Leon Harper: Third Year Hogwartian and Smuggler
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Huh, Leon had thought when he first woke and registered his memories of the previous five years, I don't have an siblings. In all his previous lives, he'd had siblings- two each time- though 'all' was only two previous incarnations. His second thought was I'm a Black!? followed by a slightly disappointed, And not even Sirius'.
His mother, Alice Harper, had sat him down the previous year and told him about his father when he came from daycare and asked why he didn't have a daddy, using phrases like 'free spirit' and 'a wanderer' to describe why Regulus wasn't here. Internally, he called BS as Leon's mother wasn't magical, he didn't know if she was a squib or a muggle, so he assumed that Regulus Black hooked up with her at a bar sometime during the war as a kind of stress relief because he doubted a Black would have a relationship with anyone without magic- if only because they wouldn't cross paths often enough to do so.
He was, most likely, the result of a one night stand and never brought it up again- partially since Alice seemed to still carry a torch for Leon's father.
That was, of course, years ago- at the moment he was a thirteen year old and he was looking for-
"Excuse me- do you know which platform has the train to Hogwarts?" Leon stopped and turned to the voice- messy (like serious bedhead messy) black hair, round glasses and white owl.
Even as he started towards them the guard was asking, "Know what part of the country it's in?"
"Er." the boy, Harry Potter as in the Main Character , said.
Just when the guard started to lean towards annoyance, Leon reached them, wrapping an arm around Harry's shoulder (ignoring the flinch). "Sorry, mate. Me and my cousin got separated, he knew the train would be heading towards our boarding school- he'll be joining me at Hogwarts this year!- but not much else, we'll be heading over to Platform 9b now."
"I don't know a Hogwarts in Peterborough." The guard said, eying him suspiciously.
If you've a story, make sure it's a whole one, with details close at hand. It's the difference between a successful lie and getting caught. Leon recalled, useful advice. "Oh it's not there exactly, it's just where we'll be getting off. Hogwarts' a bit off the beaten path so we'll be taking a bus- the school rents 'em on the first and last day of both the year and holidays- to it."
"And where-" the guard started.
Leon shook his head, "Sorry, mate- it's a secret! The school's exclusive and private, we're not allowed to tell anyone who hasn't gone where it is."
Which, he mused, was the truth in a way considering the Statue of Secrecy.
"We're gonna be late-!" Harry fretted, staring at the large clock that read 10:45 .
He offered the man a smile, "Eleven year olds, so impatient. Later- have a nice day!" Leon called as he dragged the boy and his cart (Harry held onto his own cart so it was also pulled along) away, turning left into the 9/8 platform walkway when the crowd behind them grew big enough to obscure them from view. "Whew, thought he was going to detain us or something- maybe keep us until our folks were located."
"Um." Harry said as the exited to the Platform 8 side of the walkway and went left. "Thanks for that- er.."
"Name's Leon Harper, third year Hogwartian." Leon told the eleven year old as they passed bathrooms. "Don't mention it- same thing happened to me when I was a first year, mum's a Muggle so we didn't know where to go."
"Harry Potter." the boy said then immediately asked, as if to forestall any reaction, "I thought Hagrid just forgot to tell me but if you also-..."
Leon shrugged, "I asked Cedric, his family's the one who helped me, and apparently it's an old law from the Witch Burning era since some muggle-borns turned around and told a bunch of people how to get to the Platform- people died when the mob showed up, youngest was a toddler. So muggle-raised kids aren't told how to get on beforehand, they're supposed to find their way but some families patrol both Platform 9a and 9b to help out- the Diggorys, Longbottoms, Lovegoods and Weasleys to name a few. One- two shops then here, just through this wall." He finished stopping before the wall.
" Through the wall?" Harry asked, incredulous and he applaud himself on his sense of timing- now the boy wouldn't ask why he was hanging around the other '9' platforms if there were families for that sort of thing.
"Of course!" Leon grinned, thinking of his first time getting onto the platform (sure he'd read about it but there's something unnerving running into a wall), and unceremoniously dragged the boy through the wall at a run.
Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived and Destroyer of Voldemort, screamed. It was amusingly high-pitched.
I believe, Leon thought as he prodded the boy into opening his eyes to see they were fine and people were starting to stare, I found a little sibling to torment. "Let's find a seat!" He said aloud and a red-faced Harry immediately started hurrying to the train, this time Leon was the one dragged.
