Holy good gracious everyone, I'm so humbled and amazed at the attention this story is getting! 35 followers already? I spent all week feeling like that actress who won an Oscar and spent her speech going, "You like me! You really like me!" Thank you so much for the support! I hope you all continue to enjoy the story. So without further ado...
Chapter Two: Exactly Like the Train Ride
Platform 9 ¾ was filled with smoke and noise and students and parents and shrieking owls and a large scarlet train belching steam from its smokestack, as usual. Harry looked around happily, but glanced back at his parents, who were currently fawning over Tom, and slipped away into the confusion. His parents had never come to the Platform with him before, and Harry saw no reason to change his routine simply because they were there now. There had been an event for Tom the first time he had gone (they had told him gently that time – the shame of forgetting his eleventh birthday and his broken arm were still fresh by then), so Sirius had taken him. That was the year Sirius had taught Defense Against the Dark Arts, so it made sense for him to go anyway, but still…. Last year, Lily had had the flu, and James had work, so Sirius took him again. But this year, Tom had to come, and suddenly they were tripping over themselves to get to the Platform on time.
"Harry!" He looked up and grinned as he saw Delf making her way towards him through the crowds. When she finally got to him she hugged him warmly.
"Hullo, Delf," he said, smiling into her happy-gold eyes. Roderick came trotting up in the wake of their friend.
"Hey, Harry. You here with Sirius again?"
Harry shook his head. "It's Tom's first year, remember? Mum and Dad brought us."
"Right, of course. It's Draco's too."
"Your dad's here then?"
"Yeah," Roderick said shortly. Where Harry usually came with no parents, Roderick's mum at least accompanied him. This year, with his younger brother coming along, his dad had showed up as well.
Just then an ear-splitting whistle sounded, and the babble rose in a wave of excited farewells. Delf strode off to say goodbye to her parents and sister and brother, telling them to save a spot for her. Harry and Roderick boarded the train without saying goodbye to anyone, and in short order had found an empty compartment. They settled in with no fuss, and soon had nothing to do but wait for the train to get underway. Roderick seemed preoccupied, and Harry was happy to leave him to his thoughts after he saw his mum and dad kissing Tom goodbye a little way down the platform. They weren't even looking for him.
But before long, Delf breezed in, like a dose of sunshine and fresh air, and rescued the boys from their gloomy thoughts.
"I'm so excited for this year! Divination is going to be such a laugh, can you imagine? And Master Jerome made Arithmancy sound just so fascinating. I wish you two were taking it."
"No, thanks. I'm taking Divination for a lark: I don't need to combine fortune telling with maths," Roderick said dryly as the train lurched forward. The sounds of children and parents shouting goodbyes made it through the closed window, and a shadow crossed Roderick's face.
"It's not just fortune telling and maths," Delf protested hotly "It's –"
"In any case," Harry cut her off loudly, forestalling more pointless bickering. "My main concern is Tom being at Hogwarts. What if he's in Ravenclaw with us?"
"Perish the thought!" Delf exclaimed.
"At least I don't have to worry about Draco: he's Slytherin through and through," Roderick said thankfully.
"And Harry, just think: if Tom gets to be trouble, we can set the Weasley twins on him."
"Who's that taking our name in vain?" a voice inquired from the doorway. The trio looked up in surprise to see Fred and George Weasley, covered in freckles, really red hair, and mischievous grins.
"Hullo," Harry said, smiling. "Long time. We were just saying that if my brother gets out of line, we'll ask you to set him straight."
The twins laughed and sat down on either side of Roderick, across from Harry and Delf. "Yeah, it's our little brother's first year too. We'll keep an eye out," Fred promised.
"Wow, did all our parents just get sick of us when we turned two or what?" Harry laughed.
"Well, maybe they got sick of you male brutes, but with my gentle feminine charms, my parents were happy with me 'till I was three," Delf bragged.
Roderick shook his head sadly. "What happened to those poor feminine charms, I wonder?" Harry and the twins laughed as Delf kicked Roderick in the shin.
"Hello, everyone" fourth-year Hufflepuff Cedric Diggory said, leaning against the doorframe.
"Hi, Ced!" they all chorused. Harry scooted closer to Delf and Cedric sank onto the bench next to him. "What did you do for summer?" Roderick asked.
"Not much: practiced flying and visited family. What about you all?"
"Annoyed Percy and Mum," the twins said together. The others laughed.
"We visited Muggle London," Roderick began eagerly, but just then—
"Here you all are," Tracey exclaimed, stumbling into their compartment as the train rounded a particularly sharp curve. "I've been all up and down the train three times, it seems like!"
"Here, sit down," Roderick said quickly, squishing George against the window to make room between himself and Fred. Harry rolled his eyes.
"What were you talking about?" Tracey asked, and the conversation started all over again. They had gone around the compartment sharing stories (Cedric had an especially amusing one about his aunt Transfiguring her cat into a pillow after it shredded one, and how the animal coughed stuffing for the rest of the week), and had just gotten to Harry when the candy trolley arrived. They all chipped in for a veritable mountain of Chocolate Frogs, Bernie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans, Sugar Quills, and other such confections. For a few moments, there was only the sound of wrappers being pulled off sweets and stuffed eagerly into mouths. Tracey got an ink flavoured Bean when she had been expecting liquorish; Fred got a spit flavoured one; Delf somehow managed to lay hand on one that tasted like food, and although it was only gravy, she cut her losses and stopped eating them. Harry opened a Chocolate Frog and groaned when he saw his own brother smiling smugly up at him from the card. "THOMAS EVANS POTTER, THE BOY WHO LIVED: The only known wizard to survive the Killer Curse, Thomas Potter is most famous for defeating the dark wizard He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, also known as You-Know-Who on Halloween of 1981 when he was just a year old. Thomas Potter enjoys playing Quidditch with friends and looks forward to an even more illustrious career in the future," he read aloud disgustedly. A series of derisive snorts made the rounds. Roderick got a Dumbledore one and read that too, though they had all heard it before. "ALBUS DUMBLEDORE, CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS: Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945 and for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on the Philosopher's Stone with partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling."
"Nineteen-forty-five? How old is Dumbledore anyway?" Cedric demanded incredulously.
"At least two-hundred," Tracey said confidently. "What?" she asked, seeing the looks her friends were giving her. "Have you looked at him?"
"So what did you do, Harry? The candy sort of distracted us," George reminded him.
In answer, Harry grinned broadly and took off his robe and shirt. The twins wolf-whistled and Delf giggled helplessly.
"I got a tattoo!"
"OOO, I didn't get to see it during summer!" Tracey exclaimed.
"What is it, what is it?" the twins demanded, surging forward to get a look.
Roderick grinned and leaned back in his seat, enjoying the others' enthusiasm with the air of an indulgent parent supervising his children at play.
"Did it hurt?"
"Where did you get it done?"
"Who drew it?"
"Your parents actually let you get a tattoo?"
"A WHAT!?"
Harry whipped around. "Tom!" The boy stood framed in the doorway, his jaw down around the level of his navel. Harry uselessly tried to pull his robes over himself, but the effort was wasted as the dragon flowed over his shoulder and snapped at nothing. Tom was speechless and his hazel eyes were huge and round behind his glasses.
"TOM!" Harry shouted again as his brother turned and pounded back down the aisle, whatever errand he'd come for totally forgotten. "Bollocks!" He pulled his shirt back over his head. "George, Fred, I may be calling on your services sooner than I had anticipated. If I know Tom, that will find its way back to Mum faster than you can say 'Quidditch'."
They both saluted smartly, and George affirmed "Count on us, mate."
Before anyone could say anything else, there was yet another person demanding attention from the doorway. What an unusually busy train ride, Harry reflected drearily.
