Lost and Forgotten Things
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, any of it's related properties, or anything else you may recognize. I make no financial profit from this work of fanfiction. Only the plot is mine.
Summery: Harry doesn't find the mirror when he goes looking for it again. Instead he gets lost and finds something far more interesting.
A/N: May contain any, all, or none of the following: OC's, OOCs, slash, het, gen, generic plot devices, over powered characters, eventual spin-off crossovers, micromanaged plot details, inconsistent update schedules, and whatever else I feel like at the time. Don't complain if you don't like it, just stop reading. My story, my rules.
Chapter One
Harry wished that he knew how to cast a warming charm. He wasn't sure how long he'd been wandering around, but he was starting to shiver. He'd really wanted to see his family again, but he would be willing to settle for finding his way back to the common room. He didn't think he would have any chance of finding that mirror again from where he was.
Another turn lead him down another long corridor spotted with moonlight shinning in through the arching windows. It was rather bare, with no portraits and only one tapestry that he could see. He paused to look up at the image depicted on the antique bit of cloth and watched as a rather perturbed troll in a tutu hit a wizard over the head with its club. The wizard shook off his daze before once again trying to convince the troll and its companions to dance. Throughout the loop of the strange scene Harry's face had twisted further and further into confusion until he had to shake himself out of his own stupor.
He glanced back around his surroundings and tried to decide which way to go. Surly he would have remembered passing such an unusual tapestry. He moved to take several steps back the way he'd come, but though better of it. Why did Hogwarts have to be so confusing. The other direction could just as easily be the way back to the tower. He wasn't even sure what floor he was on any longer.
"How did this happen?" he questioned under his breath. He certainly hadn't meant to get lost. He was sure he'd been going the right way before Mrs. Norris had come around the corner and he'd needed to dash down that side corridor. The fact that said corridor had disappeared behind him and he was unfamiliar with where he'd come out wasn't his fault. He conveniently dismissed the thought that he was out of bounds after curfew.
Something he remembered from primary school popped into his head, "If ever you are lost, stay where you are. That way it will be easier for those looking for you to find you." He was neither sure why the thought had come to him, nor if it held true under the circumstances.
He couldn't believe the words as they passed his lips even as he whispered them, "I should have listened to Ron."
He shook his head and began pacing, occasionally looking up as the troll hit the wizard. The word lost reverberated around in his head and he kept picturing everything from detention or expulsion upon being found to his bleached bones sitting, forgotten, under the tapestry for a hundred years. "Lost, how... lost."
After several minutes he stopped, took a deep breath, and scolded himself. "Get it together, Harry." He turned to look back down the hall again, only to stop and stare. There was a door. How had he missed that he'd been standing right across from a door this whole time? He steeled himself and opened the door.
The room was unlike anything he'd been expecting. It was full to the brim with stacks upon stacks of... well, everything. He could see books, cauldrons, trunks, desks, bags, and brooms. Some things looked broken beyond repair and some looked like they had been set to the side and forgotten. It was amazing. He completely forgot about his distress in the face of this new adventure. His fingers itched to sort and clean. There was no telling what treasures lay in wait.
He eased is way past several unstable stacks until he found a small area with a clear spot. He pulled a trunk out that only had a broken chair and a few cauldrons sitting on top of it. It was locked, but thanks to Hermione, a simple Alohomora had it open. The contents weren't all that interesting, with the exception of some very nice robes, several books that appeared to be for fourth year, and a fair bit of gold. That in and of itself was an interesting thought. If there was money in the room, which he was starting to think was a kind of lost and found, then there was no telling what it was all worth. If some of the broken things could be repaired, if the clothing could be sold second hand, the books, the brooms... on and on his thoughts spun. There had to be a way to figure out if any of these things still belonged to someone and if not, if he could claim them.
Harry wasn't sure how long he ended up sitting on that trunk thinking, but when he did decide to leave and try to find his way back the dorm he found the door opening right across from the portrait of the Fat Lady. When he checked behind himself the door was gone. He decided to worry about finding the room again later and went to bed.
