Chapter 1, Part 1
A Second Chance at Life - written by Miranda Flairgold a voice said from everywhere and nowhere.
Chapter 1
Harry blinked, "It's separated into chapters?" he whispered to Hermione.
"Well," Hermione began uncertainly, "It is a book, after all. Books have chapters." Harry wondered how long this is going to take.
The gunman
The reading was interrupted immediately as several purebloods, Ron among them, spoke out, "What's a gunman?"
Snape bit back a scathing remark, not out of kindness, but due to the fact that several of his Slytherins had asked the same question.
"Honestly, Ron." Hermione sighed, then she continued loud enough for the everyone to hear, "A gunman is someone who uses a gun, a muggle weapon incorporating a metal tube from which—" Harry cut her off.
"'Mione," he said, "I think it's enough to simply say that a gun is a muggle weapon that can kill."
"You got to be joking, Potter." Draco Malfoy, who had up to now kept silent out of shock, exclaimed, "Muggle weapon? Kill? The lot of them are dumb as apes, there's no way that they can make a weapon." He sneered.
Before Harry could come up with a comeback, Namach cut in, "Believe it or not, it's true." He said curtly and turned to address the Great Hall, "While asking questions and learning is good, we won't get anywhere if the reading is constantly interrupted. If you have any question muggle related, ask the people near you quietly instead of disrupting the whole hall." He had a tone of finality in his voice.
Malfoy, out of bravery or sheer stupidity, questioned him, "Who do you think you are to order us, half-breed?" Namach shot him a glare and Malfoy wilted in his seat. Harry could have sworn that his already unnerving silver eyes glowed.
moved silently through the house, his padded boots making no noise on the floors. The boy
"Five galleons that the boy mentioned is Harry." Fred whispered to George.
"Well, of course it's Ickle Harrikins; who else can it be? He's always in the middle of things like this and this is his story after all." George replied. The twins didn't notice Tristan staring at them in amusement.
'Ickle Harrikins?' Tristan mouthed to himself and snickered silently, 'And Rahkesh complained about having Thunder for a nickname.'
had to be here somewhere; the woman had said he was. A door was nudged open with one shoulder and the man leaped inside, there was no one. A small door, slightly ajar, and flight of steps downwards into a basement, the lights were on. Down there then. Hiding? Did he know he was here? An ambush?
"Ambush? Potter? The brat can't even write a proper essay; there's no way that he can be planning an ambush." Snape sneered. Harry was offended.
"What exactly do essays have to do with ambushes?" Namach asked coolly; if all the teachers at Hogwarts are like this, then it's no wonder that Rahkesh chose Akren instead.
Harry was startled that someone he doesn't even know defended him, however indirectly, but kept silent.
"His essays show that Potter has not a single brain cell in that head of his." Snape responded.
"Just because I'm not good at writing doesn't mean that I can't think!" Harry retorted angrily.
"Twenty points from Gryffindor for talking back to a teacher." The potion master's eyes flashed with triumph.
Harry bit his tongue as Hermione hissed a warning at him. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the vampire shooting him an unreadable look. Who was he, anyway?
The hired killer
"Now I'm confused." Harry said, "Is this person a muggle or a wizard? Do wizards even have assassins? Aren't they illegal?"
"I don't know," Hermione admitted, "The books I read didn't say anything mercenaries or anything of the sort."
"There are plenty of killers for hire in the wizarding world," Daphne Greengrass dismissed, "You just need to know where to look."
"And how do you know that, Ms. Greegrass?" Professor McGonagall looked at her disapprovingly.
"It's common knowledge within the pureblood families," Daphne replied in an aloof voice, "We don't all wear rose-tinted glasses like you do; we see the dark side as well as the light side of the wizarding community."
"Ignoring something doesn't mean that it isn't happening," Blaise Zabini added his own knut and Theodore Nott inclined his head in agreement, "And while sometimes ignorance is bliss, information is power."
"Well said." Namach nodded approvingly.
"Thank you, Lord Namach." Daphne and Blaise replied in unison.
"Oh?" Namach raised an eyebrow, "You know who I am?"
"A few of us do." Theodore stated.
Malfoy looked at them in confusion, "Who is he?" he demanded, "And how do you know him?"
"He's well known outside of the British Isle." Daphne answered coldly, "Those of us who have connections outside of England have heard mentions of him."
"Oh yes." Malfoy sneered, "I almost forgot that the two of you are foreigners. And Nott is almost as bad for associating with you two."
Daphne raised her head haughtily, "I am quite proud of my American heritage. Besides, my family prepares me for life in the real world, can you say the same?"