"Hello," said the newcomer politely. "I'm searching for a toad. Have you seen one?"
"Oh, I know you!" Harry exclaimed, distracted from his funk. "You were at the Muggle Meet-and-Greet! Hermione, right?"
Her eyes widened. "Yes, Hermione Granger. Your name is Harry, isn't it?"
"Right." He grinned. "Nice to see you made it to the train in one piece."
"Do some people not?" She sounded alarmed.
"No, sorry, it's a figure of speech. Why are you looking for a toad?"
"Well, this boy's lost his one. His name is Trevor. The toad's is, not the boy's. The boy's name is Neville Longbottom."
"Oh, sure, I know him. We'll bring it 'round if we see it."
"Thanks very much. We're in a carriage with Thomas Potter and Ronald Weasley, do you know them?"
Harry groaned, while the twins chortled. "Yeah, I do, actually. We'll bring it if we find it."
With one last confused glance around at the rest of them, the frizzy-haired girl turned on her heel and was gone.
"If this is any indication of what the rest of the year is going to be like, someone please just kill me now," Harry begged, shutting his eyes and sagging against the back of the bench.
"Not a chance! This is far too funny," Roderick said.
"You'll be singing a different tune when it's your brother getting on your nerves," Harry promised grimly. He reached for the pile of bags of Bernie Botts Every Flavoured Beans, digging for one that felt promising, and felt – skin? Bumpy, warty skin?
Something in the pile croaked and Harry withdrew his hand hastily. "Please don't tell me…"
The twins quickly had the task of uncovering the wayward creature completed, and Fred was suddenly holding the toad in question out to Harry.
"What do you want me to do with that?" Harry asked crossly, glaring at the thing.
"Isn't it obvious? This is the perfect excuse to find your brother's carriage and intimidate him into keeping your secret," George explained, nodding in the general direction of Harry's shoulder.
"That's not a half bad idea," Cedric said thoughtfully.
"And knowing your mum, it might be a good idea to at least try to prevent Tom from telling her," Roderick added.
"Fine," Harry huffed. "I'll do it." He took the toad gingerly from Fred. It didn't so much as blink.
"Good luck!" the twins chorused as he stepped into the aisle.
Harry reluctantly followed in his brother's steps down the train, peering into each booth, and greeting everyone he knew: a quick hello to Roger Davies, the last of the Ravenclaw Chasers (tryouts for two new ones would have to be held); 30 awkward seconds spent trying to escape from two girls from Delf's dorm, Kelly and Amanda; another kid from the Muggle Meet-and-Greet wanted to know if he really had to fight a giant to be accepted at Hogwarts; he directed Lee Jordan back to his carriage to find the twins, as apparently they had a lot to discuss, including the giant tarantula Lee had in a shoebox. Finally, three cars down, he found Tom's compartment. As he should have expected, it was stuffed with fans and new and old friends alike. From what he could see through the window, Tom held the place of honor in the middle of the forward-facing bench. To his right was a boy with such red hair and freckles that he couldn't be anyone else but the twins' younger brother, Ron. On his right were a couple of pretty Indian girls, probably twins by the look of them. They appeared to be giggling at everything he said. On the opposite bench sat Hermione Granger in earnest conversation with a chubby boy Harry recognized as Neville Longbottom, who appeared to be crying. On Hermione's other side sat yet another girl Tom's age who Harry didn't know. She was also giggling madly whenever Tom opened his mouth.
Harry slid the door open and they all fell silent. Tom's eyes went wide.
"Sorry to bother you," Harry said pleasantly. "Neville, I've got your toad. He was hiding in our candy and we didn't find him till Hermione left."
Neville stopped sniffing and smiled widely. "Trevor!" Harry handed the sandy-skinned animal over with not a milligram of reluctance.
Tom suddenly noticed that all the girls (except Hermione – Harry was starting to like her) were staring at Harry rather than him. He scowled blackly.
"I'm Lavender Brown," the girl on Hermione's right side said eagerly.
"I'm Parvarti Patil," said one of the twin girls next to Tom.
"And I'm Padma," said the other.
"Hello, everyone," Harry replied, wishing he could just beat Tom up and leave. "I'm Harry Potter, Tom's older brother. I was actually hoping I could borrow him for a bit." For some reason the girls (except Hermione – Harry really hoped she'd be friends with Tom and bring his ego down a bit) found this extremely funny and burst out in giggles again. Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Tom?" he said pointedly, stepping to the side of the doorway to allow space for his brother to get through.
Tom couldn't ignore the gesture. He stood with about as much reluctance as Harry had back in his own compartment and slouched out into the aisle. "Nice to meet you, Ron," Harry said to the redhead by the window as he slid the door shut. The boy looked startled at being recognized so casually.
"Now." Harry faced his brother, who looked sullen, but worried. "You have recently stumbled upon a piece of information that I sincerely wish you didn't have. However, since you do have it, this is what I'm going to do: if any hint of this information should ever reach Mum or Dad – but especially Mum – I will personally make sure that you never have a comfortable day at Hogwarts or home ever again. You know your friend Ron in there?" Tom nodded silently. "Two of his older brothers are the biggest pranksters in the school, and they happen to owe me a couple favours. I would hate to see what they could cook up for you. Do we understand each other?" Tom nodded again. "Good. Now what did you want in the first place?"
Tom cleared his throat. "I wanted to borrow money for the candy trolley. I didn't know we were supposed to bring any to school."
"Oh, Mum and Dad didn't tell you that?" Harry hadn't meant to sound so snide.
Tom didn't notice: "No. They said I'd only need money once I started going to Hogsmeade in a couple years."
Harry grunted unsympathetically. "I'll give you four Sickles I left over. The rest is in my trunk. See if you can't catch up with her." Harry dug in his robe pocket. He pulled out the money and a little pentagonal card. "Oh, and here's your most recent Chocolate Frog card. I think this is from when you were nine." He held out the money and card. Tom took everything, pocketing the coins and examining the picture, which depicted Tom grinning complacently and showing off his scar. He sniffed.
"Thanks, but I have three of these already." He handed it back. "Give it to one of your friends."
"None of my friends want this. Give it to one of your admirers."
Tom glared at him coldly. "They're my friends. You're not the only one who has them." He opened the sliding door, stepped inside, and slammed it smartly in Harry's face.
"Yes, but between the two of us, who made friends just because he's famous?" Harry muttered as he made his way back to his compartment. The twins had left in his absence, spirited away by Lee Jordan on one of their mysterious errands. Cedric was asking Delf, Tracey and Roderick about what extra courses they were taking. Tracey and Roderick were busy comparing notes of why they'd signed up for Muggle Studies: Roderick didn't know a thing about them outside of what little he'd seen in Muggle London and what Master Jerome had said on the basics of Muggle politics. Tracey was the opposite. Being raised in the Muggle world, she knew every intimate thing there was to know about them. She was more interested in how wizards saw Muggles. Delf made room between herself and the window and Harry sat down gratefully.
"How'd intimidating your brother go?" Roderick asked sympathetically, noting the look on Harry's face.
"I'm not sure. I threatened him with the twins, but he doesn't know them yet, so it didn't mean much. I just hope nothing happens that makes him think getting me in trouble will get him out of trouble."
Delf glanced at him sharply. "You sound like you think that's exactly what will happen."
"You don't know Tom like I do. You know Dad gave him the Invisibility Cloak?"
"But I thought the oldest—"
"The oldest is meant to get it, you're right. But that's not the point. The point is that Tom has the Cloak and not much respect for anyone besides himself. He's going to get in trouble as sure as – as – I don't know, as sure as my name is Harry."
