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Chapter 3: In Badger's Clothing
Harry woke the next morning wondering why he was surrounded by an annoyingly cheerful yellow bed spread and yellow walls and yellow curtains and deeply contrasting black borders lacing around in delicate patterns across every surface. It took a moment for him to regain his orientation and he began to think that the Hufflepuff dorms were far gaudier than the Gryfindor red and gold.
He cast a wandless tempus charm and found that it was seven o' clock. Breakfast had only just begun and Harry had about an hour before History of Magic with the Gryfindors. He had gotten quite a bit of homework done yesterday despite the fact that most of the study session was spent listening to school news, a.k.a. gossip, but the Hufflepuffs refused to label it as such. At any rate, the only piece of school work left to complete was his essay on the unforgivable curses for Defense and he could finish that before lunch. It was incredibly easy to complete assignments you already knew the answers to.
A few of the other boys were stirring in there beds, stretching or rubbing their eyes. Harry grabbed an extra set of clothes from his trunk and made for the showers. Unlike the showers in Gryfindor tower, these showers had stalls with yellow curtains for privacy, and even a changing area. Harry was mildly impressed, and a little miffed that the Gryfindors did not have the same opportunity for privacy. Harry had had to get over any sort of shyness and modesty very quickly. It had never been fun to wash in front of all the other boys who were all taller and broader than he ever was. The Dursley family had starved him to the point where it had stunted his growth, not to mention growing up in a dark cupboard for the first eleven years of his life didn't help much.
Justin waved at him as he exited a shower stall. Harry, with his arms full, only smiled and said a quiet good morning before entering another. As he began to strip down he noticed that the stalls even had a full length mirror and a small wooden bench to set clothing on.
Harry glanced at his reflection as he was about to remove his boxers and stopped to fully take in his appearance. It was strange how different he looked, how much younger his body appeared. His fourteen-year-old reflection stared back with tired eyes and pale, unblemished skin. All of the scars were gone, and he no longer needed a glamour charm to hide them. His brilliant green eyes looked even brighter behind the thinner glasses contrasting vividly against the forever messy dark hair, but it seemed darker now, a true black. He was a little bit taller than he remembered being at fourteen as well, but he was still slim, and regrettably shorter than any of his year mates.
Sighing at his vanity, Harry removed the last of his clothing and stepped into the shower. It was strange reorienting himself with this new body's smooth skin and delicate hands.
'Have I never worked a day in my life?' Harry sneered in disgust as he thought of his other self and what sort of person he must have been.
After stepping out of the shower and casting a drying spell, Harry dressed himself and quickly made his way back to the dorms to grab his books and head to breakfast. On his way to the Great Hall, he nearly collided with another person. It was not until he caught a glimpse of the radish earrings and long blond hair that he recognized her.
"Oh. Hello." Luna Lovegood greeted him dreamily.
"Hi, Luna." Harry grinned, "I'm sorry for almost running into you."
"Did the Wackspurts leave? You seem better than the other day." Her brows knit in confusion, but she still smiled.
"Mm? Oh, that must be it. But I don't think I'll ever know for sure if I will ever completely get rid of them." Harry said gravely, "Where are you off to? Classes don't start for another half hour."
"Oh, there is a broken feather quill in the second classroom on the second floor. I need it for my necklace. Maybe I should give one to you, to keep the Wackspurts from getting to you."
"I would be honored, Luna." Harry smiled. He had never really quite understood how she managed to make her warding amulets out of everyday items. Some were quite powerful and could be made to deflect certain curses or creatures. He suspected that Luna was able to sense different energies in objects and could combine them in such a way so that they might be useful to one who holds or wears it.
"Here, you can have this one." Luna pulled a long chain of crinkled paper, glass from a broken inkwell, and five small green feathers, presumably from a parrot or perhaps a fwooper, spaced unevenly between bits of wood. Between each piece was a knotted thread tied loosely so they made a loop.
"Thank you, Luna." Harry said, surprised, and slipped it gently over his head, having to loop it twice so it would not hang down to his waist and obstruct his movement, "What does it do?"
"It should keep the Wackspurts away, at least for a little while. And it might even protect you from crupples if you tie that red string next to the third feather a bit tighter." Harry immediately tightened the red sting and thanked Luna.
This time Harry remembered to sit at the Hufflepuff table, taking a spot in between Wayne and Justin. He listened with mild interest as Hannah was explaining the different types of levitation spells to the other fourth years, such as wingardium leviosa, and mobilcorpus. Aparently there was a quiz in Charms today on levitation spells and their different purposes and why… etc.
"Well, mobilcorpus is used to transport bodies, but even though it is a difficult spell to master, it takes less physical magic to sustain. I think that it must be because it is a more specific command." She took a sip of her juice.
"Why wouldn't you use wingardium leviosa, I mean rather, why do you think it is harder to move a body with that particular spell?" Harry let his chin rest comfortably in his palm and he smiled sweetly. Hannah looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, if you're so smart, why don't you tell us?"
