parseltongue.

“Really? That’s the password for the snake? Speak to me, Greatest of the Hogwarts’ Four?” Harry asked in amusement.

Riddle was surprised Harry understood him. Had things been different… Well it didn’t matter now.

The giant statue at the end of the hall opened its maw. Harry shut his eyes. Myrtle got ready.

“Let’s see how you act once facing the King of Serpents,” Tom said with a smirk.

The snake slithered out of the statue and let out a hiss. “ Masterrrr… ” it said.

“Use your eyes on this fool!” Tom commanded.

Myrtle opened her ghostly eyes. If Tom was paying attention, he would have seen her do so. The snake stared right at her. It flicked its tongue in confusion at the strange extra eyes this morsel had.

“ It works! ” Myrtle cheered inside Harry’s mind.

Harry opened his eyes and stared directly into the Basilisk’s yellow eyes. He felt petrified in fear. That was just it though. He only felt petrified. Harry smirked, even if the snake was still dangerous, its deadliest weapon was of no use.

The snake itself was still huge! It was well over 60 feet long. It was massive. Harry didn’t see how such a monster could hide in Hogwarts without being found. He didn’t even see how it could get around in pipes inside of walls without breaking them.

“How… How can this beeee… It staresss at meeee… it doesn’t dieee…” the snake hissed in confusion.

Tom was confused as well. He had no idea what was happening. He didn’t let it show though. He was already an expert at hiding his emotions before he even started at Hogwarts. “Then use your fangs…” Tom grumbled at the snake like it was no more than a stupid child.

Harry dived into one of the many pipes and hopped into a different one. He ran through a few more and flattened himself in a dark part of a pipe where he couldn’t be seen. He also quickly cast a spell Myrtle found that would hide his heat signature. He stilled his breathing.

“Well… We can look at it. Now what… I need something. There has to be some way to get a chance here, ” Harry thought.

He noticed an item silently pop into existence next to him. It was the sorting hat! Harry looked at it and placed his hand inside it. He narrowed his eyes and concentrated on wanting something to help him.

Harry felt something metal and cool with stones of some kind inside the hat. He wrapped his hand around it and pulled out the item. It was a sword! A beautiful sword. He instantly knew what it was due to the knowledge he gained from Myrtle possessing him.

It was the sword of Gryffindor! Something lost to time. Something thought to only be legend. It was made of goblin silver. This meant it would only become stronger. He quickly tucked the sorting hat in the belt on his pants tightly.

“That will work… If we can get a hit with it, ” Myrtle said.

Harry held his breath as he sensed the snake coming near them. He tried to better flatten himself against the pipe’s wall. The snake flicked out its tongue trying to taste him, but had no luck. It slithered away carefully.

“What is taking so long!” Tom roared from the chamber proper.

Harry decided to thrust out with the sword. He needed to see how much damage it would do. He cut a small and shallow gash in the snake. It hissed in a manner that was clearly more out annoyance than in pain.

Harry quickly escaped out of the pipe outlet he used to hide. He was now in the main chamber again. He was thinking what to do. It seemed he would have to find a weak point on the monster snake. He knew of one… but it was too risky. He really hoped there was a better option.

“He’s out here, you Imbecile!” Tom growled. He wondered where the hell the boy got the sword. It looked impressive, but he doubted Harry knew how to use one. Riddle decided he would add it to his collection once he was reborn.

The snake soon came out of the large pipes. It tried to stare Harry to death once more. “It really isn’t that bright. Is it?” Harry mocked.

The snaked hissed and lunged its head at him. Harry jumped to the side and the monster’s head hit the stone floor. It shook its head and hissed in annoyance again. Harry could still tell that attack did more damage to the snake than he did with the sword.

The snake looked to him again and once more lunged quickly at him!

Harry was still ready though. He jumped again to the side. Once more, the snake hit its head on the floor. Harry had a feeling it would soon learn to watch out for that maneuver.

Another lung!

Another dodge!

This time the snake stopped just in time and Harry let out an “Ooof!” as he hit the side of the snake’s body.

The snake looked victorious, even if it meant its fun would come to an end. It had never faced such opposition before! Nothing apart from its master survived the stare completely unfazed. Its master was getting angry though.

The snake once more lunged for Harry and opened its maw.

Harry took in a steady breath and did a small dodge this time. He thrust the sword forward and upwards at the same time he dodged.

The snake let out a final hiss of pain and thrashed about as the life left it. Harry’s sword attack was aimed well and struck true. What else would you expect from someone Boss once saw as his successor? The sword of Gryffindor pierced the soft and fleshy roof of the snake’s maw. Right into the brain.

Tom was completely shocked. He had not at all counted on someone killing the snake.

Harry seemed to stagger away from the snake and collapsed to his knees. He was holding a fang which got his shoulder and he dropped it to the floor. Harry groaned in pain as he held his wounded shoulder. That was exactly why he didn’t like that option, even if it was the most effective. The snake was still very venomous.

Tom blinked and gave a cruel smile. “Well… It seems you were only capable of so much. Granted… it was more than that silly girl or many greater wizards than you. However… so ends The-Boy-Who-Lived. He slayed the mighty Basilisk only to be done in by his own recklessness,” Tom said.

Harry took in a wheezing breath and shook a little.

“I can only imagine how painful you feel at the moment. At least if the snake’s gaze killed you… it would have been instant and painless. Basilisk venom is a very painful way to die,” Tom said with a little chuckle.

He then quickly narrowed his eyes. “In fact… I find it curious you aren’t already writhing in pain and foaming at the mouth on the stone floor,” he said.

Harry was suddenly surrounded by ghostly light. Then suddenly a girly moan could be heard.

Tom’s eyes widened in surprise.

Myrtle seemed to be woozy as she stagger floated to the side. “Disgusting…” she whined. She then doubled over and puked out something Harry was glad he didn’t see. Harry caught his breath and used his wand to close the wound on his shoulder. It wasn’t anywhere near the level of Madam Pomfrey’s ability, but it would work here.

“I don’t think I’ll be much help here…” Myrtle said weakly. Absorbing the snake’s venom took a lot out of her. It was strong enough to break their connection.

“You did plenty, Myrtle. I’ll take it from here,” Harry said as he stood and regained his balance. It took a little adjustment after their connection broke.

Tom couldn’t help but look completely impressed. “Voluntary possession… I would have never thought of that! I really am impressed. If things were different, I’d be tempted to offer you the choice of following me,” he said not hiding his intellectual amusement at learning something new.

Tom then grew serious. “Sadly for you… that isn’t the case.”

He held Ginny’s wand level. “Honestly. I prefer it this way. This will give me a chance to stretch my legs, as they say. You may have the knowledge of a pathetic fourth year girl who spends her time crying in a toilet,” he said.

Tom then gave a confident grin. “I, however, was already far more knowledgeable than professors by this point. That annoying transfiguration Professor, Dumbledore, was the only one who even suspected something was different about me,” he said.

“You really sound confident for a memory,” Harry said.

“And why shouldn’t I be? I have all of my abilities and knowledge from when I created myself. I am not just a normal memory. After all… I did create the diary,” Tom said.

He looked Harry over for a moment. “I wonder how well you can handle yourself. This will be an entertaining fight. But only I will ever know of it,” Tom said as he got ready.

“Expelliarmus!” Harry shouted quickly. He actually got the drop on Tom and his spell struck true. Ginny’s wand clattered to the ground.

Tom was a bit surprised. It was rare for someone to take the initiative like that on him, especially a second year. He grinned though and picked it up. He then felt something slice through him. “Ooowww…” he let out painfully.

That wasn’t expected.

He looked up and saw Harry standing just past him with the sword out. That caught him off guard too. Wizards never used a sword in conjunction with a wand. He figured the maneuver earlier was pure luck. It seemed that might not be the case. He hissed sharply in pain.

“That was painful,” he said as he looked at the sword. It was dripping venom… He should have known. Then again… How was he still alive? It wasn’t even that painful considering.

Tom looked down as the gash seemed to close itself. Harry looked as well. He hid his own shock the attack hadn’t been enough. “It seems the fact I am not fully manifested is to my advantage,” Tom said as he held Ginny’s wand once more.

“Confringo!” Tom shouted.

The curse shot for Harry.

“Proflecto!” Harry shouted in reply. It was a spell he got from Myrtle’s shared knowledge.

The blasting curse hit the shield and ricocheted towards the ceiling. It blasted stone, dust, and debris down on Riddle. Right at that moment, the diary hissed again in pain. He had been distracted by the result of his attack.

He glowered at Harry as he winced. He raised his wand just as Harry shouted, “Diffindo!” at the ground. Dust shot up from the spell’s impact and obscured Riddle's vision.

“Expelliarmus!” Riddle shouted hoping to hit Harry’s sword arm.

He missed. Again, he felt that pain. “Painful as this is… I can power through it!” Riddle yelled and shot a red spell at Harry.

Harry raised his sword and the spell was absorbed. Harry then got an idea as he looked past Riddle. He side-stepped to the left while keeping Tom in his sights.

“I’ve played along long enough, Potter. I had hoped you would show me something more interesting. The games end here!” Riddle said as he followed Harry’s movements.

“Aveda Kedavra!” Tom shouted in anger. Sickly green light raced towards Harry.

Harry moved his wand without using an incantation. A large piece of stone debris floated over and exploded as it intercepted the Killing Curse.

Silent casting was something Myrtle had already practiced a little in her life, despite it being a sixth-year skill. She could only do it with basic spells though. She had theories how it could be applied in combat, but nothing more. She was a rather regular fourth year witch, fighting was never something she really practiced.

Harry however, was able to put that theory into practice. He already knew how to fight and the basics of using a sword. It was more proof of just how different he was as a wizard thanks to life with the Street Knights.

Tom blinked in a moment of surprise. Few were able to actually act like that in a fight. Usually wizards and witches froze when the Killing Curse was used. Harry needed to be finished here! He was too dangerous to live any longer.

Just as Tom was going to attack again. He felt and heard what sounded like wind pass by him.

He hissed a little in pain. “You still haven’t learned… Potter,” he spat.

Then he heard the sound of something stabbing something that wasn’t flesh or stone. Riddle suddenly felt pain unlike anything he ever felt before! He couldn’t even growl out in pain it was so intense. He turned around and sunk to his knees.

“What... Did you…?” he tried to ask as he looked to where Harry was standing.

Harry looked back over his shoulder as Tom Riddle sunk to his knees. He pulled the sword up.

“Heh…” Tom let out in a gasp. Harry stabbed the diary with the now basilisk venom imbued sword. Tom let out an unearthly cry as light seemed to burst from him. “Noooo…” he barely got out before he exploded into bright light.

The diary was spouting ink like blood, where Harry stabbed it. The small book soon turned black and shriveled up. Harry let out a breath as he staggered a little in exhaustion.

“We defeated Voldemort…” Myrtle said in awe. She recovered some during the fight.

“No…” Harry corrected as he picked up a fang carefully and stabbed the diary with it a few times. “We defeated Tom Riddle, the exceptional Prefect. He was a far cry from the dark lord he became,” Harry said as he came over and examined Ginny.

It seemed the color was returning to her. Her hair was turning that ever noticeable Weasley flame color. Her freckles seemed to stand out better as her skin went from deathly pale to its usual fair coloration. Harry let out a sigh in relief and plopped down on the floor next to her.

“She’s going to be okay?” Myrtle asked.

“As much as she can be…” Harry said. “I’m going to need a moment or five,” he added with a wain grin.

“I’ll go and check on Hannah and Susan. I’ll let them know you're okay,” Myrtle said as she slowly floated off.

[-] [-] [-]

“What to do about this sword?” Harry wondered to himself out loud as soon as Myrtle left. He kind of didn’t want to return it to Headmaster Dumbledore. Harry figured Dumbledore already found his way back to being a fully reinstated Hogwarts Headmaster. There was just enough time for him to do that. The man might have even collected an extra favor or two in the process.

The headmaster would use the sword as a show piece and probably brag about how he helped recover it or something. There was no way he would admit a Hufflepuff summoned it. He would have to answer to many other questions if that got out. The least of which would be what drove a Hufflepuff to summon the sword in the first place.

Harry was under no delusion. He knew the truth about this year wouldn't get out. It may be over, but that just meant Dumbledore could focus all efforts on the cover up story without worry.

Harry had a feeling the sword would be very important in defeating Voldemort. Myrtle looked through the Restricted Section in the library plenty. She had read a lot before many of the books were removed to protect the ‘fragile minds of young students'. He knew what that diary was because of this information.

It was Voldemort’s first Horcrux.

Harry would bet there were more. One Horcrux? That was what amateur Dark Lords stopped at. Not Voldemort. He just didn’t know how many Voldemort made. He did know it took a lot to destroy such things.

Horcruxes were vile. They were the darkest of dark arts. They tore out a piece of your soul and anchored it to this plane of existence. Thus, they were the key to Voldemort’s immortality.

It was scary to think Tom Riddle was able to create one in his fifth year at Hogwarts. He probably didn’t even fully know what it was at that point. A true Horcrux wouldn’t be so… independent.

Gryffindor’s sword was now one of the few tools that could destroy them, thanks to the absorbed Basilisk venom.

Harry heard the sound of a throat clearing from next to him. He looked over and saw the sorting hat sitting there. It was smirking at him.

“How did you get here anyways?” Harry asked the hat.

“Put me on and find out,” it replied.

Harry sighed and placed it on his head. He felt something come over him as the hat spoke.

“Magic knows how important you are. Hogwarts knows how important you are. It heard you call. It knows you’re the answer. You are right to keep the sword, ” the hat said in a kind of cryptic manner.

Harry felt something surge through him and looked down at where the sword was. It seemed to fade away in light.

“There! My duty’s done. You can now summon the sword of Gryffindor at will. The houses and founders aren’t exactly as history now tells us. You have proven you are worthy. It matters not you are Hufflepuff. When your years on this plane come to an end, the sword will be returned to the goblins. Best not let them know you are in possession of it. Retrieving goblin crafted items supersedes all else in their culture. Even making gold, ” the hat warned Harry.

“Duly noted,” Harry said before taking the hat off again.

Once off, the hat disappeared in the same manner it first arrived to his aid.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry was still sitting there when he heard a small groan. He looked next to him as a dirty and slightly grimy Ginny Weasley propped herself up. She shook her head and blinked her eyes.

“Good. You came too,” Harry said in a friendly manner. He had to admit to himself she still looked kind of cute, despite her current state. He was surprised to have such a thought at the moment. Maybe it was because of how close he came to death he had it.

“I-I-I… I’m sorry!” she whined and started crying suddenly. Some of her memories were returning. Just the recent ones.

“It was the diary! I knew something was up with it. I tried to fight back! Then it was suddenly in front of me. Something latched on to me… And… And… That fifth-year boy came out of it!” she stammered out.

“That was Voldemort in his school boy form,” Harry said.

“Really?!” Ginny gasped. She was so out of it and exhausted she couldn't even give the characteristic shudder magicals did hearing his name.

“Yep. Pretty impressive you held off as much as you did,” Harry said to her with a small smile.

“But… All of the attacks… It was me. Wasn’t it?” she asked as she felt dirty and shamed.

“It was Voldemort,” Harry corrected looking to her seriously.

“But… Even Luna… Oh gods! Luna!” Ginny said as she started to sniff and tears spilled from her brown eyes anew. She shuddered and despite everything leaned on Harry’s shoulder as she started cry her eyes out again.

“She will be alright. All of them will be. Professor Sprout’s mandrakes have already been harvested. I wouldn’t be surprised if Professor Snape was almost finished brewing the restoration potions,” Harry said. He instinctively rubbed Ginny’s back as she sobbed into what remained of his school robes.

“We should head back,” Harry said after a moment and Ginny calmed a little.

Ginny gave another sniff and blushed furiously. She had just been bawling her eyes out on Harry! She barely even knew him for real. “Maybe, I should start trying to correct that… I need to patch things up with Luna first, ” Ginny thought to herself.

“Sorry for crying like that,” she said quietly.

“You’ve been through a lot. Don’t be hard on yourself,” Harry said as he seemed to wipe a lingering tear from her cheek.

“Let’s get out of here…” Ginny said and blushed again as she stood close to Harry.

“Your family is probably here by now as well. I’m betting they figured out you were the one missing,” Harry said.

Ginny felt both comforted and worried hearing that. Her dad would have a lot to say to her. She really wasn’t looking forward to this next summer. No doubt her mom would be even more… momish… with her.

[-] [-] [-]

It wasn’t long until they made their way back to the rock pile. Hannah and Susan had just cleared away enough rock to make a passageway. Ginny was relieved to see other students. She did kind of wish they were familiar faces though. She held on to Harry tighter.

“You made it!” Hannah said breathlessly as she and Susan hugged them both. Ginny would admit it was nice, even if she didn’t really know them. She was also kind of disappointed none of her brothers were in the rescue party.

“Yeah, we did. Did Myrtle head up already?” Harry asked.

“She did. She looked a little off,” Susan replied as the group walked.

Once they were back at the pipe, Ginny asked, “How do we get out of here?”

Harry looked around and saw something that gave him a smile. “Hopefully this won’t bother you, Ginny,” he said.

She didn’t know what he was talking about.

Harry looked at a snake etching on the wall at the base of the pipe. He concentrated on what he wanted. “Liftttt, ” Harry hissed to it. With Myrtle’s added knowledge, he knew even more how important intention was in magic.

Ginny gave a small shudder at the all too familiar tongue, but she quickly recovered.

They heard the sound of stone moving and then there was a “Ding!” sound next to them. The group looked to the left as two doors opened into a small box shaped room.

“Let’s get going,” Harry said as they all walked inside.

Low and soothing music played as the lift moved upwards. It took some time, but eventually the lift reached the top and opened into the Girls’ Bathroom.

“Ohhh. You all made it back quickly,” Myrtle said. She looked a little exhausted as she lazily hovered in the center of the room. That venom really took a lot out of her. She would recover, but it would take time.

“Thanks for passing on the message,” Harry said to her with a smile.

“You’re welcome,” Myrtle replied with a tired smile.

“You will be okay? Right?” Harry asked in worry.

“I will be. Basilisk venom won’t end me, but it really was painful and took a lot out of me. I couldn’t work up the energy to go and get any of the staff. Sorry,” Myrtle said.

Harry gave a friendly chuckle. “Nothing to be sorry for. You saved my life and helped me win the fight,” he said.

Myrtle smiled to that and blushed a little.

“Let’s getting going everyone,” Harry started. “See you around, Myrtle. I’ll be sure to stop by once we know the victims are unpetrified. There’s no way Madam Pomfrey will let them leave the Hospital Wing too quickly just because they recover,” he said.

Hannah and Susan gave chuckles to that. They knew he gained that insight from experience. Ginny seemed too exhausted and worried to really respond at the moment. She was still holding on to Harry for support.

“I’d like that. I miss Luna,” Myrtle said in a sad voice, but it seemed she wasn’t about burst into tears as she would have in the past.

Perhaps she gained more than just knowledge from Harry. Perhaps he rubbed off on her in a good way. Maybe it was the fact she helped defeat the monster that killed her and finally had a little closure when it came to her death. Whatever the case, Harry felt this was a change for the good.

Harry gave a yawn and as much of a stretch as he could. He really wished he could just go back to his bed and plop down on it and sleep for a day. Before that though, he had to let the Headmaster know Ginny was safe and the chamber issue was dealt with completely this time. He wasn’t looking forward to the many questions he would have to answer.

Chapter 38: The Dobby Proposition

“I had a feeling you would be back, Headmaster Dumbledore,” Harry said as he and the others entered the headmaster’s office.

“Ginny!” several voices said at once to greet her. Ginny immediately parted from Harry and was engulfed in a hug by her brothers. Her mom and dad were simply waiting their turn.

Once the Weasley family got their hugs out of the way, Professor Dumbledore spoke up. “I’m surprised you were able to think such a possibility,” he said.

“Well… it seemed rather obvious something was up with your sudden dismissal,” Harry said.

“Indeed. It is good to see you have all returned, and brought young Miss Ginevra back to her family,” Professor Dumbledore said.

“What happened anyways?” Ron asked.

“That is a bit of a story,” Harry said with a stretch.

Dumbledore nodded and waved his wand. Soon, there were more chairs for them to use. Harry, Hannah and Susan sat down in one each. “Now that we are all comfortable, do tell us what happened. If you will Mr. Potter,” he said.

Harry pulled out a blackened and shriveled up book and placed it on the desk. “This is what caused everything this year,” Harry started.

“A diary?” Ron asked in disbelief.

“It isn’t a normal diary. We weren’t able to really figure out what it was though,” Hannah said.

“It is bad though. It had a lot of enchantments on it,” Susan said.

“Didn’t you have a diary, Ginny?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

Ginny didn’t meet her mother’s eyes as she nodded.

“What did this diary do?” Dumbledore asked.

“A lot of things. It would reply to you when you wrote in it. It thought for itself. It also belonged to Voldemort,” Harry said.

The whole Weasley Family gasped at that. “Didn’t I tell you never to trust something that spoke to you if you couldn’t see where it’s brain fits?” Mr. Weasley asked his daughter in disapproval.

“Yes…” Ginny said weakly.

“It is really powerful. I wrote in it once and it sucked Hermione and me into it. It showed us… an interpretation of what happened last time the Chamber opened,” Harry said.

Dumbledore’s eyes narrowed in thought as he asked, “What do you mean?”

“It played off my own fears and theories about what all happened. It seemed to be an expert at manipulating others. I might have fallen to it as well, if it wasn’t as heavy handed in its approach with me. Things didn’t add up though,” Harry said.

