*~Story Stats~*
Title: Harry Potter and the Tainted Mirror Author: singin_in_the_rain Author email: Evenstar_2003@yahoo.com Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
*~Author's Notes~*
I would love for anyone with questions or comments regarding my story to please email me at the above address. Please review this story, as I would love to hear what you think. This is my first fan fic, so please, no flames.
*~Disclaimer~*
I do not own Harry Potter, it's characters, or any events relating to the books or the movies. All of that belongs to J.K Rowling. I do however, own the plot. Any connections to other stories are purely coincidental.
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Chapter One- Home At Last
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence Two roads diverged in a wood And I. . . I took the road less traveled by And that has made all the difference.
-from, The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Harry Potter woke up to a bright and sunny Sunday morning. It was not just any Sunday morning, however. It was the Sunday morning when he would be traveling back to Hogwarts, for his final year at the esteemed school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Perhaps because Vernon Dursley felt some guilt in his puny heart, or perhaps because the Dursley residence was celebrating Harry's upcoming departure from their home, but Uncle Vernon had indeed agreed to wake up very early, and take Harry to London, so he could buy his books in Diagon Alley, and catch the train at platform 9 ¾.
Harry pushed the covers off himself, and began to pack his trunk once again. He shoved some hand-me-down jeans, shirts, and socks into the bottom of his trunk. Harry absently piled books, quills, and parchments into their own compartments.
"Boy!" came Uncle Vernon's hoarse shout, "Get down here!"
Harry threw the last of his scrolls into the trunk and quickly shut it. "Coming," he called down the stairs. He bounded down the stairs quickly, as his legs had grown much longer over the summer.
Uncle Vernon sat at the small kitchen table, his massive body hanging out over either end. His pug-like face was hidden behind the Sunday newspaper, and a large stack of pancakes sat in front of him, next to a steaming cup of coffee.
Harry stood there expectantly.
Uncle Vernon slowly lowered the newspaper and glared at Harry. "Are we going or not, boy? I want to get this over with."
Harry smiled, and ran back upstairs to get his trunk.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The ride into London was a particularly long one for Harry. His uncle drove very slowly and glanced out the window nervously, to see if anyone noticed the abnormal boy sitting in his backseat.
Harry did not look abnormal, except for the fact that a large, snowy owl was in a cage next to him. Hedwig's head was drooped under her wing, and Harry could have sworn he heard her snore.
Vernon Dursley pulled the car to a stop at the train station. "Get out," he snarled.
Harry quickly complied. He took out Hedwig, and his school trunk, then stood on the side and waved good-bye to his uncle. "See you at the end of the term then, Uncle Vernon."
The pudgy man growled something undecipherable, then took off at top speed. Harry just shrugged.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Even though Voldemort still hadn't made an appearance since that fateful day at the end of Harry's fourth year, the wizarding world in London and all around the world was on a constant state of alert.
The Leaky Cauldron was full of customers, as usual, but the ones who weren't regulars or students at Hogwarts were given a wide berth. Tom, the old man behind the counter, had taken to observing new customers carefully.
Harry walked into the old pub, and carefully kept his head down. These days, getting recognized could mean either two things. A.) He would get swarmed by crazed fans. B.) He could be attacked by crazed Death Eaters. He was not sure which was worse.
"Hullo Harry," Tom said cheerfully.
Harry sighed, and said, "Hullo Tom," back to the cheerful man.
Tom smiled and Harry walked up to. "Um, Tom, do you think it would be possible for me to keep my school things here, while I shop in the Alley?"
Tom nodded. "Of course, Mr. Potter. I would be honored."
Harry paid Tom seven Sickles to watch his belongings while he went out and bought all of his books and bits-and-bobs for doing his wizardry.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was a fine morning, as Harry set about to buy his books. He ran into Neville Longbottom doing some last minute shopping as well at the potion ingredients store. Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas were eying the latest Quidditch supplies at Quality Quidditch.
Harry had everything he needed, and was about to make his last stop at Flourish and Blots.
His arms loaded so high with parcels he could barely see, Harry had to perform a clever balancing trick to keep his items from scattering about the street.
He had made it to the steps into the bookstore, and was carefully climbing the stairs when. . .
POOF!
Harry collided with someone, and all of his recently purchased belongings flew into the air and onto the street.
