Saki: So…I've decided to go ahead and revamp this story. It was my first ever Fan-fiction (as well as the most loved out of my HP collection) and I figured it was time to come back and salvage what I could.

I'm sorry for taking so long to get back to this… life decided to kick me in the ass. Let me know if you want to see something in the later chapters of this.

As always enjoy.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter© and all themes and characters relating to Harry Potter© are the property of J.K. Rowling and Warner Brother Studios. The only thing I own is the plot and any original characters. All characters depicted in this story are purely fictional.

Ch1: First-day jitters aren't to blame

January 10th, Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The war was over, the castle rebuilt and the Death Eaters captured and tried. It had taken the better half of 8 months to complete renovations in preparation of re-starting the school year. Yes, re-starting. With a war raging, children running for their lives and Muggle-borns disappearing, there was no learning to be had. As such, all 6th year and younger students were held back a year. 7th year students and all those already of age were given the option to continue or graduate with out their last year completed. Only a handful of Hufflepuffs, Slytherins, and Gryffindors opted to continue on with their lives without furthering their education. The deaths of 50 Hogwarts students, teachers, friends, and family were too much for some… and the roaming spirits of the deceased did not help matters.

Winter break had come to a sudden and rather jarring end. Swirls of snow danced around the enchanted ceiling of the great hall. Down below sleepy eyed students looked up from their meals to watch the fluttering flow of owls crowding the ceiling. Parcels, letters, packages, and newspapers fell into outstretched hands. The first day of classes was always a somber affair at the best of times, let alone 7am; an ungodly hour to be conscious... unless of course, you were Hermione Granger. Hermione sat at the Gryffindor house table, wedged between a snoring Neville Longbottom and a groggy Ginny Weasley. "Don't understand why we have to wake up so bloody early" Ginny mumbled around the slice of toast hanging precariously from her open mouth. Hermione half heartedly tsked the younger girl. "Ginny, you know that-" Hermione was cut off by the sound of the oaken double doors slamming open. She quickly glanced at the head table all of the teachers were present… who was at the door?

Apparently, the rest of the student body was asking themselves the same question. A sudden rush of bodies leaped up from benches and away from tables to surge into the entrance hall. A gasp rippled through the tightly pact bodies. In between the oaken doors stood none other than Harry Potter or more accurately, what had become of The Boy Who Lived.

Gone were the baggy clothes, broken glasses, and shabby hair. A new set of robes hung open to reveal an ensemble fit to rival the best of Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten's tattered clothing. Harry's torso sported a crimson and gold striped tee, layered with a solid black mid-drift tank speckled with safety pins. He wore a simple pair of black jeans adorned with chains, rings, pins, and buttons. A pair of dragon hide boots peeked out from under said jeans. And piercings in his lip, right eyebrow, nose, 4 on each ear, and tongue completed the outfit.

Mirth filled emerald eyes glinted behind a new pair of charcoal horn-rimmed glasses. Harry laughed nervously and ran a hand through shoulder length hair. "Hi everyone…" A soft murmur ran through the crowed of on-lookers. "Harry Potter… Harry's back…" Soon it seemed like the entire school was whispering his name. And there they were, his friends.

Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna had pushed to the front of the crowd. Harry grinned at his friends as he slid further into the hall, allowing the doors to swing shut behind him. "So… What's for breakfast? I'm ravenous" Harry strode into the room, the pack of students moved to accommodate his playful stride. The student body fell in step, mice to the piper… following the dulcet tunes of Harry's laughter as he made his way to the Great Hall. Harry never made it to breakfast.

"Mr. Potter!" Professor McGonagall, flanked by the staff, stood at the entrance to the great hall. Eyes flashing, mouth in a tight pucker, arms crossed… and possibly the happiest woman in the room. The Headmistress had to force her glee to the back of her mind; right now Harry was interrupting breakfast and causing a distraction. This was not to be tolerated. "What do you think you're doing?" McGonagall asked. "And what are you wearing?"

"Harry!"

