A lot had changed in the ten years that had passed since Santranium had taken Harry. Harry had grown to into a handsome and charming boy. He was tall for his age with well defined muscles. He had an appearance of a typical male Potter with few striking differences, he didn't wear any glasses and his hair weren't messy as a normal Potter male.
Harry's body had evolved due the ingestion of Satele's milk. Her milk had bonded with each and every cell of his body. This process had removed all flaws from his human body. It also gave him perfect health, perfect vision, enhanced hearing, superfast reflexes and rapid healing.
Harry had become a powerful wizard, well powerful for his age anyway. From the age of five he had trained with Santranium and Satele. Santranium hadn't taught him in any advanced magic yet. He only taught him the basic and general magic. The kind of magic never taught at Hogwarts. It was magic in its purest form. It didn't require any magical focus to wield such type of magic. The down side of such magic was it required more power and greater concentration to be wielded successfully. Due to this size of Harry's magic core was larger than most Hogwarts graduates at the age of ten.
Harry had acquired a beautiful white and blue female ice phoenix as a familiar. He had named her Hedwig. The bond allowed him to telepathically communicate with the ancient bird. The communication between the two wasn't in the verbal form but they still understood each other.
Harry met with his Godfather Sirius Black a few times and developed a good relation with him. Santranium from time to time, showed Harry a few snippets of his parents' lives and Sirius told him the story behind them. Sirius was Harry's only human contact while growing up.
(((o)))
Yesterday a Hogwarts letter for Harry was delivered to number four Privet Drive. Harry knew that he would have to go to Hogwarts eventually. The real surprise for him was that Santranium would also be coming to Hogwarts with him as a student under an assumed name. Even though he had live with Santranium for ten year, his powers still continued to amaze him from time to time. Santranium assumed the form of Sontium Claudius Ambrosius. It took Santranium merely a second to create the family history of 'Ambrosius' family in the minds of people around the world. The family was supposed to be a very rich, powerful and reclusive Pureblood family. Due to their power, they were well respected and feared in the Pureblood society.
Santranium was waiting for Harry in a form of an eleven year old Sontium. "We will be going to Diagon alley today Harry. I already sent your acceptance letter to Dumbledore, along with mine." he informed harry.
"Okay, but won't that leave Satele alone. Can't she come with us to Diagon alley?" Harry asked as he didn't like the idea of leaving her alone. He considered Satele as his Mother after all she had raised him. "No Harry she can't come with us. This is going to be your first appearance in the Wizarding world. Remember you are going to Hogwarts to play a part, not for learning magic. Your show would begin in Diagon alley and Satele has no part in it. Most of the people won't immediately recognize you but there is a small chance that some might. She will be fine; if she wants any company she can always call me." Sontium replied, before teleporting them outside Leaky Cauldron. This would be the first time that Harry would be entering the 'Wizarding' world. This world seemed to be pale in comparison to the magical world created by Santranium.
They both entered Leaky Cauldron simultaneously. It wasn't crowded. There were a few patrons eating breakfasts and drinking some weird looking drinks. Harry walked causally while Sontium move like an aristocrat; it was as if he was gliding on the floor. The bar tender looked at the two kids that had entered his pub. Just by looking at them, he knew they were from a wealthy family. His suspicion was conformed when he saw the family crests on the robes they were wearing. Only the upper echelon of their society displayed their family crests on their robes. He paid no attention to their faces and went back to his work.
Sontium took Harry to the back of the pub to the entrance of Diagon alley. The wall automatically opened up to allow them entrance. "Do you want to go to Gringotts and activate the potter accounts?" he asked Harry. "Do I have to?" inquired Harry not wanting to bother himself with all the monetary hassles. "Not really, your family's wealth is safe and growing at Gringotts. You will have to claim it by the age of seventeen. The goblins are handling your finances extra carefully because of my involvement. It would be polite to have a meeting with the goblin in charge of looking after your family finances." Sontium informed him. "All right we will go to Gringotts." Harry groaned.
Harry really wanted to get a wand. He didn't need a wand to perform magic but Santranium had told him that his advance magical training would begin only after he built a magical focus for himself. The idea behind it was that it is going to test all his skills and knowledge to build one. The only wand Harry had seen so far was Sirius' wand. He wanted to go to Ollivanders and study some of the wands available in the shop. He would use the wand he acquired from Ollivanders as a blue print in making his own wand. Though using a wand has its advantages he felt that it was unfortunate he would need one to keep up appearances for now.
