Hermione found it odd that Ron and his twin older brothers would be studying on a Sunday morning. Those three never studied. Even Neville was better than those three. At least Neville began studying a week before exams. Ron usually waited until the day before to begin cramming. But Ron had skipped breakfast and Ginny informed Hermione that Ron was 'studying'.
"Well, if it isn't the Mudblood. Where's your two bloodtraitor friends?" the distinct voice of Draco Malfoy asked.
"So, Malfoy, come to confirm that you have an intelligence lesser than that of a flobberworm?" Hermione retorted as she continued her breakfast.
"How can a Mudblood like you determine someone else's intellect? You barely have one of your own. I wonder how it is you got into Ravenclaw," Malfoy shot back.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the self proclaimed prince of Slytherin," a new voice entered. "You know, using the same insult over and over again just proves how low your intellect is. Insults like that are hardly worth receiving the title of 'prince'."
Hermione and Draco turned to see the newest student of Hogwarts. Harry Potter. "Who are you?" Draco asked as he studied Harry.
"I'm the Prince of Mischief. Self proclaimed of course," Harry replied with a grin.
"Mister Potter! Get back to the Gryffindor table before you start causing any trouble!" the voice of McGonagall ordered. "You too, Mister Malfoy." Draco let out a scowl before turning back.
When the two boys left, Hermione turned back to her breakfast and found a note by her plate. She picked it up and read it.
So, how did you like the fireball? Cool isn't it? I can show you how to perform one. –Harry Potter
Hermione turned and saw Harry who sat at the Gryffindor table looking her direction. He gave her a wink before Hermione turned back rolling her eyes. She knew from the moment she met Harry that he would be nothing but trouble. She only hoped Ron had not befriended Harry.
Suddenly, Harry appeared in the seat next to her. "Nothing but trouble huh?" Harry said as he chomped down on his breakfast.
"How did you!" Hermione cried out as she turned back and saw Harry was not there.
"Magic." Harry replied as he finished his cereal.
Hermione stared at Harry fairly confused and annoyed at his answer. What kind of magic did Harry use to get from one side of the room to the other in a matter of seconds? There was no possible way Harry could have Apparated as Apparation was impossible inside of Hogwarts. "Not possible!" Hermione cried out as she racked her brain for an answer.
"It is. But I doubt you can figure it out with the knowledge here. The last Planeswalker was Salazar Slytherin and this magic has been lost for centuries," Harry whispered to Hermione before getting out of his seat.
"Harry Potter!" the voice of McGonagall shouted again.
"Time to run!" Harry said as he dashed out of the Great Hall quickly before the Transfiguration Professor could catch up.
"It would be best if you did not befriend Mister Potter, Miss Granger. That one is nothing but trouble," Professor McGonagall told Hermione before turning and walking back towards Dumbledore. Dumbledore had a smile across his face clearly enjoying Harry's sporadic behavior. "Can't you do anything about Harry, Albus?" She asked as she sat down next to the headmaster.
"I'm afraid I cannot. The only one who can control Harry has past away I believe," Dumbledore replied carefully hoping McGonagall did not figure out Salazar Slytherin was the one he was referring to. "Minerva, trying to catch Harry is impossible. Believe me, I've tried. He's no danger to the students."
"But Albus, you saw the spell he cast yesterday!" McGonagall protested quickly. "There's not a single piece of information about that spell in this school!"
"That is because the spell is one performed without a wand," Dumbledore replied as he sipped from his goblet. "When the time comes, I will reveal all I know about Harry. For now, let's just watch over him."
"Are you sure that's a wise decision? He may begin to influence the students. The Weasley Twins are trouble enough already. What if they come under Harry's influence?" McGonagall asked worriedly.
"Yes, Fred and George Weasley are a pair of troublemakers, however, Harry will not be a bad influence upon them," Dumbledore answered. "As I stated before, when the time comes, I will reveal all that I know."
"Very well," McGonagall relented with a sigh. There was nothing she could do except trust the Headmaster.