The others looked sympathetic, but no one really liked the topic, and conversation soon reverted to more pleasant things like new classes and Hogsmeade and gossip. Cedric warned them all of particularly difficult sections if he had taken the classes they were in, and made them all very jealous of adventures he'd had in Hogsmeade the previous year.
The Express pulled into Hogsmeade station eventually, and there was a great confusion and kerfuffle as everyone tumbled off the train and stretched their legs. Hagrid was bellowing over everyone's heads for the first years to follow him, and Harry decided it would be best to greet his friend later and thank him for Hedwig properly. He, Delf, Roderick and Tracey (Cedric had been lured away by some friends from Hufflepuff) stumbled their way across the pavement, tripping over younger students and jostled by older ones, to the long line of horseless carriages that would take them up to Hogwarts. The night was drizzly and cold, and they huddled gratefully in the relative warmth of the coach.
Peering out of the foggy window, Harry thought that Hogwarts had never looked so inviting, despite the fact that it was being invaded by Tom. Tiny lights winked from every window, and he felt like he could already smell the delicious welcome feast the kitchen house elves had prepared for them. He could imagine his comfy corner in the Ravenclaw dorm, and anticipated eagerly many nights spent up talking and working with Delf and Roderick in front of one of the common room fires.
The carriage ground to a halt in front of the gigantic front gates, and the four of them clambered out: first Tracey, Delf, and Roderick, and Harry bringing up the rear. The carriage trundled away behind them and they followed the stream of students already hustling up towards that castle. They passed into the Entrance Hall and sighed with pleasure as warmth from the Great Hall embraced them. They made their way to the Ravenclaw table (bidding Tracey a temporary goodbye as she split off towards the Slytherin one), happily greeting friends and laughing as all the shouted salutations became completely jumbled. Ghosts floated around or through people, as suited them, and Peeves sailed by overhead, singing some ridiculously dirty song he'd composed over summer.
The teachers smiled tolerantly from their table at the top of the Hall, where the Sorting Hat sat on its stool and waited patiently for its newest batch of first years. Harry scanned the table as they sat down. "Look, there's our new Defense professor," he said, pointing at the nervous-looking man in a turban who sat next to Professor Snape. The other two craned around eagerly to catch a glimpse of him, but just then, the large doors burst open, and Professor McGonagall marched in, trailing a scraggly line of first years. There was Hermione, right up front with another girl; Draco just behind; Ron stared around queasily; Parvati and Padma clutched one anothers' hands; poor Neville looked like he was about to faint; Tom, looking neither nervous nor scared, but confident and self-assured, was flaunting his scar. People began to recognize him, and excited gasps and whispers rushed through the Hall.
"It's him!"
"The Thomas Potter?"
"My sister's in his year…"
"—Ravenclaw?"
"—brother—"
"—were both in Gryff—"
"Tom Potter!"
The new first years assembled in front of the Sorting Hat, and everyone fell silent. The large seam along the bottom edge opened wide and out spilled a brand new Sorting Song:
"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,
but don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart:
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (thought I have none)
For I'm a thinking cap!"
The seam resealed itself as Professor McGonagall pulled a piece of parchment from her sleeve and read clearly, "Abbott, Hannah." The girl who had walked in next to Hermione stepped forward and sat on the stool, and Professor McGonagall lowered the Hat onto her head. It sank over her eyes, and people tittered.
"HUFFELPUFF!" the Hat announced, and the whole Hall clapped.
"What do you think, Harry?" a fifth year girl Harry knew slightly whispered from across the table. "Will your brother come here or go to Gryffindor like your mum and dad?"
"I hope he doesn't come here," Harry murmured back. Anyone who could hear giggled and turned to whisper to their neighbors. Soon the whole table would think that Tom didn't deserve to be a Ravenclaw. It wasn't quite the rumor he'd meant to start, but he wasn't about to contradict it.
Professor McGonagall had gotten go "Granger, Hermione," and the frizzy-haired girl stepped forward shakily. "I bet she's coming here," Harry murmured to Delf, but the Hat proved him wrong:
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Hope you're not that wrong about Tom, Harry," Roderick said softly. Harry shivered at the thought.
Neville went to Gryffindor. Draco went straight to Slytherin (Roderick sighed with relief). A girl called Pansy Parkinson also went to Slytherin. Padma Patil came to Ravenclaw, but Parvati went to Gryffindor. Then,
"Potter, Thomas!"
The Hall became silent.
Tom went to the stool and sat.
The Hat pushed his glasses down his nose and he had to catch them before they fell into his lap. A few people laughed.
Harry didn't know what the Hat was saying to Tom (and he didn't care as long as the outcome was good), but he did clearly remember what the Hat had said to him two years ago: "You have a familial history of going to Gryffindor, I see, and you would do well in Slytherin… Ah, but I can see you've chosen Ravenclaw. I'd say it's a good fit, because you are intelligent, but you're also determined to be your own person, and that's what's most important."
Harry crossed his fingers beneath the table as the moments crept on.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Tom got the loudest cheer yet as he went to sit down, but Harry's relief made him weak. He barely noticed the rest of the Sorting, though he did hear the twins cat-calling as Ron became the latest Weasley addition to Gryffindor house.
As soon as the clapping and cheering died down, Dumbledore stood and addressed the now-attentive crowd.
"I'd just like to say a few words before we all become too befuddled by our excellent feast: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" The Hall laughed as one.
And finally, the Feast! Harry enjoyed Tipsy's cooking, of course, even when he botched it by trying to help. But there really was no beating Hogwarts food. The sheer quantity! The sheer variety! He piled his plate high and dug in.
And even after three helpings of ham and mash and tiny buttery peas, there was dessert. Tarts and cakes and pies galore, all washed down with liters of pumpkin juice. Harry's head was buzzing pleasantly by the end of the meal.
"Ahem." Dumbledore was again standing at his seat at the teachers' table. "Just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the Forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." Dumbledore glanced at the Weasley twins, who in turn glared at Harry. Harry looked as innocent as he could as the rest of the students laughed.
"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the Caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."
Harry groaned. "This year is going to be one long version of the train ride!"
Roderick patted his head in mock-sympathy, but Harry found that he was really too full and contented to be worried for long.
Prefects began calling up and down the Hall for first years – and any other nincompoop who didn't know their way to their dorm by second year or whatever – to please get up and follow them. Harry noticed Percy's bossy voice rising above the others and laughed to himself. Tom wouldn't like THAT kind of authority, that was for sure.
He, Delf and Roderick made their way up to the Ravenclaw Tower, accompanied by many greetings as they met friends and acquaintances they hadn't seen over the summer. The eagle-shaped knocker stirred sleepily and mumbled something that, at the back, Harry and Delf and Roderick couldn't quite hear. The Prefect seemed to get it right though, since the door swung open and Ravenclaws of various years poured into the common room. The first years were appropriately awed, Harry noticed with satisfaction. The Ravenclaw common room really was remarkable. Upon entering, one was faced with an enormous four-storey-high window that recommended a beautiful view out over the lake and the mountains beyond. On each side of the door, large staircases curved away up the walls to the first level of dorms, where the first, second, and third years lived. Another level up lead to the fourth, fifth, and sixth year dorms, and the third level was reserved for seventh years, who got special quarters. In the centre of the floor stood a large statue of Rowena Ravenclaw, the house's namesake, and scattered around her were desks and bookcases and sofas. Twin fires burned in alcoves where the room cut underneath the dorms. Harry thought it was the most welcome sight he'd ever laid eyes on.