As they neared Gringotts Harry saw the snowy white building, near the intersection of Knockturn Alley and Diagon Alley. It towers over all neighbouring shops. As they entered bank Harry notices that the outer door was made out of Bronze while the inner one was made of silver. The main floor is paved with marble and had long counters stretching along its length.
They walked towards an empty counter. 'Hello Ragnok, we will like to see sharptooth' Sontium spoke in perfect Gobbledegook. Ragnok was surprised to see a human speak their language so fluently. The other wizards and witches nearby turned to see the young man who could speak Gobbledegook fluently. Some of them recognized the Ambrosius' family crest on the robes; signifying that the young man was an heir to one of the most ancient and most noble house of Ambrosius. They continued to watch the young man with great interest. His family was considered practically as royalty in the Wizarding world. They assumed the person next to him was his younger brother as the failed to notice the Potter family crest on Harry's robes
Ragnok inquired, "Who are you and what's your business with sharptooth?" Harry stepped forward. Ragnok immediately recognized the heir of the Potter fortune by the family crest displayed on the robes. Realizing that the person with him might be Santranium, Ragnok bowed to him and said "Right away sir, I will take you to him myself." As he was leaving the counter he ordered Griphook to take over for him.
The human observers were surprised greatly by what they saw, a goblin bowing to human child. They knew that the Ambrosius family was powerful but to see a top Gringotts' goblin bow down to the family's heir was something else. The goblins on the other hand had some inclination of what was going on. Unlike the humans they saw the Potter heir and guessed the other person must have been Santranium.
As they entered sharptooth's office Ragnok bowed again to Santranium and left. Sharptooth recognized the Potter heir as Harry looked similar to his father and grandfather before him. He also realized that the person with Harry might be Santranium so he bowed to show respect. "Hello Mr. Sharptooth, my name is Harry Potter. I have been told that you are handling my accounts." Harry softly stated. "Yes Mr. Potter, I have been handling the Potter account for generations now. Albus Dumbledore tried to take over your family account but we prevented such a travesty from occurring. Here take these papers and just sign on the dotted line this would enable you to access your family fortune." Sharptooth explained handing over the papers to Harry. "Call me Harry; as Mr. Potter sounds too formal for my liking. I am not here to take control of my account. I just came here to meet you as you are my account manager. You are doing an excellent job so far of handling my finances, carry on in the same manner to increase our fortunes." Harry told Sharptooth.
With that he stood up and left the room along with Sontium leaving a stunned Sharptooth behind. As they left the bank Sontium said, "Come let go to Ollivanders."
Harry got excited hearing this and started walking briskly in the direction of the store. It was the last shop and was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair. Harry felt strange. This was quite anticlimactic to what he had expected the store to be. He looked at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. He extended his senses in all directions. He felt a person hidden in the darkness behind them. He could also sense the innate magic of the wands around him. The shop seemed to be saturated with potent magic.
"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Both Harry and Sontium were unaffected by the sudden appearance of the old wand maker as they could sense his presence. Ollivander was an old man, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop. "Hello," said Harry awkwardly. "Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."
Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy. "Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand; eleven inches, pliable, a little more powerful than normal and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it - it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course." Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes. He shook his head and then, to Harry's relief, spotted Sontium.
"Hello, I am not sure we have met before." Ollivander said. "My name is Sontium Claudius Ambrosius. My family doesn't purchase wands. We make our own wand." Sontium replied. "Ah yes. I have heard about your family. The wand made by the witches or wizards themselves are the best possible match but sadly wand crafting and wandlore is not known to many. So why are you here then if you don't need a wand?" Ollivander asked. "I am here with Harry. He needs to get a wand." Sontium stated.
"Well, now - Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?" "Er - well, I favor my right-handed but I am ambidextrous," said Harry. "Hold out your arms. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to fingers, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand. Unless it is self made of course" Ollivander added the last part looking at Sontium.
Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one Beechwood and dragon heartstring; nine inches, nice and flexible just take it and give it a wave." Harry took the wand and studied it for a minute before waving it around. But Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once. "Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try -" Harry tried - but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander. "No, no -here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on and try it out." Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become. "Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere - I wonder, now - - yes, why not - unusual combination - holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."
The wand had some reaction to Harry. But Mr. Ollivander was not satisfied with it. He tried all the wands present in the store before accepting defeat. Harry meanwhile was casually studding each and every wand. By studying all the wands, he was confident enough that he could make a wand for himself. "Can I buy the holly and phoenix wand?" Harry asked Sontium. After receiving a nod from him, he paid seven Galleons for the wand.
Mr. Ollivander turned to Sontium and inquired, "May I see your wand? It has been a long time since I have seen a self crafted wand." Sontium decided to have some fun with the old man. He wondered what kind of creepy old man got his jollies from scaring eleven year kids. He flicked is wrist in an elegant manner and a black wand appeared in his hand. While giving his wand to Mr. Ollivander he said, "I temporary allow Garrick Ollivander to touch my wand." After getting a confused look from Harry he explained, "My wand has a safety mechanism. It can only be touched by people I permit." Mr. Ollivander could only stare at it in complete shock. All his life he hadn't seen anything like this. The wand itself was beautiful. The carvings on it were done masterfully. They were better than any of his work. He doubted that he could match the craftsmanship in his lifetime. The most surprising part was that the wand was made out of mythical materials.
These materials were considered to be of legends and folklores. The wood was from 'eldar' the tree of life. The core was a fusion of a tail feather of the royal phoenix, the blood of the king of dragons, the essence of all the five elements. They were in the state of perfect harmony fused inside a philosopher's stone. Mr. Ollivander was speechless, he just handed the wand back without uttering a word. With that Sontium and Harry left the store to allow Mr. Ollivander to contemplate what he had seen. Sontium ensured that Ollivander won't contact Dumbledore and tell him about his wand.
Harry decided to go to Flourish & Blotts to get their course books. As he entered the store he removed his book list:
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
He was ready to browse the store to get the books when Sontium entered and beckoned the shop keeper towards him. The shop keeper noticing Sontium's attire answered his call. "I want two sets of first year course books for Hogwarts." Sontium ordered gently. "Right away sir." The shop keeper bowed slightly and left to get the required books.
Harry realised that Sontium was playing the part of being a rich aristocrat. He really hated the act but if he really wanted to achieve his destiny he too would have to play his role for now. The two families present in the store looked towards the kids who had just entered the store and ordered the shop keeper around as if the owned the place. Lord Greengrass recognized the family crest of the Ambrosius family. He was surprised that an Ambrosius' family member would be going to Hogwarts. He saw a chance of forming an alliance with the family.
The second family present was surprised by the attitude of the young boy. The way he was dressed indicated that he was of a noble decent. The Grangers hoped that Hermione could befriend them. She didn't know how to befriend people of her own age. Their best hope was for one of them to take an interest in her.
Hermione seemed a little scared around rich kids as she was use to being bullied around. Her family was also rich but she didn't fit into the lifestyle that the other rich kids had. They also teased her about her hair and her front teeth.
Hermione being a book enthusiast had decided to buy many books to help understand the new world that she was entering. While carrying some of the books to the counter she tripped and the books in her hand scattered around the shop floor.
Harry, deciding to help her bent down and started collecting books. She blushed a little when she noticed the pretty boy was helping her. Seeing some of the titles he said, "Miss if you are interested to know the truth about the wizarding world then I suggest you don't read these books. They are quite biased and incomplete."
Hermione looked scandalised. The thought of books being wrong was blasphemy to her. She was about to retort when something changed her mind. "Then what should I do? I am a Muggleborn at least that is what the professor who visited us said. My name is Hermione Granger by the way." She said rapidly.
Harry smiled at her and said, "My name is Harry Potter, Miss Granger. These books can give you a general idea if you can discern the facts form the writer's beliefs. Once you have the general idea I might be able to fill in the gaps during our time at Hogwarts Miss Granger."
"Call me Hermione." She said with a slight blush. Her parents thanked God for answering their prayer and giving Hermione a friend. Now they hoped that their daughter wouldn't do something stupid and jeopardise it. Sontium watched the whole scene with mirthful eyes.