They eventually wound up in an empty compartment around the later middle-end, which was Third Year territory, of the train. Harry was the one to start speaking first, "You're a third year- what's Hogwarts like? What house are you in?"
"Well, it's large and easy to get lost in- I won't say anything else since it'd ruin the surprise." Leon said, thinking back to the feeling he had when he first crossed the lake and saw the castle. "I'm a Hufflepuff."
"But you don't seem like a duffer!" Harry blurted then sorely wished he hadn't. "I- I mean-"
He, who had two years to get used to the House-based name calling, waved the kid off. "S'fine, every House has their own insult; Hufflepuff gets 'duffer', Ravenclaw are 'bookworms', Gryffindors are 'morons' or to the more morbid 'cannon fodder' and Slytherins are 'evil' or 'slimy'. Doesn't mean that's everything about the house."
"And Hufflepuff?" Harry eventually asked.
"The best House- being brave, smart and cunning are all good qualities to have but what's really important is loyalty." Leon said. "First day we Hufflepuffs are told this: We are tolerant, we are hard workers, we strive for kindness and fairness- this is true. To say we are afraid to fight, that is a lie- we are simply patient and tolerant enough to wait for something worth fighting for. Above all, we are loyal; to harm one is to harm all, we will defend ours at all costs...We are one House, one Clan, and we help each other in any way we can, from this day forward you will never be alone- that is what it means to be a Hufflepuff."
Harry looked a bit wide-eyed but Cedric, whom had arrived while he was quoting the speech, said. "Trying to convert first years, now? What would Ms. Harper say?"
"There no kind of advertising like self advertising." Leon said, who's mom owned a small café (that he'd insisted be called the 'Lucky Cat Café'), immediately while Harry jerked at the voice. "That's my roomie and Platform guide, Cedric Diggory. This is my new minion, Harry Potter."
" Potter? " Cedric asked then, when the eleven year old shrunk into himself, said. "Huh, well someone has to be it. Nice to meet you- how'd you get sucked into 'minion' status?"
"Er." Harry said while the third year took a seat next to Leon. " Minion ?"
The pure-blood nodded. "Yeah. See, first year Leon started a book-smuggling ring sometime after Christmas holidays since the library doesn't have fiction-"
"Which I still say is a horrid, terrible crime." He put in, still irritated since it had been an entire hobby lost- sure reading about magic was interesting but it wasn't fun .
Cedric, having had to do this explanation last year, ignored him. "-and roped me into it as his 'right hand' since my owl, Holmes, could carry bigger packages then his raven, Karasuno, could. Second year he drafted in others- to also use their owls- as he decided to move beyond our roommates to the entire house, they were 'minions'. I'm assuming you 'minion' status means he's recruiting you."
"Indeed." Leon said, briefly debating lacing his fingers together before deciding that seemed to villainous. "See-"
The compartment door slid open, a girl (who he assumed was Hermione by the bushy-ness of her hair) and boy (who he guessed was Neville by virtue of wandering into strange compartments with probably!Hermione) leaned in, the girl asking. "Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one."
"No but Cedric's an overachiever." Leon said.
"So I read ahead, that doesn't make me an overachiever- I just want to know what to expect to learn during the year." Cedric told him even as he pulled out his wand. " Accio Neville's toad." A beat and, just when he was thinking of making a joke about performance issues, a toad came zooming over the two first years heads- Cedric, seeker that he was, caught the thing before offering it to Neville. "Here."
"What was that?" Definitely!Hermione asked, unceremoniously taking a seat next to Harry who kind of scooted away- making room for Neville to perch at the edge. "Obviously some kind of summoning spell, but is there any specific restrictions- does it have a range of how far something can be for you to summon it? It's it size specific and won't work if over a certain size? Maybe weight specific? Is it designed to summon living things or can it be used for anything?"
"Where do you keep all that air?" Leon wondered.
Cedric took the time to answer. "Not sure about a limit to range but I know it can be used to at least up to 2 kilometers away, it's an all purpose spell so there aren't really any restrictions beyond if whatever you're summoning is specifically spelled against being summoned and how well the caster can, well, cast the spell."
