The Potter Peculiarity
Chapter 1
"Harry! Stop!" Hermione yelled like a woman possessed. "Where's your mirror?"
"What mirror?" The-Boy-Who-Hated-His-Various-Nicknames asked.
"The one Sirius gave you just before we came back in September. The 'communication device slash vanity thing' he called it."
Harry almost had a heart attack. How could he have forgotten about that!? Sirius Black, his godfather extraordinaire gave him specific instructions to contact him using that mirror in cases of emergency, of minor panic, or getting advise on how to get with whichever bird caught his fancy, or just to say hi. To say he felt like a complete fool would be the understatement of the century.
During his inner monologue, he had already made a 180˚ turn and was quickly rushing up the nearest set of stairs at the speed of light, the rest of the inner circle of the DA (Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood) doing their best to keep up.
He was still a good 30m away from the portrait of The Fat Lady when he shouted the password, and when he didn't show any signs of stopping she swung forward faster than she ever had and smashed into her neighbouring portrait (Doris the Delirious) so hard that the wine barrels Doris sat on, cracked, and had her sitting in a pool of wine, with the Fat Lady tumbling into her portrait right on top of her.
Climbing through the portrait hole, the three found no sign of Harry and ran up the stairs to the boys' dormitory. They found him sitting cross legged on his bed, mirror in hand, sobbing tears of relief. Sirius was safe.
"Thank Merlin", Hermione sighed and dropped onto her bum next to the door. Neville was supporting himself on the doorframe, and Luna had unceremoniously dumped herself across Dean Thomas' bed, breathing hard.
"So he is safe, Harry?" Neville asked, worried about his friend.
"Yes, he is. However…" Harry began, "…we still need to inform someone of this. Now that we know it was a trap, I can't help but think that there is a reason Voldemort (everyone twitched at the same time) wanted to lure me there for a reason… I won't be going, but I still want to know why."
"We'll go to Professor Snape, Harry, he's the only one of them that hasn't been removed from the castle yet. The Headmaster flamed out, McGonagall was stunned last night, and Hagrid has headed for the hills. Thank Merlin Umbitch is enjoying the hospitality of the Centaurs in the Forbidden Forest, otherwise we would have been screwed." Hermione said.
Within minutes (after taking a dozen shortcuts, including a slide that ended in what felt like a 30 story downward free float) they were standing in front of Professor Snape.
"Professor, I know you don't like any of us and honestly the feeling is quite mutual, but we have something of importance to share. And as much as I hate to allow this, I think it'll be better if you just watched instead of me telling you. I had one of those Voldemort (4 simultaneous twitches and a hiss) related visions. Please, see for yourself." And Harry opened his mind willingly for Professor Snape to check it out.
After what felt like a dwarf had spent several hours in his head with a sledge hammer, Professor Snape removed himself from Harry's head.
"So the mutt is safe. I don't understand why you are here pestering me with this." He practically hissed at them.
"Simple, Professor Snape", Hermione hissed right back, "If they tried to trap Harry into going to the ministry, there must be a very good reason. One, just to get Harry there, out of school and as far away from Dumbledore as possible so they can kill him, which would make your colleagues the highest ranking idiots in the galaxy because I'm sure by now the whole Wizarding population probably knows that Dumbledore is no longer here and that we have a ministerial stooge attempting to run things into the ground. Thus it makes no sense. Or, two… that there is something in the ministry that they need Harry to get for them. I've read a lot about the ministry, Professor, and the only thing that could possibly be in the ministry that must be removed by the person mentioned by name, is a prophecy."
She let that hang in the air for a little bit while Snape's face went through a multitude of colours that eventually settled somewhere between a sickly grey with angry purple spots.
"But that can't be right, can it Professor Snape, because you wouldn't keep information like that from Harry, would you? You wouldn't keep something like that for yourselves while Harry here has to live in blissful ignorance about his life, and destiny (she almost choked on the divination-like word), and is as of right now woefully unprepared for what is coming… Would you?"
Snape's face lost the angry purple spots, leaving it mostly sickly grey, although the four students could swear a sickly rotten looking green tinge had made its appearance.
"I'll get in touch with the Headmaster at once", he whispered, looking very much as if he'd like to vomit.
He didn't see the angry Gryffindor Witch lift her wand. He didn't see the silently cast spell coming. He didn't hear Harry start laughing like a Hyena outside. He dropped his head into his hands and almost cried. Almost. They were screwed. The saviour of the Wizarding world was a mere 5th year student with little more to offer than an overpowered Expilliarmus (if the Graveyard the previous year was anything to go by), and an insane amount of luck.
Not in the mood for Ron the Envious, or his sister Ginevra the Jealous, the four headed for the Room of Requirement. Once inside, they all managed to calm down sufficiently. Hermione with a book the room's many bookshelves provided, Harry and Neville with a game of darts (how muggle…?) that the room provided on the opposite wall, and Luna dancing in the middle of the room to a Strauss waltz playing from a gramophone with her Hare Patronus.