"What about Zabini? We all know that his mother—"
"That's enough." Snape cut in, seeing that the conversation was heading into dangerous territory. What was Draco doing? His godson knew that Slytherin had to maintain the front of House unity against outsiders. Greengrass, Zabini, and Nott may be the odd trio out, but Draco knew better than to air Slytherin's dirty laundry for everyone to see. Something must have shaken him badly for him to lose all rationality.
Malfoy looked unhappy, but was unwilling to disobey his head of house.
decided it was unlikely, he was only sixteen; he couldn't know anything of ambushes. The man slowly began to walk down the stairs, gun ahead of him, the boy was probably doing the laundry, muggles did that in the basement right?
"Why do they do laundry in the basement?" Ron asked Hermione, "I mean, I don't know much about washing clothes, but don't you need water for that? Shouldn't they go to the nearest river?"
"There are such things as washing machines and sinks, you know." Hermione answered with a frown.
"They have sinks too?" Ron's eyebrows shot up in astonishment, "But I thought only wizards had them. And what's this mee-che-na thing you talked about?" What followed was an explanation of machinery.
Tristan frowned from where he was sitting, 'Do British wizards believe muggles to be cavemen?'
But down below Harry Potter was waiting, and he most certainly was planning an ambush.
Ron frowned, "That isn't very honourable, mate." Harry was too focused on the story to hear him, but those surrounding him (all Gryffindor) did, and they silently agreed with Ron.
He'd heard the cruciatus curse the man had used on his Aunt,
"Why didn't you try to help you aunt, Harry?" Dumbledore asked sadly.
Harry looked up as the reading stopped and answered Dumbledore, "I don't know, sir. This isn't actually me, remember?" Silently, he thought that he probably wouldn't have helped Petunia either, especially with what happened last summer.
despite the silencing spell, and he had heard the click of a gun and the soft tread of feet. His Uncle's pistol
"Pistol?" Ron asked Hermione.
"Another word for gun."
Harry remembered that particular gun very well; how could he forget it when his uncle had threatened to shoot him with it more than once?
was in an old dresser down in the basement, and if he used magic the Ministry would know.
Namach never did get the Underage Magic Laws the Europeans employed. There aren't even any exceptions for these kinds of situations. It's just plain stupid in his opinion.
The gun then, he knew how to use it, had watched Uncle Vernon teaching Dudley. He hid behind the steps, waiting.
"Your uncle thought your cousin how to shoot a gun, Harry?" Dumbledore looked solemn, "He kept it in the house?"
"Yes, but aren't you missing the hired killer part, sir?" Harry asked wryly. Dumbledore paled.
"More importantly, Potter," Blaise said, acting as if hired killers were very common—and for him they are (his mother is one after all), "Why are you living with muggles?"
Harry eyed the Slytherin warily, "Why wouldn't I? They are my relatives, after all."
"Like Daphne said," Blaise drawled, "we aren't blind."
Harry flushed, but retorted, "Where else could I live?"
Theodore rolled his eyes, "We knew that you were reckless, Potter, but we didn't know that you were stupid as well. You're the heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, meaning that in the eye of the law, you're an adult as soon as you turn 14 and become Lord Potter. It's why the Goblet of Fire accepted your name last year. By the way," he added, "this makes the Ministry Laws 1917-1945 Orphan Reforms null, which means that what the Minister and Senior Undersecretary just did was illegal." Harry just stared at him blankly.
"Impossible!" Umbridge screeched, "I have never heard of such a law!"
Blaise gave her an unimpressed look, "Please learn all of your own laws and not just the ones that benefits you."
"Wait, what?" Harry finally found his voice, "The Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter?"
"Don't you know anything, Potter?" Daphne frowned, "While House Potter isn't as rich as the Malfoys or as old as the Blacks, it is a Most Ancient and Noble House. An heir can become the lord at the age of 14, at which point they legally become an adult. This is to prevent the government from having any power over the lord. The Ministry can't do anything to change it—it was one of the Founding Laws of Magical Britain laid down by the Council of Lords over a millennia age."
"I...didn't know that." Harry managed to say.
Daphne almost rolled her eyes, "Just go visit your Gringotts family vault manager." Harry simply nodded, dumbfounded. He didn't notice Dumbledore shooting the Slytherins an unhappy look.
'Interesting.' Tristan thought, 'I didn't know that either. It looks like Magical Britain is more complicated than it seems at first glance.'
The assassin looked around the basement and stepped off the last step, at the same moment as a bullet hit him right in the middle of his chest.
"You shot him! Harry!" Hermione shouted, looking ill.
Harry held his hands in front of him as if to ward her off, "Not me, 'Mione, not me. It's an alternate version of me, remember?"