"Now!" Leon said to stave off another spew of word-vomit, absently waving off the trolley lady. "Let's introduce ourselves- names, likes, dislikes and House, or the House you want to go in I suppose. Oldest first!"
Part of him wondered if he should feel bad about press-ganging a then eleven year old into friendship simply because he was the only one Leon had- kinda- knew in Hufflepuff but shrugged it off, with any luck- and maybe deliberate injury- his friend would survive to become a Seventh Year. "My name is Cedric Diggory. I like flying, I dislike flying in bad weather and I'm a Hufflepuff. Neville?"
"Oh!" Neville jerked, squeezing his toad enough that it let out a croak in protest. "M-my name is, um, Neville Longbottom. I, uh, like plants and I really don't like heights. I, well, I don't-...my dad was in Gryffindor..?" the boy offered. "Uh, Hermione?"
"My name is Hermione Jane Granger." the lone girl said. "I like reading and learning in general, I don't like bullies." She said it firmly, with air of someone who'd dealt with bullies before. "I, well, I suppose I would like to be in Gryffindor- Professor Dumbledore was there and it's apparently the best House."
"That's a matter of opinion- Gryffindor are generally the ones in the spotlight so you hear about them a lot." Leon told her. "Your turn Harry."
Harry said, "I'm Harry Potter-"
"Really?" Hermione immediately asked. "I know all about you, of course- I got a few extra books. For background reading and you're in Modern Magical History-"
Leon tapped her forehead and she went silent, blinking in bewilderment. " Bad , Hermione. It's not nice to interrupt an introduction. Harry, continue."
"Er, right. I'm Harry Potter." the boy restarted. "I like my owl, Hedwig and I don't like dogs. I, um, don't really know what House I want to be in...Leon?"
"Leon Harper, third year Hufflepuff. I don't like being cold, insects, spicy food, pumpkin juice or traffic- I hate traffic, it's horrible and boring." Leon told them. "I like soft things, animals (especially those with fur), chocolate, watermelon, apple juice and reading. Speaking of, back to earlier of my smuggling ring and your 'Minion' recruitment Harry."
" Smuggling! " Hermione shrieked.
He let Cedric, the responsible one, placate her. "It's not against the rules- I checked with Professor Sprout when he named me his 'Right Hand'. He was just irritated over the library's lack of fiction so asked him mum to send over some books that he then leant out to our roommates then to the entire House in second year. Minions are just what he calls the people who help him."
"Anyways." Leon said. "This year I was thinking about branching out beyond the classics."
" Song of the Lioness isn't a classic." Cedric deadpanned.
Leon, whose love for the Tortall Universe carried over from his first life, said. "Blasphemy. Sacrilege. How could you say such a thing? I thought we were friends ."
"We are." Cedric said, sounding as if he wondered why exactly they were. "But the last book of the series came out in '88 and that's not long enough to ear 'classic' status."
" Blasphemy ." Leon repeated, with vehemence.
Harry interrupted, which was just as well because things might have degraded into hexes. "How does it work? What books do you have?"
"From first and second year I have the Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce, the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, Watership Down by Richard Adams, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery along with The Hobbit , The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Silmarillion and The History of Middle-Earth series by J.R.R. Tolkien. That's twenty-six individual books." Leon said. "This year's books I'm keeping a surprise but there are fourteen books in total."
"Any series?" Cedric wondered.
He thought then said, "Not really. How it works is this; I keep the originals and rent out magical copies for a week (that's when the spell breaks down and the copy disappears) at a standard rate of 16 Knuts. I sell actual book copies at varying rates- it depends on the cost of the book for my mom to buy- but nothing over 16 Sickles. Those part of the ring profit, of course. Minions get 1 Knut per rented book and 5 - 15 Knuts per bought book. Cedric and I get 2 Knuts per rented and 10 Knuts - 1 Sickle per bought book." He explained then said, "I'm thinking of tweaking it a bit."
"Tweaking?" his friend asked warily.