Harry sat up and rubbed his head where he hit it, "Sorry. . . Hermione?!" Harry exclaimed, seeing the unfortunate bushy-haired girl he knocked over was really his best friend.
"Hi Harry! Oh, I'm dreadfully sorry about all this! I wasn't looking where I was going, I was so wrapped up in the latest addition of Hogwarts: A New Revised History!" Hermione began to babble on and on about her new book.
Harry held up a hand, and quickly silenced her. "D'you think you could help me get what stuff of mine hasn't been trampled?"
Hermione turned red and nodded quickly. "Sure, Harry."
The two best friends spent five minutes gathering Harry's scattered parcels from about the street. Hermione had to spend ten minutes arguing with a poor witch who was bent on the philosophy, "Finders keepers, losers weepers."
Hermione finally got the package back, and offered to carry some of them for Harry. "Do you want me to show you where to buy our new spellbooks? The owner of the shop showed me the new school section of his store. It's quite big, and has a large collection of rare books."
Harry cut Hermione off, he could tell she was beginning to ramble, her usually warm chocolate eyes had began to glaze over, "Um, sure Hermione. That would be wonderful."
Hermione nodded enthusiastically and picked up one bag. She bent to pick up another and the same time as Harry, and their hands accidentally touched. An electric spark traveled down each of their bodies, and Harry and Hermione both jumped back.
"Uh, um, here-er- I'll take it," Hermione offered, blushing furiously.
Harry nodded. "Yeah-er- that would be great. . ."
Not looking directly at each other, the two best friends walked through the door, into a world that could be known as Hermione's Paradise.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was twenty of eleven, and Harry and Hermione had finished all their shopping. They had said hello to a few more classmates, and had also seen the recently graduated Cho Chang with her surprising new boyfriend, Oliver Wood.
Harry had had a crush on Cho his fourth, fifth, and sixth years, but had appeared to have grown out of it now that he was seventeen. Hermione noted all this, and was deep down happy to see her friend over that girl.
Harry got his other school things back from Tom in the Leaky Cauldron, who bid Harry and Hermione a happy year, and the duo was off to train station.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Harry and Hermione got themselves a compartment, and soon the third member of their famous trio, Ron Weasley, joined them.
Ron and Harry talked for an hour about Quidditch, and Ron filled Harry in on all the new players and teams, as Harry lived in the Muggle world, and couldn't find any of this information any where near him.
Hermione had her nose buried in Hogwarts: A New Revised History, and was eagerly turning page after page, drawing skeptical stares from her two companions.
About three-quarters of the way through the ride, Malfoy and his two thugs burst in.
"Damn it," Ron whispered, "I knew it was too quiet."
Malfoy glared at the trio. "Well hello, Mudblood. . . Potty. . . Weasel."
Harry snorted, "You obviously haven't obtained any brains over the summer. You've been calling us those same names since second year." Hermione and Ron snickered.
Malfoy laughed sarcastically. "Ha ha, Potter. Think you're funny? Think you're better than us, just because you 'saved the school' from that dragon last year. Well, I'll have you know that this year, your fate might be quite different. It might finally be time for the Boy-Who-Lived to become the Boy-Who-Died."
Hermione coolly put down her book. "How original, Malfoy. And I suppose a great dunderhead like yourself thinks that you can kill Harry? Go on, try. I could use a good laugh."
Malfoy spat on her. "You're just a piece of filth, Granger, and a disgrace to the wizarding world. Go back to where you came from, Mudblood!"
Harry instantly jumped on Malfoy, pinning him against the wall. "Say that again, Malfoy," he dared. "Say it again."
Malfoy wriggled under Harry's strong grasp. "Let me go, Potter."
Harry glared at him. "If I ever here you calling Hermione Granger a Mudblood again, you won't have enough time left in your life to say sorry. I swear, I will kill you."
"Harry, let him go," Hermione said, "He's not worth the energy."
Harry glared one final time at Malfoy, then released his grip on the Slytherin's neck. "Leave," he whispered murderously.
Malfoy beckoned to Crabbe and Goyle. "Let's go. This is over. Not by a long shot, Potter."
He stalked out of the compartment.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry, Hermione, and Ron all settled into their dorms that night. The Sorting Hat added 29 new students to Gryffindor. Hermione and Harry had been made a prefects last year, and this year Hannah Abbot was named Head Girl, much to Hermione's shock and dismay.