“Since this is Voldemort’s diary… It would make sense it was that powerful,” Dumbledore said. He turned and gave the Weasleys a comforting look as he said, “Many have fallen to his manipulations. It is remarkable your daughter resisted as much as she did.”

“The dairy… Or rather its shade… admitted as much to me. It talked about how it started doing working from the start with Ginny. He was taking a very easygoing approach. It kind of reminded me of a muggle anecdote,” Harry said.

“What do muggles say about this kind of thing?” Mr. Weasley asked more eager than he probably should.

“If you put a frog into a pot of water and immediately start boiling it. They frog will jump out and escape. If you put the frog into a pot and slowly start raising the temperature until it is boiling. The frog will calmly sit there and not move,” Harry said.

“In other words… Young Ginevra here, was slowly tricked over a longer period of time until it was too late,” Dumbledore said.

“How did you know to save our daughter?” Mrs. Weasley asked. “We just heard about her being in trouble a couple of hours ago.”

“I didn’t know Ginny was the one in trouble. I happened to be… out and about when I saw the new words on the wall. After… After Hermione and Luna were attacked, I wanted to do something. Anything,” Harry said.

“We did as well. We figured out Myrtle was the one killed last time the chamber opened,” Hannah said.

“Harry was getting ready to go and we followed him,” Susan said.

“I found out about the basilisk thanks to a crumpled-up note Hermione had in her hand. It seemed obvious what happened during the year after that. All of the petrified people saw the snake’s eyes indirectly. Sir Nicholas got it full blast but was already a ghost,” Harry said.

“We then confronted Myrtle, after finally finding her, and she told us about her death. She was very helpful after hearing Luna was attacked,” Hannah said.

“Harry got the chamber open and we went inside. Then there was a cave in and we were separated,” Susan said.

“Myrtle let me know they were okay and we went to confront the basilisk,” Harry said.

“How did you survive the snake’s gaze? It should have killed you instantly,” Dumbledore asked.

“Myrtle helped out with that too,” Harry started.

“A voluntary possession… I would give Myrtle a lot of points for that, but the school rules don’t allow it,” Dumbledore said.

“Once we got to the main part of the chamber, we saw Ginny. Then I noticed Voldemort’s shade was there as well. I didn’t know he was Voldemort at the time though. But it was fishy seeing the diary’s memory come alive. It seemed to be… absorbing… Ginny’s life force,” Harry said.

Ginny shivered and held on tighter to her dad. He held her tight as his wife hugged their daughter the best she could. The twins, Percy, and Ron were completely in shock and just listened to Harry’s tale.

“How did you defeat the snake?” Dumbledore asked.

“It wasn’t easy. I was probably saved because Myrtle was still possessing me at that point. I found a really sharp piece of hard stone. It was a good length too. I tried a number of ways to attack the basilisk. In the end, I had to use the pointed rock to pierce the roof of its maw,” Harry said.

The Weasleys gasped hearing that.

“And you lived?! You weren’t stabbed by one of its fangs?” Ron asked in awe.

“I was struck by a fang. Myrtle took the venom though. It was still enough to break our possession early. Then I faced the Diary’s shade. He shot a few spells at me that I desperately dodged. I got an idea because of the connection between the diary and the shade. There was also how it broke our connection as well,” Harry said.

“I took the fang and stabbed the diary numerous times! Ink seemed to spout like blood from it. The shade shrieked in pain and exploded in light. At that same time, Ginny started to reabsorb her life force as the diary blackened and shriveled up.” Harry actually mimed the stabbing motions while he spoke.

“When they were ready, they came back to us,” Hannah said.

“We were able to safely clear away the cave-in by that time,” Susan added.

There was a moment of silence after that. Everyone was taking in the information. After a few moments, Mr. Weasley spoke up. “I still don’t know what to make of all of that, but it is clear we owe you for saving our daughter, Harry,” he said.

He offered a hand and said, “It isn’t much, but thank you. I don’t know if we will ever be able to repay you, but if the Weasley family can ever be of help. Let me know and we will do what we can.”

Harry took the hand firmly as he said, “I appreciate such a gesture of thanks. If something does come up, I will let you know Mr. Weasley. Right now, I’m just glad this chamber mess is over and Ginny is still alive.”

“As are we,” Mrs. Weasley said with a smile as she held her daughter tighter than Ginny was comfortable with. She was still drinking in the comfort and love from her mother.

“I wish her first year at Hogwarts could have been as enjoyable as it should have been,” Harry said giving her a smile. Ginny smiled in appreciation of his words.

“Well. I think we can all breathe easier now. It would be prudent if Miss Ginny saw Madam Pomfrey. I’m sure you all want to spend some time with her privately as well, Mr. Weasley,” Dumbledore said.

“You are correct, Professor Dumbledore,” Mr. Weasley said as he led his family out of the office.

“It would be best if you three saw Madam Pomfrey as well. Though… I wish to speak with you a little in private, Mr. Potter,” Professor Dumbledore said.

Hannah and Susan looked to Harry for permission to leave. Harry gave them a smile and a nod.

[-] [-] [-]

“Is there anything else you wish to say? Since we aren’t entertaining a crowd?” Professor Dumbledore asked with a reassuring smile now that they were alone.

Harry and Dumbledore were interrupted before Harry could answer though. The door opened and an angry Lucius Malfoy walked in with purpose. He had a house elf well known to Harry in tow. Harry did his best to hide his surprise. A few remaining puzzle pieces were fitting together.

“Lucius… This is a surprise. Though most likely not. How can I help you, Lord Malfoy?” Dumbledore asked as he placed the diary down. It was clear he wasn’t at all surprised by the Pure Blood Lord’s appearance.

Dobby’s eyes lit up at seeing the diary. He quickly started pointing at it and then his master before hitting himself. Harry found another puzzle piece fitting together. He gave the small elf a slight nod showing he understood. Dobby seemed to sigh in relief, but got his master’s attention.

Lucius frowned at the elf. He hadn’t intended to bring him along, but this was urgent. He looked back to Professor Dumbledore and held his gaze. “I am here to ask why you are defying the Board of Governors and returning to the school. We both know you were suspended by unanimous vote,” he said in as cool of a voice as he could.

“Ah yes… About that. It was curious, really. Lord Malfoy. I talked to the other eleven governors. I was surprised to hear they disagreed with the decision they supposedly voted for. It seems they felt removing me as Headmaster during the middle of such a crisis was the worst idea proposed,” Professor Dumbledore said as Lucius Malfoy twitched at his words.

Harry might have felt a little smug or pleased by this, but he knew Dumbledore hadn’t really tried to do anything worthwhile about the crisis. He also knew Dumbledore had nothing to do with the conclusion of it either. Harry suspected Dumbledore would make it seem like he did play a role in the end, even if he admitted it was minor. Dumbledore had yet again shown how effective he could be when he desired by getting the decision reversed. It was a shame he didn't feel students being attacked required such effectiveness.

“So… Has the crisis been solved?” Lucius asked trying to maintain composure.

“Fortunately for us all, especially the muggleborns, it has been solved,” Dumbledore said.

“Fortunate…” Lucius said barely hiding his disdain at the word muggleborns. “And who was the culprit?” he asked.

“The same as last time. Though he acted through another this time,” Dumbledore said.

“Good to… hear,” Lucius said.

“Don’t you want to know more details? I mean it is a concerning issue for any parent of a student,” Harry added.

“Yes… I would like to know more,” Lucius Malfoy said begrudgingly.

Professor Dumbledore seemed to give Harry an almost smile before he answered. “It was again Lord Voldemort. This time he acted through a first year student though. If it wasn’t for Harry and his friends, no one would have learned she hadn’t acted of her own free will. It was one Ginevra Weasley,” Dumbledore said.

“Lucky for her then,” Lucius said as he gave Harry a brief look.

“Yes, very lucky. Imagine losing not only his youngest, but also the shame of everyone believing Mr. Weasley’s own daughter was killing defenseless Muggleborns,” Dumbledore said.

“That doesn’t even take into account a pure blood girl was attacked as well,” Harry pointed out.

Lucius briefly looked shocked before controlling his emotions. It was obvious to Harry Luna’s attack wasn’t part of the plan and Lucius hadn't even taken into account pure bloods could be in danger as well.

“Truly terrible... I’m sure,” Lucius said with an edge to his voice. He couldn’t show he suddenly cared more when a pure blood was involved. That could be seen as an admission of deeper knowledge regarding the crisis, if not actual involvement.

“Yes, it would have been. Imagine what would have happened to his Muggle Protection Act then. Something I believe you were very much opposed to, Lord Malfoy,” Dumbledore said with only a hint of barely noticeable superiority.

Lucius Malfoy flinched at those words. “At least the matter is closed now,” he said through his teeth.

Harry then asked, “Don’t you want to know how a first year came across such a dangerous artifact? It is a worrying matter for us all.”

Lucius looked to him and took in an almost seething breath. “How should I know or care the foolish girl came across such a thing?” he asked. It was obvious he was losing patience.

“I suppose you wouldn’t care. You already knew the truth. You gave it to her that day in Flourish and Blotts. Slipped it in with her other books. Mr. Weasley’s outburst probably inadvertently helped you keep from being noticed,” Harry said.

Lucius looked like the only reason he wasn’t exploding at Harry is because the Headmaster was also present.

“Though. It doesn’t matter. One witness, even if they are The-Boy-Who-Lived, isn’t enough. The only evidence of what really happened has been destroyed during the act of saving Ginny,” Harry said with a dismissive shrug.

Lucius Malfoy blinked to that. He wasn’t sure how to handle that statement.

“It would still be advisable not to go around handing out anymore of Voldemort’s old school things. Next time, they might be found and used to get certain people’s attention. If nothing else, I’m sure Mr. Weasley will be more than happy to investigate such things. With his daughter having been a victim, I’m sure even his love for muggles wouldn’t hold him back. Both Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are very protective of their children,” Professor Dumbledore said.

Mr. Malfoy then asked, “Are there any other matters?” He was more than ready to leave.

“Actually, there is… I almost forgot… Age, you know,” Professor Dumbledore said in a manner that showed this was intentional and he was very much enjoying the moment.

“The thing is… Lord Malfoy… Coercing… whether through bribes or blackmail… is in clear violation of the Board of Governor’s Charter. This means you have been hence forth relieved of your duties to the school and the board. I was to give this to you should I see you today, as I suspected I might,” Professor Dumbledore said as he handed a rolled-up piece of parchment to the man.

Lucius Malfoy unrolled it to read quickly and grimaced.

“Unless you have personal business with your son. We are finished here,” Professor Dumbledore said.

“Dobby! We’re leaving,” he said in a hiss of anger. Lord Malfoy left quickly and Dobby frowned as he jogged behind in an effort to keep up.

“May I use this?” Harry asked. He had an idea. It was definitely testing the line, but would work. He was sure.

“Of course… But we do have more to discuss today I’m afraid, given we were interrupted by Lord Malfoy. So, do return soon,” the headmaster said.

Harry nodded as he took the diary and wrapped his sock around it while heading after Lucius Malfoy.

[-] [-] [-]

“Lord Malfoy,” Harry called as he tossed the sock wrapped diary at the man. “For you,” he said just as Lucius Malfoy caught the dairy in his hand through instinct.

“What the?!” he asked as he tore the sock off and tossed it. He glared at the ruined dairy and threw it to the ground. “You just wait, Brat! You’ll meet your sticky end! Just like your foolish meddling parents. They too met a messy end,” he seethed in anger.

Harry raised an eyebrow and gave a slight smirk. “Are you sure you should be saying such things in public to an Heir such as myself? That could be deemed as a threat to an Ancient and Noble house,” he said.

Lord Malfoy was genuinely shocked hearing those words. He knew all about that, but for the boy to know already… And to also be aware of his status in the wizarding world. That was not good. Lucius couldn’t just toss threats around anymore.

Harry gave a nod as he looked towards the house elf. He said, “I’ll consider us even this time. I did sort of almost make a mistake that could be deemed equal in measure.”

Lord Malfoy blinked to that. He looked down behind him and his eyes widened. Dobby was holding a sock… The sock he carelessly tossed. It didn’t matter his intention in this situation. He could tell by Dobby’s expression the house elf’s magic interpreted this as dismissal from service.

“Dobby… Dobby is free! Dobby is free!” the house elf cheered and bounced in place.

Lord Malfoy stood there dumbfounded for a moment. He looked to Harry with anger in his eyes, but also acceptance. The boy was right… If he acted further on his impulses, it would be deemed a threat to House Potter. His first outburst was given the slide as merely a heated moment. He was about to storm out of Hogwarts, but it seemed Dobby had other plans for him.

“Dobby won’t let Bad Wizard man hurt Harry Potter sirs! Dobby is freed! You will go now,” Dobby said as he snapped his fingers. Lucius Malfoy was booted from the castle and to the edge of anti-apparition wards.

Lucius let out a growl and stomped his foot, but just apparated away. He would have to be careful around Harry Potter. “No… Heir Potter, ” he thought to himself gravely. He hated the thought, but it was true. Harry also had more leeway than him as well in social matters. The boy was just an Heir at this point. He didn’t have all the power of a Lord, but he also didn’t have all of the expectations or restraints either.

[-] [-] [-]

“Master Harry Potter sirs is greatest most kindest wizard! He freed Dobby!” Dobby shouted in glee.

“You earned it,” Harry said with a smile.

“But why? After everythings Dobby did…” the house elf then asked with a frown.

“Despite it all… I’ve grown a certain fondness for you,” Harry admitted.

Dobby sniffed and hug tackled Harry’s leg. “Yous is too goods for Dobby. Dobbys sorry he acted the ways he did,” he said with sniffs.

“In a way, I understand why you did it all. We will have a discussion later about how you go about saving my life in the future, should you ever take it upon yourself again,” Harry said.

“Dobbys will be betters! Dobby Promises!” he said through giant house elf tears.

“What will you do now that you are free?” Harry asked.

“Dobby will… Dobby will do whatevers he wants! Dobby is free House Elf! He will nevers works for mean bad wizard mans again,” he said in determination.

“That’s good to hear. I might have a proposition for you. If you are interested. May I talk to you later? I do need to talk to Dumbledore again,” Harry said.

Dobby gave a watery smile. “Harry Potter sirs has job for Dobby! After all of this?! Job for a free House elf?!” he asked in happiness.

“I do. You will get to choose if you take it or not though. You are a free house elf now,” Harry said with a smile.

“Dobby will listens! Just calls for Dobby. I is being theres!” the small creatures said with a bounce.

“Then I will see you soon. Maybe tomorrow though. I’m really tried after everything today. Enjoy your first night of freedom,” Harry said with a yawn.

Dobby nodded and popped away.

“Huh. I forgot to ask him that first,” Harry said to himself as he went back to the headmaster’s office.

[-] [-] [-]

“Was your endeavor successful?” Professor Dumbledore asked. He wanted to try and overhear what all happened, but decided it would be better to hear the tale another time instead.

“It was. I gave someone, who deserved it, my appreciation for what they did,” Harry answered causally.

“Good,” Professor Dumbledore said. He then turned a little more serious as he said, “Before we were interrupted, there was something I wished to ask you.”

“Yes, Headmaster?” Harry replied politely indifferent.

“I got the feeling there was more to what all happened than you let on. Understandable, given the distraught nature of our company. And then we had that interruption,” Professor Dumbledore said.

Harry gave only a slight nod in reply.

“So… I ask you again. Is there anything else you wish to inform me of?” Professor Dumbledore asked as he looked to Harry with a piercing gaze.

Harry was silent for a moment. He already had his answer though. “No. I don’t believe there is, Headmaster,” he said neutrally.

“Truly? Nothing at all?” the headmaster asked as he narrowed his eyes slightly.

“As I said. There is nothing more I wish to inform you of,” Harry said again neutrally, but with his arms folded this time.

Dumbledore thought this was a tell from the boy, and he was holding on to something else. He was right that Harry refrained from speaking of something, but he didn’t realize the boy purposefully let slip a tell for the headmaster. He wanted Dumbledore to know he was purposefully not telling him something.

“It seems we have an issue of trust. Unfortunate, truly,” Dumbledore said with a sigh.

“That we do, Headmaster. I think you are under a false impression though,” Harry said.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and studied the boy.

“The issue is on one side only. You haven’t given me a reason to truly trust you, headmaster,” he said.

“Is that so?” the elderly wizard asked.

“Yes. You keep too much to yourself, Headmaster,” Harry said.

Dumbledore remained neutral as he said, “You are just a student at the end of his second year. Talented as you may be, you are still only a student. There are plenty of things a Headmaster would not chat about with their students, especially the younger ones.”

“I’m not saying you have to tell me everything. I’m sure you have plenty of people you trust on your staff or outside of the school. I’m sure you could share even theories you have on matters with allies. Unless you don’t even truly trust them,” Harry said.

Dumbledore couldn’t fully hide the twitch he gave to those words. “How then would you say I could gain your trust?” he asked in a level tone.

Harry leveled his gaze at the man. “Through your actions. During your discussion with Lord Malfoy, you essentially admitted to knowing who was behind the attacks not just this year, but last time as well. You probably even had just a couple of ideas on where the Chamber was located. You probably even already knew about the Basilisk. Hermione is brilliant, but as you pointed out to me, she too is just a second year student. If she figured it out, there is no way someone who was here for both openings of the chamber didn’t figure it out,” Harry said.

Dumbledore’s eyes widened to that. He hadn’t really expected Harry to truly catch on to that.

Harry then sighed in disappointment. “The worst part is… You cared more about politics and cover ups than the safety of your students. Even with Professor Sprout’s mandrakes, there wasn’t a reason to wait all year before using the cure,” Harry said.

Professor Dumbledore remained ever still and focused. It was true what Harry Potter was saying.

“Both Colin and Justin have missed more than half of this year’s classes. Hermione and Luna also missed part of the school year as well. Hermione does tend to over study, but even she can’t know everything before the actual class. Luna is in her first year which is very vital to magical education,” Harry said. He left unsaid how it should be obvious where a Headmaster’s priorities should lay.

“I won’t deny what you said has some truth. But it isn’t that simple. It is hard for a student to understand,” Dumbledore said.

“Which is why you should have said more to your members of staff and not a student. We would have seen you taking action and understood you were doing what you could. However, students weren’t saying they were happy the staff were doing something about this. They were instead upset and angry while talking about how it seemed the professors weren’t doing much about the situation,” Harry said.

Dumbledore briefly frowned to that.

“Like I said. Actions are what I need to see for you to have my trust. What I saw was a Headmaster who cared more for coverups than actual solutions. A Headmaster who knew early on what was happening. Yet the solutions only started after he was dismissed, even if that dismissal was under false pretense,” Harry said.

Dumbledore remained silent. He was furious on the inside, but at the same time he saw how intense Harry’s green eyes were. Dumbledore felt his reflection in them almost. It was not pretty. Perhaps the boy was right.

“Is there anything else, Headmaster?” Harry asked. He was now in a more neutral tone.

“That is all for now, Mr. Potter. Perhaps you will decide to speak with me on these matters again in the future. If so, you know where to find me,” the headmaster said.

Harry didn’t react one way or the other to his statement.

“Now, go and speak to Madam Pomfrey. I’m sure it is only because she is currently busy, she hasn’t kicked down my office door to take you to the Hospital Wing,” Dumbledore said with a faint smile.

Harry looked to him for a moment and gave a faint smile in return. “She does take her duties very seriously,” he said.

“That she does,” Dumbledore said with a grandfatherly smile and light chuckle. He was wondering if maybe this was a way to gain Harry’s trust. He was very good at acting personable and it had served him very well in his many years.

Harry was not at all impressed or buying the headmaster’s act. He knew Dumbledore was eager for him to leave and trying to act like he really was approachable and trustworthy. Harry could respond to the gesture in kind, even if he didn’t really like it.

[-] [-] [-]

“Should have come to me right away! What is the headmaster thinking ambushing you with questions?” Madam Pomfrey grumbled as she looked over Harry.

“You would have to ask him, though I’m sure he won’t give much in the way of explanation,” Harry said.

“Too right you are… You seemed to be mostly unscathed. Plenty of magical exhaustion, but nothing a good night’s rest here won’t cure. I need to make sure there aren’t any complications with your recovery,” she said before pointing Harry to a bed.

[-] [-] [-]

“Dobby,” Harry said once he was in an empty room. He was released from the Hospital Wing that morning.

There was a pop announcing the arrival of a grinning Freed House Elf. “Master Harry Potter sirs called on Dobby!” the elf replied as he bounced in excitement.

“Good to see you, Dobby. How was your first night of freedom?” Harry asked.

“Dobby only cleaned what he wanted to clean! Dobby had Butterbeer to celebrate. Only two though… Theys is strong for House elves. Dobby also find all kinds of ways to wear his sock! After he cleaned it twice of course,” Dobby said grinning.

“It was pretty dirty,” Harry said with chuckle.

“Dobby made it clean as new after first cleaning. The second was just to enjoy cleaning something already cleaned and by Dobby’s choice!” he explained happily.

“That’s good to hear, Dobby,” Harry said with a chuckle.

“Dobby is happys to see Master Harry Potter sirs again. Is this about the job?” Dobby asked smiling widely. He then frowned for a moment and asked, “Or is this abouts Dobbys savings of Harry Potter sirs?” He looked like he was contemplating punishing himself for his actions.

“We will discuss that another time, Dobby. This is about the job,” Harry said.

Dobby visibly relaxed.

Harry turned serious as he said, “I know a little bit about house elves, Dobby. I know you can’t survive long without a family, magic institution or a source of some kind.”

Dobby nodded solemnly. “Dobby was goings to look for works, but ask for payings and choose who his bosses is. Harry Potter sirs is rights about house elves. We cans survive a little longers, if we keeps from using too much magics, but it is not pleasant,” he said with a grimace.