The shop keeper had arrived with Sontium's order. He placed it on the counter and said, "that will be total five Galleons sir." Sontium gave him ten and told him to keep the rest for his troubles. The shopkeeper gave a slight bow as he accepted the money.
Meanwhile Harry and Hermione had gotten acquainted with each other. When Hermione had asked for his telephone number he looked at her in confusion. "What is a telephone number?" he asked.
"Telephone is a non magical device used to communicate with other people over a distance. We don't have one Miss Granger but you can communicate with Harry via letters. His owl will pick up any letter you have for him." Sontium informed the pair. "I am Sontium Claudius Ambrosius, his foster brother and a distant relative." He introduced himself.
"Why don't you have a phone? Why an owl? How would the owl know I want to send a letter? What happened to his parents? How…" Hermione stopped questioning them when she realised what she was doing. She had just met two boys who weren't making fun of her and she bombarded them with hundred questions.
Sontium just gave a light chuckle and answered her questions, "We don't have a phone because we don't need one. We have a magical equivalent known as the Floo system instead. We use owl to delivery are mail in the wizarding world they are pretty smart creatures. They have the ability to track down anyone who isn't hiding under special wards. Harry's owl is smarter than normal owls and also magical so she would know about any letter written to her master. His parents died when he was about one and half years old. To answer your unasked question every major family in the wizarding world is related the others in some way."
Santranium had changed the appearance of Harry's familiar to that of a white owl. To a normal person she looked like as snowy white owl.
Hermione was stunned. She was at a loss of words. She blinked at them foolishly a few times before saying, "Sorry for your loss, I didn't know."
"It's alright. I have come to terms with my parents' death long time ago." Harry responded.
Sontium and Harry met with the Hermione's parents. They had a small talk with them before departed for the store. Hermione was happy about making two new friends. Her parents were also happy for her.
The Lord Greengrass who saw the entire exchange made up his mind of forming an alliance with the Ambrosius family as they too seemed to a neutral wizarding family. He was surprised to see the Potter heir with the heir of Ambrosius family.
"Was the show as we entered the store really necessary?" Harry asked. "Yes Harry it was a necessary show. It was necessary to make an impression on the Greengrass family, they may not be as old as your family but they still are a powerful family in Britain. Remember Harry, this is going to be your show. In time, I would fade away from the people's memory. To accomplish your goals you would need allies at least in the initial stages of the plan." Sontium explained.
The apothecary shopping went without an incident. Harry got himself the top of the line potion making kit for himself and Sontium. The telescope he bought was also top notch.
Finally the both went to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Madam Malkin, a squat witch who wears mauve robes. As they entered the store Sontium's eyes were caught by a pink haired beauty. By the looks of it she seemed to be a seventh year student of Hogwarts. He took a liking to her. Her name was Nymphadora Tonks. She preferred to be called by her surname and would hex any one calling her first name. Sontium saw her life history and decide to befriend her as she had no real friend. Her metamorphmagus power seemed to attract a lot of unwanted attention.
He went up to Tonks who was looking at the new dresses and said "hello, are you a Hogwarts Student too Miss?" "Tonks, you may call me Tonks little squirt. And yes I am a seventh year student." "Well it's not polite to call someone you don't know a 'little squirt' Miss Tonks. I am Sontium Claudius Ambrosius of the Ambrosius family." Sontium stated keeping his voice soft and polite. Tonks paled after hearing this she had insulted an heir to an ancient and most noble family. She apologized quickly. "It is alright Miss Tonks. I wasn't threatening you. I was just introducing myself. As I stated before it was impolite to call name to a stranger." He offered her a hand of friendship. She gladly accepted it. She desperately wanted people to be friend with her not because of her ability but for who she truly was.
After completing their shopping and exchange goodbyes with Tonks they left the store. Sontium teleported them home.
(((o)))
Harry was busy studding a book on wandlore that Santranium gave him last night. The wand that he had acquired from Ollivander's store was lying on the table with rest of the purchase completely untouched. The book on wandlore and wand making was very fascinating and complex at the same time.
Harry was finally ready to make his own wand. He knew where to find the materials he needed for his wand. He had studied all the necessary runes for the book. Santranium's teaching him the basics of magic had made reading and studying the complicated runes very simple. It was amazing, how everything complex could be broken down the basic, if you knew the proper way to do it.
