Senior Year
YGOxHP Yaoi meaning SLASH, M to cover my ass for the future violence, disturbing, sensitive topics touched here and if and when I choose to throw in LEMON. Undetermined permanent pairings, adult situations. A. U. OOC Post OotP. Bisexual!Harry in most of my stories because…I feel evil…and it to be more likely then a gay!Harry as his –albeit poor- romantic history with females is still there. In this story...YGO comes at the second or third chapter...
ANNOUNCEMENTS: For those of you following "The Boy Who Ran," it'll be updated soon and following that so will "Acta non Verba,". The Millennium Jump series sequel "The Last Wizard," has been resurrected but put on a temporary hiatus whilst I contemplate possible rewrites or a new chapter update. Thanks for reading folks and please enjoy my harder attempts at getting better. If anyone has any advice or anything they'd like to see in any of my works please feel free to state it in a review or a PM and I'll respond as best I can. Rest assured that even if I do not personally respond to your review, each and every single one of them is read at least once :) [I am a review whore…but I don't stop updating jus' cause no one reviews, they merely serve to make me happy in my pants. To me, writers who refuse to update unless they get "x" amount of reviews kind of annoys me, I'm happy to get just one or even just alert notices].
Blah! I am rambly! Ramble, Ramble, Ramble.
IGNORE MEEEEEEEE [to those of you who get the Marik YGOTAS reference…I love you and you deserve a mountain of sugary delights of your choosing].
Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh or Harry Potter
Chapter 1: The Hogwarts Reform
"Um...Tonks, not that I'm not happy you came for me but I'm not supposed to be moved to Grimmauld until next week -what's going on?" asked Harry. He rubbed his eyes tiredly trying to get them used to the bright colors the bouncy metamorphagus kept changing her hair too. Aunt Petunia had gotten a bit freaked out by it and left them in the living room to talk but the younger wizard immediately felt unsettled, thinking something had to be wrong.
"Calm down 'Arry! Didn't you get the Hogwarts letter that got sent out yesterday? I told Mad-Eye to loosen up the safety owl mail block but the guy won't listen!" said Tonks, shaking her head tiredly.
"No I didn't get a letter, why, what's this about?" asked Harry tilting his head in curiosity and Tonks pulled out a crumpled parchment envelope sporting the red wax Hogwarts' seal and handed it to Harry.
"Remember your trial for using the patronus? It doesn't exactly matter too much now, they're making the rules looser on underage magic," said Tonks smiling a bit.
"Between the public and the Ministry, they all sort of suspect that Voldemort's back because Fudge is having a hard time covering up covert raids. The media's getting a bit lighter on you 'Arry, who knows, a public admittance might come out soon too," grinned Tonks...well it was sort-of good news.
Harry nodded with a rather feeble smile, but Tonks looked away awkwardly for some reason when he did, shrugging to himself he cracked the letter seal and squinted to read the auto-quill cursive letter.
"Mr. Potter,
Within the following is a complete list of compulsory and optional items required for entering the sixth year, due to the generous donations from the Ministry of Magic's Board of Education, Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry reform on the school rules and minor changes to the system have been implemented. We at Hogwarts do this with the aims of boosting morale, grades and the school system outside of staff control, all sixth and seventh years are required to pick up the Hogwart's Senior's Handbook, obtainable at Flourish and Blotts with the senior's coupon note provided with this letter.
Required Compulsory Items:
* Sixth and seventh years are required to buy the new uniform [specified with year and house]
* The following textbooks for your chosen OWL classes; Mr Potter are as follows:
Transfiguration:Guide to Advanced Transfiguration by Cegrupe Ugyur
Theories of Transubstantial Transfiguration by Trillasell Verk
Herbology:One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Defense Against the Dark Arts:Confronting the Faceless by Roxanne Lebarr
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protectionby Quentin Trimble
Defensive Magical Theoryby Wilbert Slinkhard
Potions:Advanced Potion-Makingby Libatius Borage
Magical Draughts and Potionsby Arsenius Jigger
Charms:Quintessence: A Quest by Olivia Rockwaller
The Standard Book of Spells Grade 6 by Miranda Gowshawk
The following is a list of optional items (allowed):
* A cat, owl OR toad, any other pet brought must have the head of year and headmaster's permission to be on the grounds.