Harry dashed down the hallway and found himself at the entrance to the Slytherin Tower. "Hey Sal!" Harry shouted out.
"What do you want, Hairball?" Salazar grunted as he yawned.
"How do I get to Hufflepuff?"
"Looking for Neville?" Salazar inquired.
"Yeah. This damn place is like a maze. Why didn't you make a map for this damn place?"
"You used to know this like the back of your hand," Salazar grinned in response. "You're not suffering from old age, are you?"
"That was a long time ago! Almost everything's changed! What remains the same only remains the same in that the room or hall has not changed, but the location has!" Harry ranted in response. "Couldn't you have made a map that would log all the changes over the years?"
"Well, where's the fun in that? I wouldn't be able to get idiots like you lost." The founder was smiling as he knew Harry was lost.
"You know, if you were alive, I'd jinx you right now!" Harry sneered with malice.
"Then I'll be waiting."
Harry frowned to Salazar's last statement. If Harry knew Salazar, that last statement meant that Salazar was still alive. But Harry was also a Planeswalker that could step through the gates of time. So this would mean that Harry might meet Salazar in the past. "Damn you and your love of riddles!"
"If you used that soggy brain of yours for once, you might just be able to figure it out!"
"Are you going to tell me or just continue to insult me?"
"Continue to insult you," Salazar replied without a thought.
Harry just turned away and closed his eyes to concentrate. The greatest part about Planeswalking was that Harry could move across great distances without wasting too much time. This was different than Apparating which was an instantaneous teleportation. Planeswalking allowed a Planeswalker to step into an Elemental Plane. There existed quite a few and Harry was well verse in moving through the Elemental Planes of Wind, Water, Fire, and Shadow. He could also move through the Planes of Light, Earth and Thunder, but some difficulty. Others like the Ethereal Plane was impossible to move through since Harry loathed the creatures that lurked in that plane.
In a few moments of time, Harry found the shadow of Neville and immediately walked into the plane. It was simple to move through the Plane of Shadow since Harry used it the most. He appeared next to Neville a moment later surprising The-Boy-Who-Lived. "Hello, Neville. I'm Harry Potter," Harry greeted as he held out a hand.
"Um… Hello, Harry Potter," Neville replied uneasily. Although he was famous, Neville had never gotten use to the idea. He was also wondering how Harry had entered the Hufflepuff Tower without anyone seeing him enter.
"Don't bother trying to figure out. Even Hermione couldn't," Harry said quickly. Thanks to Salazar, Harry was skilled in Legilimancy and Occlumency. He had mixed the two with a telepathy spell he had learned and this gave Harry the permanent ability to probe surface thoughts of people's minds. "So, how's it like being The-Boy-Who-Lived?"
"Horrible," Neville answered honestly. Harry could see that Neville was no longer as lively as he once was. His eyes were dull and sad. He slouched over and moved sluggishly. Harry did not need to ask anyone to know that Voldemort was winning this war. And winning by a lot.
It only took a moment for Harry to see the memories of the friends and family members of Neville that have died through this ordeal. The one that stood out was the death of an older boy named Cedric Diggory. "Neville, I may not be the right person to tell you this, but none of this is your fault. This is a war, Neville. The harsh reality is that people close to you will be killed or sacrificed. If you cannot find the strength to pull through this, then the world will fall. As cruel as this may sound, the fate of the world is on your shoulders. However, you are not alone. You have friends, Neville. Rely on them. Being an idiot and trying to solve everything alone is just stupid."
Neville looked up at Harry and some life returned into his eyes. Harry had gotten Neville to think rather than sulk, and this was a beginning. Over the five or six hundred years of wars Harry fought, he had learned several things. One of which was to rely on your friends. Without support, a person will fall over and crumble. "Who are you?" Neville asked.
"I am Harry Potter. The other boy who lived," Harry whispered in response as he lifted his hair to show off his scar. "Voldemort came after both of us." Neville cringed to the name, which Harry found annoying. "You are the one chosen to kill him. I am just here for support."