The Prefects began shouting instructions about which gender went on which side, and which year got which dorm and such things, but the trio understood all that nonsense already, so Harry and Roderick said goodnight to Delf and quickly headed upstairs. They went to the last door on the first landing and introduced themselves to their new dorm. More or less identical to every other set of boys' dorms, there were five beds lined up along the wall on the left-hand side of the door, with a trunk at the foot of each and a small wardrobe against the opposite wall. Andrew Leyborn was already there, and had claimed the bed closest to the door.
"Hallo, Harry, Roderick," he said, nodding. Andrew was not a talkative person by any stretch of the imagination, but he was honest and had never done anything to piss anyone off, so Harry liked him. He and Roderick took the beds farthest from the door (and, consequentially, closest to the loo). Their trunks were already there, as the house elves who put them there knew their preferences by now. Will Slatten and Lawrence Key came up from the common room, and happy greetings were exchanged. Will, Lawrence and Andrew stuck together like Harry and Roderick did, but all five got along together fine. Harry decided to save proper unpacking for the weekend, changed into some pajamas, washed his teeth, and went to bed.
-o-
He awoke refreshed and alert the next morning, and for a moment let himself lie in bed and breathe those wonderful Hogwarts smells and listen to the light snoring of his dorm-mates. They wouldn't be up for an hour yet, and this gave Harry plenty of time to relax into his morning routine. He rose and dressed before quietly leaving the dorm and tip-toeing down the stairs, out of the common room, and out of the labyrinthine corridors of the castle till he came to the large main doors and slipped outside into the cool dawn.
He trotted down to the lake, where he stretched, and then set off at a jog around the rim of the lake. The rout took him close to the Forbidden Forest, and his mind wandered back to the previous years where similar excursions had led to some very strange adventures. Once, at the beginning of the previous year, on a cool September morning quite similar to this one, Harry had been out running when suddenly, a bull-sized Cerberus puppy came thundering out of the woods straight for him, panting and barking and baying all three of its heads off. Hagrid, gasping and heaving, had come running behind, yelling "Fluffy! C'mere, boy, here, boy!" Harry and Hagrid had together managed to leash the enormous canine, and Harry had made nice with Fluffy. He and Hagrid had bonded over the experience too, and were still friends. Another time, as the dim dawn fog dissipated into mist, and then nothingness, Harry had seen a unicorn. It had pawed the earth twice with its foreleg, and then cantered into the trees. The experience had left him dazed with awe for the rest of the day, prompting many concerned looks from Roderick and Delf.
Bringing his mind out of the past, Harry turned back and jogged up towards the castle, eyeing the large tree at the top of the lake as his destination. Settling himself beneath the branches, he crossed his legs and closed his eyes, and settled into the calm inner place he had established with so many mornings spent similarly in quiet meditation. He focused on breathing the cool autumn air, as Master Jerome had instructed him: in, out, in, out, in…
A cold splash of water in his face jolted him back to himself. Spluttering and wiping moisture out of his eyes, he cast around for the culprit, seeking wayward Weasleys or sneaky Greeengrasses and seeing… a giant tentacle waving from about a hundred yards out from the shore of the lake. Harry stared, then laughed. There were stories of the giant squid in the lake, but he had never seen it for himself. He waved back, and the enormous sea creature slid back into the depths.
Grinning, Harry trotted back up to the castle, snuck back up to Ravenclaw Tower, was stumped for five minutes in front of the imperturbable knocker before correctly answering its riddle, and dashed up into his dorm and was in the shower before the others were even stirring.
The next two weeks seemed to all mesh together in his memory. They got their schedules that first morning, and, upon examination, saw that they had almost all of their classes together except Muggle Studies for Roderick and Arithmancy for Delf.
Of course their first class would be Divination. It was just about as hilarious as they had expected. They sat in the back and fought sleep as Professor Trelawny droned on and on about auras and crystal balls and stars and all sorts of such nonsense. The only interesting bit came when she began to – dance? – around the room and sort of crooned to herself. As she began to get near their table by the back wall, she stopped, opened her eyes (magnified one-hundred-fold by her enormous glasses), and raised an arm to point at Harry dramatically. "You…" she cried. "You shall face grave danger! Dangers the like of which no one has ever heard! My boy… I fear you shall be dead to us before the year is out!" The small portion of the class who had actually been paying attention (comprised mostly of girls – Gregory Potter's portrait had been right about that) gasped in unison.
Slightly startled, all Harry could say was, "Oh. Alright." Seeming slightly put out, Professor Trelawny returned to the front of the classroom with a rather un-mystical stomp, and the rest of class passed in a state of deadly boredom they came to anticipate for the rest of the year.
After that came double Charms with Gryffindor. Regardless of him being their Head of House, Harry really quite like Professor Flitwick, who never assigned too much homework and gave plenty of praise where it was deserved. Harry, Delf, Roderick, the twins, and Lee Jordan sat in the back and tested out charms they remembered from last year on each other. When Fred began clucking like a chicken, they decided it was wise to stop, but not before passing much a class in a most entertaining fashion.
Lunch was next, and after that was Potions, a class Harry particularly enjoyed for no other reason than that he was good at it. Professor Snape hadn't liked him at all at the beginning of first year, but after he figured out it was because he and James had a grudge from watching how he acted with Sirius, Harry met him during office hours and explained some of the more pertinent parts of his relationship with his parents, and he and the Potions Master were on reasonably good terms after that. They had the class with Slytherin, so Roderick paired off with Tracey, leaving Harry and Delf to their own devices.
Harry and Delf had Ancient Runes after Potions, but Roderick went off to the library for a free hour. They only started on basic shapes and figures, but Harry decided he liked the look of Ancient Runes as a class. Delf, however, pronounced it "Probably useful somehow, but dead boring in the meantime".
They met back up with Roderick for History of Magic, with Slytherin again, and settled in for another in the dullest hours of their lives. They had drawn straws and it was Roderick's turn to take notes, with Harry doing it next time, Delf the time after, and so on.
Then it was dinner, and conversation was filled with comparisons of what classes were better, what teachers were doing different, and a healthy dose of gossip about fellow students.
After dinner, Harry took a trot down to Hagrid's cabin to say hello and thank him for Hedwig, and wound up staying for half an hour as they discussed things like the health of the Mugwumps, the pumpkins already growing in the patch out back, and the plans Harry had for the year. He left at dusk, surreptitiously feeling for loose teeth after gnawing on one of Hagrid's rock-hard kettle-cakes.
The next day brought double Transfiguration with Hufflepuff, where they were beginning to work with live animals, to everyone's excitement. In the middle of class, Professor McGonagall told Harry that she had won five Galleons off Professor Flitwick because Tom went to Gryffindor rather than Ravenclaw. Harry told her wholeheartedly that he was glad.
After that, Harry and Roderick went to Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Kettleburn, while Delf went off to figure out what Arithmancy's deal was. The boys learned with some excitement that the first year of the class would be magical aquatic life, culminating in meeting some merpeople.
Delf joined them again for double Defense Against the Dark Arts with the new Professor Quirrel, again with Hufflepuff. As soon as Harry entered the classroom, a twinge of pain shot up his forehead. He touched the spot, and found his little crooked scar waiting for him. The pain didn't dissipate at all during class, but eased at once back in the hallway. Harry brushed it off as not having eaten enough at lunch.
They met the Slytherins for Herbology, where Delf snagged Tracey as a partner before Roderick could get to her.
Harry barely ever saw Tom except at meal times, when he was surrounded by doting fans, and this lack of contact seemed to suit both boys just fine. Or rather, it suited Harry just fine, and Tom didn't seem to notice it.
Two weeks into term, Abigail Wastress, the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain, came up to Harry during breakfast and told him that they were having tryouts for two new Chasers that weekend. Delf rolled her eyes at the boys' continued "obsession", as she called it, with Quidditch, but Roderick looked thoughtful.