Harry nodded to show his understanding. “That is why I have a proposition for you, Dobby. You know where the Rust District is,” he said.

Dobby nodded to that. He had felt something there, but he was too focused on his task to thoroughly investigate it.

“I learned of a family friend and met him over the holiday break. He is a werewolf,” Harry said.

Dobby grinned to this. “All House Elves knows how to helps Wolfy wizards and witches, even withouts potions,” he said.

Harry blinked in surprise to that. “I didn’t know that,” he couldn’t help but admit.

“All wizards and witches would knows right ways to helps them through transforms, if they coulds listen to magic as House Elves can,” Dobby said.

Harry smiled to this, “That could make this even better,” he said.

“Dobby hopes so,” the elf said.

“Back on topic… My friend’s name is Remus Lupin. He lives in the Rust District now. Over the holidays, we discovered something about the Rust District. There is a part of it that is an ancient source,” Harry said.

Dobby’s eyes grew wider. This could be really good for him. It would also explain why his plan earlier in the year didn’t work. If there was a source there and it was a strong one, the energy could interfere with Ministry tracking. They could account for that with a lot of work, but this was an ancient source. It could be they don’t know it exists.

“There are other Werewolves who have joined my friend in the Rust District since then. We tend to attract those left behind or tossed aside. They have made a settlement of sorts there around the source. It requires great care, but they have kept the others safe from their transformed selves. If house elves can help with that, this will be even better,” Harry said.

“We cans!” Dobby said eagerly. He wasn’t even remembering to bounce in happiness, he was so excited.

Harry smiled to him. “I believe you. I was thinking you could join my friend and help the place out. Due to the nature of the situation, many of the muggles there know of magic now and don’t fear it. The Rust District isn’t really known to the ministry either and they aren’t going to blab about anything that could get them in trouble. They could all use help, especially from helpful house elves,” Harry said.

“This sounds like big jobs for Dobby. Dobby not sures he can do it alones, even with wolfy man’s help,” the small creature admitted.

“That is where the rest of my offer comes into play,” Harry started.

Dobby was holding his breath in anticipation and almost seemed to hover in excitement.

“I was thinking you would know other house elves. Good, hardworking house elves that had been tossed aside or needed help. I figured such elves were well known for better or worse,” Harry said.

“Dobby does know many elves who are good ones, but freed when theys didn’t wants it. They had mostly decents wizards that released them for other reasons. Some to avoid bigger trouble for themselves and house elves. Others because they couldn’t support house elves any longer for one reason or anothers. Harry Potter sirs is right. These elves is knowns and seen as disappointments despite being good honest hardworking elves,” Dobby said.

“I had hoped and believed that was the case, but I’m still relieved to hear it is true. I was thinking for this giant undertaking you could gather such elves and have them join you in the Rust District. If it will work. I don’t know everything that is needed for such a setup. I was hoping you could meet with Mr. Lupin and the two of you could work together and see how to set it up. Boss… I mean Jett… the leader of the Street Knights can help as well if you need it,” Harry said.

Harry paused for a moment and the atmosphere was thick with eagerness it seemed.

“What do you think of the offer? Do you want to help me and others build something?” Harry asked.

Dobby simply stared in awe at the moment. He truly looked at Harry for possibly the first time again. He should have realized sooner how great Harry was. He should have known Harry could handle Slytherin’s beast. He frowned to himself, especially since he now knew Harry could speak the tongue through magic’s whisperings.

“What’s wrong?” Harry asked in concern at the elf’s frown.

“Dobby is truly sorrys for his actions earlier in the year… If he had realized how great you really are… He would have tolds you more,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Harry asked.

“Dobby didn’t think at the time. Dobby could have tried harder to tell you about big snakey. Dobby didn’t fully realize you spoke the tongue at the time,” Dobby said.

“You mean Parselmouth?” Harry asked.

Dobby nodded.

“What would that have changed?” Harry asked.

Dobby was unsure how Harry would respond. He was free now, so he could say even more. Though his magic wouldn’t allow him to say too much about old masters’ secrets just yet. Dobby let out a breath. He would get this over with and punish himself later if he needed.

“Harry Potter sirs could have taken control of snakey. It would not kill its master with its gaze. Great Harry Potter. Wonderful Harry Potter sirs could have taken snakey and made it his,” Dobby said.

“How?” Harry asked with eyes narrowed in thought.

“You’s could have gotten to chambers and spoken to giant snakey first this year,” Dobby said.

“But I’m not a direct descendant of Slytherin. I’m not his heir,” Harry said in disbelief. “Why would I want a snake whose purpose was to kill muggleborns? Hermione’s muggleborn and she’s very important to me,” Harry said.

“Snakey only kills muggleborns because master orders it too. It would not harm your Hermy or any others, if you didn’t wants it to,” Dobby said.

“But Voldemort was already it’s master. He opened the chamber last time. I still don’t see how I could, since I’m not Slytherin’s Heir. I don’t really want to be that closely associated with a wizard who had such beliefs,” Harry said. He wasn’t angry at Dobby, but he was a little offended by this all.

“Wizards and witches twists pasts. Theys forgets important… new onces,” Dobby said.

“Nuance…” Harry supplied.

“That’s what Dobby says,” the elf nodded.

“What do you mean? How do you know this?” Harry asked.

“House elves know truths of many things. House elves always be listenings to magics. Wes never forgets. Wes also don’t tells wizards if they nots asks, but Dobby is free house elf now. He cans says all he wants,” Dobby said.

“I’m listening then. What is the truth behind Slytherin’s claim of taking only those of the oldest and purest blood then? And having a beast that would rise to purge the halls of those unworthy?” Harry asked a little testily thinking back to the legend of Hogwarts’ founding.

Dobby frowned. He wished he was better with words.

“Dobby be sayings pasts has been twisteds. Founders were great wizards and witches, but they has different believes than wizards now. Snakey tongue be meaning those with most potent magic. It was believed magic was in the bloods not just families. It was believed those who had most powerful magics also has most purest bloods,” Dobby said.

Harry blinked in thought to that. Now that he thought on it, the sorting hat also said something about the houses and histories being different from what is taught. It seemed house elves were aware of these differences.

“It not bes about families. Even those like your Grangy would be purest of bloods back thens. She is powerfuls. Oldest families part means somethings that no longer exists,” Dobby finished with a frown.

“If that is true… Why wasn’t Hermione put in Slytherin?” Harry asked.

“Sorting hats not very thinkings really. It sorts peoples and knows some things, but it nots that bright otherwise. It also is affected by current beliefs too. It only knows what Hoggywarts wants it at certain times,” Dobby said.

Harry gave a “Huh,” in reply. He found it amusing Hermione could have been sorted into Slytherin in the old days and called a pure blood. That would really be something.

“How does this relate to the snake and chamber though?” Harry asked to get them back on topic.

“Slytherin’s Heir be any who speaks snakey tongue. Giant snakey be bondings with anys who speak tongue as well. It bonds for 40 years at times. Yous defeated darkest meanest wizards and it beens fifty years since it last opened. If Dobby could haves gotten you to finds Chamber at start of school… yous could have controlled snakey. Not diary…” Dobby said.

Harry was quiet in thought for a moment. Dobby seemed to be waiting for him to reply. He wondered what it would have been like to control the snake. “So, what did he mean by those unworthy?” Harry asked.

“Wizards and witches always never learn proper histories… Bendys is terrible teacher and books get changed,” Dobby said with a shake of his head.

“Wizards have enemies back thens. Meanies too. Muggles weren’t helpless or weaks. Theys could kills wizards and witches, even if it bes tough at times. Snakey tongue meant invaders likes that. He not likes meanie muggles, but he nots wants to kills them alls. Founders all knew truths about muggleborns. They knews what it meants, even bestest wizards now not really gets this,” Dobby said.

Harry sighed.

“What’s wrongs?” Dobby asked.

“I just realized to an extent I’ve been doing what I wanted to prove was wrong. I was thinking too much about what everyone says they know. What everyone agrees is the truth. The Slytherins aren’t exactly warm and fuzzy and some of them probably really are as bad as people say they are. But I actually know some who aren’t. I’ve gone on about people misunderstanding what Hufflepuffs really are like, but I did the same thing regarding others,” Harry said.

He sighed again. “It is a difficult lesson to swallow,” he said.

“Wes always be learnings. Not sure why Harry Potter sirs wants to swallows lessons though. Dobby will help if he cans,” the elf said with a grin.

“It’s a figure of speech…” Harry started. He then looked at Dobby’s grin. He gave a chuckle. “You were joking…” he said.

“Dobby is free elf! He can jokes if he wants!” Dobby said proudly.

“Well… All of this put to the side. What do you think of the offer?” Harry asked.

Dobby turned serious as he nodded and said, “Dobby be honoreds to helps. Dobby already knows many house elves who be goods. There is being ceremony we can uses if source isn’t strong enough alone. It not be sames as family bond. It be ancient ritual. It be calleds Elf Friends’ Ritual. It makes us partners! It lets us have freedoms and helps as we cans and wants, and gives magic for house elves to lives. It be drainings when gone through though. Especially if many elves involves.”

“I will trust you on that. We can figure it out, even if it means we have to phase in house elves. Take them in as smaller groups. I’m sure Hermione and Luna will be more than happy to help with such a ritual as well. Especially if you tell them it is an Elf Friend Ritual and not making you their house elf,” Harry said.

Harry then smiled and offered a hand. “Welcome aboard, Dobby. I look forward to working with you,” he said.

Dobby stared and sniffed happy tears at the offered hand. He just might ask Harry to do the elf friend ritual with him, even if it wasn’t needed. “Harry Potter sirs is greatest and wonderfuls wizards. He wants to shake Dobby’s hand!” he said.

Harry was going to speak again, but Dobby quickly grabbed his hand and shook it very enthusiastically. Harry gave a smile. The elf’s energy and happiness were very infectious.

Once they finished their hand shake, Dobby took in a deep breath and looked more determined than Harry had seen so far. The elf even looked as if he was pulling up an invisible tool belt in preparation to get ready for the job.

“Dobby be busys! Dobby has muchs to do. He will meet wolfy man Lupin first. Then he will gets house elves. Then they alls fixes, cleans and betters Rust Districts and help other wofly mans and womans,” he said with a serious nod.

“I had a feeling you would be the right elf for the job, Dobby,” Harry said with a grin.

“Dobby be goods House Elf! Meanie bad wizard man be problems, not Dobby,” he said.

“About that… I’m sure you know I’m kind of friends with Draco… is that going to be a problem?” Harry asked.

“Dracky be messy boy when youngs and tempers too. He and Missus not too bad. Theys just arrogants like most richy wizards. They not bes the meanie ones. Harry Potter sirs be goods for Dracky. He not wants to be exactly like father nows,” Dobby said.

“Good to hear. That’s a relief. I won’t try to force you two together or anything, so that shouldn’t cause any problems. One last question before you go,” Harry said.

“Yes?” Dobby asked.

“I meant to ask this earlier. But why was it you said it wasn’t He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, when it was?” Harry asked.

Dobby grinned again. “Dobby be clevers there and give clue. You could says his name when he was in school. It was befores he called himself that to everyones. You could say it without worries,” he said.

Harry blinked a couple of times and shook his head. He gave a laugh. “Right… I just didn’t make that connection,” Harry said.

“Dobby migths have beens too clevers for Harry Potter sirs in that,” Dobby said still grinning.

“Yeah yeah…” Harry said with a chuckle.

Dobby grinned one last time and snapped his fingers before disappearing as Harry left the room. The elf was ready to build something new with Master Harry Potter sir, even if Master Harry Potter sir didn’t fully realize how big it would become. Dobby knew though.

Magic was telling him so, and house elves were experts at listening and communicating with magic. That was the whole reason why house elves only needed a single snap to use magic. That was all it took for them to say what they wanted and needed done. Dobby would use this knowledge to help other elves understand and join him in Harry Potter’s Grand Plan.

It could be some of them already knew as well. Maybe that was why some of the elves he was thinking of hadn’t found a new family, even if they easily could. Maybe they were even better at listening than Dobby and knew for years now what was going to happen. Dobby was ready to find out for himself, but first he needed to meet Best Wolfy Man.

Notes:

Other than some discussions, which will happen next chapter, Year 2 is Finished! I thought about including the discussions this chapter, but that would have been too much. I also felt they needed their own chapter. Thank you all for continuing to read the story. Hopefully you are all enjoying it so far.

Chapter 39: 2nd Year Ends

Hogwarts was again in high spirits. Not only were the heir’s victims being unpetrified, but McGonagall mentioned there wouldn’t be any final exams this year with the exceptions of N.E.W.T.s and O.W.L.s. Those tests needed to happen anyways. OWLs determined what classes you took 6th and 7th year. NEWTs were needed for post-grad job placement.

“Who wants to bet Hermione will be disappointed to hear that once she’s unpetrified?” Hannah jokingly asked as Harry and Susan laughed. They knew it was very likely a possibility with Hermione.

“Is it wrong I’m glad to hear about Lockhart’s misfortune?” Ernie asked from nearby after swallowing a bite of lunch.

“No. It isn’t. Talk about embarrassing though. He got caught by some of Hogwarts basic defense charms as he tried to sneak out and Apparate from the castle,” Cedric said with a shake of head.

“I heard he doesn’t even remember his own name,” Lilly Moon said with a giggle.

“Why did he try to run anyways?” A fifth year asked.

“Turns out the other professors suggested he track down the heir himself. They even used his own boastings against him,” Cedric said with a chuckle as the others joined with their own laughs.

It was at that moment the doors to the hall opened loudly. Everyone looked to see who it was. “Hagrid!” Harry and a few others greeted him.

“I’m Back!” Hagrid said with a hearty laugh. He made a stop at the Hufflepuff table to give Harry a proper hello before getting to the staff table. He came back as soon as he could and didn’t have anything to eat yet. He understandably wanted to get from Azkaban as quickly as possible.

[-] [-] [-]

“Awwww… I was so ready for them too,” Hermione said with a frown once she got the news about no exams. The others chuckled and she looked to them curiously.

“Sorry… It just seems very fitting you would be upset at missing exams,” Harry said.

Hermione decided to let it slide this time. Harry was lucky he had such wonderful eyes.

“I would rather we had them, but they weren’t graded,” Luna said from her bed next to Hermione.

“Exactly! That way we can review the material and know how well we did this year at least. See! Luna gets it,” Hermione said with a triumphant smile.

“I wanted them to not count, so I could have fun making up answers. I’ve always wanted to do that on a test, but I would never dream of it when they're graded,” Luna said.

Hermione looked to her in shock.

Harry and the others laughed and Hannah said, “I agree. Luna does have the right of it!” She gave an extra giggle to that.

Hermione looked to be in thought. She then blushed quickly. There was a part of her that really liked Luna’s idea. She still changed the subject. She didn’t want them asking her about her blush. “Too bad about Professor Lockhart. I mean. I wouldn’t want him as a professor again, but to lose your memory?” she said in sorrow.

“I don’t feel sorry for him at all,” Harry said.

“Why not?” Hermione asked.

“I overheard one of the professors talking about how fitting it was considering. It turns out he got his fame by asking others what they did and using a memory charm on them afterwards. That way he got all the fame and glory without doing any of the work,” Harry said.

“I think I heard there will be an article about it in the next Daily Prophet. Someone heard about Lockhart’s fate and another person recently broke the memory charm. They aren’t perfect, you see. It will probably remain a mystery who all he stole from, but his name is ruined now,” Susan said.

Hannah gave a scoff. “He’ll probably still have fans. It is sickening at times how a handsome face and a dazzling smile can cause certain witches to forgive a lot,” she said.

The group visited a good bit before they had to leave. Harry paused and said to Luna, “I promised Myrtle I’d tell her when you woke up, Luna. She was very distraught to hear you were attacked. She ended up being a very big help in taking care of this business.”

“Ohhh! That’s good to hear. I’m glad she helped. I’ve told her a few times always staying uninvolved with mortals would come back to haunt her. She just laughed… Maybe it was my wording,” Luna said.

“Probably. She was a big help though,” Harry again emphasized.

“I’ll be more than happy if she visits,” Luna told him with a smile as they left.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry walked to Professor Snape’s office during his office hours. He knocked on the door and waited for a response.

“Enter,” Professor Snape replied.

Harry entered and closed the door behind him. Professor Snape looked to him and used his wand to lock the door. “I suppose this will become an annual event,” he said.

“So long as the dark lord isn’t defeated for good anyways,” Harry said.

“I guess congratulations are in order for saving the youngest Weasley and solving the case of the Chamber,” Professor Snape said.

“Something I shouldn’t have needed to do in the first place. Professor Dumbledore knew who it was the whole time. Has he yet taken up my advice?” Harry asked.

“What would that advice be?” Professor Snape asked.

“To stop keeping everything to himself,” Harry said.

“He has always been secretive,” Professor Snape said.

“What did he tell you happened in Chamber?” Harry asked.

“Ginevra Weasley was influenced by a heavily enchanted diary belonging to a certain dark lord, but given to her by Lord Malfoy as a ploy against Arthur Weasley,” he said.

“That’s all he said? That’s isn't much more than I gave as explanation to the Weasleys… I was sugarcoating it and he was aware of that. I said enough he would understand what it actually was or had a very good theory that was almost 95% confirmed by this point. It seems he didn’t tell everything I said to the Weasleys either,” Harry said.

“I’m guessing you will fill in the blanks,” Professor Snape said.

“May I sit down, Professor?” Harry asked.

Professor Snape nodded. He figured he might get himself a drink. It seemed this would be a difficult discussion.

“Ginny wasn’t alone in the Chamber,” Harry started.

Professor Snape narrowed his eyes as he put in a little more in his glass.

“The diary took form. It was absorbing her life force and it was nearly physically manifested when we arrived,” Harry said.

“That is… troubling…” Professor Snape said. “Who are you all referring to when you say ‘we’?”

“To get around the basilisk’s death gaze, Myrtle and I set up a voluntary possession,” Harry said.

“That is fascinating… And something important that was left out of even my provided explanation,” Professor Snape said.

“It was a bit of a gamble she came up with using the knowledge she had from spending most of her non-crying time in the library over fifty years. She was the one who died last time. Professor Dumbledore was just the Transfiguration Professor back then, but he would still know she was the one who died last time. There’s also no way he wasn’t aware of her as a ghost, considering how infamous she was,” Harry said.

“This is true… Yet he didn’t even think to approach her. The Headmaster carries some influence over the ghosts of Hogwarts. It was a security measure put in place early on, even if it is rarely used,” Professor Snape said.

He frowned in thought. He didn’t understand why the Headmaster hadn’t done anything sooner. There’s also the fact he knew who opened it. Sure, there were details that needed to be figured out, but still he hadn’t even mentioned anything to the staff or even him personally.

“Does he really trust my resolve that little? ” Professor Snape wondered. He would correct that mistake. He was slowly moving on, but it didn’t change the fact Voldemort killed his only true friend and the one he loved, misguided as his definition of love may have been at the time.

Harry seemed to be weighed down by what he was going to say next.

“It seems you’re worried about something. You could say it to the Headmaster if you feel I am not adequate enough,” the Potions Professor said. He wouldn’t lie to himself and say he and Harry were close. They were not. They didn’t hate each other and were mutually aligned, but that was far from a meaningful relationship beyond professor and student.

“It isn’t that… It’s not easy. It’s also hard to believe," he said. After a moment of collecting his thoughts, he said, "First of all, having been through a voluntary possession… I have the knowledge Myrtle had. That is how I know what I am going to say. She read a lot of books later removed from library for having ‘dangerous’ information.”

Professor Snape took a swig of his drink. “I will at the very least entertain your idea. Most likely I will look into it as well. When it comes to the Dark Lord… Nothing is off the table, or too out there and should be at least considered,” Professor Snape said.

“Okay…” Harry readied himself. “I believe the Diary was a near complete Horcrux,” he said.

Professor Snape’s eyes widened to that. His mouth hung open. He then shook himself back to attention and took a gulp of his drink. He narrowed his eyes. He hated to say it, but it made sense. “That could easily explain his seeming immortality. Many knew the Dark Lord was obsessed with immortality,” Professor Snape said.

“That’s what I’m thinking using the knowledge I gained from Myrtle,” Harry said.

The professor thought about Harry’s words. “What do you mean near complete?” he asked.

“The diary was too independent. A complete horcrux would not act on its own. It also wouldn’t be in the form of something like a diary. I’m pretty sure he would choose something grander,” Harry said.

“It could have been an experiment. Perhaps at the time of the diary’s creation he wasn’t aware of how to properly create one. It is rather… unsettling… he accomplished something like that during his years at Hogwarts,” Professor Snape said.

“I agree on that. I also don’t think it is outside of the realm of possibility. As you said… with the Dark Lord, nothing should be wholly discounted,” Harry said.

“Are you sure Professor Dumbledore would have come to this conclusion as well?” Professor Snape asked. He didn’t want to think the Headmaster would keep something so vital to their efforts secret, but he could very well do that.

“I may have avoided saying certain words, but I was very descriptive in what happened in the Chamber. I told him all I could about the shade the diary formed and how it was defeated and the way it died,” Harry said.

“How did you defeat it? I’ve never looked in detail for something so foul as a horcrux, but I am aware they are difficult to defeat,” Professor Snape said.

“I used Basilisk venom to destroy the diary. I stabbed it multiple times with a fang,” Harry told the professor.

“That would do the trick,” Professor Snape admitted.

“I umm…” Harry started but trailed off.

“Yes?” Professor Snape asked.

“I believe he would have more than just one proper horcrux,” Harry said.

“Really?!” Snape asked with wide eyes. Making one was both impressive, but just as terrifying. Making more than that? He discounted the diary to an extent since it wasn’t a true horcrux. That was extra troubling.