Neville looked around and found no one there in the common room. "There can't be two boys who lived."
"That is why I disappeared," Harry replied. "The killing curse that rebounded off of you that nearly killed Voldemort burn in this scar for me."
"Why did you return?"
"I'm not quite sure," Harry replied honestly. He did not have to return. Even now, Harry could chose to walk away. Neville had almost everything he needed to win. Luck was on his side. Harry's intervention would only further complicate the war. It would upset the balance of power. Yet, Harry was choosing to interfere. Interfere in a war that he could just walk away from. A war which Harry did not have to participate in. It was his chance to finally walk away from war, yet Harry decided to return. "Perhaps it's because I feel that it's my duty as a person and a wizard to aid those fighting to defeat Voldemort."
"Duty? Then is it my duty to fight Voldemort?" Neville asked in response to Harry's answer.
"No, Neville, it was never your duty, but it became your destiny," Harry answered.
"Destiny. How does anyone know that it's my destiny? People place so much faith upon me but what if I fail? What if I betray the world?" Neville asked out of fear.
"Only time can tell you the answer to your question," Harry decided to respond. "Soon, you will learn the truth of your destiny and why it is your destiny. Afterwards, the day of open war will be upon us, Neville. You will be forced to lead your friends into battle. Think carefully on how you want to proceed. Think of what you can do to achieve your goal. Let the historians worry about whether or not you betrayed the world."
As Harry walked away, he voiced in his mind wanted to say to Neville:
It was never your duty, Neville. At least not originally. It became your destiny, but before that, it was the duty of the adults to defeat Voldemort in the first war. They neglected their duty out of fear, thus a Prophecy was born. The Prophecy was Earth's last resort to restore order and balance. A resort that had to be used because the adults feared death and responsibility. It was never your duty to fight Voldemort. If the adults of the world would stop living their lie, your destiny would be lifted from your shoulders. But they continue to neglect their duties. When the time comes for the truth to be revealed, the world will be in disarray. The adults would remember the fear they once experienced, but this time they will choose to place the burden upon your shoulders.
However, Neville was not ready to hear those words yet. He would not understand them because Neville had not heard the Prophecy. The Prophecy was key to understanding why people turned to him for leadership and hope. It was a harsh view on Neville's role, but it was the reality of Neville's role. Harry watched over the first war with Voldemort. He could not interfere because the events of that war could not be changed by him. If Harry attempted to change it, Balthasar would intervene. As Harry observed the pervious war, he watched as witches and wizards who opposed Voldemort's reign remain neutral due to fear. Harry saw the world allow Voldemort's reign of terror because there was a belief that someone else will come along and do the job.
The logic of those who remained neutral was flawed and the unity of the world was shattered. The balance of good and evil shifted to one side and the world slowly descended into chaos and anarchy. The world cannot remain in order while it is tilted to one side, good or evil. Both must exist in balance for Earth to survive. With every good deed done, an equivalent evil deed existed to counterbalance the world. A perfectly good world doesn't exist for the world would collapse due to ideals that cannot exist solely on their own. Ideals such as complete equality. Equality is discovered through a comparison of good and bad. Eliminate the bad, then the comparison is gone. Without the comparison, equality disappears as everything would be the same. With everything being the same, there would be no progress. Typically, the bad were what people sought to improve. The good, people try to keep static allowing the bad to improve.
This was what Harry saw during the war. All the wars Harry fought in destroyed precious resources and killed too many lives to be worth it. Economies were crippled by the amount of money and resources needed for war. Countries collapsed after war and were wiped out of existence, at least in Europe. They cycle repeated itself. One country, in their arrogance, believed that their system of government, or their bloodline reigned supreme and sought to 'spread' it to the 'barbaric lands'. To do so, they set out to conquer through war. What Harry discovered was that the wars sought to conquer sometimes destroyed some of the good in the world while often times leaving more evil.
