Disclaimer: JKRowling owns the HP universe and characters. Apparently, all I contribute to it is violence. And pithy one liners.
Notes: This was going along at a hefty clip, until Snape died. Then my muse took a vacation to bermuda and didn't deign to tell me. :)
HPHPHP
Harry's eleventh birthday was quite possibly the strangest day of his life. Something about having his uncle dragging him all over hell's half acre and a cloud of crazy letters following them around, thought Harry.
"And don't forget all that wizarding business." mumbled Harry to absolutely nobody.
After the underground ride home, Harry dragged his new trunk up the stairs into his freshly claimed bedroom. The room was dark and grey as evening fell. Harry sat down on the edge of the small bed, listening to the mattress springs squeaking just a bit. The room smelled somewhat musty, making Harry crinkle his nose to fight down a sneeze.
He moved Hedwig's cage over to the desk and opened the window to let in some fresh air. As Harry looked out over Privet Drive, he saw a postman coming to the front door carrying a small package. Wondering if it was for him, what with it being his birthday and all, he scampered down the stairs to see for himself.
HPHPHP
Harry picked the smallish box up, turning it over in his hands. It was addressed to him, wrapped in a plain brown paper. The paper felt kind of coarse, as did the twine holding the paper in place.
"What's that, boy?" grumped his Uncle Vernon, looking out from the sitting room.
"Looks like a school package, Uncle Vernon." Harry figured it was best to make something up that sounded reasonable. He'd never gotten a package before, but with all the oddness of the last two days, he figured this wouldn't cause much of a stir.
Huffing and grumbling, Vernon turned back around and went back in to watch more television. Harry took his gift and went up the stairs, closing his bedroom door behind him.
HPHPHP
Harry unwrapped the box, and considered it carefully. It was wooden, with aged brasswork. There was no lock on it - just a simple twisting clasp to hold the box closed. He opened the box, to find another letter, written on the same kind of paper as his original school letter. Harry set the box down on the bed, holding on to the letter. As he unfolded it, he began to read.
"Dearest Harry,
This has been a very interesting letter to write. There is no possible way I can explain anything on paper, so you're going to have to just trust yourself and follow these instructions.
Pick the top tray up out of the box, take out the wand inside.
Take the small stone bowl out, and tap it with the wand.
Say the word 'enlarge' as you tap.
In the top tray, you will find one crystal vial with something in it.
Pour the vial into the bowl. Touch the liquid with the wand.
Please. Follow these steps, exactly as I've written them, and everything will be made very clear.
HJP"
Harry looked somewhat disturbed. Peering into the bottom of the small box, he pulled out a wand made of some kind of dark wood. He could see a few other items in the box, but spotted the small stone bowl.
Picking the bowl up out of the box, he set it on the bed. He tapped the bowl with the wand.
"Enlarge" said Harry in a quiet voice. The bowl grew until it was a foot and a half wide. Harry dug the vial out of its velvet housing, unstoppered it, and dumped the fimly liquid into the bowl.
His heart pounding madly in his chest, Harry paused to take a deep breath. Then, bracing himself, he dipped the tip of the wand he was holding into the liquid and fell into the bowl.
HPHPHP
Harry found himself standing in a white room. There was an old man sitting in a comfortable looking chair next to a small table. The man was serving himself a bit of tea, and enjoying a biscuit. His white hair was fairly long, and swept back into a ponytail, and the man's beard was also almost entirely white, though there was a black streak right in the center of his chin.
"Hello Harry," spoke the old man quietly. His eyes were twinkling in the monochrome glow of the featureless room. Harry found he could walk around, but that when he did so, the old man's eyes didn't follow him.
"Harry," the old man continued softly, "I've sent these things to you for a very simple reason. I want you to have what I never did. A choice." The old man moved his hand up to his forehead and Harry gasped as he could plainly see an old and faded lightning bolt scar.
HPHPHP
"We can't interact in this memory, young Harry. However, I can give you some information that's going to help you. I'm not going to tell you what's to come, though. There's no point. You could know the entire history of the world from this moment on, but the first time you made a choice that I myself didn't, all that knowledge would be worthless. So. Let's not waste our time on that"
For the next hour, the old man explained Harry's origins and parents to him, pausing only to take a sip of his tea or eat a little more biscuit. He explained that there had been a prophecy made, and that it had started a series of events that had left the young man an orphan. He gave Harry a little bit of useful information about interacting in the wizarding world - how to get around, where to go, that sort of thing.
