Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Author's note: Harry's magical knowledge is vast and he is also very skilled at spell-casting, but that doesn't mean his spells will kill mass numbers and he is not so god-like that no one can stop him.
Chapter 2: This Is Hogwarts...
2 Months Later... Harry's Birthday...
Harry's Apartment...
Harry walked into the apartment disappointed over the result of his latest attempt to bring Lily out of her coma through the use of a potion that he found instructions for within the tome he had received from Catherine. Harry noticed immediately that the lights were closed which was odd because Selene was usually in at that time of day. Harry flipped the light switched and was met with a surprise.
"Surprise!" The people in the room yelled.
The apartment was decorated with balloons and a banner that said "Happy Birthday Harry". Sirius and Remus were smiling at Harry, two women that Harry didn't know were standing with Sirius and Remus and Selene was standing behind the cake with another girlfriend. Harry was not sure how to react to the surprise birthday party that was being thrown for him so he flip the light switch back to off and waited five seconds before turning them back on.
"You're all still here." Harry stated as if he was expecting them to disappear.
Sirius and Remus started laughing and the women just smiled at Harry.
"Come over here Harry and blow out the candles." Sirius said excitedly.
Harry played along with everyone and blew out the candles on the cake. "So, this is new and strange."
"What is so strange about us throwing a surprise party for your birthday?" Remus asked as they all took a seat or pulled up a chair.
"Well usually I would invite you two and Selene with me to a restaurant to have dinner. From there I would go to a bar and get drunk while the three of you go off doing whatever is you three do." Harry then looked at the two women with Sirius and Remus then at Selene's new girlfriend. "The girl with Selene I understand, but who are the ladies you have brought here Remus, Sirus?"
"Do you want to tell him or should I?" Sirius asked the woman that was sitting with him.
"I think you should."
"Okay." Sirius stood up in a dramatic fashion as if he were announcing something big. "Harry, I want you to meet my fiancée Amy."
Then Remus stood up and grinned wildly at Harry. "Harry, I also want you to meet my fiancée Helen."
Harry just looked at the two surprised by the news then started to laugh. "Oh, you two almost had me there. The two of you engaged to two beautiful women, are going to settle down and have a family." Harry just kept laughing and saw that the two of them were still grinning. He looked at the ring finger of the two women and saw engagement rings.
"Oh, you two are serious. Well then congratulations are in order and wine." Harry went to a cabinet in the kitchen and took out two bottles of wine and glasses.
"Harry, why is it that you keep drinking in celebration of everything?" Selene asked in a mildly concerned tone over his health.
Harry just grinned and ignored her question. "So Sirius, Remus, when are you two planning to have the wedding ceremony?" Harry poured everyone a glass of wine.
"We were actually going to ask you about that. After all you will be getting your Hogwarts letter soon and we wanted to make it a day that you could come." Sirius replied.
Harry laughed a little at the response. "You two don't need worry about me going to Hogwarts. Just have it on the day you like best and I'll be there Hogwarts or not."
"Harry, you shouldn't treat your first year at Hogwarts like something you can just drop at anytime." Remus said in a parental tone.
"You two know what I do when I am not going working on my "obsolete" muggle science, right?" Harry said.
The two of them became a little more serious and depressed. "Yes, we know."
"Then you realize that I don't really need to go to Hogwarts at all. I just need to see if they can offer me something I have missed."
"Alright Harry. We'll send you an invitation when the dates are decided." Remus said.
The party turned into a night of talking about what everyone had been doing over the past year, getting to know Amy and Helen, and other topics of interest. It was followed by a toast to the two happy couple who were going to get married. Cake was eaten, wine was drunk, and they all chatted the night away. It was late into the night by the time Sirius and Remus left Harry's apartment to use their international portkeys in order to go back home in France. Harry decided to get drunk at a bar and left the house to Selene.
"Harry, why do you do this every year?"
"I do it to try to dull the pain I feel every year when my birthday comes around." Harry looked at Selene as he stood by the door. "You know enough about me. I'm sure you understand."
Harry walked out the door. 'Every year he does this.' "Well we have the house to ourselves." Selene grinned at her girlfriend.
"Let's go have some fun." Selene's girlfriend said in a sexy tone.
August 28, 1997...
Diagon Alley...
