For those who had read the original version, I have added a few more details and cleared up some of the mistakes. I hope is better now.
I do not own Harry Potter and I never will.
See the end of the chapter for more notes.
Prelude
And So It Begins Anew
"Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts"
"But I've got to go back- term starts on September first. It's all that's keeping me going. You don't know what it's like here. I don't belong here. I belong in your world-at Hogwarts."
"Harry Potter must stay were he's safe. He is too great, too good, to lose. If Harry Potter goes back to Hogwarts, he will be in mortal danger."
"Fine, then. Fine, I promise. I won't go to Hogwarts this year. I promise, I will not."
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The Opening Feast – just three simple words saying so much.
For a bunch of first-years, this meant that they had finally become a part of Hogwarts, the best school for magic in the whole world. No more staying at home and waiting for the big day to come. No more fear from being sorted into the wrong House. No more wondering about what the Sorting Ceremony was. From the moment the food appeared in their plates, all their worries were forgotten. They would eat and soon would go to their dormitories, seeing their new home-away-from-home for the very first time. And when they woke up on the following morning the fun would begin.
The second-years suddenly felt more grown-up. They had been here before, they knew what to expect and they weren't little kids anymore that got lost in the corridors of the ancient castle and jumped at the sight of the ghosts. Now they were older and wiser; they could even bring brooms and try-out for the Quidditch team. And wasn't that amazing?
The third-years were exited. Finally, after two years of waiting, they were permitted to visit Hogsmeade (the only all-wizard village in Britain). They would go to Zonko, The Three Broomsticks, the Shirking Shack and so, so many other places they had only heard of from the upperclassmen. Some of the students couldn't wait to start their new subjects. Imagine all those interesting creatures they would meet this year or to be able to See the future or to know how to read thousand-year-old texts.
The fourth-years were the veterans. They had long since stopped being afraid of the castle and its secrets. They had been to Hogsmeade before and knew what to expect from the village this year. The extra classes – nothing special. Yes, they were the veterans. Nothing could surprise them anymore.
Fifth year was the O.W.E. year. All fifteen-year-old felt shiver run down their spines by the thought of the exhausting classes and tons of homework in front of them, no more slaking off and having fun all the time. This year was important for their future careers and they had to become serious or whatever plans they had had would be destroyed. Some of them had made Prefects and that (dubious) honor would only bring more difficulties during the last few weeks before the exams.
For the sixth-years, the Feast meant the beginning of another year, a little less stressful than the previous one, but not by much. They knew from older students that the teacher's expectations would increase and their homework would follow. This would not be a walk in the park.
The seventh-years felt nostalgic. This would be the last Opening Feast they would be part of (at least as students) and soon they would part ways. However, before they graduate they would have to take the N.E. and that meant repeating the whole fifth-year on much worst level. The Head Boy and Girl would have their hands full all the time with different duties (Prefect meetings, school and Hogsmeade weekends). May their souls rest in peace.
For others, however, the Feast was their last hope to see Harry Potter this (or any other) year.
Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger had spent hours looking for Harry. The pair had arrived at Kings Cross over an hour earlier (despite the protests from the red-head's entire family, except for Percy's for obvious reasons) searching for their friend without result. The two had entered every single compartment at the Hogwarts Express, hoping to find Harry in one of them.
Unfortunately, they had been unsuccessful in their pursuit of one Harry Potter and now, at the Opening Feast, their last hope was slowly disappearing. It seemed that this was the end; Harry Potter had decided to attend Durmstrang for the next five years of his education and would never return to Hogwarts.
Everything had started in the middle of the summer after their first year. Apparently, a house elf had come to his relatives' house and told him not to return to Hogwarts. Somehow, because of this, Harry had chosen to go to Durmstrang for the following year. How he had managed a transfer or why Durmstrang of all places remained a mystery.
It wasn't that hard at the beginning. Yes, he wasn't there but they managed. Harry did send them a letter every couple of days. He wrote about his new school and how different was everything. According to him, even if the building was smaller and the weather (much) colder, the place had its own charm. He would mention his new teachers (and how Potions was a great class when not taught by Snape) or new friends (once Hermione commented how he seem to know everyone) or (not very often) some prank he had pulled and gotten away with it.