Harry felt a tear sliding down his cheek as his older self continued. "This is the most important thing I have to give you, young man. You know now what I never did at your age. What you choose to do with it is entirely up to you. In the box I sent, there are two rings - one for your left index finger and one for your right. Once I'm done here you are to put those rings on. I will never know if you have or not, but I'm hoping that you will"
Taking another breath, he continued. "I'm not going to live much longer - but know that I've spent a very, very long time putting things together for you. I want you to go to Hogwart's and enjoy yourself. That's not to say waste your time or slack off or anything." his eyes were twinkling merrily "Just don't worry too much about the future - it's in good hands. One ring is to protect your mind. The damage that was done to you as a baby was very terrible and long lasting." he tapped the scar with a finger. "That ring will take good care of and protect your mind. I guarantee it"
Harry could sense that things were coming to an end as the old man went on. "The other ring deals with the one thing I hated most about all the time I spent at Hogwart's. All that time I wasted, laying in infirmary beds." with that, the old man winked. "Once you put those rings on, nobody's going to be able to take them off of you"
"Our time here is about done, young Harry. There's only one more thing you need to know. Friends are very important. They are vital to being happy and living a successful life. Never, ever forget this. Sadly, Albus Dumbledore is not now, has never been, nor ever will be your friend. He is not your parent, your guardian, nor your mentor. He is the headmaster at the school you're to attend, and as such should be treated that way"
Harry's older self clapped his hands with glee, "So! Once you're out of here, take the wand and lift the memories out of the bowl. Put the tip of the wand to your temple, and the memories will slip into your mind. Under different circumstances, this would be incredibly dangerous since taking someone's memories directly into your own mind is a pretty serious gamble. However, since they're our memories, it shouldn't be an issue. I really hope you have a fine time young man. I know I sure did." with one final smile, Harry found himself flying upwards back out of the bowl.
HPHPHP
Too stunned to even move, Harry stood and stared into the stone bowl. Numbly, he took the wand, swirled the memories around a little, and lifted them out. As he got near his own temple, he felt the feather light touch of the memories as they sought to gain entrance, and the process of them sliding into place was gentle and tender - something Harry had had precious little of to date.
Blinking tears out of his eyes, he looked down into the box again. There was a smallish ring box sitting in the bottom of it. He picked up the box, opened it and looked at the two rings sitting in the black velvet cushioning. He took out a wide silvery band that was covered with runes filled with dark enamel and slipped it onto his right index finger. The wide golden band went on his left. Once both rings were on, Harry realized that everything else - bowl, wand, and box were all dissolving into dust.
A minute later, there was no trace of anything left, except the two rings he was wearing. He found that he was feeling pretty good if not a little hungry.
"Kind of odd that so far, the only person in my life that's shown me any real kindness or love has been me." said Harry, chuckling as he did so.
HPHPHP
The rest of the month before Hogwart's went very smoothly. His relations roundly ignored him, and he found that he was changing - all of it for the better. Every time Harry gave it some thought, he felt his mind organizing itself. It felt like having a large room full of clutter - books, papers, and the like laying everywhere and that the room was cleaning itself up. The effect of this was that Harry was able to read all his school books in advance. Twice.
A week before the train's departure, Harry decided he needed to go back into Diagon Alley to get a few more things. Specifically some information about Hogwart's itself. "Seems odd," he thought, "that nobody thought to get me any books about the place"
His older self had given him a little information to help in this regard, so Harry stepped out the door of his home in Surrey, raised his wand, and called the Knight Bus.
HPHPHP
Harry stepped off the bus in front of the Leaky Cauldron. He had a few more things to pick up, and figured there was no sense in putting it off. He stepped through the pub with a wave and a nod to Tom, the barkeep.
Rolling through Diagon Alley, Harry made his way first into Gringott's bank. Coming to the teller counter, the goblin peered up from a ledger he was reading.
"How may I help you, Mister Potter"
"I Have a problem, sir," started Harry. "Apparently I have a vault here for school expenses, but I don't have a key for it. I also have a couple of questions if you can direct me to someone that can help"
"Let me get an account manager for you, Mister Potter. Please have a seat"
"Thank you, sir." Harry took a seat. After a few minutes, a different goblin came out from a side door and waved Harry through.
HPHPHP
Whistling as he walked out of Gringott's, Harry found himself in a great mood. He'd gotten a new key for his trust vault, asked the goblins to destroy all the old keys, and learned more about his situation in five minutes than he had his entire life to date. He thought it sort of ironic that the goblins were so willing to work with him. The account manager, a goblin named Sharpspear, had offered to destroy all keys - main Potter vault and trust vault. Sharpspear had also very helpfully pointed out that Harry didn't actually need to visit his vault until he wanted to store or remove something other than money. The trust vault key worked as a way to pay for things.
Harry decided he needed a few things other than just a couple of books. He headed over to the trunk shop and wandered around for a bit. The proprietor came out from the back room, and smiled at Harry.
"Hello Mister Potter. How may I help you today"
"Hello, sir!" Harry found it kind of strange that everyone always knew what he looked like on sight, but he felt that the attention couldn't be all bad. "I'm looking for a different trunk. I bought one here a few weeks ago - but it isn't really all that special. Do you have any suggestions"
"That depends on what you're looking for and how much you're willing to spend"
Harry thought about it for a minute. "Well, sir, I'm very new to the magical world. So, I don't really know what your trunks can do. What's the very best? I mean, if I were to see everything you could possibly do with a trunk in one model, that might make it easier for me to pick"
The shopkeeper nodded, and took Harry into the back. There were trunks stacked from the floor to the ceiling.