Meanwhile, the Silver Trio (Blaise, Daphne, and Theodore) were shooting each other looks. It looks like there's more depth to Potter than they thought—they might have to change their plans. It might be a bad thing, or a very very good thing.
There was a man lying on the floor, in a pool of blood,
Some of the younger students whimpered and covered their ears.
and the younger man pulled a knife from a hidden arm sheath and placed the tip next to the fatally wounded man's eye. The dying man looked up into burning emerald eyes.
'Like Lily's,' Snape thought with a frown, 'What would she say if she saw her son like this?' But personally, Snape approved; he was a spy, and spies generally did everything they could to survive.
"Who are you working for? What are you doing? Tell me if you want a quick death. However, if you would rather I cut your eyes out, then just keep your mouth shut."
The occupants of the Great Hall (minus Namach, of course) paled in unison; who knew that Harry could be so ruthless?
"Madam Bones," Umbridge began, "Shouldn't you be arresting Mr. Potter for murder?"
Amelia frowned, then shrugged, "This Mr. Potter did not commit the murder and I have no jurisdiction in another universe." Shacklebolt and Tonks inwardly smiled; leave it to Madam Bones to do what she wants, yet still follow the law.
"Mister Namach, is there a way to stop the younger children from being exposed to this?" Dumbledore asked; while he understood that reading the story was a necessity, some might cringe at the violence.
"No," Namach replied nonchantly, "It might be good for them anyway."
'How is violence good for anyone?' Harry wondered.
The owl dropped down into the fog towards an old farmhouse.
"What?" Muttered a few people, startled by the non sequitur.
"Line break." The Ravenclaws, plus Hermione, replied in unison.
The sun was just burning through the clouds and the birds' feathers glowed white in the early morning rays. One window was wide open, waiting for her; the people inside had been up for hours.
"People who wake up that early are just plain crazy." Ron mumbled under his breath.
"There! There she is!" Hermione shouted leaping off her chair and snatching the letter from the snowy owls' talons. The bird hooted indignantly and settled on an empty perch.
A hooting sound could be heard and Hedwig flew through the opened doors to the Great Hall. In her talons was a letter. She landed in front of Harry and he curiously (and warily) took the letter from her. Some of Moody's lessons must have stuck.
Mr. Potter,
There will also occasionally be people from your universe joining the reading as I restore them. Top on the list is Mr. Sirius Black, so I hope that you will convince those present of his innocence before then.
If you aren't able to accomplish this goal, then an enclosed space with almost no one being able to enter or exit is an ideal location to drive a few facts into a couple idiots.
The letter wasn't signed, but it was clear who it was from. The letter disappeared in a flash of light.
Harry grinned, thinking of Padfoot's impending visit. Now, how to prove his godfather's innocence…
As it began to seem that Harry wasn't going to say anything, those watching him reluctantly turned away.
Tristan caught the projected thought, 'Interesting, especially with who else is likely to…' Then as an afterthought, 'They really should teach their students occlumency.'
"Well? What's it say?" Ronald Weasely asked, leaning over Hermione's shoulder to read.
"Relax Ron, let her open it first, read it aloud will you?" Ginny said, the five of them, herself, the twins, Ron, and Hermione had been waiting for this letter. After the wedding of Bill and Fleur
Shock rippled through the Gryffindor table, mainly from the red-headed section.
"Bill and Fleur?" Ron exclaimed, standing up, "Since when do they know each other?!"
"Well, little brother—"
"—we would assume that—"
"—since sometime—"
"—in the future." Gred finished.
Ron sat back in his seat, numb with shock.
Harry had returned, briefly to his relatives while the others remained at the Burrow.
"Okay, okay, here." Hermione said unfolding the parchment.
Hey all,
Please try to read this through without throwing a fit; I have a lot to tell you. There has been a change of plans.
"Plans? What plans?" Harry asked in confusion. None of his friends had an answer for him.
"I would assume that we will find out if we let the voice continue." Namach answered instead. Harry nodded.
When I was at my relatives a man walked up and stunned my Aunt.
"Stunned?" Hermione interrupted, "I thought he crucio'ed her? And Harry wasn't there at the time."
Malfoy snorted, "Isn't it obvious, Granger? The Golden Boy lied to you. He doesn't want you to know that he didn't help the muggles."
"Harry isn't like that." Hermione protested.
"Have any other explanation?" Hermione kept silent, "I didn't think so."
He then pulled out a gun and attempted to shoot me. I had my Uncle's pistol, I was "borrowing" it in the hopes that bullets could go through magical shields.