"Harry! Roderick!" They both looked up to see the twins hurrying past Abigail, who looked disapproving at members of opposing teams fraternizing so openly. "Guess what?"
Harry and Roderick looked at each other. "What?" they asked together.
"Your brother has a duel with your brother!"
They both groaned. "Tom's dueling Draco?" Harry demanded just as Roderick proclaimed "They're idiots!"
"How do you know?" Delf asked.
"He's in Gryffindor and our brother's his best friend. Don't doubt our sources, if you please," George huffed, pretending offense.
"But really, what happened?" Harry asked.
"Well, your brother," Fred pointed at Harry.
"And your brother," George pointed at Roderick.
"Somehow got in a right bit of trouble last week for something or other they did together in Flying, and your brother," Fred pointed at Roderick.
"Blamed your brother," George pointed at Harry.
"For whatever it was that happened since they both got detention for it."
"So then your brother," George pointed at Roderick again.
"Demanded to duel your brother," Fred pointed at Harry "for satisfaction."
"Which is going to happen at midnight on Friday in the Trophy Room," George finished, with a great deal of his own satisfaction.
"You could have just said 'Tom' and 'Draco' instead of 'your brother' and all that pointing," Delf said crossly.
"Ah, but our way lent so much more to dramatic effect," Fred said wisely, wagging a finger at her.
"What are we going to do about them?" Harry demanded, turning to Roderick.
"I have no idea. But if I know my brother, he has something planned for this 'duel' thing."
"Right. Hate to say it, mate, but your brother's a git from what we've heard," Fred said sympathetically.
"Yeah. Anyway, we've got places to be and a caretaker to terrorize. Tell us if you need anything," George added.
"Count on it. See you," Harry said distractedly as the twins went off to hatch whatever new plan they had to hand. "So what should we do? What do you think your brother is up to?"
"I really don't know. If I had to guess, I'd say he's trying to get Tom in trouble, but as to how…"
"Well, clearly, he's going to play dirty," Delf said matter-of-factly. "First years not even a month into term don't know enough to really do much in a duel, so Draco's probably done some research on hexes and jinxes and such. Tom may be an idiot, but he's honourable, and expects the same of his opponent." Roderick and Harry stared at her. "What? It's basic personality analysis."
"Alright then. Well, how about we're their seconds? We could make sure they play fair and don't get hurt."
"I just don't see why we have to do anything," Roderick said grouchily. "It's hardly our fault they're being morons."
"Because it will really irritate them," Harry replied.
Roderick paused. "Okay, fair enough. How do we convince them to let us horn in?"
"'Convince'? What's this 'convince'?" Harry laughed. "No, we make them!"
Delf grinned. "Harry, you're terrible. But that's why I love you."
Roderick looked very directly at her and said "Hm." For some reason, she blushed deep red.
Mystified, Harry carried on: "We'll just escort them from their dorms Friday night and supervise their 'duel' and they'll feel so ridiculous they'll behave for a while."
"You forget they aren't in Ravenclaw. 'Escorting them from their dorms' may be slightly difficult."
"Roderick. You're completely right. They're in Gryffindor and Slytherin and we don't know anyone in those houses who would be willing to help us out."
"Alright, alright, forget it! We'll do what you say. I'll talk to Tracey later if you want to go find the twins."
And that's what they did. Friday arrived, and they all snuck out: Delf to stake out the Trophy Room, Roderick to meet Tracey, who would take him to the Slytherin dorms, and Harry with the Map as a guide to the Gryffindor Tower.
Climbing the last set of moving stairs, he come across Neville Longbottom crying outside of a large painting of an obese woman in a pink dress which hid the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.
"Hello, Neville," he said, putting the Map away.
"Oh. Hi," he sniffed. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm collecting my brother. Why are you out here?"
"I forgot the password for the Fat Lady."
"Oh, I'm sorry. If it's any consolation, the twins are supposed to let me in any second."
"What do you need Tom for?"
"He did something stupid, so I'm going to make his feel stupid."
"Oh."
Five minutes later, the Fat Lady swung open and Fred poked his head out. "Hallo, Harry. Hallo, Neville. Come on in."
"What?" the Fat Lady squawked. "He's not allowed in there! He's not a Gryffindor!"
"I'll just be a moment, ma'am. I'm fetching my brother."
"Besides, you're already open, so," Fred added.
"Why, I never, in all my—!" Her frame shut behind them, cutting her protestations off.
Harry had never been in the Gryffindor common room before, and looked around with interest. A fire roared at one end of the room; couches, tables, and large poofy chairs littered the floor; the standard pair of staircases let up to the dorms. The theme colors, of course, were gold and scarlet, and Harry felt oddly out of place in his blue and bronze jumper. The twins clapped him on the shoulders.
"Welcome, Harry, to our humble home away from home. Have a seat while we go wrestle your brother down."
Harry lowered himself into an overstuffed armchair by the fire and looked around. A couple sixth years were playing wizard's chess in a corner; a third year he recognized from Charms was playing someone he didn't know in Exploding Snaps. Harry thought it was odd that no one was studying, as that was almost all anyone did in the Ravenclaw common room.
Fred and George reappeared, nearly carrying Tom down the stairs, so tight were their grips on his arms.
"—we going? I have someplace I have to be soon! Put me down!" he was saying as he came into view. Harry stood up. "Harry!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here? This is the Gryffindor common room! You're in Ravenclaw!" Ron careened down the stairs behind them, struggling with his robes. A few people looked up, interested in the blooming confrontation.
"I know where you have to be at midnight. I'm going to take you there."
"I don't need you to take me there! I know where I'm going! I know what I'm doing!" Tom blustered.
"Oh, sure, I believe you. I'm just along for the ride," Harry said, placating his irate brother. "It's not every day Thomas Potter dukes it out with Draco Malfoy in the middle of the night, right? I want to see what happens, that's all."
"Well," Tom huffed. "I really don't think it'll be much of a contest. Between him and me, who's had more experience beating people in single combat anyway?"
"You didn't defeat You-Know-Who in single combat, Tom. Shall we go?"
Just then, Hermione Granger rushed down the girl's stairs: "Oh, Harry, thank goodness you're here! Wait, how did you get—? Oh, never mind. Please tell me you've come to talk Tom out of this ridiculous business! He's absolutely mad to go through with it. What if he gets caught?"
"Harry's not here to talk Tom out of it, Hermione. He's coming along. Why don't you go study or something?" Ron said snidely.
Hermione turned wounded eyes on Harry. "How could you let him do this? He's your brother! You're supposed to set an example and show him how to be-have! Not let him go gallivanting off in the middle of the night to get in trouble!"
"That's exactly why I'm going: so he won't get in trouble. Trust me, Hermione, I know what I'm doing." He felt bad pretending to support this cockamamie plan of Tom's, but he couldn't tell her that he actually hoped to teach his brother a lesson. Tom was right there, for one thing, and he certainly couldn't know.
"Come on, we're going to be late," Tom whined. Ron pushed the painting open and hopped outside, followed closely by Tom.
"Good luck with them, mate," George whispered in Harry's ear before he and his twin headed upstairs. He nodded and headed for the hole in the wall. Hermione looked at him beseechingly.
"Do you want to come?" he asked.
"No!" she said loudly, clearly intent on maintaining her position of moral superiority.
Harry shrugged. "See you later, then." He followed Ron and Tom out into the corridor, and bid the affronted Fat Lady a cordial good evening. She immediately left her frame and reappeared in the next portrait down the hall and dove down the well it depicted in the corner.