* Sixth and seventh years have permission to carry one melee weapon with assigned permission from head of year. The Board of Education has questioned this action so, sixth and seventh years must attend a safety sermon two weeks prior to the official school re-opening. Any listed student carrying a non-authorized weapon and did NOT attend the sermon will be stripped of the weapon, and face pending expulsion.
* Broomstick
The following is a list of BANNED items not allowed on school grounds, if students are caught with any of the following it warrants for some form of punishment [and possibly expulsion]:
* Any product from 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes'
* Unauthorized melee weapons
*Unauthorized pets . . ."
Harry stopped reading the banned list as he feared it'd take forever, and quickly skipped over to the end of the letter, with Tonks carefully studying his facial reaction.
"Sixth and Seventh year students are required to attend Hogwarts two weeks before the scheduled re-opening for important briefings and pre-classes authorized by the Ministry of Magic and Board of Education along with the melee weapon(s) safety sermon. If there is any reason why you cannot be present please sent an OWL response immediately and both school and Ministry officials will be in contact as soon as convenient, this is absolutely compulsory due to the state of current affairs.
With all this in mind, please enjoy the rest of your time at Hogwarts, contact your head of house about any queries that you have when you arrive.
We at Hogwarts wish you the best in health and in learning,
Signed,
Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall"
Harry had slight shock showing on his face after he read the letter and that showed Tonks that he'd clearly was able to read between the lines of what was truly happening. There was a huge sense of urgency felt by the Ministry and the rest of the wizards still half-stuck in denial of Voldemort's return, but the situation was so dire it was encouraging student's to be able to protect each other and themselves with the additional melee-rules.
"It's that bad?" said Harry softly, nibbling his lower lip in worry, and Tonks nodded grimly.
"Everyone's making back-up plans should the worst happen, and to be honest thank Merlin they timed it right, any later and the public would be sitting ducks," sighed Tonks.
"Grab your wand 'Arry, I'm here to take ya shopping for all the new stuff you'll have to get," added the metamorphagus with a slightly happier tone at the idea of going out shopping.
"Just you? Uh...no offense, I mean, I know you could protect me all by yourself but doesn't Mad-Eye usually bring several other Order members whenever I get moved?" asked Harry somewhat suspicious, feeling the Order may be trying to hide things again. Tonks held her hands up with a nervous look.
"Well it took a lot of convincing 'Arry, but I managed to get 'em to let me take you shopping on the condition that they er...stalk us 'secretly'," said Tonks sheepishly.
Harry sighed tiredly, there was always a catch.
When Harry and Tonks walked the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley, both of them could feel a distinct lack of cheer -something more suited to Knockturn that hung in the air. The previous atmosphere of happy shopping wizards and first years shopping for their new magical school had completely left the air, now it was grim and even the voices of people naturally speaking and bustling around was quieter then he remembered.
They went into Gringotts and even the lines were shorter, the goblins seemed grumpier [if that was even possible by goblin standards] and all in all despite it being Harry's first trip out all summer he wished it would end.
When Harry was having his uniform tailored and brought at Madame Malkins' he didn't expect it to be quite what it was. He was so shocked he felt as though he were attending a muggle private school for a minute.
Tonks blushed and said he looked stunning, but Harry put it down to polite exaggeration on her part, and simply gazed at his reflection in awe at the suit. The whole thing was one hundred percent white, the slack-trousers and the blazer was. It was a drastic change from the traditional mess of flowing black robes that he was accustomed to, and when he questioned the fact it looked a bit muggle, Malkin gave him the well-practiced answer of muggle-suits being the invention of a squib. Not entirely muggle, which must be what she told the picky purebloods to get them to wear the necessary uniform.