“I may be over thinking it, but I don’t see him settling for just one. When I saw his smoke form back in first year… It was so very inhuman. That is, in a way, a sign of having more than one. You strip away literal pieces of yourself every time you make one,” Harry said.

Professor Snape took another large gulp of his drink. He then sighed. “I can see where you are coming from… It also lines up with his ego. One horcrux is for lesser wizards. Multiple is what a true wizard would create. A true 'Pure-blood' heir of Slytherin would make. Why settle for just one anchor? One can be found and destroyed much easier than multiple,” the professor said as Harry nodded in agreement.

“I have no idea how many he would make though. I have no idea what all they are either,” Harry said.

“This is something that should be shared with the headmaster I feel,” Professor Snape said.

“You can share this theory with him if you want. I just didn’t want to tell him, because I feared what he would do to me if I told him everything. Look at all he did to cover up the Chamber incident. I noticed it wasn’t until after he was removed things actually started getting done about it, even if they were bare minimum,” Harry said.

Professor Snape sighed again. “I will be careful with the information. I will first see if I can get him to tell me his own ideas on the matter. If he mentions Horcruxes to me, I will float the idea of the Dark Lord possibly making multiples. It could be he already thinks that as well. He may even have a possible number in mind by this point,” he said.

As they were there in silence for a moment, Harry decided to break the tension. He had had enough of serious and scary discussions for the day. “So… Have you figured out where I’m living yet?” he asked with only a slight smile.

Professor Snape blinked at him and almost chuckled as he said, “I shouldn’t be surprised you figured I would look into what happened to you.”

“I figured it only made sense,” Harry said.

“I will admit I am looking into the matter with equal parts curiosity and out of concern. The way I see it… If it takes me a good while to find you, then it is full proof Dumbledore was wrong in thinking you had to stay with your aunt and uncle. It also means it is less likely anyone else would be able to find you,” he said with a hint of amusement. It was probably the drink settling in that caused him to loosen up a bit.

“I can see where you’re coming from. What will you do if you find me?” Harry asked.

“Reassess the situation. Though… there probably isn’t any fear of anyone else finding you unless the Dark Lord returns to full power. If that happens… It might be too late even if Dumbledore had been right about you needing to stay with your aunt and uncle this whole time, despite my personal thoughts on the matter,” Professor Snape said. He left out what they were. He didn’t feel like given Harry any clues on how far the investigation was.

Harry stood up and gave a slight nod as he said, “Thank you for your time, Professor Snape. Thank you again for brewing up the Restoration Draft.”

“That was merely my duty as Potions Master and Professor at Hogwarts. Until next year, Potter,” Professor Snape said realizing their meeting was over.

[-] [-] [-]

“Not going to lie,” Justin started as he sat next to Harry at the closing feast. “I really like the whole yellow and black décor,” he said.

“You and me both!” Ernie said from the other side of Justin.

“I kind of like it too,” Harry said.

“Maybe all of your adventures should earn us house points,” Ernie said with a teasing grin.

“I’d prefer not to have big house point worthy adventures every year,” Harry said.

“Then it’d be a boring year,” Ernie said.

“It’s probably impossible for you not to have some big end of year adventure, Harry. Best make full use of them in the future,” Justin said as everyone at their table laughed in agreement. Harry joined in after a couple of seconds, before they went back to their meals.

Harry was surprised when the Weasley Twins approached him after the feast. He was surprised because of how serious they actually looked. “What’s going on?” Harry asked.

“We’ve been thinking,” Fred started.

“About something other than pranks,” George added.

“About how to repay you,” they said together.

“It isn’t money… But to us it was worth more than any number of galleons,” George said.

Fred handed Harry a piece of paper.

“What is it?” Harry asked.

“The Marauders’ Map!” the twins said together.

Harry had a double take at those words. “It can’t be… ” he thought.

“This is the key to our success in never getting caught after curfew. To get it working, you have to tap your wand to it and say, ‘I solemnly swear I’m up to no good’. Go ahead and try it,” Fred said.

Harry gazed in wonder as a map of Hogwarts appeared on the paper. He could even pan around it and zoom in and out. He squinted as he looked at all of the footprints and saw the names. “That’s us…” he said in awe.

“Very handy feature, that. Always makes it easy to know who is around the corner. When you are finished with it, say ‘Mischief Managed’ to clear it. Wouldn’t want certain sticklers for the rules to find and use it,” George said.

“To think, we liberated the best way to avoid pinheads like Percy from Filch’s office,” Fred said.

Harry couldn’t help but say, “You do realize I am likely to be a Prefect my fifth year, right? I’m not only the top guy in Hufflepuff, but also our year.”

“Yeah. But you aren’t stuck up like our poor misguided older brother. Bill was a Prefect and Head Boy. He wasn’t a Pinhead though,” George said with a grin.

“Cedric’s likely to be one next year, but he isn’t a Pinhead either… Even if he is far too good at Quidditch for our liking,” Fred said with a slight frown.

“Not all Prefects are Pinheads. Just like how not all Pinheads are Prefects. Though a good number of them are,” George said.

“Besides… The things you’ve already gotten up to before the end of your second year? Well… You’ll probably put this to better use than even we did,” Fred said.

“My less than handsome twin, except on opposite days, is correct. We know all of the secret passageways it shows by heart now. We stopped using the footprint feature this year,” George said.

“Wasn’t challenging enough using that feature. Our skills of bringing humor and laughter to these halls has evolved past the need of such a handicap,” Fred said matter-of-factly.

Harry grinned as he looked at the title again and saw all of his father’s friends’ names. He hid the frown he had for the most likely traitor’s name. It was nice to have something else that was a part of his father’s past. He wondered what Lupin would say when he showed it to him over summer.

“Thanks, you two,” Harry said with a smile.

The twins looked serious to each other and turned to him. “We are the ones thanking you. You saved our sister’s life. That is worth more than the Marauders’ Map and we value that more than galleons,” they said together.

“I still thank you for the gesture. Be there for Ginny this summer… Don’t just act like this year never happened,” Harry said in concern. He wasn’t sure if they would heed his advice, or if they would even need to hear it. He just knew Ginny needed all the support she could get after everything that happened to her this year.

“We will be,” they said again together.

The serious mood could only last for so long with the twins though. Soon George smiled as he said, “So long as she doesn’t threaten us with her Bat Bogey Hex or something equally terrifying.”

Fred was giving an exaggerated nod to that. “She may be the youngest… But she is the fiercest,” he said sagely.

“There’s also the fact she’s a girl,” George said.

“What does that have to do with it?” Harry asked curiously.

“Almost every Weasley witch married into the family. It is rare for a witch to be born as a Weasley. We don’t know what that means, but dad is always saying it is important to know. He isn’t just saying it to say it either,” Fred said.

“Huh. That is interesting,” Harry said.

“We essentially give him a grave warning about Weasley witches, yet he just calls it interesting,” George said.

“Really… It’s a wonder he wasn’t sorted into Gryffindor,” Fred said with a shake of his head.

“Oh. I could have been in any house. It’s for my beliefs I was put in Hufflepuff,” Harry said.

“What kind of beliefs put you in the house for all the rest?” George asked.

Harry didn’t look impressed by those words. He wasn’t going to ruin the mood though. “One that is important to me. Loyalty… to those who deserve it,” Harry said.

The twins blinked to that. Everyone always figured Hufflepuff loyalty was just a thing because they had little else going for them. The way Harry talked about it… that seemed impressive. Admirable even. “That is something to think on,” Fred said as he rubbed his chin.

“Think on it all you want. I’m going back to my house for now though. See you two later,” Harry said as he parted from their company. The twins nodded to him and soon headed back as well.

[-] [-] [-]

“I’m honestly surprised you're sitting with us, Luna,” Hermione said as she shared a compartment with Harry, Hannah, Susan, and Luna.

“Ginny is back to how she should be. She no longer has those black Wrackspurts around her either. She needs to be with her brothers for now though. I’ll try talking to her again over summer,” Luna said.

“I hope it goes well for you both,” Hermione said with a smile. She was pretty sure both girls needed it. Luna needed it so she wouldn’t feel her best friend threw her away once school started. Ginny needed it, because she really needed friends after this year. Everyone did to an extent.

“Thanks,” Luna said giving Hermione a big smile and hug.

The door to the compartment opened at that moment. Harry looked and saw Draco, Pansy and Tracey together. Harry looked to Draco and said, “Sorry to hear about your father’s dismissal from the board.”

“You don’t need to talk around it with me. I know you were there when it happened,” Draco said.

Harry wasn’t sure what to say here. He sighed. “It was his own doing,” he stated.

“I agree with that. He should have had a plan besides something as obvious as blackmail,” Draco said.

Harry relaxed a little and nodded. He also motioned for them to enter, which they did as Hannah and Susan made room for them. “He should have waited until after the crisis and then acted,” Harry said.

“Yes. And used the fact Dumbledore took so long to deal with it against him. People usually shore up when there is a crisis. They reach out for the familiar. They don’t want to rock the boat,” Draco said.

“After the crisis has passed, people are more willing to re-evaluate the situation. Find out what caused what and all of that,” Tracey said.

“He could have even used Dumbledore knowingly hiring a fraud for such an important class as more evidence against him. He would just have to omit Lockhart was the only one wanting the job,” Pansy said.

Draco sighed. “It hasn’t been easy… but this year… I’ve come to realize my father isn’t as all knowing as I used to believe,” he said.

Harry nodded to him. He then thought how to change the subject. He had an idea as he looked to Luna. He suddenly remembered something she mentioned to him. Harry was pretty sure Draco would realize what it could possibly mean to Pansy as well.

“Luna…” he started.

“Hmmm?” she asked.

“You mentioned something about Wrackspurts that I’m curious about. A couple of things really,” he said.

Luna seemed to smile even brighter. “I’m always willing to talk about Wrackspurts,” she said.

Draco appreciated the change of subject, but was thinking maybe it was time to leave. However, that inkling he always got around Harry came back again. He wanted to see where Harry was going with this. It couldn’t be merely a simple change of subject.

“You talked about how they change colors,” Harry started. Luna nodded eagerly. “After the holiday break, you said they told you befriending Hermione and me was a good idea,” he said.

She thought back to that for a moment and nodded again.

“What exactly did you mean by that again?” he asked.

Luna was in thought on this. She looked around the compartment. It was a bit of hard thing to say with others here, now that she thought on it. She then titled her head at a small angle when the Wrackspurts were getting excited. That seemed to happen a lot around Harry, but she knew to trust it.

“I was saying if you pay enough attention to them, despite few people being able to see them, you can hear them in a way. They give hints about things. More like… feelings than actual words. But their reactions and behaviors all have meaning of some kind. You have to really be careful though. They don’t always communicate with you properly. Sometimes you have to really focus on them and be in the right state of mind to understand them,” she said.

“What do these… Wrackspurts… appear like?” Pansy asked. She seemed extra keen on this.

Luna blinked in surprise to her words. She had never really had much interaction with Pansy. “Like tiny little lights. They buzz around. Change colors. They can even get really excited at times. They can be confusing. They can be overwhelming,” she said.

“Who else do you know for sure can see them?” Pansy asked carefully.

Draco was very interested now as well. He was starting to see why Potter was around Luna, one of the reasons at least. She was far from boring and there might be something much more to her. He also thought he understood why Harry chose this topic to change to.

“Daddy told me what they were when I was little. He’s never really seen them from what I can tell though. Even when they were at their most excited at times,” Luna said.

“And these… Wrackspurts tell you things? Such as when something important is happening or something is wrong?” Pansy asked.

Luna was looking to her with discerning eyes. This wasn’t at all what she thought of when it came to talking about Wrackspurts. She could tell, without the Wrackspurts' help, Pansy was asking her out of sincerity. This was not a lead Luna on and then laugh at her discussion. Harry also wouldn’t have mentioned the Wrackspurt thing in front the Slytherins, unless he had a good reason.

“They do. Not exactly in words, as I said. But they do… Even when it comes to bad stuff,” Luna said.

Pansy seemed excited now. Luna thought she seemed to be listening to something herself. Pansy stood up right in front of Luna. “You aren’t seeing or hearing Wrackspurts at all. They don’t actually exist,” she said.

Luna narrowed her eyes. “Was I wrong about this? ” she asked herself.

“It’s the essence of magic communicating with you,” Pansy said. She couldn’t help the excited smile gracing her lips.

“The essence of magic?” Luna asked in awe.

Pansy nodded fervently. “Yes. Magic is communicating to you directly! You just don’t have the training or experience to listen properly yet,” she said.

“That’s… wow,” Luna said.

“Perhaps you should tell her why you are saying this, Pansy,” Draco told her.

Pansy blushed for a moment. “Sorry… The Parkinson family are gifted in listening to magic. It is very difficult to listen to magic. It is possible to do so with enough training, but some are exceptionally gifted in listening to magic. Magic’s communications take on a different form for these people, until the learn how to listen properly,” she said.

“Really?” Luna couldn’t help but ask. She didn’t like learning Wrackspurts possibly weren’t real, but she was a Ravenclaw. Ravenclaws worth their blue and bronze were always ready to learn and at least consider other possible theories. Luna was different, but she was very much a Ravenclaw.

“It can be overwhelming for them though. It can be… unpleasant… It could lead to actual insanity in cases. The person has to either block out magic’s attempts, or learn to listen to avoid such a fate,” Pansy said.

“Why would someone want to stop such a gift?” Luna asked.

“They have their reasons… I can help you listen. If you want,” Pansy said.

“I’m not saying no, but why do you want to help me?” Luna asked.

“It has always been a goal to find someone outside of our family gifted in such a way. We wish to help them, while also learning from them. That way they can better hone their gift, and we can learn more about listening to magic ourselves,” Pansy said.

“Being able to listen to magic can be a very powerful and important tool and gift,” Draco decided to further explain.

Pansy wanted to teach just for the reasons she said. Draco had a feeling saying more, like he did, would put Luna at ease. Sometimes people are more comfortable with help when they know what you want to gain from it and why. It can be terrifying to come across someone seemingly helping for just the sake of helping. It was even more terrifying if that person was a Slytherin.

Pansy gave a nod to his words. She realized what Draco was doing.

Luna was in thought. She was staring at nothing in particular with her large silver eyes. She had so many thoughts going through her head. She sighed. “I want to say yes. But it is a bit much to swallow at the moment. I will give you my official answer over summer. I need to… process,” she said.

Pansy seemed a little deflated, but then seemed to perk back up. “Okay. I understand. It is a lot to learn something you believed true from childhood might not actually be what you thought. I do hope, if you decide to try and just train yourself, you will at least exchange notes with me on the matter,” she said.

Luna was relieved hearing that. She gave a nod. “I will do that at the very least. I do like the idea of training. I just need some time to give an answer,” she said.

“Well. This has been rather interesting as a train ride back goes, but I feel Pansy and I should make our way out. What do you want to do, Tracey?” Draco asked.

Tracey was in thought for a moment. She was weighing her options. What happened with Draco’s father was already known to most. He was making peace with Harry, but if she stayed here after he left. It might seem like she was choosing a side. It could also mean Harry and Draco worked things out really well and thus no sides needed to be taken.

Tracey looked to Harry.

“It is up to you, Tracey. There are things we could talk about, but they could wait until summer and there might be more information by then,” Harry said. He knew he was both helping and not helping her. If he had hinted there was something they needed to discuss, she would stay. They did have a lot to talk about, but part of him felt it was better to talk about it in the safety of the Rust District.

“I think I will accompany you two then,” Tracey said as she looped an arm through Pansy’s other side and grinned at her friend.

It might help Pansy to be with her. Pansy was acting fine with Luna’s words, but Tracey knew better. Pansy could and would wait, but learning about Luna’s gift was extremely important. It was a promise of achieving her family’s goal. A goal they had for generations. Hearing a most likely yes, but no for now answer did not help.

With that, the three Slytherins left the compartment together.

[-] [-] [-]

As the train came to a stop, Luna looked like there was something she really wanted to say. “What is it, Luna?” Harry asked.

She blushed a little before she asked, “Could I… visit sometime over summer?”

Harry gave her a smile. “Of course, you can,” he said to her as she smiled brightly. “Any of you can, if you want,” he said as he turned to the others in their compartment.

“I’d like to come. I was hoping to get a chance over summer,” Hermione said. She had… plans… she wanted to implement. Especially for Harry’s birthday.

“Are you sure about that? Your parents would allow it?” Harry asked her in question.

“I’ll figure something out,” she said without elaborating.

Harry wasn’t sure about it, but he would trust her on that. They were her parents. She would know what to do. It seemed she had a certain level of freedom during the summer holidays anyways, based on last summer.

“If I get the chance, I’ll let you know via owl post. I would like to see the Rust District,” Hannah said.

“Same for me pretty much. Though, my aunt might ask questions, so might not be the best idea for me,” Susan said. She was intent on keeping Harry’s secrets. Her aunt might do something if she learned about Harry’s situation. She might not even have a choice in the matter, if she learned what Harry’s living situation was like.

“Whatever the case. I hope everyone has a good summer break,” Harry said to them as they got ready to disembark. He was rather eager to get home this year in particular. He had a lot he wanted to and needed to check up on. He really hoped there were leads on at least one of the plans.

“Do you think we’ll have a better DADA professor next year?” Hannah asked as they left with their stuff.

Harry chuckled. “Not sure how high the bar is after what we’ve had. Part of me thinks it can only get better in that regard. Another part of me thinks there is always a way for things to get worse,” he said.

“That doesn’t sound like a fun way of looking at things,” Hermione said with a frown.

“It is one of those hope for the best. Plan for the worst. Kind of things,” Harry said.

Hermione couldn’t really fault him there. She gave a smile to him before giving him a quick hug and making her way over to her parents. Hannah and Susan did the same.

Luna was blushing a little. Harry seemed to know what she was thinking. He gave the girl a quick hug. She felt really warm and grinned broadly after she returned it. “See you later, Luna,” he said to her before going to his retrieval party.

“Later…” Luna said under her breath. She quickly went over to her dad now that she saw him waiting for her.

“Moon Flower!” Xenophilius said joyfully to his daughter.

“Daddy,” Luna replied with a smile.

“Did you have a good year? I was worried when I got the news, but then I got news saying everything was good,” he said to her.

“It was tough at first. A lot of people not ready for the truth. It was really good by the end, despite everything though,” she said.

“Good to hear about the end of the year! Sadly… too few are open minded enough for the truth we share,” he said as he shrunk her trunk and took her hand. It was odd realizing her small hand had grown over the school year.

Xenophilius was worried his little girl was actually growing up now. He just gave her a big smile and listened as she talked about the parts of the year not in her letters. He did notice there was less of the naive and wonderful daughter in her silver eyes. He figured it only made sense. Time was marching onward, even if he didn’t want it too. The year had also been hard on her. It was only natural daughters grew up, even if their fathers wished they never would.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry was happy to see Lupin in his retrieval party, for lack of a better term. “I got something very interesting this year. It was given to me by a couple of well-known trouble making pranksters. It is also something you should be very familiar with… Moony,” Harry said to him.

“Oh. I look forward to this,” Remus said with a chuckle.

“Yes. It seems there was a reason they were always able to sneak around Hogwarts without getting caught,” Harry said in a leading manner.

“Now you will have to tell me before we get back,” Lupin said curiously.

“It is most peculiar. To think… the trusted Prefect of my father’s friends helped create something perfect for managing mischief,” Harry said grinning to him.

“Oh no… That thing still exists?” Lupin asked in surprise.

“Yep. It was snatched from Filch’s office by the Weasley Twins,” Harry said.

“And they gave it to you?” Lupin asked. Harry nodded. “Why?” he asked further.

Harry was solemn for a moment. “I do wish it was under better circumstances. It was their way of thanking me for saving their sister this year,” he said.

“Then it was probably given to you in full faith. Something like that item would be more or less priceless for a couple of school boy pranksters. In the Weasley family though, nothing is more important than family,” Remus said.

“I felt the same way. I can tell you details later, if you want to hear them,” Harry said.

“I would like that. There is also much to show you regarding a certain project as well,” Remus said.

“I really look forward to seeing it in person,” Harry said eagerly.

“I suppose we can talk about your exploits over tea this evening then,” Remus said. Harry nodded to that plan.

Remus didn’t know it at that moment, but Harry’s tale would be why he made a decision he was tossing around after getting the offer. It would be just for a year, but the students in the future would look back on it as one of their best years for Defense Against Dark Arts. It would be one of the most useful, if nothing else.

Notes:

Not the best chapter title, but I couldn't really think of one for this chapter. I might change the title later. Anyways, this ends 2nd year at Hogwarts. We will see how long it takes for me to start 3rd year. I had planned on taking a bit of break, but with a certain virus going around it might not be as long of a break as I planned. For better or worse, there isn't really much else to do at the moment. I hope everyone is safe and healthy, at least as much as they can be. On the bright side, there is a lot of fan fiction to read out there.

Hopefully everyone is enjoying the story. I will say I have the Harem plans finalized in my head now. I may have said this before, but felt I would say it here. It won't be more than three girls. I'll probably have enough trouble with just three of them. For me, I don't think more will be easy in a story that actually has a lot of story in it. If it was mostly smut, that would be different. It might be me, but I've noticed large harem stories usually don't have much focus on the girls outside of mature content sections. Anyways, see you all next chapter.

Chapter 40: Tonks, Weasley, and Black

Nymphadora Tonks, who preferred to be called Tonks, gave a sigh as she came to the door of her family’s home. She had yet to find her own place. She was far too busy as an initiate to really take care of her own place. When she finally became a Junior Auror, the first rank in the Auror Corps, she would be busy but at least have time to get her own home. That would be when she moved out, even if her parents were more than fine with their daughter still living at home with them.