"Hope she's back when we need to get in," Ron mumbled. Tom nodded. Harry reflected on the poor judgment someone had shown in allowing a portrait, which could be tricked or simply go away as the Fat Lady had, to guard a dorm, but didn't say anything.
They trekked silently through the sleeping castle, not lighting wands or saying so much as a murmur till they got to the Trophy Room, where they found Delf, Roderick, and an even-paler-than-usual Draco waiting for them.
"Hello, all," Roderick said cheerfully. "This had better be a very short duel, because Filch will be here any moment now."
Ron and Tom's mouths dropped open. Harry glanced at Draco and saw his pale cheeks flush. Why, that little…!
"Malfoy, you louse!" Tom said angrily. "You set us up!" Harry pursed his lips to keep from laughing at his brother's juvenile choice of insult. 'Louse'? Really?
Something moved and Harry spun about just as Delf hissed, "Mrs. Norris!"
"Damn," Roderick whispered. "If she's here, Filch won't be far behind. Forget the stupid duel, let's just go."
No one needed to agree aloud. As one, they moved quietly towards the far exit, on the opposite side of where Mrs. Norris had been. Turning a corner a little way down the corridor, they heard the dreaded sound: "Don't worry, my pretty, they couldn't have gotten far." They looked at each other with wide eyes.
"I'm too young to die!" Tom said softly. The others shushed him angrily, but it was too late.
"This way!" Filch cried, and the sound of his hurried footsteps was quickly drowned out as his six would-be captives made a break for it down the passageway. Harry found himself in the lead, and took random lefts and rights, attempting to lose their pursuer.
"The door's locked!" he whispered in panic, having cut a sharp left off their course. Roderick jabbed his wand furiously at the lock while muttering "Alohamora!" and the door swung open when Harry tried the handle again. They tumbled inside, and slammed the door behind them. No one breathed until they heard Filch pound past outside, gasping and wheezing. They sagged against the door.
"What's the growling sound?" Tom asked after a little while. They all peered into the blackness, until blurry shadows began to distinguish themselves into real shapes.
"Oh my goodness," Delf breathed.
"What is that!?" Draco demanded.
"Bloody hell…" from Ron.
"Fluffy?" said Harry incredulously.
The enormous three-headed dog's three-toned growl ended in three question marks.
"What are you doing here?" Harry continued to address the dog, as it seemed to keep him moderately calm. "I thought you lived in the Forest. This isn't a good place. Everyone, back out slowly. I'll be last to keep him calm. How've you been, old boy? You've grown so much since I last saw you." Fluffy was lying spread-eagle on the floor now, grinning three big jowly grins, and wagging a gigantic tail back and forth over the floor at the far end of the hallway. Delf touched his arm to tell him everyone else was out, and Harry wrapped up his monologue with "I'll come visit again soon, alright? You be a good boy and do… whatever it is they put you here to do. Bye-bye!" As the door shut on Fluffy's three mournful faces, Harry noticed something: since when had there been a trap door in the floor of the third-storey corridor? And where could it lead? Probably not the second-floor corridor, he guessed.
Temporarily putting shock and confusion aside, Harry took a moment to regroup once he was safely out. "Where's Draco?" he asked, noticing the absence of the white-blond author of their troubles.
"He did his 'wait till I tell Father about this' routine and ran off," Roderick replied. "I don't think we'll be hearing much more from him for a little bit at least."
Harry nodded, glad of one less person he was responsible for getting safely back to their dorm.
"Well, shall we go?" he said, looking around at the others. Tom and Ron were gazing at him in slack-jawed wonder, but Roderick and Delf nodded firmly.
Tom didn't protest to the term 'escort' this time when Harry led the way back to Gryffindor Tower, taking every available shortcut and secret passageway. The Fat Lady was back, though snoozing contentedly against her frame, and it took several minutes of yelling to wake her.
Harry pulled out the Map once they were a few staircases away. "Draco got back safe," he reported. "And Tom and Ron are in bed already."
"Alright, Harry, that's fine. But do you want to explain to us what the hell happened in that corridor back there?" Delf asked. It was too dark to tell what colour her eyes were, but her voice was grave. So Harry gave her and Roderick a quick rundown of how he'd met Fluffy the previous year, and that that was how he'd gotten to be friends with Hagrid, and how he was still exactly as confused as they were as to what Fluffy was doing guarding a trapdoor in the third-floor corridor. Then he had to explain about the trapdoor, because neither of the other two had noticed it, and by the time they got back to Ravenclaw Tower, they were so thoroughly confused about what might be going on that the eagle's riddle nearly had them stumped.
Harry and Roderick bid Delf an exhausted goodnight, and the boys climbed into bed, each telling the other to remember the Quidditch tryouts the next day.
-o-
Harry didn't wake up the next day feeling particularly cheerful. His mind was still in turmoil over everything that had happened the previous night, and his sore and tired body knew it only had long hours of Quidditch ahead, even if it wasn't real practice. He cut his run short and spent more time meditating than usual before heading back to the castle for breakfast.
Quidditch tryouts were nothing new to Harry. When Lola Cole, Arthur Valentine, and Eli Lear graduated after Harry's first year on the team, tryouts at the beginning of second year had taken ages to get through. And now they needed to replace Lewis Montgomery and Finn Madden, two of the three Chasers besides Roger Davies. Delf and Roderick accompanied him to the pitch. Delf watched every game and practice (or at least met him after practice – she had things to do, after all), but Roderick had come with the intention of trying out for a place on the team.
Looking around at the gathered prospective players, Harry thought Roderick had a good chance, and told him so. He recognized almost everyone gathered: a few naïve first years, hoping to repeat Harry's own incredible record; the usual suspects who had tried out last year and even a few the year before that when Harry had first joined; there were a couple who looked promising, but only because of their relative size. The only way to tell would be up in the air. Harry joined the rest of the team in a huddle slightly apart from the hopefuls. There was fifth year Abigail Wastress, the Keeper and Captain; fourth year Chet Smith and his best friend, fifth-year Charles "Chaz" Anderson, both Beaters; Roger Davies, fourth year and sole remaining Chaser; and Harry Potter, third year, Seeker.
"Alright, everyone," Abigail began. "We're lucky this year. We don't have our first game until November, so we have plenty of time to train the newbies. Roger, we're going to be relying on you for feedback today, since we're bringing new Chasers on to work with you. We're going to break them into pairs and scrimmage for fifteen minute increments. We'll get the ones we know won't make it out of the way first. Clear?" They all nodded.
The first three-quarters of tryouts were remarkably fast. Only about a dozen people had shown up, and of those twelve, eight of them clearly couldn't handle themselves in the air. Of the remaining four, one threw the Quaffle right into Abigail's face when she tried to score, though she was otherwise excellent. One had such a terrible ego that Chet and Chaz actually had to restrain Roger from pushing him off his broom. The other two were Roderick and a pretty second year girl named Cho Chang.
Harry went up and congratulated her when everyone was safely back on the ground.
"Hi," he said. "I'm Harry Potter."
"I know," she replied, going a little pink. "You're a bit of a legend."
"Actually, that's my brother."
"No, I mean in Hogwarts; in Quidditch. I can't even think of the last person who made Seeker their first year, and I don't know if anyone has ever caught every Snitch they've played for."
"Thanks, that's nice of you. You did really well though," he told her warmly. "Not many people make a goal past Abigail so fast unless she's going easy."
"I think she may have been," she said, smiling.
Just then, Abigail came striding up, looking both pleased and business-like. "Hello," she said cheerfully. "Cho Chang, isn't it? I'd like to be the first to welcome you onto the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Congratulations."
The conversation was repeated with Roderick, who was thrilled, and then Delf and the rest of the spectators came down from the stands and congratulated the new Chasers all over again. Abigail said she'd draw up a practice schedule and hand it around by the end of the week before dismissing everyone.
