Chapter Three:
June 2008 Mildenhall, England:
I came back the next day to find aunt Marge waiting for me, I was not sure of her, she could be crude and rude but she did have a heart of gold. It was clear she loved both Harry and David with all her heart. I came in the house ushered in by David, a large man with close cropped blond hair, merry blue eyes and mostly muscular build with a small belly. He was clad in a gray button-up shirt, jeans, boots and an apron that said, "Firefighters are the best chefs" on it. He grinned at me and led me to the kitchen, a gleaming place of well-used stainless countertops, white tile and oak cabinets with every modern convenience in the cozy comfortable place. Harry was here wearing an apron too and cutting up vegetables for dinner.
"Best place for him in the kitchen, heaven knows mum tried to teach him to cook along with me, but he really just can't grasp the finer points." David said taking a loaf of bread out of the oven.
"Well you are a git, and I dislike you." Harry said, "Lazy oaf thinks owning three restaurants around here makes him a better cook than me."
"I am a chef dear cousin, you cook, I create masterpieces, and it's what made me a great firefighter in fact."
"What happened?" I asked knowing that one could be a firefighter for decades and he was not that old.
"Got asthma too bad to be one, so I went into cooking full time, my dear wife Pansy loves it." David said, "as in Pansy Parkinson, JKR was too cruel to her in the books, she a lovey woman."
"So you don 't mind your kids will me magical?" I asked.
"Why would we mind?" Came the voice of Marge, "they are good children, and such dears, know to mind me they do."
The woman known as Marge came into the room, and she did look every bit as JKR described her, she was not an attractive woman at all on the outside. Yet you could not find a better friend or more caring human than her in those parts I am sure. Too many people look at her, see a very fat dumpy woman with lots of facial hair, and never look beyond that. If they did, they would see a true saint and a great woman with a great since of humor. In fact, after reading the books, she sent laughed and stated that the aunt Marge in that woman was not someone she would ever want to be. She also had a small bit of magic, not enough to use a wand but enough to brew potions; she had found this out when Harry got his letter.
"So you want to know more about my time at school?" Harry asked, "there is not much to tell really, I was on the Quidditch team from second year on, got good grades, took ancient runes, magical maths, advanced writing and advanced warding. Everything was peaceful until my sixth year. No dark lords, well there was Lockhart, such a ponce but he can teach."
"Lockhart can teach, yes, the man is annoying but you can't deny his talent for telling a tale. He made the hag who defeated the werewolf clan look good, risked his life to talk to her as hags, well we all know most of them are child eating fiends."
"Not all, and Helga the hag is a good hag with a heart of gold, you can tell the good hags from the bad, the bad hags can morph to look beautiful, and live in gingerbread houses. Good hags always look old, warty and live in houses of stone with huge cauldrons that are for making medicine. Plus good hags have a tattoo on their faces that show they are good hags."
"True that, a bad hag can't have that tattoo, it would not stick." I said, "but Lockhart!"
"He is a good defense instructor, a bit vain, a ponce but a good instructor." Harry said, "he took the defense post my second year and he has not left yet."
"Why would he do that?" I asked, "seems fishy to me."
"It's not really, he is a lot older than he looks, a lot older, and he can't have children. So he fills that void by teaching." Harry said, "still a ponce though."
"A very good teacher, and a good man." Marge said, "look at me, ugly but kind, you can be beautiful and kind too, like him."
"Yea, and he was, is a good professor." Harry said, "though he is a ponce."
It seemed Harry did like Lockhart but still was not respectful of the man as much as he should have been. I had met the man and he was vain, so very, very vain, he had beautiful curly blond hair, flawless skin that he did use makeup (in the magical world men do wear makeup as much as women, though it is more toned down that you hardly notice it) and finely tailored clothing. He was rich, very rich and did not need to teach, but he had been cursed and could never wed or have children from the curse. So he decided to teach, the side effect of the curse? The defense curse was removed so he stayed, much to the annoyance of one Severus Snape.
September 1, 1982 Hogwarts:
Harry sat on at the Gryffindor table wishing he was not in the same uniforms as the firsties. He was a second year now and wanted to wear the black trousers of the upper years, yet it was tradition for the first two years to dress different than the upper years did. At least this year he had a hood added to his robes lined with red silk and he had red trim on the robes. First years did not have that, they spent very little time outside as they were just getting used to wands and using magic most of the time. In fact he remembered classes of lecture upon lecture, he had to learn about his own body (which was embarrassing but thankfully sex separated) and how a man uses magic different from a women. Women were more earth based and so more powerful than men in magic.