The Gryffindor prefects had their own rooms in the Gryffindor Tower, and small hallway connected their circle of rooms to the Gryffindor common room.
Harry, Hermione, Seamus, and Lavender were all prefects from Gryffindor. They all settled into their new dorms and had a good night's rest.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
That morning at Hogwarts started off like any other. Hermione, Harry, and Ron all received their new schedules. Harry and Ron were in all of the same classes, and Hermione was in all of theirs except for Transfiguration, since she had Expert Transfiguration, and Advanced Divination, because she had Expert Arithmancy.
All of them had Expert Care of Magical Creatures (they were quite frightened to think what surprises Hagrid would have in store), Expert Charms, Advanced Potions (Snape must have had a fit about that), and Expert Defense Against the Dark Arts. They all had Expert History of Magic as well, and were sure it would not get any more interesting.
"Oh!" Hermione squealed, as she examined her schedule, "We have a new History of Magic teacher, and Professor Lupin has come back to teach DADA!"
Harry and Ron were happily surprised that Moony (as they called Lupin) had come back to teach, and were ecstatic that old Professor Binns (the only ghost professor in all of Hogwarts) had finally retired.
"We have History of Magic first," Hermione exclaimed, "I hope the teacher's good!"
So did Harry and Ron, because they weren't sure they could take another boring lecture on how Goblin Rebellions in the 1600's effected economy.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The trio, along with the rest of the Gryffindors in their class, piled into the old History of Magic classroom. They were greeted by an amazing site.
Moving posters of bloody battles were adorning the once plain room. Suits of armor and large swords were everywhere. Two huge bookcases were filled with many ancient books, and a sweeping staircase was near the front of the room.
The students eagerly took their seats. Harry and Ron sat together, and Hermione took up her own desk, as she had more books than the rest of the class put together.
"Welcome, class," a clear voice that was all too familiar sounded through the room. Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged happy glances.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, Professor," the Gryffindors chorused.
The man behind the voice suddenly came into view. A few of the students let out stunned gasps, and others had horrified looks in their eyes. Harry, however, smiled. "Hullo, Sirius."
Sirius Black, the once condemned wizard who had regained his freedom last year, smiled at his god-son. "Hullo Harry. Ron, Hermione, good to see you mates again."
The other two eagerly nodded their enthusiasm.
The rest of the class were still horrified.
Sirius glanced at them nervously. "Hullo, my 7th year Expert History of Magic class. You have all been selected to be in this program by Professor Binns, who, fortunately, retired last year. I was chosen by Professors Dumbledore and McGonagoll to take his place."
The class still hadn't moved.
"I know that I was thought of as a criminal and murderer for the past decade or so. I know that your parents will probably be horrified that a once wanted man is now your History of Magic professor. But I will start off by telling you that I am indeed innocent, I am not a follower of Voldemort," The mention of You-Know-Who's name drew gasps, "And I have no intention whatsoever of hurting any of you."
Lavender Brown raised a shaky hand into the air. Sirius nodded at her. "B-b- but sir, didn't you want to kill Harry Potter at one point?"
Sirius' eyes and face clouded. "No, Miss Brown, I did not. Harry is my late best friend James Potter's son, and my godson. I would never, in a million years, dream of hurting him."
The class seemed satisfied with that answer, so Sirius continued. "Now, I know that Professor Binns had an -er- interesting way of teaching. But I guarentee you, mine will be more interesting." He grinned wickedly. "We," he paused dramatically, "will be living history."
The class began to whisper excitedly, until Seamus called out, "How can we do that sir?"
"We do this spell called a living painting. A painting can become life- size, and depict what actually happened in an epic battle or moment of history." The faces of the seventh year Gryffindors were shining with excitement.
Sirius smiled at them. "Now, this can be, well. . . Erm, shall we say, graphic. Which is why only Expert 7th years are allowed to do this." The class was puzzled, they were the ONLY Expert 7th years. "Right-o you are, class. You will be the only class to use this so highly sophisticated form of wizardry." Sirius paused. "Oh dear! It's time to go! Well, off you go, my best class! Have fun with the rest of your day!"
Harry could have sworn he saw Sirius grin evilly at those words.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Potions was an absolute nightmare. Snape was even more grumpy than usual, probably due to the fact that Sirius Black, his archenemy, was teaching at the same school as him.
