Chapter 2 School

Dumbledore came out of the pensieve with a concerned expression. Extracting the memory from Severus had been very difficult due to the pain he had been in. Despite his best efforts it was still partially fragmented. Thankfully Mr. Malfoy's memory was in much better shape.

Harry had done his best to hide it. Using a wandless lumos a to try to block sight. But he had caught enough details. In particular the same odd hand gesture in each of the memories. They was too similar, too precise, too deliberate.

Harry had used wandless magic. And powerful magic at that.

It wasn't dark magic. Madam Pomphrey was healing everyone too easily for it to be tainted. But it was dangerous. And Harry didn't have the wisdom to wield such power responsibly.

The problem was without using a wand there was very little evidence. And given how easily he defended his mind Harry was likely a very accomplished Occlumence. None of which was likely for a poor abused boy without any training.

But it was something Tom Riddle could do. That, or his horcrux.

Except there was no scar. There wasn't even a trace of dark magic on the boy. Which meant he couldn't be possessed.

And there were his eyes. Harry Potter had hazel eyes. His mother's vivid green muted by his father's hazel. The Harry Potter they summoned if anything had eyes even bright than Lily's. Thankfully the minor difference could be explained away by his different glasses, but he knew better.

Those eyes shone with power. He couldn't help but think it was ominous that they were the exact same shade as the killing curse. And he can't help but recall that Harry Potter was supposed to be the Dark Lord's equal.

Dumbledore groaned as he went back and forth over the evidence. He still couldn't decide on what to do with the boy.

Obviously he was needed for the prophecy. But he seemed determined to make things more complicated than they had to be. He didn't see the bigger picture!

Freeing Sirius sounded good, but it meant Harry wouldn't be able to keep the protection of the blood wards. And he would need that protection when Voldemort returned.

And blaming him publicly was the exact opposite of what was needed. Dumbledore needed his reputation in order to keep the dark families in check in the Wizengamont.

It didn't matter if he was right, it was the wrong action to take. Harry should have came and talked to him. Given him a chance to show him the right way to do things. Impatience just caused more problems. Haste makes waste as they say.

It was clear Dumbledore needed a new plan. Harry wasn't a horcrux. He was also clearly not the meek beaten down boy he was supposed to be. Which is fine since he no longer needs to sacrifice himself.

Maybe. Maybe he could train Harry to succeed him as the Leader of the Light. After all saving Wizarding Britain twice would cause his popularity to skyrocket. And he wasn't getting any younger.

Yes. This could be just what he needed. Dreaming of a brighter future Dumbledore starts working on a new plan.

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I should have expected it. I really should. After all Hogwarts was a school designed for eleven year old children. But somehow I had missed that fact.

Classes were so boring!

The dumbed down explanations, the slow pace. Everything just made my brain feel like it rotting. For someone who's last experience of education was graduate level courses, this was painful.

The worst part was I couldn't even just sit and read. The teachers all seemed to want me in the spotlight and kept calling on me.

At least being a Ravenclaw worked out well. Having my own room, no matter how small, made it easy to study ahead. And Hermione, with her very forceful personality, quickly isolated herself from everyone but me. I had to crush a few minor attempts at bullying, but it was worth it to not have to deal with fangirls.

And it wasn't like I didn't have friends. My actions against Snape won me massive approval from three of the houses. Of course Slytherin wasn't happy and once Malfoy left the hospital wing he led the charge against me. Not that it did any good.

I've always been smarter than my peers. I'm used to ignoring bullies. Even when Snape came back and all but declared a vendetta against me I held back. I even took it as an opportunity.

Every time the teachers failed to act, every time Malfoy got away, and every time Professor Snape acted unprofessionally I sent a wandless Confundus charm at Hermione. It had two parts. The first removed any negative feelings associated with my actions and the second was a simple idea. You can't trust them.

It was contrary to her world view, but it slowly works. Hermione stopped telling my to report incidents and the first time Malfoy physically attacked me and I stabbed him, she didn't say a word. In fact she was outraged on my behalf that I ended up punished worse than the three boys who attacked first.

And then Halloween came around.

I avoided the feast. While I don't have any particular attachment to Harry's parents, it still seemed disrespectful. Besides Hermione ran off crying earlier. Somehow Ravenclaw and Gryffindor all of a sudden now held classes together. I can't help but feel it was an attempt by Dumbledores to get me to befriend Ron. And of course he drives her to tears.

I'm actually a bit excited as I skip through the halls. The Marauder's Map confirmed Quirrell has just entered the Great Hall at a run. I sit and wait under my invisibility cloak near the bathroom Hermione is currently in. Time to see just how much has changed.