The first step in making a wand was to collect all the required materials. He made a list of the materials needed:
A phoenix tail feather, more specifically one from his familiar.
A hair of a high elf (Satele's hair).
A vial of his own blood.
A block of wood for the elder.
After acquiring the materials he set to make his own wand. He used wandless magic to shape the wood, fuse the cores and inscribe runes on the wand. He pored a tremendous amount of magic into his finished wand. It wasn't any where as elegant as Sontium's wand but it seemed perfect to him.
Santranium saw Harry's wand and was impressed with Harry's work. The wand he had made was quite powerful. The feel was a little rough since Harry wasn't experienced in wand making. He corrected the problem in an instant. Now Harry's wand seemed to have a soft glow around it. Santranium also keyed the wand to Harry's touch.
(((o)))
Dumbledore was looking at Harry's acceptance letter. He was happy that the boy would be coming to Hogwarts. He started making plans to manipulate the boy and get him under his thumb. But first he needed to get all the information about his upbringing. He had planned to meet Harry when the boy would be buying his supplies at Diagon alley. The boys mind should be like an open book to him. He placed his spies throughout Diagon alley. He wasn't aware that Harry had already bought his stuff. Only six people were aware of Harry's presence. Ollivander was too shocked to inform Dumbledore about Harry's wand.
The second acceptance letter that had caught Dumbledore's eyes was that of Sontium Claudius Ambrosius. He had heard of the Ambrosius family. They were rich and were powerful. They usually didn't like to mingle with other wizards. So naturally the heir of the family to becoming to Hogwarts was very surprising.
Dumbledore started making plans to get the Ambrosius heir under his control. He knew that the best way to impress a young mind was to save him from a dangerous situation. Well an accident could be easily arranged in Hogwarts. He could even try and fool the kid into thinking that he owed him a life-debt. Finally things are looking bright for him and all his plans for the greater good were falling in place.
(((o)))
Santranium was enjoying the situation. He was currently spending some quality time with Satele. His new persona of Sontium would be causing a lot of havoc in the wizarding world and last but not the least he had a new woman to woo. He had seen Tonks' heart. It was pure but scared. She had suffered a lot of pain and hardships. The situation with her mother also didn't help her. The main problem in her life was that she didn't have any friends. He would be changing her life soon.
Satele had grown fond of Harry. She had raised him as her child. She was going to miss him. She knew about Santranium new love interest and she had no problems with it. Thought without the two of them around her life was going to be boring again.
Harry was busy studying for his upcoming year at Hogwarts. He had browsed the entire course book. To his surprise they were very easy. Even though he had never cast a spell in his live using a wand or otherwise he could get all the spells he tried in one go. He reasoned his training with Santranium had something to do with it. The way he understood the basic principles of magic helped him understand the theory in his books. Some of the things in the book were absolutely rubbish according to him. He himself could do things mention that couldn't be done let alone what Santranium and Satele were capable of doing.
His friendship with Hermione had grown. They had exchanged quite a few letters.
(((o)))
On the 1st of September Harry and Sontium teleported to King's Cross station few minutes before 11 o' clock wearing casual non-magical clothes, they perfectly blended in with common non-magical people. Their luggage was shrunken and in their pockets. Harry had already sent his owl to Hogwarts.
Harry noticed a large family of red heads lingering around the entrance. The elder children were getting agitated. The young girl and the mother were scanning the station for someone. They casually strolled passed the family to the barrier between platform 9 and 10. While they passed the family Sontium winked at the pair of twins standing there. As the passed the barrier their cloths transformed it to silk robes. Both of their robes had their respective family crest on them indicating that they were heirs to the most ancient and noble houses. The red head twins followed them through the barrier. They were impressed by the transforming clothes. They introduced themselves as Fred and George Weasley. After a little chit chat they left to find to find their friend Lee Jordan.
The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Harry and Sontium walked down the platform in search of a suitable compartment. They passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Mum, I've lost my toad again." "Oh, Neville," they heard the woman sigh.
They pressed on through the crowd until they found Tonks sitting alone in a compartment. Harry wanted to go further and find Hermione but Sontium told him to be patient. She would be coming to meet him. The compartment door was locked with a moderately strong locking charm so Sontium knocked on the door.