Snape's animosity towards all Gryffindors had grown generously, and he was threatening more than ever to poison each and every one of them.
Divination was, well, normal. Sibyl Trelawny still refused to give up hope that her prediction would come true, and Harry would die. He found it rather annoying that she predicted his death twice (at least) every class, and was never right.
Defense Against the Dark Arts was very enjoyable. Remus Lupin was an excellent teacher, and seemed to have only grown better in the four years since he had last taught at Hogwarts.
The Gryffindor seventh years had DADA with the Slytherins, and, as usual, grudges developed early on. The Slytherins accused Lupin of favoring the Gryffindors, and snickered behind his back about his not-quite-top-of-the- line robes. They called him "werewolf" and asked him if the fur always covered every part of his body.
Care of Magical Creatures, however, was quite the surprise.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"G'afternoon class," Rubeus Hagrid boomed, smiling down at the class, for since he was over 7 ft. tall, they seemed quite small to him.
"Afternoon Professor," the Gryffindors sounded. The Slytherins, especially Malfoy, glared coldly at the half-giant.
"Today I got some, well. . . er. . . Interestin' beasts for yer. Might want to be careful, they're not always friendly to strangers."
"What a surprise," muttered Malfoy.
The students carefully approached the pen outside of Hagrid's home. Harry had his hand on his wand, and Hermione was nervously clinging onto his robes.
Harry and Ron were the only ones brave enough to go any closer. Together, they quietly stepped up to the pen, and peered over the edge. What they saw, gave them gasps of surprise.
Half-lion, half-bird they seemed to be. Their heads were that of a magnificent lion's, as was their golden coats. But at their sides, were what were unmistakably wings.
"What are they?" asked Ron incredulously.
"Griffins," Hagrid smiled, "Griffins, they are. The house symbol of our own Gryffindors here. We ought to spend the firs' part of this semester studying them, and the second studying serpents, the symbol of Slytherin house."
Harry smiled. This would be an easy passing grade for him. As a Parseltongue, Harry would have no trouble interpreting snakes movements, hearing, behavior, or even speech. He could understand it all.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dinner was normal, the usual air of excitement coursing through the Hogwarts students as they ended their first full day back at the castle.
First years had awed looks in their eyes, and were trying new spells left and right. Second years had a smug confidence in their eyes, as they were the "experienced seniors" when it came to their first year friends.
Third, fourth, and fifth years were comparing notes on the teachers, the classes, and the students to how they were last year. Professor Sirius Black was a hit, the boys admired his courage and the girls were already swooning.
Sixth year Gryffindors were talking quietly amongst themselves, and the seventh years were using their new power as the eldest in the school to reek havoc among the lower levels, namely with cleverly disguised Canary Creams and other products from the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.
Harry was disengaged from it all, his scar had begun to twinge a bit. He barely touched his treacle pudding, and drew concerned looks from Hermione, Ron was too busy staring at Parvati Patil, who was hopelessly flirting with every boy within eyesight.
Hermione waved a hand in front of Harry's eyes, "You hoo! You in there, Harry Potter?"
He snapped back into awareness. "Um, yeah. I was just. . . er . . . thinking." He could tell Hermione didn't believe a word of it.
She was about to comment when Hagrid barged into the Great Hall, Fang cowering at his heels. "Dumbledore," he said, "I think you may want to see this."
Dumbledore obviously took the meaning. "Prefects, lead your house back to the dormitories. Will Harry Potter and Hermione Granger please come up to the table?"
Harry instantly headed up to where the staff was sitting. Hermione placed Ginny Weasley in charge, as she was a sixth year Prefect. She quickly followed Harry up to the table.
"Yes Professor?" the two best friends chorused.
"I want you to follow me," Dumbledore instructed. The teachers all rose, and followed Dumbledore out of the Great Hall. Sirius and Remus exchanged worried looks, and gave pointed glances in Harry's direction. Hermione had absent-mindedly grabbed Harry's hand in fear, and he could feel himself blushing.
Snape was keeping to himself, and McGonagoll was taking hurriedly to Sprout and Professor Victor, the Arithmancy teacher. Little Professor Flitwick was right on Dumbledore's heels, wand at ready.
The squad walked calmly through the front doors, and instantly stopped, mouths hung open in horror and shock.
Floating twenty feet above the ground, in a giant shape, was the twisted form of the Dark Mark.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Like it? Hate it? Love it? Let me know!