"Can they?" Harry was the one who asked, although the entire Hall seemed to anticipate the answer.
"We don't know." Professor Dumbledore answered, "No one has had a reason to try before." This seemed to prompt Shacklebolt out of his on-duty silence.
"Theoretically, the standard shield charm can block anything." He answered, "However, bullets have a lot of force behind them and the faster ones can shatter a shield cast by the average wizard almost instantly, just like how a strong spell can also shatter a shield. I have read that there are shield spells created for the express purpose of stopping fast moving objects, but I do not know any." Kinsgley finished.
"Kingsley Shacklebolt, was it?" Namach looked at him thoughtfully.
"Yes," Shacklebolt was shocked, "how do you know?"
"I have heard of your name in my world." he replied, "And you are entirely correct on the matter of bullets."
Minister Fudge was frowning, "How did you come by this piece of information, Auror Shacklebolt?"
"As an auror," Shacklebolt began, "It is my duty to ensure the safety of the wizarding world, even from muggles. When I learned of these 'guns', I studied them along with other muggle technology." Beside him, Tonks shifted guiltily; she was an auror as well, but hadn't even began to think what the job truly entailed.
I guess I just fired faster than he did. I'm okay; he died in the basement (that's where I was when he found me). When I saw he was dying, I took out that knife (thanks for that, Fred, George)
The twins high-fived each other.
and threatened to cut his eyes out if he didn't tell me what he was doing, who he was working for.
"Isn't it obvious that he's working for You-Know-Who." Ron commented. Fudge and Umbridge turned red in the face.
"You-Know-Who is dead!" Fudge exclaimed.
Harry ignored him, tired of the old argument, and answered Ron instead, "I think that the me in the story found it a bit hard to believe that Voldemort has a Death Eater who uses a gun. They're all purebloods, right?"
"I suppose."
Okay, bad news first:
"Aren't they always?" Harry asked rhetorically.
Voldemort has put out a contract, for any assassin that will kill me.
Harry inwardly thought that that wasn't like Voldemort; the madman is the kind to want to kill his targets himself.
Apparently the reward is something amazing because the man mentioned that there were several others, he just got to me first.
Good news: he's the only one who found out how to get to me, yet.
'But that's already one too many.' Harry sighed.
Bad news: There's other rewards for anyone who I've been talking to or associating with, no names, just anyone I contact.
"Why from now on?" Hermione mused out loud, "Why not those from the past as well?"
Harry shrugged, "I assume it's because that's too many people. Not to mention that it also includes the Slytherins and Voldemort's Death Eaters."
"Never mind that," Hermione declared, "Ignore him; you must come to us for help. There isn't anywhere else you can go."
"It's not my decision, Hermione." Harry reminded, "It's not me, remember?"
Tristan noted another difference between Harry and Rahkesh; if it had been Thunder, the young man would have raged at thought that someone had the power to tell him what to do, especially when the order made no sense.
Ron, Hermione, I told you that I would not be going back to Hogwarts,
"Wait, what?!" Hermione screamed, "Harry, you have to! Think about your future!" the Ravenclaws nodded in agreement, creepily in unison.
Harry groaned in exasperation, "Not me, Hermione."
"It sounds like Saint Potter thinks himself too good for school." Snape remarked scathingly. Harry bristled, but told himself that it wasn't him.
and I'm not. When I found out about the assassins I went into hiding (don't ask where). I have found a place to go to for a while, I still need to finish my schooling
"Exactly!" Hermione said, "You need to finish your schooling and Hogwarts is the best school in the world!"
"Excuse me?" Namach questioned icily, "I'll have you know that Hogwarts is in fact considered one of the worst schools in the world, along with Beauxbatons. Durmstrang is only slightly better." Voices erupted in the Great Hall, but the bloodmagic professor spoke over them, "In fact, many of those who leaves Europe have to go back to school for a year or two in order to find a job."
"That's impossible!" Many of the Ravenclaws, plus Hermione, exclaimed.
"I assure you that it's entirely true." Namach replied.
"That's enough for now." Dumbledore interrupted, "We'll discuss this later." Many students did not look satisfied but settled back into their seats.
you see, I just don't have enough experience yet to tackle the Death Eaters.
"Potter? Not capable of something?" Malfoy mocked, "Never!"
"There are plenty of things that I am not capable of, Malfoy. Shutting you up, for one." Harry replied unfazed by the mockery; he had long since gotten used to it. At least this time it wasn't something about his parents or Sirius. Speaking of Sirius, isn't there some sort of truth spell? Just to indicate that he isn't lying when he tells them that Sirius is innocent.