Harry turned away from Professor McGonagall and back to the crowd, it seemed Hermione had regained control of her faculties and was leading his friends through the mass of students. "Harry!" Hermione called again as she got closer. Harry smiled at her and the rest of his friends gathered around her. Then without warning, Ginny and Hermione both launched themselves at him. Harry couldn't help but laugh at Hermione's and Ginny's over-zealous welcome. He hugged the girls and laughed again. "Hello there." The two girls snuggled in closer to him, refusing to let go even as McGonagall cleared her throat in an obvious attempt to regain his attention. Harry turned back to Professor McGonagall, with a smile still in place.

"Yes Professor?"

"Mr. Potter, I would prefer a more conventional entrance next time." the headmistress reprimand.

"Sorry Professor, it's not like I knew the entire school was going to answer the door." Harry chuckled softly.

"Yeah right, Potter I bet you planned on it." Harry visibly sagged and rolled his eyes. He quickly scanned the crowd and found the speaker, Draco Malfoy. The snarky blond shoved his way past a group of Hufflepuffs, flanked by his ever present goons. Harry and Malfoy locked eyes and the irate boy continued his tirade. "We all know how much you love the attention." Harry sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead with the side of his hand. Malfoy sneered at Harry's disdain.

"Yeah… I love attention so much, that I waited until what should have been the end of breakfast, when everyone should have been in class, to show up." Malfoy's sneer deepened and he began to reach for his wand.

McGonagall clapped her hands twice to regain everyone's attention. "Mr. Potter's right. It's time you all got to class." Slowly, students started filing out of the hallway and to their respective classes. Soon Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, Malfoy, his cronies, and McGonagall were all that was left in the hallway. "That includes you lot as well." McGonagall stared pointedly at each of Harry's friends. They all started talking at once, pleading with the headmistress to let them stay.

"All of you! Go to class or I'll be forced to take points from each of you!"

Hermione grasped Harry's arm tightly above the elbow.

"You can see him after class. For now, I need to speak with him. In private."

Hermione reluctantly released Harry's arm and followed after the retreating forms of her friends. "Mr. Malfoy, you too"

Harry turned to find the blond still glowering at him. Malfoy turned to leave. "Good to see you again too Draco." Harry chuckled. Malfoy shot him a sneer and took off down the hall. "Follow me, Mr. Potter." Harry bobbed his head and followed the headmistress to her office.

"Mr. Potter, please take a seat." McGonagall gestured to the chair opposite her desk as she too took a seat. Harry obediently sunk into the chair and immediately began scanning the room. Much had changed since Dumbledore's death and even more since the war. Not many of the former Headmaster portraits had survived the attack and very few of Dumbledore's trinkets, nick knacks, and personal belongings lasted either. The room, while still lavishly decorated, seemed less homey. Harry frowned at the assortment of books and trinkets displayed in cases and on shelves about the room. The headmistress watched Harry's inspection with sad eyes until he turned to look at her expectantly.

"Mr. Potter, I'm so happy to see that you are alright." McGonagall began then paused with a pursing of the lips.

"Prof-"

McGonagall held up a hand to halt Harry's response. She heaved a sigh, "Potter, what are you wearing?" Harry's stare of disbelief slowly melted into a lopsided grin.

"I'm sorry Professor." A sheepish grin

"I landed in London less than an hour ago and I had to use Muggle transportation before I could find a fireplace attached to the network. To- to floo over to the Three Broomsticks." Harry paused and smiled guiltily "I didn't have enough time to do more than pull my robes on over my clothes."

A series of expressions fought for dominance of McGonagall's face. It looked like she would settle on a scowl but a smile won out in the end. "Potter, Let's try this again. Where have you been for the last year? Why didn't you come back on the first day of school? And Merlin's Beard, why is your face full of holes?" Harry quirked his pierced eyebrow at the Professor and grinned again; this time using his tongue to wiggle his lip ring at her.

"I'll start from the beginning."

Over the next few hours, Harry explained in great detail the events leading up to his departure and travels. Harry had stayed after the war for 2 months; helping to rebuild both emotionally and physically. The arrival of June 18th, the death date of his godfather, proved to be too much for him. With emotions running high all around him, Harry couldn't allow himself to fall apart; to destroy the strong, resolute image he'd created for everyone to rally behind… and so he left.

His first destination was a short ferry ride away: Ireland. Specifically the Blarney stone and the witch's kitchen. The local Muggles were convinced a witch was trapped in the stones of the witch's kitchen. They had taken to climbing a local set of stone steps known as the wishing steps, backward, in hopes that the witch would grant their wishes.

