A/N So this is my first fanfiction, and my first serious writing attempt. I've had this idea in my head for a few weeks and I've finally gotten a good handle on what I want, so I've started writing it. Feedback is appreciated.
Enjoy.
I wake up in my bed in #4 Privet Drive. My bed is small, my room is small, bare, and cold. It's not all bad, I could be sleeping on the floor. I'm rather lucky that there's even a room in the first place, I could've gone in the cupboard under the stairs for all I know. My bed is comfortable enough anyway.
Today is July 31st, more importantly, or less I suppose depending on your point of view, today is my birthday.
"Harry! Breakfast!"
"Coming."
"Hurry up now."
You could at least let me get ready after just waking up. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind cooking breakfast or doing other chores, I don't belong here after all. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Edward are kind enough to take care of me. They may not be affectionate but I couldn't really care less about that. No, I could care less. But I'm okay with that.
I put on my clothes for the day and make my way downstairs. Dudley is already down here of course, along with my caretakers. I'm an early riser, yet they're always up before me..
I walk over to the stove and get ready to cook breakfast.
"what'll it be?"
"Bacon and eggs are fine today." Aunt Petunia replies.
I quickly fry up breakfast and pass around plates. Dudley insists on using paper towels to clean the grease off as always. Sometimes he can be a bit too healthy.
A knock at the door signals a pause to our meal.
"A bit early for visitors I'd say. Go see who it is" Uncle Edward says.
"Yes, Sir."
I answer the door and find myself staring up at an old, stern looking lady. Those are odd clothes.
"Can I help you?"
"Mister Harry Potter?" The odd lady says.
"Yes?"
"I'm here on behalf of Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to inform you of the wizarding world. You young sir, are a wizard. You will be attending Hogwarts starting September 1st of this year."
Hogwarts? That sounds disgusting.
"I'm sorry, you've just said a lot of things that sound both interesting and incredibly unbelievable, poor joke by the way, but what kind of name is Hogwarts? That doesn't give a very good image."
The odd lady with no sense of humor looks insulted. It really wasn't very funny,
I didn't mean to insult her though.
"Mr. Potter, I assure you this is no joke, Hogwarts is quite real. And I will ask you to not insult the school again, it is not deserving. Hogwarts is the finest magical school you will find, and I cannot stand to hear it be insulted."
Okay, more than a little insulted I'd say. That or she's taking this prank seriously. I suppose I can humor her.
"Harry, mind telling us who is there?" My slightly annoyed uncle asks.
"Sorry, there is an old lady playing a, er, informing me of an invitation into a private school it seems."
"Really? Well I suppose that's good, well bring her in then and we can discuss this." Yes, you won't have to take care of me for most of the year, good indeed.
Still looking a bit insulted, probably from me calling her old, I invite her inside.
"Your name?"
"You may call me Professor McGonagall"
"Right, Professor McGonagall, let's say magic is real. Surely you could perform some of this magic for me then, to impress me of course and make me even more excited to go to Hogwarts."
Let's see how you pull this off now. Almost instantly the old professor is gone, and in her place sits a medium sized, orange cat.
"My word!" Aunt Petunia gasps.
Well... that was unexpected. Seems like magic is real then. Huh. Now what's the catch? Nobody else in the room seems to want to speak at the moment, so it seems this conversation will be between the two of us.
"I see, in that case if I am a wizard then why haven't I done any magic before? I certainly have tried when I was younger and more imaginative."
At this the witch frowns and remains silent for a moment before responding.
"Mr. Potter, until your name came up on the Hogwarts registry you were believed to be what we call a squib, that is, a magic born without the ability to use or store magic. You see, your father James Potter was also a squib though he was born to the ancient house of Potter. Your mother was believed to be a muggle, or non-magical, though now that Hogwarts has recognized you as magical that means your mother must also have been a squib, giving you the chance to become magical." And?
"Interesting as that is, and it truly is, that does not answer my question as to why I haven't performed magic yet."
"Indeed, perceptive Mr. Potter." She nearly smiles at that, I think. "I cannot say why that is so. children such as yourself often show signs of accidental magic at young ages. There are exceptions such as young Neville Longbottom, who was born just a day off from yourself. Longbottom showed no signs of magic until very recently, and was believed to be a squib. My best guess at the moment is that you are similar and simply haven't shown the signs." That's a good reason I guess.