“Welcome home Nymphadora dear,” her mother, Andromeda Tonks, said in greeting to her daughter.

Tonks gave a wave as she went straight to the shower. It really showed how tired she was that she didn’t even put up her usual fuss at hearing her first name. After her shower, Tonks returned and happily sank into the sofa in their living room. She gave a hum of contentment. It was surprising how comfy the sofa was.

“Are you sure you’re alright, honey?” her father, Ted Tonks, asked from his chair.

“Yes, Dad. I’m fine. It’s just tiring is all,” Tonks replied.

“As long as you’re able to make it. If it ever gets to be too much, just let us know. You’re more than qualified for several good jobs,” her dad said.

“Safer jobs too,” her mother added as she entered the room and sat down as well.

Tonks rolled her eyes. Her parents were supportive enough. They still didn’t like how dangerous being an Auror was, even without a Dark Lord leading a band of skull masked enthusiasts muggle haters. “I know it can be dangerous, but I am being trained by the best,” she still said in defense.

“Are you finally learning something new? Other than old cases?” her mother asked.

“I have been for a while now. Even when we were reviewing old cases, Moody still made sure I had training exercises and such. He didn’t want me slacking off just because there were old court cases to study,” Tonks said.

“I still think he went overboard on that lesson, even for him,” her mother said.

“Look at it this way. Our daughter will probably have just as high of a conviction rate as Old Moody had. Everyone knows it was very rare for a dark wizard he brought in to get off,” her dad said as Tonks nodded in agreement.

“Why didn’t he just have you look at his own case files then?” her mother asked.

“He wanted me to see how not to do things and to emphasize how important all of the details were. How to avoid technicalities that could let someone off. How even the most closed book cases could still result in the guilty party walking free due to sloppy case prep by the Auror. I looked at his as well. He was unsurprisingly the harshest critic for his own cases. After looking through them again, he swore a case or two only resulted in a conviction because the whole Wizengamot was sorely wanting an early morning drink that day,” Tonks said.

Her dad chuckled to that. It did seem like the kind of reasoning Old Moody would come up with after getting hyper focused on his old court appearances.

“Even though he is a great Auror, I swear he earns every letter of his nickname,” her mother said while shaking her head.

“Maybe. But he is still the best mentor you could get,” Tonks said smiling.

“I won’t argue with you there. Maybe you’ll be on the fast track through the ranks once you finish training. How much longer do you need to go?” her father asked.

“Given how intense Moody makes my training… I could easily become a Junior Auror by next spring,” Tonks said. It was impressive how much progress she was making in her training. During their review exams, she saw how further along she was compared to the others who joined up at the same time.

“That’s good to hear. Dangerous it may be. And I do wish you were looking for a safer job. I am still proud of you, Nymphadora,” her mother said with a smile.

Tonks actually smiled to that. She was never one opposed to praise. She had always liked getting attention. Now, she was doing what she could to make sure it was the right kind of attention. Few would believe it, but she didn’t really do much in the way of crazy hair styles now. She didn’t even pretend to be high ranking people in the DMLE by looking like them for a laugh. Shocking it may be, but she was actually growing up and learning to adult.

“I’m proud of you too, dear. I can’t wait to tell everyone at the office my daughter is an Auror,” her dad said grinning.

“Supper is about ready everyone,” her mother said after a few minutes and the family moved to their dining table.

[-] [-] [-]

Ginny gave a sigh as she laid on her bed. She wasn’t sure what to think about everything. What happened at school was terrible. She was glad the twins were there for her afterwards. The rest of her family loved her, but they were more about pretending last year didn’t really happen. She could see where they were coming from with this approach, but it kind of hurt in a way.

She felt like a bit of an outcast at the moment. Like she was unclean or something. Everyone but the twins were seemingly walking on egg shells around her. The twins seemed unsure how exactly to handle it, but they were doing more in that regard than the rest of the family Ginny felt.

Fred and George weren’t out right ignoring what happened, but they only occasionally mentioned anything to do with it. That was kind of bizarre in a way for Ginny. It was odd having the twins be serious at moments, but Ginny like it. It warmed her heart a little, even though things were still tough.

Ginny wasn’t possessed anymore, but she had nightmares where she randomly went back to being possessed and turned on her own family. She knew they were only bad dreams and it was probably a silly worry, but it was there. Despite what her family may want to think, Ginny was changed after all of that. It was a really strange change too.

Her first year education was a mess, but mostly there. She spent time reading through the books again to catch back up and reading notes Luna let her borrow. At the same time though, Ginny had some of the knowledge fifth year Riddle had. She shuddered at that. It was proof how deep the possession ran at the time. Despite the source, she could tell some of the knowledge would be handy to know.

Fortunately, most of the knowledge passed down to her wasn’t of the dark arts nature. There was some of that, but the majority of what she knew was his school knowledge. It was also an expansion on what the classes taught. Since it was only partial knowledge, there were different difficulties she faced regarding it.

She knew fairly advanced magics now, but she didn’t have the foundation to properly understand and utilize it. Perhaps this meant in the future she would be rather knowledgeable, but until then it would be strange experience for her. It would just be hovering there in her mind, almost teasing her, if that made any sense. Ginny now had some magical knowledge inside her head that was NEWT level, which showed Riddle was very advanced in more than just the dark arts, given it was his fifth year self who possessed her.

How did she know it was NEWT level stuff? Well, Percy was the answer there. Their parents were asking him about his classes and the things he talked about he had some difficulty on, she understood what it accomplished and needed to be successful. Ginny of course didn’t say anything to the others. She was pretty sure if she started explaining NEWT level magic, her parents would decide she was corrupted or tainted after what happened.

They might even go so far as to see about getting her obliviated out of fear she wasn't there daughter anymore. Under usual circumstances Ginny wouldn't mind that. It would get her past what Riddle did to her, but she was very certain it would require a severe obliviation. Severe to the point she might be little more than a drooling mess afterwards. It was that deep inside her now. If by a miracle she wasn’t a drooling mess, she for sure wouldn’t be Ginny Weasley anymore.

Ultimately, Ginny hoped whatever she had done during her possession would stay to her nightmares. She really didn’t want to have memories of her time under Riddle’s influence suddenly return to her. Who knows what he did to or with her? She hoped it stayed forgotten and only came out in a jumbled nightmare mess from time to time.

“Ginny! You have a guest,” her mother called up.

Ginny blinked to that. She hadn’t been expecting anyone. She didn’t think anyone would want to see her. She may have Luna’s notes, but they were mailed to her. “Coming!” Ginny called down as she got up and left her room.

Mrs. Weasley left the room once her daughter entered.

“Ginny!” Luna said with a smile, once the girl came downstairs.

“Luna?!” Ginny asked in surprise.

“That’s me. I haven’t yet started calling myself Supreme Princess of the Snorlacks or anything like that,” Luna replied with a big grin. She came over and gave Ginny a hug.

Ginny blinked to this and tried her best not to let her shock bring out tears. She didn’t want a pity hug or something like that. She still returned the hug not to seem rude.

Luna hummed and said, “I can’t believe I never did the hugging thing with friends before.”

“Friends?” Ginny asked.

“Yes. I do still see you as a friend,” Luna replied she then looked to Ginny in thought and asked, “Do you not want us to still be friends?”

Ginny gave a sniff and hugged Luna tightly. “I do! I was worried you wouldn’t, after all of that,” she said.

“Why did you think that?” Luna asked.

“After everything that happened?! After I ignored you… And was rude to you,” Ginny said.

“Don’t you worry about that. I know that wasn’t you. I had worried at first, but I came to realize something else was going on. So. Yes. I do still see you as a friend,” Luna said smiling again.

“Even after you got along well with the Hufflepuffs?” Ginny asked carefully.

“Yes. I do still think of you as a close friend. You just aren’t the only friend I have now, but more friends are a good thing to have. Especially, my friend since so long ago,” Luna said.

Ginny gave a sniff to that and hugged Luna tighter again. She did start to cry a little now. Luna just held their hug while Ginny cried out what she needed to cry out. It was a bit different for Luna to be the one offering comfort, but she was happy to do so for a good friend.

Mrs. Weasley gave a smile as she stopped listening from the kitchen. She had been worried about her daughter. She feared Ginny wouldn’t want to be around anyone but her family and surprisingly in particular the twins. It was good to see Luna was there for Ginny and Ginny wanted her to be there.

Mrs. Weasley always thought Luna was a good girl, even with her very strange and bizarre beliefs. She had been worried at the time when Luna wasn’t really mentioned much in Ginny’s school letters. Now that she knew what happened, she wasn’t surprised by the letters' contents anymore. They had seemed so… generic. There would only be enough details to show it wasn’t just something copy and pasted from Ron’s very short letters his first year.

[-] [-] [-]

“So how did you know something was off?” Ginny asked as she and Luna walked around outside together. Ginny needed the air and to get out of the house. She also needed to talk about this stuff and out here her mom wouldn’t be around to try and hush it up after a few seconds. Her mom was very insistent they don't talk about it much when it was mentioned.

“It was something I only started to realize a little later. There was your behavior, but that wasn’t really the big giveaway,” Luna said.

“You mean how I was withdrawing from others? How I was mean to you?” Ginny asked.

“That was the behavior aspect. The big giveaway were the Wrackspurts oddly enough,” Luna said.

“Really?” Ginny asked. She wasn’t sure how that could be. She knew of Luna’s beliefs about the small and most likely made up creatures. She usually found their discussions about them entertaining, even if she didn’t believe they were real.

“Yep. Not in the way I thought about them though,” Luna said. She then stopped and turned to face Ginny.

Ginny stopped in response. Luna looked excited as she grinned.

“I found out what they actually are. It was something Harry and the others mentioned at the end of the school year. I always thought about how Wrackspurts could tell you things if you listened. I recently learned that it was magic itself telling me things. It just took on the form of what I called Wrackspurts. I’m now learning how to sense and listen to magic properly. Magic is never really direct, but it will give you clues about things. Something being off last year was one of those things,” Luna said.

“That is rather interesting. Is it how seers work?” Ginny asked.

“I guess it could be in a way. I’m still rather new to this stuff, even if I have been hearing the Wrackspurts for a good while now. It is something I will continually work on to better understand. Harry happened to know someone who could help me with that. They agreed to do so, but wish to keep it secret for now. I took some time to think it over but agreed to it earlier this summer,” Luna said.

“That’s good to hear then. You will have to tell me more once you understand more. I may be a Gryffindor, but I am a very curious Gryffindor,” Ginny said with a smile.

“Naturally. I doubt we would have become friends if you didn’t have curiosity and at least a somewhat open mind,” Luna replied.

“So… How were things with your roommates?” Ginny asked in worry.

“They were pretty bad, but it got sorted out well before the end of the school year. There won’t be problems there again I get the feeling. Though… It wasn’t wholly negative. I guess,” Luna said.

“What do you mean by that?” Ginny asked.

“It got me to start wondering about some things when it comes to myself,” Luna said.

“Do you care to share?” Ginny asked curiously.

“Maybe another time. How are you doing?” Luna asked.

Ginny was surprised by that. Luna was usually very open about things. It must be something very personal, or maybe Luna didn’t know if they could go straight back to how they were, even if she saw Ginny as a good friend. Ginny guessed that made sense.

She felt mixed about that. Part of her wanted to go right back to how they were. At the same time, part of her was glad they weren’t. This showed that things had changed, but that didn’t mean it had to be a bad change. In a strange way, Ginny felt they might eventually grow closer has friends since they were acknowledging the change.

“Okay, I guess. The twins have been surprisingly helpful. The rest of my family is being overly cautious for one reason or another,” Ginny said.

“That doesn’t sound too unexpected. The twins choosing to be helpful is a bit unexpected, but the rest isn’t,” Luna said. Luna then smiled and held Ginny’s hand and said, “I will be here for you. No matter how different or changed things are. That’s what friends do I’ve come to learn,” Luna said.

Ginny gave a sniff to that as she gave a watery smile. “I don’t know if I deserve it, but I am thankful,” she said.

Luna shook her head. “It isn’t about what you think you deserve or not. Friends are there for friends,” Luna said.

Ginny gave her friend a tight hug. “I still don’t think I deserve it though,” she said.

“Then just do what only makes sense,” Luna started.

“What would that be?” Ginny asked.

“If you must, just become a friend who deserves it in your own mind,” Luna said.

Ginny shook her head. “It seems you have learned a lot this last year. I know you are in Ravenclaw, but friendship never really seemed like their thing,” she said.

“You might be right. Just keep in mind my other friends are in Hufflepuff. They kind of rub off on you, but I don’t see that being a bad thing,” Luna said.

“I’m not about to complain there. It was a group from Hufflepuff who saved me. I just don’t know what to do to show them my thanks,” Ginny said.

“I’d say get to know them. They were Hufflepuffs, but they are Harry Potter, Hannah Abbot, and Susan Bones,” Luna said. She then gave a hum and nod in thought. “There’s also Myrtle too. She may be a ghost and not a Hufflepuff, but she was helpful,” Luna said.

“That still boggles my mind. Moaning Myrtle was helpful. I guess I can start by not calling her Moaning Myrtle anymore. I’ll start calling her Myrtle instead,” Ginny said.

“I don’t like labels myself. Myrtle is Myrtle. Harry is Harry. I’m Luna. Moaning Myrtle is just bad name. Loony Lovegood is just a bad name. The-Boy-Who-Lived may not be a bad name, but it is still just a label. None of those titles/names are who we really are,” Luna said.

Ginny mulled those words over and gave a nod. “I’ll do that. Thanks, Luna,” she said.

“Happy to help,” Luna replied.

Ginny gave a giggle. “You’ve been a big help. On top of everything else, you let me borrow your notes. I have fragments of the lessons from the year in my mind. Your notes have helped fill in the blanks there,” Ginny said as they continued their walk. It did seem things were a bit more promising to the youngest Weasley.

[-] [-] [-]

Tonks took a sip of butterbeer as she reflected a little on her time in the Auror Training Corps. She did feel a little guilty that she had to sort of dance around the truth of the matter with her family. She wasn’t lying when she talked about being ahead of others. She did feel it was a little unfair she got to have Moody as her mentor. It was more or less Moody’s choice, but it did feel a little like she was getting special treatment. Fortunately, she decided to make sure to show she deserved it and most of those around her agreed she was doing just that.

She still wished she could tell her parents more, especially her mom. The looking over old court cases wasn’t standard training. It wasn’t even part of Moody’s original training course. He still made sure she didn’t fall behind while they did it. The truth was Tonks wished she could tell her mom what was really going on with it.

She ended up looking into old court cases because Madame Bones got interesting information from her beloved niece. Moody was the best for what Madam Bones decided to do in regards to the matter. Tonks just so happened to be Moody’s trainee and got to go along with the ride. That wasn’t really why Tonks wanted to tell her mom all about it though.

Moody and Tonks were looking into cases regarding Sirius Black. They finished their part of the investigation a while back. The results were Sirius never did have a trail. He could actually be innocent. They also found out he wasn’t even mentioned in other trials for other Death Eaters, which put to rest some of Moody’s worries about the situation.

Madame Bones was already taking the next steps regarding the situation. She had well respected and ranking Aurors officially looking into the matter. This would give enough reason and credibility to have an official trial through proper channels. If nothing too wild happened, Sirius Black could be a free man come early fall.

That would be something to celebrate, even in the Tonks Family. While her mother may have been kicked out of the Black Family because she married for love, Andromeda Tonks was fairly close to her cousin Sirius. She had been devastated and in disbelief he was accused of being responsible for the Potters’ deaths and sent to Azkaban for life. She knew how close they were.

Sirius and James were brothers in all but blood and Sirius was as Anti-Black as a Black could be. He was in Gryffindor. He wasn't a fan of the Dark Arts. He actually had no problems with blood status and especially enjoyed being with muggle born witches. Sirius actually enjoyed hearing from muggle borns in general. He wasn’t muggle crazed like Arthur Weasley, but he liked hearing about the muggle world from magicals born to it. Tonks’ mother would be happy and excited to hear there was a good chance he was actually innocent… and that was a big reason why Tonks couldn’t share the news with her mother.

The situation had to be handled carefully so real justice would prevail. If Andromeda Tonks started talking about Sirius possibly being innocent and never having a trail… well… certain individuals might move to ensure the mistake was never corrected. It would also look bad if someone related to Sirius Black somehow knew of these things before it was public knowledge. It didn’t matter if Andromeda was kicked out of the family. It would still be bad if it was learned relatives, even ones banished from the family, were involved in bringing to light Sirius Black didn’t have a trail. Many would screech corruption and such, because there was reason for Andromeda to have a vested interest in the matter and freeing Sirius.

It was kind of sickening how corruption was only screeched about when it wouldn’t seemingly benefit certain individuals such as Lucius Malfoy. Sirius possibly being innocent and later freed would be disadvantageous for the Malfoy family and a boon to Andromeda. Sirius Black was still the heir apparent, if not Lord of the Black family. Should he still be confined to Azkaban and later die behind its bars, then it would be Draco Malfoy who inherited the title Lord Black once he was of age. Sirius Black being free meant he could change that around.

Sirius Black being free could result in a lot of things. He could end up fathering his own heir. He could bring Andromeda and Nymphadora back to the family and officially recognize the marriage of Ted and Andromeda. He could write his will to exclude the Malfoy family from getting anything. He could even, as he said he would before certain events happened, make it so Harry Potter became his heir should Sirius Black have no children of his own.

Tonks knew that stuff could come to pass. Moody made sure she understood to pay attention to this stuff because it could be vital to court prep and investigations. She didn’t really care much for that stuff though. She just wanted her mother to be happy and to have more family.

There was also her shared sense of justice with both Moody and Madame Bones. Not that corrupt individuals would care, but Tonks wanted this resolved even if Sirius Black really was as guilty as everyone thought. That would mean closure at the very least and her mom could truly move on with her life.

Tonks finished her drink and stretched. She then got ready for bed. She would need to be ready for another busy day tomorrow. She was right when she told her parents she could be Junior Auror next Spring. It became a goal for her. She had actually thought of her precious first years. "They'll be starting their third year soon enough, " she thought to herself. It was crazy how fast they were growing up. She would make sure she did them proud and became a Junior Auror quickly. That way they could be proud to know their wonderful, amazing, beautiful, and lovely RA became an awesome Junior Auror before the usual expected time period. She grinned to herself. She probably had to thank her firsties for more of her drive than she knew. She didn't really see that as a bad thing though.

[-] [-] [-]

Somewhere in a place called the Rust District there were a series of pops that could be heard suddenly. Usually House Elf Apparition was silent, but not with a group this big. There were a series of chain apparitions for some of the elves. The group was composed of old and young elves along with both males and females.

The Elf in the front of the group was wearing an odd assortment of clothes. He had a sock that was old but cleaned to be almost as good as new and on the opposite foot there was a dress sock. He also had on a hat and an old tunic that would soon be replaced once they decided on a proper elf dress code. He looked around the area and gave a nod.

“Wes is here! Rusty District be new homes for us,” Dobby said to the others.

An older elf who was dignified in age despite being freed for a while came up next to him and took a deep breath. “This be goods place. Just like magics say! Brightest Futures here. The magic is strong and ancient. We not needs too many elf friend bonds for it to be stables for elves. This be where many happenings start,” he said as more of the elves took in their new surroundings.

“Dobby still be Elf Friending Great Harry Potter sirs!” Dobby said excitedly and determined.

The older elf nodded to Dobby. “Dobby be luckys magics does wants him elf friending Harry Potter sirs. Yous will become great model of elfs to have such a friend,” the older one said. Dobby nodded in seriousness to his words. The older elf was named Tibbles.

Tibbles was a well-respected House Elf and many would even go so far as to call him a House Elf Sage. He was a freed elf for a while now, but that was because his family died out because of bad wizards during Grindelwald’s time. Many knew he could have easily found a new and respectful family, but he spoke of how magic told him otherwise. Told him to wait. He found a place of power where he meditated a good bit and conserved his magic for the right time.

It was because of this he was never seen as a disappointment by other house elves for refusing a new family. He was the first House Elf Dobby sought out. Tibbles helped Dobby find others for the new community.

“Dobby happy to hear that, Tibbles. We still have a few who are more than happy to be elf friends. Harry Potter sirs is a given. There also be his Grangy and his LuLo too,” Dobby said.

“Oooo!” one of the female elves started happily. “There be young ones here toos!” she said with a big grin. A few others talked excitedly about that.

Another elf gave a nod as he took in the air and magics of the area as well. He was a little younger than Dobby and named Frickle. He was freed because the last family he served had a werewolf. He looked over the afflicted family member, but soon they were both kicked out due to embarrassment of the family for having a werewolf. He did what he could to watch over the werewolf afterwards. Sadly, the werewolf eventually took her own life when Greyback tried to force her into joining his ‘pack’. This is one reason why he was sought out by Dobby and why he nodded as he surveyed the area.

“There be plenty of wolfymans and wolfywomans here too. Young wolfys too. Elves be good at helpings them,” Frickle said. Several of the other house elves talked among themselves in agreement.

Dobby had done more than Harry expected in his assignment. Dobby found a lot of freed elves who were still great house elves. Few of them needed time to think first and those who did merely listened to magic to find their answer. Most agreed rather readily and swore they would do House Elves proud in the new home. A couple, like Tibbles, grinned and grabbed Dobby’s shoulder before nodding without even hearing what he had to say. Dobby was impressed by these elves. They were masters at listening to magic, even among House Elves. There was no other reason they would reply so quickly.

“What do wes do about non-magey folks?” one asked.