It was only a few days before the start of the school term at Hogwarts and Harry decided that it was a good time to get the supplies he would need for his classes. Harry looked over the list of books and other items that he was going to need for the year.
'This has to be some kind of a joke.' Harry thought to himself as he looked over the list as he walked around Diagon Alley looking for the right shops. 'These books are all the lowest of beginner level books. There aren't even any books for mid or upper level beginners. There is no way people need a year to learn such simple magic.'
Harry decided to forget shopping for books and went to Ollivander's Wand Shop for another wand. Harry walked into the shop and couldn't see nor sense Ollivander's presence inside the shop. 'What the hell? How is he hiding himself from my senses?' Suddenly Harry felt Ollivander appear behind him and he stepped forward with his wand extended in his left hand touching Ollivander's throat ready to kill him or cause serious injury. Harry felt a presence in his mind, but it disappeared as soon as it appeared.
"Harry Potter, put your wand down." Ollivander touched the tip of Harry's wand and lowered it with Harry's compliance. "You came for a wand after all, not to fight me."
Harry put the wand back into its place in the left sleeve of his robe. "No, I didn't come to fight you. I came for a wand." Ollivander walked passed Harry and grabbed some measuring tape from the counter then began to measure Harry's arms.
"You have telepathic abilities." Harry said as Ollivander was finishing his left arm.
Ollivander laughed a little. "You are the first person to ever call me out like that. The people that come to my shop aren't the kind of people who can spot my ability."
"I would guess that is the case. I'd be surprise if any British spell-caster can detect your abilities."
Ollivander finished measuring and fetched a few wands and handed one to Harry. "Try waving that wand."
Harry ignored Ollivander's instruction and channeled some magic into it to see if he could use it. "This doesn't work for me." Harry handed it back.
"You're an interesting one Harry Potter." The two of them went through process of Harry trying a wand and handing it back for about 15 minutes and after 30 different wands.
"I'm not going to tell you how to do your job, but this is a large waste of time. Do you have any general use wands? I'm asking since all the wands seem to distort the magic I channel into it or I am just unable to channel magic at all."
"Mr. Potter, it is the wand that chooses its wielder."
"That is utter garbage and you know that they aren't sentient. You wand-crafters know that wands are merely focusing tools for magic and I know that you realize that you make wands that only focus certain magical signatures depending on a persons attributes."
Ollivander was laugh loudly now. "Mr. Potter in all my years of business I have never encountered a person like you."
"That's because I've heard about you from other wand-crafters. You're well known for your wands that block or distort most people from using your wands unless they meet the requirements of that wand."
Ollivander went to a shelf and took out a wand box. "Here this wand should work for you."
Harry was able to channel magic through the wand. "You knew this would work the whole time didn't you."
"I was actually waiting for you to call me out on it." Ollivander said with a smirk on his face. Harry paid for the wand and left the wand shop to continue shopping for school supplies.
A Few Hours Later...
Knockturn Alley...
Harry had cast a glamour spell over himself to look like as if he were in his mid-twenties to not draw attention to himself.
'If I remember correctly one of my contacts have a store around here next to a bar that doesn't discriminate against sentient intelligent creatures.' Harry had been walking the alley for the past 15 minutes and was unable to find it. 'Maybe I went the wrong way.'
Harry turned a corner and spotted a bar in which a group of goblins had just exited. He was glad that he had found the right bar and looked around a little before he saw a run down junk shop across the street. Harry walked inside the junk shop and went to the counter to ring the bell since no one was there. Less than a minute later an old man with a head of white hair walking with a gnarled stick for support walked in from the back room behind the counter.
"Greetings young man, what can I do for you today?" The old shopkeeper just smiled at Harry.
Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper showing it to the old shopkeeper before he put it back in his pocket.
The old shopkeeper's demeanor changed seeing what was on the paper and became more serious. "Come with me, we will talk in the back room." The old shopkeeper walked to the back room and Harry followed behind him. The room itself was pretty plain aside from a shelf of dusty books, a table and 4 chairs. Harry took a seat and the old shopkeeper locked the door before taking a seat as well.
"It has been a while since we last spoke." The old shopkeeper paused for a second and stared at Harry. "What do you want to know?"
"I need information. The tome was useful, but it didn't work for me."
"That tome was one of the more powerful of spell tomes I know of for the purpose you require. What more are you looking for?" The old shopkeeper was now curious.
