AN: I have had it asked a couple of times, so i figured i would explain it here to you all. I am willing to bet that 99% of the people who will read this fic, have read dozens, if not hundreds, of fics before it. In doing so, like I have done, you have probably read certain parts of the plot dozens, if not hundreds, of times. There are only so many times i care to read about overused canon filler that people use to fill half of their stories. I will not be dwelling or concentrating on making sure there are a certain number or Potions classes or Transfiguration classes that Harry has scenes for in my story. Fifty times watching Harry turn a match into a needle, sometimes flawlessly and effortlessly and others not so much, have been quite enough for me, and i assume as much for many of my readers. Instead i will be concentration on making my story flirt around these particular moments in Harry's life, concentrating more on scenes that are unique to my plotline or the ones that are from canon that i merely cannot ignore for the purpose of my plot.
Disclaimer: Parts of this chapter will look familiar! I have used a few bits and pieces in the second half of this chapter, that are from Chapter 12 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The parts i did use have had their own flair and changes of course, but there were some similarities that i felt fit the story, and hey...if it ain't broke don't fix it right? Enjoy!
"Harry?" I froze. "Where have you been man, I was getting worried about you."
'Just stay calm Harry.' Violet whispered to me.
'Vi...why are you whispering? You know he can't hear you right?' I laughed.
'Prat!' She glared at me. 'One day he will be able to hear me...I need the practice!'
'I'm just messing with ya, Vi.' I placated her. 'What do you recommend I tell him?'
'Tell him you were sick and went to the hospital wing...I would just tell him something soon though, or he might start calling you Goyle Jr. if you just keep standing there staring at him.'
'Ouch, now that's a low one Vi. Malfoy was bad enough, but Goyle Jr.? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you hated me.' I pouted as Violet prodded me, pointing to Wayne who would soon start to get more worried if I just continued to stare at him.
"Sorry Wayne. I didn't mean to wake you." I told the quietest of my roommates. "My stomach wasn't feeling good so I went to see Pomfrey. She only just released me."
"Oh…maybe a note next time?" Wayne asked politely. "You know…just so we know you're alright and everything."
"Of course. I should have thought of that. I'm sorry to have made you worried." Damn Puff mentality. Next thing you know they will start complaining that I don't spend enough time with them.
"I'm not the only one worried, Harry." Wayne interrupted my thoughts. "The other guys are worried about you too. We hardly ever see you outside of classes and meals."
Really? You have got to be kidding me right now. Perhaps I should look into Divination in my third year because right now I'm starting to feel like Sylvia Browne.
'I'm surprised they waited for this long before saying something to be honest.' Violet chimed in.
'Unfortunately, your right. I would have thought their Puff nature would have kicked in weeks ago.' It was one of the parts of Hufflepuff I hadn't counted on. I had been so worried about the Claw's need for knowing what you're studying, so they can outshine you and do it better, that I had completely overlooked the fact that the Puff's would make sure nobody was left out. While that sort of loyalty could be useful later, it was a right pain in the arse right now. Well, time for more lies and half-truths I suppose.
"The neighborhood I came from was rather small and there weren't very many children my age." I told him, trying to play up a sad story. "I guess it has just taken me a while to get used to being around so many other children my age. I will try to do a bit better in the future."
'And the Grammy awards go to…' Violet cut in laughing at the seemingly universal Hufflepuff gullibility.
'I can only hope for their sake that it is just them being young and not a trait that carries through to the real world with them.' I said sadly. It would be rather pathetic to live your life being fooled so easily.
'I wouldn't get your hopes up, Harry. The world, muggle and magical alike, is made up of sheep and they have to come from somewhere.' She definitely had a point. I'm sure there were a few smart Hufflepuffs, but their loyalty had to be used against them fairly frequently in the real world.
"Thanks Harry. I think I'm going to go back to bed for a few hours." Wayne said climbing back into his four poster.
"No problem Wayne." I told him, wanting to get some sleep myself. I would catch a few hours now and read some of the books I had bought when I awoke.
I ended up sleeping until almost noon. Thankfully, the dorm was empty when I woke. I knew the Ancient Runes tomes I had bought would probably still be too advanced for me to understand, so I decided to tackle the other two. The book on the mind arts was the one I was interested in the most, so I decided to read the book dealing about the Trace first so I could devote as much time as I wanted to Occlumency.
The book had taken me almost two hours to read from start to finish. It was a very well spent two hours however. The majority of the book went on to describe the history of the Trace and the when and why of how it was enacted, as well as its effects on the community at large. While I couldn't find anything that would negate it, other than becoming of age, there was one passage that I had to reread to make sure I wasn't misinterpreting it.
It still brought a smile to my face when I looked back to the passage that would change how my time outside of Hogwarts was spent…
No information on how the Trace came to be has ever made public eye. However, by determining exactly what the capabilities of the Trace are, there have been several loopholes that have been made available to those who know how to find them.
To find these loopholes, we must first examine how the Trace works, and how the ministry is able to track magic in general. There is only one other way the ministry is able to actively track magic that is performed, outside of the Trace. The Obliviation Squad has magical detectors that are situated in any area that has medium to high concentration of muggles. The most famous of these places is of course London.
