Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Harry Potter is the property of
Scholastic Books and J.K. Rowling. I am making no profit from this literary
work known as fan fiction. I own the idea's for the Sorcerers.
~~
Harry Potter was in a thorough funk. His summer had gone along well enough. His Aunt Petunia had treated him better than she ever had before. His Uncle Vernon even let him watch the news: and promptly left the room whenever Harry did, not wanting to know anything about his people. And Dudley just plain avoided him. Which was just as well, because at the start of summer Harry had felt horrible over what had happened to Sirius. It had taken him almost the entire summer, but he had finally come to grips with the loss of Sirius and took heart in remembering the few good things they had shared, such as the previous Christmas and learning that there was still someone out there who loved him like a parent.
Harry did have a nice time during his visits with Mrs. Figg. The old lady whom he had once tried to avoid was now the bright spot of his summer, next to his letters from his friends. And now he was getting letters from more people than just Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid. Now everyone who had been a D.A. member would mail him at least once a week, telling him about new curses, hexes. And jinxes they had been reading up on and couldn't wait to practice once they got back to school. Those who were of age to use magic outside of school, meaning that they were at least 17 years old, would tell him of the curses, hexes, and jinxes that they had been practicing.
But there was always a sharp pain to go along with these new joys: there were no letters from Sirius. Sparse as those had been the previous two summers, they had still left him happy. But now Sirius was gone, and Harry had never felt more alone.
Ron and Hermione had even visited, though they had stayed with Mrs. Figg so as not to upset Harry's aunt and uncle too much. It hadn't set too well with the Dursley's that Mrs. Figg was of Harry's kind, but they didn't dare do anything about it. After all, Mad-Eye Moody had scared them stiff when he had arrived at the train station from Hogwarts at the beginning of summer.
"Isn't it about time for that ruddy owl to come and take you away?" Uncle Vernon sneered at the breakfast table.
"Hedwig arrived last night with my list of school supplies," Harry replied, "Hermione's parents are gonna be coming to pick me up later today and take me to Diagon Alley. I won't be back until the end of the next school year."
"Good," Uncle Vernon grunted, "good riddance to you."
"Just look at it this way," Harry began, trying to keep his temper under control, "after today, you'll only have three months with me, which will be nine months from now. After that, you probably won't ever see me again."
Uncle Vernon brightened considerably at that idea.
The doorbell rang. Aunt Petunia went and answered the door. At the door stood a well-kept man and woman in reasonable clothing.
"You would be the Dursley's, right?" the man asked.
"Are you the, er, Granger's?" Aunt Petunia asked.
"We are," the woman replied.
"Come on in," Uncle Vernon said gruffly as he walked up to the door from the kitchen, "the boy is in the kitchen. You will wait in the living room for him to get his stuff."
"Thank you," Mrs. Granger replied. The Granger's follow Uncle Vernon to the sitting room where they sit on the sofa.
Harry exits the kitchen and smiled at the Granger's.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Granger," Harry said politely, "I'll get my stuff so we can leave immediately."
"Yes, hurry up so you can get out of here!" Uncle Vernon ordered.
"You should be nicer to him," Mr. Granger said, "after all, he is your nephew."
"Bah!" Uncle Vernon grumped, "boy's been nothing but trouble since he got here. He nearly got Dudley killed by those dementoid's last year."
"Still, he is a blood relation," Mr. Granger argues.
"His parent's were nothing more than slouches," Uncle Vernon snarled, "didn't get a decent job, never had any proper schooling. Why, they even got themselves killed because they were what they were!"
"John, dear, it's no use arguing with them," Mrs. Granger told her husband, "Hermione told us that Harry's aunt and uncle weren't treating him the way they should treat their kin."
Harry came down the stairs pulling his trunks carefully, Hedwig's cage in one arm. His Firebolt and schoolbooks were secure in his trunk and his wand was in a special holster on his hip he had made over the summer. He could grab it immediately in case of an emergency, such as Voldemort or Death Eater's attacking. Or Dementor's.
"Ready to go, Harry?" Mr. Granger asked, helping Harry with the trunk.
"All set, sir," Harry replied.
"Remus is waiting in the car," Mrs. Granger said, "he's our guard, though I think a few of those other fellow's will be following on broomsticks, using those Disillusionment Charms to keep from being noticed."
"Mr. Lupin is tough enough to take care of us himself," Harry said, "but I wouldn't doubt it. The Order is highly protective of me. I plan to enter the Order once I'm out of school."
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Uncle Vernon demanded, "leave already!"
Harry and Mr. Granger load Harry's trunk in the trunk of the Granger's car while Remus Lupin, an old friend of Harry's parents, watched carefully along with a few members of the Order of the Phoenix who were likely in Invisibility Cloaks or under Disillusionment Charms.
As the Granger's drive away, the Dursley's look on with a grim satisfaction that Harry was gone once again for a whole nine months. That illusion was sharply shattered as three sharp cracks fill the air as the three hidden member's of the Order Disapparated.
"So, what is on the list that we need?" the redheaded Ron Weasley asked.
"Well, there's the Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6, which I know we can find in Flourish & Blotts," Hermione stated matter-of-factly, "and there's Curses and Countercurses by Professor Vindictus Viridian. And then there's this other list of books."
"They're probably prescribed by the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Ron snickered.
"I wouldn't be surprised if Dumbledore didn't end up having to teach that class," Harry stated, "I think Moody was his last resort. And he can't ask Mr. Lupin to take the job again. Though with Voldemort about again, he just might do it."
"Don't be ridiculous, Harry," Hermione snapped, "Lupin is needed to reach out to the werewolf community for the Order. It'll likely be someone new. Maybe even a recent Hogwarts graduate."
"What graduate would want to return to that place after going through these recent years?" Ron demanded.
"Well, you never know," Ron's little sister, Ginny, said.
"Where are we supposed to find this stuff, anyway?" Ron asked.
"Let's ask your dad, Ron," Harry suggested. They showed Mr. Weasley the list, and he paled at he sight of some of the items needed.
"The only place you can get a lot of this stuff if in Knockturn Alley," Arthur Weasley stated, "Harry, Hermione, give me your purses. I'll go and get this stuff myself."
"If you find yourself short for Ron and Ginny's stuff, just borrow some from me," Harry offered, "I remember seeing some of this stuff in that shop I ended up in when I first tried Floo powder, and it was quite expensive."
"You don't need to do that," Ron mumbled while Ginny's ears turned pink.
"Thank you Harry," Mr. Weasley said, "I'll try not to use very much. Besides, Sirius left everyone in his family that was blasted off the Black family tree a considerable amount of money, not to mention Fred and George paying rent to stay in their old room. They insisted on that."
"Good for them," Harry approved, "but what about Sirius' old house? What about that nutter house elf."
"He's not a nutter!" Hermione declared, her eyes flashing dangerously.
"He was dancing for joy when Sirius was killed!" Harry argued.
"Harry, in Sirius' will, he left the house to you," Mr. Weasley said, "it'll be a place for you to live when you get out of school, but he did say that you could not stay there until you got out of school. He also mentioned chunking Kreacher out."
"I'll do that gladly," Harry muttered darkly, remembering the ancient house elf's betrayal of Sirius quite keenly.
"Well, with that settled, I'll go and get you your supplies," Mr. Weasley says, "Remus and Molly will watch over you."
Remus Lupin and Molly Weasley nod and eye the crowd. There was always a possibility that Voldemort or some of his Death Eaters would try to kill Harry out in the open. Voldemort gaining his revenge on Harry in the open would bring a lot of the wizarding world to its knees. Since the acceptance of Voldemort's return, a lot of the wizarding world was of the opinion that either Albus Dumbledore or Harry would defeat the Dark Lord. If Harry were to die, then things might well be worse than they had been before Voldemort had almost met his end. With this many wizards around, though, there was no chance of a Dementor attack.
"Let's go get something to drink at the Leaky Cauldron," Lupin suggested.
As they walk to the Leaky Cauldron, they pass by Fred and George Weasley's shop, Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.
"Hey, wanna visit Fred and George?" Hermione suggested.
"Sure," Harry said, "I'd like to see how they're doing in business."