The rest of the team and spectators returned to the castle for lunch, but Harry, Delf and Roderick headed the opposite direction, down towards Hagrid's house at the edge of the Forest.
"Oi, Hagrid!" they began yelling as they got close. Hagrid's size did not make it difficult for him to hear normal-sized people, but he could be anywhere in a five-mile radius of the place, so volume was important.
"Hullo, you lot! I'm out back!" came the reply from the other side of the cabin.
"Ah, yes, the pumpkin patch," Delf sighed. The girl's distaste for general dirty-ness was well known to the boys, who had used to make good use of it by chasing her around with clots of mud. When she learned how to use the Bat Bogey Hex on them, however, the novelty seemed to wear off quite quickly.
Hagrid was in his element in the pumpkin patch, chopping energetically at the earth with an extra-long handled hoe and scattering dragon dung fertilizer. The trio discretely covered their noses as they approached. Fang thumped his tail happily, and Delf stopped to scratch his ears.
"How're you all then?" Hagrid called.
"Alright," Harry hollered back. "How're the pumpkins coming?"
"Oh, jus' fine, jus' fine. Jus' look at 'em!" Indeed, it was hard to look at anything else. With October 31st still over a month away, some of the pumpkins had managed to reach the height of Harry's waist and the width of his spread arms. Halloween would be truly impressive this year.
"They look great, Hagrid. Hey, quick question: how's Fluffy doing these days?" Harry had made it sound off-hand, but Hagrid froze.
"Oh, er… He's alright," he said uncomfortably. The poor man was a terrible liar.
"Really? Because he didn't look too happy up in that corridor when we went to visit him."
Hagrid groaned. "I s'pose yer wouldn't tell me what ye were up to even if I asked ye."
"'Fraid not. What's he doing up there, Hagrid? He belongs in the Forest where he can run around and be a dog."
Hagrid crossed the patch reluctantly and sat on a nearby pumpkin. He wiped his face with his table-cloth sized checkered hankie and sighed. "Alright. See, it's like this: Dumbledore only let Fluffy stay on here as a special favour ter me. But Fluffy's unusual big, even fer one of them kinds, an' he was getting' to be a wee bit difficult ter hide. This summer, Dumbledore, he comes on down and says, 'Hagrid, Fluffy can stay, but he has ter earn it. I'm goin' ter keep him up at the castle guardin' somethin' special-like'."
"Guarding what?" Roderick asked eagerly.
Hagrid shook his head. "No and no. I've gone and tol' ye more than's good. The rest is personal between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel."
"Flamel?" Delf's head shot up.
"The Philosopher's Stone? That's what Fluffy's guarding?"
"Dang it, Harry, I didn't say that!"
"But that's it, isn't it? We're right?" Inspiration struck: "Is that what you were getting for Dumbledore that day from Gringotts?"
The gameskeeper groaned again. "You lot are jus' too smart fer yer own good, that's what ye are."
They had to stay for another forty-five minutes after that, reassuring Hagrid that he hadn't broken his promise to Dumbledore: they had just happened to know all the things that led them to the right answer. Then there had to be tea and more of those dangerous kettle-cakes. Then he made them all tell about their classes, and Harry and Roderick explained about the kelpies they were learning about in Care of Magical Creatures. Delf tried to explain Arithmancy to them all, but a combination of her not knowing enough about it yet and the others' disinterest led to a not-very-successful synopsis.
When they eventually managed to get back to the castle (having promised several times over not to tell anyone about Fluffy or what he was guarding), it was too late for lunch, so they headed back to the common room and got started on homework. It was still a light load this early in the year, but Cedric had warned them that it would get worse, and playing catch-up would be exhausting. Roderick and Harry copied Delf's (rather patchy) History of Magic notes while she started work on her Potions essay. Roderick made flashcards for Charms after that, while Harry and Delf tried to sort out a chart for Ancient Runes, with minimal success. Dinner time found them rather tired, so after a half-hour Transfiguration quiz, they headed to bed.
-o-
October seemed to fly past. Quidditch practice for Harry and Roderick, escalating amounts of homework for all three of them, and secretive guessing sessions about what the Philosopher's Stone was doing at Hogwarts instead of Gringotts seemed to eat up all the free time they remembered so fondly from second year. Harry snuck back to see Fluffy twice after the night of the botched duel, going once by himself and once with Delf, who liked dogs more than Roderick.
And then, all of a sudden, it was Halloween. Harry had always enjoyed Halloween at Hogwarts because it had been such a welcome change from the Crescent Galas he had always had to attend with his family to memorialize the end of the War (and celebrate Tom's role in ending it). And this year Harry and the rest of the third years were especially excited, because the day after Halloween would be their first Hogsmeade trip. The castle looked even more festive than it had in past years: suits of armour were enchanted so that their helmets turned and seemed to watch your progress down the hallway; Peeves became an absolute menace, and the Bloody Baron constantly had to be on hand to control him; Hagrid's pumpkins lined the Great Hall like enormous orange coaches, each with a candle inside as large as a student with wicks as thick as their arms, and all expertly carved. There was a particular favorite done in the likeness of the Potions Master, though Harry noticed that one didn't stay long. Harry wondered how much the Weasley twins had had to do with its creation and decided it was better not to know. The teachers were lenient about homework for the most part, with the noticeable exceptions of Professor Snape and Professor Binns. No one could focus very well on classwork that day, and Professor Flitwick gave them a free hour to do with what they wished.
The Halloween Feast was amazing: thousands upon thousands of wax candles floated above the tables, their light and heat belaying the rumbling sky above. Harry hoped the weather would be nice for the Hogsmeade trip the next day, but had a bad feeling about it as he and Delf and Roderick trooped into the Great Hall after dumping their stuff in their dorms. The pumpkins were lit and a few skeletons wandered the Hall, scaring one poor first-year Hufflepuff nearly out of her wits.
The trio grinned and waved at everyone they knew, but didn't stop till they were seated at the top of the Ravenclaw table, eagerly awaiting the Feast. It took a frustratingly long time for all the students and teachers to assemble, and Harry's stomach was cramping angrily. He had eaten a light lunch in preparation for that evening, and now he was ravenous.
Finally, finally, finally, the food appeared. But before Harry could so much as think of what he wanted to eat first, the huge doors at the end of the Hall banged open and Professor Quirrell staggered in.
"TROLL! IN THE DUNGEON! Thought you ought to…know…" He fell forward in a dead faint. The Hall was shocked to muteness for about three seconds, but then pandemonium broke loose. Students screamed and a few began crying; teachers leapt up and tried to impose some order; Peeves cackled in the rafters, pelting everyone with buttery mashed potatoes.
"SILENCE!" Dumbledore roared from the top of the Hall. To Harry's everlasting shock, he was obeyed, though one girl kept sniffling at the far end of the Slytherin table. "Prefects, please escort the students of your house directly back to the dorms. No one is to leave there until specifically allowed to do so by me or their head of house. Dismissed."
Slightly shell-shocked, the students rose as one and filed out after their Prefects like obedient ducklings.
They were just to the point where the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins split off to head to their subterranean dorms when Roderick dug a sharp elbow into Harry's ribs. "Look," he hissed. "What're your brother and Ron doing with the Ravenclaws?" Craning around the head of a gigantic sixth year, Harry could just see an incriminating flash of orange hair disappear around a corner, and Tom scuttle after.
"Crud," he mumbled. It wasn't even a question whether they would go after them or not. The idiots went to trouble like moths to light, and were not so very good at getting away in time to not be burned. Harry spotted 6th year Prefect Matthew Chambers and waved him down.