She hands me what looks old parchment, and a letter. The letter is my official Hogwarts invitation. It even addresses what room I'm in. Magic it seems.
"you will find your official invitation as well as a list of items you need in order to attend Hogwarts." Items needed? I see, this is the catch.
"Is something wrong Mr. Potter?"
"It's just that I simply don't have the money to buy these items on this list. I don't have the money to attend Hogwarts even.."
"Yes well, the headmaster Albus Dumbledore himself is choosing you as the latest receiver of the Hogwarts Scholarship." A charity case? I don't know how I feel about that, though if I have no choice then I wouldn't mind, I guess.
"Very well Professor McGonagall. My guardians and I may be able to go sometime. Thank you." She doesn't look happy about that. Nothing to do about it though.
"That's quite alright Mr. Potter, it is my duty as your Professor to help you when it is needed. It is also not rare for a professor to accompany muggleborn through Diagon Alley for their first time. Because of your situation I will take you to get your supplies."
That's nice. This odd old witch may not be too bad. This also sounds to me like I might actually have some fun for once. As much as I appreciate being able to live here, I can't really say I like it or find it even slightly interesting.
Upon walking into Diagon Alley I felt a rush of energy. I never realized it until now but my entire life was felt in a near daze. Alert, that is the word for this feeling. Feeling, emotion, it's an odd thing isn't it?
The next few hours are spent getting the supplies needed to attend Hogwarts. Robes, books, those are normal enough. A cauldron though I didn't expect. Likely because it just felt too similar to what a normal person would imagine when thinking of a witch.
The item I'm most interested in is my wand. A real wizard's wand. I can finally do something fun, I can do bloody magic! Except this old lady here has decided we have to take a break in some pub before we get the final, and best item.
"Really, why can't we get my wand and then come here?" Is she doing this on purpose? She must know how excited I am. Excited? That's new.
"The process to get your wand could very well be long and after all we've done it will be best to take a bit of a break before we get your wand. You do not think you can simply perform magic as soon as you get it do you?" Another catch... "In order to cast spells you need to learn the proper incantation as well as the correct wand movements. Not only that but underage wizards and witches such as yourself are not allowed to cast magic outside of Hogwarts."
What? That sounds stupid. Why limit our learning to just the school year? Most importantly, why limit our fun?! I sigh and accept what I can't change. Maybe I can annoy her though and get out of here quickly.
"Say, professor? Why would my Aunt never tell me what happened to my parents?" That is not a good face I'm seeing "And do tell me why I am getting stared at. Surely standing beside one such as yourself would redirect their stares." flattery, joke, or insult? which is it Professor? Joke, that's good to know. She understands humor. Unfortunately THAT face is back though..
"Mr. Potter, I'm afraid both questions have the same answer. We have recently moved out of a very dark time. There was a very bad, evil wizard, a dark lord. This dark lord despised all those not of 'pure blood' and along with his followers, well bad things were done. Your father, being a squib descended from a great pureblood family such as the Potters married your mother, whom was thought to be a muggle. This angered him greatly, Harry." That's the first time she's said my name "On one Halloween night the dark lord entered your home, your parents did not survive that night Mr. Potter." Back to Mr. Potter again "How you survived no one knows. But your parents weren't the only ones to lose their lives that night. In front of your crib lay the robes and wand of that very dark lord. To this day no one knows what happened however the terror that was, V-Voldermort, was never seen again."
That, is a lot to take in.
"It is understandable for you to be angry at them Mr. Potter, they don't really have the right to stare at you like that. But do understand that they're only happy to see the one that brought the end to their terror, to very dark times."
I don't care about them, they're meaningless. But what does this mean? The dark lord dies at the crib of an 18 month old baby. A baby born to two squibs. A baby that has shown no such power since this night.
"Well I do believe it is time to get your wand, come along Mr. Potter."
Ooh, my wand.
"Interesting, yes very interesting." Boring, yes very boring
Ollivander rushes back into the depths of his shop for what seems like the hundredth time, and very well could be. This time slowly, he walks back out.