"They're doing bloody brilliant," Ron mumbled, "you saw how they were dressed when we got off the Hogwarts Express."
"Yeah," Harry said, "dragonskin jackets. Very nice."
"But its all thanks to you that they were able to do it," Ron said, "you gave them the gold you won from the TriWizard Tournament."
"There was a condition," Harry said, "that they buy you a new set of dress robes."
Ron's face turned almost as red as his hair. "Yeah, those robes were pretty, well, I'd rather not say what I truly thought of 'em."
Ginny giggled at remembering what Ron's old dress robes had looked like before altering them to make them look less frilly. Even after that they still were less than manly. Ron had thought they were one of Ginny's dresses when he first saw them!
As they walk into the shop, they see Fred shaking hands with someone in a flowing silver cloak.
"A pleasure doing business with you," Fred said, "we'll have it all delivered by next Thursday."
"Thank you," the stranger replied. His voice was a light baritone, yet it sounded a bit weary. Fatigue from a long journey, Harry suspected, or maybe he had been in Fred and George's company too long. He made his way out of the shop rather quickly, side-stepping to avoid bumping into Harry three steps before it would have happened.
"Hey, Harry!" George called out in greeting, "Mum, Ginny, Hermione and ickle Ronniekins."
"Here to get your supplies for the next school year?" Fred asked.
"We are," Harry replied, "it looks like we got another Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
"Doesn't surprise me," Fred said, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes, "with one of the staff being a centaur and that old toad Mrs. Umbridge now being mortally afraid of horses and centaurs in particular, she can't be a staff member."
"It wouldn't surprise me if Dumbledore himself became the new teacher," Ron said, "the job must be jinxed. Look at what happened to the five previous teachers."
"I was sacked," Lupin said, "Quirrel was killed, not to mention being on Voldemort's side."
Mrs. Weasley gave a frightful gasp while the other Weasley's flinched at hearing the Dark Lord's name.
"Gilderoy Lockhart got his memory erased," Lupin continued.
"Not to mention he was a brainless git," Ron added. It had been his old wand that Lockhart had been using when attempting to use the Memory Charm on Harry and Ron to make them forget that he was a complete and utter fake when the wand, already greatly snapped after a run-in with the Whomping Willow, had completely screwed up and reversed the spell on Lockhart. Lockhart was now a permanent resident of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
"Moody was locked up in a trunk for practically the entire school year," Fred said.
"And there was a three-House revolt against Umbridge," George finished with a laugh. He and his brother had led the revolt, turning the reigns over to Hogwarts' resident poltergeist when they had finally left after turning a large section of a school hallway into a swamp.
"Only the Slytherin's obeyed her," Ron said, "even the teacher's didn't like her."
"Even Snape," Harry said, and then he felt like he had been doused with ice cold water.
"What is it, Harry?" Lupin asked, seeing the look on Harry's face.
"Snape's been after the Defense Against the Dark Arts job ever since he first came to Hogwarts," Harry said, the dread just seeping from his voice, "it was the job he originally applied for. If Dumbledore hasn't found someone else to fill the position, then Snape may be our new DADA teacher."
Roin and Hermione both gulped. That was one of their worst fears: Snape teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. Their worst was, of course, Voldemort swooping down on them while in school and killing them all.
"Don't worry, it's not Snape," Fred said with a laugh, "Dumbledore was in here earlier and told us while buying some Weasley Wildfire Whiz-Bangs."
"Dumbledore bought some Wildfire Whiz-Bangs?" Hermione asked, appalled at the thought.
"Yep," Fred replied smugly, "he had heard from various members of the school faculty about what we did last year."
"I remember that day," Harry said glumly, "Umbridge was trying to get me to tell her where to find Dumbledore with some Veritaserum."
"That's nasty stuff," Lupin said, "it's the most powerful truth potion that's not also poison."
"She also tried to get me to tell her where to find Sirius," Harry said, his expression turning very sad.
"How did you fight it then?" Lupin asked, startled.
"I didn't," Harry replied, "Snape didn't give her Veritaserum. I don't know what he gave her, but it wasn't Veritaserum."
"So, how much did Dumbledore buy?" Mrs. Weasley asked. She may not really approve of her sons career choice, but she couldn't argue that they were happiest when aiding in mischief and fun making.
"He bought five packages of the Deflagration Deluxe," Fred said.
"And twenty Basic Blaze boxes," George finished.
"Is he perhaps planning some sort of celebration?" Ron wondered.
"He could easily use his wand if he wanted fireworks," Hermione huffed.
"That he could," Fred agreed, "he did that our first year. Oh, what a wonderful year that was, too."
"All the fun we had," George added, "we had to space out using our supply of Dungbombs, but we did fairly well. After all, we did get our hands on the Marauder's Map."
"And from there, you became terrors to Filch," Lupin chuckled. Lupin had been one of the four who made the Marauder's Map, the other three being Sirus Black, Harry's father James, and Peter Pettigrew, the man who had betrayed Harry's parents to Lord Voldemort.
"We never snuck into Hogsmeade illegally though," Fred protested, "but we did talk third years into buying supplies for us."
Lupin laughed. "You two really remind me of James and Sirius. Always causing trouble, yet stopping short of the things to get you expelled."
"Well, we did ignore that line last year after Umbridge took over Hogwarts," George said, "we just didn't care."
"Sirius and James would have done the same thing," Lupin laughed, "Peter and I would've joined them as well. Though I probably would have been expelled the moment she took over."
"Some of the teacher's would refer to dad and Sirius as predecessors to you two," Harry told Fred and George, remembering something he had remembered Professor McGonagall had said during his third year.
"That they were," Lupin said with a wistful smile, "those were the days."
"You miss them, don't you?" Harry asked solemnly.
"Yes, I do Harry," Lupin replied, "even Peter. He may have betrayed your parents, but he was once our friend, and a fairly decent person. Though if I ever do find him, I'll tear him apart with my bare hands. Perhaps I'll get lucky and meet him on a full moon."
All of the teens chuckle at that and nod in agreement. A fully grown werewolf was not something to mess with even for a highly skilled wizard.
"So who is our new DADA teacher?" Harry asked.
"Dumbledore wouldn't say," Fred replied, "we did ask him if it was Snape so we could warn you, but he told us that Snape was best served at teaching Potions. By the way Harry, how did you do in your O.W.L.'s?"
"Fairly decent," Harry replied, "I got Acceptable in everything except DADA, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, and Potions, in which I got 'Outstanding' in. I got an 'Exceeds Expectations' in Charms."
"So you do have a chance at being an Auror?" Hermione asked.
"It looks like it," Harry replied with a grin.
"Say, what do you think the chances of Crabbe and Goyle still attending Hogwarts?" Ron grinned.
"Fairly good, I'd say," Hermione replied, "the O.W.L. exams only specified what classes a student can and cannot take into their senior years. They may not be in any Advanced classes, but they will still more than likely be in the regular classes."
"Well, at least you'll be away from those two gits in Advanced Potions," Fred said, "and Malfoy might not be so bold without his cronies. I doubt he'll let them hold him back. Say what you want about Malfoy, and I know I generally do, but he doesn't let anything hold him back."
"Those Slytherin's are ambitious, I'll give them that," George added, "I don't like 'em, but you gotta respect their ambition. And that's about all that I respect on them."
Mr. Weasley walked into the shop with four separate bags. He hands one of the bags to Hermione and another to Harry in addition to their money pouches, then gives Ron and Ginny their bags.
"There's your new school supplies," Mr. Weasley said, "got it at reasonable prices, too. Apparently the new DADA teacher has been visiting those shops and been talking to the proprietors."
"How wonderful," Hermione said, "any idea who the new teacher is, Mr. Weasley?"
"Not a clue, Hermione," Mr. Weasley replied, "I talked to Snape once and he said that the students would learn a lot from the new DADA teacher. Said they had plenty of experience in dealing with the Dark Arts and would not be easy on you."
That single statement at the end sent chills down the spines of the four who were still attending Hogwarts. Someone that Snape respected? They thought that the only person Snape respected was Professor Dumbledore! This did not sound good.
"That sounds like it does not bode well for us," Ron said, "somehow that Snape respects? Bloody Hell, I think I'd rather test the new Skiving Snackboxes than take DADA if Snape respects the new professor."
