Beyond the Pale
Year Three
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An owl arrived a week into the Summer Holidays, one for Lily and James, and one each for Harry and Charlus.
Hogwarts was going to be closed for the coming year due to Political and Health and Safety Concerns.
No explanation was given as to what Health and Safety Concerns they were, it wasn't needed because it was plastered all over the Prophet every morning. Not only had the Aurors not found Slytherin's Beast but the parents of the abused children were bringing legal action against Dumbledore and the Board of Governors for allowing Lockhart near their children without a full and completely thorough background check. For not contacting the Aurors upon the very first Petrifaction of Mrs Norris. For not calling the Department for the Control of Dangerous Magical Creatures when a Troll got loose in the Dungeons. For sending students into the Forbidden Forest as a Detention.
And now that the investigation had begun – the dirty laundry of Hogwarts was being blasted across the morning edition of the Prophet.
Snape's previous Death Eater allegiances. Hagrid's half Giant ancestry. Professor Sinistra's affair with the father of one of her students, a married man at that. Dumbledore's estrangement from his younger brother Aberforth and why – the whole sordid tale of Grindelwald and his younger sister Ariana. The Cerberus hidden in the Third Floor. The Philosopher's Stone hidden within the school – an item that the Ministry had been trying to get off Nicholas Flamel ever since he created it, and then destroying the priceless artefact. Knowingly allowing a man possessed by a Dark Spirit/Wraith onto the grounds as a Teacher and then luring a group of students to fight said Wraith. And doing the same again with those same students, attempting to set them onto the trail of Slytherin's Beast and slay the creature – though with extremely limited success.
Sufficed to say, if Hogwarts was to ever open again Dumbledore would most certainly not be involved with it in any way shape or form.
It was probably for the best then that Lily was looking for a new school to send both Charlus and Harry to come the new academic year while James looked into the possibilities of Home Schooling the both of them should the need arise.
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The Potters' had a nice house, not big but not small and not really what Harry had been expecting.
Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he had been expecting some kind of mixture of Privet Drive and Hogwarts somehow rolled into one with a classic Wizarding flair – re: completely pointless and mind-boggling.
But no, it was a simple Tudor style three floored townhouse with a Tower and a slate roof, a large flower garden in front and an orchard in the back plonked in the middle of the Cornish countryside. He was right about it being a mix of Wizarding and Muggle but it wasn't in the way he had been expecting, there was very little in the way of technology and a large amount of Enchanted objects and knickknacks from foreign countries but the decoration was a mix of open-plan modern and medieval Gothic that was somehow both interesting and attractive.
The ground floor was a living room, kitchen, dining room, foyer and a small library. Upstairs was Lily and James's bedroom along with an office, a large Duelling Hall – bigger on the inside than it was on the outside and stuffed to the gills with enchantments so as not to be damaged or disturb anyone else in the house – and a Guest bedroom with on-suite. On the third floor was a large balcony that had a greenhouse for Magical Plants and a Broomstick shed plus flight deck, Charlus's room which was large and painted in reds, oranges, yellows and black, Dudley's room which was neutral in white, crème and brown and Harry's which was attached to the small tower in blues, whites and silvers.
Lily had looked very nervous when showing him the room, shyly admitting that she had decorated it herself especially for him and that she hoped he liked it. There were books, a lot of books and several curiosities and the like from other cultures that caught his eye, she hadn't tried to personalise it for him but it was comfortable and he found himself nodding.
"It's nice," he admitted touching a delicate rice-paper privacy screen studying the pale blue, silver and dark blue patterns printed onto it.
Lily beamed.
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Charlus blamed himself for not being able to save Ginny Weasley.
R-something or other did as well and he had said as much through the Floo connection at the top of his lungs having called them up just so he could make his juvenile feelings known.
When the connection ended, Charlus had gone to James and demanded that his lessons be increased.
Staring at his son long and hard eventually the former Auror nodded, "Alright, I'll increase the difficulty and frequency."
Harry watched as James had to carry his son up the stairs later that night, the older teenager having been worked so hard he physically couldn't walk for muscle fatigue and pain. So much for Malfoy's mutterings of the Gryffindor Golden Boy being spoilt rotten and treated like a King.
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Dudley kept throwing tantrums left and right.
Lily had forbidden both Charlus and James from casting spells at or around him – her main reason being that he was frightened of magic and she refused to have a child be terrorised in her home. But it didn't make dealing with him any easier.