"Mister Potter, there are many many things you can do with a trunk. However, if I might make a few suggestions.." Harry nodded him on, "I suggest something with a security lock keyed only to yourself. We could do something with shrinking, too. Hmm"
The shopkeeper was rummaging around, scooting large leather trunks out of the way.
"Let's take a look at this one. It was commissioned by a very paranoid ex-Auror. This one's got some very odd features. The normal placement charm so that nobody but you can move it once it's set, and look at this!" He opened the top of what looked like a pretty normal looking black trunk to reveal a small wooden staircase. "There's a small apartment in here. He wanted someplace to retreat to - like a panic room. There's a small kitchenette, bathroom, the works. Honestly, you could hide in here for as long as you had food for it." He smiled widely.
Harry looked thoughtfully at the trunk. He could live in that while he was home at the Dursley's, without them ever noticing him there. It was perfect. "That sounds great, sir! I'll take it"
HPHPHP
This was quite possibly the greatest day of Harry's young life. He picked up a few more books - mostly history of the magical world, and a few other basic magical texts. He thought it sort of odd that these hadn't been recommended by Hagrid when they were here visiting before.
Wandering into the wand shop again, he saw Mister Ollivander finishing up with customer. He waited quietly until the old man was done, the dusty air tickling Harry's nose as he fought off a sneeze.
"Well, hello again Mister Potter. How can I help you"
"Hello, sir. Can I ask you a few questions about wands?" started Harry.
"Certainly, young man," Ollivander's eyes glistened in the dim lantern light. "How can I help"
"Is there something I can read that gives me a good list of all the rules or laws that apply to wands"
Ollivander smiled warmly, and retrieved a small book from a stack of them. "Most people raised in the wizarding world just take this sort of information as given, rarely thinking of the muggleborn or muggle raised. This should have everything you need"
Harry left the shop after having purchased a practice wand and a wrist holster. Something about sticking his wand in a pocket just seemed like a foolish idea.
Purchasing another full potions kit for his trunk, Harry realized he should be getting back home. He made sure he had some owl order catalogs for every shop that offered one, Harry ducked out of Diagon Alley and rode the Knight Bus home.
HPHPHP
Once Harry got back to the Dursley's, he slipped upstairs and into the second bedroom. He unshrunk the trunk on the far side of the room. He'd chosen a spot that couldn't be easily seen by someone standing at the door and completely out of view of the window.
The only benefit to the room he was in was the fact that since it was dusty, cluttered, and terribly lit that it would be almost impossible to actually tell the new chest apart from anything else that belonged there. He opened the window to the room, and opened Hedwig's cage.
"Girl, this is no place for you. Please - I need you to go and find someplace safe to hunt and stay until school starts. I'll meet you at Hogwart's, ok"
Hedwig hooted softly, rubbing her beak on Harry's hand before launching herself out the window. Harry smiled sadly. This family really didn't know what they were missing out on with their terrible fear of magic. Just one more week, and Harry was out of this miserable pit for the next ten months. That didn't mean he couldn't make good use of the time he was still here.
HPHPHP
After reading the wand rules booklet, Harry figured he could get a good head start on magical history and potions. Neither subject needed a wand, and with that in mind, he set to work, spending hours a day working out how to prepare and brew a few really basic potions. Thankful for the extra books he'd picked up, Harry worked up some burn salve, and something called a 'pepper up' potion.
"Oh man, oh man." Harry was drinking something he'd made up by mixing a 'pepper up' potion with a can of cola. "This stuff has some very serious kick. Hoo!" A couple hits of that stuff, and Harry stopped sleeping more than three hours a night.
He was really happy about the trunk, spending almost all his time inside it either reading at the little desk or brewing potions at the kitchenette table with his second potions kit. The practice wand was pretty great as well. He could practice wand movements and incantations, and if he got the spell right a white bubble would pop out of the end of the wand to let him know.
"Everything comes with manuals. This is bloody brilliant"
HPHPHP
September 1st came sliding in, and Harry was ready for it. He'd packed the night before and was out the door as soon as sunlight hit his windowsill. Figuring that he could put almost everything into his trunk, he made sure he had a couple school books to read as well as his muggle notebooks in his backpack. One of the things Harry found sort of odd about his entry into the wizarding world was the anachronistic approach they took to everything. He couldn't hardly work a quill to save his life - so, he made sure he'd stocked up on pens, pencils, and spiral notebooks.
"I figure they're going to want me to turn everything in on parchment, but that doesn't mean that has to be the first draft I write." thought Harry, chuckling to himself.
He hit the curb at 4 Privet drive at a run, calling out for the Knight Bus. Shortly thereafter, he found himself at King's Cross, and speeding through the barrier on Platform 9 and 3/4. The train was sitting quietly, puffing out bits of steam. Moisture was condensing and running down the sides of the cars, and Harry could smell a touch of oil mixed in with the dewey morning air. Bouncing up the steps, he grabbed a car right in the middle of the train and settled in for a bit of reading, as he was hours early and wanted to enjoy the peace and quiet while he had it.