Title: Harry Potter and the Tainted Mirror Author: singin_in_the_rain Author email: Evenstar_2003@yahoo.com Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
*~Author's Notes~*
I would love for anyone with questions or comments regarding my story to please email me at the above address. Please review this story, as I would love to hear what you think. This is my first fan fic, so please, no flames.
*~Disclaimer~*
I do not own Harry Potter, it's characters, or any events relating to the books or the movies. All of that belongs to J.K Rowling. I do however, own the plot. Any connections to other stories are purely coincidental.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter One- Home At Last
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence Two roads diverged in a wood And I. . . I took the road less traveled by And that has made all the difference.
-from, The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Harry Potter woke up to a bright and sunny Sunday morning. It was not just any Sunday morning, however. It was the Sunday morning when he would be traveling back to Hogwarts, for his final year at the esteemed school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Perhaps because Vernon Dursley felt some guilt in his puny heart, or perhaps because the Dursley residence was celebrating Harry's upcoming departure from their home, but Uncle Vernon had indeed agreed to wake up very early, and take Harry to London, so he could buy his books in Diagon Alley, and catch the train at platform 9 ¾.
Harry pushed the covers off himself, and began to pack his trunk once again. He shoved some hand-me-down jeans, shirts, and socks into the bottom of his trunk. Harry absently piled books, quills, and parchments into their own compartments.
"Boy!" came Uncle Vernon's hoarse shout, "Get down here!"
Harry threw the last of his scrolls into the trunk and quickly shut it. "Coming," he called down the stairs. He bounded down the stairs quickly, as his legs had grown much longer over the summer.
Uncle Vernon sat at the small kitchen table, his massive body hanging out over either end. His pug-like face was hidden behind the Sunday newspaper, and a large stack of pancakes sat in front of him, next to a steaming cup of coffee.
Harry stood there expectantly.
Uncle Vernon slowly lowered the newspaper and glared at Harry. "Are we going or not, boy? I want to get this over with."
Harry smiled, and ran back upstairs to get his trunk.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The ride into London was a particularly long one for Harry. His uncle drove very slowly and glanced out the window nervously, to see if anyone noticed the abnormal boy sitting in his backseat.
Harry did not look abnormal, except for the fact that a large, snowy owl was in a cage next to him. Hedwig's head was drooped under her wing, and Harry could have sworn he heard her snore.
Vernon Dursley pulled the car to a stop at the train station. "Get out," he snarled.
Harry quickly complied. He took out Hedwig, and his school trunk, then stood on the side and waved good-bye to his uncle. "See you at the end of the term then, Uncle Vernon."
The pudgy man growled something undecipherable, then took off at top speed. Harry just shrugged.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Even though Voldemort still hadn't made an appearance since that fateful day at the end of Harry's fourth year, the wizarding world in London and all around the world was on a constant state of alert.
The Leaky Cauldron was full of customers, as usual, but the ones who weren't regulars or students at Hogwarts were given a wide berth. Tom, the old man behind the counter, had taken to observing new customers carefully.
Harry walked into the old pub, and carefully kept his head down. These days, getting recognized could mean either two things. A.) He would get swarmed by crazed fans. B.) He could be attacked by crazed Death Eaters. He was not sure which was worse.
"Hullo Harry," Tom said cheerfully.
Harry sighed, and said, "Hullo Tom," back to the cheerful man.
Tom smiled and Harry walked up to. "Um, Tom, do you think it would be possible for me to keep my school things here, while I shop in the Alley?"
Tom nodded. "Of course, Mr. Potter. I would be honored."
Harry paid Tom seven Sickles to watch his belongings while he went out and bought all of his books and bits-and-bobs for doing his wizardry.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was a fine morning, as Harry set about to buy his books. He ran into Neville Longbottom doing some last minute shopping as well at the potion ingredients store. Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas were eying the latest Quidditch supplies at Quality Quidditch.
Harry had everything he needed, and was about to make his last stop at Flourish and Blots.
His arms loaded so high with parcels he could barely see, Harry had to perform a clever balancing trick to keep his items from scattering about the street.
He had made it to the steps into the bookstore, and was carefully climbing the stairs when. . .
POOF!
Harry collided with someone, and all of his recently purchased belongings flew into the air and onto the street.