When the troll shows up I feel like dancing. Looks like we're in business.

I wait until it enters the bathroom and use my enchantments to watch through the door. As soon as Hermione starts screaming I burst through.

I fire a flechette round into it's back and sigh as it only makes small cuts. I really need a more powerful weapon I can use at close range. As soon as it turns around I spray him in the face with liquid nitrogen.

Blinded it flails around blindly and I duck past it to grab Hermione. She just stands there, frozen in terror. Not wanting to traumatize her I push my magic out and raise my arm. My hand is blindingly bright and keeps her from seeing me fire the 20mm machine gun, cutting the troll in half.

I turn her around so she can't see the remains and hug her. When she whispers "Is it dead?" I just nod and she hugs me back. I'm not sure if it's necessary now, but just in case flick my elder wand out for an instant to cast a confundus at her back. You can trust me.

I wrap my invisibility cloak around us when I hear footsteps and put my finger against her lips. She's hesitant, but nods. We stand there, unnoticed as the professors all arrive. They didn't do much, just stare and then order the house elves to take the remains away.

Hermione's trembling by this point, likely in shock. I remember reading food is good for treating shock so I take her to the kitchens.

"What are they?" Ah. I forgot Hermione hasn't been to the kitchens before. Now how to approach this correctly?

"They're house-elves. Think magical high-end catering and staff. A lot like the shoemaker elves from fairy tales." Seeing the wonder in her eyes I'm fairly confident I hit the right note. It wasn't long before be were sitting down and eating while I continue talking about them. How they have a need to fix and maintain things. How they feed off magic.

I compare their binding to marriage contracts, which still exist in the wizarding world. And why you should never give an elf clothes as it's seen as a disgrace. Much like divorce in Victorian society.

Then I introduced her to Dobby. He positively loved working for me and if anyone could make slavery sound attractive he could. He was actually my world's version of Dobby. When I had been summoned he was inside the trunk, busy organizing all of the books I had looted from the death eaters.

That night I started Hermione's Occlumency lessons. She trusts me and now I need to be able to trust her.

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There's something very intimate about sharing someone's mind. Despite all I've done I'm still surprised and more than a little flattered Hermione trusts me that much. No doubt the growing crush I detect the first time I use legilimency on her plays a part.

In some ways this was perfect. A relationship would only cause Hermione to trust and rely on me more. Except I'm not a pedophile. I am in no way sexually attracted to children.

And that would be the end of it, except I started having wet dreams. Sure, intellectually I can understand it. My body is entering puberty. The hormones are triggering a bunch of involuntary reactions.

Absorbing Harry's memories changed me more than I realized. Because that should have worked. A calm analysis of the situation and then I move on. But no. I still feel guilty! Worse I blush when I meet up with Hermione.

Screw this. Well not literally. Actually. Maybe literally. It has technically been months or years depending on whether you count my body or memories, since I've had sex. Maybe that's all I need?

I make an excuse about being tired to Hermione and go to my room early. Then I enter my trunk.

The Dursley's are all busy working with Dobby. They're mostly just helping him sort through all the piles of loot I've accumulated and never sorted through. "Pet. Come with me."

I feel a bit nervous as I lead her to a bedroom. I'm not sure why. It's an odd reaction. I do my best to ignore it. "Drink this."

I had Dobby go shopping for me this afternoon. Apparently Dobby exists in this world and he's known as the Malfoy house-elf. My Dobby thinks it's hilarious. He can just walk into a store, place and order and tell them to place it on their tab.

Although he does mention wanting to free this world's Dobby. I easily promise that although I mention having two Dobby's could get confusing. Dobby immediately volunteers to change his name. So I rename him Dobbins.

Aunt Petunia, because there was absolutely no way I was going to sleep with a guy, no matter what he looked like, drank both potions I handed her. Then I watched as she shifted into the form of an older Hermione.

Tentatively I run my fingers through her hair. She really is beautiful. Still young, but any older I'd feel awkward trying to sleep with someone so much larger than myself.

It felt amazing, at least at first. I had really missed having sex. And under the imperio Pet was willing and even enthusiastic. Of course the dead look in her eyes did kind of kill the mood.

Of course the next day I realize I might have made a mistake. If anything I felt even more awkward around Hermione. Every time I looked at her I saw got an image of an older naked version of her.

Given my furious blushing it was obvious something had happened. I don't no why I'm acting this way. In fact I hate it. Screw this. If I have to embarrassed for no reason, so does she.