At one point he had cornered Harry with every intention of beating him senseless for ruining his life – Charlus caught him in the act and punched him hard enough to knock him onto his fat bum and start crying. As punishment, Lily made Charlus go to his room and stay there for twenty minutes (it wasn't really a punishment as Charlus and Harry both knew but she had to be seen to be fair and punish him for committing a violent act instead of nearly doing so as Dudley had done) before making Dudley sit on the stairs and stay there for ten minutes, every time he stood up and tried to leave she would march him straight back and sit him down where the ten minutes would begin all over again.
Dudley did everything he could to get out of it.
He cried, he wailed, he screamed, he tried to blame Harry and then Charlus, he insulted her – she added five minutes to his punishment – he forced himself to be sick and then he finally tried to physically strike her. At that point she grabbed him by the ear and pulled him into the kitchen where she slapped the palm of his hand three times with a wooden spoon and told him to go to his room and stay there until dinner time.
He wailed and he howled and he sobbed and kicked and trashed his room but he didn't leave.
Come dinner time he shuffled out, red faced, tear streaked, silent and defeated.
It wasn't the last tantrum, but it was the last time Dudley ever raised his hand to anyone in the house ever again.
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Dudley's birthday was a double event, a trip to visit his parents at their respective institutions and a trip to the cinema and a meal out with his friends in London.
Petunia had burst into tears at the sight of her son with her sister and the rest of the family. She had flung her arms around her portly son who had equally returned her hug hard enough that had she been even a tiny bit thinner she would have snapped like a twig. The Potters had retreated to the far side of the room to allow them some time together; Petunia wouldn't stop touching him, stroking his face and sobbing in relief over the sight of him. Harry could distinctly hear Dudley complaining about missing his TV shows and about how they wouldn't let him have sweets whenever he wanted and how Aunt Lily smacked his hand for no reason. Lily stiffened at that particular whine and the answering simper from her sister, she said nothing though, quietly seething in the background as she wrapped her arms around Harry and hugged him lightly.
Visiting hour probably passed entirely too swiftly for Petunia but it was agonisingly slow for the rest of them, at the five minute left mark the horse faced woman gestured her sister over and smothered her son in hugs and kisses before waving him off.
Harry couldn't hear what was said, they spoke in low and mean voices.
But whatever Petunia said, it made Lily draw herself up to her full height and look at her with every scrap of cold scorn, anger and disgust in her being – looking every inch the Lady Potter she was and say: "I have treated your son as though he were my own. You're here because you cannot say the same, Petunia. Grow up," before turning and marching away from her gob-smacked older sister who suddenly looked very small and fragile to Harry's eyes.
The trip to Vernon was less than successful.
The large man refused to even see them, he spat pure vitriol at them and at his son who had apparently been infected with their 'freakishness'.
Lily and James had been nearly apoplectic at hearing those words, but Harry got the feeling it wasn't because he was calling them Freaks but more because Dudley had begun to shed tears. Not the crocodile ones he used to get his own way or the fat red faced ones he spilled when he was angry and throwing a tantrum. They were slow and silent and he actually tried to hide them. Vernon had really hurt him by saying that.
Charlus had been equally angry and stormed off to go and stand in the corridor, Harry caught sight of him punching the wall in a fit of anger through the window.
They all headed home where Lily made Dudley's favourite food for him before tucking him up into bed.
That day was a disaster but at least he cheered up enough by the weekend where it was time for his trip to the cinema with his friends. Harry and Charlus remained at home with James where they decided to teach Harry a few Self Defence Spells – just in case.
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Harry hadn't made any comment on his birthday as it was a non issue for him, he was thirteen just another year older that was all.
Which was why he blinked in mild shock to see Hermione, Meg, Neville, Luna, Kevin Entwhistle and Terry Boot in the kitchen along with his parents, Charlus and Dudley bickering about where the streamers and balloons should go.
It was a quiet affair, presents were passed out, Harry gave them all a confused blink which just received beaming smiles and encouragements to open them – which he did and received a number of books, a box of Chocolate frogs, a box of incense, a plant, Jelly Beans and a few magical odds and ends – just baubles really.
Then everyone ate cake that Lily had made, Victoria Sponge with butter cream and raspberry jam filling – it was tasty.