Eventually, Hermione felt that enough time had passed, she approached the others, calling a meeting of sorts.
"I've been working on this with Professor Vector since the beginning of the school year. In 5th year Arithmancy, we start touching on spell creation and spell modification. So I approached her and asked for an extra credit project to help maintain my O for the subject. She initially said that my idea was impossible, but after long debates throwing around ideas, we decided to tackle it anyway. I've managed to modify the Fidelius Charm."
The other three looked at her. Luna looked at her like she was the second coming of Merlin, Neville looked at her as if she was speaking a language yet to be recognised by modern civilization, and Harry looked like he didn't hear a thing. Nothing. Not even a whisper.
While both Harry and Neville were familiar with the charm, they weren't the most studious of students. Neville preferred his plants, and Harry preferred DADA. And Luna was the quintessential Ravenclaw. She looked like she wanted to start taking notes and only barely stopped herself from pulling out parchment and a quill.
"Explain." Said Luna.
"Well, you know how the Fidelius is used to conceal the location of a place that has a fixed position, in other words it cannot move around, within the soul of a person known as a secret keeper? Needless to say then that it can't be applied to something that can move around like say a mobile home (what's a mobile home? This coming from Neville and Luna) or a trunk, or a car, or a tent." Three heads nodding along as she explains. "This is where I made the modifications. It still has to be a home of some sort, where you can reside and even call it home while you are there, but it doesn't have to be stay in one place. Also, it doesn't need a separate caster. If I bought one of those live-in trunks in Diagon Alley, I could cast the charm myself and hide the secret in my own soul. No one would know you're under the Fidelius because there would be no one to tell anyone that the spell has been cast."
Luna, Ravenclaw Wonder that she is, jumped right in. "But Hermione, with the normal Fidelius, once the Secret Keeper let you in on the secret, you may not be able to tell anyone the location, but they'll be able to tell them that it has been cast."
"True, which is also why there is a tongue tying element to the modified charm. Once the secret keeper shares the secret, those in the know won't even be able to mention it. At all." Hermione said. "Also, under the normal Fidelius you can apparate someone into the protected dwelling, with the modified one, you can't. It takes a hell of a lot of magic, but once you've cast it, you'll be as protected as you can possibly be. Only those in the know can apparate in and out, anyone else will find themselves very confused and very far away from you, so if anyone were to grab onto you mid-apparition, well, you'll find yourself very safe while whoever tried to hitch a ride will be less so."
"Can it still be applied to normal houses? Or must it be applied to something that can move around?" This from Neville.
"No, it can be applied to whatever you want to apply it to. The only thing that can still be used to counter the charm, is if there is a taboo on a name or spell. It neutralises the Fidelius in about 15 minutes. Luckily it takes that long for a Fidelius to dissipate, you'll still have time to get yourself to safety."
Harry felt his stomach turn into knots, something deeply unsettling wrapping around his gut, almost like being on the verge of tumbling down a cliff higher than Mount Everest. "Hermione, if I may ask, why the modification to the Fidelius specifically. I mean, you could have chosen literally any other spell to modify, so there must be a bigger reason than 'I wanted to be challenged'."
"Well…" What would she say? Because honestly, saying that her intuition drove her to the Fidelius would probably make Harry and company look at her like she' a nutter. And she wouldn't really be able to blame them. Just saying it in her head made her want to knock herself into next Tuesday.
With a sigh she looked them all in the eye. "Let's wait to hear from the Order, Harry. I have a feeling that everything will make sense then. To me, to you, and to everyone else. Let's just wait. I know you don't like being kept in the dark, but I'd rather wait than sound like a lunatic."
Harry looked at her. It felt like he was looking right into her soul. Seeing every secret. She felt quite exposed. But after what felt like 7 eternities and 4 days, he relented. "Okay, I trust your gut. More than mine at the moment. So we'll wait."
And so they waited. They relaxed in the Room of Requirement (that provided a pool for them to swim in) under an artificial sun.
Time seemed to pass much easier when they had something to keep their minds busy. It was at about 9pm that a Billy Goat Patronus flew into the room and summoned Harry to Dumbledore's office.
Neville and Luna decided not to tag along, so as not to crowd the Headmaster's office. Harry and Hermione ("I don't care that he only summoned me Hermione, you're coming and that's that!") walked through the castle at a leisurely pace, firstly trying to prepare themselves for facing the Professor, and secondly, because rushing will only make them look like idiots all out of breath and tired.
Reaching the gargoyle, it jumped aside without waiting for a password, and up they went on the revolving stairs… into what they still had no idea.
Harry had a horrible feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. Hermione looked like she was about to decorate the Headmaster's office using a well-known technique called 'The Rainbow Yawn'. Snape looked like he would prefer to be literally anywhere else. Dumbledore looked like he was just dragged backwards through a burning forest with glass for grass and coals for stones.
And Fawkes sang a beautifully heart-breaking song.