HPHPHP
Children started filling the train, and before Harry knew it, they were rolling out of the station. Harry was so excited to be on an adventure like this. He thought back, going over the memories he had of his older self. Smiling, he felt like the luckiest kid in the world. He knew that he was loved and protected. Now that he didn't have to worry about the Dursley's any more, he could settle in and focus on having a good time like his older self had said.
It didn't take too long before someone decided to take an interest in his cabin. A redheaded boy looking to be about Harry's age pulled open the door and poked his head in.
"Do you mind if I sit in here? All the others are full"
Harry considered this for a moment, knowing full well that the boy was lying. He decided to see where this was going as he answered. "Sure thing. I'm Harry," he said. "Harry Potter"
The redhead smiled widely, "I'm Ron Weasley! It's great to finally meet you!" The boy was blushing furiously, all the way out to the tips of his ears.
Harry sighed inwardly. He knew, based on the reactions of the people he'd seen in Diagon Alley on his first trip, that things were always going to be like this. His aim was to make some friends that didn't actually care about some bloody scar, and it didn't look like this lad was going to fit the bill. "It's nice to meet you, Ron. Have a seat"
"My mum said you'd be on the train today, but we didn't see you getting on earlier. Figured we'd just missed you or something." said Ron eagerly.
Harry just shrugged and went back to his book. He had chosen one of his history textbooks, as it read like a muggle fantasy novel. It was pretty easy for Harry to remember what was going on since it really was an interesting read.
"Oi," said Ron shortly. "We'll have enough reading for months to come. No sense wasting the train trip too. Let's play some gobstones or something"
Harry looked over the edge of his book at the redhead. Ron was almost bouncing up and down in his seat with excitement. "No thanks, Ron. I'd rather just read. Quietly, if you don't mind." said Harry softly.
Ron blushed again, mumbling, "Bloody mental. Killing curse must have scrambled his brains"
As time passed, the redhead tried again and again to engage Harry in something other than quiet reading. After the fifth unsuccessful try, Harry closed his book and stashed it in his backpack. Since his trunk was still shrunk and in his pocket, he really didn't have anything else to collect.
"It was nice meeting you Ron. Pardon me if I'm being rude, but I'm going to go see if I can find a quieter spot to read. Cheers!" and with that, Harry headed out of the cabin. He slung his backpack over a shoulder and headed down the hallway, looking to see if he could find a spot to sit for a while.
HPHPHP
Harry found a spot in between the car where the wind wasn't too terribly bad. He hunkered down, got out his book again, and picked up where he left off. Generally, Harry wasn't a particularly excitable child. He'd had that trait bashed out of him at a very young age by the family he was living with. This didn't mean he wasn't happy by any means. In fact, while Harry hadn't always had a great childhood, he'd learned how to keep his head down and keep his nose clean. All told, the last month of his life had been far and away the greatest of his life - and now that he was free, he wanted to take every opportunity to enjoy things in the ways that made him feel the best. He'd always really loved to read, doing well enough in school as a result. Though, he always made sure he never did too well on exams. That was another lesson he'd learned early on - do what you can to avoid bringing attention to yourself.
He sighed again and decided to put the book away. Trying to read right now was just a bad job, so Harry just enjoyed the passing countryside. The wind was whipping his already frenzied hair around and he could smell the thick loamy earth the trees were all growing out of. His eyes were closed when someone opened one of the car doors.
"They said Harry Potter was on the train today," said a familiar drawling voice. Harry turned to see the blonde lad he'd originally run into at Madame Malkins. There were two larger boys flanking him, acting for all the world like bodyguards. "I should have known it when I met you the first time. Your scar is quite.. well known"
Harry looked at the three boys over the rims of his glasses. If he didn't know any better, his eyes were somehow improving. He could almost make out fine detail now without looking through the glass. "That's right. I'm Harry Potter." For the sake of politeness, Harry stuck a hand out. "I didn't catch your name the first time"
"Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." he replied. "These two are Crabbe and Goyle. Our fathers are all very well acquainted." The blonde boy took Harry's hand and gave it a firm shake.
"It's nice to properly meet you, Malfoy." said Harry. "Out here for a bit of fresh air, then?" He wasn't totally sure where this conversation was going, but he couldn't really see the point in antagonizing someone without cause.
"Actually, we were looking for you specifically. One of the Weasleys was wandering around, telling anyone who would listen that they'd best watch out for you. That you were mental or something." Draco laughed lightly. "Something about scrambled up brains from the killing curse"
Harry laughed along with Draco, and the two larger boys smirked as well. "Well, he might just have something there. You never know." Harry wiggled his eyebrows and put on a crazy face.
"Enjoy the rest of the ride, Potter. It's going to be interesting to see what house you get into. Potters have always been in Gryffindor, but I'd say you've got the makings of a fine Slytherin as well." Draco and his two mates turned and headed back inside the train car, leaving Harry with his thoughts.