This will be the last letter I send to you for a few months. Do not try to contact me, it's a safe bet that all of your entire family's outgoing and incoming mail is being intercepted and read. If you write a letter to me they will kill you too, and Hogwarts, as you well know, is not very safe.
"Hogwarts is the safest place in Britain!" Surprisingly, it was Neville who interrupted this time.
"That's right!" Ron supported him, "Dumbledore is the only one that You-Know-Who is afraid of!" Harry nodded in agreement.
"Nonsense," Fudge said, "You-Know-Who isn't back and there's nothing that you have to be safe from."
"Let's just," Tristan began, starting to get annoyed at the constant repetition, "Pretend for now that, yes, Voldemort is alive in this parallel universe."
Better to let them think you have no idea where I am, which is why I'm not telling you. If you don't know they can't get it out of you through torture or truth potions.
Hermione and Ron paled.
I will contact you once I find a safe enough way to do so. Ginny, please look after Hedwig for me. Everyone knows she's my owl and she's not exactly inconspicuous.
When you go back to school, if Draco Malfoy is there keep an eye on him. But I don't think he's too much of a problem. You see when Dumbledore was cornered by the Death Eaters,
Concerned murmurs flew across the hall while most of the Slytherins shot each others smug looks.
Draco had been assigned to kill him,
Silence. Harry had never heard such stifling silence before. Then his mind caught up with what his ears heard and he surged with the rest of his table.
Spells flew as the Gryffindors tried to get at Malfoy. Said Slytherin was frozen in shock for a moment before he quickly cast a shield spell. The other Slytherins started to return the spells. Unfortunately, the Ravenclaws who were between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins were quickly caught up in the fight.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted.
Malfoy blocked the spell and shot back one of his own, "Avis Oppugno!" Harry quickly dove out of the way and the conjured birds started attacking the Hufflepuffs.
The Hufflepuffs, who semi-believed him about Voldemort's return (mostly because of Cedric's unfortunate death), were already antagonistic towards to Slytherins. With this attack, they joined the Gryffindors in fighting the Slytherins.
Harry cast a banishing charm at Malfoy and this one connected, throwing the blond boy into the wall. He had no time to celebrate, as he immediately had to fend off attacks made by an enraged Pansy Parkinson. "Diffindo!"
Tristan watched the chaos with amusement while taking note of the students' fighting ability. Most of them sucked big time, but a few were above average, including Harry. While his skill was nothing compared to Rahkesh, he showed an innate fighting instinct that elevated him above his peers. Beside him, the Headmaster stood up.
"Enough!" Dumbledore raised his voice and shot red sparks in the air, "I am very disappointed in you all; ten points from everyone who participated in this fight." Dumbledore sat back down, "Please remember that nothing has happened yet, and since this is a story from another universe, isn't likely to happen. Mr. Malfoy shouldn't be held accountable for the actions committed by another him. Anyone who is injured should go to Madam Pomfrey." He gestured to the school nurse, who, due to the announcement, was also in the Great Hall.
Harry sat back down in his seat near the front of the table, one of the few who did not get injured. He looked around the hall and was proud to see that most of his students from the DA were untouched as well.
Those injured beyond bruises and scrapes went to get healed by Madame Pomfrey while the reading continued
and he didn't.
Sighs of relief could be heard throughout the hall.
Malfoy backed down, he wouldn't do it. He was ordered to, but he refused to cast the spell. He made no move to protect Dumbledore from Snape,
"Greasy bat!" Ron insulted. Various others shouted their own insults.
Just when it seemed as if another fight would start, the students found themselves unable to move from their seat. Harry looked down and saw that he was literally frozen to his seat.
"Do you people not listen?" Namach growled; while it was at first amusing, their obtuseness was starting to get on his nerve.
"Mr. Namach, please release my students." Dumbledore requested stiffly.
"Then control them. What kind of Headmaster are you?" The ice disappeared with a flicker of his fingers. Beside Harry, Hermione gasped.
Wandless magic, Harry realized. Namach did the same when he first arrived, but back then he was too occupied with his appearance to care much about his magic. Harry felt a shiver go down his spine; how strong is he to be able to use wandless magic so casually?
not with a mad werewolf
"Of course a half-breed would be involved." Umbridge insulted, "The lot of them should be shut in cages for the rest of their existence."
Namach snarled, "While I have no love for werewolves, they are fully sentient beings and should be treated as such. They aren't animals." His glare and suffocating magic cut off any reply that Umbridge might have shot at him.
and several Death Eaters around him, but he wouldn't do it himself. Makes you wonder doesn't it. I'll tell you something else; he's only working for the Death Eaters because Voldemort threatened to kill his mother and father.