"I must say, Harry, I'm very glad you didn't run off to the Ministry with your friends. I would have been… catastrophic to say the least had you gone. But enough of that. I assume you want answers regarding the reason Tom tried so very hard to lure you to the Ministry?" Harry just nodded, not trusting his own voice not to squeak, especially since Hermione had her nails digging into his arms.
"Years ago, I held an interview for the position of Divination Professor. I had only granted the interview because the applicant was the granddaughter of the much celebrated seer, Casandra Trelawney. I was much more inclined to just let the subject be dropped from the curriculum, but the board of governors asked that I take one last interview. I don't have much patience with divination. But I agreed. And so I met Sybil Trelawney at the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade. From the moment she opened her mouth it was quite obvious that she had nothing of her Grandmother's talent, so I tried my best to get through the interview as quickly and politely as possible, and be on my way. After we finished, I was just about to open the door when she started speaking in a chilling voice that reminded me of Dementors taking those long rattling breaths. She uttered a Prophecy. A very important one at that. One that will see her staying in her tower for as long as it keeps her safe and out of Voldemort's clutches."
He turned to open the cabinet that housed his pensieve, and floated it to the table. He extracted a memory, put in in the bowl, tapped it with his wand, and made Trelawney rise to repeat the thrice be damned prophecy.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches
born as the seventh month dies
born to those who have thrice defied him.
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 approaches
born as the seventh month dies…"
Dumbledore was watching Harry sadly. Snape was ready to murder… or spontaneously combust… Harry wasn't quite sure which but was hoping for the latter. He himself was feeling something that he had never felt and was unsure how to go about naming it.
Hermione was, at first, crying, but that quickly turned into anger. And the anger just grew. Fast. At that moment though, Harry was glad he was standing next to her and not opposite her. She looked like a very much alive and well Medusa, hair flying everywhere, sparks coming out of her hair and ears and fingers and feet, and seventy levels of angry above normal. Harry was quite ready to make a run for it. Not even Snape dared to say a word.
No one could say a word. Not even the Headmaster, and boy did he try to appease her. But when she spoke, it was nothing more than the barest of whispers.
"You will never have a say in anything to do with Harry's life ever again. Never. You sit there, with your I-know-all attitude, but you don't give two shits about what actually happens to the people that trust you. I've heard you tell Harry that you sent him to his relatives because you wanted him safe from the Wizarding world, and so that he could have a childhood. You know what happens there, don't even try to say otherwise because I know Harry has told you on numerous occasions. I'd much rather you sacrificed his shitty childhood, and trained him properly, because he means much more when he is alive and well, than dead at the feet of a half-blood megalomaniac with delusions of self-importance. I'm sure that Harry would have even preferred that. But you were content to sit back and do nothing, watching how he comes closer and closer to his supposed destiny every day, not even trying to prepare him for what's to come. Did you know it only takes a single Avada Kedavra from one idiotic Death Eater to take his life? Have you taught him to defend himself? No, because why should you worry when you can fob Quirell, Gilderoy Lockheart, Crouch Jr. and Umbitch off on us. The only defence we've actually learned was from Lupin and Harry himself. No, Dumbledore, you don't get to make decisions anymore. Not for Harry. We're done."
And without even acknowledging the two professors staring at her, open-mouthed, she grabbed Harry's hand, turned, and dragged him down the stairs. She knew she literally had seconds before they come running, so that's what she did. She started running, keeping a firm hold on Harry and not stopping until they reached the Room of Requirement.
"Holy shit, Hermione! That was by far the wickedest thing I have EVER seen in my life, and thank you for that. But what now. Where do we go from here? We both know the Headmaster will never allow us to just walk out of the castle doors as if nothing had happened. I doubt he'd even let us leave with our memories intact…"
Hermione was thinking furiously as she was pacing around the room. "I asked the room not to open for anyone. We'll be safe here for the time being, but we need to get out." And as if by magic, a doorway appeared. "Call Dobby." She suddenly said. "Get him to collect our things from our dorms right now. We need to go now. I'll send Luna and Neville a message with the Inner Circle coins to let them know we're running. They'll understand. I made the same coins for my mum and dad. I'll let them know to get to the safe house and that we'll meet them there in two hours."
Harry called for Dobby, issued the orders, waited a total of thirty seconds before the little guy was back, and grabbed Hermione's hand and dragged her through the newly found door. At the end of the tunnel, they slowly opened the door, checking to make sure no one was around, and luckily for them there wasn't.
"Is Harry Potter and his Grangy looking to go home?" The little elf asked.
"Yes, Dobby, we are heading home. We need to get to Diagon Alley first though. Is it possible for you to get us there?" Hermione asked.
"Of course!" The elf practically shouted.
He shrunk their trunks, grabbed their hands, and popped them to a quiet corner in Diagon Alley, right next to the 24 hour visitor's entrance of Gringott's Bank.
It was perhaps late in the evening, but they had business that needed handling quickly and quietly.
Hermione and Harry looked at one another, straightened their spines, and walked into the bank.