"Yes Harry this is interesting indeed, if this wand is the one for you it will prove to be very interesting." He says interesting a lot
"Holly, 11 inches, a phoenix feather core. It just so happens that the very phoenix that donated this feather did so only one other time. That other feather, harry potter, went into the wand owned by the dark lord himself." Great, so I get the brother wand to a dark lord
I wave the wand around and get a nice reaction, far more than any of the other wands I've gotten
"Good, that appears to be it." McGonagall says, she doesn't look very happy at this.
"No, no that won't do. This wand has not chosen you Mr. Potter. A strong reaction yes, but the wrong wand." At least we know I can do magic now.
"Ollivander you can't be suggesting.."
"Minerva you know as well as I do, Dumbledore gave me that wand for a reason." This doesn't sound good
Without waiting for a reply Ollivander storms into the back of his shop and very quickly returns the same way. Professor McGonagall looks even less happy.
I pick the wand up and before giving it even a wave, I can feel the magic inside it. It's cold and sharp, almost frightening. But if feels powerful. With a wave of my hand sparks far brighter than even the holly wand shoot out. Yes, this is it.
"I see, now this is-" interesting "- and very worrying. 13 and a half inches, Yew, phoenix feather core.." Oh no. This is not good. I just got chosen by the wand of the dark lord that killed my parents. I have the wand that has inspired so much fear that people don't even speak his name. I am definitely going to get stared at now.
"I don't suppose it's from a different phoenix." I say, trying to lighten the mood if only a little
"I'm afraid not Mr. Potter. That is the wand." The old, sad professor says
I sigh. McGonagall likely has a permanent frown now.
I wake up on my small bed, in my small cold room in #4 Privet Drive. It's been nice, waking up the last few days. I've felt well rested and have even been waking up before Aunt Petunia, or more surprisingly, before even Dudley. I do feel a bit tired this morning, though it looks to be earlier than my normal wakeup time anyway.
Ever since returning from Diagon Alley I have felt refreshed and alert, like I did when I first entered the Alley. I suppose I should go make breakfast now. I can have it ready before they get down there. I might even impress them. Though I don't really care about that, it would be a first.
I feel alert again. The past few weeks have been getting worse and I've slowly been returning to the way I was before, dazed and slow. maybe it is the magic. As soon as I crossed the barrier to platform 9 ¾ the feeling came back. The Weasley's seemed nice. The youngest was a bit shy around me but it does make sense unfortunately. I am their 'squib-who-lived', and I'm even going to Hogwarts. Maybe I can get that changed to something better, child-who-lived?
"Hey mate, sorry I didn't get your name earlier. I'm Ron Weasley by the way."
"Harry Potter"
"No way! You're the squib-who-lived!" I have to start somewhere I guess. This is my chance
"Actually I prefer child-who-lived. I am not a squib. Besides that sounds kind of rude anyway I think"
"Ah sorry, got a bit excited. Child-who-lived sounds a bit off too, how about boy-who-lived?" I didn't ask for suggestions, though I actually kind of like that one.
"Er, sure. Lets go with that."
"So, have you done any magic yet? I heard you live with muggles so.."
"No, McGonagall told me that underage wizards and witches can't do magic outside of Hogwarts."
Ron begins to tell me about the underage wizarding laws. He makes sure to mention that heavily warded areas also can't be tracked, and that the Hogwarts Express is allowed. Then urging me on to try something I explain that I haven't learned any spells yet.
"My brother's taught me a spell, they said it's supposed to turn my rat Scabbers yellow."
As Ron gets ready to perform the spell a bushy haired witch enters the compartment. She looked to be about to ask something when she noticed Ron's wand.
"Hello, Ron here is about to do a spell. Would you like to watch?" I ask. She looks smart. She could fun, if only for her knowledge. Plus I'm not that rude.
The girl stays to watch the spell but quickly yells at Ron after it failed to work.
"That's not a real spell, of course it isn't going to work." I agree, it didn't seem like a real spell. That didn't sound like any incantation I've read about.
"I'm telling you my brothers taught me that spell, it has to be real. Why don't you try it Harry?" I suppose i can humor him.
"Alright how about this, if the spell fails you get to help with whatever it is she needs. Should the spell work, I'll help you" Either way you still have to help her though.