Harry sat up and rubbed his head where he hit it, "Sorry. . . Hermione?!" Harry exclaimed, seeing the unfortunate bushy-haired girl he knocked over was really his best friend.
"Hi Harry! Oh, I'm dreadfully sorry about all this! I wasn't looking where I was going, I was so wrapped up in the latest addition of Hogwarts: A New Revised History!" Hermione began to babble on and on about her new book.
Harry held up a hand, and quickly silenced her. "D'you think you could help me get what stuff of mine hasn't been trampled?"
Hermione turned red and nodded quickly. "Sure, Harry."
The two best friends spent five minutes gathering Harry's scattered parcels from about the street. Hermione had to spend ten minutes arguing with a poor witch who was bent on the philosophy, "Finders keepers, losers weepers."
Hermione finally got the package back, and offered to carry some of them for Harry. "Do you want me to show you where to buy our new spellbooks? The owner of the shop showed me the new school section of his store. It's quite big, and has a large collection of rare books."
Harry cut Hermione off, he could tell she was beginning to ramble, her usually warm chocolate eyes had began to glaze over, "Um, sure Hermione. That would be wonderful."
Hermione nodded enthusiastically and picked up one bag. She bent to pick up another and the same time as Harry, and their hands accidentally touched. An electric spark traveled down each of their bodies, and Harry and Hermione both jumped back.
"Uh, um, here-er- I'll take it," Hermione offered, blushing furiously.
Harry nodded. "Yeah-er- that would be great. . ."
Not looking directly at each other, the two best friends walked through the door, into a world that could be known as Hermione's Paradise.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was twenty of eleven, and Harry and Hermione had finished all their shopping. They had said hello to a few more classmates, and had also seen the recently graduated Cho Chang with her surprising new boyfriend, Oliver Wood.
Harry had had a crush on Cho his fourth, fifth, and sixth years, but had appeared to have grown out of it now that he was seventeen. Hermione noted all this, and was deep down happy to see her friend over that girl.
Harry got his other school things back from Tom in the Leaky Cauldron, who bid Harry and Hermione a happy year, and the duo was off to train station.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Harry and Hermione got themselves a compartment, and soon the third member of their famous trio, Ron Weasley, joined them.
Ron and Harry talked for an hour about Quidditch, and Ron filled Harry in on all the new players and teams, as Harry lived in the Muggle world, and couldn't find any of this information any where near him.
Hermione had her nose buried in Hogwarts: A New Revised History, and was eagerly turning page after page, drawing skeptical stares from her two companions.
About three-quarters of the way through the ride, Malfoy and his two thugs burst in.
"Damn it," Ron whispered, "I knew it was too quiet."
Malfoy glared at the trio. "Well hello, Mudblood. . . Potty. . . Weasel."
Harry snorted, "You obviously haven't obtained any brains over the summer. You've been calling us those same names since second year." Hermione and Ron snickered.
Malfoy laughed sarcastically. "Ha ha, Potter. Think you're funny? Think you're better than us, just because you 'saved the school' from that dragon last year. Well, I'll have you know that this year, your fate might be quite different. It might finally be time for the Boy-Who-Lived to become the Boy-Who-Died."
Hermione coolly put down her book. "How original, Malfoy. And I suppose a great dunderhead like yourself thinks that you can kill Harry? Go on, try. I could use a good laugh."
Malfoy spat on her. "You're just a piece of filth, Granger, and a disgrace to the wizarding world. Go back to where you came from, Mudblood!"
Harry instantly jumped on Malfoy, pinning him against the wall. "Say that again, Malfoy," he dared. "Say it again."
Malfoy wriggled under Harry's strong grasp. "Let me go, Potter."
Harry glared at him. "If I ever here you calling Hermione Granger a Mudblood again, you won't have enough time left in your life to say sorry. I swear, I will kill you."
"Harry, let him go," Hermione said, "He's not worth the energy."
Harry glared one final time at Malfoy, then released his grip on the Slytherin's neck. "Leave," he whispered murderously.
Malfoy beckoned to Crabbe and Goyle. "Let's go. This is over. Not by a long shot, Potter."
He stalked out of the compartment.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry, Hermione, and Ron all settled into their dorms that night. The Sorting Hat added 29 new students to Gryffindor. Hermione and Harry had been made a prefects last year, and this year Hannah Abbot was named Head Girl, much to Hermione's shock and dismay.