Any time a spell is cast or magic is used in a muggle habitat, an alert is sent to the ministry Obliviation Squad to be dispatched to the location, along with Aurors. This system is also used to help detect underage magic in locations where only one wizard is known to dwell, such as an underage muggleborn wizard. If magic is performed within a five mile radius of an area inhabited by only one wizard, that magic is accredited to said wizard. Said wizard will be able to argue his case in a disciplinarian hearing if he or she so chooses.
The second avenue to discovering underage magic is of course the Trace itself. Understanding the limitations of the Trace will help us understand ways around it. The Trace doesn't register magic done by the underage wizard upon which is resides, but merely detects whenever magic is done in the proximity of said wizard. This means that in areas of a high concentration of wizards, it is almost impossible to detect if the underage wizard is the one to perform the magic or not.
Areas such as Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, Quidditch events, or in the homes of an all magic family, an underage wizard will be able to use magic and the ministry shall be unable to detect if it was said wizard or perhaps a sibling or parent who has cast the spell. It is because of this fact that the ministry does not monitor the houses of wizarding families for underage magic very closely, but merely dictates that parents police the underage witch or wizard themselves.
This is an advantage to children who grow up in magical families, giving the child the advantage over muggleborn children who cannot perform magic outside of school. It is one of the primary driving factors behind the pureblood movement that…
The book went on to talk a bit about pureblood supremacy and how it was effected by the Trace, but I had no interests in reading about it a second time. The information I needed, I had already gotten. Apparently the Trace didn't detect underage magic at all…it merely acts as a monitoring system that detects magic cast in the vicinity of anyone that was carrying the Trace. According to the book, I would have been able to use magic when I was in Knockturn Alley and the only questions that would have been asked might have been why the Trace was activated in Knockturn Alley during the middle of the night.
So long as I was in a magical dwelling I would be able to use magic without detection. I still wouldn't be able to use it at the Dursley's or anywhere in the muggle world, but Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley, Hogsmeade, and the homes of magical families…these were all fair game as far as the Trace and the ministry were concerned.
'This will certainly solve quite a few problems in the future.' Violet spoke up, also happy about my findings.
'Yes, and cause me quite a few less headaches.' It would definitely save me from having to carry around a thirty pound snake for hours at a time.
'Merlin knows you get enough of them with me around all the time.' She joked.
'Amen to that…it is a miracle I haven't gone insane yet.' I countered her with a laugh.
'Hey! You're not supposed to agree with me on that you prat!' she scowled and I couldn't help but stick my tongue out at her.
'That's what you get for calling me Goyle Jr.! At least I didn't call you Parkinson or Bulstrode.' I laughed, actually feeling sorry that Malfoy was stuck with her. Nobody deserved that kind of torture. That was one of the many flaws in an arranged marriage that the purebloods seem to love. It is hard to tell when your children are babies just who will grow up to be a cow or have a 'winning' personality…poor Malfoy was stuck with both. Almost every time I had been near her, she was talking down to someone or had her nose so far in the air I am surprised she could see where she was going.
'You wouldn't! At least Bulstrode has a nice personality…but Parkinson? She will be lucky if Malfoy doesn't get desperate enough to off her before she graduates!'
I couldn't help but laugh at that one. It wasn't as if Parkinson was the ugliest girl in the world, she was definitely better looking than Bulstrode…if you can use the words better and looking in the same sentence as those two. She had an average shaped body, but her face had that pinched look to it that made her look like a pug. That may have been tolerable if she also didn't have the personality of Snape, mixed with Aunt Marge.
'I know what you mean…it is a sad day when I start to feel sorry for Malfoy!' I joked, causing her to burst into laughter. Of course, Malfoy didn't act much better than her. He too ran around the school as if he was born better than everybody else around him. I sighed as she began to calm back down. 'I should probably start on this mind arts book…there is no telling how long it will take to learn Occlumency, if it even says how to learn it in here.'
'Just don't burn yourself out.' She said in a serious tone. 'You're not going to have me a body by Christmas, and I don't want you wearing yourself out trying to. All of the stress of doing so would age you faster than you can imagine…and I don't want you having more wrinkles than Dumbledore when I finally get the chance to touch you.'
'Eww love…Must you put another disturbing thought into my head?' I asked sarcastically, knowing that she knew, that I knew, that she knew, that I secretly loved it…or however that saying goes. 'Besides…I can't read with images of Dumbledore's wrinkly old arse swimming through my head.'
'Yeah…not the best of images I admit…best we try to forget about that one.' She said cringing as I was now imagining and comparing a wrinkly version of my chest to my imagined wrinkly version of Dumbledore's.
'Deal!' I answered, also cringing and wondering how the hell my mind jumped to that last image in the first place. Finally I managed to concentrate on the book in front of me, and more importantly blocking out any more images of Dumbledore.