Malfoy paled. What? But the Malfoys were on the Dark Lord's side! Did he treat all of his allies this way?
If someone told you to bring Death Eaters into Hogwarts, or watch your family die, what would you do?
I'm really sorry I have to do this guys, I know we were planning to do this together,
"Do what together?" Harry muttered under his breath. The question had been bothering him non-stop.
but I don't have much of a choice. By the time you get this letter there's a good chance I'll already be out of England entirely.
"But you don't know anyone, Harry." Hermione said, worried.
Harry shrugged, "I'll figure something out; I always do."
Don't worry too much about me; I have a few backup plans you see. In the envelope you will find fifteen small phials, these are filled with that wonderful luck potion. There's one for all of the Weasely's, including Fleur, as well as Neville, Remus, Hermione, and Luna. Give the other phials to whomever you think might need them. I brewed
Snape almost said something regarding Potter's non-existing potion-brewing skills, but stopped himself; he is a Slytherin, after all, and it isn't smart to rile people up when half the student populace already looked mad enough to kill him.
these around Christmas, didn't tell anyone because I wasn't sure if it would work, the potions a little different from the regular luck potion. I made up my own version that takes less time. Yes Hermione I actually did, that damn book
'What book?' Harry asked himself and for the nth time, came up with no answer.
had nothing to do with it, you know, I actually am fairly good at Potions, the book just made everything even easier. Keep them with you at all times, if you're ever in trouble drink it.
Good luck to all of you, we will see each other again.
Best wishes,
Harry Potter
"Oh Harry, you didn't have to!" Hermione wailed, gripping the letter so hard it ripped
"But, but, h-he can't just do that!" Ron said incredulously. The others didn't speak for a moment.
"Ron, he already did." George said finally. Then pulled out two of the phials and tossed one to his twin.
"Have some faith Ron,"
Harry shot the twins a grateful smile; even if it wasn't really them or him that they were talking about, he still appreciated it. It seems as if no one trusted him these days.
Fred said, slipping his phial into a pocket.
"He'll do fine," George added.
"He's a tough guy Harry." Fred finished, the twins apparated away.
Harry watched Hedwig fly away. Ginny would look after her.
Contrary to what he had said in the letter he was still in England,
"Gasp, shame on you, Harrikins. Lying to your friend." George tutted.
"Have we not proved ourselves trustworthy?" Fred asked mournfully, clutching a hand to his chest. Harry suppressed a grin.
still at his Aunt and Uncles house in fact. But if the letter was intercepted, as he believed it would be, they would start looking outside of England, and perhaps that would buy his friends some safety. He had buried the assassin the backyard, so deep no one would ever find him, the ground had opened up for him, but the Ministry had said nothing about accidental magic.
Tristan wondered if it was really; accidental magic didn't happen on command. It usually happened during moments of high stress or emotion, and while Rahkesh—Harry, he corrected himself, did want to hide the body, he did not appear to have been in any distress over it. But from what Tristan remembered, Rahkesh's mastery of wandless magic was minimal before he arrived at Akren.
They probably had better things to take care of.
He had been honest when he'd said that he didn't think he was ready yet to take on the Death Eaters. The battle with Snape had shown him that, and Snape was one man he was going to kill no matter what.
Snape shifted uneasily and Dumbledore frowned, "You shouldn't talk about killing so easily, Harry."
"No offence, sir, but I think that if Snape truly belongs to the Death Eaters, I have a right to want revenge." Harry said. Inwardly, he hoped that what he suspected wasn't true; it wasn't the first time that he questioned Snape's allegiance and every single time his worries proved to be false. While he did not like the potions professor, he did not worry about his survival around Snape. There's only one thing that can assure him of Snape's betrayal, Dumbledore's death. Harry had a sinking feeling it was indeed true—it was said earlier that Hogwarts wasn't safe anymore.
What he needed was time, time to practice, time to learn. And the resources to learn from. And Harry Potter had an idea. Originally he had thought of a time turner, to go back in time and study until he got back to the present. But the time turners were out of reach, the ones he knew of were destroyed.
"How?" Madam Bones interrupted, "All existing time-turners are kept in the Department of Mysteries."
Harry shrugged, "Don't ask me, ma'am, I have no clue. What's the Department of Mysteries?" He asked curiously. He felt like he heard about it before, but couldn't remember exactly where.
"The research department of the Ministry of Magic." Madam Bones answered.
But there was a place with the resources he would need. And, if he needed it badly enough, time as well.
The Room of Requirement.
"What's the Room of Requirements?" Someone asked. A few others echoed the question, but Harry didn't hear them.