Leon nodded. "I know Hufflepuff House has things set up to continue/start a student's muggle education by way of Homeschooling (kind of), so I was thinking of having a survey of nonfiction topics- math, science, history, technology and the like- to act as supplementary reading for muggle lessons and a way to introduce the strictly magic-raised students into muggle schooling without them being intimidated by the thought of extra classes. Actually, we don't even touch on Physical Education…"
He wouldn't have even thought about it if Hinata Hana hadn't been dragged into practicing volleyball with her brother so often in his previous life but now that he had he was hit by the fact that Quidditch was really the only extra curricular activity at Hogwarts. "Or art or music or really anything beyond the core subjects and technology- though that might fall under History I suppose. Let's see...sports equipment and rulebooks should be easy enough to get, so can art supplies like colored pencils, crayons, markers and paint are also easy but proper tools for things like carving and sculpting will be difficult….Hufflepuff already has cooking covered but what about sewing, knitting or weaving?"
"My mum has lots of copies of different plays," Hermione butted in and Leon started a bit since he had forgotten his audience, more thinking aloud. "I can ask her to send her some extras over when I owl her."
"We could put on a play! You're brilliant Hermione, let no one say differently. Ced-" He told her turned to his friend and blinked when he found the teen taking notes.
Cedric didn't look up. "Incase you forget anything."
"Well, alright then." Leon said, returning to his train of thought. "Since your taking my notes to self, Cedric, make sure to add 'interview craftsmen/tradesmen in Hogsmeade' this made me think of an idea that'd be awesome for the future- especially muggle-borns. Back on topic: music. Instruments- good ones anyways- can be expensive, so maybe two of each and we can magically copy them or ask Prof. McGonagall to transfigure some- though who knows what that will sound like. No I think copies would be best, I'll ask mom about the prices and we can make a 'order form' based on that for anyone whom wants an actual instrument- though it might be best to make an actual booklet on things we offer and their prices. As for the actual instruments, I was thinking flutes, harmonica, ocarina, trumpet and clarinet- I also want saxophones, guitars, lutes, violins, cellos and the ukulele seems cool but I might have to bring them with me on the train after holidays. I really want a piano- a full on grand piano but I've got no idea how we'd get that over to Hogwarts. Any recommendations on music, Hermione?"
Hermione, the only one of the first years who didn't seem dazed, blinked but answered. "It depends on what you have in mind- just solo and small groups or something like an orchestra?"
"All of the above?" He shrugged. "People will want to practice, some will want to just play with friends but I'm sure we can get enough to do an ensemble- if only to accompany a play."
"Well, you can't go wrong with the classics so people like Beethoven and Mozart. You'll want the music sheets for incidental music too if it's to go with a play- The Winter's Tale, Hamlet, King Henry IV Part 1, The Tempest and A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare to be specific." Hermione said. "Film Scores of popular movies like Star Wars or Fantasia ."
" Brilliant ." Leon said again. "Back to sport. I was thinking badminton, tennis, football, volleyball, baseball, dodgeball, swimming, dance, racing (maybe we can have a triathlon or relay race involving swimming, running and flying?), handball, field hockey and various forms of 'tag'. We'd have to work it out with the teachers but maybe climbing- rock or tree- and hiking, maybe even camping. And something with flying disks! That way flyers- whether they be broom-riders or animal- can participate. In that way we can also do something like hunting, I'm sure there are rodents around to use- if not we can ask Prof. McGonagall to transfigure some."
Parkour, free running, self defense . He didn't say but thought. "Anyways, Neville and Hermione- you are hereby banished. We're just about to enter the station and we need to get robed up."
It wasn't until first Hermione then Neville then finally Harry were sorted into Hufflepuff that Leon realized he may have just wreaked Canon and thought, Huston, we may have a problem.
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Tags: Multiple Past Lives, Self-Indulgent, Self-Insert, SI/OC, Hogwarts Express, Hogwarts First Year, Leon and Cedric are Third Years, Leon runs a smuggling ring, Cedric is his 'Right Hand', There are Minions, (Harry is a potential Minion), (Hermione has been drafted as an Accomplice), It's not against the rules according to Cedric, Leon has a crow named Karasuno, Cedric has an owl named Holmes, Leon takes advice on lying from a book, (it works), Hufflepuff Pride, A dash of Hogwarts Express tradition, Leon takes introduction ideas from Hatake Kakashi, Leon doesn't believe that the Song of the Lioness series isn't a classic, Leon adopted Harry as a younger sibling to mess with, Leon is expanding his smuggling ring, By Order of the Phoenix Leon will have a Thief Court, and name himself the Rouge, (Basically Leon is a big Tortall Universe fan)