Then, for lack of anything to do, they all played hide and seek.
Harry was the last one to be found and even then it took James cheating and casting a Point Me Charm to find him where he was hidden in the guttering of the house – Dudley then received a chocolate frog because he had bet Charlus that Harry would be the last one to be found.
That done, they all went into the house where they played a Wizarding game called 'Hunt the Wracklespurts', Dudley had been a bit hesitant but when he found out it was kind of like a mixture of 99-In and It he had been more interested in it. Lily conjured various little lights in the shape of butterflies that would fly around the house, everyone would be armed with a Net and a jar, the one who caught the most butterflies and got back to the Base and evoked the butterflies won.
Meg surprising won that one; she was utterly ruthless in hunting the things down. She even launched herself down the stairs to get a butterfly before Terry managed to catch it – she ended up with skinned knees but upon winning she received a conjured crown made of gold.
Luna took the butterflies and threaded them into her hair and sang a nonsense song under her breath as she trailed along after them until it was time to go home.
The next morning Charlus had a much larger party for his fourteenth birthday, all his friends from Hogwarts – a number which had severely been cut in half due to how most of them were sheep who only stuck around to ride on his coattails. R-something or other showed up, dragged in by the ear by his mother who ordered him to apologise while his elder twin brothers immediately vanished into the house – no doubt to find James and badger him for Pranking tips. And then his friends from America showed up along with the ones he had around Europe and even a few from China and Japan and India appeared.
It was a huge event and Harry found himself hiding in an obscure corner to avoid most of the people with Dudley unexpectedly at his side, both of them unwilling to enter into the crush, though for different reasons. Dudley because they were all Magical and he was very intimidated and didn't understand anything that was being said and Harry because there was no space and he didn't like the idea of being touched. At all. By any of them.
Eventually they went outside for a massive game of Quidditch which became Quadpot which then became something else not quite as complicated but much faster paced and difficult to pull off from the look of it.
Cake was had, presents were given, songs were sung and then people began to trickle off home as the sun sank lower on the horizon.
Albus Dumbledore was the last to leave and he walked out leaving Lily and James tense and in tears.
Harry was finding that he didn't much like Albus Dumbledore.
Not much at all.
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Lily found them a school.
A little independent one in Wales by the name of St James' Monastery in Aberystwyth, right on the coast.
It had none of Hogwarts grandiose, being that it was an old political prison with a church built over it, converted into a mansion, turned into an abattoir, burned down and then rebuilt into a school. It had an extremely dark and gory history filled with murder, torture, black magic, heroics and romance that wasn't really romance.
When James found out he had put his foot down and forbidden them from attending.
The two hadn't argued about it in front of them, they hadn't even shouted unlike Petunia and Vernon. They sent Charlus and Harry out to go and learn some obscure Ancient Magic Spell that boosted one's physical capabilities before hissing at each other in sharp and quiet voices. He supposed it was better than the way his Aunt and Uncle argued – for one they didn't do it in front of Charlus, Dudley or Harry, or take out their anger on him afterwards.
In the end, Harry and Charlus ended up being home schooled.
Harry still wasn't sure whether this was a good or a bad thing because with the Home Schooling, both Lily and James had called in various favours from old friends to come in and teach the two of them little bits and pieces that their parents would then show them how to thread into other subjects.
It wasn't so bad though.... Tonks reminded him a lot of Meg, or rather, how Meg could be when she was older.
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Hermione was attending Beauxbatons in France, Meg was back to being homeschooled, Neville often came over to theirs for homeschooling as his Grandmother didn't trust his Uncle Algie with a wand – let alone teach her Grandson. The Weasleys were all being kept in close to the family, Luna often ended up joining them when Molly or their eldest brothers, Charlie and Bill, gave lessons – for the most part though, the Weasleys were still in mourning and held no interest in education right now.
Word had it that the majority of Purebloods were now either being homeschooled or put to Durmstrang – Draco Malfoy being one of the prominent names to be put into the Foreign School.
"Good," Charlus muttered when he found out, glaring at his muggle notebook as he put the last finishing touches on the thunder cloud, "Maybe he'll stay there," the young Boy-Who-Lived hoped sourly as he jabbed his wand at the drawing, enchanting it into motion and making the thundercloud shoot a lightning bolt down, setting fire to a stick figure of Draco Malfoy.