The Gryffindor was starting to get worried; while the story was about an alternate him, it seems like they share a lot of common secrets. At this rate, things that he doesn't want known could be revealed.
Unknown to him, a few DA members were shooting him looks. However, Namach caught them and tucked them away for later consideration—this Room of Requirements sounded quite interesting.
The day he got his license, one hour after he passed the test, Harry apparated
"It looks like we finally knows when this happens." Harry mused.
Namach shot him an amused look, "If you wanted to know, I could have told you a long time ago." Harry blushed.
"But wait," Hermione said, confused, "Why would you risk revealing yourself to Ministry officials if you were on the run. And why wait until your birthday? It's not like the Ministry can track underage apparition; it's not wandmagic." No one had an answer for her.
"Are you saying, Ms. Granger," Umbridge began in a high pitched chirp, "That you condone illegal actions?"
"No!" Hermione exclaimed, "I'm just asking why. It doesn't make any sense."
Tristan thought that she had a point; Rahkesh wasn't one to do things without reason. Besides, it sounds like some time had passed since the assassin found him, so what has he been doing?
to the Shrieking Shack, from there he took the tunnel to the Whomping Willow.
A few heads perked up at this new information and Harry frowned; will all his secrets be revealed? What next, the Marauder's Map and his invisibility cloak?
He had stopped after his test in Diagon Alley, where he had purchased what seemed like an excellent companion, to replace Hedwig and to help him with one area of his magic the Room of Requirement might not know about, Parseltongue.
"What!?" Ron exclaimed, "Harry! Parseltongue is dark!"
Malfoy jeered, "It looks like your little saviour is going dark, Weasel!"
Harry protested, "No, I'm not! I don't even like Parseltongue! Or snakes!"
Tristan silently sighed, 'If this is how Parselmouths are treated in Europe, then it's no wonder that Rahkesh had no interest in Parselmagic.'
The creature was a snake, three feet long, magical, a black cobra with silver markings.
"I don't believe that I have ever heard of this species of snake," Dumbledore remarked, "It might me poisonous. You should be careful, Harry."
Namach shook his head; the whole point of the reading was to have the people present recognize the difference between his world and theirs. At this rate, they'll be here for a long, long time. "I'm not surprised that you haven't heard of them," he told Dumbledore, "And Sygra is a sweetheart, really. She's very protective."
"Who?" Dumbledore asked.
Namach had to stop himself from rolling his eyes, "The snake."
Madam Bones was shocked, "Are you a Parselmouth as well?"
The vampire sighed, exasperate, "Of course not; Parselmouths are actually quite rare."
"Then how…?" Fudge trailed off.
"You don't really need to communicate to get to know someone." Body language and actions were very telling, although the same magic that created Parselmouths prevented him from understanding what Sygra is saying.
It said its name was Sygra.
Getting into the school was surprisingly easy; an invisibility cloak
Harry silently groaned as people turned to look at him in envy.
"So that's how you always get away." Snape said, a glare on his face. He made a note to himself to have Filch put invisibility cloaks on the list of forbidden items.
Malfoy was jealous, "Looks like being the boy saviour has some advantages."
Namach, knowing what happened to that particular cloak, smirked, "Well, it's not like he can use anymore." 'Not that he needs to, with the Yeck cap.' Rahkesh had finally asked for help in fixing the messed up cloak. Although because of the demon invasion, it wasn't on either of their lists of priorities.
"Why not?" Harry asked worriedly, wondering what happened to the only memento he had of his father.
Namach's smirk widened, "You'll see."
was all that he needed. He hurried through the empty corridors to the Room of Requirement, and paused. A sleep charm put the one portrait out for several hours. There was no sound of anyone so he quickly summoned a brick right out of the wall,
Those closest to Filch heard him hissing about destruction of property.
he then removed one of his two watches and placed it behind the brick, before replacing it. Then he went into the Room.
Harry and the rest of the DA breathed silent sighs of relief; they were safe for now.
Harry wished for a chair and it appeared,
"Alright, Potter. Where is this Room of Requirements?" Malfoy demanded.
Harry plastered a confused look on his face, "I don't know. This is set two years in the future, right? I will probably discover it later."
Namach, who knew Rahkesh, the by far better liar, just looked at him, amused.
he sat down and looked at the second watch. The two had been set to the exact same time. Now all he could do was wish, and wait.
Please, please, I need time, I need time, I need time to stop in here.
"That's impossible." The Ravenclaws and Hermione stated in unison, "There isn't any magic that can stop time."
Harry thought thinking hard about what he wanted to happen, he wanted time to pass normally inside the room, but he wanted the room to be removed from the world's time so that when he left it would be the same day, the same hour, the same minute, it was when he entered the room.