HPHPHP
After the conductor announced that they were almost to Hogsmeade, Harry ducked into a loo to get changed. He took a minute to get cleaned up afterwards and stepped out to go find an exit.
The train pulled in and came to a stop. Once the platform attendants had pulled out the steps and opened up the doors, Harry hopped onto the platform, and looked around. He saw Hagrid waiting nearby and waved to the giant man.
"Hiya, Hagrid!" Harry yelled. Hagrid smiled, his black eyes glinting in the lamplight and his bushy beard quivering a bit.
Hagrid started yelling for all the first years to follow him, and they were off. Down to the docks they went, to ride small boats across the lake for their first view of Hogwart's. Harry had read about all the first year traditions that were printed in Hogwart's: A History, so very little of this was any kind of a surprise. That didn't kill his sense of awe at the beauty of it all, however.
As they crossed the lake, Harry looked over the side of the boat. The water was a black mirror, and fairly cold as he dipped a hand into it. The boat creaked ever so slightly, rocking as it glided over the surface of the water. Coming under a viney overhanging, Harry got his first look at Hogwart's. His breath caught in his throat, and he started tearing up. He'd never seen a castle before, outside of pictures at least and the sight was overwhelming. Harry hadn't been paying any attention at all to the other first years in the boat with him, and didn't much care what they might be thinking as he wiped the tears out of his eyes.
"This is the most beautiful thing I think I've ever seen." whispered Harry in awe.
HPHPHP
The boats landed on the shore, and all the students were herded up to the castle proper. Hagrid let them all in, and introduced them to Professor McGonagall.
"Follow me, please. We're going to get all of you sorted before the arriving feast can start. Your things will be taken care of, so you've nothing to worry about there." the prim woman had very severe features, her hair tied up into a bun that hid under a tall pointed hat.
Harry couldn't help but smile. "She may have an iron exterior", he thought "but the laugh lines around her eyes give her away.
There were some squeaks of surprise in the back of the first year crowd, and Harry turned around to see the castle ghosts floating through the walls. These ghosts were also pretty well documented, so Harry didn't have any problems picking them all out as they wafted into the Great Hall to join the other students for the sorting ceremony.
Harry could hear Ron talking to someone in hushed tones about the sorting itself.
"My brother told me you've got to wrestle a troll! And that they sort you based on how long you can hold out!" Ron looked positively panicked about it.
Harry just snickered behind a hand and waited. In short order, Professor McGonagall drew them all out into the Great Hall, and stood them in the center. She retreived a small stool as well as a manky looking hat. "This is the Sorting Hat," she began in a loud, clear voice. "When your name is called, come up here, sit on the stool, and we'll see where the hat places you"
There seemed to be a large rip in the front of the hat, which then spread wide and started to sing as if the rip were its mouth. Harry couldn't help laughing at the spectacle. "This wizarding stuff is just completely insane," he thought.
The professor started reading off names, alphabetically by last name. Harry knew he had a while until he was called, so he looked around the room a bit. The head table was full to capacity, except for an obvious gap next to the headmaster himself. Harry expected that to be McGonagall's seat. The headmaster was observing the sorting with what looked like considerable interest, his smile seemed genuine and his eyes were dancing over the newest students with a kind of glee.
"Harry Potter" called out McGonagall. Whispers are racing up and down the Great Hall, and Harry heard his name in breathy tones more than once.
Harry moved to the front of the remaining students, and took a seat on the stool. As the hat settled down over his head,
Harry couldn't help but wonder. What would the hat choose for him? What if this were all some kind of terrible mistake - or worse yet, a joke? It's not like the Dursleys really wanted Harry around, but he couldn't help feeling that his uncle wouldn't feel especially bad if Harry came home after being kicked out of wizarding school for having no magic at all.
He sat there, with his hands in his lap, quietly waiting. The silence in the great hall was roaring in his ears. As time ticked past, Harry couldn't know it, but a frantic conversation was taking place someplace he couldn't possibly hear. Headmaster Dumbledore leaned forward a bit in his seat, to look down upon the tiny form of Harry, his eyes twinkling in the magical candlelight.
The hat shook a little on Harry's head, and out of its mouth came "GRYFFINDOR!", breaking the silent spell that had the entire hall in its grip. Harry bounced up off the smallish stool, placed the hat back upon it, and scampered down to sit with his new housemates.
Ron scooted over to make room, and Harry slid in beside him, smiling.
"That wasn't so bad", he said quietly in Harry's ear "I'm going to kill my brothers. Wrestling a troll, indeed"
"This place is full of surprises! A talking hat, no less!" said Harry with a giggle.
The headmaster had a little more to say regarding rules and out of bound areas.
"And now, everyone stand as we sing the school song!" the Headmaster was waving his wand around, like he was conducting some kind of invisible orchestra. Every student that knew the tune was singing it differently - the two older Weasley twins left to the last, chanting the words as if they were some kind of funeral dirge.