The girl looks at me funny, she's probably wondering how I knew that she needed something.
"Ok, Deal!" He really thinks it will work.
"I'm Hermione by the way. Hermione Granger"
"Hi, Harry Potter."
"The Harry Potter? I-"
"Ron Weasley" Ron interrupts, causing Hermione to glare at him.
"Right, lets see this spell then shall we?" she says.
I do the spell, as expected nothing happens.
"Ron, I think that-"
"Hold on a minute!" He says
I take another look at the rat. Sure enough he is changing colors. Slowly his fur is turning from the brown that it was to a bright, almost neon yellow. That shouldn't have worked. I was sure that wasn't a real spell.
"But, that wasn't a real spell." Hermione exclaims, seemingly reading my mind.
"Ha, I told you it would work. Now, what did you need anyway?"
Hermione tells us that she promised Neville Longbottom to help find his missing pet. Seeing as I ended up promising both Ron and I would help, I had no choice. And so we searched, car after car, for a toad. W had to have been searching for at least 45 minutes before someone had the bright idea. Why don't we just go ask a prefect? That is how the three of us, including Neville made our way to the prefects car. We were stopped though before we reached the car. Great, these people look super nice. One rich arrogant kid and two stupid bodyguards.
"I knew the rumors were true. Harry Potter, a Squib, is going to Hogwarts! It's ridiculous that they're letting you come. My father didn't believe it but after today He'll hear from me. Don't get comfortable Potter, you won't be here for long." I wonder if I could have a bit of fun.
"Draco Malfoy!" Ron hisses "Shut your mouth, Harry is a great wizard. In fact he just performed a spell less than an hour ago, on his first try!" Maybe Ron doesn't want me to have fun.
"Lets see it then Potter. Show us this spell that you've mastered."
"I don't know, Draco. You're a rich pureblood right? Surely you can cast far more amazing spells than the simple charm that I did. I think we would all rather see the amazing things you can do." Does he take the amazing bait?
"Shut it Potter, I don't need to prove myself. Unlike you" Yes, that's right Draco. You're doing exactly what I want you to do.
"If you say so, I can show you the spell that i did."
"Harry, I don't think this is a good idea" Hermione voices
"I wasn't talking to you, mudblood." Draco spits out. Now that's a bit much Draco. I thought you might let me play with you, but instead you have to go do something like that. Now I HAVE to play with you.
Hermione bristles at the insult but doesn't say anything. My wand was already out long before now so I didn't have to move as I conjured the incantation in my head, hoping it would work.
"Go ahead Potter, or can't you cast it?"
At this point the two bodyguards have already noticed the spell before their supposedly superior leader. Their wands are drawn on me, but they don't do anything dangerous yet. Seems Ron is enjoying himself and Hermione has lost her glare. Maybe I can get these two to help in the future. Neville on the other hand is cowering a bit at the wands pointed our way. Draco has caught on by now and is rather angry.
"Damnit Potter! You better remove this."
"Sorry Draco, I don't know how that got there, I swear. I'm just a squib after all, I couldn't remove it even if I wanted to." Which I don't.
"You'll pay for this Potter. And you," He says, looking towards Neville, "I know exactly where that toad of yours is, don't go thinking you'll get him back now. You have Potter to blame for that." Not nice Draco.
The three delinquents push past us and make their way back to their compartment. I suppose I should talk to Neville. I also wonder how long that charm is going to last on Draco.
"Hey Neville, I'm Sorry. I didn't know he had your toad. It'll be okay though, we can go to the prefects compartment and have them get him back for you."
Neville nods his head and follows as we finish our walk to the prefects. We explain the situation and before long Draco is humiliated, has gotten a detention before school even started, and has returned Neville's toad. All the while his skin, hair, and clothes, are neon yellow. Yes, I can certainly have fun in this school.
"The train is starting to slow down I think. I think we are almost there." Hermione says excitedly
"Yeah, I think I can see Hogsmeade from here." Ron replies
Really? What is it with hogs and this place? I can see the village though, we must be about to stop.