'This will be very useful if it actually works. The Founders must have been very strong.' Tristan mused, regretting not meeting the four when they were alive. While he's capable of creating such a space as well, it would take quite a bit of time and cause him some difficulty—meaning that it must have been near impossible to create in a human lifetime.
He had withdrawn most of his involvement with Britain after Merlin died, but it seems like he shouldn't have. Quite a few interesting things are turning up, first the Council of Lords and now the Hogwarts Founders.
Finally Harry stopped wishing, and started to work, wishing for a book on wordless spells he settled down to read.
Two hours later the watch started to beep.
"Beep? Muggle technology doesn't work in Hogwarts." Hermione, of course, was the one who said this.
"You know, there are spells that allow electronics to work in areas with a high concentration of magic." Namach said. He wondered when Rahkesh will arrive; he's getting tired of explaining everything.
"Really?!" Everyone was shocked.
Only Namach's dignity as a three thousands year old vampire prevented him from face-palming there and then, 'I knew that Europe was backwards, but not this much. The spell was created by an alumnus, but surely not all of them is so oblivious of the outside world. Dumbledore, at the very least, should have known.'
"That's useful," Shacklebolt commented, "The things we can do with muggle technology…"
Harry put down the book, picked up the watch, and left the room, he open the brick and took out the other watch, it should show the exact time it had when he'd entered the room. And it was still working fine. Relief washed over Harry, the Room of Requirement could stop time
Murmurs of disbelief rippled through the hall, but no one spoke out.
for him, he could learn all he needed to know and emerge to the same minute he had entered.
The room also provided everything he needed.
He had tried to immediately jump into defensive and offensive magic, only to realize that his background in magic in general wasn't good enough.
'It's just like Potter to think himself capable of everything and bite of more than he can chew.' Snape thought.
After several hours of working through a book of rare spells, only to find that he couldn't perform any of them, Harry closed the book and sat back in his chair. What had started as a short trip of a few weeks or a month was rapidly looking like an impossibility. He needed time,
"Well, you have it, mate." Ron said.
and, much as he hated to admit it, he needed to start with the basics of magic itself before he could reach this level. He still couldn't perform spells wordlessly,
"Wordlessly?" Harry asked Hermione quietly.
"We'll start learning how to perform spells without incantations starting sixth year." Hermione informed him.
and he needed to know how. It was time to start over.
Harry thought strongly of books explaining how magic worked and the various ways to perform it, in seconds a small pile merged, Harry open the first book and groaned, this was going to take forever. Reminding himself of the magics Dumbledore, Voldemort, and Snape all seemed to be capable of, he began reading.
Tristan thought that it'll be interesting to see how Rahkesh was like coming straight out of Hogwarts. At this point, he hasn't yet done any extra training and it was perfect for finding out how Rahkesh learned the best—he did plan on asking the young man to be his next apprentice.
Only to find that the book was so dull that after a few hours he could remember nothing he'd read. Taking notes didn't help. Harry had the room provide a potions' text and flipped through to a section on memory potions.
"Idiot boy!" Snape snarled, "You have any idea how dangerous memory potions are? Of all the—"
Harry ignored him, still troubled by his earlier conclusion.
The Memory Potion will improve your memory for several hours after taking it. However this potion is itself dangerous, take a larger dose then required, or take too many doses in any twenty-four hour period and you risk permanent brain damage.
"Apparently, I do." Harry mumbled quietly. Hermione shot him a sharp glance.
Harry looked over the potion, it was extremely difficult, but it didn't take too long to brew. And the room would provide the ingredients.
"That breaks so many laws of magic." Hermione moaned quietly.
He'd have to be very careful
"Potter? Careful?" Snape muttered.
with the dosage though. That was okay, in between he could practice spells, and, with the knife the twins had given him, fighting. That was another thing he knew nothing about. He needed an edge, if that meant muggle fighting then it did.
"So you're sinking down to the level of muggles, Potter?" Malfoy sneered, "It only makes sense given your mudblood mother."
Harry bristled, "You take that back!"
"Or what?" He mocked.
"Twenty points from Slytherin for the use of bad language." Snape said abruptly. Harry and Malfoy gaped at him.
"But professor!" Malfoy protested.
"Another five points for arguing." Professor McGonagall said, "Settle down, Mr. Malfoy. You too, Mr. Potter."
Tristan wondered why Rahkesh agreed to help Draco Malfoy if this is how he used to be like. Yes, Thunder owned Mariah a favour, but surely it wasn't worth the trouble?
~o0o~
Who do you guys think should come next?