“Theys knows about this places mostly. Theys stays separates though. Harry Potter Sirs already got Boss Jett to agree to this,” Dobby said.

“Theys not stay separates for all ways,” Tibbles started. He stood in front of all of the Elves as they paid close attention to his words. “Magics told me greatness be happenings here. This be place were eventually magics and non-mageys works together. Theys builds great community! Theys bring about changes to whole magic world in times. We be honored elves to helps them,” Tibbles said.

There were many excited words exchanged between the many elves in response to that.

“Let’s be goings then! Elves have wonderful works to do!” Dobby said grinning brightly and taking the lead.

The elves as a group started making their way through the area. Many waved to the curious onlookers they saw during their walk. Some snapped their fingers to fix something they noticed on the way and to show they were ready to help.

There were actually a number of curious magical children happily waving and following the elves around. They had never seen so many house elves in one place before like this. Some of them were seeing the magical beings for their first time. Some adults watching the procession of elves were in awe of what they were seeing. Many realized just how important this refuge would be and once again vowed to do their part to assure it thrived.

Many realized History was being written in this place at this time. Few realized just how much of History was being written though. In the future if Binns didn’t cover this, the Headmaster or Headmistress of Hogwarts would have no choice but to exorcise him, or at the very least fire him.

It was going to be the start of something new. The House Elves were here to help and oversee that. In time, some might even come to really see and appreciate the Elf Friend Ritual. It could even be a change to how House Elves and magicals existed together.

Notes:

I know it has been a little while, but I did need to take a break from this story. I was still working on it some here and there. I'm not sure if it will get back to the same update rate it was yet, but I really wanted to get something out to celebrate this story’s first anniversary.

I’m actually a little proud we managed to get into third year after just one year of writing this story. My stories usually take a lot longer to write and get moving, but that is something I have been trying to work on with this story. I've been trying to have the story move a bit faster than usual, for me at least. Second year was still long when it came to the number of chapters. I’ll just have to see how things go with this story in the future.

Things are going to start changing more with this year. I am still figuring out just how I will handle Sirius with this stage of the story. I have a few different ideas I find could be interesting when it comes to writing his part of third year, even if I still have him break out of Azkaban before he can be freed. I think this could still happen, because I doubt the guards of Azkaban, meaning the human ones, would bother keeping an inmate updated on the status of their trial taking place. There is also the fact, apart from a few, everyone thinks Sirius is guilty and already had a trail.

Chapter 41: A Lunatastic Summer

"What have you found?" Harry asked once he was alone with the Goldsmith.

The Goldsmith looked a little confused as he handed over a stack of notes. "Something fishy was happening on this job. Luckily, I had concerns when you first handed me that coin. I had a strange sense of dejvu. I could tell I had seen them before somewhere, but wasn't sure why I felt that way," he said.

Harry nodded in thought and frowned. "I'm sorry about that. I should have better prepared you for this. I kind of thought this could happen, but I wasn't as cautious about it as I should have been. I didn't know what I do now, back then either," he said.

"No worries. It was a very concerning job in the first place and you did warn me it would be. Luckily, I had all of the people involved take notes on small note pads. I copied over the notes myself," the Goldsmith said.

Harry looked at the notes again. "I'm a bit surprised you were able to get this method to work," Harry said to him.

"One thing the places involved had in common was a 'special' security team. They handled all issues no matter what they were. They even had a strange work uniform. It was a dark purple robe with a badge of sorts showing that insignia," he said as he pointed to a staff and wand crossing each other inside a circle.

Harry nodded in thought as he looked at it. It made sense in a way. When you can just memory charm away the problem, why not abuse that method? The Ministry itself did so. They had a whole department just for that. It was their go-to method for all issues regarding muggles.

However, memory charms weren't perfect. Magicals also weren't familiar with muggle methods for gathering intel. Given the type of magicals involved in this, there was no way they would dare give consideration to such things. They would see learning muggle methods for anything as an offense to their very soul. There was some humor to the irony these "esteemed" individuals used muggle markets to increase their wealth.

"How did you figure this out?" Harry asked out of curiosity.

The Goldsmith grinned. "That was easy. After the first couple of odd occurrences, I went to the places in question myself and observed as I attended to other business," he said.

Harry looked up from the notes in his hand. "This is very helpful. I have some different people I can hand it off to now. They need to get involved from this point forward. Will you cooperate with them, if they need it? I'll make sure they know to keep all of those involved anonymous to avoid problems," Harry said.

"I will. The people I used for this job will do the same. You mentioned there would be others getting involved officially at one point. They don't like how things seem to be just out of grasp concerning this matter. They want to help bring these people down. Whoever they are. That isn't even taking into account this was a request from a Street Knight," he said before pausing for a moment.

A different thought came to his mind. "Just make sure we will know who they are without it being overly obvious. And they know how to handle things properly. If they're in any way similar to this 'special security team'… I'm not sure they know much about the ways of subtly," the Goldsmith said with a shake of his head.

He was glad he was able to come up with an easy method to deal with the issues they had. It was still rather sad they worked so well. He still had enough challenge to satisfy his thirst for adventure, since he was mostly retired from such a lifestyle. He preferred making beautiful designs with jewelry and the delicate work that went into such craftmanship.

Harry gave a chuckle. "I'll be more than sure of that," he said to the Goldsmith.

Harry found some irony here as well. He was very sure when it came to magical means of subtly these people were probably equal to the best Aurors, maybe even better in some cases. However, when faced with methods you have no knowledge of, you will come off as foolish no matter how competent you otherwise might be.

"That will be all for now, Goldsmith. I will handle the payments for those you got help from for this request," Harry said.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you, Little Boss," the Goldsmith said with a chuckle.

Harry shook his head and rolled his eyes at the nickname. He did grin though.

"As for me… Just be sure to keep my shop in mind whenever you need something for a special lady in your life," the jeweler said with a wink.

Harry almost blushed as he left.

Almost…

[-] [-] [-]

Luna Lovegood was far more excited than she usually was, even when going on a creature hunt. Admittedly, she would probably be more excited if they ever found legitimate proof of the Crumple Horned Snorkack, but that only made sense.

Still, Luna was very excited.

She was going to be staying a while in the Rust District. She would be seeing Davey again. She would also see all of the house elves Harry mentioned in his letters. More than that, she would be seeing Harry again!

She was a little conflicted there.

Her heart beat so much faster and she felt so nice and warm when she thought about Harry. Sadly, he was with Hermione. Luna's heart still didn't listen to her when she told it to stop getting all fluttery when it came to Harry. It probably didn't help matters she liked how she felt during those moments.

The fact Hermione wouldn't be there during this trip didn't help matters either. Luna really liked the idea of spending time with Harry alone. She loved her friends, which included Hermione, but there was something different about being with Harry alone. It was dangerous for Luna's heart, because she wouldn't have the constant reminder Harry and Hermione were together. She might get thoughts and such.

Despite all of that, she was looking forward to her visit. "I'll just have to trust in the Wrackspurts and magic, " Luna thought to herself.

She knew what was really happening in that regard. She had been speaking with Pansy about improving her magic listening. Luna still thought of what she saw as Wrackspurts. It wasn't easy getting used to the truth. Pansy also told her it could be possible she would always see magic's communication as Wrackspurts.

Luna's case was different than Pansy's case of listening to magic. They were both thinking so long as Luna knew it was magic and not some kind of curious magic creature, she would be fine. It could be one day Luna got to the point she no longer saw Wrackspurts. That would probably be once she was a lot more experienced in listening though.

There was a part of Luna that didn't want to stop seeing the Wrackspurts. She knew she was being silly with her reason for why she wanted to see them. It was because she had been lonely many times, even with Ginny as a friend. The Wrackspurts were always there. Ginny was a good friend to her while they were growing up, but Ginny was Luna's only friend back then and she was an only child. It was lonely when Ginny wasn't around.

Things were really bad once Luna's mother died when it came to loneliness. It was only a couple of years before she went to Hogwarts, but they were very hard for her. Her dad was lost to his own grief and locked himself away in the basement where he printed The Quibbler. Luna felt excessively lonely most of those days. Seeing the Wrackspurts and listening to them helped her a lot.

"Perhaps the day I stop seeing them will mean I no longer feel lonely. At the very least, it might mean I am finally over that period of my life," Luna thought again. She was doing a lot better, but some things still needed time.

"Are you ready, my Little Moonflower?" Mr. Lovegood asked his daughter.

Luna nodded and replied, "I am, daddy."

"Well then. Take my hand and we'll be off," he said as he shrunk her trunk.

Luna took in a deep breath and let it out as she grabbed her dad's hand. With a sudden pop sound, they were soon in a diner. Luna blinked to regain her bearings and soon smiled brightly. All of her silly worries instantly melted away once she saw Harry, Davey, and Mr. Lupin waiting.

"Remus! I didn't expect you to be here," Xenophilius said with a smile.

"We figured you might feel better seeing someone you knew. It is good to see you again, Xenophilius," Remus greeted in return.

"Luna! It is good to see you again," Davey greeted cheerful as the two hugged.

"I'm happy to meet you again as well," Luna said smiling.

She then turned to Harry and grinned even brighter. "Hello, Harry," she said a little shily as her cheeks blushed.

Harry gave her a tight hug and smiled as he said, "Hello, Luna. It is great to see you already."

Luna nodded and smiled to that as she took in all she could from their hug. Harry then broke the hug and greeted Mr. Lovegood.

"It is good to meet you, Harry Potter. Luna said a lot about you. I'm glad she has a good friend such as you there for her," Luna's dad said with a soft smile.

"She's a great friend to have," Harry replied.

"I was a bit worried how her first year at Hogwarts would go, but with all that happened, she was still very excited about it and happy to have made more friends. I hope you will keep being there for her again this year," Mr. Lovegood said.

Harry smiled as he said, "Hufflepuffs are always there for their friends. It doesn't matter what house they're in."

Xenophilius nodded to that and smiled again. "Well. I'm sure you both are eager to enjoy your time together. I'll get out of your hair now," he said. With one last good bye to his daughter, Mr. Lovegood apparated away.

"Let's get going, shall we?" Remus started as the kids followed him out of the diner.

[-] [-] [-]

Luna was in awe as she looked around while they walked through the Rust District. The place had always been uniquely charming to her, but now it was different. It still had that Rust District look, but it seemed more… upkept. She wasn't sure how to describe it.

"Is all of this because of the house elves?" she couldn't help but ask.

Remus gave a chuckle as he said, "They made quite the impression when they first arrived."

"They marched right through the streets like a parade. They waved and snapped their fingers. It was really amazing," Harry added excitedly.

"I wish I could have seen that," Luna said more to herself.

"They are very helpful little guys. I found it hard to believe when Harry talked about how some of them were treated," Davey said. "They're just so amazing!"

"It isn't a clear-cut situation," Remus said. "Some are treated badly, but most of them are seen as family, even if they mostly stay out of the way."

"Are they really ignored?" Davey asked.

"Yes, but that is kind of how they want it themselves," Harry said.

"They always say a good house elf is rarely seen or even noticed. It was a bit surprising that was the case even at Hogwarts," Remus said.

"Hogwarts has some?" Davey asked.

"They have a massive force of them. Yet, you have to really seek them out to find them… Or just go to the Kitchens," Luna answered with a smile. She had made that trip a few times during her first year at Hogwarts. It was something else seeing them work in the kitchens and eating there instead of in the Great Hall.

"And they mostly stay unnoticed," Davey repeated in awe.

"Yep," Luna replied.

Soon they were at Harry and Davey's place. Davey and Luna would be sharing a room during her stay this time. Luna was perfectly fine with that. She always wanted a big sister she could stay with and Davey was very much that to her, even with the short time they had together.

"You two can go now. Be back by six," Davey said once they dropped off Luna's stuff. She looked to Remus and asked, "Will you be joining us for supper tonight?"

Remus shook his head and smiled. "I have plans already," he said.

"Thanks again for the help, Mr. Lupin. It really did put daddy's mind at ease seeing you there," Luna said before she and Harry left.

[-] [-] [-]

"Merlin's Beard!" Luna cried out with a frown.

Harry couldn't help but chuckle to that from next to her. He was used to wizard phrases, but he still found them funny at times. "You did pretty good," he said.

"But I was hoping for a high score…" Luna pouted a little. Harry placed an arm around her and lightly squeezed her shoulder. This caused her to feel warm inside and blush cutely at the contact.

"Why don't we try some other games now," he suggested to her with a damnable charming smile. Luna felt her heart getting too far into dangerous territory as she looked to him and smiled back. She was sure it looked goofy, but she couldn't help it. She wasn't at Harry tier smiling levels.

Luna was surprised Harry wasn't seen as having the best smile in Hufflepuff. Cedric was nice and had a good smile too, but Harry was better. It was rather obvious. She wanted to match it and even dared to think about things like kissing.

"Sounds good!" Luna suddenly said a little higher than necessary as she quickly looked around. They were visiting the arcade at the moment.

She really loved the arcade. All of the fun blinking lights and the many 'video games' as they were called. The happy sounds some of the other games made from time to time. It was amazing! Magic had to be able to do something similar. Maybe even better in some cases.

There were spells and enchantments that could alter the senses and have you see things. Maybe they could find a way to use altered memories to provide a setting. Maybe you could have tracks you ran across and a score keeping ward stone. There had to be something! Magic was magic!

Luna was lost in her own thoughts. Harry stood in front of her and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Luna blinked and noticed his dream like vivid green eyes. She just took him in for a moment and let out an almost dreamy sigh. She then blushed as she cutely looked to the side.

Harry thought it too unfair how cute she could be. He had come to really like her looks. Her beautiful fair skin. Her long dirty blonde hair. It was only a thousand times more charming since she started to care for it after Christmas. He also loved her large and dreamy silver eyes. He found it really cute when she placed her wand behind her left ear at Hogwarts from time to time.

"I was just thinking there had to be a way magic could make arcades of some kind," she started. She then looked to him properly. "Magic needs to have more fun to it! That's why I like Charms the most. Not just because of how great Professor Flitwick is at teaching and his love for the subject. Its where you find the fun of magic."

"A magic arcade? That would be pretty cool. I wonder if active memories could be used…" Harry said in thought of his own. He was liking this idea of hers. That was one of the great things about Luna. Some would say her ideas and beliefs were silly and too far out there. But that meant she just came up with some of the most incredible things.

"That's one of the things I was thinking!" Luna said excitedly.

They sat down together and got some drinks and snacks as they talked about how to make a magical arcade. One of the ideas they came up with would be a stationary broom flight game. They were sure you could possibly have a way to keep the brooms mostly still while hoovering in a small enclosed space. You could have different obstacles pop up to dodge. You could probably even find a way to simulate different weather conditions and flight altitudes.

They did have other ideas as well. A couple even really got them laughing together. Luna then found herself leaning in closer to Harry and her heart beating faster again. She looked to him and he was looking back. She even came dangerously close to trying for a kiss!

"He's with Hermione! " she mentally scolded herself as Harry seemed to be of the same kissing mind. A nearby buzzer went off. Luna was grateful for the distraction. She quickly looked to it. Someone just scored a high score on the ball throwing game.

"I want to try that one!" she said suddenly as she got up. She was both relieved and extremely disappointed in herself. Luckily, the almost kiss was averted… Sadly, the almost kiss was averted.

Harry had to blink at the sudden change. He had to clear his head. He was happily getting caught up in the moment. He thought Luna was as well. He needed to rethink things. Maybe he was pushing things to quickly, even if Hermione had already told him she was happy with Luna being Lady Peverell. She even encouraged him to use Luna's summer visit to grow closer to her. She was doing so unironically as well.

Harry instead decided to just enjoy the time with Luna and stop thinking too much about such things at the moment. Luna was still a lot of fun. He wanted her to have an amazing summer in the Rust District. She would be staying for a good while after all.

She would be helping with the Elf Friend Ritual. It was something she was very excited about seeing and participating in. She even promised to write an article about it in her dad's paper. She felt they should also start writing those articles in The Quibbler. She doubted The Daily Prophet would dare write it, even if they knew about it.

Harry smiled as he came over and stood next to her. "Let's see how you good you are. Can you beat me? Come close at least?" he asked with a teasing grin.

"Teach me how it works first. Then I won't try to distract you too much…" she said giving him a teasing smile and a wink as she giggled a little loudly. She had no idea where that came from but she liked it. She also liked how it seemed to affect Harry.

Harry almost blushed at the surprise attack from her. "Damn. She could distract me very well if she wanted, " he thought before showing her how the game worked.

[-] [-] [-]

Luna ended up losing. She wasn't upset though. She claimed he sent a bunch nargles to attack while he was 'teaching' her. Luna told herself that was why she blushed too much and only heard half of what he said. She demanded he use his tickets to get her something.

She picked out a very odd looking purple stuffed animal. She said it might have been from a muggle who saw a snorkack. The stuffed animal was really odd looking, but also really cute to her at least. It seemed others agreed as well, since there was only one more left on its shelf at the prize counter.

Luna couldn't help but blush happily as she cuddled with it in her night gown on her bed in Davey's room. She was really happy about the day, even if it had been dangerous for her heart. The stuffed animal also gave her a very wonderful warm and fuzzy feeling.

"Did Harry win that for you?" Davey asked as she combed Luna's damp hair after a shower.

Luna nodded as she smiled. "The arcade was a lot of fun. We played that ball toss game. I claimed he distracted me while he was teaching me how to play," she said.

Davey chuckled. "It seems you aren't too upset," she said.

Luna grinned brightly as she hugged the stuffed snorkack. "I wasn't. I've never had anyone get something for me like this. It feels very warm," she said quietly mostly to herself.

Davey gave Luna a tight hug. "You really can be very cute. I wish I had a little sister like you," she said.

Luna felt warm hearing that. "I wish I had an older sister like you," she replied.

"At least we can be such people for each other now. That's one of the great things about the Rust District and The Street Knights," Davey said.

"I like that. I feel I understand what Harry means when he talks about family, even if not by blood," Luna said.

"There we go now. Finished," Davey said after a moment.

"Thanks," Luna said.

The two then went to bed that night.

[-] [-] [-]

"Wow…" Luna said as she walked through the magical part of the district with Harry, Mr. Lupin and Mr. Timmins.

"I agree with that. I've visited this place plenty already, but it is still amazing," Harry said.

"It is with a lot of thanks to you, Harry," Mr. Timmins said.

"I don't see how. I haven't done much. You two and Dobby have," he said.

"But it was all your idea. You even got permission for it. There is also the help you have provided financially as well. That was a much needed start up fund," Remus said.

"I just wanted to do all I could. Put my family's money to good use, even if there are some limits currently. The Rust District did a whole lot for me. When I saw a way to make something similar for the magical world. I had to do it," Harry said.

He waved to a few kids who were happily playing together as they waved to him. A couple of them were muggle kids from the main part of the district, so they knew who he was. The magical kids knew him as The-Boy-Who-Lived, but slowly started to learn who Harry Potter, the Street Knight, was instead. Harry was more than fine with that. He earned his title as a Street Knight.

"And that is why you have done so much. You've given a lot of us a place to stay. And magic makes a lot possible and rather quickly. Too many people forget werewolves are full fledged and magically adept witches and wizards as well," Mr. Timmins said as he waved at some people walking by.

"Plenty of muggleborns were eager to come as well. They liked the idea of a fresh start. They also don't have as much of a worry about werewolves either. They know the dangers, but they better appreciate the dangers of magic in general. This means they don't hold the prejudices some do in the magical world," Mr. Timmins added.

"They also know how rough things can be in the magical world. They too have it tough in a different way. They find themselves growing further and further away from the world they were first born into and their families there. Regrettably, they also find themselves not fully fitting in with the new world they have to join many times," Remus said.

"It still is hard for me to fully get that just yet, when I actually stand here. I do have worries about it all at times," Harry said as he looked the place over.

He worried things could get out of hand in a very bad way, even with all they were doing to make sure that doesn't happen. He feared what would happen if the wrong people found out about it too soon. He even feared what would happen if the right people found out too soon.

Luna sensed Harry's concern and grabbed his arm. She held him close like that and smiled as she said, "You are doing a lot of good. I also love that I get to see a magical community being born! Something like this hasn't happened in centuries!"

Harry smiled back to her. He felt his worries shrinking. Or maybe his determination growing thanks to her. The two of them shared a brief moment before they reached their destination.

"Great Master Harry Potter sirs!" Dobby shouted cheerfully in greeting as he bounced to meet them. "You brought your Lulo too!" he said smiling brightly at Luna.

Luna couldn't help but blush brightly hearing that. "His Lulo… " she thought dreamily. She really liked how that sounded, especially with the things it made her feel. She was ignoring how dangerous this was for her heart. She wasn't even thinking about Hermione at the moment.

Harry gave a slightly nervous look to that. Dobby's phrasing was odd like him at times. He wasn't upset by it though. He soon refocused. "She really wanted to see and talk to all of you house elves," he said.

Luna nodded quickly. "I've always found house elves wonderful and very interesting," she said.

"Wes be more than happys! Yous be Elf Friend too, yes?" a female house elf nearby named Minty asked. She had mint green hair. It was interesting to see how house elves actually had very colorful hair. They usually had their magic change it to something they deemed more appropriate for hard working house elves. The ones here weren't as worried about that, especially since the young ones loved it.

"I will be!" Luna said excitedly as she decided to talk to the female house elf and the others with her. They were doing some cleaning together in a group. It would also give Harry, Mr. Lupin and Mr. Timmins some time to talk business with Dobby and Tibbles.

"Dobby shows you to Tibbles," the excitable House Elf said as he grabbed Harry's hand. He seemed to almost drag Harry along behind him.

[-] [-] [-]

"Fours be bests. Threes works… But fours be bestest! Less strain on source. Not too many elf bounds yet either. More growths then. More House Elves too in futures," Tibbles said after some thought on their current topic.