Two small crests diagonal from each other were squeezed down on the blazer's single upper-right breast pocket, one was the Gryffindor house crest and the other was the general Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry crest. The lions on the Gryffindor house crest were even animated to blink, claw and mouthing roars whilst their sewn bodies remained in the same general place. Tonks whistled impressively.
" 'Cor, Dumbledore's really been forking out for this gear," she said, poking at the blazer.
"Ah! Let me just fetch the formal cloak set that's part of it," said Madam Malkin, rushing past Tonks through the back curtain to fetch the last in stock.
"Does it look good? It IS all white, in theory I thought something like this would look a tad dodgy," said Harry honestly, Tonks flashed an evil grin and strode up to him and ruffled his messy hair.
"It looks good, too bad the guy wearing it is a total scruff. There's no getting out of it Harry Potter, I'm taking you to a salon," said Tonks who played blissfully unaware at the look of sheer horror on Harry's face at the notion of it.
"A salon? But those are sort of...girly," he said meekly.
"Well your hair is an unsolvable mess by muggle means, so a magical salon trip is in order. Oh don't gimmie that puppy look 'Arry...fine! How about after we get you a new set of glasses to tie up the look and we'll go somewhere you want?" said Tonks diplomatically which seemed to placate Harry. At that moment Madame Malkin came rushing out with two long white silken cloths draped over her arms.
She waved her wand and had them float before Harry, both side by side looking almost identicle with the only difference of texture [slightly], upon inspection Harry could see they were cloaks.
"Now, there's the cheaper option of Reladon and Reladon Lite material which only comes with dirt removal and dirt repulsion charm OR this much more pricey -but worth it- double layer robe," Madame Malkin then launched into an excited speech about it claiming it was a breakthrough in garment technology.
"The second layer is very light chiffon, the first outer-layer that everyone see's is a mesh of charmeuse and Bulvian spider-silk, tough but light, very durable. This version of formal robe comes with a weather-temperature charm, it detects if the wearer is too hot and automatically cools without cooling charm and vice versa when it's hot out as it also detects the temperature of it's surroundings. The dirt repulsion and expulsion charms are a lot stronger-" rambled Malkin until Tonks butted in for the rather overwhelmed boy.
"He'll take the fancy one," grinned Tonks, Madam Malkin burst into a huge grin and put the cloak around Harry which held itself to his uniform by a ruby red circular broach-clasp on the symmetrically opposite side of the breast pocket.
"The broach can be brought in a couple of colours, but this is a matching set with the Gryffindor tie," smiled the shop owner, Harry peered at the pretty broach-clasp once more and saw not only was it ruby red but had a "H" inscribed in a golden colour [H for Hogwarts].
"Ooooh, do all the uniforms have the gold lining?" asked Tonks, noticing a golden thin strip at the edge and stretched to the entire circumference of the cloak to the clasp. It looked downright regal! Tonks had to rub her eyes a few times and wonder if Dumbledore was a nutter with a penchanance for being eccentric or a genius with a love for eccentricity and again wondered just how much funding Hogwarts was getting.
"Just the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff robes, the Slytherin and Ravenclaws are green and blue as are the matching clasp sets to go with the ties which haven't changed," said Malkin who took that moment to sell Harry a newer, lighter, silkier polo shirt to go under his uniform blazer and fixed up his red and gold Gryffindor tie.
"Classy, you'd outshine Beauxbatons," said Tonks sweetly, it came to an expensive total of a hundred galleons [normal people probably would have only had to pay 80 but Tonks insisted that Harry go 'fancy' with it].
"What about the other years?" asked Harry suddenly.
"The first year robes stay the same and change, the second years get grey robes and so on, they get lighter and become more suit-like until sixth year where it's solid white and you end up with the end result. The uniforms the same for sixth years as it is for seventh years, except seventh years need to come for a refit," said Malkin as Tonks was grabbing Harry out of the store.
"Now...salon time! Come on! We agreed!" yelled Tonks, grabbing him by the ear and taking him to Diagon Alley's more cosmetic side.
"Sweet merciful Merlin boy! Did someone throw a beasty-charm in your hair or is it naturally this monstrous?" shrieked the hairdresser, who shook her head at the broken comb bristles that scattered the floor and was picking them out of Harry's mess of hair.