Harry didn't like dealing with this particular contact of his because of the old man's skill, knowledge and former associates. "I need something that is more powerful than the contents of that tome. I will pay more if necessary for your information."
The old shopkeeper smiled at Harry and shook his head. "No amount of money that you can offer is worth the information that I have about something more powerful."
Harry kept his calm, but inwardly wasn't calm at all. "What do you mean? What is it that you want?"
"We met through mutual associates. We have since then been in business together in a merchant and customer sort of way. We know nothing about one another and if you want more information that is going to have to change."
'Damn, this is not what I wanted. I can't tell a man like him anything about me. It would cause too much trouble in the long run, trouble that I don't need.' Harry decided to stall him. "What would the knowledge of one another change?"
"Knowledge is a powerful tool, weapon and it is the key to everything. I was testing you when I gave the location of that tome." The old man stood up and walked over to the shelf of dusty books. "The fact that you were willing to pay so much for the information on the tome showed that you are willing to do anything for the knowledge that I have."
Harry stood up. "Then will you give me the information or am I just wasting my time."
"That depends on whether or not you are willing to show me who you truly are." The old shopkeeper turned to Harry. "You want knowledge and I want the same."
'I'm going to regret this someday, but if this is what it takes to bring my mother back then so be it.' Harry released the glamour. "Harry Potter."
The old shopkeeper went to Harry and extended his hand. "I am Mimir."
"It is a fitting name since you hold such vast knowledge." The two of them took a seat.
"You now know my name Harry. Now I can share my knowledge with you, but in exchange you have to offer me an item of value that I must deem appropriate for what I am to tell you."
"What do you want for the information I need now?"
"Bring me a Rank 4 medallion of an Assassin's Guild member."
Harry's eyes widened in surprise by the item that he being asked for. "You want me to steal the identification item from a Rank 4 member of the Assassin's Guild."
"That's right. A person of your caliber should be able to do it."
"What do you mean by my caliber?"
"Don't assume I know nothing about you Harry Potter. The moment we exchanged names I for a lack of a better word "scanned" your abilities."
"Fine, when I acquire the item I will be back for the information Mimir. I will see you then." Harry got up and left. His shopping was done and he now needed to make plans for the future.
September 1, 1997...
Platform 9 3/4...
"Remus and Sirius couldn't make it Harry." Selene said standing next to Harry watching the Hogwarts student board the train.
"I don't mind and I understand. Personally I don't really care much about Hogwarts. The only thing on my mind is checking out the books in the Hogwarts library for any information that will bring insight on her condition or will help in some way."
"Give it a chance Harry. You need to open up more to people around you or else you will be seen as a cold uncaring person."
"Let them think what they want to think. It doesn't matter to me at all." Harry checked his pocket to make sure his storage box was there. 'No time like right now to tell her.'
"Selene before I go. I want to tell you that you have been a big part of my life these past few years. I care about you and it will be a while before I see you again so the apartment is yours Selene. I had the deed transferred to your name 2 days ago."
Selene was shocked at what she heard. "You're giving me the apartment?"
Harry nodded. "You are graduating from the University this year so think of it as an early graduation present. Also now you don't have to go back to that overpriced apartment you are renting as a matter a fact you won't need to pay anything for rent since you now own that apartment. I transferred enough to pay the utility bills for at least a decade to your bank account."
Selene hugged Harry and he hugged her back. "Thank you Harry."
"It is no problem. Take care of yourself Selene." Harry released himself from the hug. "I'll see you when I see you."
Selene just smiled as Harry boarded the train.
Hogwarts Express...
Harry walked around the train for a little bit before he found himself an empty compartment. He took the seat by the window then put his feet up on the seat in front of him before going to sleep knowing that it would be a long trip. It was an hour into the trip that Harry became alert to someone opening the door to his compartment. A girl with shoulder length pink hair wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans came into the compartment and spotted the sleeping form of Harry and took a seat beside Harry's feet. She had an intermediate level charms book in hand called Introduction to Elemental Charms and started reading from it. Harry went back to light sleeping so he could react if needed.
Around 2 hours later...
The girl with pink hair closed the book slightly bored reading the book. 'This is so boring. I wonder how can stay asleep for so long. He looks like a first year and I would expect him to be excited and jumpy like every other annoying first year.' The girl went shook Harry's shoulder a little to wake him up and Harry opened his eyes.