"It's more fun if you guess." Harry tapped his finger against the ridge of his cup, "I'll give you a hint. Why do you think we started with feathers in first year?"
"Well, because they're light… oh!"
"Weight makes a difference in wingardium leviosa. To move a body with mobilcorpus one is using the magic already present in the body being levitated, this is why it is extremely important not to use that particular spell to move a muggle over long distances, otherwise you will find it even more draining than wingardium leviosa, and it is even more important to avoid moving a witch or wizard who's magic is nearly depleted. Otherwise you could potentially harm the one you levitate, theoretically, if you deplete the magical core of a person, you can make them into a squib, although, I've never heard of that happening. It would be better to find another means of transport, and there are a few other-,"
"Harry," Justin slapped a hand over Harry's mouth, interrupting his speech, "First of all, no one wants a lecture this early in the day right before History of Magic, secondly, when were you planning on telling us you were a closet Ravenclaw?"
"Huh?" Harry asked, but it was a bit muffled.
"I wonder if blast ended skrewts make you smarter if you get hit by one?" Wayne piled a second helping of pancakes on his plate and began smothering them in a lake of syrup.
"Well, I was just… um, reading about it the other day, in the library." Harry had no idea if there was any of this information in the library or not, but the excuse would suffice.
"Do we have anything due for potions after History of Magic?" Wayne asked.
"No, but I would expect an in class essay on the reading he assigned last Thursday." Justin pulled out a thin book, which Harry assumed was a planner of some sort, and flipped through the pages, "So before that, we should at least review the burn-healing paste and probably look ahead at the hair growth solution." Harry grinned when he heard that. It had been a while since his own fourth year potions class, but Harry could brew nearly every medical potion ever made and the hair growth solution sounded like it would be a simple task at the very least.
"You don't look worried at all," Hannah observed, "Usually you go pale at the mention of Snape or his classes.
"I'm prepared this time."
"I doubt he'll let you near an actual potion after what happened the last time." Justin shivered. "It took the whole day to get rid of those awful sores. Snape was furious."
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"Well, maybe if you would pay attention during the lecture, you wouldn't need me to copy notes. I swear, neither of you will pass your O.W.L.s if you keep falling asleep in class."
"Hermione, everyone falls asleep in professor Bins class, except you."
Harry could hardly keep his eyes off of the younger Hermione and Ron beginning their customary argument before class. It was almost like he could walk up to the two of them, swing his arms over their shoulders and laugh, but of course he restrained himself. Instead he smiled fondly at the two Gryffindors looking away only when Neville caught him staring.
Neville was the boy-who-lived in this world, more self assured and graceful than he remembered, but underneath he was terrified of his destiny. Harry flashed Neville a grin that said a great many things, and glimpsed confusion in return. It wasn't as if Neville truly understood his connection to Voldemort yet, but deep down, he probably knew the gist of it. They both did, and Harry suddenly wanted to speak with him and tell him that he was not alone as he felt, but class was starting, and he suspected that Neville was already coming to conclusions of his own about what that smile had meant, and none of them were likely to be good judging by the light coloring in the boy's cheeks.
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Harry sat in the library flicking through book after book, not finding anything remotely related to time travel. The fact was, Harry was a poor researcher. It was at times like this when he painfully missed Hermione's natural way with books, knowing exactly where to look. Harry learned better when he was fighting for his life or when his body was under a heavy amount of stress. Hermione however was on a constant quest for new information. It was a shame that he no longer had exclusive access to her researching skills.
The only thing Harry had found so far was a small paragraph on timeturners in an atlas on wizarding inventions in the past three centuries. He thought if he began with something he knew, like a timeturner, it might lead to other references to time travel, or dimensional travel.
Frustrated, he flicked his wrist irritably and sent the book sliding across the small table with the force his magic used to shut it. He sighed and let his head rest against the table, digging his fingers into his hair.
"I hate this." He muttered into the wood. It had only been fifteen minutes, and already all he could think about was what he wanted for lunch. It was as if the moment he opened a book his mind wandered off somewhere else. Harry learned best through trail and error, not by books.
"Are you having trouble finding something, Potter?" Harry sat up straight, and turned to find Hermione standing a respectful distance from where he sat. She looked, if Harry read her expression right, like she had found something intriguing, and he momentarily berated himself for using wandless magic where he could be easily observed. She had most likely witnessed his careless act.
"Erm…" Harry was torn between hugging her and running away, and unfortunately both were out of the question for the moment. "Well, I-… you see…"
"What interest do you have in wizard inventions?"
"Well, well, what do we have here?" Harry planted his face into his palm, and ground his teeth together in irritation, "If it isn't a mudblood and our resident idiot flirting with each other. Planning to dirty your blood further Potter?" Draco slinked around a bookshelf and Hermione gripped the book she held tightly and glared hard at the blond pureblood.
"Don't you have anything better to do than insult my family?" Hermione spat.
"Probably," Draco peered carelessly at his nails, "yet, here I am."