Funnily enough though, Harry found himself agreeing with his brother.
He did not like Draco Malfoy.
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It was Halloween.
Dumbledore was back and he'd dragged Lily and James and his brother into the office to talk to them.
Harry had been left alone.
The dark haired teenager toyed with the Meditation Balls his mother had left in the room, the delicate chiming filling the silence as he rolled them across the palm of his hand. His room was actually filled with a lot of Eastern Influences with some curious Indian and Russian touches here and there, he liked it like that though, he wouldn't mind going and seeing them in real life to be honest. Charlus had told him that while Hogwarts does education from eleven to seventeen, the Japanese did from eleven to fifteen before putting students through a kind of Magical 'College' and 'University' where they could learn how to specialise in certain subjects before moving on. It sounded a lot more beneficial than the British and European system of Apprenticeships.
Still...
He wasn't quite sure what he felt but he didn't like it.
It was cold and heavy and... a little bitter too. Was this loneliness or was it sadness?
There was also a little niggle.
He knew what that niggle was, he had felt it only fleetingly a few times before. Curiosity.
He wanted to know why Dumbledore was here and why he was demanding private meetings with his parents and brother and why Harry wasn't being included in them if they were so important.
He restrained himself though. If it was that important then Lily and James would tell him, if they didn't, his brother would. After all, they had told him about the Prophesy, about Pettigrew and about what happened the night they were attacked – and the fall out with one of their friend's afterwards. Remus Lupin had not been pleased with them for abandoning Harry with Petunia and thinking him the Traitor, words were exchanged and then James said the worst thing possible: 'because you're a werewolf'. Lupin had walked out and they'd never seen him again, rumour had it he moved somewhere to Russia where he had either settled down as a hermit or died – James was too scared of finding out what his old friend's fate had become, no matter how guilty he felt.
Lily and James weren't Saints.
They weren't wonderful and pure people, the epitome of all that was Light in the world of magic.
They were good people. But...
They were human.
They made mistakes and they felt entirely too much and too hard to be the wonderful people the public made them out to be.
Simply put, they were as selfish, stupid and clumsy as the rest of them.
Harry put the Meditation Balls away in their silk embroidered box, the chimes falling quiet and the room going silent.
And then he heard the sound of the door.
Charlus knocked before pushing in, much too furious and upset to wait for his brother to give him permission, and slammed the door shut behind him in his father's face – sending the message loud and clear that he did not want to talk to him. For a moment, the two brothers watched the door as if expecting their father to shove it open and scold them for being so rude but he didn't and they heard his footsteps moving away.
The Gryffindor began to pace the room under his brother's flat green gaze, his hands clenching and unclenching as he growled and moved, unable to sit down or calm down.
"They still haven't found it!" Charlus finally bit out, "Dumbledore says he needs me to find it, that I'm the only one who CAN find it."
Harry tilted his head slightly, "You cannot," he stated.
"No! I can't! Or I would have gone and rescued Ron's sister!" ah, so that was what his name was. Charlus sat down on the end of Harry's bed, gripping his black hair and tugging on it harshly, "He was right! It is my fault she's dead! Dumbledore pretty much just confirmed it!" he explained, voice beginning to break as he ripped at his scalp.
Harry grabbed his hands and pulled them away, "How?" he asked, "How is it your fault?"
Charlus blinked at him, his eyes were slightly slanted, not as large as Harry's but they were definitely in the same shape as Lily's, they were just brown, a warm hazel brown. The fourteen year old sighed softly and hung his head, "Dumbledore thinks that when Voldemort gave me the scar, he left a little bit of himself in me. He thinks I should be able to speak to Snakes, but I can't. And the only way of getting into the Chamber of Secrets is by speaking Snake," he explained quietly.
Harry blinked at him before poking him in the forehead like Meg sometimes did to Luna or Neville, "Why doesn't he just use his Phoenix to go down there?" the thirteen year old asked, startling his older brother into looking up.
Charlus goggled at him, "What?" he asked weakly.
Harry sat back, releasing his hands now that he was certain his brother wasn't going to be ripping his hair out any longer. "Professor Dumbledore has a Phoenix, doesn't he? I heard one of the older students talking about it. Phoenix can travel through bursts of fire and light, correct?" Charlus nodded dumbly, "Why doesn't he ask his Phoenix to take him down there? The bird is tied into the wards of Hogwarts; surely it can follow the lines to the Chamber of Secrets."