"Hagrid did say that this new DADA teacher was extremely strict," Mr. Weasley added, "he also said that the only ones who'll have a chance at standing up to measure in this class would be the ones in the DA. He has every confidence in you, Harry, that you'll do well in this class. He said you can learn a lot of real, practical experience from this new teacher."
"Practical experience?" Lupin asked, "there are few whom even Dumbledore would ask to teach that go for practical experience. I taught practical experience when necessary, but if this new teacher goes through every year at the level their supposed to be at, then only Harry and perhaps the other members of the DA will do well at all."
"I just hope this new teacher doesn't have Hagrid's opinion on what's dangerous or not," Ron said, "I still get shivers thinking of Grawp."
"Do you think Grawp is still in the Forbidden Forest?" Ginny asked, "I think I might like to meet him."
"You're not getting near Grawp," Mrs. Weasley said adamantly.
"Okay mum," Ginny said sullenly.
"Have we finished up the shopping?" Harry asked.
"Not quite," Mr. Weasley said, "you still need some of your new books, new school robes, and your other school supplies. I just got the stuff that could only be found on Knockturn Alley."
"Blimey, you needed stuff from Knockturn Alley?" Fred exclaimed.
"Wicked," George added.
"I do question the abilities of a DADA teacher who requires the students to purchase school items that are only found in Knockturn Alley," Lupin said.
"So do I," Mr. Weasley said with a thoughtful frown, "I do know that Cornelius Fudge is absolutely furious with Dumbledore, and I think it may have to do with the new DADA teacher. He wasn't this mad after the raid on the Ministry by You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters. I do hope this new teacher is capable of teaching you students the Patronus Charm. The Dementors have officially left Azkaban."
"We already know it," Harry said, "Mr. Lupin taught it to me when he was the DADA professor, and I taught everyone who was in the DA last year the Patronus. Nearly everyone learned it perfectly."
"Still, that is only about few dozen students out of the hundreds at Hogwarts," Mrs. Weasley said, "and not many wizards and witches ever actually learn the Patronus. I myself do not know it."
"You should have asked us, mum," Fred said, "George and I would have been happy to teach you over the summer. One of us could have watched the store while the other taught you. We learned it from Harry before we ditched school."
"Well, lets go get the last of our school supplies," Harry suggested, "there's still a lot to get. New robes and other supplies that can be found outside of Knockturn Alley."
"Good idea Harry," Mr. Weasley said, "let's go. We should get you fitted for new robes first."
Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was chaos as usual. Harry had arrived with the Weasley's, and early enough to get a car all to themselves. Ron and Hermione had gone on to do their duty as Prefects while Harry sat with Ginny, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood. When their Prefect duties were done until they got to Hogwarts, Hermione and Ron joined them. They chatted until the witch with the food cart came by, and they each bought some pumpkin pasties, Chocolate Frogs, and some Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans.
Halfway through the trip, they started talking about who they thought could be the new DADA teacher at Hogwarts. When it was mentioned that the Minister of Magic was not very happy about Dumbledore's choice, Luna Lovegood promptly spouted off several people whom it was said that Fudge hated. They whittled it down with other things mentioned, such as Hagrid saying he would almost rather have Dolores Umbridge back at Hogwarts and that the new teacher was strict. In the end it proved to be pointless because they could not find anyone who matched the profile they had summed up and decided to wait and see. Strangely enough, Harry recalled that he had met every single DADA teacher that Hogwarts had had in the last five years before each school year, even if it was only on the train like when they had met Remus Lupin.
Neville pointed out that he had not met Mad-Eye Moody before the fourth year at Hogwarts, but Harry replied saying that he had met Barty Crouch, who ended up being their DADA teacher during Harry's fourth year, at the World Quidditch Cup not long before then, and he had heard a little bit about Mad-Eye Moody before starting school.
"I think it's just a bloody coincidence," Ron said as he sorted through his new Chocolate Frog cards, "I mean, just because you've met each new teacher before the school year doesn't mean anything, mate. Cool, I got Nicholas Flamel and another Merlin. And a new card. I've never seen it before."
"Let's see it Ron," Harry suggested.
"Sure Harry," Ron said before handing the card over to Harry so Harry could get a good look at it.
Harry was surprised to see a young-looking wizard staring right back at him from the picture on the card. He had dark brown hair kept neat and trim as well as a small goatee on his chin and a mustache, overall giving him what could be considered a dashing look. He wore what appeared to be armor of some kind of silver and blue tunic worn over a chain-link mail shirt that seemed to fit perfectly. The eyes of the picture seemed to dart around as if constantly checking for an oncoming enemy attack in much the same way as Mad-Eye Moody's false eye did. Other than that he seemed completely composed.
Harry flipped over to see the other side of the card and to see what it said about this wizard. He was very surprised by what it read.
Jesse Plunk
Current whereabouts unknown
The world's only living Sorcerer. Plunk is regarded as being arrogant and greedy with his power, having never taught another to train the gift of a Sorcerer. Still, Jesse is widely regarded as one of the greatest Sorcerers to ever live. Very little is known about Mr. Plunk's personal life.
"Hey Hermione, do you have any idea what a Sorcerer is?" Harry asked, handing the card to Hermione to read.
"I think I've read something about Sorcerer's somewhere before, Harry," Hermione replied as she studied the card, "but I can't seem to recall what I read."
"That's a first," Ron muttered, then winced in pain. Hermione sure could kick someone's shins hard.
Luna took a look at the man in the card and shrugged.
"So this is the Sorcerer?" Neville murmured as he took a look at the card.
"Neville, you know what a Sorcerer is?" Ron asked in surprise.
"Well, yeah," Neville replied, "Sorcerers are similar to wizards, in that they can do magic, but it's a different kind of magic. Most Sorcerers are not wizards themselves, but some are. One of my ancestors was. Sometimes the gift of a Sorcerer will bleed into the kind of gift a wizard possesses and they will be thought to be a wizard. But my gram told me that there hasn't been a new Sorcerer in centuries, and only a Sorcerer can properly teach a Sorcerer. Otherwise, it takes decades to learn. Sorcerers can use wizarding spells, but wizards cannot use spells designed for Sorcerer magic."
"Do they use wands?" Hermione asked, flustered at actually asking Neville about something.
"They make their own wands," Nevile replied, feeling sheepish from the attention, "the history of Sorcerers is almost as fascinating to me as Herbology. Unfortunately, we won't be taught about Sorcerers at Hogwarts. I already asked Professor Binns, and he said that Dumbledore has ordered that unless a student exhibits the signs of being a Sorcerer, nothing concerning Sorcery will be taught, not even the history."
"He'll leave gaps in our learning?" Hermione gasped, appalled at the thought.
"It has no relevance," Neville replied, "Sorcerers are as different from wizards are wizards are from muggles. A lot of the old pureblood families, like the Malfoy's, scoff at the idea's of Sorcerers because they are not truly wizards."
"Bunch of bigots, I'd say," Hermione muttered darkly.
"I agree Hermione," Neville said, "but a lot of the wizarding world, at least those who are familiar with Sorcerers, share the Malfoy's views of Sorcerers. But the gift of Sorcery is rare. No new Sorcerer has been born and trained in the last five centuries."
"But what about this guy, Jesse Plunk?" Ron demanded, "the card says that he's a Sorcerer!"
"I dunno how to explain that," Neville admitted, "but if he is one, then even You-Know-Who would be wise to be afraid of him."
The group continued to discuss the topic of Sorcerers and the type of magic that they used. Neville proved to be as knowledgeable about Sorcerers as Hermione was about fairly much everything else in the wizarding world. The discussion also brought out a lot of confidence in Neville, a side of him that his friends were sure he didn't normally have. They were hoping that they could keep his confidence level up. He had told them that he had gotten a surprising 'Outstanding' in Potions during his O.W.L.s. Apparently he was more at ease without Professor Snape breathing over his neck and ridiculing him whenever he made a mistake. It had been that way ever since his first day in Potions class. Harry and Hermione had both gotten 'Outstanding' in Potions, while Ron had only gotten an 'Exceeds Expectations', not quite good enough to get into Professor Snape's Advanced Potions class. The potions professor only took in students who scored 'Outstanding' in Potions.