Sadly, if I thought images of a bare chested Dumbledore were bad...which they most definitely are! Then things grew even worse after I had read the book on the mind arts. While the book was very informative on what the different magic's that effected the mind were, and the histories behind them. It was severely lacking on the 'how to's' behind them. It went on to describe the different abilities one could accomplish with mind magic, such as Legilimency, Occlumency, Obliviations, Compulsion Charms, and even the Imperious Curse. It just didn't say how to actually do any of them.
About the only thing that gave me hope was one specific passage that may have given me a lead.
Occlumency is a rather difficult and rare art to learn. While there have been books that have been imbued with a 'personality' of sorts, similar to a magical portrait, that can aid the reader through the learning process, fewer than five of these books exist worldwide and are rarely ever seen outside of the private vaults of the super wealthy.
The main way of passing on, or learning, the art has traditionally been from person to person. However, even this is limited in the number of teachers available as there is always the potential for the student to penetrate the mind of the teacher, often seeing snippets of that person's life. As the Old Families became more and more secretive of their family secrets to their peers around them, the number of people willing to teach the obscure skill have dwindled to merely dozens worldwide.
If you are indeed looking to find a teacher of the art, there are a few distinguishable traits among accomplished Occlumens to help a prospective student locate a suitable teacher. The most common of these traits is their extreme control over their emotions. Even an amateur Occlumens can dull their emotions to some degree, but will not be able to singularly control their emotions, but rather will dull them all at once. While a master Occlumens can dull or suppress their emotions individually, an amateur can only dull them as a collective group, often making the person appear cold or emotionless.
'Sound like someone we know?' Violet cut in after I had finished re-reading that particular passage.
'Yeah...who would have thought we would have met a budding Occlumens on the very train-ride here.' I had always just thought Daphne was a bit of a cold person to those that weren't in her immediate circle of friends, or that she just wanted to use that aloofness as a shield in Slytherin house. I just hoped I could convince her to talk her Occlumency teacher into accepting another student.
'Well, I of course knew all along...after all, I am like the smartest person in the world you know...I just wanted to make you have to earn the knowledge, you know walk the paths of life and all that.' Violet told me haughtily, trying to pretend that she hadn't been just as clueless as I had been.
'Yeah, next you're going to tell me you know the meaning of life.' I replied sarcastically...I mean someone had to bring her down a peg, and I was saddled with the job.
'Pfft...what a ridiculous statement. Of course I know the meaning of life! It's 42!' I couldn't help but bust out laughing at the irony of it. 'What? What's so funny Mister?' she demanded while glaring at me.
'You said 42...and you're hitchhiking…inside my head!' I told her, laughing even harder when she glared at me, finally getting the reference.
'Haaaarry! Quit laughing at me!' she whined, putting on that sad puppy look.
'Cheater...When I get you a body, I'm going to make sure it can't make that face.' I lied...she looked way to cute to do that...Until I realized she knew I was thinking exactly that. Crap!
'Ha! I knew you couldn't do it. I'm so gonna have you wrapped around my little pinky.' she teased.
'Yeah, well don't think I'm not keeping count on how many spankings you're gonna get when you do get a body!' I told her, trying to sound stern...while most likely failing at it.
'I'll be good! I promise Mister Sir!' she said cheekily. Yep, I failed at it.
'Yeah, yeah...cheeky brat.' I grumbled. 'Let's just go find Daphne and see if we can't get some answers.'
It was after breakfast the next morning when I finally had a chance to talk to Daphne. I made sure to arrive early so I wouldn't miss her. When she and Tracey had finished eating and made to leave the hall, I excused myself from my housemates to follow them. They had made it to the stairs that led down to the dungeons when I caught up to them.
"Daphne. Tracey." I announced myself. "How are you two lovely ladies doing this morning?"
Daphne just raised an eyebrow at my greeting, while Tracey had a huge smile on her face. It was Daphne who answered first. "You trying to soften us up for something Potter? What is it you need?"
"You wound me Daphne." I said holding my heart, causing Tracey to laugh even harder at me. "What makes you think I want anything? Perhaps I just wanted to talk to my two favorite snakes."
"So what do you wanna talk about Harry?" Tracey cut in.
"Uhm...actually I do need something." I told them sheepishly. "I was hoping I could talk to Daphne about something in private."
'Smooth Harry...smooth.' Violets laughter echoed Tracey's.
'Hush you! You can play 'make fun of Harry' later.'
Daphne eyed me for a few moments before giving a slight nod of her head. "You better not be up to any funny business Potter, or I will have to hurt you."
"No funny business." I laughed. "Let's find an empty room and Tracey can keep a lookout for us."
Daphne nodded her consent while I led the two girls down an isolated hallway in the dungeons that I had used from time to time for some alone time and uninterrupted study. I ushered Daphne inside one of the rooms before turning to Tracey. "Sorry Trace...only one pretty girl allowed in at a time."
Tracey put on a fake pout, causing me to chuckle. "Fine...guess I will just wait out here."
"I'll make it up to you. Just keep an eye out for anyone and knock on the door if you see anyone coming." I asked her.
"Yeah, yeah...just hurry it up, it's creepy down here alone." she demanded. I nodded my head and entered the room, closing the door behind me.