"B-but what about the monster?" the Gryffindor asked.
"It's a Basilisk," Harry pointed out, "Hardly something any fourteen year old should have to handle, let alone a thirteen year old. I fail to see how this can be in any way your fault. If anyone were to be blamed, it would be Dumbledore and the previous Headmasters before him for failing to conduct full and complete safety checks on the whole castle."
Charlus could only giggle a little hysterically.
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Dumbledore was in the kitchen the next morning when the two brothers came down, sat at the table as though he owned it while Lily glared at him from the kitchen and James sat, tense and unhappy, to his left.
"Charlus, my boy," the old man greeted jovially.
Harry allowed himself a frown, "My brother doesn't belong to you Mr Dumbledore, don't say that," he stated flatly, Charlus wasn't Dumbledore's 'boy' or his 'anything'.
"Harry," Lily scolded, or tried to, her heart just wasn't into it because she too had been entertaining thoughts of a similar nature. "Show some respect to Professor Dumbledore."
"He isn't a Professor anymore. He has no legal right to be here, you aren't even friends with him. Every time he comes here you cry, he gets angry and my brother looks like he is expected to climb Mount Everest with his bare hands," the young Ravenclaw pointed out coldly, folding his arms and glaring at the old man. "I don't like you."
Dumbledore laughed, it sounded rather nervous to Harry's ears, "I'm sure it's not all that bad, Harry m'boy."
Harry's frown became a scowl, "Do not call me that. I am not your anything," he hissed.
He was ignored, "Perhaps this would be smoother if it were just Charlus and myself," the ex-Headmaster suggested delicately. Lily glared at him and he chuckled, again, rather nervously, "Ah, hmm, very well then! Let us begin!" he suggested enthusiastically brandishing his wand so suddenly that Harry automatically stepped in front of his brother and James twitched towards his wand. Harry's reaction did not go unnoticed and while Lily and James beamed, Dumbledore's face tightened for a split second.
"What are you doing?" Charlus demanded warily, after what Harry had explained to him, laid out for him in such flat, logical and emotionless facts, he had opened his eyes quite wide and dissolved his trust of the old man quite considerably.
Dumbledore's face tightened further and his Grandfatherly smile became just that little more forceful, "Just a quick check to see if Charlus can speak Parseltongue. I'll be conjuring a snake, if he can understand what it is hissing that means he is a Parselmouth," the white haired male explained getting to his feet.
A murmured incantation later and a rather handsome black Egyptian Asp was coiled up on the floor of the kitchen, Lily tensed immediately and recoiled away while Charlus eyed the reptile warily and Harry simply blinked and studied it. Weren't Egyptian Asps poisonous?
The serpent squirmed in place and hissed at them, Charlus shook his head, "I can't understand it," he stated defensively.
Dumbledore looked shocked, "Come now my boy, I know Parseltongue isn't fondly looked on but there is nothing to be ashamed of."
Charlus shot him a glare, "I told you! It just sounds like hissing to me, I can't understand it."
The former Headmaster suddenly looked to the younger brother, "Harry, can you understand it?" he asked, heart sinking.
Harry stared at him and then at the snake before looking back again, "No."
(Line break)
But he lied.
He could understand the Snake.
He just didn't trust Dumbledore.
He didn't care about the Chamber of Secrets, about Dumbledore, about Voldemort, about Ginny or the Weasleys, he didn't even much care about the Wizarding World as a collective – in fact he rather disliked the collective Wizarding World as opposed to simply not caring.
So he waited until Dumbledore had left – after telling him to simply use his Phoenix and stop bothering them – and told his parents.
The look of horror on their faces instantly made him regret that decision.
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Christmas was going to be a cheerful family event, Dudley was home for the holiday and they had planned a trip to see Petunia at the Prison on Christmas Day afternoon so she could spend some time with her son. Boxing day they were going to be having friends and guests over, Hermione's parents wanted to meet them, Meg was determined to check on Harry and make sure there was no lost progress on his 'rehabilitation', Neville and Luna just wanted to see him again.
The only downside to these plans was that the Weasleys were going to be joining them that day as well.
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Petunia looked tired and thin when they next saw her, Harry's sharp eyes picked out the bruises on her wrists that she tried to keep hidden by her sleeves – he pointed them out to Lily who questioned the guard, she was clueless but promised to keep an eye on things. They gave her a few cards and a chocolate bar which were treated with an almost reverence by the blonde haired woman before going on their way.