"C'mon Harry lets go. We can be the first people to get to the feast!" Ron urges
"Ron the train hasn't even stopped yet, can't you wait?" Hermione was just excited, now she's telling Ron to wait. hmm
"H-Hermione is right. There's no rush. Besides we have to wait for Hagrid to get all of the first years anyway and then take us across on the boats." Neville says
"Boats? Fred and George never mentioned boats." Ron says disappointingly
By now the train has stopped and people are slowly getting off. Ron rushes out the compartment door before we can even get our stuff. Stepping onto the platform I feel a bit energized, though I'm still quite tired from that train ride.
"Lets go guys. I want to get sorted, get some food, and get to sleep. I'm starting to feel exhausted."
"I told you to sleep on the train mate. We all did so we feel fine." I did, Ron... I'm just really tired for some reason. It's kind of odd actually, I feel energized physically, but I feel exhausted mentally.
We make our way over to the largest person I've ever seen. He looks like a bloody giant. After waiting around for the other first years to figure out where they need to go, and get there, the four of us find the closest boat and get in. Making our way across the lake I can see the castle on the cliff. That must be Hogwarts. It feels... adventurous. I can practically feel the magic coming off of it.
"There must be a lot of magic in the castle. You can almost feel it physically, the whole way out here too. It feels old, but warm and fun." It feels homely. A home..
I must have said something wrong, everyone is giving me an odd look. Hermione looks intrigued though.
"You must be tired mate. You can't feel magic. We'll be there soon and before you know it you'll be in bed." Ron says, half supporting and half joking.
"Yeah, I'm just tired." I confirm. It seems others can't feel the magic that's just floating around places like this and Diagon Alley. I'll have to remember this.
We cross the lake in our boats and enter through a door underneath the cliff. My heart feels like its on overdrive. I'm getting light headed... It seems to be getting worse the closer we're getting. Inside the castle, now it's almost too much. There's so much power here, so much energy. Heh, I can see that kid Draco Malfoy hiding behind his two 'friends'. He's still yellow. I'm going to like this, he certainly won't though.
We enter the Great Hall and are surrounded by students of all ages. The magic feels even stronger in here. As the sorting starts Ron informs me yet again of the four houses.
"Gryffindor is the house you want. It's the house my family has always been sorted into, and of course it's the best one. The other houses aren't too bad, except for Slytherin of course. Gryffindor is all about being a hero and being brave and all those good things."
Hermione doesn't look like she agrees with Ron, but she doesn't say anything. Maybe I should ask.
"what are you thinking about Hermione?"
"Well, It's just that I read that Gryffindor is more about just being brave, not necessarily being good or even a hero."
"Ron is right about Slytherin though," Neville explains, "Most of the evil wizard come from Slytherin. You don't really get good wizards there."
Sorry Hermione, you don't seem to agree with this either, but from what I've seen it is true.
"Draco Malfoy" Obviously, a sure Gryffindor...
"Slytherin!" Yep.
Ron is called up and almost instantly sorted into Gryffindor. Hermione is sorted into the very same house. She really seemed like a Ravenclaw to me. Neville in Gryffindor too?
"Harry Potter" Oh no, everyone is staring at me. Let's hope i can walk up there straight. I don't want to be making a fool of myself on the first night by feinting in the Great Hall, before even being sorted.
I walk up, though slowly, and put the hat on. Five minutes pass by with nothing happening. The hat's supposed to talk isn't it? Is it having a hard time with me? What does McGonagall think?
"The hat, well, it isn't supposed to talk to me is it?"
"Mr. Potter that is exactly what it's supposed to do, " She reassures me. Yes, that is VERY reassurring, "Do not worry."
By now some of the students are starting to wonder if I can even hear the sorting hat.
"Are they sure he is even supposed to be here? I thought he's a squib?"
"I heard that too. Think he can't hear the sorting hat?" I should do something, fast
Slytherin, no not Slytherin. How about Hufflepuff? I don't think I'd be good there. I do like reading but I don't know anyone in Ravenclaw. The only house that I really think would fit best is Gryffindor. Please Hat, say Gryffindor. Do something. Just put me in Gryffindor! No! I can't just say the hat told me to go to Gryffindor, it obviously announces that out loud. C'mon!
Just as i begin to feel the despair come. Almost like it was waiting for me to reach a certain point,
"Gryffindor!"