Dobby nodded. "Manys be wanting elf childrens in times. Theys wants to bring new lifes to this world and this place," he explained further.

"We have three already…" Harry said out loud in thought. He liked the idea of the house elves having children and belonging even more to the growing community. He looked to Remus first.

"As much as I would love such an honor, I feel Mr. Timmins is the better choice. Maybe in the future I can also be an elf friend," he said.

"Why is that?" Harry asked.

Remus smiled as he said, "I was waiting for the right moment to tell you. Now seems to be that moment. We can discuss it more at supper tonight. I'm sure Luna will want to hear all about it as well. I'll actually be at Hogwarts this year. Headmaster Dumbledore was more than happy to have me take up the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor."

"That's great!" Harry said happily. He already knew Professor Lupin would be fantastic as a professor. He knew his stuff. He knew how to explain things to others and teach them.

"I'm glad you're happy too. It will just be for the one year though. I feel I shouldn't stay away from here for too long yet," Remus said.

Mr. Timmins sighed to that. "I wish you could stay there longer, but I think you're right about that. I can tell you'll be good. Hogwarts really needs that right now," he said.

Harry nodded in agreement. "I would love to have a DADA professor stay longer than a year. But… this place is very important. You are really needed here," he said.

"Still. I will be there for a year. I will do what I can during that time. Luckily, Headmaster Dumbledore already set up the right precautions for me at Hogwarts. I'm hoping things will go well with Professor Snape. We didn't see eye-to-eye back when we were students," he said.

Harry was in thought. "If there is anything I can do to help there… let me know," he said.

"What do you think you could do?" Remus couldn't help but ask.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Maybe something though. I've been meeting with him at the end of each year. I learned what he did during the last war. I've been telling him the details of everything I end up having to go through. Dumbledore doesn't fully share them, even with Professor Snape. I'm not saying we're good friends or anything, but we seem to get along well enough," he said.

"I do find that surprising. I figured he would only be able to see James in you. The two of them hated each other just as much as the other. Professor Snape was a frequent target back then. Partly because he usually gave as good as he got," Remus said.

"They probably also saw each other as rivals for my mom…" Harry admitted even if it was embarrassing.

"You even know that?!" Remus asked in shock.

Harry nodded. "Let's not discuss that too much though. It feels really weird," he said.

"Too right you are," Mr. Timmins couldn't help but interject. No one wanted to think too much on their parents’ boy or girl troubles back in school.

Harry turned to him. "I think you would be a good choice as well," he said.

Mr. Timmins then asked Tibbles, "What do you think?"

"Yous be good. They respects you lots too. They knows you well. Theys be happy," the house elf sage said with a nod.

"Theys like how yous be theres for wifey and kids. Too many grows aparts when wolfymans and womans get involved," Dobby added.

"Then I would be honored to live as an Elf Friend," Mr. Timmins said with a nod of respect to them.

He knew they were very important here. He would easily say Tibbles and Dobby were his and Remus' elf counterparts for the community. He would already see they will be very important for the future too.

[-] [-] [-]

Harry and Luna were sitting next to each other on the couch after another day together. It was a bit tense, and Harry didn't truly understand why. Luna did though. She was alone with Harry and she was being very friendly with him. She even flirted a lot, in her own way. She suddenly felt like she was doing something very wrong again.

She had been going through moments like this the whole time during her stay. She would drop her guard and things between her and Harry got really dangerous for her heart. She loved it so much too and wanted more of it!

Then she would remember at random he was with Hermione. It wasn't always like this when they were together and things got really comfortable between them. That had been the case plenty though. That made it even worse.

Luna frequently found herself wanting so much more with Harry. She loved the moments they shared alone. She respected and really liked Hermione, but she also wished it wasn't an issue. She really wanted to give-in to these feelings. She wanted to fully see them through. She was surprised she had changed so much. She used to just be happy having Ginny as a friend. She thought more friends were beyond her, and then she got that while at Hogwarts.

Now, she wanted more in her life. She wanted to stop worrying about such silly things as what she was allowed or not in her life. She wanted to laugh more with Harry. She wanted to talk more with him. She wanted to be with Harry as Harry instead of as part of the group. They had even shared ideas about things in the magical world and that really made her happy.

There was also the fact he was really handsome and she had started taking notice of boys… of Harry this last year. Since she was getting better at the listening to magic thing, the wrackspurts were whispering to her even louder regarding Harry.

Harry looked to Luna sitting next to him. She was on his mind even more lately. He was surprised no one else seemed to realize just how pretty and cute she was. He also really liked the hairstyle she currently sported. It was something he never thought he would see outside of Tonks and her many hair experiments. The look suited Luna though.

Her dirty blonde hair was very long. She curiously asked one of the house elves to give her this hairstyle wondering what it would be like. Her hair was currently styled into two long ponytails with one on each side of her head. She called this style twin-tails.

It was something that many would think ridiculous. Harry found it really cute. He felt it was very much a Luna kind of hairstyle. It was surely a hairstyle only magic could accomplish without it being a complete mess.

Harry didn't like the way things seemed currently though. "Is something bothering you? Luna?" he asked.

Luna seemed surprised as she asked, "What do you mean?"

"It just seems like there is a bit of a distance between us at times. I feel we've gotten closer being alone like this. I also thought you were enjoying it as well. At times though, you seem to… pull back. So, to speak," he said.

Luna sighed as she listened to magic here. It was telling her to be truthful and say it all. She wasn't sure why or if that was a good idea, but magic was telling her it was. She would put her trust in it.

"I've loved this visit! I've loved it more than even the hunts I went on with family before my mom died. I feel I've enjoyed it too much. More than just friends would. My heart wants to go further. My magic wants to go further. I want to go further," she said looking to Harry seriously.

"But you're with Hermione. I don't want to upset her. I really like her too… Even though I want this more. It is confusing. I don't know what to do," Luna admitted with a frown.

If she wasn't so serious about this, Harry would find her really cute at the moment. He nodded to himself. He was getting a hunch again. Maybe he should ask about listening to magic as well.

"I trust you, Luna. I trust you greatly. Hermione does as well. She's admitted to really growing close to you during last year. She really enjoyed Christmas break with you," he started.

"That makes things tougher," Luna muttered to herself. She was holding on tight to the stuffed snorkack. She even buried her face in it for a moment to hide.

"That's why I'm going to tell you something very important. I'm not sure if you want to take a vow to help you keep it secret. I still need to learn more about them. I really do trust you though," Harry started.

Luna looked up to him and raised her wand. She then took a vow, which surprised Harry. "When done right, vows help both involved," she said once the magic took hold.

"I've learned that much. Just need to better understand how to word them and such," Harry admitted.

"So, what is it? Friends should trust each other greatly," Luna said in determination. She even put her stuffed animal to the side. She looked to Harry intently.

"This is something Hermione knows and has come to terms with already. It isn't something to worry about keeping from her. She was a little disappointed, but she has come to accept it. The thing is Luna. I'm heir to two houses... Maybe even three," Harry started.

"You need more than one wife!" she said quickly. There was a lot of hope and excitement underlying her voice. She wasn't saying they would go that far, but she could and would want to see if they did. Her heart was leaping with so much more joy than she thought it would be hearing this.

"Yeah…" Harry said surprise she figured it out already. "The second house I'm heir to is House Peverell."

"The three brothers from the tale of the Deathly Hallows?!" she asked in excitement.

"Deathly Hallows?" Harry asked.

"That's what dad and some others call it. The unbeatable wand. The stone of resurrection. And the cloak… The cloak," Luna said. Her silver eyes grew wide.

"Your cloak…" she added almost breathlessly. She learned about it, even if it wasn't something Harry used much.

"Yep. Hermione explained that to me when I first told her. She didn't mention this Deathly Hallows thing though," Harry said.

"Not everyone believes in them, but some magicals do. My dad does. There are others as well. It has been said even Dumbledore believes in them. He looked into them when he was younger. He was well known for his curiosity about old wizard folklore," Luna said.

"What is so special about them?" Harry asked.

"It is said, by those who believe, if you come to possess all three, you become the Master of Death," Luna said.

"I'm not sure I like the sound of that," Harry said in worry.

"It isn't something you should be eager to obtain. Dumbledore was into all kinds of tales in his youth and it was all out of academic curiosity. He says so at least. He hasn't really done anything to suggest otherwise though," Luna said.

"I still don't like it. I think I'll just make sure never to lose my family's cloak. I'm not about to go and search for such a title," Harry said.

"I'm a bit surprised you didn't know about this from the knowledge you gained through your possession by Myrtle," Luna said.

"She did spend a lot of time in the school's library. This doesn't sound like something one would find there. It could even be such material was removed from the library, supposedly for student safety reasons. She witnessed a number of books being removed for such claims during her time. Some were moved to the restricted section for that same reason alone," Harry said.

Luna nodded in thought. She seemed to decide something and wanted to lighten the mood. She smiled a little mysteriously as she stood up. Harry looked to her and was surprised when Luna deposited herself in his lap.

"Luna?" he asked in surprise.

She wiggled her butt a little to get comfortable and smiled as she said to him. "Since you aren't exclusive, as they say, that means I can do this kind of thing. You're not upset by it are you?" she asked as she tilted her head and gave him a cute pout.

Harry blushed and sighed. He gave a smile and wrapped his arms around her. Luna was blushing furiously now as she turned to look away. "I did tell you about my situation. Might not want to let Davey see though. I would never hear the end of it," he said in her ear.

Luna gasped and felt very warm at this action. She smiled as she said, "I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet. I see her as an older sister. It would be too embarrassing talking about it with her. And that's coming from me. I think dancing naked is the best way to do so. Less restrictive that way."

Harry blushed as he got an image of Luna doing that. It was both beautiful and hot. He blushed anew once he realized a certain part of him really approved of such a picture.

Luna gasped silently as she noticed Harry's hardness. She carefully squirmed in his lap. Harry found it very difficult and embarrassing.

Luna was embarrassed but really happy as well. She even felt proud as she settled in a position so Harry's firmness was given a resting place by her bum. "I'm what caused this… " she thought to herself. She actually moved in a way she was rubbing against it. She never thought she would get a guy into a state like this. It was kind of a rush to her.

"Damn it. Another cute witch who can do things to me… I'm going to have to be really careful it seems. Even if it is nice, " Harry thought. He really did enjoy this sensation, especially because Luna was sitting in his lap and leaning back against him.

"I'll probably try to keep things with you and Hermione separate," he assured her.

"I'm sure both of us will appreciate that. Though… I'm not exactly opposed to certain things… together," she said blushing. It was so embarrassing, but she was never one to beat around bush as they said. She would love being with both Harry and Hermione at the same time in the right circumstances.

Harry blushed to that. Luna was going to be some rather delightful trouble it seemed. "I never took you to be a tease," Harry said with a chuckle.

Luna smiled to that and turned to look at Harry again. Harry had to admit she looked really cute like this. "I never thought I could get such a reaction from a boy," she said as she wiggled her butt on purpose to emphasize her point.

Harry got her point loud and clear.

"Be careful, Luna. Turnabout is fair play," he said lowly. He held her closer and gave her ear a little nibble.

Luna pleasantly shuddered to that. She had a feeling things would be more troublesome for her heart than she thought. She looked forward to how this all would go though. It seemed her second year at Hogwarts would be very interesting and a lot more fun.

She still had some of the summer to go first. That could be exciting as well.

Notes:

I sort of wanted to give Luna and Harry a bit of a relationship upgrade, finally. I also wanted to have what I thought as Luna cuteness, if that makes sense. Hopefully I accomplished it.

Sorry it took a while for this chapter to come out… A long while… I did take a break and figure out how I wanted to proceed with year three. Some might not like all I do with it, but I have a plan for it and I think what I want to do will be rather different from the norm. It isn't an approach I've seen before when it comes to year three at least. The more I thought about it all, the more I liked the approach I've decided on.

I also posted a version of this story on FF net. It is a version without the sex scenes, even if they are hinted at. It will still be M rated and have mature content, but there won't be full on sex scenes there. They aren't allowed, but usually stories aren't really searched through for such things. FF net does go through purges every so often, so I don't want to risk it.

I mostly did this because I wanted to see how this story fared over there as well. There were also a number of people who have said the story works well even without sex scenes. If they want, they can look for this story over there. It is under the same name and my user name is similar.

I will include such scenes here and give the warnings I have been. I will be posting chapters about the same time on both sites. I'll more or less put them up at the same time, but who knows if they will be visible at the same time.

I'm also posting Harry Potter Bending Force (HP x ATLA crossover) on both sites, so I have a method for doing this which works for me.

Chapter 42: Magics, Rituals and Elf Friends

Harry was in thought as he and Mr. Timmins met with Jett in his “office”. Jett’s office was nice enough since it was from back when this place was actually used for business. It worked and was kept in decent shape, but this was fine and Jett felt it perfect for him. He did not want to become the kind of leader who sat up in a cushy office somewhere all the time. You inevitably lose sight of things that way.

“It isn’t exactly an issue yet. But I have seen the signs to an extent. I figured it would be best if we came up with a solution to head things off. Prevention is key in many ways as they say,” Jett started.

Mr. Timmins nodded. “The muggleborns do help there, but it is still hard for non-magicals to grasp magic. They can’t really get that we have a lot of wards and such set up for protection and safety,” he said in thought.

Harry looked to the others. “What if we had some of the muggleborns join the Street Knights officially? They could have their own patrols in the magical part and help from time to time with the regular patrols as well,” he suggested.

“That could work really well. They would know how to actually be a part of the muggle world. Many of them will be plenty happy to do more for this growing community,” Mr. Timmins said.

“That could work. But they have to realize we sometimes need to do unsavory things. Street Knights all realize this even though only some usually help with the worst of it,” Jett said in caution.

Harry nodded to that. He then said, “I’m not an expert... I’m still very new to the magical world. But I feel there are more than a few who have had to already do such things.”

“This is true. For some, that is a big part of the reason why they have come here. A fresh start. Their past experiences could make this a good thing or a bad thing. Good, because they are fine with it to an extent and feel this place is worth it. Many already decided they will do all they can for the place,” Mr. Timmins said.

“It could be bad, because they wanted to escape such a lifestyle. It could push them away,” Harry then added as Mr. Timmins nodded.

“Many of the Street Knights are in the same boat. If you can find out who all will be fine with it, that would be best,” Jett said.

“Maybe we could have someone help out Mr. Timmins there. Someone who can explain to them in more detail what they would have to do as full-fledged Street Knights,” Harry said.

“That would help out a lot. As for some joining to help with patrols, that won’t be a problem. They also know not to use magic beyond what we have come to call the Magic Cloak,” Mr. Timmins said.

The Magic Cloak is what they called the area protected from Ministry of Magic detection. It was a muggle area, so lots of magic suddenly happening would be bad. Some magic here and there wasn’t a problem. Too often though or something making the news, would bring in the Obliviators and everything would come to an end.

Remus Lupin, Mr. Timmins and some of the first here already mapped out the Magic Cloak. They even found a way to observe it. They would know of any fluctuations or changes in the covered area. They were also looking into ways to add long term privacy wards. That was a different matter though.

“That can easily be arranged. It will really head off a lot of possible future issues. They can see the patrols. That is protection and security they can understand and fully appreciate. As for the less than pleasant parts, only some will have to worry about that. It would also prove further this is one community. Not two completely separate ones, but in the same area,” Jett said.

“I might know a couple of people right off the top of my head who wouldn’t mind doing that. They fully know how things are in both worlds. They know the good and the bad. That it isn’t all black and white. They also have morals and want their actions to have real meaning. Helping protect the Rust District and the people here. Joining the Street Knights. That would be the kind of meaning they want,” Mr. Timmins said.

“I feel we have covered enough for this visit. I’m sure you don’t want us holding you up any longer than needed this time, Harry,” Jett said with a smile.

Harry nodded to that and blushed a little. He was going to be spending time with Luna again tonight. Now that they were officially going out, Harry enjoyed that time even more. He was also glad this was over for now.

He felt relieved they solved things presently. He was glad to have helped out a little, but he also kind of felt this was more of a lesson for him to a degree. He felt Mr. Timmins and Jett would have reached the same conclusion he did anyways. He could handle lessons like this for now though.

He would soon be able to help out more hopefully. He would be meeting again to further discuss things with Goldbite. It was possible Harry would gain further access to at least one of his family vaults. He could start looking into other ways to provide for the growing community.

[-] [-] [-]

When Harry got home, he was immediately hugged by a dirty blonde blur. “Welcome back, Harry,” Luna said brightly.

Harry immediately returned her hug. He also took in her scent. He really liked that Luna had her own scent and it was wonderful.

Luna broke off the hug and stepped back. She placed her hands behind her back and blushed a little as she shyly asked, “How do I look?”

Harry took her in and smiled. She had her hair in that twin-tails style again. She was wearing a blue skirt and a lemon-yellow top. “You look great,” he said.

“Thanks,” Luna said as she blushed a little deeper. “Davey helped me pick it out,” she admitted.

“I thought I recognized the outfit. You look amazing in it,” Harry said.

“I borrowed it from her. I didn’t exactly pack anything date-worthy. I usually don’t care about such things, but I wanted to try it just once at least,” Luna said.

Harry looked her over and grinned a little. She looked really nice in it. She even seemed to be wearing just a hint of makeup. “You look really pretty,” he said again.

Luna giggled a little loud, as she usually did, but smiled even brighter. She actually loved trying such things. She also loved having an older sister she could borrow an outfit for a date from. Davey was just as happy to have a little sister she could lend said outfit to for a date.

“It won’t be an issue getting to where we’re heading, right? You look to have plenty of movement, but I’m not an outfit expert,” Harry said.

Luna smiled in a pleased fashion as she said, “I may not have a Gryffindor’s Courage, but I do have a Ravenclaw’s curiosity. I’ve been on plenty of creature hunts with daddy. We always have to traverse hard to reach and hard to find places for the hunts to really be worthwhile.”

“That’s good to hear. Did Dobby drop that off?” Harry then asked.

Luna nodded and left before returning with a picnic basket. “He did a few minutes ago. Claimed he wanted it to have Trues Perfections for Master Harry Potter sirs and his… Lulo…” she blushed happily at the end. She really liked being called that.

Harry blushed a little as well. He liked hearing Luna called that. He thought he might even like it too much. Considering other things he liked, Harry guessed it made sense.

“Let’s get going then,” Harry said as he took the picnic basket in one hand and offered Luna an arm. She smiled happily and eagerly took his arm.

Davey was proud she managed to keep from letting out an “Awwww!” at the sight of them leaving. She hoped their date would be a success. She was sure it would be, but she still hoped for it.

[-] [-] [-]

Luna and Harry were sitting up high on a rooftop in the Rust District together watching the sunset. Their trek here had been plenty of fun. They talked a lot and Harry loved how happy Luna seemed. He also got an unintentional look up her skirt towards the end. Luna was in such a good mood she chose to skip up the stairs at one point. Harry tried to look away, but he couldn’t help himself.

The dinner they had together was amazing. Dobby’s idea of Trues Perfections would floor many a professional chef. Harry didn’t know picnic foods could taste this good. They also had plenty of stuff packed into the basket since Dobby used House Elf magic.

The only thing better was the company in Harry’s opinion. Harry liked Luna as a friend a lot. He hadn’t been sure what it would be like to have her as a girlfriend. It turned out he liked Luna as a girlfriend even more. She was very different from Hermione, but she still had the same level of intelligence he would say.

The differences were the things they talked about. With Hermione, they discussed things more in detail or from a study standpoint. It was fun and he liked it when they did that. With Luna, they still had the intelligence part, but their discussions were more… fanciful in a way. There was more wonderment at the scale of possibilities.

When he and Hermione talked about things the wonderment was more about the details of stuff and what it could mean. It was a bit more structured and confined by studies and such.

Harry ran his fingers through one of Luna’s twin tails as she sat between his legs. “I have to say this look and hairstyle really suits you,” he said.

“I really like it a lot. I’d wear it plenty more, but I don’t want to keep bothering Minty for help. It would be difficult for me in the mornings on my own,” Luna said as she sort of leaned back. She liked the feeling of Harry running his fingers through her hair.

“You two really seem to get along well,” Harry said.

Luna smiled. “We do! The two of us already decided she would be my First Elf Friend,” she said happily. She was really excited about that. She would tell her dad all about it. She also looked forward to learning more about what it meant to be an Elf Friend.

“Only a few more days,” Harry said.

“Yeah…” Luna said a little sad.

“What is it?” Harry asked in concern.

“Hermione’s coming tomorrow. I’ll be happy to see her again, but I’m also being a little selfish. I’m going to miss it being just the two of us,” she said. She wasn’t one to talk around things. She preferred being up front about things.

Harry frowned a little. “I’m sorry my situation is like it is,” he said.

“Don’t worry about that. I’m fine with it. We have to share you, but that also means we don’t have to force you to pick. We’ll have to figure something out, but I do really like Hermione as well. I don’t think that will be a problem,” Luna said.

“Oh…” Harry said.

“I’m going to miss it just being us. However, I’m fine and happy to have it be us and Hermione as well,” she added.

“I will do what I can there. I want you both to feel as special as you two are to me,” he said.

Luna blushed as she turned to look at him. She smiled happily and looked a little nervous as she said, “One thing that could really help with that… Is if we kissed before tomorrow.”

Harry smiled to her. “The sunset is really beautiful from up here,” he said to her.

Luna wasn’t sure what to make of that, but turned to look anyways. He was right. It was a very wonderful view.

After they sat like that together for a moment longer, Harry suddenly turned her head and captured her lips. Luna’s silver eyes widened in surprise and happiness. She happily returned the kiss.