Hedwig always stayed until Ron or Hermione gave her a letter for Harry. They would tell him about their classmates and how were they fairing and, after Halloween, their suspicions about the Heir of Slytherin. Christmas gifts were exchanged and with them came a picture of Harry and his new friends (so they would not forget how he looked like, the other had joked).
The background itself was breathtaking. The photo was taken in front of a large crystal clear lake. There were pines, spruces, and a blue silhouette of a mountain behind them, their reflection in the lake shimmering.
What caught their attention every time they looked at the picture, however, was not the beautiful Northern nature, but the people on the photo: two girls and three boys. A girl with blond hair was in the middle and a boy who seemed to be her twin was on her right ('Lisa and Dimitri' was written on the back). Harry was on her right. He was giving a piggyback ride to a girl with brown hair who couldn't stop laughing ('Vanessa'). The fifth one lay on the ground in front of them ('Georg'). They all wore scarlet robes and looked happy and carefree like…
… like best friends. Looking at the picture and seeing Harry surrounded with friends and happy Ron and Hermione couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Then (around mid-January) the letters became rarer and rarer. In the end, they got only a couple of letters this summer. One saying that he might not be coming to Hogwarts the next year and the other saying 'thank you' for the birthday gifts. Both (or the four since Ron and Hermione got separated letters, even if they looked almost identical) ones looked like they were done in a hurry; the author hadn't put much thought in them. Knowing that someone else had replaced them hurt more than they would admit.
"Looks like he's not coming after all," the bushy-haired girl said sadly, her brown eyes filled with unshed tears. Her companion just nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on the plate before him.
So this was the end, he thought sadly. Probably right now Harry was with his new rich foreign friends, barely spearing a thought for them.
A few seats away from them another person was also on the edge of tears. Oliver Wood had prayed the entire summer (and even from before that) that his star Seeker would return to Hogwarts and lead Gryffindor to victory but said Seeker was nowhere to be seen. That meant that he would have to hold try-outs one more time and hope for the best. Perhaps, there was someone in the House who had a chance of catching the snitch, or at least being able to find the bloody thing. Oh, did he want his Seeker back.
"Don't worry Oliver," the gentle voice of Alicia Spinet rang next to him as she put her hand on his shoulder trying (and failing) to comfort him. "I'm sure that we will win this year. The second-years look promising. Maybe the Weasley girl has Charley's skill," the Keeper nodded, not fully convinced.
The Chaser, seeing that her captain wasn't paying much attention to her words, went back to her meal resigned. Hopefully, that Ginny-girl indeed had inherited some skills and would come to the try-outs. Or some other hidden talent would appear and they would have a Seeker capable of more than just staying out of their way and being sufficiently useless.
Hope dies last, I suppose, she thought and turned to her year-mate Andrea Brocks who had been trying to engage her in a conversation about the latest music band the Grim's Desires.
Therefore, too busy with eating and chatting, most people failed noticed that someone had entered the Great Hall.
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Harry Potter had had a great year. No, scratch that, he had had the time of his life. Admittedly, being away from England wasn't very easy at the beginning and learning German wasn't the first thing he would choose to do as a summer elective (it wouldn't be on the list to begin with) but in the end everything had worked out. He had made tons of friends, advanced in his studies, learnt a trick or two for Quidditch (from the resident international Quidditch star no less) and overall had a lot of fun.
After the initial shock, he had quickly befriended a mischievous boy called Georg Grausman. He was German and his goal was to be remembered as the biggest prankster in the whole world (or at least in Durmstrang). He was the first to break a rule (just for the sake of doing it), throw a party (just because he was bored at the time) and have some good laugh (on his or someone else's expense).
It had taken him almost three weeks to pull Harry out of his shell and turn him into a relatively outgoing person. Harry's natural shyness was still there but he no longer felt the need to retreat from the world and wait for someone else to start the conversation.
With the help of Vanessa Lupei, Harry finally got the knack of Potions and actually found the subject very interesting. It would never be his favorite (or strongest, for that matter) course, but he had gotten fairy decent.
The cheerful brunette had tutored him for some other classes (namely History and Astrology) and he had finished the year as one of the top students.