"Would you like to know a secret, Malfoy?" Harry stood from his seat and stepped between the Slytherin and Gryffindor, leaning in to whisper in the blond boy's ear, "Your hair is neon green." Harry twirled his index finger in a small motion and then backed up looking into steely gray eyes. "I can change it back if you apologize to Her- Miss Granger." He grinned watching Draco's expression slowly reveal confusion and worry. Harry stifled his laughter behind a hand.
"What did you do to my hair?" Draco tugged on his fringe worriedly, "You didn't really turn it green did you?" Hermione laughed outright, pulling a mirror from her book bag and handing it to Draco. Gray eyes widened and then narrowed to angry slits.
"You will pay for this Potter."
"Well, if you had watched your language, you wouldn't be in this situation." He grimaced at the aristocrat's vanity, but then reminded himself that said aristocrat was like most young teenagers and was incredibly self absorbed. Best to compromise then. "If you swear never to call her such a vile term again, I'll change you back before anyone else sees. I promise. We can pretend this never even happened."
"F-- you, Potter. You're just as dirty as she is, aren't you? Why should I listen to a freak born of a mudblood mother? You're pathetic, Potter. She should have taken you with her-," The spine of a book collided into the book shelf behind Draco, a mere centimeter from his ear.
"Do not insult my mother, Malfoy," Harry hissed, green eyes burning with surfacing anger, "There are many truths you do not know about the world, your own blood being one of them." Harry had Draco pressed against the bookshelf now, his voice had become quiet and urgent. "Would you like to know what could happen to you if you inherit certain attributes from you own mother, Draco Malfoy Black?" Then his voice lowered into a very quiet whisper so that Hermione would not hear his next words. "You are a quarter veela, Draco, and you are aware of what will happen if you inherit the allure, don't you? What use does Voldemort have for a creature, whose blood is tainted in his eyes?"
"I'm a pureblood."
"There are potions that will prove otherwise, surely."
"I am not a… a creature!" Draco shoved Harry away and quickly pulled his wand.
"Do not even think you will be able to land that curse, Malfoy." Harry snapped his fingers and Draco's hair returned to its former white-blond. Hermione's sudden intake of air reminded Harry that he seriously needed to remember to use his wand. Somehow he would have to placate the girl, though he knew the chances were slim to none in convincing her that he was just really angry and it was all on accident. She was not an idiot who would believe such a lame excuse.
"I'm not… my mother is a pureblood." Draco's hand was loose around his wand, his gray eyes staring disbelievingly at him.
"Well, she is a Black, but she is also half veela. Have your head of house brew you a potion. Then you at least might prepare yourself for what is to come."
"You are lying." Malfoy jerked away, "And I will prove it!" With that he stormed out of the Library, causing Madame Pince to shush him on the way.
Slowly, Harry bent to pick up the book that his magic had thrown in his sudden anger. Hermione's eyes burned into him, but she said nothing as he gently set the book on the table from whence it came. Letting out a sigh he looked up at her with his tired gaze, and he watched her disbelieving frown become a thoughtful one.
"I was interested in researching time travel, but I'm really not all that skilled with the process. All I have found regarding time was a time turner."
"For what purpose? And what was that about veela?"
"I need to be getting to class soon," Harry scowled, "It was nothing important, I was just curious of consequences and the like that can happen with time travel. I guess it doesn't make sense to me how it would be possible. As for Malfoy… it would be best if you did not repeat any of what was said." Hermione nodded, taking the half-truth at face value. Somehow, being a Hufflepuff was an invaluable asset. Everyone assumes you are so straight forward and honest. Harry had not forgotten his near placement into the house of snakes, and it was in this world more than ever that he had need for such Slytherin tactics. The reason he went to Gryffindor in the end, he supposed, was because he was not all that ambitious. "Maybe I'll see you around then?" Harry gave her a tentative but genuine smile. He really had missed the nattering from his school days before everything went to shit.
"Sure." She graced him with her own tentative smile, "And thanks for standing up for me. Especially to that prat."
"It was my pleasure."
"You used to be so quite and shy." Hermione tugged on a lock of her brown hair, "What changed? Actually, if I remember correctly, you were the one that got petrified by the basilisk in second year. Neville told me about you, that when you woke up," She giggled, "You couldn't stop staring at him."
"Did I?" Harry laughed nervously, "What can I say? I was an idiot." Seriously he thought.
"Then there was that one time you slipped in herbology, oh and you remember flying lessons. That couldn't have been very fun."
"Ha ha, yes, erm… not very. But I've gotten more confident on a broom since then." If Harry could meet his other self, he thought he might strangle him, "You certainly know how to make a person feel good about themselves don't you."
"Oh, I'm sorry." She looked less remorseful than Harry would have liked, but he took it in stride. Hermione stared at him again with a gaze that made him feel utterly and helplessly exposed. "You are a lot different then what I would have expected." She said finally.
"I wonder if I should take that as a compliment."