He had to learn Occulumency which was not fun at all as it did hurt sometimes. The physical education classes were interesting, it they were very close to being like Ti-Chi and Harry found them relaxing. He had swimming classes in the large heated swimming pool and this year he got to start flying lessons. First years were not allowed brooms or even near one, not even if they could fly at home. Noble had complained until Nymphadora "Polly" Black-Tonks had put a stop to that by writing his mother. Narcissa Star-Bright Noble was on good terms with her only sister Andromeda (Bellatrix had been blasted from the family for killing two other purebloods) even if she had married a mundane born. That Ted was a healer and a very good one did not hurt. Neither did the fact that Polly was a metamorphmagus as was her brother Teddy. So Noble had quieted down after a letter from his mother about flying but not about other things. He was still a git and always would be. Harry was looking forward to flying at Hogwarts, he had flown at the burrow as had Neville but at the school over the lake was something he was looking forward to.
"Is that Lockhart next to Snape?" Harry asked Ron.
"Yea, it is, must be here for the defense job." Ron said, "heard he was able to break the curse."
"He is a ponce." Harry muttered.
"He is cursed, he can't marry or have children." Hermione said, "that was put on him by the dark lord V himself."
"That is unkind." Harry said, "still too pretty to be here."
"Not everyone can be a scrawny git like you." Fred said from across him.
"Too right, you are not a looker." George said. "Though Gin-Gin thinks so."
"Shut it you two." Ginny said, newly sorted, "I may be a firstie but I can and will take you on, plus Luna is here with me."
"Ah, yes Luna, we forgot our other sister." George said.
"Yes, dear Luna." Fred replied.
They went on like this and Harry, very hungry tucked into the food that appeared. This year like the last would be fun, and more so with Ginny and Luna here. Unlike the book they both ended up in Gryffindor, they had a pact that they would end up in the same house. Luna's mother had died when she was nine of cancer, as cancer, while very rare in the magical world it still could strike and kill. As Pandora was a pureblood and from a very inbred family, that is what had caused it, cancer would not strike a strong family but it had Pandora. Luna still was lost and the Weatherly family took Luna and her father under their wing, Xeno would be lost without their help.
Harry ate well as only a growing child can, first a plate of roast beef with mashed potatoes with vegetables in a light curry sauce. His second plate was Peking duck with fried potatoes, broccoli with cheese sauce, his third plate was baked salmon with fried rice and rolls with lots of butter. His last plate was dessert, he filled it with treacle tart, a slice of apple pie, a slice of cheesecake and one small bowl of fruit cocktail. He finished his meal with a bowl of rocky road ice cream, and made sure through the meal to drink lots of milk. He took a few peppermint humbugs and sighed as he was nice and full now. Once the plates and dishes of food were cleared the headmaster got back up beaming at the room.
"Now we are all fed well, let me introduce to you a man who is to become our defense professor! Professor Gilroy Lockhart!" The headmaster stepped back and let Lockhart stand to speak.
"Thank you headmaster, I do hope I can do justice to the job, many of you are wondering why a man such as myself, rich, handsome and not having to work would come to Hogwarts? I want to teach, I know first hand what the dark arts can do and I want to teach you to defend yourselves from that. The rumors going around about me are true, I was cursed, but I will leave a legacy. At the very least I can continue to win the Woman's Weekly smile award each year!"
"Look at Snape." Harry said, "he wants to murder the man."
"Yea, he does, but somehow I think Lockhart is a match for him." Hermione said.
"Yea right." Harry said, "Snape is scary, he expects me to be as good as my mum at potions, if I don't brew as good as she did, he takes points!"
"He knows what you can do." Hermione said, "you like to be lazy."
"I do not!" Harry said turning to Ron "Ron tell her that is not true!"
"I am staying out of this one." Ron said.