The twins, who kind of reminded him of Fred and George (had Lisa been a boy he could have sworn that they were the blond, snobby and high-class doppelgangers of the two Weasleys, with the way they finished their sentences and all) had decided that, since he was famous, he ought to know what to do on social gatherings. Therefore, while Dimitri was repairing his manners to fit his social status, Lisa was buying him a new wardrobe. A very expensive new wardrobe, if he might add. Thankfully, he had enough money on his name to afford it.
The first time he showed his new skills was on the twins' (or their parents' more likely) New Year Eve Gala. For this, he had to learn Russian and Harry spend nearly the entire November and December feeling grateful to the person who had invented the Language charm. True, it just made the person predisposed to pick up the language on a much faster pace than they would normally do and even with it, it there was the possibility of not learning everything. Even so, it was much better than doing it the Muggle way for sure.
Despite his all of his worries, the Gala was not that bad. All he needed to do was smile, shake hands and exchange politesses and pointless small-talk with the other guests. With Great Britain and Ireland rather closed-off politic for the past decay, many had been surprised to see the Potter heir on the annual Lazar New Year Eve Gala and many of the older wizards and witched had been interested in his sudden appearance in the high social circles and of the whole of Europe not just his home country. Feeding them some bullshit about 'expanding his horizons' and whatnot had been enough.
The forced smiles and the feeling of being put under a magnifying glass and being closely examined had been worth it, in his opinion. The fireworks at midnight had been simply magnificent. Calypso smacked him when he told her that and said that the connections he had forged were much more important than some 'pretty lights on the sky'. She could be so uptight sometimes.
By the end of the school year he was no longer the scared little boy he had been when he had entered this new (but not really) world of magic. He understood what made it tick and the strange customs no longer seemed so alien to him.
He wasn't afraid to buy himself things with his family money (within reason of course) and most of his clothes were now from famous designers from all over the world (on Lisa's insistence that Potters do not wear second-rated clothes). He even bought several bottles of some newly invented potion that worked on the same principle like the Muggle contact lenses did and only needed to ne applied once every fortnight. He got himself a pair of glasses just in case.
His summer was significantly better than the previous one as well. He spent about ten days with his relativities before Georg mother came and took him with her. The rest of the vacation he spent in his friend's summer house in southern France. The rest of the gang was there as well and they spent the days playing Quidditch, swimming in the near lake or simply relaxing. On Harry's birthday they held a big party and the whole school was invited (or at least that was how it felt).
He didn't want to part with this, with this feeling of freedom and happiness, but deep inside Harry knew that he didn't belong there. His place was in Hogwarts with Ron and Hermione. He missed his very first friends terribly, even if he rarely got the chance to write to them in the end he always thought about them.
His home was at Hogwarts and no matter how much he wanted to stay in Norway and enjoy the new life he had created for himself, he knew that he would never find the thing that was missing. (Even if no one was gawking at him at every turn and held him on a pedestal because of some fluke of magic years ago was definitely a plus for Durmstrang).
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He knew he was late. The portkey he had ordered arrived half an hour later and he had missed the carriages. Next time he would use the IFA, even if he detested the floo. At least then, he wouldn't have to walk to the caste. Or fly, that was a possibility if one could do feather-light charms on school trunks, which he did not.
Thankfully, a witch (she introduced herself as Joanna Greenburg) offered to do a shrinking charm so he would be able to fly to the old castle. The old lady scolded him for being late and kept on talking about her grandson, who had just graduated apparently, but turned out to be quite good at shrinking charms ('Have a lovely year, dear.').
It took him a few minutes to arrive at Hogwarts (his trunk in his left pocket) and as soon as he landed in front of the gates he entered the castle. The sea of black and grey something around the perimeter of the school was unnerving.
"I need a house elf assigned at the Gryffindor tower here," he called aloud. Almost immediately, he heard a faint pop and in front of him was a bat-like creatures similar to Dobby (on the back of his head he wondered what had happened to the stealing elf).
"You is summoned Tin," the (probably) male elf said in high-pitched voice. "What can Tin do for student, sir?"
"Tin, right? I need you to take my trunk," Harry took it out of his pocket and gave it to the elf, "unshrink it and bring it to the third-year Gryffindor dormitories, together with my broom." Tin bowed, took the offered things and disappeared with another pop.
After that, Harry made his way to the Great Hall. The teen could hear murmur coming from inside, clear sign that the Sorting was over. He stretched his hand to open the doors but hesitate for a moment. What would happen now? Were his friends angry with him for nor writing, or had Wood thrown him out of the team? Many other similar questions ran across his head and e took his hand away from the door.