"Ah, music. A more powerful magic than any we do here." said Dumbledore, wiping a tear from his eye. "Now, as I am assuming you're all starving half to death, let's tuck in"
With a clap of his hands, food appeared on every table and the arriving feast began in earnest.
HPHPHP
Once dinner was done, the prefects led all the first years up to Gryffindor tower and suggested they all get some sleep. They'd have the weekend to become familiar with the layout of the castle and schedules would be handed out on Sunday morning, at breakfast.
Harry figured he'd call it an early night as well. He certainly didn't seem to be as tired as most everyone else, but the food he'd eaten had been very good and he didn't have anything pressing to do. As he crawled into bed, he heard Ron mumbling something about missing his stupid rat.
HPHPHP
The first week of classes passed without incident until double Potions on Friday with the first year Slytherins. Harry didn't know what he'd done wrong, but Professor Snape seemed intent on making him miserable. After being asked a series of questions that Harry knew the answer to, he'd lost Gryffindor points for being an 'insufferable know-it-all.
He just shrugged, and went about his business however. Whatever was bothering the professor, Harry couldn't really bring himself to care. Even when Snape insulted Harry's father, he just ignored him. Memories from his older self made sure that he knew that his father had loved and cherished him. Snape could be as big a git as he liked - it really didn't matter one bit. However, he still wanted to pass the class. Harry put as much effort and care as he could into the potion he was working on.
"What is this, Potter? Couldn't be bothered to brew a proper potion? Even one so easy as this"
With a swish, Snape vanished what Harry had almost finished from his cauldron and lazily wandered back up to the front of the class. As the class ended, Harry was rightfully upset. He knew just what to do. Without another word, he picked up his bag and headed off to find his head of house.
HPHPHP
"Professor McGonagall, I'd like to withdraw from potions with Professor Snape"
"I'm sorry, Mister Potter. Why is that?" asked the stern woman.
"Professor Snape doesn't like me for some reason, and isn't going to grade my work fairly. He vanished my work today before even checking it. This came after he spent the first part of the period attempting to insult both myself and my father." Harry wasn't happy. He was calm and determined, however he was still very displeased.
"There isn't anything I can do about this. Professor Snape is the finest Potions Master currently available to Hogwart's. You'll just have to try to work your way through this"
"No, ma'am. The school rules say quite plainly that no student has to put up with threats or abuse while attending. While it certainly doesn't specifically say from who, I am certain that both students and teachers apply. My trust vault is paying for this education. Either you remove me from Professor Snape's class and allow me to pay for summer tutoring in this subject, or I will remove myself from Hogwart's and find a school more willing to treat a student fairly." Harry crossed his arms, and looked into McGonagall's eyes.
"Let's go talk to the Headmaster, Mister Potter. I am very interested to hear what he has to say on this matter"
HPHPHP
Standing in the Headmaster's office, Harry found that he was simply amazed by the wide variety of magical devices spinning, whirring, or puffing out little bits of steam. This seemed more like a magic toy store than any kind of office.
Coming out of a connected chamber, Albus Dumbledore looked very unimposing in some light purple robes. His eyes twinkled merrily in the lamplight as he took a seat behind his desk.
"Mister Harry Potter. It's so good to finally meet you face to face," said the Headmaster happily. "Care for a lemon sherbet? I'm so very addicted to them"
"No sir. Thank you, sir. I've come to withdraw from Professor Snape's Potions class." Harry figured that the direct approach was the best one.
"I'm sorry Mister Potter, but that's.." Harry raised his hand quickly to cut the old man off.
"Sir, Professor McGonagall said the same thing. However, I will no longer be attending his class. I am not interested in a class that apparently should be called 'Abuse Harry Potter'. I've tolerated enough of that sort of thing from my muggle relatives. I'll not be doing the same for an education that I am paying for"
Dumbledore looked over his glasses at Harry, tapping his fingers together in front of his nose. "Professor McGonagall, could you please summon Professor Snape? I would like to hear this story from both sides"
"At once, Headmaster." McGonagall turned on her heel, and was back out the door.
"Now, Harry. We'll get to the bottom of all this soon enough. No need to take such drastic measures quite so quickly." said Dumbledore.
Harry sat down on the couch and waited, his hands in his lap. He certainly wasn't afraid, and he knew he was completely in the right. His older self's memories were clear. Nobody could force him to do something that was terribly distasteful to him. Harry felt this situation certainly fit the bill.
A few short minutes later, the door opened again and both Professors McGongall and Snape came in to the office.
"You asked to see me, Headmaster?" started Snape. The dark haired man spotted Harry sitting quietly and sneered at him. "Ah. I see. Little Harry Potter is upset about being lousy at potions and has decided to be a prat. Just like his father, I see"
"Now Severus, we needn't act like that. I'm sure you've got a good reason for your management of the Potions class"
"Of course, Headmaster. Potter had brewed such a terrible boil curing potion that I felt it wasn't even worth my time to grade it. His earlier cheek had cost his house points and as such I felt it prudent to make him very aware of who was in charge of the class"
All three adults looked at Harry. He returned each person's look with killing curse green eyes. "I see how this is going to go. Very well. As of right now, I am withdrawing from Hogwart's. Since I'm aware of my rights in this matter, I am going to go pack my things and leave. Right now. Good evening, Professors." Harry rose off the couch. As he did so, Snape did something with his wand and stared hard into Harry's eyes.