The first time Hermione asks me if anything happened I pull her into a hug and cast a Confundo at her back. A quick legilimency probe places the suggestion. You came up to wake me up. And you heard me moaning your name while masturbating.

There. Now we're both horribly embarrassed.

As we silently eat breakfast I think about what I learned last night. It seems a purely human change reverts even when used on a muggle. Since Vernon is still in Hagrid's form I assume part-humans are still permanent. So maybe I should look for some veela hair?

Actually can I buy a veela? That sounds kind of like something Dobby, no Dobbins, would know.

I know house-elves can be purchased. The last time I was in Diagon Alley I saw a place called the House Elf Placement Agency, which was pretty much a store. My goblin trunk hadn't been ready then so I had skipped it. It was ready now though.

Of course it's also empty. The first room, section, or floor is of course the one that's going to become my secret manor. Which was why it was a full five hundred feet high. Of course I expected it to be empty. Which was why when I saw a massive pile of metal arches seventeen feet high I went to investigate.

It turns out the goblins were great believers in efficiency. They hadn't created vanishing cabinets at all. Instead they created portals. There was an instruction booklet that gave instructions on how to move them as well as a warning about taking them out of the expanded space they're attuned too. Although it was annoying they refused to make me smaller, more convenient ones. "One size only" indeed. Irritating bastards.

While the size of the room is impressive and no doubt my eventual manor will be too, it'll still be depressing to look out a window and only see enormous bare metal walls. Which was why I found myself painting runes all along the walls and ceiling.

While normally goblin silver resists all magic Godric had found a way to add enchantments on his sword. The room of requirement was able to show me a memory of how he did so. It was surprisingly easy.

Goblin silver absorbs certain types of energy. Magical blood is one of them. So you paint a rune scheme in blood and it gets absorbed and added. And also thanks to the room I was now copying the runes used on the roof of the Great Hall.

I figure enchanting at least the ceiling to match the magically generated sunlight and moonlight would make the place more realistic. I want to go further though, and the room came through, providing additional rune schemes to add. Soon I'll have programmable weather, with wind, actual clouds and even rain. And of course fresh air.

Still despite all that I"m going to need help if I really want to set up enclosed self-sustaining ecosystems. For that I approached Professor Sprout. She was too willing to recommend several recently graduated muggleborns looking for herbology related work .

I actually left most of the dealings to Dobbins. I stole the vanishing cabinet from Borgin and Burkes along with it's pair in Hogwarts and had Dobbins use it to arrange for transportation. The work was presented it like a large scale greenhouse, which it kind of was. I already no it's going to be slow.

Part of it was the scale. Each of the final compartments, with their charms fueled by mass rituals was over two miles across. And since all that vertical space would have been wasted I had the goblins install a floor an average of every hundred feet. Between the hundred and ten levels created I ended up with a touch over 477 square miles. Which is an almost ludicrous amount of space. And between all of my trunks I had forty-nine such compartments.

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School is getting worse. I hadn't realized it was possible, but it was. Snape hasn't touched me again, but he is actively backing Malfoy in his bullying. I'm getting incredibly good at deflecting spells wandlessly. Anything else, even just a dispel, gets me in trouble.

Not that I don't still get in trouble, but if I do it subtlety enough I can just act like it missed. I brought the matter up with Professor Flitwick, but nothing happened. Well Dumbledore called me to his office and let Snape insult and yell at me. The entire time sprouting bloody nonsense about forgiveness and trust.

Probably the main reason I put up with it all is the Room of Requirement.

I've pretty much taken over it by this point. I've long since emptied it since I have plenty of space. Added it to the pile of loot in my trunk. I'm not sure how I feel carrying the Diadem, which I know is a Horcrux. At least it's locked away.

The room is set to only accessible by myself and anyone whose hand I'm holding. Anyone else just sees me stepping through a wall. So far I've only taken Hermione, but since she hasn't mastered Occlumency yet I have her wear a blindfold. Then I carry her on my back with the both of us under my invisibility cloak.

It might be considered paranoid, but it was justified. Both Dumbledore and Snape tried using legilimency on me and Hermione detected them using it on her as well.

When I'm not in the Room I leave a house-elf behind with instructions on what the Room should stay as. I can spare one since I managed to convince a several of the ones from the kitchens to bond with me. There is plenty of things to sort and repair in my trunk. And when they finish they can always join Dobbins with the landscaping project. Even with seven house-elves it'll likely take years.

Of course that wasn't the end of it. If anything they got worse.

Malfoy tried hexing right in the Great Hall and sure enough Snape popped up to blame me. And while the staff looked a bit uncomfortable, no one protested.