Back at the Potters, they had Christmas dinner and then were allowed to open their presents.
Dudley got a few Muggle items, a Gift card for HMV, a CD player, money, a water-pistol and a few muggle sweets.
Charlus got a new pair of Dragon Hide boots with a matching Wand Holster, a new Broomstick – a Nimbus 2001, a Broomstick servicing Kit, chocolate frogs, jellybeans, a pocket watch and some Meditation Balls from Harry to help him with his Occlumency.
Harry received a lot of books, some money, a wand holster and cloak, a small set of Magical models – phoenix, dragons and unicorns, a set of magical Diaries that acted almost like what Dudley called a 'chatroom' from the Muggle internet and a few comic books from Dudley.
The next day Harry awoke to an unusual chaos running rampant through the house.
Lily was busy in the kitchen whipping up enough food to feed an army, James was busy in the orchard flicking his wand this way and that way while Charlus was cleaning the house and Dudley was shirking off as much work as possible to hide in his room. Harry ended up joining his mother in cleaning while Dudley was quite firmly wrangled into cleaning the bathroom.
Tonight the Potters were holding a Christmas Party.
Hermione showed up fairly early via the Knight Bus with her parents looking a little startled and dazed as they stopped off the triple decker purple monstrosity. The Gryffindor had changed since Harry last saw her, not by much but it was enough for Harry to notice, she was a bit taller, she'd filled out a touch, her skin had a light tan and her previously bushy hair was now sleek and curly, she wore a pretty gold evening dress with a black shawl and obsidian jewellery set in gold. Looking between his Muggleborn friend and her parents, he could quite firmly say she took after her father in appearances – though thankfully she had her mother's nose.
The young Witch looked him up and down and laughed before hugging him tightly and shoving a wrapped present under his nose, judging by the size and weight of it he was holding a rather heavy leather bound tomb – a quick sniff confirmed that it was fairly old as well and probably from somewhere in France.
Meg showed up next wearing a long white dress of multiple layers – she looked a little like the hippy lady who used to live in Magnolia Crescent, especially with the beaded necklaces. Her hair had grown some and she'd gotten quite a bit taller and seemed almost gangly now – she was still fairly tanned and entirely too energetic, as demonstrated as she physically dragged her mother down the path to meet him. Her mother hardly looked a thing like her with thick curly black hair, mocha coloured skin and olive eyes, full pouty lips and a short curvy hourglass figure that was just short of voluptuous. Somehow, Harry wasn't surprised that Meg had some Gypsy in her, he was a little surprised that her mother was a Gypsy though – and such an old fashioned one as well. Prancing over, the white clad girl solemnly bestowed a small wrapped package to him before telling him she'd made it herself and pulling her mother into the house to meet Hermione.
Luna showed up with the rest of the Weasley clan, her father in tow, she wore the most horrific set of bright, bright eye-gouging orange robes he had ever seen on a human being in his life, trimmed in black lace with a large lime green lily fascinator and purple fishnet veil – and her favoured radish earrings, plus bottle cap necklace – she looked exactly the same as the last time Harry saw her.
The Weasleys were dressed as nicely as they could afford, the majority of the kids in second hand ill fitting robes, the eldest with the long hair in leather and spikes with an easy going grin – Harry found himself fascinated, he'd never seen anyone or anything like it. The short and stockier of the two wore simple cut robes, ironed and clean, casual yet smart. He too had an easy grin on his face. The Gryffindor Prefect was puffed up and slicked back as always, glasses catching the light from the Fairies Charlus had talked into acting as decorations for the house.
The mother, Molly, greeted him warmly and fussed slightly over his hair before bustling off into the house to find Lily – he could have sworn he'd heard her muttering something about 'awful business' and 'abandoning', 'despicable', 'Arthur' and 'bad opinion'. Harry had the feeling she was talking about him and his parents.
Ron ignored him and marched into the house looking for Charlus, the twins greeted and teased him while ruffling his hair, Percy sniffed at him and strutted into the house like an over-stuffed peacock, the older two – Charlie and Bill – said hello, Merry Christmas, shook his hand before excusing themselves and disappearing into the house to hunt down their younger siblings. Arthur, the father, stayed outside and chatted to him for a bit while Luna's father drifted absently through the flower beds 'ooh'ing and 'ahh'ing over various things only he could see.