Harry looked at Snape, and blinked. In that instant, Professor Snape was hurled across the room and collapsed into a crumpled unconscious heap on the floor. Harry raised an eyebrow at the event, knowing somehow that he was responsible but having no idea how.
"What have you done, boy!?" said McGonagall, her voice rising to an almost screech.
"Not a thing, Professor. Now if you'll excuse me, I've packing to do"
"Harry, you're not going anywhere," started Dumbledore. "You sit right back down on that couch, and we'll sort this out directly"
"With all due respect, sir, now that I have made my wishes clear, you are no longer my Headmaster. If you try to keep me here against my will, I will see that charges for kidnapping are filed as well. Good evening Professors." Harry reached for the door.
The Headmaster incanted a spell behind Harry, but he never saw it land. There was some kind of flurry of activity, but Harry had already opened the door to step through it. Pulling the door closed behind himself, he walked down the circular stair case to head back to Gryffindor tower.
"Well. That was short lived." thought Harry, smiling a bit.
HPHPHP
By the time Harry got back to the fat lady's painting and said the password, Professor McGonagall was standing in the common room, her arms crossed. She seemed to be very cross and was huffing angrily.
"Young man, you are going to sit down right now and explain your behaviour." she said, quite firmly thought Harry.
"Professor, please. I don't want to appear rude. My feelings on this have been made quite clear, and I'm really not interested in discussing them. Nobody has been particularly interested in following the rules of this school on my behalf, and as such, I plan on going somewhere that will. Good evening, ma'am"
"Petrificus Totalis!" intoned McGonagall, pointing her wand at the center of Harry's chest. The spell shot out of the end of her wand, hit Harry squarely, and rebounded off hitting McGonagall. Her arms and legs snapped together, and she fell over with a muffled thump.
"What is it with these people? Talk about bullies!" said Harry, becoming a bit more irate. "Could I get a hand here, please?" Harry was trying to lift the woman up onto one of the common room couches. A thickset sixth year came over and gave him a hand, grabbing her under the shoulders.
"Finite Incantantum," said the student, releasing McGonagall from her own curse. "Are you alright, Professor"
She waved the young man off, staring angrily at Harry. Her lips were pressed into a fine, thin line. Harry had seen that look before on his Aunt's face.
"Professor McGonagall, I don't quite understand what the problem is. I've been here a week, and it's been mostly good. However, the student rules are very clear. I don't have to tolerate abuse from anyone - let alone a teacher. When I brought my problem to your attention, I find I've got a headmaster that's allowing and encouraging it? Please. If I've missed something, by all means tell me." Harry sat down in one of the common room chairs facing the couch.
"Mister Potter. This is not the place to be having this discussion. You are to come with me, back to the Headmaster's office"
"Professor," said Harry "this isn't something I'm going to negotiate about. Either officially pull me from Professor Snape's class, or I am leaving. I have to say I'm pretty pleased that I'm protected in such a way that your strange bullying isn't affecting me"
There was a murmur through the common room. McGonagall was staring hard at Harry through angry eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it.
Harry sighed. "Why won't you people be reasonable? I'm making a very simple request about the education I am paying for. I may be eleven years old, but even I know teachers aren't supposed to harass students in school. The school rules are really clear, too. I can ask to withdraw from a class, even without my parent's consent. So, I'm doing just that. Please. You're my head of house. I'm supposed to be able to rely on you. Fix this"
HPHPHP
After the scene in the common room had died down, Harry followed Professor McGonagall back to the Headmaster's office. As they entered, Harry saw Professor Snape stretched out on a couch as Madame Pomfrey went over him with a wand. Everyone seemed very tense except for Harry. He was very well aware of his situation and knew he had the right of it.
He was also very pleased to find out that his older self had anticipated all these problems and protected him accordingly. Smiling widely, he took a seat in one of the available chairs and waited quietly for things to settle down.
After the healer was finished, she left the office pulling the door closed behind herself. Harry looked from Professor Snape still laying out on the couch over to the Headmaster sitting behind his desk.
"Mister Potter. I must say, you're rather full of surprises," said Dumbledore with not a single trace of humour in his voice.
"Well, Headmaster, I have only myself to thank." Harry giggled as he said it, his eyes glittering.
Snape was furiously sputtering, growing redder in the face by the moment. "You see, Headmaster? Muggles or not, this boy is exactly like his pathetic father. Arrogant as well as stupid"
"Headmaster Dumbledore, please understand. Professor McGonagall asked me to come back here in an attempt to sort things out peacefully. I have tolerated all the abuse I'm going to from Professor Snape. You have two options. Pull me from the potions class, or I will be leaving. I don't mean to be rude, sir. I know the rules and my rights. I am merely exercising them." Harry was sitting calmly with his hands in his lap again. His wand was in his wrist holster, but he really hadn't felt much need to draw it.