Fairly soon they were pulling into Hogsmeade Station and unloading their baggage. Ron and Hermione still couldn't see the Thestrals that pulled the carriages, though they were assured by Neville and Harry that they should be glad that they couldn't. Thestrals were very unsettling creatures to see and were uncomfortable to be around, even if you couldn't see them. Hagrid's call of "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" made Harry grin. Hagrid was practically unchangeable. He was still the kind half-giant who had become his first friend, and he still loved creatures that were otherwise deemed dangerous by the rest of the wizarding world. Hagrid only thought of them as interesting.
As they took their seats in the Great Hall, Harry noticed that the teacher's table had an extra empty spot at it. Hagrid, of course, was taking the first year students on the boat ride. It looked like the new teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts had not yet showed. He knew that Snape was not the new teacher, for which he was very thankful for, but he couldn't help but wait anxiously to find out who the new DADA teacher was.
Professor McGonagall walked through the doorway leading the anxious-looking first years to be Sorted. Ten and eleven-year olds of varying hair color and style looked on in wonder at their surroundings. A few appeared to possibly have come from wizarding families, the way they looked on in confidence but most looked just apprehensive. Harry watched as Professor McGonagall pull out a four-legged stool and place the Sorting Hat on it. Professor McGonagall began calling out the names of the new students to be Sorted starting out with "Ackerson, Dwight" who was promptly put in Hufflepuff.
Harry listened and watched intently, clapping politely as each new student was put into a house, waitinf for the first of the new Gryffindor's. The name of the first new student to be put into Gryffindor stuck in his mind.
"Dursley, Locke." At hearing that name, Harry couldn't help by stare at the brown-haired boy who stepped up to have the Sorting Hat placed over his head. The hat seemed to ponder a few moments, and actually looked like it was having a problem figuring out where to put the boy. Harry had seen this a few other times and Hermione had told him the Sorting Hat had done the same thing with him, and Harry later noted that almost every new student that this happened to ended up in Gryffindor.
Finally, after much debate the Sorting Hat called out "GRYFFINDOR!" making Locke Dursley the first new Gryffindor, and the hat was removed from Locke's head. Harry scooted over and motioned for Locke to sit beside him. When the boy sat down, Harry managed to get a good look at him. His short brown hair, just a shade darker than Hermione's, was well-groomed. Nervous hazel eyes showed an amount of determination hidden within. His face was narrow, his nose a little small for his face. He was a bit small for his age group, but that could easily change.
"Hello," Harry greeted warmly as Locke took a seat, "my name's Harry. Welcome to Gryffindor, Locke."
"H-hello," Locke said nervously, eyeing the lightning bolt-shaped scar on Harry's forehead, "that's a nasty scar there."
Harry grimaced for a moment, then grinned. "Yes, I suppose it is. It's always a bother. Sometimes it still hurts. Curse scars always seem to hurt. At least mine does."
"You got that from a curse?" Locke gasped.
"I wasn't very old when I got it, but it was the result of a curse," Harry said, "your name is Locke Dursley, right?"
"It is," Locke replied.
"Would you happen to be related to a Vernon Dursley?" Harry asked. By now the conversation had captured Ron and Hermione's attention. The two exchanged a glance, wondering the same thing that Harry was.
"Could you please describe him?" Locke asked. Harry does so. Locke thinks for a moment.
"I have an uncle named Vernon Dursley," Locke finally said, "he's my dad's older brother. Why do you ask?"
"He's my uncle too," Harry replied evenly, "my mom and his wife were sisters. I have to live with them since my parents are dead." He said that with a sad note.
"Aunt Petunia?" Locke asked, "we didn't know she had a sister."
"Mom was a witch," Harry said, "Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon do not like anything magical or to do with the wizarding world. They only take care of me because they don't want to get on Professor Dumbledore's bad side."
"Wow," Locke said, "so we're cousins, so to speak?"
"So it would seem," Harry grinned, "you sure beat having Dudley for a cousin."
"Dudley is a fat pig and a bully," Locke declared. Harry burst out with a laugh at that, agreeing with Locke on both counts.
The two soon begin a deep conversation as the food appeared and they began eating, discussing common interests and Harry giving Locke advice and promising to help Locke with his schoolwork when he had the time.
Later, Harry and his friends, as well as his newly-found cousin, are sitting in the Gryffindor common room, talking. Locke's cat, Tabitha, is romping with Hermione's Crookshanks, tussling in the floor and just plain having fun as only cats could.
"Your first year is rather easy," Harry said, "you're just starting out, and even new students from wizarding families can do no better than a muggle-born, or in my case muggle-raised, student."
"It's true," Ron said, "I have five older brother's and I'm still not a very good student. I'd have probably flunked if not for Hermione here. I am so glad that she wasn't put in Ravenclaw. Then I wouldn't have someone to make me study or one of my best friends."
Hermione blushed at the praise.
"You might want to watch out for some students in Slytherin, though," Harry warned, "in fact, it might be a good idea not to tell anyone that we're cousins. That idiot Malfoy would gladly make your life miserable just because your related to me, much less being muggle-born."
"I see," Locke said, "it's too bad my brother Alex couldn't come to Hogwarts though."
"Maybe he can come when he reaches age," Hermione suggested.
"He's my twin brother," Locke stated, "he won't ever be coming to Hogwarts, unless he can somehow visit."
"You have a twin brother and he's not a wizard?" Hermione gasped, "that is very, very rare. In fact, it's only happened a handful of times to my knowledge."
"That means its only happened a handful of times since books started being written," Ron told Locke, earning a glare from Hermione.
"Anyway," Hermione said, still glaring at a flinching Ron, "to have a twin and they not be a wizard is something that is very special. Every time its happened, the twin that was a wizard went on to become a very great wizard. Merlin himself had a twin sister and look at how famous he became. Even muggles have heard of Merlin. Of course, there's a lot of legends about him that are a load of rubbish, but muggles know of him."
"Merlin was real?" Locke gasped. He had loved reading books about Merlin and King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. He had even brought his favorite set of books with him, including The Once and Future King by T.H. White.
"He was," Ron said, "I can show you my Chocolate Frog card of him later if you want."
"Cool," Locke said.
"Well, its almost time for lights out," Hermione said, "we should be getting to bed. Remember, DADA is our first class tomorrow morning."
"Do you think the new teacher will be there?" Ron asked.
"Probably," Harry said, "Dumbledore did say that the new professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts would be here. But why didn't he tell us who the new Defense professor was?"
"He was probably asked not to tell, wanting it to be a surprise," Locke suggested.
"That's probably it," Hermione said, "well, off to bed, Locke. It's time for lights out."
Locke walked up the stairs to the room where he was staying with the other first year Gryffindor boys. Harry and Ron went to the room they shared with the other Sixth year Gryffindor guys and Hermione returned to the room she shared with the sixth year Gryffindor girls.
As Harry lay down in his bed, he thought back to the summer. At the start of summer, he had been downright depressed over Sirius' death. The thought of Sirius still reopened the hole he felt in his heart, but it wasn't as bad now. The sorrow was dissipating slowly but surely, and the good memories were beginning to come more and more often.
Harry's last thoughts before going to sleep were "I wonder who the new DADA teacher is gonna be?"
~~
The part where Hermione told Locke about Merlin having had a twin sister came from the book series The Lost Years of Merlin by T.A. Barron. It's a very good series and I suggest to try and find it. It's well worth reading and has plenty of magic in it to satisfy anyone.
This is my first Harry Potter story. Everything is in canon with the books up until the end of OotP. From there, you can easily see where I picked up with this story.
I'd been fiddling with this story ever since OotP came out, about three days after it came out, in fact, which was when I finished it. My interest in this has been renewed with me reading a few Harry Potter crossovers here on FF.net that I've found.
Also, if the writing seems to be a little off, take a look at my other stories and look at my writing style. I usually write in third person present, and this is third person past, or whatever it is. Haven't dealt with grammar terms in years. Either way, I'm used to writing in the present tense with words like 'says', 'looks', and 'asks', not past tense with works like 'said', 'looked', and 'asked'. I read it a lot, but I write and think in the present, despite my tendency to live in the past at times.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapte rof what I plan to be an exciting story. Please review and tell me what you think of it.