"Go away", shouted Tonks from inside the compartment. Sontium unlocked the door and entered the compartment followed by Harry. "Well Miss. Tonks a beautiful girl like you shouldn't be sitting alone sulking," Sontium said her. "How did a couple of first years break my locking charm?" Tonks inquired smiling at the pair.
"A locked door wasn't going to keep me away from some as gorgeous as you. For your information all locked door can be open with the correct unlocking spell. You should know this by now you will be starting your seventh year a Hogwarts now." Sontium said the last part in a very playful manner. Tonks burst out laughing at this statement. "No. What I really meant was how could a first year know an unlocking spell for such a complex locking charm?" Tonks asked again.
"Oh! So it was a complex locking charm. I did wonder why it took you a couple of seconds to unlock the door." Add Harry playfully. Tonks sent a mock glare towards Harry and decided to drop the subject.
Tonks for the first time in her life was truly happy. She seemed to have real friend. Her childhood had been tough. Growing up she didn't have any friends for children her age thought that she was a weirdo. At Hogwarts her metamorphmagus abilities attracted a lot of boys towards her while all the girls would glare daggers at her.
Harry bought a lot of stuff from the food trolley and shared with Sontium and Tonks. Hermione entered the compartment searching for Neville's toad. Actually Neville's toad was just any excuses for her to look for her first two friends. She was accompanied by Neville. Neville didn't over react seeing Harry Potter in the compartment. After the introduction Neville asked whether they had seen his toad Trevor.
"Well, no toad has crossed our paths yet. If one does eventually I will inform you about it. But you should put a leash or collar so an older student can summon it for you. A living creature cannot be summoned" Tonks explained to Neville.
"Well you are looking for the toad in the wrong place. They like cool dark and damp area so you should check the toilets or you can wait he's bound come back to you eventually." Sontium told Neville. He decided to wait and find out whether his toad came back to him. he took a seat opposite of Harry.
Just then three boys entered the compartment. The middle one was a pale blond boy. He was looking at Harry with a lot of interest. "Are you gay or something, you seem to have a keen interest in Harry." Sontium voiced his opinion. "What! You should know I date only girls." Harry told the kid.
The pale kid was turning redder by the minute. Tonks having seen Lucius Malfoy knew that this must be his son and her cousin.
"So s it true? That Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?" Malfoy said it like a well rehearsed speech.
Harry just looked at him uninterested. He looked at the two boys behind the blonde idiot. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. They were standing on either side of the blonde idiot like they were his bodyguards. "Are they humans or some ape human hybrid?" he asked.
"Oh, they are Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the blonde idiot carelessly without understanding the meaning of Harry's question. The others in the compartment started laughing. Noticing that he was being ignored he said, "My name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." as if that meant something.
"Well Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, I didn't ask for your name nor does it mean anything to me. Cut your yapping and get to the point if you have any. I have better things to do the listens to blonde idiot like gloating." Harry told Malfoy. He really hated people like blonde idiot in front of him.
"You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there," Said Malfoy. He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it. "I think I can tell who the wrong sorts are for myself, thanks," he said coolly.
Draco was turning red with anger. "I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like them."
The temperature of the room started to drop. "Calm down Harry, the fool is not worth it not yet anyway." Sontium said in a soothing voice calming Harry down.
"Malfoy you should watch your mouth in presence of your betters. I am not really interested in dealing with idiots like you right now but consider yourself warned, next time I won't be stopping him nor would I refrain from using force against you for slandering our names." Sontium said in an assertive voice.
Malfoy was about to retort when he and his friends were flung from the compartment and the door locked itself shut. Harry had is wand out. Sontium was looking at Harry.
"What" snapped Harry, "you warned him and the idiot was getting on my nerves."
"Harry you can't go around blasting people that get on your nerves."Sontium chided him.
"I can't?" Harry asked sincerely, "But I just did." He added in a mocking tone.
"It bad manners. Plus you should you should learn to deal with such people, you will be facing many idiots like him in your life time. Now if he hasn't complained to any one, apologize to him." Sontium told him.
"Ok but if he tries anything can I change him to a toad?" Harry asked innocently.