"So what is it you want that would require you to drag me all the way down here? You better not be trying to ask me out Potter." I couldn't help but chuckle at her. She was rather easy on the eyes, so it wasn't a hard stretch to imagine she had to deal with boys eying her...it would only get worse for her as she got older.
"I'm only 11 Daph...perhaps in a couple years I'll ask you out." she was good at hiding her emotion, but not yet perfect at it. I could still make out the slightest of blushes grace her cheeks. "No, I asked you here to see if I could get you to convince your Occlumency teacher to accept another student."
I had to admit, she did much better at hiding her surprise at my question. "And what makes you think that I even know Occlumency Potter?"
I grinned at her. "Well, the fact you didn't have to ask what it was for starters. Secondly, while most people seem to think of you as the cold, heartless, ice princess of Slytherin, you still haven't mastered the art and your emotions are still there for those who are looking hard enough for them."
"Very Slytherin of you, Potter. Add that to actually knowing what Occlumency is and wanting to learn it...how is it you are a Hufflepuff?" she asked, eying me as if I was a new toy or puzzle that needed solving.
'Smart girl that one.' Violet jumped in.
'No kidding.' I was just glad we were on friendly terms and she hopefully didn't have any reason to share her thoughts with others.
"Well, the hat did say I would have been great in Slytherin...but I do know how to work hard for the things I want, and for those who have earned it...I am very loyal." While there may not be anyone other than Violet who had earned it, there was no way I would be anything but absolutely loyal to her. It may not be a widespread trait of mine, but there was some Hufflepuff in me. "So will you help me? I am willing to pay whatever is required, and a vow to keep each other's secrets is required...to protect both parties, of course."
"I will send the letter out tonight asking them." she answered after a moment. "On one condition...you get to carry my school bag from lunch to Potions for the rest of term!" she actually cracked a small smile at that. I couldn't help but smile along with her.
"Ok, but you get to be my new partner in there. There is no way Snape will take points from one of his snakes." I told her with a crooked grin when she glared at me. "So you will let me know when you get an answer?"
"Yes, Potter." she said still glaring at me. "Now if you don't mind, I have some studying to do."
"Of course, of course...by the way, if your tutor accepts, inform them I will be available on weekends at their earliest convenience." I told her, giving her a chaste kiss on the cheek, grinning from ear to ear when she glared at me even harder. "Have a pleasant day Daph!"
"You better watch yourself, Potter!" she called after me as I made my exit from the room.
"Bye Trace!" I told her as I passed her, deciding to give her a quick kiss on the cheek too for the hell of it, I was in a very happy mood, before turning to stick my tongue out at Daphne. She of course sent me running with a few stinging hexes that I just barely managed to dodge.
'Only eleven and you are already have the girls trying to curse you...Whatever will I do with you?' Violet teased.
'Hey! I have to hone my skills somehow if I plan on wooing you someday.' I said causing Violet to blush.
'You need to have skills first before you can hone them.' she laughed, recovering from her blush nicely.
'You wound me Vi! Whatever did I do to deserve such a thing?' I pouted.
'Don't be such a baby!' she said poking her tongue out at me. 'Besides, just because I could use some room to move around, doesn't mean I want your head getting any bigger.'
During my next Potion's class, I did indeed carry Daphne's bag to class for her. I received a bunch of glares and curious looks from the Slytherin's for joining them on their side of the room.
Of course, none of these glares held the intent to kill quite like the one I got from Snape. "Potter! What are you doing on this side of the room? Five points from Hufflepuff!"
As usual I did my best to not laugh at the grown man child. I had long since stopped caring about his attitude against me. It wasn't as if I really cared about the house cup, and my housemates were too forgiving to really hold it against me. "I lost a bet with Miss Greengrass, sir. I get the honor of carrying her bag to and from class until term ends…sir." I added trying to sound as if I was upset by the situation.
"Five more points from Hufflepuff for gambling Potter!" Snape's face was starting to interest me as the particular shade of red started to creep closer to the one that Vernon had perfected over the years. "If you so much as disturb my class by so much as even a cough, I will have you in detention until you graduate…understand me Potter?"
I could tell it was killing Snape right about now that by rule he couldn't force me to move unless he assigned the entire class their own seat as well…well unless I was foolish enough to act out in his class. Thankfully I was smarter than that. I had already heard the rumors of how Ron Weasley didn't seem to catch on to that lesson, and Snape seemed to take every opportunity to punish him for it. Then again, the Gryff's did tend to house the majority of the hot heads.
After the lesson, in which Daphne and I managed to brew an excellent shrinking solution, Daphne passed me a letter once we had made it out into the hallway. "Father sent this to me just this morning with your reply, Potter. He will be available the first weekend after the New Year. The instructions on how to get to the family manor are in the letter…make sure you burn it after you memorize it."
"Thanks Daph…you're the best!" I said genuinely.
"Hey! What about me?" Tracey whined.
"Hmm…" I replied, pretending I was thinking it over. "If you can get Daph to start calling me Harry instead of Potter, I might be able to bump you up a spot or two on the list?"
"Or two?" she asked wide-eyed. "Just how far down the list am I?"