We started taking our meals in the Room after that, just asking a house-elf to bring us something.

Then Dumbledore called me into his office. He lectured me on how hiding from your problems doesn't work. He talked about trust and other inane things. I wanted to scream.

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I can't stand it anymore. Not able to do anything to me Malfoy and the others hexed Hermione. She's in the hospital wing now and I'm on the warpath.

Screw waiting. If Harry Potter had been in this situation he'd have committed suicide. I'm more aggressive.

I wait until curfew before using my invisibility cloak and Marauder's map to sneak out. I make my way to the dungeons where Snape is patrolling. Finding a spot without any paintings. "Imperio."

Snape is an Occlumence, but I have a lot of practice with this spell and I'm using the Elder Wand. He doesn't stand a chance.

I lead him through a secret passage past the wards. "Apparate to Malfoy Manor, Imperio everyone, have them invite me in."

It only takes a few minutes before he returns to get me. Side-along apparition really sucks. Normal apparition is like being squeezed through a tube, a sort of stretched out sensation. Side-along feels like your a tube of toothpaste and someone just stepped on you.

I have the Malfoy's give me Tom Riddle's Diary, their vault key and Dobby. I had to smile at the enthusiastic greeting from the house-elf. I have Dobby transfer the contents of the Malfoy vault into my family vault.

I also have him collect all the goblin made items the Malfoy's own. They should be useful the next time I'm bargaining with Gringotts.

I smile as Lucius writes a letter to his son and places a Withering Curse on it. As soon as it's sent I order them all to stay inside and all cast fiendfyre as soon I leave.

I only make a short jump. I take a moment to watch the flames engulf the manor. That's one problem gone.

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Unfortunately I can't stop. Not after having made a move this blatant. Dumbledore will likely suspect me as soon as he hears the news. At the very least he'll try to keep a closer watch over me. And Voldemort might panic once he hears Malfoy Manor burned down.

Suddenly I'm glad I was so lazy. I've been having Nolly, the house-elf I have maintaining the Room, open up passages to where ever I'm standing instead of climbing all the way up to the seventh floor. I didn't even consider Quirrel, or Voldemort rather, realizing I was using the Room.

I sneak back into Hogwarts and while making my way over to the girl's bathroom have Dobby steal me a chicken.

Killing the basilisk was anti-climactic. I opened all three doors with soft hiss, which really does sound like english. My imperiused rooster than crows. And done.

I made sure to swipe my dagger against a dripping fang. Perfect. Now I have my own Horcrux destroyer.

I introduce Dobby to my other elves and have them harvest the basilisk. Dobby is a bit subdued when he finds out how many elves I own, but bursts into tears when I advise them to be careful. And even more when I tell them I trust them enough to buy any tools or equipment they need.

I also have him drop by Diagon Alley and modify my wand holster. I figure I never take that off, but I do take off the gauntlets. It's also a bit small for the whole going into battle theme the gauntlets are meant for.

I don't destroy the diary. I lock it away next to the tiara. After all destroying them while Voldemort is inside the same building just sounds like a horrible idea.

Just two more stops to make before I can sleep.

The first is Quirrel. He's actually sleeping at this point. A fact I envy. He doesn't stay asleep long. I wrench his mouth open and then fire my flamethrower down his throat. I idly note my touch didn't burn him.

Voldemort's spirit rises, looks around and then escapes. Thankfully he can't find me since I stayed under the invisibility cloak.

My last stop is easy. I have Dobby grab the Mirror of Erised and bring it to me. Then I concentrate. Sure enough, the Philosopher's Stone pops into my pocket. Dumbledore's an idiot.

I have Dobby take the mirror back and pour a small back of crushed rubies in front of it. A nice little puzzle for the nosy headmaster.

Good. Only Dumbledore is a potential problem. Well and Fudge. And Voldemort of course. Although he's more vulnerable now. Only the Ring, Locket, Cup and Snake left.

Damn that's a lot.

I head off to sleep.

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Breakfast the next morning was surreal. I had actually forgotten about the letter to Draco. When he started screaming I realized I had been a bit impulsive. It wasn't until now that I even wondered of Hogwart's had some kind of detection system for cursed object. Although I guess it's obvious now it doesn't.

Dumbledore cancels classes for the day and sends us off. I duck under the cloak with Hermione to stay behind. She smells really nice. Huh, and she had her teeth shrunk.

Hermione notices my stare and blushes. "Madam Pomphrey was already fixing my teeth. I just had her do a little more."

A touch of legilimency gives me the reason for her defensive tone. So I smile reassuringly at her. Well I smile and then hug her. I'm not really sure how to be reassuring.