"Hi, what's your name?"
"Hello, you woke me up to ask me what my name is." Harry said with annoyance in his one.
The girl caught the annoyance. "No need to get annoyed. I'm just trying to be friendly since you seem to be new to Hogwarts."
'"You need to open up more"' Harry remembered Selene's words and mentally sighed deciding to give the girl a chance. "I'm sorry; I was just annoyed being woken up so abruptly. My name is Harry Potter."
Harry extended his had and the girl shook it. "I'm Nymphadora Tonks, but don't call me Tonks or I'll hex you."
Harry looked at her curiously. "Oh really Nymphadora." Tonks pulled out her wand and sent a stinging hex at Harry's torso.
Faster than Tonks thought was possible Harry had moved out of the way and was already sitting next to her. Tonks gaped at Harry unable to comprehend what just happened. Harry just smirked at her.
"How did you move so fast?"
"That's a secret and I doubt you'll be able to hit me if tried Nymphadora." Tonks sent another stinging Hex at Harry, but Harry moved out of the way again and was back where he started.
"I'll get you sooner or later."
Harry just smirked and noticed the charms book sitting next to Tonks. "An intermediate level charms textbook?"
Tonks didn't know what Harry meant by intermediate level so she asked. "What do you mean by intermediate level? That's a standard charms textbook for 4th years."
'What? That is a standard 4th year textbook in this school?' Harry was surprised by this information. "You are joking, right?"
Now Tonks was confused. "Why would I be joking around about something so like that?"
"Never mind I was just a little surprised that because I though by 4th year schools were suppose to teach from upper intermediate level text not introductory."
"What's this introductory and intermediate stuff?" Tonks asked confused.
"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with. It is just the international standard for classifying magical textbooks."
"Oh."
Harry got up. "I'm going to walk around a bit. I'll see you around Nymphadora." Harry dodged a hex sent at him and left the compartment.
'This is school can't possibly be up to international standards if they start intermediate level work after 4 years of study.' Harry found another compartment which was empty and locked it before going to sleep again.
5 hours later...
Hogwarts...
The Hogwarts Express had just pulled into the Hogwarts station and an announcement was made for the students to exit the train. Harry had woken up to hear the announcement and was one of the last ones to leave the train.
"First years, come first years over here." A large man shouted at the crowd of students and the first years went over to him. The man directed the first years into 4 person boats and the first years took seats.
'Forget the boats. I'll just go with everyone else.' Harry just followed everyone else toward a large amount of carriages being pulled by Threstrals. 'What the hell? Why are there Threstrals pulling carriages?'
Harry banishing the thought and just let it go spotted Tonks getting into a carriage followed by a brunette and a blonde girl that he didn't know. 'I might as well ride with her.' Harry went inside the carriage and closed the door behind him. The Threstral took off and was headed for the castle.
"Hello, you girls are all looking quite beautiful this evening." Harry said putting on a charming smile. "So, how does everyone feel about another year at Hogwarts?"
"I feel great. I've been looking forward to the new term all summer." The brunette said as if she were high on sugar. "By the way I'm Heather, what's your name?
Before Harry could answer Tonks cut in. "Harry Potter, what are you doing her? You're a first year."
The Heather and the blonde girl were curious to hear what Harry had to say.
Harry just smiled. "Well there aren't any rules that state I have to get stuck riding those beaten looking wooden boats. So I decided to follow everyone else and sit comfortably with 3 beautiful girls on the way to the castle."
The brunette was giggling and Tonks was smirking.
"Now why hadn't we thought of that during our first year?" The blonde said out loud shaking her head. "I'm Jenna and you Tonks seems to know you so I guess you already no her."
"Yes, I do know Nymphadora." Harry said dodging a hex sent at him while the other two girls watched in surprise. "You need to do better than that if you want to catch me.
Harry smirked as Tonks frowned. The 3 girls talk amongst themselves during the rest of the little trip and Harry just listened to their conversation not talking though. When the carriages had arrived at the castle the students went inside and headed to the Great Hall where they took seats with their housemates at their respective tables. Harry took a seat with Tonks, Heather and Jenna at the Hufflepuff table getting confused looks as no one had ever seen or met him before. It was a few minutes later that the doors to the Great Hall opened again and a line of first year students came into the Great Hall.