"Harry!" Sontium responded in mock anger.
"Ok, ok no changing Malfoy in to a toad." With that Harry left to find Malfoy.
The others in the compartment were stunned. First by Harry's magical display and secondly by the conversation that took place between the two. "What was all that about?" Hermione asked. "Does Harry know human transfiguration? I heard transfiguration is very difficult, isn't it?"
"Calm down Hermione. Well I am sort of Harry's guardian. Yes and no." was Sontium reply to Hermione.
"You are of the same age as him so how can you be his guardian?" Tonks asked.
"What do you mean by yes and no?" Neville asked.
"Well aren't you people so full of question. I said I am 'sort of' his guardian. Not his real guardian. After his parents death Harry was taken in by my father. So he is Harry's real guardian but since I am the more responsible one Tonks, I have to look after him. Neville the last parts were answers to Hermione's question in the order she asked."
"Harry was with your family?" Tonks asked. She added, "I thought he was kidnapped. There was a country wide search for him. All the aurors were searching for him for two years before giving up."
"I have read about it in…" Hermione couldn't finish her sentence. "What you have heard and read" he said looking at Tonks and Hermione "were complete lies. These lies were spread by Albus Dumbledore."
Neville and Hermione stared defending Dumbledore and arguing with Sontium. "You may have regard Dumbledore as a wizarding god or the next Merlin. But in reality he is just like Voldemort if not worse." Sontium said shutting them up.
"How could you say that? He is the best headmaster Hogwarts has ever had." Both Hermione and Neville said in unison.
"Tell me then how come after Dumbledore took over headmastership of Hogwarts that the standards of education have dropped. Check the record if you don't believe me. The number of subjects has been reduced in the last century. The inter house rivalry is at its highest. Now Hermione in the non-magical world would a school headmaster be allowed to be the head of the parliament, head of U.N and a headmaster of the school at the same time?"
"No but…"Hermione started.
"Albus Dumbledore is all that at the same time. He is the headmaster of Hogwarts. He is the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards it is a body similar to the U.N but more powerful and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot who is like the head of parliament and the Supreme Court judge rolled into one. He mainly manipulates people from behind the scene."
They all wanted to protest but knew that Sontium's tone left no room for arguments. Hermione's belief on authority figures was question. Neville and Tonks both grew up in the world which hailed Dumbledore as the second coming of Merlin found the hard to digest. Tonks knew in deep within her heart that Sontium was saying truth. Dumbledore hadn't tried to help her. He could have easily intervened in her situation.
Harry returned to the compartment and looked at the somber faces of the people inside. "Harry you don't really believe that Dumbledore is a bad person, do you?" Hermione inquired in a pleading tone.
"Don't get me started on him Hermione. He is the reason that my parents are dead. My godfather is in Azkaban prison for 10 years. He tried to place me in an abusive home. He went against my parents will. He tried to take over my family vaults with a fake will. All of you can't even being fathom the things he has done." During his speech he had started to release a lot of magical power.
"Stop it Harry." Sontium told him firmly. "In time we will deal with him but now sit down and relax."
"Harry doesn't like to talk about Dumbledore so please refrain from praising the old man in front of him." Sontium informed the group.
The others in the compartment were thinking about what they heard. Hermione had no reasons to doubt her friends. What they had said about the book she read on the Wizarding world seemed to be true. Plus they had no reason to lie to her. Neville on the other hand found the information difficult to digest. He had heard so many great things about the man from a very young age. He decided to wait a see whether his new friends were truthful or not. Tonks had no problem believe what they said. Dumbledore had never helped her out in school. He let Slytherins go unpunished most of the times. He allowed Snape to be biased. She also remembered meeting Sirius when she was young. He didn't seem like a derange killer to her.
AS they were pondering an announcement was made about arriving in Hogsmeade in five minutes. Hermione and Tonks left to change their cloths.
As the trains stopped at Hogsmeade station, they got out and heard a giant yelling for the first years to come to him. Tonks left for the carriages.
A/N: 1) This is the edited version of the second chapter. There might be some discrepancies with the later chapters till they are corrected.
2) I will update my other stories soon.
3) Sontium is an assumed identity of Santranium to go to Hogwarts School.
4) Plz Review.