Harry found this myth only half true. 1 week after sailing to Ireland Harry reached the location of the witch's kitchen. Only to find a tribe of rogue house elves using their magic to grant the wishes of passing mortals. Finding out this Muggle myth was fairly true; Harry spent the next 3 weeks visiting and exploring the surrounding Blarney estates and researching local Myths. He found most of the stories to be true in some form or another. Most involving magical creatures or centuries old spells cast on the now tourist attractions.

Soon Harry moved on in search of more myths to bust, this time to Scotland... then Denmark, Germany, Holland, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Japan, Tibet, India, and finally the USA. He didn't always go looking for myths.

In Italy, he developed a love for rustic music, anything with strings and a beat. In France, a witch well past her prime taught him to cook almost as well as Molly Weasley. In Greece, he found Olympus enthusiasts who taught him about the gods. In Japan, he made friends with a small group of Japanese witches who taught him a plethora of aesthetic alteration spells and the importance of an afternoon nap. They also introduced him to his first piercing... and his second and third. In Tibet, he learned the art of meditation and how to stabilize his emotions and internal turmoil. In India, he learned the art of trade and bartering. And in the US he learned how his accent got him all the perks, and all the piercings he could handle for half price.

But no matter where he went, how far he traveled; he could never escape his name... his deeds... his past.

His future

He couldn't stay away forever, and he was beginning to miss his friends more than he thought possible.

At some point during his story professor, McGonagall had summoned jasmine tea and cakes. Harry absent mindedly nibbled on a lemon-berry scone. "…. At which point I caught a plane to London. Kept meaning to pick up a broom at some point." Harry pouted around the corner of his scone. "Would have made travel so much easier, but I didn't want to try and explain a Firebolt to the united States customs. Not a very pleasant lot."

He popped the rest of the scone into his mouth and gulped down his Jasmine tea. McGonagall watched him wordlessly, trying to absorb everything she'd just been told.

"Potter" she finally spoke, "You've been busy." Harry grinned at her, his lip ring causing the corner of his mouth to crinkle. The headmistress returned the gesture briefly before schooling her expression into something more appropriate to her station. "You plan on coming back to school, yes?"

Harry shoved another scone into his mouth while nodding enthusiastically. "You know I can't just let you start in the middle of the term and expect you to pass..." She trailed off for a moment, watching for his reaction.

Harry nodded his head knowingly and swallowed his latest pastry with some difficulty before responding. "I know professor. I was thinking I could do a cram school on the weekends... until I was caught up." At the Professor's blank expression Harry hastened to explain the concept of a cram school. "It's a class on the weekends, designed to-"

"I know what a cram school is Mr. Potter!" McGonagall snapped, albeit warmly. "I was merely starting to wonder if your travels had matured you to the point of willingly taking more classes or if you were playing some elaborate prank on me."

Harry grinned at the headmistress again... he seemed to be doing that frequently as of late. "So... I can do the cram school and start regular classes today?" he asked, his grin turning shy under the intense gaze of the headmistress.

"Not today Mr. Potter, but you may start classes in the morning. See me before class tomorrow and I'll have your class scheduled and the list of Professors you'll be attending weekend classes with." Harry sighed in relief and sagged further into his chair. McGonagall smiled at the boy once more before lowering her gaze and focusing on a pile of papers on her desk. Harry waited for her to continue talking. When it seemed to him that she'd said what she was going to Harry slid from his chair and turned towards the door. He'd taken one step when-

"Mr. Potter, I expect you to be dressed presentably tomorrow."

"Yes Professor."

He took another step.

"And I expect no more than two piercing tomorrow. No exceptions."

Harry turned to face her and saluted her with his index and middle finger.

"Yes, professor. Absolutely Professor"

"You may take your things to the common room."

The Lunch bell chimed in the distance.

"And go to lunch."

Harry thanked the headmistress and made his way out of her office, intent on finding his friends and hunting out something more nourishing than tea cakes.

T.B.C

Saki: That's all for now!

P.S I'll be getting to Ron's absence in the next chapter. Never fear, I didn't kill him this time… though it did make for some great story writing.

As usually, let me know what you think. Leave a review if there's something you want to see happen (I will try my hardest to fit all requests into the chapters).