Neville showed up then, Portkeying in with his Grandmother Augusta – wearing a large stuffed vulture atop a slightly moth eaten old hat.
"C'mon! Your Dad's hosting some kind of Duelling Tournament in the garden!" Meg exclaimed, literally popping up out of nowhere behind him, "Evenin' Nev!" she called exuberantly, waving at the blushing brunet in his very posh and uncomfortably itchy dress robes – a good few generations out of date at that. "You coming to the Tournament as well?" she asked.
Neville rapidly shook his head with a sideways glance to his Grandmother who looked as thought she had just swallowed a lime at the thought of her Grandson in such a thing. Or at the sight of Meg, it was hard to tell.
The tournament was really nothing more than a bit of fun and a way of keeping the teenagers out of trouble while everyone was eating or dancing or chatting. Five targets, ten shots. The one who got the highest points won. Bull's eye was worth five points, first ring four, second ring thee, third ring two, last ring one and if you missed you got nothing. They were only allowed paint charms and they would be borrowing the wands from their parents so as not to get into trouble with the Ministry.
Neville actually decided to join in on this one, slightly nervous and stumbling over himself when he asked his Grandmother if he could borrow her wand but with a simple imperious sniff she handed over the length of Oak – not noticing the odd expression on his face as he took grasp of it.
They took turns in groups of three, Hermione, Meg and Luna facing off in one group with Harry, Neville and Charlus in the other. Girls vs Boys.
Unsurprisingly, Charlus won out of the boys, Harry came in second having missed one of the targets when they started to move but Neville had been the most surprising. He hadn't missed a single one, he only got two bull's eyes but he hadn't missed at all.
Luna lost, horribly. A quick check from Lily confirmed that it was because she couldn't actually see the targets, apparently she was short sighted – anything after ten feet got blurry which meant she was alright in class, as she sat in the front row, and she could read books fine, but she couldn't see the targets.
Hermione and Meg actually tied the first time over, both of the girl's natural competitiveness rearing their ugly heads. Meg got more Bull's eyes but she also missed a fair bit. Hermione never missed but she never got a Bull's eye either.
Everyone sat back and cheered as the two eventually devolved into a mock Duel with James overseeing them to make sure nothing got too out of hand as the pair tossed off various very low level irritant hexes and jinxes. By the end of it, Meg ended up with light green skin and her hair turned to ivy with flowers threaded through it and yellow eyes, Hermione's ears had sprouted flowers and her nose hair had grown down to her naval while her skin had been turned a rather unpleasant shade of bile yellow. Somehow Harry ended up getting Jinxed as well – though he had a sneaking suspicion that was James's handiwork as the Partial Transfiguration he got hit with was of a much higher level than Meg was capable of and Hermione wouldn't throw something like that at anyone.
Still, he didn't mind the foxy ears and tail. He just wished Luna would stop petting them.
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Hermione's present was a book, but it was one that he knew he would be enjoying a lot more than the joke present he rather randomly received from the Weasley Twins. 'Spell Chains'.
Meg's present turned out to be a Dream Catcher, charmed to prevent nightmares and traumatic flashbacks – it was white and blue with a Quartz Crystal tied into the centre of the Acromantula silk webbing.
From Luna he received a corset. A women's corset in dark red and black with lace and ruffles. Harry had stared at it in pure confusion for all of ten minutes before Charlus caught sight of it and promptly busted a gut laughing until he had to stumble off to the bathroom for fear of wetting himself. When Lily and James found out James looked highly amused and Lily giggled as she tried to explain why she thought Luna had given him a piece of women's lingerie. Harry merely blinked at her in confusion before handing it to her and saying she could keep it as it matched her hair, he left the room after that and never saw the lecherous expression that crossed onto James's face as he touched the black lace.
The book from the Twins was an encyclopaedia of Pranking Charms, Harry gave it a once over and put it on his shelf of 'nice to have but somewhat useless' books. Two days later he was pulling it out and looking for a Charm he could send at his father after he ended up with wings instead of ears.
Neville gave him a plant; he'd gotten a peek at Harry's room during his birthday and a few subsequent visits afterwards and decided it could do with some more greenery – maybe? Harry didn't know – and then proceeded to grow him a Bonsai tree and a few other flora odds and ends to place in strategic placed. Still, it was nice, they were already beginning to flower some of them – they smelled nice too.