~~
Harry Potter was in a thorough funk. His summer had gone along well enough. His Aunt Petunia had treated him better than she ever had before. His Uncle Vernon even let him watch the news: and promptly left the room whenever Harry did, not wanting to know anything about his people. And Dudley just plain avoided him. Which was just as well, because at the start of summer Harry had felt horrible over what had happened to Sirius. It had taken him almost the entire summer, but he had finally come to grips with the loss of Sirius and took heart in remembering the few good things they had shared, such as the previous Christmas and learning that there was still someone out there who loved him like a parent.
Harry did have a nice time during his visits with Mrs. Figg. The old lady whom he had once tried to avoid was now the bright spot of his summer, next to his letters from his friends. And now he was getting letters from more people than just Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid. Now everyone who had been a D.A. member would mail him at least once a week, telling him about new curses, hexes. And jinxes they had been reading up on and couldn't wait to practice once they got back to school. Those who were of age to use magic outside of school, meaning that they were at least 17 years old, would tell him of the curses, hexes, and jinxes that they had been practicing.
But there was always a sharp pain to go along with these new joys: there were no letters from Sirius. Sparse as those had been the previous two summers, they had still left him happy. But now Sirius was gone, and Harry had never felt more alone.
Ron and Hermione had even visited, though they had stayed with Mrs. Figg so as not to upset Harry's aunt and uncle too much. It hadn't set too well with the Dursley's that Mrs. Figg was of Harry's kind, but they didn't dare do anything about it. After all, Mad-Eye Moody had scared them stiff when he had arrived at the train station from Hogwarts at the beginning of summer.
"Isn't it about time for that ruddy owl to come and take you away?" Uncle Vernon sneered at the breakfast table.
"Hedwig arrived last night with my list of school supplies," Harry replied, "Hermione's parents are gonna be coming to pick me up later today and take me to Diagon Alley. I won't be back until the end of the next school year."
"Good," Uncle Vernon grunted, "good riddance to you."
"Just look at it this way," Harry began, trying to keep his temper under control, "after today, you'll only have three months with me, which will be nine months from now. After that, you probably won't ever see me again."
Uncle Vernon brightened considerably at that idea.
The doorbell rang. Aunt Petunia went and answered the door. At the door stood a well-kept man and woman in reasonable clothing.
"You would be the Dursley's, right?" the man asked.
"Are you the, er, Granger's?" Aunt Petunia asked.
"We are," the woman replied.
"Come on in," Uncle Vernon said gruffly as he walked up to the door from the kitchen, "the boy is in the kitchen. You will wait in the living room for him to get his stuff."
"Thank you," Mrs. Granger replied. The Granger's follow Uncle Vernon to the sitting room where they sit on the sofa.
Harry exits the kitchen and smiled at the Granger's.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Granger," Harry said politely, "I'll get my stuff so we can leave immediately."
"Yes, hurry up so you can get out of here!" Uncle Vernon ordered.
"You should be nicer to him," Mr. Granger said, "after all, he is your nephew."
"Bah!" Uncle Vernon grumped, "boy's been nothing but trouble since he got here. He nearly got Dudley killed by those dementoid's last year."
"Still, he is a blood relation," Mr. Granger argues.
"His parent's were nothing more than slouches," Uncle Vernon snarled, "didn't get a decent job, never had any proper schooling. Why, they even got themselves killed because they were what they were!"
"John, dear, it's no use arguing with them," Mrs. Granger told her husband, "Hermione told us that Harry's aunt and uncle weren't treating him the way they should treat their kin."
Harry came down the stairs pulling his trunks carefully, Hedwig's cage in one arm. His Firebolt and schoolbooks were secure in his trunk and his wand was in a special holster on his hip he had made over the summer. He could grab it immediately in case of an emergency, such as Voldemort or Death Eater's attacking. Or Dementor's.
"Ready to go, Harry?" Mr. Granger asked, helping Harry with the trunk.
"All set, sir," Harry replied.
"Remus is waiting in the car," Mrs. Granger said, "he's our guard, though I think a few of those other fellow's will be following on broomsticks, using those Disillusionment Charms to keep from being noticed."
"Mr. Lupin is tough enough to take care of us himself," Harry said, "but I wouldn't doubt it. The Order is highly protective of me. I plan to enter the Order once I'm out of school."
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Uncle Vernon demanded, "leave already!"
Harry and Mr. Granger load Harry's trunk in the trunk of the Granger's car while Remus Lupin, an old friend of Harry's parents, watched carefully along with a few members of the Order of the Phoenix who were likely in Invisibility Cloaks or under Disillusionment Charms.
As the Granger's drive away, the Dursley's look on with a grim satisfaction that Harry was gone once again for a whole nine months. That illusion was sharply shattered as three sharp cracks fill the air as the three hidden member's of the Order Disapparated.
"So, what is on the list that we need?" the redheaded Ron Weasley asked.
"Well, there's the Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6, which I know we can find in Flourish & Blotts," Hermione stated matter-of-factly, "and there's Curses and Countercurses by Professor Vindictus Viridian. And then there's this other list of books."
"They're probably prescribed by the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Ron snickered.
"I wouldn't be surprised if Dumbledore didn't end up having to teach that class," Harry stated, "I think Moody was his last resort. And he can't ask Mr. Lupin to take the job again. Though with Voldemort about again, he just might do it."
"Don't be ridiculous, Harry," Hermione snapped, "Lupin is needed to reach out to the werewolf community for the Order. It'll likely be someone new. Maybe even a recent Hogwarts graduate."
"What graduate would want to return to that place after going through these recent years?" Ron demanded.
"Well, you never know," Ron's little sister, Ginny, said.
"Where are we supposed to find this stuff, anyway?" Ron asked.
"Let's ask your dad, Ron," Harry suggested. They showed Mr. Weasley the list, and he paled at he sight of some of the items needed.
"The only place you can get a lot of this stuff if in Knockturn Alley," Arthur Weasley stated, "Harry, Hermione, give me your purses. I'll go and get this stuff myself."
"If you find yourself short for Ron and Ginny's stuff, just borrow some from me," Harry offered, "I remember seeing some of this stuff in that shop I ended up in when I first tried Floo powder, and it was quite expensive."
"You don't need to do that," Ron mumbled while Ginny's ears turned pink.
"Thank you Harry," Mr. Weasley said, "I'll try not to use very much. Besides, Sirius left everyone in his family that was blasted off the Black family tree a considerable amount of money, not to mention Fred and George paying rent to stay in their old room. They insisted on that."
"Good for them," Harry approved, "but what about Sirius' old house? What about that nutter house elf."
"He's not a nutter!" Hermione declared, her eyes flashing dangerously.
"He was dancing for joy when Sirius was killed!" Harry argued.
"Harry, in Sirius' will, he left the house to you," Mr. Weasley said, "it'll be a place for you to live when you get out of school, but he did say that you could not stay there until you got out of school. He also mentioned chunking Kreacher out."
"I'll do that gladly," Harry muttered darkly, remembering the ancient house elf's betrayal of Sirius quite keenly.
"Well, with that settled, I'll go and get you your supplies," Mr. Weasley says, "Remus and Molly will watch over you."
Remus Lupin and Molly Weasley nod and eye the crowd. There was always a possibility that Voldemort or some of his Death Eaters would try to kill Harry out in the open. Voldemort gaining his revenge on Harry in the open would bring a lot of the wizarding world to its knees. Since the acceptance of Voldemort's return, a lot of the wizarding world was of the opinion that either Albus Dumbledore or Harry would defeat the Dark Lord. If Harry were to die, then things might well be worse than they had been before Voldemort had almost met his end. With this many wizards around, though, there was no chance of a Dementor attack.
"Let's go get something to drink at the Leaky Cauldron," Lupin suggested.
As they walk to the Leaky Cauldron, they pass by Fred and George Weasley's shop, Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.
"Hey, wanna visit Fred and George?" Hermione suggested.
"Sure," Harry said, "I'd like to see how they're doing in business."
"They're doing bloody brilliant," Ron mumbled, "you saw how they were dressed when we got off the Hogwarts Express."