"Er...I think I inherited it off my dad," said Harry blushing sheepishly.
"Right. I hope your dad was a dragon tamer," snapped the hairdresser "-and this is going to cost five hundred galleons for a permanent fix,"
"No problem, money-bags here can spend it!" butted in Tonks again who seemed to be doing more of it frequently -with Harry's best interests at heart of course.
Hours of burning hot charmed iron combs and unfortunate scalp burns and noxious hair potion chemicals later, Harry coughed and opened his watering eyes only to gasp at the end result. The hairdresser collapsed into the empty chair beside the next customer chair looking absolutely drained. Her only comfort was the bag of gold galleons she was paid that she toyed with the coins between her fingers.
"It's permanently straight, if you ever want to curl it you'll have to inquire at another magical salon," apparently the lady didn't care that he was Harry Potter, the shock wore off an hour into attempting to fix Harry's black bird nest of hair.
"Do you like it Mr. Potter?" she asked with exhaust in her voice.
Harry stared, some curls framed his face and came in at his cheeks, evidently one or two bits even refused to listen to magic, the rest was poker straight and now reached at his shoulders. Harry thought it was sickeningly feminine until he was told androgynous features were immensely attractive and that his hair suited him beautifully.
Tonks then grabbed him by the arm and headed for the glasses store.
"Ohhh no! No more of you making me look like a girl!" said Harry, unaware he was unconsciously pouting.
"We're getting me some manly glasses," insisted Harry with a grumble.
After forty minutes of an optometrist at the glasses store poking at him and running proper tests he was offered a corrective spell, which made it no longer necessary to wear glasses but Harry feared looking like an absolute feminine twat without them.
He and Tonks came to an agreement, he had his eyes corrected for a fee, and brought an expensive pair of "manly" rectangular glasses which were charmed merely to enhance his now "naturally fine" vision. They let him detect heat movements through solid objects like a blurry heat-vision sensor which Mad-Eye would probably praise him for buying as a 'smart investment', anything to help him keep CONSTANT VIGELLANCE. It had a durability charm and anti-rain water charm with a few more fitted in to stop them getting easily knocked off his face like they would during Quidditch.
"Hm...Tonks...would wearing these glasses to spot the snitch be considered cheating?" asked Harry quietly and slyly.
"Maaaaybe... if someone found out," snickered Tonks with a secretive smirk on her face. The glasses were small but firm and rectangular which brought together the manlier cheekbones and balance out the rather feminine hair, putting Tonks and Harry at a comfortable ease with his appearance.
"I just remembered! The books, we need to get 'em!" and with that Harry was rushed to Flourish & Blotts and was urgently buying the remaining stock of sixth year books from the shelves having barely enough time to acknowledge the stares.
"Er...Tonks I just remembered...I'm still in my uniform but it's the holidays," said Harry, feeling like a bit of a tit.
"Don't worry 'Arry, all the senior years have been flashing it off early, the uniform isn't the reason you're getting stared at," she winked but poor oblivious Harry didn't 'get' it so Tonks didn't bother elaborating any further.
"Is that all of 'em 'Arry?" said Tonks suddenly when Harry was up to his neck in thick tomes.
"Yea-oh wait no, I need that Senior's handbook, could you er...take all this to the counter while I find the note for it?" it was not only a coupon that came with the Hogwarts letter for the handbook but also a permission slip of sorts as only older year students were allowed to be issued the books.
After a while of digging in the soft pockets of his new garments he found it and was given a small pocket sized book. It had the simple "H" letter with the Hogwarts emblem and it was as thick as Hogwarts: A History.
"Not to toot the faculties 'orn Harry but you REALLY have to read that. They've set everything up funny with their new fundin'," said Tonks, explaining to the slightly-confused wizard.
"'Arry, you know as well as I do what panic and war does to people right?" said Tonks softly but very, very seriously. The tone made Harry's ears perk up and face turn solemn as his mind flashed briefly through the horrors and trials he'd seen and been through in his short time on Earth.