"You're twentieth on the list…just after Crabbe and Goyle." I teased.
"Fine! See if I talk to you anymore." She huffed, folding her arms across her chest while glaring at me.
"Fine, fine…get her to call me Harry and I will move you to second place…deal?"
"Deal!" she smiled, dropping the fake mad act.
"Well ladies, I do believe we do not share the next period together, so I must be off." I told the two girls who were starting to become my first real…friends I guess…since Violet. I turned to Tracey just before I split off from the two girls. "Oh, and Trace? You were already number two on the list anyhow…thanks for taking the deal anyways though." I didn't stick around to hear her reply.
Now that I had to wait for the New Year to start the next phase of my plan, I suddenly had much more free time on my hands. I still spent hours and hours each week studying my Charms, Potions, and Ancient Runes…on top of the normal classwork of course, but even the school work seemed to come naturally to me. Then again, learning had always been really easy to me. My only competition was the Granger girl from Gryffindor. She had the edge on theory as she dedicated her whole life to the library it seemed, but I was far and away better than her at the practical side of things. Even the old battle-axe, McGonagall, seemed to like me.
Since I had so much free time on my hands until I started Occlumency, I spent a bit more time each week hanging out with my fellow Hufflepuff first years, and of course Tracey and Daphne. Justin and Ernie had formed their own little group in our dorm that mostly included Zacharias, which left Wayne on the outside looking in occasionally, so I usually spent more time with him than I did the other two. Wayne was an alright guy, he was a half-blood like me. He had a muggle mother and a muggleborn father.
Before I knew it, the Christmas holidays had already arrived. Thankfully I was going to have the dorm all to myself. While I didn't hate my dorm mates, I was still growing tired of spending so much time with them. I just wasn't used to being around people. Growing up it had always just been me and Violet, and I wasn't sure I would ever want to keep a circle of more than a couple of friends.
I had mail ordered presents for the first years in Hufflepuff, along with Tracey and Daphne. It wasn't that I really expected anything from them in return, I just didn't want to stick out for not doing so, or even feeling like a jerk if some of them did actually get me something. About the best thing I had ever received from the Dursley's for Christmas had been a bent up old coat hanger. It was certainly better than the used tissue they gave me the year before.
For the most part, the gifts themselves were pretty standard for what a first year would buy his friends. The only ones I actually took extra time selecting gifts for were Daphne and Tracey. For them I had ordered advanced books, at least what was supposed to be advanced for first years, in their favorite subjects…Potions for Daphne, and Charms for Tracey, along with gift cards to Gladrag's as I figured they were girls, and girls love clothes…at least I hope they did. Violet had never worn any, so she hadn't been the best for advice on it.
When finally Christmas morning came around, I ended up ignoring the small pile of presents at the foot of my bed in favor of spending some alone time with Violet. It had basically become a tradition between the two of us. Every Christmas, after cooking the breakfast of course, Vernon would lock me in my cupboard while Dudley got to spend a couple hours enjoying Christmas.
Violet and I would just lay in the dark and talk, telling each other how much the other meant to us.
'Happy Christmas Harry!' Violet almost shouted, she was much too cheery in my opinion. Of course I liked sleep much more than she did.
'Happy Christmas to you too Vi.' I told her sleepily. 'How can you be so alive this early in the morning?'
'It's easy Harry…I'm not alive. Ha!' she joked.
'Yeah, yeah…you ain't funny.' I mumbled. 'Just for tryin to be funny, we aren't going to listen to any carols today.'
'But Harry! It's Christmas…you wouldn't really make me miss them would you?' she pouted. 'Pretty pretty please!'
'Hey! You cut that out!' I told her, trying to be stern…me yawning at the end of it probably ruined it though. 'Let me get fifteen more minutes of sleep and you can listen to all the carols you want Vi.'
'Woohoo! You're the best! Wub you Hawwy!' she cheered, finishing with a baby voice.
'Yeah, yeah…love you too Vi. Now, how about them fifteen minutes for Merlins sake!" I chuckled, not really irritated with her…just missing out on some extra sleep.
'Fine, but make it a quick fifteen…I wanna see what you got for Christmas!' she said impatiently.
'Looks like those fifteen minutes are up I guess.' I mumbled, knowing that with her mind on presents she wasn't going to let me finish the other fourteen minutes, fifty-five seconds of my quiet time…I had been counting!
I decided to open the gifts from my housemates first, revealing a large collection of sweets that I was doubtful to ever finish. From Tracey, I received a book on Charms that was slightly more advanced than what I could do now. It would come in handy in a few months. I couldn't help but smile when it turned out that Daphne had given me the exact same Potions book that I had gifted her. She and Tracey knew of my passion for Potions and Charms, but neither yet knew of my desire for Runes. There wasn't really any good reason to tell them I was studying for a class I wouldn't take for another year and a half.
I didn't even bother to open the present from Vernon and Petunia...knowing them it was probably something useless to me, like a fifty-pence piece or something. It was the last present that was sitting at the foot of my bed that gave me the biggest shock and also, most welcome surprise.