You backward $$ wand wavers
Let's get this sorting on the way
Gryffindor is for the loud-mouths,
Idiots and the foolish
Hufflepuff is for the wimps,
Loser and love-freaks
Ravenclaw is for the nerds,
Geeks and bookworms
Slytherin is for the backstabbing,
Low-lives and traitors
Let's get this sorting on the way
Everyone just stared in shock after hearing this years sorting hat song. Everyone was silent and the professors just couldn't believe that they had heard that. Suddenly the silence was broken by Harry laughing out so loudly that it resounded throughout the Great Hall. He slammed his fist on the table laughing uncontrollably.
"I can't believe the sorting hat just said that." Harry said and kept laughing.
An ancient looking wizard at the staff table cleared his throat getting everybody's attention. "Well that is quite new and unexpected, but as the sorting hat said "let's get this sorting on the way". Everyone promptly just put the scene in the back of their mind and waited for the sorting to take place.
"Adam, Zack." A stern looking witch called out reading the name off the parchment. One of the boys in the line of first years came up to the stool with the sorting hat and put it on.
"Gryffindor." The sorting hat yelled out and the sorting went on without incident.
"Potter, Harry." Harry heard his name get called and decided to make a little scene by not going immediately. "I repeat Potter, Harry."
Tonks looked at Harry. "What are you waiting for she's calling your name."
Harry just smirked. "Just seeing how many people I can annoy until someone loses it."
Tonks pointed her wand at Harry. "Go before I hex you into the hospital wing."
"Alright, alright I'm going." Harry got up as the witch was about to repeat his name a third time. Everyone was looking surprised or curious why he was getting up from the Hufflepuff table and wasn't in line with the other first years. "Would have been nice to see some stupid lion or snake blow their top waiting on me like the idiots that they are."
Harry smirked as the Gryffindors and Slytherins voiced their protests. Harry put the hat on and felt a presence by passing his mental shields.
'Interesting artifact, you're able to reach my mind by passing my shields.'
'Mr. Potter, I was designed with telepathic abilities. Few can keep me out.'
'Well then just get on with this. I have things to do and don't want to waste time.'
It was a minute before the hat spoke again. 'You are an interesting one. I didn't think I would ever sort a child who is no more a child than a man is a child. If you want the knowledge that you seek it would be best I put you in Ravenclaw.'
Harry's eyes became cold remembering what his goals were and what he was willing to do to achieve them. 'Then Ravenclaw it will be.'
"Ravenclaw." Harry took off the hat and joined his new housemates giving everyone cold looks so no one would bother him. 'I can't get close to anyone here or will become a liability in the long run. Nymphadora Tonks, why is it that I feel like I know her from somewhere.'
Harry stopped thinking about it and would figure it out later. It was a little while before the sorting ended and the welcoming feast had started. Harry enjoyed the meal and when the feast had ended he followed the Ravenclaw prefects with the other Ravenclaws to the Ravenclaw tower. Once they had arrived at the entrance the prefects gave everyone the password and Harry headed for the boys dormitory and walked around looking for a door with his name on it. It only took a few minutes for him to find it and he saw that he was sharing the room with one other person. Harry walked in and saw his roommate was a guy with brown hair combed back and was wearing muggle clothing.
"Hey, you must be my roommate. I'm Frank Johnson." Frank extended his hand to Harry and Harry shook it.
"Harry Potter. It seems like we'll be living together for a while."
Frank went back to unpacking his clothes while Harry just lied down on his bed. "Not that it is any of my business, but I was wondering where all your stuff is? When I came in I didn't see any other trunks except for mine."
"I have my own way of keeping track of my things so don't worry about me."
"Okay, if you say so."
'Only a day in Hogwarts and I already want to leave. What was the point of sorting us into different houses anyway?' Harry looked at his new roommate and got the impression that he was muggle-born judging by the poster he was about to put up of the Star Wars trilogy. 'A week of classes and I'll judge if I should stay around or if this school is truly just a waste of my time. I have to get into the restricted section to check the books that are in there. I can't leave without doing that first even if this school is just a complete waste of my time.'
"So you're a fan of Star Wars?" Harry asked his roommate. 'I might as well talk to him since I can't do much else now.'
"Yes, I am a fan. The series are some of my favorite movies."
Harry and Frank had a discussion on various Star Wars topics until they decided that they should get some sleep for class in the morning.