The war Neville was destined to fight was very much the same. Voldemort, as evil as he was, would not bring about the evil that would come when the war reached its climax and end. Voldemort would bring about the death and destruction of the little good left in this world. The good that survived the war would be tainted with evil. Innocent lives will be lost and families will be destroyed. That was war. Those that have to survive losing their family to war would never be the same. Those strong enough will look towards a brighter future. Others will succumb to hatred or sorrow and seeds of evil will be planted inside of them. In most cases, those seeds sprout and blossom. Harry only hoped that Neville was strong enough, not just for himself, but his closest friends as well.
Harry disappeared as quickly as he came. There was one more person Harry needed to speak with before returning to the Gryffindor Tower. Harry found Draco and his gang of Slytherin followers walking down an empty corridor to the Slytherin Tower. "Draco Malfoy!" Harry called out gaining the attention of the Slytherin Prince.
"What do you want, Potter?" Draco spat.
"To ask you a question. I think it would be best if you sent your friends away, but they can stay and listen if they want," Harry replied casually.
Draco eyed Harry for a moment wondering what it was Harry wanted to ask while debating whether to send his gang away. "Ask. I will end up telling them anyways," Draco decided to say.
"Fine. Are you with Voldemort?" Harry asked directly. However, Harry did not need Draco to respond to know the answer. He was already probing the Slytherin's mind.
Draco was taken back by the question and the use of the name of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The truth was Draco was not sure. His allegiance lies with his family and since his father is a Death Eater, Draco assumed he would be made one as well. There was little Draco could do to avoid the path his father had chosen for him. "I'm not a Death Eater," Draco decided to reply.
"Good. I hope you don't ever become one. I'd hate to fight someone like you," Harry said as he walked passed the group of Slytherins without a care. "Think carefully on the path you take, Draco, not the one forced onto you. Only then will you earn respect."
Draco turned and stared down the hall where Harry walked. Not a single person moved until Harry disappeared around the corner. "Your father will want to know about this conversation," Pansy stated.
"Don't tell me what to do, Pansy," Draco shot back. He had meant to speak in a threatening voice, but after meeting Harry, he was too confused. The threat came out more like a request.
A part of him he hid away was returning. Draco shook his head and turned back down the hall to the Slytherin Tower. Could I escape from my father's path? Draco began to ask himself once more. Could I achieve the strength, power and respect my father possesses? Those were the questions Draco had asked himself when he was younger, but stopped when his father had told him he could not escape. Draco always believed that this was his destiny, but something about Harry's words began to change his thinking.
Draco then decided he wanted to know more. Or perhaps it was to confirm that the hope he found in Harry's words were true. Breaking away from his group without a word, Draco walked down the path Harry had taken. His followers hesitated for a moment, wondering if they should follow, but Draco was already dashing past another corner before they could follow.
Draco did not want them to follow. His father taught him all his life that hope was a weakness. Hope was a gamble that could not be trusted to yield the desired result. What one needed was cold hard facts to provide certainty. Certainty was what Lucius Malfoy trusted and tried to pass onto Draco, but unlike his father, Draco wanted the freedom of shaping his own destiny. He wanted to be strong and powerful and obtain the strength and power on his own. Draco no longer wanted his father to hand him his strength and power. Inheritance does not guarantee respect. Respect was earned and Draco was respected only by the respect his father owned. Alone, Draco was nothing. He had nothing.
Harry's words gave Draco gave him hope, something he was trained to instinctively dismiss. But the hope was too strong to dismiss. More so than his hope, Draco's will and pride demanded that he seek out Harry and take the gamble. Lucius had to have been like Draco once, weak, powerless and without respect. To change, Lucius must have taken a gamble that could destroy him. A gamble that was a great challenge. A gamble based on hope and faith. If Lucius succeeded, then as his son, Draco will succeed as well.
"Those are nice determined eyes, Draco," the voice of Harry Potter complemented before walking out of the shadows behind Draco. Draco quickly spun around with his wand drawn and poised at Harry. "Did you want something from me?"
"Answers," Draco responded. "What do your words mean?"