"Yes..." he said, raising a brow wondering where Tonks was going with this.
"Well, lets say the staff were all busy and on the front lines, that'd leave the students right? Imagine it, in panic people kill each other to avoid being killed and get reduced to being downright...monstery," said Tonks, losing her eloquence with a grimace.
"Right," pressed Harry, urging her to carry on.
"So, that'd leave the older students in charge of the younger students. The staff is getting taxed so much by how the Wizengamot court is messing the public around along with the Ministry, they're taking out all the pre-emptive measures they wished they had taken in the first war. They know even though they haven't admitted it publically yet. That's why the media's being so slow and antsy and why the public is more scared. The senior students of every magical school are being taught new things added to the curriculum for survival. That handbook is actually summat the Ministry thought up," said Tonks.
"It's advised that you live and breathe the entire contents of that book. I've seen it too, it's got some pretty sound advice on conduct and whatnot. I know it seems very extra and even silly, maybe even 'going unnecessarily far' with it. But it's important that the senior years gain respect and authority and know what to do with it in the emergencies, hence that huge bloody book on conduct and boring stuff," finished Tonks, patting Harry on the head lightly.
"Remus told me you made head boy, that means there's a ton more responsibility on you out of all the older years," said Tonks sympathetically, and poor Harry looked overwhelmed again.
"Y-yeah, I dunno why I said yeah to being head boy but...I got to be an example among examples now don't I?" said Harry deadpan. The seniors had to lead an example to the younger students and he had to be the prime example among seniors and give them something to strive for.
How fucking fun, thought Harry sarcastically, pinning the head-boy badge in the diagonal space on the breast pocket between the two respective crests.
"Greaaaaat," he grumbled "-bloody great. Anymore bombshells?"
Tonks winced and bit her lip.
"Just one,"
"...what dare I ask?"
"Transfer students,"
"Uhm...would shopping for that weapon thing you need cheer you up?" suggested Tonks suddenly, to which Harry's eyes perked up with curiosity hitting the roof.
"Now you're talking!" he grinned.
It was a little shop off the corner of Diagon in that delicate spacing between the more respected alley and darker area of Knockturn, cobwebs gathered around the silver anti-werewolf blades on the display case and a rather dated weapons selling license on the window. The shop itself was amazingly small, Harry thought it'd be like Olivander's wand shop, small out the outside but charmed big on the inside however the weapons store was just as small as it looked. On the walls were ornamental katana swords and untouched twin tiger blades. Harry coughed lightly when disturbing some of the dust on the glass of the dagger display case. Tonks grimaced and patted Harry's back as he stopped coughing.
"Excuse me? Are you open?" Tonks asked, seeing nobody, until a small man emerged from the back of the store with a little broom, sweeping the bodies of dead spiders out.
"Yes, yes," hacked the old man, putting the broom in the corner.
"How can I help you?" asked the man, wiping a clothe over the sheathes of a jade dagger, whilst the shop was rather run down, the weapons were well looked after.
"Ah wait, you're a Hogwart's senior aren't you?" his nose twitched as he eyed Harry's uniform "-just give me your senior letter that was issued and I'll be able to sell you a weapon with a student discount,"
After doing so, the man showed Harry a display of daggers and athame which had been quite interesting, some of the athame had even vanquished and swallowed the power of demonic pests. He was very tempted to get one, he did own the sword of Gryffindor and could summon it in theory but was very touch-and-go and very rarely could he summon it except in dire situations.
Tonks got bored after Harry went through half the weapons in the first forty or so minutes and opted to 'rest her eyes' as she sat in a dusty customer chair.
"We have flame swords, throwing knives and retractable vaulting spears. If you have a nose for history perhaps a spell piercing archery set is more suited to your tastes?" said the shop owner, leading Harry into the back.
Harry grimaced and imagined his bow and arrow aim would be horrible and opted to leave archery to the Elves of Old.
"We have medieval weaponry here too, albeit not a lot since it sells quite quickly," he said, indicating to a locked glass case at the far left of the back room. Harry gaped at the flanged mace, temporarily shrunken lance, axes and different types of bow.