When I picked it up it was very light. I unwrapped it, causing something fluid and silvery gray to go slithering to the floor, where it lay in gleaming folds. I carefully picked up the silver cloth from the floor. It was strange to the touch, like water woven into the material.
'I wonder what it is.' Violet asked curiously.
'A cloak of some sort I guess.' I told her, turning to pick up the wrapping the cloak had come from. 'No name...' I mumbled.
'Harry, a note fell out of it!' Violet whispered excitedly.
'Again with the whispering?' I chuckled causing her to glare at me as I picked up the note.
Written in narrow, loopy writing I had never seen before were the words:
Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well.
A Very Merry Christmas to you.
'Hmm...no signature.' I told Violet redundantly, her having already read it as well.
It felt strange...who had sent the cloak? Had it really belonged to my father? Question after question was flowing through my mind.
'Well you may as well try it on, Harry. It is a connection to your father after all.' Violet told me sadly, knowing that this was the first thing I had ever held that had belonged to my parents.
I threw on the cloak and looked down at my feet...except they were gone. I quickly dashed to the mirror. Sure enough, my reflection looked back at me, well at least my head did...it was suspended in midair, my body completely invisible. Grinning from ear to ear, I pulled the cloak over my head and my reflection vanished completely!
'Imagine the fun we can have with this Harry!' Violet said excitedly, grinning madly as if she had just been crowned Queen of the Universe.
'This should make getting around the castle much easier...the restricted section in the library too now that I think of it.' I told her, also grinning wildly.
'I say we go tonight, soon as lights go out.' Violet declared. It sounded like a good plan to me.
When night finally fell, I made my way up to my dorm and pulled the cloak and Hand of Glory out from my trunk. I let the material flow over my hands, smoother than silk, light as air, before i slipped the Hand of Glory in my pocket.
'The note did say 'Use it well' after all.' I told Violet, my mood happy once more. Perhaps I could find some clue that will help me with my task tucked away in the Restricted Section.
'I think we can surpass any expectations they may have had.' Violet grinned.
I slipped out of my room and wrapped the cloak around myself. Looking down at my legs, I saw only moonlight and shadows. It was a very funny feeling. The whole of Hogwarts was open to me with this cloak. I could go anywhere in this...and nobody would even know.
I crept down the stairs, across the common room, and made my way through the labyrinth of the dungeons, headed for the fourth floor. The library was pitch-black and a bit eerie. I lit the Hand to see my way along the rows of books. I snickered slightly at the eerie looking light source, which looked as if it was a shriveled hand holding a candle floating along in midair, and even though I could feel my arm supporting it, the sight was still amusing.
The Restricted Section was right at the back of the library. Stepping carefully over the rope that separated these books from the rest of the library, I held up my lamp to read the titles.
They didn't tell me much. Their peeling, faded gold letters spelled words in languages I couldn't understand. Some had no title at all. One book had a dark stain on it that looked horribly like blood. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled. I couldn't decide if I was imaging it or not, but it almost sounded as if a faint whispering was coming from the books, as though they knew someone was there who shouldn't be.
I knew I had to start somewhere, so I set the Hand of Glory down carefully on the floor. I looked along the bottom shelf for an interesting looking book. A large black and silver volume caught my eye. I pulled it out with difficulty, it was rather heavy, and balanced it on my knee, letting it fall open.
Turns out that was a big fucking mistake. A piercing, bloodcurdling shriek split the silence around me...the book was screaming! I always knew the wizarding world was weird, but screaming books? I quickly snapped the book shut, the shriek carrying on and on in one high, unbroken, earsplitting note. I stumbled backwards and accidentally knocked over my light, of course it promptly went out...it was back to darkness once more in the creepy arse library.
Trying not to panic...well not too much anyhow, as I heard footsteps coming down the corridor outside, I stuffed the shrieking book back onto the shelf, picked up and pocketed the Hand of Glory, and ran for it. I passed Filch in the doorway; Filch's pale, wild eyes looked straight through me, and I slipped under his outstretched arm and streaked off up the corridor, the damn book's ringing still filling my ears.
I came to a sudden halt in front of a tall suit of armor. I had been so busy getting away from the library, I hadn't paid much attention to where I was actually gong. Perhaps because it was dark...or just because Fate hates me so much, I didn't recognize where I was at all. There was a suit of armor near the kitchens, I knew, but I had to be at least four floors above there now.
"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library...Restricted Section."
I could feel the blood drain out of both my and Violets faces...and hell, she didn't even have blood...or a face! Wherever I was, Filch must have known a shortcut, because his soft, greasy voice was getting nearer, and to my utter horror, it was Snape who replied. I was really starting to wonder what I did to piss Fate off so much. "The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."
I stood rooted to the spot as Filch and Snape came around the corner ahead. I knew they couldn't see me, of course, but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much closer, they'd walk right into me. The cloak didn't stop me from being solid after all.
I backed away as quietly as I could...half expecting Fate to give me a flatulence attack at any moment. A door stood ajar to my left. It was my only hope. I sucked in my breath, trying to hold it, and tried to squeeze through the door. To my relief I managed to get inside the room without their noticing anything. They walked straight past, and leaned against the wall, breathing deeply, listening to their footsteps dying away.