"About what?" Harry asked innocently and made no move to defend himself and by the look of him, Draco noted that there was a high chance Harry was without a wand.
"What path am I to take?" Draco elaborated. "You said to think carefully on my path."
"That is your decision, Draco," Harry answered with a smile. "There are plenty of paths in your future, but ultimately it affects only one event. War."
"Which path will I gain the most respect from? Siding with Neville or Voldemort?" Draco dared to ask. He spoke with confidence and determination to receive a definite answer, but he knew that it did not matter what Harry's answer was, Draco would still have to place blind hope and faith on one path.
"That sort of thinking will only get you as far as your father," Harry answered Draco. "Your father chose Voldemort because he believed that Voldemort would make him strong, powerful and respected. Your father chose to gain respect from only purebloods by siding with a wizard whose goal is to, for a lack of a better word, 'purify' the magical community. Perhaps that was all your father thought mattered, but you aren't your father, are you?"
Draco looked into Harry's eyes, attempting to find the answer he was seeking. When Draco could not find it, he sought for the meaning Harry was trying to convey in his words. But even then, they were too difficult. All Draco knew Harry was saying was that Lucius had set a limit for himself.
"Are you telling me to set a higher limit for myself?" Draco decided to ask.
"No, don't set a higher limit," Harry replied with a satisfied smile. "Find out your ultimate goal and use whatever methods necessary to achieve it."
"Even if it means betrayal?"
"Like I stated, choose your path wisely," Harry answered cryptically before he walked away. Draco stood silently staring at where Harry had stood and though about Harry's words.
"I am the shaper of my own destiny," Draco concluded to himself with a smile.
Harry walked down the halls in his black robes. He had yet to purchase the correct color robes that matched the Gryffindor colors, but Harry was not too concerned. Harry did not actually belong to any houses. Harry was raised during the time Hogwarts was built by the founders. Later, Harry returned with Salazar and Salazar had to disguise himself so his younger self would not recognize him. Harry was admitted into Hogwarts under a false name and under Salazar's orders. When he placed on the hat, the hat was confused and did not sort Harry into any of the house. It just so happened that war broke out that evening and Harry was dragged into it like every other war.
If Harry had a wand, he could have easily changed his robes, but that was one of the things he still needed to get. Balthazar had taken his wand away from him forcing Harry to learn to control wandless magic. It annoyed Harry to no end, but Salazar stated it was necessary. In the end, Harry found wandless magic far better than magic using a wand. But the one weakness of wandless magic was that it drained the energy from the user.
Magic cast with the aid of a magical medium like a wand's magical core drained little away from the user. Magical cores absorbed energy from the world around to create the spells. With wandless magic, energy is taken directly from the caster which makes the strength of the spell reflective upon the strength of the caster. A powerful caster can create devastating spells although lower level. Like Harry's fireball for example. A normal fireball has a radius of twenty feet, but Harry's can grow up to two miles long if he wished it. But that would drain all his energy in one blast. This was all thanks to the hundreds of years of building up his magical energy.
Luckily for Harry, no one alive enforces the ban on wandless magic. Since it was forbidden well over a millennium ago and these spell incantations were destroyed for secrecy, wandless magic was gone from the world. At least the art of controlling it is. All wizards and witches are able to use wandless magic, but none can control them. Not even Dumbledore.
As Harry turned to make his way to the Gryffindor Tower, he bumped into someone and heard a crash as his glasses fell. "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," Harry quickly apologized as he struggled to get his glasses back on. Harry was legally blind without his glasses on. Unfortunately for Harry, his eyes were cursed when he received the scar and no amount of laser surgery or magical healing could fix it. When he finally got his glasses back on, Harry found that he had bumped into Hermione Granger. "Let me help," Harry said quickly as he knelt down and stacked all her books into a neat stack.