"Um…I think I'll just go with an athame," said Harry sweat-dropping.
The man smiled, having realized he probably overwhelmed the boy somewhat while attempting to dazzle him with the weapons display.
"Would you like to see a selection of silver athame? With the rumour of Hogwarts appointing a werewolf in the past as a teacher, perhaps it would be wise?" it was a marketing move but it still annoyed Harry nonetheless that Remus was being insulted. There was no malice in the man's tone though so Harry didn't press it, though the silver athame did seem like a wise choice with the rumour that Fenrir Greyback now haunted the Forbidden Forest despite best attempts to flush him out.
Harry wondered why it was so hard for him to pick a stupid weapon already, but then wondered if perhaps the weapon chose the wizard the way wands did. He decided to go toward the weapon he was naturally drawn to despite his mind thinking otherwise since it was obvious he wouldn't come to a conclusion mentally.
The man watched Harry gravitate toward the silver and golden blades, they were quite expensive and the shop owner looked giddy at the prospect of one of them getting sold. Even with the student discount they were really expensive meaning more money for his somewhat quiet shop.
"Ah I see you have quite a good eye, this is an Egyptian blade turned in by one of the curse breaker's a month or so back. Let me just unlock the case so you can have a good look," he unlocked the case and withdrew the golden sheathed blade. The sheathe itself was quite gorgeous and was finely decorated with hieroglyphic inscriptions engraved upon it. Slowly Harry withdrew the blade out which to his surprise, wasn't entirely gold itself. The handle hilt was solid gold and shaped with the ancient Egyptian Goddess of justice, Ma'at with wings spread open.
The man's eyes widened when Harry's fingers delicately ran across the blade's surface, surprised that he could do it without being hurt.
"I've had it brought back so many times I would have spliced the price down if you didn't have the student discount., it seems to burn all the wizards and witches it doesn't like," admitted the man.
"-and you choose to tell me this after I pick it up?" Harry raised a brow but then sighed and brushed it off.
"You said its silver? It looks pretty gold to me," said Harry dumbly and the man's eyes lit up as he delved into the athame's history.
"The hilt is gold yes but the blade itself as you can see is made of silver, according to the curse breaker who pawned it off, it was used to expel dark entities and cast protection rituals back in ancient Egypt. I suppose it'd make sense, they believed gold was the skin of their Gods and silver was their bones. I believe it was referred too as 'white metal' and its value between dynasties sort of went up and down," shrugged the man.
Harry nodded and put the athame back in it's sheathe and paid five hundred galleons out for it which left the man somewhat giddy and trying to push more weaponry on him until Harry woke up Tonks and they swiftly left. The only bonus thing he picked for it was a weapon's plain belt to go nicely with the uniform and openly store the rather pretty sheathed athame at his waist.
"An athame? Cool, I always sorta thought you were the sword type though 'Arry," said Tonks casually as they walked to the apparition point.
"So did I, but I was drawn to it and I thought it was like choosing a wand," admitted Harry, remembering 'the wand chooses the wizard' rule of thumb.
"Athame can be used as wand substitutes but they aren't usually used that way 'cause they usually produce a weaker result. It'll be dead useful though 'Arry, I mean back when I went in school we used them for potions that needed be stirred by the blade of an athame, I dunno if they still teach that but...yeah," shrugged Tonks, to which Harry pulled a face wondering if Snape would suddenly try that on them and find a reason to confiscate his athame anyway.
"Right well, don't go poking eyes out with that thing," said Tonks as they apparated back to the Dursley household.
"The Order will be picking you up a week from now and taking you to HQ," said Tonks, and with that, she left her unofficial-cousin to his devices back in the smallest bedroom of Number 4 Privet Drive.
xxEnd Chapterxx
Okay that was a fairly dry start, I know, believe me, it's 4882 words of non-action other then Harry awesoming his gear up but give it a chance. I guarantee you the next chapter will have a quicker pacing and more plot movement. It picks up at chapter 2 I swear.