'That was close.' Violet whispered, I didn't even bother to call her out on whispering this time...it had been close.
'Too close.' I told her still trying to calm my breath.
It was a few seconds before I noticed anything about the room I had hidden in. It looked like an unused classroom. The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls, and there was an upturned wastepaper basket, but propped against the wall facing me was something that didn't look as if it belonged there...something that looked as if someone had just put it there to keep it out of the way.
'Beautiful.' Violet said in awe at a magnificent mirror. It was as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.
'Women and mirrors...i'll never understand it.' I mumbled to myself, doing my best to not cower under Violets glare at my comment.
My panic fading now that there was no sound of Filch and Snape, I moved nearer to the mirror, wanting to look at myself but see no reflection again. I stepped in front of it...then immediately had to slap my hand over my mouth to keep from yelling out.
I whirled around. My heart was pounding far more furiously than when the book had screamed, for I had not seen only myself in the mirror, but Violet as well standing next to me...well at least the mental image I had always had of what I thought she would look like, my arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind. But the room was empty. Breathing very fast, I turned slowly back to the mirror.
There I was, still reflected in it, white and wide-eyed, and there, reflected beside me, was Violet. She was smiling brightly and had turned, both arms wrapped around the side of my torso, keeping herself pressed tightly against me.
She was very pretty, as only she had the right to be. Her skin was the same pale shade as mine, and she had long midnight black hair that hung down to the middle of her back. Where the light touched it, it turned to a dark violet color. Her eyes were a bright Amethyst, shining as brightly as my emerald greens ones would. She was wearing what looked to be lavender colored lipstick, and looked every bit the beautiful human reincarnation of her name.
I edged a bit closer to the glass, trying to get a better look. I was so entranced that I was surprised when my attention was pulled away from the image in the mirror. That was until I noticed that Violet was crying; smiling...but crying at the same time. We usually tried to ignore each other's thoughts, to give some semblance of privacy to each other, but curiosity got the better of me.
Her image was almost the exact same as mine, just aged a decade or so. What really caught my attention, were the wedding bands on our fingers and the slight bulge to her belly. We were both looking at each other with expressions that could only be love. For the first time in years, I couldn't help the tear that trickled down my face at the sight.
While I had been so focused on the here and now, and worrying about getting Violet a body. She had been dreaming of the future...one where we were in love and would happily live our lives together raising a family. I was so touched I couldn't even bring myself to make the joke about girls and sappy romantic endings...perhaps tomorrow.
'I love you, Vi. Always will too, I hope you know that.' I told her softly, as serious as I had been with her…well, that I could ever remember me being.
'I love you more than my own life, and I will always do whatever I can to make sure you are happy and become the greatest you can be.' she said, still sniffling and trying to get her eyes to stop flowing her metaphorical tears of joy.
How long we stood there, I didn't know. The reflections did not fade and I looked and looked until a distant noise brought me back to my senses. I knew I couldn't stay here any longer, I had to get back to my dorm before my absence was noticed. I tore my eyes away from Violet's face, whispering a quiet "I'll come back", more to the Violet in the mirror than the one in my head, and hurried from the room.
I couldn't eat the next morning. I had seen Violet and I would be seeing her again tonight. I was on hold with my plans for the most part until I started learning Occlumency, so I had over a week with nothing else to do. I just hoped I would once again be able to find the mirror.
Later that night, I tried retracing my steps from when I left the library to where I thought the room was. For nearly an hour I wandered around the dark passageways, getting more irritable as time went on.
'Harry, I can tell you are freezing.' Violet said as I hit another dead end corridor. 'Let's just forget it tonight and go back.'
'No! I just know it is here somewhere.' I hissed, with anger in my voice that I didn't mean to direct at Violet, causing her to withdraw back a bit. 'I'm sorry Vi, I didn't mean to yell at you. I am just frustrated with myself that I can't find it.'
'It's ok Harry.' She replied quietly. I could tell that it bothered her a tiny bit more than she let on.
'Hey, listen to me.' I told her softly as I came to a halt. 'Don't you think for one second that I was yelling at you ok? I'm just upset with myself that I didn't pay better attention to where I was going last night, and I'm sorry that I took it out on you. Will you forgive me?'
I could tell that her mood was starting to return to normal and I let my emotions fill with the same feeling of love that I had when I looked at her in the mirror last night, and let them swirl around Violet. 'Of course I forgive you Harry!' she smiled, still basking in my love for her. It was one of the things I would definitely miss when she got her own body, being able to share our emotions with each other so completely and freely.
I once again started my search for the mirror. I passed the ghost of a tall witch, who was gliding in the opposite direction, but saw nobody else. Just as I started to really notice how cold it actually was in the dark corridors, I spotted the suit of armor from last night.
'It's here! Yes!'
I pushed open the door, dropped the cloak from around my shoulders and practically ran to the mirror. There she was. Violet and I were once again embraced in a tight hold of each other, smiling as if nothing else in the world mattered.