O
The next day Harry didn't say anything to Ron about the mirror or the room that he found. He still wanted to see the mirror again and he knew that Ron would just tell him not to go. He wasn't sure how Ron would react to the room. He was worried about Ron bragging about having money or something else that he may find in the room and ruin it before Harry could make a proper plan. That's not to say that he wouldn't share with his friends, but he didn't trust the adults the same way Ron and Hermione did and he had the strong feeling that if nothing else they would want to involve them.
Harry managed to separate from Ron after lunch by saying he was going to the library, which was true. He was just going by way of the mirror room. However, when he got there, the room was empty. He was rather dismayed. He was certain he was in the right place this time. He could even see where the mirror's feet had left marks in the dust. He sighed and left the room behind before heading to the library as intended. He was looking for information on two things. The first was the location of the tapestry with the dancing trolls. The second was rules for Hogwarts lost and found.
The first wasn't too difficult. Madame Pince did a midterm inventory and during the holiday break to make sure everything was shelved correctly. Harry had simply asked her if she knew anything about a wizard who had supposedly tried to tech trolls to dance or if he was being pranked. She had assured him that he was not, that the man's name had been Barnabas the Barmy, and that there was, in fact, a tapestry dedicated to him on the seventh floor. She then directed him to both Hogwarts: A History, and Notable Acts That Should Not Be Repeated, for more information on Barnabas and the tapestry.
The second bit of information he was looking for was a bit harder to find, but Madame Pince had unknowingly handed that to him as well. Hermione was right, Hogwarts: A History, was just full of useful information. According to the book, if items were lost or left behind at the school and unclaimed for a period of time the house elves would store them until such a time as they could be put to use by the school or claimed by someone else who wanted or was in need of them. That was why the Hogwarts library was one of the most complete in the world. However, it seemed that Madam Pince was probably the only who had a standing order about books being run by her before they were stored. Otherwise, Harry suspected that some of the other teachers would have some better supplies.
He set the two books to the side so that they wouldn't be re-shelved and approached Madam Pince again. She didn't seem perturbed, but neither did she seem happy. "I'm sorry to bother you again, Madam, but I was originally wondering about cleaning and repairing charms when I was coming here. Any household charms really." He gave her a shy smile as she looked at him appraisingly.
"Certainly not the type of material that young men your age normally find interesting."
"No ma'am, but I've been helping with the chores since I was little, so I know what all goes into it. I wanted to see what might make it easier."
She gave a long suffering sigh, as if this was something she'd had to tell many a student, and it probably was. "You are aware that you may not do magic when not at school until you are of age, are you not?"
Actually, he wasn't. It was rather upsetting to be honest and the look on his face said as much. He took a moment to process the thought. "I'd still like to learn about it, I think. I won't be under age forever. Right?"
He thought he say the side of her mouth quirk up just a bit. "Just so." She led him over to the charms section and handed him several books on everyday charms. He thanked her profusely. He gathered the other two books and headed back to the dorms. He would have to remember to ask Madam Pince how she kept track of who had what books out. He rushed the books up to his trunk and brought only Notable Acts back down with him to the common room. Ron and Percy were playing chess as Fred and George whispered conspiratorially over some bit of yellowing parchment.
Ron looked up and saw him reading. "Bloody 'ell, mate."
"Ron, language!" huffed Percy
"We're on break. Why are you reading?" Ron finished without acknowledging the admonishment from his brother.
Harry laughed and rolled his eyes. "It's for entertainment."
"Don't turn into Hermione on me now."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Reading is not evil, Ron. For example, did you know there was a wizard that tried to teach trolls to dance ballet?"
"You're joking!" the twins chimed in unison from across the room.
"I'm not." Harry shook his head with a smile spreading wider across his face. "There are a bunch of people who did stupid stuff like that in this book. It's called Notable Acts That Should Not Be Repeated. I've already finished my homework over the weekend before the express even left to keep Hermione happy and I can only stand loosing to Ron at chess so many times before I need a break." The other Weasley brothers nodded their heads in agreement.
"How is your homework coming, Ronald?" Percy asked pompously?