She really does smell good. And holding her like this it's not obvious how young she is. Well, except for the fact that she isn't developed.

Hearng the word Voldemort draws my attention to what Dumbledore is saying. "-Voldemort. I fear he was possessing Professor Quirrell. He attempted to steal the stone last night. When it backfired he would no doubt have gone to Severus. He likely wanted to retrieve an item to restore his strength."

"I believe that he chose the Malfoys. When he failed to find the item he eliminated them in his rage. Alas I fear poor Severus may have perished with them."

I listened in disbelief as Dumbledore concocted an elaborate tale from bits and pieces. The scary thing is it's very plausible. For all his faults Dumbledore really is very intelligent. I'm suddenly very glad I'm still young enough to be one of his blind spots.

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Dumbledore doesn't do anything. He looks at me a bit closer, but since I started attending meals again it's almost like he's forgotten about me. As if I was that lucky.

I bought all the house-elves the placement agency had available. I have them all copying every book the Room can recreate. If Dumbledore does move against me I don't want to lose access to Hogwart's library.

Even more the Room can recreate any book that has ever been in Hogwarts. Which means the Room's library is much larger than the official one.

I also have them copying and binding into new books notes left behind by people on various projects, including Rowena Ravenclaw's own notes on creating this very room.

Not that I want to leave after reading those. While most of it is way behind me still I can understand enough. It turns out the Room in many ways acts like a pensieve. The room can recreate not just places, but scenes.

I can watch transfiguration lessons that Dumbledore taught fifty years ago. I can watch Slughorn brewing potions. Everyone who has ever taught here. Even the lessons taught by the founders themselves.

It's a priceless wealth of information. And sadly tied to Hogwarts. My own Room won't have these memories. And the notes seem to imply the memories are actually stored in the wards and even the stones.

At this point I'm stuck. I'm not willing to give up the Room and it's memories. Even Hermione isn't as much of an issue.

Between how wrong several of her books were and how the teachers were acting her world view had pretty much shattered. And after that betrayal, she came to rely on me for security and authority. And I've come to find out it's pretty absolute.

Since I don't care about too much I always advocated taking a scientific approach to everything, including what's stated in the books. Hermione adopted my approach with barely any hesitation.

She is still as curious and research obsessed as ever, but socially she has mellowed tremendously. Even if her new slightly detached, clinical personality worries some of the professors.

Personally I don't see a problem. After all, it's not too different from mine.

We tend to spend most of our time together, practicing spells or studying. Often we just read while sharing a couch. It's an odd scene because I used to be very introverted. My merging with Harry Potter seems to have changed that, at least a little. Still, if I leave there's a good chance she'll follow.

Just sitting beside each other is a bit tame, but she still looks way too young for me to be comfortable doing much more. Which is why I find myself using Pet to relieve myself fairly often. And since I'm a bit of a bastard I arrange for her to catch me wanking while moaning her name.

She doesn't respond how I thought she would. Instead of running away she peeks. I do my best to ignore her until I hear a small moan.

Screw it. It's dark enough right now. I use my other arm to flick a silent confundo at her. It didn't do much, just kept her from feeling any fear and ramped up her arousal.

I could tell it worked when she met my eyes. Instead of blushing she licks her lips and then crawls into bed with me. Of course then my stomach growls.

The mood broken we go arm in arm to breakfast.

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I may have miscalculated. Badly.

The rest of the day Hermione has been very amorous. Which would be flattering if she wasn't so young! I don't mind too badly kissing her, but she wants to go way beyond that.

I'm an idiot. I sigh as I realize what happened. I'm eleven. Long term planning and risk assessment doesn't fully develop until much later. I'm biologically inclined to be impulsive. Which I really should have remembered before this.

Thankfully she doesn't protest too much when I say I need to sneak out to Gringotts and leave right after dinner. I actually do need to leave, but not to go to Gringotts.

Instead I'm there to buy contract paper. Most magical contracts aren't done using fancy artifacts, but with a sheet of specially enchanted paper. I'd looked a few options but using a contract to subtly steer her behavior seems my best bet. And of course with a simple confundus, and the elder wand, I can redirect the contract to whoever I want.

It ends up more complicated than I first thought. I go through the entire stack of contract paper and end up just buying their entire supply. I can always use it later.

It's pretty late when I'm satisfied. I have rules, conditional modifiers and many more. Doubtless I'll eventually burn most or even all of them, but I want to be thorough.

When I get back I collapse into my bed. I did not expect Hermione to crawl in after me.