Luna tried to shift her position but ended up toppling over and causing them both to fall back on to the rooftop. Luna blushed as she looked to Harry below her. She took in his green eyes. Harry then reached up and cupped one of her cheeks. He leaned up a little and continued their kiss.

Luna’s heart was beating fast again as they continued kissing and it turned a little fiercer. She felt that wonderful fuzziness and a little breathlessly. Harry ran his other hand along her back as they kissed and eventually settled for firmly grasping her bum.

The blonde girl gasped at that as she looked to him with blushing cheeks and elated silver eyes. She grabbed on to him the best she could and heated up their kiss. They continued their kiss at that level and pace.

[-] [-] [-]

Luna and Harry laid next to each other as they looked up to the now starry night sky. Luna’s hair was a little mussed and her lipstick a little smudged, but she was very pleased. “ That’s a kiss… ” she thought dreamily to herself as Harry held her close.

Harry felt really happy. He knew the kiss would be wonderful. He looked to his side and at Luna’s face as she kept looking upwards. He was surprised how much he liked seeing her in this setting.

“When I mentioned kissing me tonight,” Luna started as she looked to him.

“Yes?” Harry asked.

“I meant at that moment,” she said.

“Is that so?” Harry asked with a grin.

“Why did you leave me wanting at that moment?” Luna asked curiously.

“Maybe I wanted to get you back a little for all the teasing you do,” Harry said. He wasn’t at all hiding his amusement.

“I figured that would be your explanation for grabbing my butt,” Luna said. It was clear she wasn’t upset by Harry grabbing her back there. She just wanted an answer.

Harry hummed in pretend thought. Luna was about to give a pout. Harry then donned once more that damnable… wonderful… lovely… charming smile of his.

“I wanted it to be more spontaneous. More special,” he said to her. He then stole a quick kiss from her.

Luna blushed and smiled as she felt warmed by another sudden kiss. She could really get used to those. She then stole one quickly in return for herself. Harry grinned to that.

“We can still stay her a little longer, right?” Luna asked. She really wanted to, but she wasn’t sure if there was ‘be back by time’.

Harry chuckled to that. “We can stay a lot longer if you want,” he answered her. He then held her closer.

“I’d like that,” Luna said as she rested her head on his chest and looked up again. She really loved the night sky, especially her name’s sake. This night was going to be an extra special memory to her.

[-] [-] [-]

As Hermione’s cab came to a stop at the meeting place, she immediately stepped out and hug tackled Harry. She was giving him a bright big grin. “Hey you!” she said.

Harry chuckled and smiled back. “Hey to you as well,” he said.

The driver just shook his head in amusement as he got out her luggage.

“I’ll take it from here,” Harry said to him as the man placed it on the curb.

The driver nodded as Hermione paid the fare. He was a little miffed she was meeting someone her age like this, but it wasn’t his business to pry. He figured they were probably waiting for someone else here anyways.

“It is so good to see you again, Harry!” Hermione said with a big grin.

“I’ve missed you too. There is so much to show you,” Harry said as he grabbed her trunk.

“I’m a bit surprised Luna didn’t come as well,” Hermione said.

“She probably wanted to give us some time together. She’s happily spending time with Davey right now anyways. Those two are the sisters they never had,” Harry said.

Hermione nodded. She then had to ask something right away. “Did you take my advice?”

Harry blushed in response. Hermione was just about to call him out thinking that was a no. He then swallowed and said, “I ummm… did…”

“And?” Hermione asked.

“She was ummm… fine with it,” Harry said. Even if both girls were fine with it, the topic was still embarrassing to discuss. He knew few others would be in such a situation. Those few would probably act extra cocky about it though.

Hermione gave a small smile to that. She was okay with it. She was even a bit happy. There was still a part of her that kind of needed to get used to it. She did trust Harry though. He had assured her many times he would keep his relationships sperate from each other.

“She even said she really liked you too… and wouldn’t mind possibly doing things together…” Harry said.

“Oh…” Hermione said as she stopped in her tracks and blinked to that in shock. She then thought on that. She blushed as she remembered her thoughts from that Christmas morning. “I ummm… Also wouldn’t mind that,” she said.

Harry was the one to come to dead stop this time. “Really?” he asked in shock.

Hermione blushed deeper and looked a little to the side. “Just not too often… You know… If you ever want,” she said. Why was she admitting this? She planned to keep it to herself forever! Maybe she was a lot more okay with the whole situation than she first thought.

“I’ll… Keep that in mind. I guess,” Harry said as they rounded a corner.

Just then Dobby appeared. “Harry Potter Sirs’ Grangy! Dobby was too happys to meet you and waits,” he said excitedly.

Hermione looked over Dobby curiously. She had never seen a house elf before. She liked how happy he was. She also knew she needed to get used to it. That was one thing she was here for after all. Hermione grinned to him. “I’m happy to see you too, Dobby,” she said.

“Dobby is happys Harry’s Grangy wants to see him toos!” he said as he took the trunk from Harry.

Hermione then had to pause in step again. Her eyes widened. She then blushed furiously. “Harry’s Grangy… ” she thought to herself. She blushed even deeper and smiled widely. She liked that a whole lot. That part of her especially liked it.

“Dobby be takings this now!” he said.

“Wait! You don’t have to take it,” Hermione then said. She was thinking more about the whole house elf thing.

Dobby grinned brightly. “Dobby knows! Dobby is frees. Dobby wants to though! Harry and his Grangy can have more funs right aways!” he said before disappearing.

Harry gave a chuckle. “You are going to have to get used to that. One of the first things Dobby did after being free was wash his new sock twice. Just because he could,” Harry said.

“Really?” Hermione asked.

“Yep. They like being helpful. They all see themselves as good house elves, even if they are free. They still do a lot of cleaning and fixing of things. But they also spend plenty of time chatting with each other and people in the area,” Harry said.

Hermione was in thought. She might have at one time claimed they were conditioned to be that way and it was wrong. She decided however to instead do what was right here. She needed to learn a lot more about them. She needed to learn from them. She would not assume she already knew better than they did.

If she wanted to be a true and good elf friend, she needed to see them as equals and not just beings she had to help or save. She would help them as a friend would, but she did not know much about house elves yet. She would correct that and learn all she could from them.

[-] [-] [-]

The Rust District was in better shape, but still had the same Rust District feel to Hermione. She kind of preferred it that way. There was just something to it. She hated having to use the term, but she couldn’t think of a better way to describe it… the place had character.

“I really hate how vague and open that statement is, ” she thought to herself. She liked having definition and grounded meanings to things. She suddenly felt something as they continued walking.

“This is where the magic part starts,” Harry said as he grabbed her hand.

Hermione grinned and happily followed. She excitedly looked around. “Wow…” she said.

Harry nodded in agreement. It really was something seeing the magical part of the Rust District. It was still basic, but it was starting to properly take shape. The houses in the area weren’t very big, but they were a good size. They also had a bit of a medieval look to them with a mostly modern twist.

The residents were inspired by the old standing structure in the area. They felt it was right this growing community took on a similar look. It was a way to show appreciation to the building which would allow this place to grow into something amazing one day.

“There are quite a lot of people here already,” Hermione said as she watched people passing by and visiting each other.

“People from the Street Knights and Rust District come here as well. A lot of magicals did move here too. Mostly muggleborns, werewolves and their families,” Harry explained to her.

“It seems to be going pretty well so far,” Hermione said.

“There is a lot of cooperation with all of the magicals here. Many of the werewolves have even said they like other magicals being around to stop them if needed. They do worry what could happen in the worst-case scenario. Most of them would gladly die than hurt their families if it came to that,” Harry said.

“It hasn’t. Has it?” Hermione asked in worry.

“Nope. The muggleborns and werewolves worked on many security measures and other precautions and the house elves also help out a lot there too. Mr. Timmins pointed out something recently I hadn’t fully grasped before. Pretty much every werewolf is also a full-fledged witch or wizard. Here they have a chance and they can do a lot with it,” Harry said.

“Why are werewolves feared so much then?” Hermione had to ask.

“Too many think of Fenrir Greyback when it comes to werewolves. Too many think of the incidents that used to happen in the past. They wrongfully believe all werewolves want to hurt others. They think werewolves want to pass on their curse. The only reasoning they have for this thought process is Fenrir Greyback. He has the biggest pack in the UK,” he said.

Hermione frowned to that. “I kind of understand… maybe… It is wrong though. So wrong,” she said.

Harry nodded in agreement. “I know what you mean. Fenrir Greyback’s pack is the issue. They are powerful and the most numerous among the werewolves in the UK. Though I do wonder if that is really true. I feel you could say they are the most organized and sizable, but I wonder…” he said looking over the many people in the area.

“I don’t think that will be the case for too much longer. Werewolves have options now,” Harry said.

“They don’t have to belong to a pack,” Hermione said seeing where he was going. She again realized just how important this place was.

“They can be a part of a community,” Harry added.

Hermione could only stand next to Harry in thought over those words. People would say the packs were a community. That wasn’t it though. A community was something more than a pack.

They started to move again and soon were in a different part. “What are these?” Hermione asked as she saw what looked like better built covered pavilions with tent sides or something.

“This is where the house elves are,” Harry said.

“They have to live like this?” Hermione asked. She felt this wasn’t right. These didn’t seem like something you could call a home.

“For the moment. They might still go with shared living spaces or something later, but this is until after the ritual,” Harry said.

“Why is that?” Hermione asked.

“I don’t know all of the specifics. But Tibbles and Dobby have explained setting up proper house elf homes might accidentally over tax the source. It has something to do with how their bond is with a place instead of a family. Or as we will be, Elf Friends. Magic isn’t as easily found in the wild like it once was. Not really too much of an issue for witches and wizards, but that isn’t the case for magical beings,” Harry said.

“So that is why we have to do the ritual instead of just wanting to do it,” Hermione explained mostly to herself.

“Yep,” Harry said with a nod.

“I’ve wondered why they wanted to limit the number of elf friends though,” Hermione admitted.

“It is not something they just hand out. It is an honor for us and them. It is too special to just bring on anyone,” Harry said.

“Why are they allowing Luna and I to participate so early though?” she asked.

“Tibbles said it is what magic has told him and others. It is a bit peculiar, but magic tells them you two will be worth the exception,” he answered.

“How many times will we be going through the ritual?” Hermione asked. She didn’t have details yet. You also couldn’t find them in books.

“Just once. While we will all be called Elf Friend by them, there is a limit to how many we can share the bond with. That will be more than enough to free up the strain they could have on the source here and allow them and the community to prosper a lot,” Harry said.

Hermione smiled as she listened. She may not have enough details for her liking, but she was excited about this. She was really looking forward to being an Elf Friend. “I will do all I can to be worthy of such an honor,” she said.

Harry looked to her and smiled as he kissed her on the lips. “I know you will,” he said once he ended it shortly after.

Hermione felt warm from the kiss and the trust she felt from that one sentence.

[-] [-] [-]

“So. Was there anything else?” Harry asked. He was meeting with Tibbles and Dobby as they went over the final details and checklist for the Elf Friend Ritual.

“That bes all. This good works. Yous all will be greatest Elf Friends,” Tibbles said with a nod.

“You have really done a lot for this place, Tibbles. I feel we would be lost without you,” Harry said.

“Tibbles be Great house elf! He be house elf sage!” Dobby said in agreement.

“I only listens to magic. I not be only one who cans,” Tibbles said.

Harry was silent for a moment. He didn’t want to bring this up, but he was taking a leaf out of Jett’s book here. Making sure to work on preventing possible future problems. “Are there any others close to your level of Listening? I have noticed you are pretty… aged. You have great wisdom because of that, but I hope you don’t have to push yourself too much,” he said.

Dobby was in thought as well. He frowned. He almost wanted to argue with Harry on this, but he had to admit Harry was right. “Dobby will do what he cans to get betters! Others will as wells!” he then said in determination.

Tibbles gave a smile. “Tibbles be verys verys advanced. There are others who is goods at listening toos, but they still need learns lots,” he said.

Dobby and Harry shared a look with each other briefly.

“However. Tibbles be here long times yet. Tibbles not always be in charges though. Magics tells me so,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Harry couldn’t help ask.

Tibbles seemed to take on a different air, even if he was still smiling a little. It seemed as if he was almost in awe himself. It was like he was equally excited about something and in disbelief. “Theys will be comings,” he said giving Dobby a look.

Dobby was in thought. Harry was lost, but had come to realize at moments like this it was best to just pay attention to the house elves. He could tell something big was about to be shared.

Dobby was in thought a moment longer. Then his eyes grew even larger. “You can’ts mean…” he said but cut himself off.

“Tibbles does. The Ancient ones. Will awaken,” Tibbles said.

Dobby seemed completely still in awe.

Harry felt he should ask for clarification here. “What exactly do you mean?”

“The Stasis Ones,” Tibbles said.

“They bes most ancient house elves. They bes the firsts! They bes very differents! This be bigs,” Dobby said.

“It be times of House Elf Prophecies,” Tibbles said in some excitement.

“I could tells this be bigs. Dobby not know it be that bigs!” Dobby said excitedly.

“The Stasis Ones?” Harry asked.

“Dobby tells you about how Oldest Families mean somethings different that no longer exists,” Dobby started.

Harry gave a nod thinking back to their conversation after the Chamber.

“Back thens. Back before Histories be twisteds. Magicals and Magical beings were always togethers! Theys even have families. House Elves looks very differents back thens. Muggies sort of depictures how they weres now,” Dobby said.

“How did the whole service bond happen then?” Harry asked him.

“Dobby not really know,” Dobby said with a frown.

“It be gift,” Tibbles said.

Harry and Dobby looked to him again with eagerness.

“Many baddies back thens. Baddies of all kinds. Mosts be gones fully now. That be due to Magicals working togethers with House Elves and others. Magicals back thens saved house elves. House Elves Gifted current House Elf Bond in deepest of thanks. It bes that bads in those days,” Tibbles said.

Harry was frowning deeply now. “It is all the more a shame then it is taken for granted,” he said. Dobby nodded in agreement.

“You bes Child of Prophecies though. Things be betters,” Tibbles said.

“I’m not sure I like the whole Child of Prophecy thing,” Harry said.

Tibbles shook his head. “Child of Prophecies. Many Prophecies,” he said.

Harry felt a little more nervous hearing that. “That is almost worse…” he said mostly to himself.

Tibbles and Dobby both gave a sigh at the same.

“Wizzies smarts. But so dumbs at times,” Dobby said shaking his head.

“That be too trues,” Tibbles agreed.

Harry gave them a frown.

“Wizzies put too weighty in prophecies,” Dobby said.

“Theys not even listens to a hundredths of thems though,” Tibbles said.

Harry wasn’t sure what to make of that. “How do house elves treat prophecies then?” he asked.

“They be possible paths and no mores. Theys also be vagues,” Dobby said.

Tibbles nodded. “You have manys. You also have many greats as wells,” he said.

“This be whys Master Harry Potter sirs be importants to elves,” Dobby said with a nod.

“It be like this. You have prophecy that says you saves magic worlds. You have prophecy that says you destroys it,” Tibbles said.

“I would never do that!” Harry said.

“That means Destroy Prophecies no matters now,” Dobby said with a big grin.

“I guess that is good hear. I wouldn’t want to be a dark lord or something,” Harry said.

“You could haves destroyed wizard worlds just by walkings aways though. You could stills be dark lords. You just want to saves wizard world to rules it,” Tibbles said.

Harry frowned to them.

“That most likely not be cases though. Yous do much good. Yous make magical community! You stays by friends. You cares deeplys for your Grangy and Lulo!” Dobby said excitedly in reassurance as Tibbles nodded.

“We be ones who decide which prophecies come trues. We decides what weights they haves. Prophecies just be words about paths we could take,” Tibbles said.

Harry relaxed at that after some thought. “I can live with that view on prophecies,” he said.

“It be whys house elves sees it that ways,” Tibbles said in a sage like manner.

“I’m actually looking forward to meeting these Stasis Ones. I’m finding it more and more interesting learning about your beliefs and what all you do,” Harry said.

Dobby grinned brightly as he said, “That be why Dobby knows you be Great House Elf Friend!”

“Dobby be rights,” Tibbles said with a nod.

“How careful should I be when talking about this stuff to others?” Harry asked. This did seem very important and something to handle carefully.

Tibbles frowned just a little bit. “You should not shares much at alls. Mr. Timmins, Your Lulo and Your Grangy should find out from their own elf friends. You should listens to magics. It lets you know whens to shares,” he said.

“Dobby agrees on this. He knows it be hards. But this be hows it is for nows,” Dobby said.

Harry nodded. He would have to work to on it, but he had faith in Hermione and Luna. They would come to learn it as well. They were fully on board with being Elf Friends. Luna was very curious about everything, and Hermione wanted to learn all she could about everything.

“Do you know when the Stasis Ones will awaken?” Harry asked curiously.

Tibbles shook his head. “Magics just says it be when it needs be,” he said.

“I understand. Pansy talks about how Magic doesn’t always give straight answers. I suppose that would take the excitement out of life if it did. I’ll have to learn more about listening myself,” Harry said with a small smile. He was more eager to look into it than he already was.

Tibbles and Dobby both grinned at him. “That be how is!” Tibbles said as Dobby nodded excitedly.

Harry stood up. “I’ll take my leave then. I’m looking forward to the ritual,” he said as he left the two.

“Things be even more excitings!” Dobby said happily to Tibbles.

“Yes. They bes. The Age of Elf Friend is coming,” Tibbles said with excitement in his aged large eyes.

[-] [-] [-]

Hermione watched in wonderment as Tibbles, Dobby and Minty drew out a series of intricate runes on the ground with elf magic. She would focus once the ritual started, but until then she watched with the familiar light of excitement in her eyes when it came to learning. She was all the more excited about her upcoming year when she would be taking Ancient Runes.

She would admit the runes the house elves drew looked very different from the ones she had seen in the text book, along with her… “supplemental materials”. Everyone else would just call them extra books, but she preferred something more.

“I guess this is more house elf magic,” Hermione said louder than she meant.

“It just bes lost magics to wizzies,” the house elf standing next to her said with a big grin. He was a tall and thin elf with dark blue hair ending in raven black. His name was Doodle. He was one of the House Elves Hermione would be bonding with as part of the Elf Friend Ritual. He loved talking and explaining things, which was perfect because Hermione would have plenty of questions.

“That means I can learn it!” Hermione said excitedly.

“Yous needs first class firsts. That one teaches yous basics,” Doodle said.

“I-I know that,” Hermione said a bit sheepishly. She then looked to the other soon to be Elf Friends. Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood, and Mr. Timmins were all participating while Mr. Lupin was given permission to watch the ceremony.

Four participants would be all that was needed, even if more later underwent the ritual. Each of them would be bonding with a number of elves, but would have a First Elf Friend so to speak. The First Elf Friend would be their guide when it came to what being an elf friend meant.

Hermione supposed she should start calling Mr. Lupin, Professor Lupin instead. He told her he would be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year, but only this year. He held building this community in too high regard for staying away longer than a school year.

Hermione felt a little mixed about this. She understood his decision and agreed with it, but she hated the fact they would again be needing another DADA teacher the year after. It was even tougher on her because she could already tell he would be much better than Quirrell and Lockhart. That didn’t really say much, but it was true.

“Elf Friends. Stands in places and elves do the sames,” Tibbles said to everyone gathered.

Once everyone was in place, the elves grabbed hands with each other and the elf friends. The remaining house elves stood in a larger circle outside of the rune array. Tibbles took his place in the middle.

He held up a ceremonial staff and tapped it on the ground twice. The surrounding elves stomped in unison with each other. Tibbles tapped the ground twice again. The elves responded in kind.

“Wes gathers as elves and magicals who wishes to befriends. These gathered magicals have been deemed worthy of such a gift. These elves volunteers and wishes to be friends. They seeks bond deepers than House Elf and Wizard. Theys wish to knows each others bestest. Is that so?” Tibbles said.

“We do,” all of the participants replied together.

A female house elf with bright blonde hair stepped forward. “I, Bonnies here speaks on behalfs of elves. We sees this bonds as good. We bares witness to these gathered. All elves will sees and recognizes them as Elf Friends. We finds this acceptables,” she said.

“We dos!” the surrounding elves said out loud together.

“I, Tibbles, House Elf Sage. Bounds these wizzies and elves in friendships. Let them be knowns as Elf Friends!” Tibbles said as he struck the ground with his staff a final time.

There was a silence for a moment. Then the runic array glowed. Harry, Hermione, Luna, and Mr. Timmins all felt an inviting warmth surround them and flow through them. Then there was what sounded like a tune of sort on the wind, which lasted but a moment. All the elves and magicals gathered couldn’t help but smile brightly. They right away knew one thing was for certain.

The Age of Elf Friend was beginning.

Notes:

Some might be wondering about how Hermione never seems to spend much time with her parents. I know I have kind of mentioned it in the story, but it is based off of something I came to realize later on from the books. Hermione really drifts away from her parents. The clues are there in the books, even if not mentioned directly.

The biggest clue and the one that got me to realize it, after some time, is Book 4. She arrives at the Burrow before Harry. He has to wait until his birthday to leave over summer. The Dursleys hate him, so he leaves as soon as he can.

Hermione doesn’t have such a situation with her parents. It is even hinted they have a pretty good relationship and she is an only child. However, she still arrives at the Burrow before Harry. She doesn’t go back home the rest of the summer, even after the Quidditch World Cup.

Even if the World Cup was close to the start of the school year (I forget the actual date), it still means she spent more than half of the summer away from her parents.

I feel she loves her parents and they love her, but there is just too much of a distance between them and herself because of magic. This distance only grows as the books progress, especially when things start to get heavier.