"Oh, come on," Ron said through a mouth full of chocolate frog. "I've still got more than a week till term starts back."
Percy looked determinedly and then at Fred and George. They held there hands up in mock innocence.
"Don't look at us."
"We finished it..."
"On Tuesday..."
"Before dinner."
Percy looked back at Ron. "I also finished mine over the weekend before the break started. So, you are going to complete at least one assignment at night until they all pass my inspection or I will be writing mother."
Ron started to give Harry a dirty look, but Percy stopped him. "Oh, no you don't. You are the only one to blame. You could have done your homework when your friends where doing theirs. You chose to wait. You are going to do it now. I'm not going to let you stress our mother over your grades because you chose not to apply yourself."
It seemed that Percy finally had an epiphany and realized that Ron was lazy and only ever did the minimum to get by. Harry didn't think that was going to work for his friend anymore. Ron looked at him again, this time it was with eyes that screamed "help me".
He mouthed back a silent "sorry", and stuck his nose back in his book.
O
After dinner Percy shepherded Ron back to the common room to do his homework, and Harry headed to the seventh floor. He had his bag over his shoulder with the two most promising books he'd gotten from Madam Pince. As he got close to his destination he began to recognize where he was going. He checked to make sure he wasn't being followed and then slid his invisibility cloak over his shoulders.
When he found his way to the tapestry he was surprised to see no door. Was it one that moved? Did it only appear at midnight? Where was it. He walked slowly around the area, running his hands along the walls to make sure there was no hidden switch or some such thing. Then he remembered that he'd been pacing quite a bit, maybe he had to step on just the right stone? So he carefully walked back and forth trying to step on every stone so that he could get into his room. Every few seconds he would glance up. It was on the third row back from the tapestry just past the second troll that the door came into being. Harry looked down at the stone he was standing on long and hard. He tried to remember how it looked, what it was shaped like and where it was compared to the tapestry and door. Then he happily scurried to the door and flung it open.
He stopped dead. This wasn't his room. Well, it was his room, but it wasn't his room. It was his room from the Dursley's, or a very close replica of it. It wasn't right. What had gone wrong? He slammed the door and closed his eyes. Upon opening them again the door had vanished.
He rushed back to the stone he'd marked in his mind, but the door did not reappear. It was starting to get a little more than frustrating. He went back to the beginning and started checking the stones again. All the while he was trying to shake the strange occurrence from his head. He wanted the room with lost and forgotten items from Hogwarts: A History because he was going to claim it and make it his. Hopefully he would find something so that he would never have to go back to the Dursley's house ever again. It had scared him.
The stone he was standing on when the door appeared the second time was on the opposite side of the tapestry from the one he'd been standing on before. He approached the door far more cautiously. When it opened he found what he'd been expecting. He still wasn't sure how it worked, but he had what he wanted for now.
He had one more thing to try before he got busy. He had no idea if it would work or not. After all, he was making it up has he went. "Um, I, Harry James Potter, claim this room and all of its lost and forgotten things."
TBC
I don't intend to do many more author notes. Long story short, I love ROR exploit stories where Harry basically strips it bare and/or stories where Harry is smart enough to know he can use magic to fix things, restore antiques and stuff like that. There are not enough of them. I want to see more of them. If you have recommendations then I am begging you for them.
In fact, make it a challenge. Harry Centric! Gen or non graphic pairings. Slash or het, I don't care. Crossovers are fine, whatever. I prefer to see just HP or something strongly HP compatible given the guidelines. So, modern day with lots of muggle interaction, like Avengers, Stargate, or certain anime/manga like OHSHC, rather than stuff like LotR, Got/SoIF, or anime/manga like Bleach.
Harry either
a. during Hogwarts years finds and guts the Room of Lost and Forgotten Things AND/OR b. post Hogwarts he realizes he can by old junk super cheep
He then uses magic to repair/restore stuff to make a money in the magical and/or muggle world.
Keep pairings (if any, not required) and settings realistic to the situation
Even if you don't like characters and what to separate Harry from them, try and avoid angst and bashing
Otherwise, keep it lighthearted, funny, and have fun