For hours we sat in front of the mirror, until we noticed the light start to creep through the windows. I tore my eyes away from the mirror and quickly threw the cloak back over myself, quickly making my way back to my dorm to catch a few hours of sleep.
That third night I found my way much quicker than before. I was walking so fast I knew I was making more noise than was wise, but thankfully I didn't meet anyone on my way.
There she was once again, smiling and waving at me happily. I sank down to sit on the floor in front of the mirror, content to spend the rest of the night there.
'Do you think this mirror shows the future, Vi?' I asked her a few minutes later, still half entranced with the image in the mirror.
'I don't know.' Violet replied. 'I hope it does. There is nothing that I would desire more.'
'Desire…' I mumbled inside of my head to Violet, the word bringing with it a sense of Déjà vu to me. I took a couple of glances around the mirror, trying to figure out why that word stuck in my head. It was when I read the name inscribed on top of it that I finally figured it out.
"I show not your face but your heart's desire." I read out loud.
'So it doesn't show the future then?' Violet asked sadly, upset that her dream hadn't yet been confirmed as destined to succeed.
My reply was cut short by a voice from behind me.
"So…back again, Harry?"
I felt as though my insides had turned to ice. I slowly looked behind me. Sitting on one of the desks by the wall was none other than Albus Dumbledore. I must have walked straight past him…so desperate to get to the mirror, that I hadn't noticed him.
"I…I didn't see you, sir."
"Strange, how nearsighted being invisible can make you." Dumbledore said. I was slightly relieved to see he was at least smiling.
"So…" said Dumbledore, slipping off the desk to sit on the floor beside me. "You, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."
"I didn't know it was called that, sir." I answered honestly, still hoping I wasn't going to be expelled for being caught out of bounds.
"But I expect by now you've realized what it does?"
"Well...it…shows me the one thing I want above all else." I stumbled the words out of my mouth, not wanting to tell him the entire truth of what I really saw, but unable to think of a believable lie.
"Correct, Harry!" the headmaster beamed. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. However, this mirror will give us neither truth…nor knowledge. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible."
"So…does that mean that what someone sees in the mirror can never become true?" I asked, not bothering to correct his assumption on what I actually saw in the mirror.
"Everybody has different desires, my boy. Some completely possible, others…not so much. You must remember…it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that."
"Of course, sir." I answered.
"The mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry. I must ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever do run across it again…you will now be prepared. Now, why don't you put on that admirable cloak and head off to bed?"
Nodding my head, I stood up. "Sir…Professor Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?"
"Obviously, you've just done so." Dumbledore smiled. "You may ask me one more thing, however."
"What do you see when you look into the mirror?" I asked, not even realizing how personal of a question it was.
"I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."
I stared at him…wool socks? Really?
'Perhaps there is some truth to him being barmy after all.' Violet giggled.
'Yeah no kidding.' I mentally chuckled. 'I highly doubt that is what he really sees though.'
"One can never have enough socks." Said Dumbledore, breaking from my mental conversation. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People keep insisting on giving me books. Now, off to bed with you. I trust you have things you need to do tomorrow."
I nodded my head, quickly throwing the invisibility cloak back over my body, and made my way hastily to my dorm.
'Too bad we won't be able to look at the mirror anymore.' Violet said longingly.
'Yeah, and Dumbledore will probably keep an eye out for it…to make sure we don't find it again.'
'There is only a handful of places that he could keep it that wouldn't leave it to chance that another student might run across it.' Violet said thinking hard for a moment. 'Who knows, he may even move it to the third floor corridor.'
'That might be a good bet.' I told her, thinking that her idea probably had a lot of merit. 'Don't worry, Vi. We will lay low for now…but before the end of the year, we will go find it and take it with us. I get a feeling that the mirror will be beneficial to our plan someday down the line.'
'Agreed.' Violet said as I slipped into my pajamas and climbed into bed. 'We will just wait for him to take his eyes away from the third floor and the mirror will be ours.'
We both laughed and smiled as plots and schemes of the future ran through our head before we drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
AN: I have had a person ask about Harry's use of swear words. I like to think that there are some similarities from Harry's past that mirror that of my own. Like the Harry of my story, I was raised around a lot of yelling and cussing, and like the Harry in my story, it shows in our own vocabulary. Part of why I am writing it this way I admit is because I am used to it being a part of my own vocabulary, the other is that with the amount of verbal abuse from Vernon, I doubt Harry would not use foul language. I have kept his bad language more to the narration and not in his actual dialog with the other characters, mainly because my Harry understands that he would stand out in doing so, and he is trying to portray himself as someone easily overlooked.
AN2: Ok, so my goal is to have a post on every Monday, as that is my only actual day off per week, but I decided to post this one for you guys a day early as I do have it done. As a form of bribery, the more reviewers I have for each chapter i post, the more likely it will be that I post the chapters early if they are already done, versus just holding on to them until Monday. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and keep and eye out for Chapter 5, it will very likely be the second-ish to last chapter for Harry's first year.
Edited: 4/14/14; Harry no longer uses a lamp in the library...instead he is using the Hand of Glory i magically forgot about!