"Yeah," Harry said, "dragonskin jackets. Very nice."
"But its all thanks to you that they were able to do it," Ron said, "you gave them the gold you won from the TriWizard Tournament."
"There was a condition," Harry said, "that they buy you a new set of dress robes."
Ron's face turned almost as red as his hair. "Yeah, those robes were pretty, well, I'd rather not say what I truly thought of 'em."
Ginny giggled at remembering what Ron's old dress robes had looked like before altering them to make them look less frilly. Even after that they still were less than manly. Ron had thought they were one of Ginny's dresses when he first saw them!
As they walk into the shop, they see Fred shaking hands with someone in a flowing silver cloak.
"A pleasure doing business with you," Fred said, "we'll have it all delivered by next Thursday."
"Thank you," the stranger replied. His voice was a light baritone, yet it sounded a bit weary. Fatigue from a long journey, Harry suspected, or maybe he had been in Fred and George's company too long. He made his way out of the shop rather quickly, side-stepping to avoid bumping into Harry three steps before it would have happened.
"Hey, Harry!" George called out in greeting, "Mum, Ginny, Hermione and ickle Ronniekins."
"Here to get your supplies for the next school year?" Fred asked.
"We are," Harry replied, "it looks like we got another Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
"Doesn't surprise me," Fred said, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes, "with one of the staff being a centaur and that old toad Mrs. Umbridge now being mortally afraid of horses and centaurs in particular, she can't be a staff member."
"It wouldn't surprise me if Dumbledore himself became the new teacher," Ron said, "the job must be jinxed. Look at what happened to the five previous teachers."
"I was sacked," Lupin said, "Quirrel was killed, not to mention being on Voldemort's side."
Mrs. Weasley gave a frightful gasp while the other Weasley's flinched at hearing the Dark Lord's name.
"Gilderoy Lockhart got his memory erased," Lupin continued.
"Not to mention he was a brainless git," Ron added. It had been his old wand that Lockhart had been using when attempting to use the Memory Charm on Harry and Ron to make them forget that he was a complete and utter fake when the wand, already greatly snapped after a run-in with the Whomping Willow, had completely screwed up and reversed the spell on Lockhart. Lockhart was now a permanent resident of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
"Moody was locked up in a trunk for practically the entire school year," Fred said.
"And there was a three-House revolt against Umbridge," George finished with a laugh. He and his brother had led the revolt, turning the reigns over to Hogwarts' resident poltergeist when they had finally left after turning a large section of a school hallway into a swamp.
"Only the Slytherin's obeyed her," Ron said, "even the teacher's didn't like her."
"Even Snape," Harry said, and then he felt like he had been doused with ice cold water.
"What is it, Harry?" Lupin asked, seeing the look on Harry's face.
"Snape's been after the Defense Against the Dark Arts job ever since he first came to Hogwarts," Harry said, the dread just seeping from his voice, "it was the job he originally applied for. If Dumbledore hasn't found someone else to fill the position, then Snape may be our new DADA teacher."
Roin and Hermione both gulped. That was one of their worst fears: Snape teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. Their worst was, of course, Voldemort swooping down on them while in school and killing them all.
"Don't worry, it's not Snape," Fred said with a laugh, "Dumbledore was in here earlier and told us while buying some Weasley Wildfire Whiz-Bangs."
"Dumbledore bought some Wildfire Whiz-Bangs?" Hermione asked, appalled at the thought.
"Yep," Fred replied smugly, "he had heard from various members of the school faculty about what we did last year."
"I remember that day," Harry said glumly, "Umbridge was trying to get me to tell her where to find Dumbledore with some Veritaserum."
"That's nasty stuff," Lupin said, "it's the most powerful truth potion that's not also poison."
"She also tried to get me to tell her where to find Sirius," Harry said, his expression turning very sad.
"How did you fight it then?" Lupin asked, startled.
"I didn't," Harry replied, "Snape didn't give her Veritaserum. I don't know what he gave her, but it wasn't Veritaserum."
"So, how much did Dumbledore buy?" Mrs. Weasley asked. She may not really approve of her sons career choice, but she couldn't argue that they were happiest when aiding in mischief and fun making.
"He bought five packages of the Deflagration Deluxe," Fred said.
"And twenty Basic Blaze boxes," George finished.
"Is he perhaps planning some sort of celebration?" Ron wondered.
"He could easily use his wand if he wanted fireworks," Hermione huffed.
"That he could," Fred agreed, "he did that our first year. Oh, what a wonderful year that was, too."
"All the fun we had," George added, "we had to space out using our supply of Dungbombs, but we did fairly well. After all, we did get our hands on the Marauder's Map."
"And from there, you became terrors to Filch," Lupin chuckled. Lupin had been one of the four who made the Marauder's Map, the other three being Sirus Black, Harry's father James, and Peter Pettigrew, the man who had betrayed Harry's parents to Lord Voldemort.
"We never snuck into Hogsmeade illegally though," Fred protested, "but we did talk third years into buying supplies for us."
Lupin laughed. "You two really remind me of James and Sirius. Always causing trouble, yet stopping short of the things to get you expelled."
"Well, we did ignore that line last year after Umbridge took over Hogwarts," George said, "we just didn't care."
"Sirius and James would have done the same thing," Lupin laughed, "Peter and I would've joined them as well. Though I probably would have been expelled the moment she took over."
"Some of the teacher's would refer to dad and Sirius as predecessors to you two," Harry told Fred and George, remembering something he had remembered Professor McGonagall had said during his third year.
"That they were," Lupin said with a wistful smile, "those were the days."
"You miss them, don't you?" Harry asked solemnly.
"Yes, I do Harry," Lupin replied, "even Peter. He may have betrayed your parents, but he was once our friend, and a fairly decent person. Though if I ever do find him, I'll tear him apart with my bare hands. Perhaps I'll get lucky and meet him on a full moon."
All of the teens chuckle at that and nod in agreement. A fully grown werewolf was not something to mess with even for a highly skilled wizard.
"So who is our new DADA teacher?" Harry asked.
"Dumbledore wouldn't say," Fred replied, "we did ask him if it was Snape so we could warn you, but he told us that Snape was best served at teaching Potions. By the way Harry, how did you do in your O.W.L.'s?"
"Fairly decent," Harry replied, "I got Acceptable in everything except DADA, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, and Potions, in which I got 'Outstanding' in. I got an 'Exceeds Expectations' in Charms."
"So you do have a chance at being an Auror?" Hermione asked.
"It looks like it," Harry replied with a grin.
"Say, what do you think the chances of Crabbe and Goyle still attending Hogwarts?" Ron grinned.
"Fairly good, I'd say," Hermione replied, "the O.W.L. exams only specified what classes a student can and cannot take into their senior years. They may not be in any Advanced classes, but they will still more than likely be in the regular classes."
"Well, at least you'll be away from those two gits in Advanced Potions," Fred said, "and Malfoy might not be so bold without his cronies. I doubt he'll let them hold him back. Say what you want about Malfoy, and I know I generally do, but he doesn't let anything hold him back."
"Those Slytherin's are ambitious, I'll give them that," George added, "I don't like 'em, but you gotta respect their ambition. And that's about all that I respect on them."
Mr. Weasley walked into the shop with four separate bags. He hands one of the bags to Hermione and another to Harry in addition to their money pouches, then gives Ron and Ginny their bags.
"There's your new school supplies," Mr. Weasley said, "got it at reasonable prices, too. Apparently the new DADA teacher has been visiting those shops and been talking to the proprietors."
"How wonderful," Hermione said, "any idea who the new teacher is, Mr. Weasley?"
"Not a clue, Hermione," Mr. Weasley replied, "I talked to Snape once and he said that the students would learn a lot from the new DADA teacher. Said they had plenty of experience in dealing with the Dark Arts and would not be easy on you."
That single statement at the end sent chills down the spines of the four who were still attending Hogwarts. Someone that Snape respected? They thought that the only person Snape respected was Professor Dumbledore! This did not sound good.
"That sounds like it does not bode well for us," Ron said, "somehow that Snape respects? Bloody Hell, I think I'd rather test the new Skiving Snackboxes than take DADA if Snape respects the new professor."