Hermione let Harry stack her books while she stared at him wondering who and what he is. There was no one like Harry who entered Hogwarts at the end of the fifth year. Nor was there any record of Planeswalkers in the library. "Who or what are you?" Hermione asked as Harry lifted her books into his arms. "No one can move across the Great Hall within a moment of time! Not even Professor Dumbledore! As for Planewalkers, there are no traces of it in any of the books! So tell me, Harry, if that's even your real name, who are what are you?"
"Who I am is Harry James Potter, which is my real name. What I am is a human wizard," Harry replied simply.
Hermione frowned, not expecting such a vague and confusing answer. "That doesn't explain how you do the things you do. There's more about you than meets the eye."
"You can say that for just about everyone," Harry shot back. Unless his opponent was as good with words as Salazar, there was no way they could win. Plus Harry had an advantage. "You will understand who I am one day, Hermione. For now, I'm just Harry Potter, a fifteen year old boy studying for the O.W.L.s."
Hermione eyed Harry curiously. Never had there been a person who could evade all her questions. Then again, she had Neville and Ron as best friends and those two weren't the brightest of people. You could go as far as to say that they might be the dullest of people when it comes to intelligence. "How do you know me?"
"Secret," Harry replied. "I will only tell you once I have gained your trust."
Hermione frowned at Harry. Usually the phrase was used the other way around. For a moment, Hermione wondered if she had met Harry before. "The way you talk makes it seem like we've met before."
Harry debated whether or not to make Hermione even more confused, but decided to say, "We're strangers, so you wouldn't trust me. But I am willing to place my trust in you in hopes that one day you will trust me."
"What if I betray you?"
Harry just shrugged. "So what? You have your reasons for doing what you did and I trust your judgment. But even after the betrayal, I will still trust you."
Hermione laughed in mockery. "That's easy to say."
"Yes it is," Harry shot back quickly. "But I have faith in my friends. I have been betrayed many times, but I found that forgiving them to be far more satisfying than taking revenge."
Hermione stopped in her tracks. These were not normal words that come from a normal fifteen year old boy. These were more like words of an adult. Something her parents would say. Words of wisdom. "You don't sound like a person your age."
Harry just laughed and stated, "Maybe I'm not. Or maybe I am just repeating what I heard from someone else." Harry stopped to turn around to face Hermione. "I believe this is the entrance to the Ravenclaw Tower. Unless you need my assistance in carrying your books to your room, I will take my leave."
Harry waited for Hermione to walk up to him before he handed Hermione her books. "You don't seem like a normal person, Harry Potter. Who are you, really?"
"Merlin using polyjuice potion!" Harry replied jokingly as he slipped away down the hall. "See you again, Hermione!" he called out as he raised an arm and waved. "We'll talk again!"
As Harry walked away, he could not help but notice the similarities in the three conversations he had. Neville's destiny was the result of the older generation neglecting their duty. They turned their backs on the world and Neville was born because of the masses betraying the world. Draco's path laid somewhere between good and evil.
-
"I see you have already made acquaintances with Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Draco Malfoy, and Ronald, Ginny, Fred and George Weasley. You sure work quickly, Alex," Dumbledore said as he stood next to the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Well, it's never bad to get an early start as you always say," Harry said as he made his way up the last steps.
"Something interesting going to happen?" Dumbledore asked with twinkles in his eyes.
"I wouldn't put it that way."
"So the time is soon?"
"Yes. Perhaps too soon. No, it's happening too soon," Harry replied darkly. "They're not ready Albus. No where near ready at all. I would have thought you would make better use of the time given to them."
Dumbledore gave a weak smile. "Sometimes I forget I'm not as young as I use to be. I wanted to shield them from this war as long as I could and fight this war myself."
"This is not your war anymore, Albus. I did not save you so you would die in another war."
"Ah, so it was you who saved me," Dumbledore said stroking his beard. "I always wondered who it was. Thank you, Alex."
"Teach them well, Albus. They are the future of this world," Harry said as he walked up to the Fat Lady and spoke the password.
"What of you?" Dumbledore asked out of curiosity.
Harry chuckled and replied, "I'm like you. A relic of the past."