The Gryffindor prefects had their own rooms in the Gryffindor Tower, and small hallway connected their circle of rooms to the Gryffindor common room.
Harry, Hermione, Seamus, and Lavender were all prefects from Gryffindor. They all settled into their new dorms and had a good night's rest.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
That morning at Hogwarts started off like any other. Hermione, Harry, and Ron all received their new schedules. Harry and Ron were in all of the same classes, and Hermione was in all of theirs except for Transfiguration, since she had Expert Transfiguration, and Advanced Divination, because she had Expert Arithmancy.
All of them had Expert Care of Magical Creatures (they were quite frightened to think what surprises Hagrid would have in store), Expert Charms, Advanced Potions (Snape must have had a fit about that), and Expert Defense Against the Dark Arts. They all had Expert History of Magic as well, and were sure it would not get any more interesting.
"Oh!" Hermione squealed, as she examined her schedule, "We have a new History of Magic teacher, and Professor Lupin has come back to teach DADA!"
Harry and Ron were happily surprised that Moony (as they called Lupin) had come back to teach, and were ecstatic that old Professor Binns (the only ghost professor in all of Hogwarts) had finally retired.
"We have History of Magic first," Hermione exclaimed, "I hope the teacher's good!"
So did Harry and Ron, because they weren't sure they could take another boring lecture on how Goblin Rebellions in the 1600's effected economy.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The trio, along with the rest of the Gryffindors in their class, piled into the old History of Magic classroom. They were greeted by an amazing site.
Moving posters of bloody battles were adorning the once plain room. Suits of armor and large swords were everywhere. Two huge bookcases were filled with many ancient books, and a sweeping staircase was near the front of the room.
The students eagerly took their seats. Harry and Ron sat together, and Hermione took up her own desk, as she had more books than the rest of the class put together.
"Welcome, class," a clear voice that was all too familiar sounded through the room. Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged happy glances.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, Professor," the Gryffindors chorused.
The man behind the voice suddenly came into view. A few of the students let out stunned gasps, and others had horrified looks in their eyes. Harry, however, smiled. "Hullo, Sirius."
Sirius Black, the once condemned wizard who had regained his freedom last year, smiled at his god-son. "Hullo Harry. Ron, Hermione, good to see you mates again."
The other two eagerly nodded their enthusiasm.
The rest of the class were still horrified.
Sirius glanced at them nervously. "Hullo, my 7th year Expert History of Magic class. You have all been selected to be in this program by Professor Binns, who, fortunately, retired last year. I was chosen by Professors Dumbledore and McGonagoll to take his place."
The class still hadn't moved.
"I know that I was thought of as a criminal and murderer for the past decade or so. I know that your parents will probably be horrified that a once wanted man is now your History of Magic professor. But I will start off by telling you that I am indeed innocent, I am not a follower of Voldemort," The mention of You-Know-Who's name drew gasps, "And I have no intention whatsoever of hurting any of you."
Lavender Brown raised a shaky hand into the air. Sirius nodded at her. "B-b- but sir, didn't you want to kill Harry Potter at one point?"
Sirius' eyes and face clouded. "No, Miss Brown, I did not. Harry is my late best friend James Potter's son, and my godson. I would never, in a million years, dream of hurting him."
The class seemed satisfied with that answer, so Sirius continued. "Now, I know that Professor Binns had an -er- interesting way of teaching. But I guarentee you, mine will be more interesting." He grinned wickedly. "We," he paused dramatically, "will be living history."
The class began to whisper excitedly, until Seamus called out, "How can we do that sir?"
"We do this spell called a living painting. A painting can become life- size, and depict what actually happened in an epic battle or moment of history." The faces of the seventh year Gryffindors were shining with excitement.
Sirius smiled at them. "Now, this can be, well. . . Erm, shall we say, graphic. Which is why only Expert 7th years are allowed to do this." The class was puzzled, they were the ONLY Expert 7th years. "Right-o you are, class. You will be the only class to use this so highly sophisticated form of wizardry." Sirius paused. "Oh dear! It's time to go! Well, off you go, my best class! Have fun with the rest of your day!"
Harry could have sworn he saw Sirius grin evilly at those words.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Potions was an absolute nightmare. Snape was even more grumpy than usual, probably due to the fact that Sirius Black, his archenemy, was teaching at the same school as him.