"Hagrid did say that this new DADA teacher was extremely strict," Mr. Weasley added, "he also said that the only ones who'll have a chance at standing up to measure in this class would be the ones in the DA. He has every confidence in you, Harry, that you'll do well in this class. He said you can learn a lot of real, practical experience from this new teacher."
"Practical experience?" Lupin asked, "there are few whom even Dumbledore would ask to teach that go for practical experience. I taught practical experience when necessary, but if this new teacher goes through every year at the level their supposed to be at, then only Harry and perhaps the other members of the DA will do well at all."
"I just hope this new teacher doesn't have Hagrid's opinion on what's dangerous or not," Ron said, "I still get shivers thinking of Grawp."
"Do you think Grawp is still in the Forbidden Forest?" Ginny asked, "I think I might like to meet him."
"You're not getting near Grawp," Mrs. Weasley said adamantly.
"Okay mum," Ginny said sullenly.
"Have we finished up the shopping?" Harry asked.
"Not quite," Mr. Weasley said, "you still need some of your new books, new school robes, and your other school supplies. I just got the stuff that could only be found on Knockturn Alley."
"Blimey, you needed stuff from Knockturn Alley?" Fred exclaimed.
"Wicked," George added.
"I do question the abilities of a DADA teacher who requires the students to purchase school items that are only found in Knockturn Alley," Lupin said.
"So do I," Mr. Weasley said with a thoughtful frown, "I do know that Cornelius Fudge is absolutely furious with Dumbledore, and I think it may have to do with the new DADA teacher. He wasn't this mad after the raid on the Ministry by You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters. I do hope this new teacher is capable of teaching you students the Patronus Charm. The Dementors have officially left Azkaban."
"We already know it," Harry said, "Mr. Lupin taught it to me when he was the DADA professor, and I taught everyone who was in the DA last year the Patronus. Nearly everyone learned it perfectly."
"Still, that is only about few dozen students out of the hundreds at Hogwarts," Mrs. Weasley said, "and not many wizards and witches ever actually learn the Patronus. I myself do not know it."
"You should have asked us, mum," Fred said, "George and I would have been happy to teach you over the summer. One of us could have watched the store while the other taught you. We learned it from Harry before we ditched school."
"Well, lets go get the last of our school supplies," Harry suggested, "there's still a lot to get. New robes and other supplies that can be found outside of Knockturn Alley."
"Good idea Harry," Mr. Weasley said, "let's go. We should get you fitted for new robes first."
Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was chaos as usual. Harry had arrived with the Weasley's, and early enough to get a car all to themselves. Ron and Hermione had gone on to do their duty as Prefects while Harry sat with Ginny, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood. When their Prefect duties were done until they got to Hogwarts, Hermione and Ron joined them. They chatted until the witch with the food cart came by, and they each bought some pumpkin pasties, Chocolate Frogs, and some Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans.
Halfway through the trip, they started talking about who they thought could be the new DADA teacher at Hogwarts. When it was mentioned that the Minister of Magic was not very happy about Dumbledore's choice, Luna Lovegood promptly spouted off several people whom it was said that Fudge hated. They whittled it down with other things mentioned, such as Hagrid saying he would almost rather have Dolores Umbridge back at Hogwarts and that the new teacher was strict. In the end it proved to be pointless because they could not find anyone who matched the profile they had summed up and decided to wait and see. Strangely enough, Harry recalled that he had met every single DADA teacher that Hogwarts had had in the last five years before each school year, even if it was only on the train like when they had met Remus Lupin.
Neville pointed out that he had not met Mad-Eye Moody before the fourth year at Hogwarts, but Harry replied saying that he had met Barty Crouch, who ended up being their DADA teacher during Harry's fourth year, at the World Quidditch Cup not long before then, and he had heard a little bit about Mad-Eye Moody before starting school.
"I think it's just a bloody coincidence," Ron said as he sorted through his new Chocolate Frog cards, "I mean, just because you've met each new teacher before the school year doesn't mean anything, mate. Cool, I got Nicholas Flamel and another Merlin. And a new card. I've never seen it before."
"Let's see it Ron," Harry suggested.
"Sure Harry," Ron said before handing the card over to Harry so Harry could get a good look at it.
Harry was surprised to see a young-looking wizard staring right back at him from the picture on the card. He had dark brown hair kept neat and trim as well as a small goatee on his chin and a mustache, overall giving him what could be considered a dashing look. He wore what appeared to be armor of some kind of silver and blue tunic worn over a chain-link mail shirt that seemed to fit perfectly. The eyes of the picture seemed to dart around as if constantly checking for an oncoming enemy attack in much the same way as Mad-Eye Moody's false eye did. Other than that he seemed completely composed.
Harry flipped over to see the other side of the card and to see what it said about this wizard. He was very surprised by what it read.
Jesse Plunk
Current whereabouts unknown
The world's only living Sorcerer. Plunk is regarded as being arrogant and greedy with his power, having never taught another to train the gift of a Sorcerer. Still, Jesse is widely regarded as one of the greatest Sorcerers to ever live. Very little is known about Mr. Plunk's personal life.
"Hey Hermione, do you have any idea what a Sorcerer is?" Harry asked, handing the card to Hermione to read.
"I think I've read something about Sorcerer's somewhere before, Harry," Hermione replied as she studied the card, "but I can't seem to recall what I read."
"That's a first," Ron muttered, then winced in pain. Hermione sure could kick someone's shins hard.
Luna took a look at the man in the card and shrugged.
"So this is the Sorcerer?" Neville murmured as he took a look at the card.
"Neville, you know what a Sorcerer is?" Ron asked in surprise.
"Well, yeah," Neville replied, "Sorcerers are similar to wizards, in that they can do magic, but it's a different kind of magic. Most Sorcerers are not wizards themselves, but some are. One of my ancestors was. Sometimes the gift of a Sorcerer will bleed into the kind of gift a wizard possesses and they will be thought to be a wizard. But my gram told me that there hasn't been a new Sorcerer in centuries, and only a Sorcerer can properly teach a Sorcerer. Otherwise, it takes decades to learn. Sorcerers can use wizarding spells, but wizards cannot use spells designed for Sorcerer magic."
"Do they use wands?" Hermione asked, flustered at actually asking Neville about something.
"They make their own wands," Nevile replied, feeling sheepish from the attention, "the history of Sorcerers is almost as fascinating to me as Herbology. Unfortunately, we won't be taught about Sorcerers at Hogwarts. I already asked Professor Binns, and he said that Dumbledore has ordered that unless a student exhibits the signs of being a Sorcerer, nothing concerning Sorcery will be taught, not even the history."
"He'll leave gaps in our learning?" Hermione gasped, appalled at the thought.
"It has no relevance," Neville replied, "Sorcerers are as different from wizards are wizards are from muggles. A lot of the old pureblood families, like the Malfoy's, scoff at the idea's of Sorcerers because they are not truly wizards."
"Bunch of bigots, I'd say," Hermione muttered darkly.
"I agree Hermione," Neville said, "but a lot of the wizarding world, at least those who are familiar with Sorcerers, share the Malfoy's views of Sorcerers. But the gift of Sorcery is rare. No new Sorcerer has been born and trained in the last five centuries."
"But what about this guy, Jesse Plunk?" Ron demanded, "the card says that he's a Sorcerer!"
"I dunno how to explain that," Neville admitted, "but if he is one, then even You-Know-Who would be wise to be afraid of him."
The group continued to discuss the topic of Sorcerers and the type of magic that they used. Neville proved to be as knowledgeable about Sorcerers as Hermione was about fairly much everything else in the wizarding world. The discussion also brought out a lot of confidence in Neville, a side of him that his friends were sure he didn't normally have. They were hoping that they could keep his confidence level up. He had told them that he had gotten a surprising 'Outstanding' in Potions during his O.W.L.s. Apparently he was more at ease without Professor Snape breathing over his neck and ridiculing him whenever he made a mistake. It had been that way ever since his first day in Potions class. Harry and Hermione had both gotten 'Outstanding' in Potions, while Ron had only gotten an 'Exceeds Expectations', not quite good enough to get into Professor Snape's Advanced Potions class. The potions professor only took in students who scored 'Outstanding' in Potions.