"I think I just saw a couple first-years go off down the wrong way. Is it okay if we go get them?" Harry asked, adding just the right note of competence to his voice.
"Yes, please, go," Matthew said seriously. "This is a madhouse. Bring them back when you have them." Harry smiled. He and Delf and Roderick were known for being responsible, rule-abiding students. It wasn't exactly an accurate character sketch, but it was certainly convenient from time to time.
The three of them split off down the turn Tom and Ron had taken, following intuition most of the time and echoing footsteps whenever they heard any. It didn't take long for them to figure out that either their intuition was off, or they'd been following someone else's occasional echoing footsteps.
"This way!" Harry said, following what he was sure were the sounds of footsteps and shouting—
"OW!" he turned the corner and run smack! into Professor McGonagall, causing Delf and Roderick to run into him, and Professors Quirrell and Snape to in turn crash into her.
"Potter!" she exclaimed, picking herself up out of the mess of limbs and confusion and robes.
"Sorry, ma'am!" he exclaimed, holding a hand to his temple where it had hit her chin.
"What are you doing out here? You're supposed to be in your dormitory!"
"That's right ma'am, but you see, I – Roderick and Delf and I – saw my brother and Ron Weasley run off from the group as we were leaving the Great Hall. Our Prefect told us to find them, but we got a bit turned around and lost them. We thought you were them when we heard you running."
"Your brother's running around with a mountain troll on the loose?" Professor Snape sounded alarmed, but not surprised.
Harry nodded seriously. "Yes, sir."
"Come then." McGonagall took over, rubbing her chin. "You're looking for your brother and we're looking for the troll, and you'll be safer if you stay with us. I just pray they are not in the same place."
Harry nodded, and the three students fell in behind the three professors.
"Don't lay it on too think," Roderick murmured. "We want them to trust us, not adopt us."
"Shut up," Delf whispered back. "Harry did perfectly." Roderick rolled his eyes.
Several hallways, two staircases, and innumerable turns later, a resounding CRASH! brought them to a girls' lavatory. Professors and students alike crowded around the door to see what had exploded, and saw with some shock, that instead of a large pile of debris and smoke, there was an unconscious mountain troll on the ground and three surprised-looking but unhurt first years named Tom, Ron, and Hermione standing around. 'How did Hermione get involved in all this?' Harry wondered. They all looked a bit bug-eyed, and Tom was holding his wand, which was covered all over in gloopy gray slime. Snape bent to examine the troll while Quirrel sank down onto a toilet, looking a bit faint. McGonagall towered over the three first-years. "What on earth were you thinking of?" Even though the words were not aimed at Harry, he felt his spine stiffen and he shuffled a little distance away from the irate Transfiguration Mistress. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"
"Please, Professor McGonagall!" A small voice quavered. Harry leaned around McGonagall and saw that it was Hermione speaking. Finally, someone would explain something properly. "They were looking for me."
"Miss Granger!" McGonagall sounded affronted.
"I went looking for the troll because I—I thought I would deal with it on my own—you know, because I've read all about them." Tom and Ron gave each other flabbergasted looks, which they quickly (and badly) hid. Harry narrowed his eyes at the Gryffindor trio. Was Hermione lying to get the boys out of trouble? She was more of a Gryffindor than he had thought after all. "If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Tom stuck his wand up its nose—" That explained the gray glop all over his wand, though it was far more disgusting than Harry really wanted to think about. "—and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."
Tom and Ron were nodded along very earnestly, but Harry was more sure than ever that that was a big fat fabrication. Clearly the wand up the nose bit was true, but the rest of the premise? Highly unlikely.
"Well—in that case…" McGonagall didn't sound like she quite knew what to do. But she rallied: "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?" Hermione ducked her head. "Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this. I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses." Harry felt Roderick perk up at his side. Indeed, Harry was glad to hear it too.
As Hermione crept out, McGonagall took on Tom and Ron. "Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years would have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points." Harry rolled his eyes. This would not help Tom's ego one bit. "Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go." Tom and Ron scampered out, completely missing Harry, Roderick and Delf tucked in behind Professor Mcgonagall. Harry was glad for that: now he had something Tom didn't know he knew. Hermione was a liar, and Tom and Ron were liars by omission for going along with her.
"Now, what to do with you three?" McGonagall wondered aloud to the Ravenclaws once the first years were gone.
They glanced at each other nervously. "Why should anything be done with us three?" Harry asked, hoping she was bluffing.
"Well, for one thing, you disobeyed a direct order from the Headmaster for you to go straight to your dormitories, did you not? And without the rather auspicious result of knocking out a full-grown mountain troll, I see no reason to offer leniency, do you, Professor Snape?"
Harry looked desperately to Snape. He couldn't get in trouble for this, he just couldn't! Not when Tom hadn't! "Perhaps, Professor McGonagall, given the circumstance that Mr Potter, Mr Malfoy and Miss Greengrass acted strictly out of concern for Mr Potter's brother, Mr Weasley and Miss Granger's safety, and had permission from their Prefect besides, it might be appropriate to let them off this time. They are model pupils, after all." Snape looked right at Harry as he said this last, black eyes locking on green, and Harry felt a shiver slip over his spine. Snape knew more about Harry than he was letting on. But he wouldn't say anything. He had just saved them, after all.
"For goodness' sake, Severus, I was joking," Professor McGonagall snapped. "These three did nothing wrong. In fact, ten points to Ravenclaw." Harry, Roderick and Delf sagged against one another in relief. "Now go. Back to your dormitories, where you should have been some time ago."
"Yes, ma'am!" Harry said just as Delf promised, "Right away!" and Roderick said fervently, "Thank you."
Professor McGonagall chortled. "Be off with you," she said kindly, and the three Ravenclaws took off for their Tower, their feast, and sleep.
-o-
The next morning at Potter Manor, the post bore a surprise.
Dear Mum and Dad,
"Oh, James, come here, Tom wrote us a letter!"
As I'm sure you've heard, I was recently involved in an incident with a mountain troll.
"Oh, dear, that must be what this letter from Dumbledore's about…"
It was very dangerous and we barely got away, but I had to save Hermione, so we eventually managed to knock it out.
"He's a Gryffindor through and through, that boy." James shook his head affectionately.
The teachers arrived just in time to see it hit the ground. I know you'll be upset, Mum, about me putting myself in danger like that,
"Darn right, I'm upset! I don't care if he's a Gryffindor 'through and through', he's still in trouble!"
but before you get mad, you should know that Harry has a tattoo.
"WHAT?"
Love, Tom
PS it's giant.
"I know this is Sirius' fault somehow."
PPS it's a Hungarian Horntail on his left shoulder and arm.
"And, by extension, yours, dear." James tried to slink from the room with a rather worried and confused and proud expression on his face.
PPPS school is going great otherwise.
"That boy is SO DEAD!"
A/N
DANG IT, TOM!
So, a few changes from canon: Quirrel is the new professor rather than Charity Burbage, just because that was easier; I redesigned the Ravenclaw common room (mainly because I flat-out forgot we saw it in book seven, oops...); you get to choose your Animagi form. I never got the idea from canon that your form was innate in the same way a Patronus is, so I changed it; the Ravenclaw Quidditch team are all OCs except for Cho, even though we have a roster for at least one of the years. There are going to be other details like that as we go along, and I'm just gonna ask that you go along with it for the sake of the story. :)
Chapter 4 goes up next Saturday! Hope you're excited for "Harry Gets a Howler"...
Half credit for this story goes to my friend fire1: we developed and outlined this idea together and there's no way it would exist without her. Go check her page out!
All characters are owned by JK Rowling, Warner Bros, etc.
E.I. signing out