Before an argument could began, the headmaster led the school in the school song, on key, in the same tune. After everyone headed to bed and sleep. Over the next few weeks everyone found out just how vain and rich Lockhart was. All his suits were cut the same, from a Victorian mold straight from the 1850s (look it up, I can wait), on Mondays he wore a lemon yellow jacket and waistcoat with butter yellow trousers with matching spats over his brown boots. Tuesdays he wore a royal blue coat and waistcoat with powder blue trousers and spats. Wednesdays he wore a purple coat and waistcoat with lavender trousers and spats. Thursdays he wore a deep green coat with waistcoat with pale green trousers and spats. Fridays he wore a maroon coat and waistcoat with pink trousers and spats. Saturday he wore an orange coat and waistcoat with peach trousers and spats. Sundays he dressed all in white. The outer part of his cloaks matched his coat and the inner his trousers, his shirts were white with matching pinstripes of his coats and his cravats were all paisley that complemented each outfit well. There is so much detail on his clothes, I know but this is to show how very vain the man is, for he is still this way but a sweet loving man nonetheless.
The first class was a Monday and Lockhart swept into the class with a toothy grin, a perfect Hollywood white grin. He was just the right height, right weight and right charm to get Harry to dislike him at once. Dean, who was nearly as dark as his hair rolled his eyes. When the exams were passed out Harry blinked, and blinked again, he was sure they would be asked questions like what Lockhart's favorite hair cleaner was or his favorite color or something like that. But this quiz asked questions from Lockhart's textbook Defense and You, What You Need to Know, a book Harry had not read. He did his best to answer the questions and handed in the quiz. Lockhart skimmed them and lingered on one and Harry knew which quiz he had lingered on. It was confirmed when Lockhart held him back and pushed the quiz to him, he had not got a single answer right.
"Mr. Fleamont-Black, I am disappointed." Lockhart said, "I came to teach and if you cannot read at least the intro to my text, how can you defeat evil? Oh yes, that scar you always try to hide, one day you will not get to hide. I am vain, I am beautiful, I know it, and I flaunt it, and why not? However that does not mean I don't know my subject. You have homework, read the introduction along with the first chapter and a page on the intro, if I don't like it you can sit detention."
"Yes sir." Harry said.
"Harry, I knew your dad, he was a git in school but he was a good man in the end. Your mother was smart, so smart and I know what you can do, lazy will not work with me, or professor Snape."
"Yes sir." Harry said.
"Off you go now." Lockhart said.
"Yes sir.' Harry replied.
Lockhart was not a bad sort at all, in fact he was strict but fair and very likable. He got a lot of respect from the school when he found out that little Luna Lovegood was being bullied, he was able to put a stop to that with McGonagall's blessing. It involved a deal with a curse breaker witch and a few well placed charms on the poor girl's things and person. Then Lockhart started a dueling club, and it was not all bad, he did duel Snape and ended up defeated, but not after he put up a good fight. He was a good sport and tried to give Severus as free copy of Magical Me Among Heroes, but Severus threatened to boil his head. It was at a meeting that Nobel tried to get Harry in trouble, he knew he was a Parselmouth and thought no-one else did. However, Harry had been in contact with curse breakers and healers to find out what his talent offered and found he was better suited to curse breaking and law enforcement with the language.
Draco Nobel had agreed to duel with Harry and he had a smirk on his face as he walked up to do so. They were only second years so there was really not much they could do. Nobel was not aware that he was not going to get Harry in trouble with his little stunt. Sure everyone knew the dark lord was a Parselmouth, but so was the Stone family and they were healers and curse breakers. Even William Weatherly was able to speak the language for his work. Draco summoned a snake, but it nearly got Justin who was not pleased to say the least. Harry started to speak to it but it was one of the older girls, a Sarah Stone who came up and coaxed the snake away with her. Justin turned on Draco and proved that as a mundane-born he was powerful. Lockhart was a hair too slow (or so he said) and Draco ended up with bright red hair. He was adopted on the spot by Fred and George, Draco was not amused as he was walked off with his new "brothers".
"That was wicked." Harry said to Justin.
"Either he will be scarred for life by those two or like having brothers." Justin said, "I go for the former."
"Yea, that was unexpected but funny." Harry said looking up as Severus Snape walked up, "looks like I may be in trouble still."
"Not as of yet, but you will help me with Bertha, she is not being very nice." Severus said.
"Fine, fine I will go see Bertha, she is a big baby, gets a head cold and goes and sulks. Big bad basilisk can't even handle a small cold."….