Snape's animosity towards all Gryffindors had grown generously, and he was threatening more than ever to poison each and every one of them.
Divination was, well, normal. Sibyl Trelawny still refused to give up hope that her prediction would come true, and Harry would die. He found it rather annoying that she predicted his death twice (at least) every class, and was never right.
Defense Against the Dark Arts was very enjoyable. Remus Lupin was an excellent teacher, and seemed to have only grown better in the four years since he had last taught at Hogwarts.
The Gryffindor seventh years had DADA with the Slytherins, and, as usual, grudges developed early on. The Slytherins accused Lupin of favoring the Gryffindors, and snickered behind his back about his not-quite-top-of-the- line robes. They called him "werewolf" and asked him if the fur always covered every part of his body.
Care of Magical Creatures, however, was quite the surprise.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"G'afternoon class," Rubeus Hagrid boomed, smiling down at the class, for since he was over 7 ft. tall, they seemed quite small to him.
"Afternoon Professor," the Gryffindors sounded. The Slytherins, especially Malfoy, glared coldly at the half-giant.
"Today I got some, well. . . er. . . Interestin' beasts for yer. Might want to be careful, they're not always friendly to strangers."
"What a surprise," muttered Malfoy.
The students carefully approached the pen outside of Hagrid's home. Harry had his hand on his wand, and Hermione was nervously clinging onto his robes.
Harry and Ron were the only ones brave enough to go any closer. Together, they quietly stepped up to the pen, and peered over the edge. What they saw, gave them gasps of surprise.
Half-lion, half-bird they seemed to be. Their heads were that of a magnificent lion's, as was their golden coats. But at their sides, were what were unmistakably wings.
"What are they?" asked Ron incredulously.
"Griffins," Hagrid smiled, "Griffins, they are. The house symbol of our own Gryffindors here. We ought to spend the firs' part of this semester studying them, and the second studying serpents, the symbol of Slytherin house."
Harry smiled. This would be an easy passing grade for him. As a Parseltongue, Harry would have no trouble interpreting snakes movements, hearing, behavior, or even speech. He could understand it all.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dinner was normal, the usual air of excitement coursing through the Hogwarts students as they ended their first full day back at the castle.
First years had awed looks in their eyes, and were trying new spells left and right. Second years had a smug confidence in their eyes, as they were the "experienced seniors" when it came to their first year friends.
Third, fourth, and fifth years were comparing notes on the teachers, the classes, and the students to how they were last year. Professor Sirius Black was a hit, the boys admired his courage and the girls were already swooning.
Sixth year Gryffindors were talking quietly amongst themselves, and the seventh years were using their new power as the eldest in the school to reek havoc among the lower levels, namely with cleverly disguised Canary Creams and other products from the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.
Harry was disengaged from it all, his scar had begun to twinge a bit. He barely touched his treacle pudding, and drew concerned looks from Hermione, Ron was too busy staring at Parvati Patil, who was hopelessly flirting with every boy within eyesight.
Hermione waved a hand in front of Harry's eyes, "You hoo! You in there, Harry Potter?"
He snapped back into awareness. "Um, yeah. I was just. . . er . . . thinking." He could tell Hermione didn't believe a word of it.
She was about to comment when Hagrid barged into the Great Hall, Fang cowering at his heels. "Dumbledore," he said, "I think you may want to see this."
Dumbledore obviously took the meaning. "Prefects, lead your house back to the dormitories. Will Harry Potter and Hermione Granger please come up to the table?"
Harry instantly headed up to where the staff was sitting. Hermione placed Ginny Weasley in charge, as she was a sixth year Prefect. She quickly followed Harry up to the table.
"Yes Professor?" the two best friends chorused.
"I want you to follow me," Dumbledore instructed. The teachers all rose, and followed Dumbledore out of the Great Hall. Sirius and Remus exchanged worried looks, and gave pointed glances in Harry's direction. Hermione had absent-mindedly grabbed Harry's hand in fear, and he could feel himself blushing.
Snape was keeping to himself, and McGonagoll was taking hurriedly to Sprout and Professor Victor, the Arithmancy teacher. Little Professor Flitwick was right on Dumbledore's heels, wand at ready.
The squad walked calmly through the front doors, and instantly stopped, mouths hung open in horror and shock.
Floating twenty feet above the ground, in a giant shape, was the twisted form of the Dark Mark.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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