Fairly soon they were pulling into Hogsmeade Station and unloading their baggage. Ron and Hermione still couldn't see the Thestrals that pulled the carriages, though they were assured by Neville and Harry that they should be glad that they couldn't. Thestrals were very unsettling creatures to see and were uncomfortable to be around, even if you couldn't see them. Hagrid's call of "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" made Harry grin. Hagrid was practically unchangeable. He was still the kind half-giant who had become his first friend, and he still loved creatures that were otherwise deemed dangerous by the rest of the wizarding world. Hagrid only thought of them as interesting.
As they took their seats in the Great Hall, Harry noticed that the teacher's table had an extra empty spot at it. Hagrid, of course, was taking the first year students on the boat ride. It looked like the new teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts had not yet showed. He knew that Snape was not the new teacher, for which he was very thankful for, but he couldn't help but wait anxiously to find out who the new DADA teacher was.
Professor McGonagall walked through the doorway leading the anxious-looking first years to be Sorted. Ten and eleven-year olds of varying hair color and style looked on in wonder at their surroundings. A few appeared to possibly have come from wizarding families, the way they looked on in confidence but most looked just apprehensive. Harry watched as Professor McGonagall pull out a four-legged stool and place the Sorting Hat on it. Professor McGonagall began calling out the names of the new students to be Sorted starting out with "Ackerson, Dwight" who was promptly put in Hufflepuff.
Harry listened and watched intently, clapping politely as each new student was put into a house, waitinf for the first of the new Gryffindor's. The name of the first new student to be put into Gryffindor stuck in his mind.
"Dursley, Locke." At hearing that name, Harry couldn't help by stare at the brown-haired boy who stepped up to have the Sorting Hat placed over his head. The hat seemed to ponder a few moments, and actually looked like it was having a problem figuring out where to put the boy. Harry had seen this a few other times and Hermione had told him the Sorting Hat had done the same thing with him, and Harry later noted that almost every new student that this happened to ended up in Gryffindor.
Finally, after much debate the Sorting Hat called out "GRYFFINDOR!" making Locke Dursley the first new Gryffindor, and the hat was removed from Locke's head. Harry scooted over and motioned for Locke to sit beside him. When the boy sat down, Harry managed to get a good look at him. His short brown hair, just a shade darker than Hermione's, was well-groomed. Nervous hazel eyes showed an amount of determination hidden within. His face was narrow, his nose a little small for his face. He was a bit small for his age group, but that could easily change.
"Hello," Harry greeted warmly as Locke took a seat, "my name's Harry. Welcome to Gryffindor, Locke."
"H-hello," Locke said nervously, eyeing the lightning bolt-shaped scar on Harry's forehead, "that's a nasty scar there."
Harry grimaced for a moment, then grinned. "Yes, I suppose it is. It's always a bother. Sometimes it still hurts. Curse scars always seem to hurt. At least mine does."
"You got that from a curse?" Locke gasped.
"I wasn't very old when I got it, but it was the result of a curse," Harry said, "your name is Locke Dursley, right?"
"It is," Locke replied.
"Would you happen to be related to a Vernon Dursley?" Harry asked. By now the conversation had captured Ron and Hermione's attention. The two exchanged a glance, wondering the same thing that Harry was.
"Could you please describe him?" Locke asked. Harry does so. Locke thinks for a moment.
"I have an uncle named Vernon Dursley," Locke finally said, "he's my dad's older brother. Why do you ask?"
"He's my uncle too," Harry replied evenly, "my mom and his wife were sisters. I have to live with them since my parents are dead." He said that with a sad note.
"Aunt Petunia?" Locke asked, "we didn't know she had a sister."
"Mom was a witch," Harry said, "Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon do not like anything magical or to do with the wizarding world. They only take care of me because they don't want to get on Professor Dumbledore's bad side."
"Wow," Locke said, "so we're cousins, so to speak?"
"So it would seem," Harry grinned, "you sure beat having Dudley for a cousin."
"Dudley is a fat pig and a bully," Locke declared. Harry burst out with a laugh at that, agreeing with Locke on both counts.
The two soon begin a deep conversation as the food appeared and they began eating, discussing common interests and Harry giving Locke advice and promising to help Locke with his schoolwork when he had the time.
Later, Harry and his friends, as well as his newly-found cousin, are sitting in the Gryffindor common room, talking. Locke's cat, Tabitha, is romping with Hermione's Crookshanks, tussling in the floor and just plain having fun as only cats could.
"Your first year is rather easy," Harry said, "you're just starting out, and even new students from wizarding families can do no better than a muggle-born, or in my case muggle-raised, student."
"It's true," Ron said, "I have five older brother's and I'm still not a very good student. I'd have probably flunked if not for Hermione here. I am so glad that she wasn't put in Ravenclaw. Then I wouldn't have someone to make me study or one of my best friends."
Hermione blushed at the praise.
"You might want to watch out for some students in Slytherin, though," Harry warned, "in fact, it might be a good idea not to tell anyone that we're cousins. That idiot Malfoy would gladly make your life miserable just because your related to me, much less being muggle-born."
"I see," Locke said, "it's too bad my brother Alex couldn't come to Hogwarts though."
"Maybe he can come when he reaches age," Hermione suggested.
"He's my twin brother," Locke stated, "he won't ever be coming to Hogwarts, unless he can somehow visit."
"You have a twin brother and he's not a wizard?" Hermione gasped, "that is very, very rare. In fact, it's only happened a handful of times to my knowledge."
"That means its only happened a handful of times since books started being written," Ron told Locke, earning a glare from Hermione.
"Anyway," Hermione said, still glaring at a flinching Ron, "to have a twin and they not be a wizard is something that is very special. Every time its happened, the twin that was a wizard went on to become a very great wizard. Merlin himself had a twin sister and look at how famous he became. Even muggles have heard of Merlin. Of course, there's a lot of legends about him that are a load of rubbish, but muggles know of him."
"Merlin was real?" Locke gasped. He had loved reading books about Merlin and King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. He had even brought his favorite set of books with him, including The Once and Future King by T.H. White.
"He was," Ron said, "I can show you my Chocolate Frog card of him later if you want."
"Cool," Locke said.
"Well, its almost time for lights out," Hermione said, "we should be getting to bed. Remember, DADA is our first class tomorrow morning."
"Do you think the new teacher will be there?" Ron asked.
"Probably," Harry said, "Dumbledore did say that the new professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts would be here. But why didn't he tell us who the new Defense professor was?"
"He was probably asked not to tell, wanting it to be a surprise," Locke suggested.
"That's probably it," Hermione said, "well, off to bed, Locke. It's time for lights out."
Locke walked up the stairs to the room where he was staying with the other first year Gryffindor boys. Harry and Ron went to the room they shared with the other Sixth year Gryffindor guys and Hermione returned to the room she shared with the sixth year Gryffindor girls.
As Harry lay down in his bed, he thought back to the summer. At the start of summer, he had been downright depressed over Sirius' death. The thought of Sirius still reopened the hole he felt in his heart, but it wasn't as bad now. The sorrow was dissipating slowly but surely, and the good memories were beginning to come more and more often.
Harry's last thoughts before going to sleep were "I wonder who the new DADA teacher is gonna be?"
~~
The part where Hermione told Locke about Merlin having had a twin sister came from the book series The Lost Years of Merlin by T.A. Barron. It's a very good series and I suggest to try and find it. It's well worth reading and has plenty of magic in it to satisfy anyone.
This is my first Harry Potter story. Everything is in canon with the books up until the end of OotP. From there, you can easily see where I picked up with this story.
I'd been fiddling with this story ever since OotP came out, about three days after it came out, in fact, which was when I finished it. My interest in this has been renewed with me reading a few Harry Potter crossovers here on FF.net that I've found.
Also, if the writing seems to be a little off, take a look at my other stories and look at my writing style. I usually write in third person present, and this is third person past, or whatever it is. Haven't dealt with grammar terms in years. Either way, I'm used to writing in the present tense with words like 'says', 'looks', and 'asks', not past tense with works like 'said', 'looked', and 'asked'. I read it a lot, but I write and think in the present, despite my tendency to live in the past at times.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapte rof what I plan to be an exciting story. Please review and tell me what you think of it.