I take the hat off and set it back down on the stool as McGonagall gives me an odd look. I don't really know what the look means, but it seems she suspects something. I suppose if there is something wrong with me it wouldn't be bad for her to know. I give her a brief smile and make my way over to the table that is cheering so loudly that I have to hope I can hear in the morning.
"That took a while mate. I don't think there has been a sorting that has taken this long." Ron decides to blurt out what everyone else is thinking.
"Eh, the hat was just trying to decide which house to put me in. apparently I'm suited for all the houses or something."
Hermione doesn't look convinced. In fact she has given me quite a few looks today. She must know something is up with me. I wish she knew what, I haven't got a clue.
We finished eating and made our way to the Gryffindor dorms. It is pretty late so the four of us end up going straight to bed.
I did say I wanted some fun, but it looks like this year will be filled with problems. There's so much I don't even know about myself, it seems.
"Hermione for the last time, I already apologized. I just didn't realize there was something wrong with what i was saying. Besides, Harry already said it didn't matter."
"That's not the point anymore Ron. How many times just today have you said something stupid or rude without thinking? You should learn to speak only after you're sure of what you want to say."
"Gah, she's unbelievable guys. You know I didn't mean anything when i said that." Ron has decided to ignore Hermione now and talk to me and Neville.
"yeah Ron I know, it was pretty dim anyway. She does have a point though." At that Hermione perks up.
"I agree with them. Well, making a habit of speaking too quickly could become bad, or even dangerous, depending on where you are and who you're around." Neville joins the two of us and pitted Ron one to three. He sees that he obviously won't win now and gives up. Neville has been getting braver over the course of the day, at least with us,that's good.
"I was just trying to congratulate you since you got it on your first try unlike the three of us.." Ron mumbles, "I didn't realize it was really dim compared to everyone else."
"Eat your dinner Ron" I say, ending the conversation.
"I didn't do much better anyway Harry," I did worse than Neville... "I'm sure we will get better."
"So Harry," Hermione asks, "If you don't mind me asking, What happened yesterday under the sorting hat? It was quite a long time. Then there are the things you said when we were approaching Hogwarts. You also did that spell that I'm pretty sure wasn't even a spell when we were on the Express. And well, it is a bit odd that you did the Lumos spell on your first try yet it was really dim, you know.." So many questions and words.
I sigh and try to find a way to answer them all. What did happen under the sorting hat? I don't really know. Then there is the whole sensing or feeling magic thing, Hermione said only powerful wizards can do that. Yet my Lumos spell though done on the first try, was the worst one in the entire charms class.
"I don't really know what to say Hermione, I only just recently found out I am a wizard, so I haven't gotten much of a chance to learn anything." Seeing the watching gazes of the students around us I decide to cut this a bit short for now, "Let's talk about it some other time, maybe in a bit more of a private setting?"
Hermione nods and is about to answer when Neville starts a conversation about the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrel. Neville seems to be able to know when to speak, when not to, and when to change the conversation immediately.
"He looks weak, I'm not sure he can even teach us anything. My brothers said there is a new DADA teacher every year, and they're never any good." Ron says, making Hermione make an insulted face.
"Ron! You shouldn't say that about a teacher. I think he looks very smart, he will surely teach us perfectly well. He wouldn't have been hired if he was no good." Hermione is going to have trouble accepting the truth sooner or later, though with this I agree.
"Professor Quirrel looks powerful. He's cold and sharp, but his magic shows that he knows what he is doing and has the reserves to back it up." Hermione gives me another one of those faces. I smile a bit and try to say that we can talk about it later.
"I think he looks kind of scary.."
"Filch is scarier than Quirrel. Actually Filch kind of creeps me out and gives me a bad feeling." I say
"Neville mate, you think that about everyone." Ron...
"Ron!" Hermione seems to be able to take care of Ron well enough.
"It's true though. I do, well, think that a lot." One day Neville, just keep it up.
"Ron still shouldn't say something like that."
The dinner ends as Hermione is yelling at Ron to be more considerate, and thoughtful. I could get used to these three, they will be a lot of fun I think. And so ends my first day at Hogwarts. Mostly problem free as well.
"Mr. Potter."
"Professor McGonagall?"
"Headmaster Dumbledore would like to see you in his office after dinner. Please come with me."
I sigh. I guess I should learn to think before I, well, think.