New Years Day was greeted with an Early Morning edition of the Daily Prophet – the front page proudly proclaiming, in a squeaky enchanted voice: "CHAMBER OF SECRETS FOUND – DUMBLEDORE KILLS SLYTHERIN'S BEAST"
That meant Hogwarts would probably be opened next year.
Harry shrugged a shoulder and went back to reading his History text, he didn't care.
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But he was really beginning to think he should have as three months down the line another edition of the Prophet proclaimed that Dumbledore would be staying on as Headmaster of Hogwarts where the Boy Who Lived and his younger brother would be attending next year.
Or so they believed.
Harry could have sworn he heard his mother talking to someone in America about enrolling that at some place called Ipswich Institute for Magically Gifted Boys.
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FINISHED!! AT LONG FUCKING LAST!!!
Right. Just to explain a few things to those of you who have been impatient and annoying and haven't stopped HOLLARING at me via PM and e-mail and Facebook messaging – when I posted up the second chapter to this that meant it was now a story, no longer a One Shot. THAT MEANT I WOULD FINISH IT!! So sit down shut up and let me get on with it because this chapter has been rewritten THREE times because I wasn't happy with it.
Some people seemed a little confused about a few things so I'll try to explain here:
Arthur Weasley: Harry doesn't have a strong grasp of emotion, he's using Logic here and as we all know Logic is the opposite of emotion. Arthur is unhappy with James because he ditched Harry at the Dursleys, because he abandoned one of his children. And to someone with seven kids, who works himself to the bone just so they can stay together and be a family together and be happy together, it's practically a Holy Sin to do something like that.
Charlus and the Potters: Someone made a note that Charlus was a pampered prince and the Potters were the classic 'abandonment' couple we see so often in some of the other stories. No, no they aren't and I hope this chapter has proven that to you people. We all know what happened to Neville's parents after Voldemort was destroyed, that was them just looking for information, how do you think they would have acted while trying to get revenge? Charlus was taken out of the country to protect him – they couldn't have hidden in any of the Safe Houses because Peter would have known about them. He would have been able to get through the Wards, the Potters couldn't take that kind of risk especially since there was a damn good chance of Peter passing the locations of every safe house to the Death Eaters. Charlus would be three at this point. Old enough to use Magical transportation without ill effect. Harry would be fifteen months, much too young for that kind of travelling. Hence why Lily put him into Petunia's care, believing that her older sister would put aside her petty jealousy because there was a child's life on the line. Aside from raise him Petunia would not have to support him at all because the Potters provided the money for him.
Charlus isn't pampered, he's being trained to take down a Dark Lord, James used to be an Auror he won't be stupid enough to make his son soft when he'll have to deal with something that monumental. As for the Sorting Hat's comment regarding his mental shielding, he was eleven, no healthy eleven year old can completely control and shield their mind. The fact that he even has those 'curtains' is incredible when you think about the fact that Canon!Harry at 16 can't even manage that.
Flitwick and Lockhart: It's my understanding that throughout the books the Heads of Houses have a very hands off approach to their students, McGonagall only shows up in a capacity as a crowd control, career advisor and teacher. This is the application I put towards Flitwick, however, since Ravenclaws are generally much more well behaved than the Gryffindors he isn't around that much as he would probably be assisting the older years with preparations for their NEWT exams. My reasoning is he merely brushed Harry's behaviour off as Boyish Discomfort at being forced into attending a Detention – after all, this would be the first time that Flitwick would have had any kind of personal contact with Harry outside of lessons and escorting him to see Roger Davis.
At my old school, if you tried to skip Detention the teachers would get a prefect or a classmate to hunt you down and bring you back. You had Lunch detention, after school detention, internal suspension, suspension and then expulsion at my school in order of severity. If you had internal suspension you were put into a plain room in one of the outbuildings and you weren't allowed to leave, the teacher on Duty would even go to the cafeteria and buy you lunch and escort you to the bathroom.
This is why Flitwick is so angry; he unknowingly put one of his students into danger more than once.
Hope this explains some stuff for everyone.
Now: Question time.
I'm debating over whether or not to keep Harry and Charlus in Hogwarts. Should they stay, or should they go to Ipswich?