Yes Hogwarts has a basilisk, and why not? When raised right a basilisk can be a great asset to anywhere really. They are feared for they can be deadly and there have been evil worms in the past. Yet nearly all were good like Bertha was and so Harry did go and see her. She had blue eyes and could, if needed kill with a look, she had to mean it and then and only then would her eyes turn yellow. She had killed several people back in the day, they had tried to come to Hogwarts to harm her and her students and Bertha had fixed them with a look from a dark corridor. That was the end of that, but now she was very old, she was the oldest basilisk at over a thousand years and was training her only child to take over when she was gone. Already she had promised her body to be used for potions and the like. The cold was not really a cold, she was dying and Harry grousing was the best way for him to deal with that pain.
"Come with me Mr. Potter." Snape said, "she needs your help."
"Fine, I have what I need." Harry said.
"Can I come?" Sarah asked.
"You may." Snape replied.
So it was that the three made their way to the chamber, it was on the ground floor and was need the entrance to the chamber of spells, where the basilisk lived. Harry entered the chamber and felt the sick from the great beast. She was beautiful, large and beautifully colored she would have smiled if her face allowed such a thing. She was curled up and Harry knew she was close to dying, she had not ventured from this cave at all in the last two years and never would again alive. Harry sat and rested his head against her still warm flanks and took out a book The Giving Tree was one of his favorites and he was able to read this to the great snake. He was able to finish the book and once he did he realized she had stopped breathing. Bertha was dead and Harry was not unmanly in weeping for her.
June 2008, Mildenhall, England:
Harry sat sipping a cup of tea a far away look in his eyes. He had not known Bertha long but he was still sad by her passing. Still her son was a good caretaker, Bob as he was called did a good job despite his youth. He was, after all only fifty years of age and was still learning how to take care of the great castle. His life was very good, yes, he had married Ginny and she was as good, loving and kind a wife as any could get. Plus she had a head for business like few others and had tripled the depleted Fleamont-Black fortunes. This led to Harry being able to rebuild the old Black mansion right on the Wastewater, it was the only settlement allowed and Harry was not allowed to expand out from the original foundations of the home and the outside of the home had to look as it would have in when it was built. This meant Harry had to build a great hall with two towers and a house withal attached. From the outside it was very medieval looking. Inside it reminded those that visited of Stewart house with how grand and whimsical it looked.
"Next you will tell me that Sirius Black is your uncle." I said half in jest.
"Well he is, he is my father's brother, both were to go to Slytherin but my grandfather and mother were happy and amused they ended up in Gryffindor."
"They were not upset?"
"No why would they be? House rivalries are there true but not to the point of madness. For one it is not guaranteed that one gets to Hogwarts, one has to test in, I had to test in. One has to have a good grasp on reading, writing and maths, must have good character and be strong mage-wise, family lines will not serve to get you in."
"Good, I thought Hogwarts was more like the books." I replied.
"More like getting into high school Japanese style." Harry said, "oh and yes, we must be able to speak and read and write Latin, Greek and Chinese, and then take one more language at Hogwarts to stay."
"Very forward thinking."
"Look you will have to ask the old bat about school." Harry said smiling, "no don't call him that even if his Animagmus form is a bat, no you need to go to The Borrow and talk to him there, his home is there."
I told him I would do so and realized that this interview, and story was going to be a book in its own right before all was said and done. I had to look up where the Burrow was, it was a magical village inside the Peak District, what surprised me as that it was located right by a popular hiking trail and lake, yet very few saw it as it was well hidden. I would go and find out for myself all about it and in time would learn about what made Hogwarts, well Hogwarts. I knew about the cold war affecting help to the magical community but it would be my visit to the Burrow that would show how much the cold war created Voldemort and what followed after.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
So yes, a basilisk created to protect the school. Ol' Voldy never did get to turn her and he never was able to really talk to her. Imagine his surprise when he found a great big snake protecting the school that was not impressed with him at all. Oh and yes, I would think that to get into an old school like Hogwarts you would need to pass exams to get in. I am sure she can house, at the most a thousand students. That seems like a lot but my high school had 1600 at the time I went. My home town at the time had 45,000 people probably the same amount of magical that there is in Great Britain. There were three high schools with roughly the same amount of students in my home town, so yea, to get into Hogwarts I would imagine would be highly competitive indeed. Kind of like how one has to take insane tests to get into Japanese High school.
Anyway, do review please!