Nervously he ran through his hair with his left hand making it even messier. The teen took a deep breath, counted to three and quickly opened the doors before his courage left him. After this, he couldn't back away.
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Dumbledore was the first to notice the newcomer. The old Headmaster had to agree, Durmstrang had done wonders with Harry Potter. Gone was the small shy little boy who looked like he could have another meal and doesn't have a good home life. In front of him was teenager who lives a perfect life.
Harry wore his school robes open in a classy casual manner similar to some purebloods with high social status. The upper bottoms of his shirt were unbuttoned and his tie hung loosely around his neck. This, with his unbelievably messy hair (just like James', obviously Harry had given up form trying making it flat) and bright green eyes (which looked even more like Lily's now without glasses to hide them) gave him the look of someone who had just gotten up and rode a broomstick for a couple of hours.
He was healthier than before. His skin had a normal color and he had grown up. Physically he was no longer a boy.
The Potter boy looked a lot like young Sirius Black, actually. The recumbence between the two distant cousins was uncanny.
The other teachers soon found the reason for the Headmaster's distraction. The majority smiled warmly, looking at the young Potter. The scrawny eleven-year-old boy from their memory had disappeared and they were glad for that. The teen looked like James Potter: confident with a hint of mischievousness.
Looking at Harry, Remus Lupin saw his late best friend. James used to carry himself like Harry did and have this strange aura that summoned people to him. That boy was a born leader, like his parents were. His eyes were warm and caring, a mirror image of Lily's, telling you that you can trust him because he wouldn't betray you.
The same smile James had every time he was nervous and wasn't sure if he could do whatever he was doing at the moment, but was doing it anyway. So many happy memories... The new professor smiled at the boy who seemed to have combined the best qualities from both Lily and James. Now the question was what defense he should set around his coaters so he won't receive the end of a prank.
Severus Snape, on the other hand, wasn't so happy to see the Brat-Who-Lived (as he called him in his mind). His black eyes filled with hatred - the boy looked even more like his father with her eyes. Potter was looking around with an arrogant smirk on his lips. Like he owned the place! He would have to put him in his place soon enough before that brat took over his father steps. That or the next five years would be unbearable.
"Mr. Potter," Dumbledore choose this moment to speak up, "I'm glad to see you joining us. May I ask why you were late?" Even before, he finished his questions all students turned toward Harry.
The teen could literally hear all conversations stopping at once and everyone taking a collective breath. He had expected something like that, of course, but secretly he had hoped for a private reunion with his friends, not a spectacle for the entire school. Well, perhaps that had been a wishful thinking.
Having everyone's attention made him froze for a second but he quickly gained compose and summoned all Gryffindor bravery in himself. Harry gave everyone a slightly arrogant (as much as he hated to admit that part) smile.
"Well, I just experienced first-handed what would happen if I don't pay attention to mine Arithmancy classes," he joked, "I just hope that my lovely teacher will be patient with me," he sighed dramatically. "Apparently I am a lost cause there."
"We'll see," Professor Septima Vector said coolly. Her tone remained Harry of professor McGonagall - not the kind of woman he wanted to cross. Not showing his nervousness, he flashed a smile at her and asked with a wink.
"I guess you can always give me privet lessons… at Saturday night… alone," some of the girls blushed at the suggestion while boys snickered at it. The professor only looked at him with mild amusement and said sternly.
"I will not take up your offer Mr. Potter and you will do well not to repeat it. Am I clear?"
"Yes ma'am, crystal clear," Harry answered with a sigh and bowed his head in mock disappointment.
"Now, I believe we should continue with the feast, shall we?" the headmaster suggested and returned to his meal giving an example to the rest, the Hall still deadly silent.
Suddenly six loud cheers broke the silence, making just about everyone jump.
"We have our Seeker back!" And with that three tables burst into cheering greeting Harry.
This was the first chapter, hope you liked it. If you did I would appreciate a review.
Also, if someone wants to know what had happened in Durmstrang, he or she is free to write this in his/hers review and (if my muse decides to come) will write an one-shot.
The actual plot will be kicking in, in a few chapters.
Good night/day.
Last Edited: 13.08.2013