Dumbledore leaned in, staring intently into Harry's eyes. Snape leaned forward quickly, "No, Headmaster! Don't"
The Headmaster cried out, falling backwards out of his chair and onto the floor. The phoenix trilled a soft song, trying to calm everyone in the room as it flew down to land next to Dumbledore.
Snape lurched to his feet, stumbling around the desk. "I tried to warn you, Albus." he ground out as he started bleeding from the nose again. "Somehow, Potter is a very powerful natural occlumens - and his defenses are both automatic and extremely violent"
McGonagall looked appalled. "You mean..." she put a hand to her mouth.
"What?" said Harry, looking around. He wasn't sure exactly what they meant, but he was certain that his older self had helped him in some way.
Albus Dumbledore was very carefully getting back up with Snape lending a supporting hand. "Again, Mister Potter. You are just full of surprises." the old man pulled a pink handkerchief out of a pocket somewhere, and wiped a little blood from his nose. Sitting down in his chair again, he considered the young man before him quite carefully.
"Headmaster? I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt," said Harry.
"Well, it seems we have no choice in this matter. Regardless of what I want, it seems you're going to get your way. Understand, Mister Potter, that without acceptable scores in the subject of potions from a credible tutor, you're going to find it very difficult to move on to more advanced subjects later." the Headmaster's voice was cold and serious. "Furthermore, it is unbecoming of a young man to show such terrible disrespect to the professors here in this way"
Harry just shrugged. "Respect is earned, sir. Not given, and certainly not something you can just force. I made a reasonable request, and so far this evening I have been attacked by no fewer than three adult wizards. So, please forgive me if I seem a little... surly"
Snape drew himself up to his full height. "Mark my words boy. I'll show you what it means disrespect me. If you think you're going to just get away with this"
Harry stared pointedly at Snape. "That's it. I was willing to overlook your poor attitude before. However, if you think you can threaten me, then go ahead. Do your worst. I've dealt with bullies before." Harry stood up. "Come on, man. If you think you've got the minerals, then take your best shot. I'm only an eleven year old wizard kid"
Professor McGonagall gasped at what she was seeing. She looked between Snape and Potter anxiously, not daring to come between them.
"Well, Headmaster? You going to call off your angry dog here? I've already decided. I'm leaving and getting private tutoring. All that's left is for me to actually finish packing." Harry had turned away from Snape to face Dumbledore.
Snape had drawn his wand and was pointing it at Harry's back.
"From behind even? Go for it then, Snape. You are no longer my teacher. So far, the only thing I've learned from you is how big an ass you can be." Harry turned around very slowly to stare up at the dark robed man. "You take your very best shot. I'm begging you. So far, my muggle cousin Dudley has put up a better fight than the lot of you"
Snape grabbed the front of Harry's robes, walking towards the door only to find himself unable to budge the boy from where he was standing. Harry hadn't drawn his wand or even uncrossed his arms.
"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough, sir." Harry spat out the last word. "Either hex me, or get out of the way. You have no power over me at all except to continue delaying my leaving. That is all." Snape tugged harder on Harry's robes, yanking with all his strength. He may as well have been trying to drag a marble column for all the good it was doing him.
Snape let go of Harry's robes, stepped back and slashed viciously downward with his wand. "Sectumsempra!" he roared. The curse hit Harry squarely in the chest, slashing his robes open. However it just bounced off of his skin, rebounding forcefully right into Spape's own body, rending it in half. Snape slumped to the floor with a wet wheezing sound, a look of absolute surprise on his face.
Harry shrugged. As disgusting as this was, he'd seen worse in slasher movies - and it's really pretty hard to get all worked up when someone hurts themselves trying to hurt you. He turned back around to face the Headmaster.
"Goodness. Don't anyone try to help their friend. Though, seems to me that Snapey here didn't have many friends. I bet he had bad breath, too." Harry chuckled quietly. "Well then. I guess that takes care of that. If you don't mind, Headmaster, since the potions problem has been sorted, I'd like to get back to my common room and get my homework done for my other classes"
Harry smiled pleasantly, standing in front of Snape's rapidly cooling corpse. Nobody in the room had so much as moved a muscle. Dumbledore blinked once, very slowly. He looked down at his deceased potions master and then back at Harry.
Professor McGonagall spoke first. "Er.. yes, Mister Potter. Let's get you back to your common room. Headmaster." She reached out a hand, slowly, to guide Harry out of the office. Meeting no resistance, she let Harry lead the way.
"Ma'am, if it's any help, I'm sorry Professor Snape hurt himself. The spell he used looked like it would have done me a lot of damage if it had been able to hurt me." Harry was looking up at his head of house. Really, he hadn't wanted to leave - but he'd be damned if he was going to let people push him around when he didn't have to take it.
She seemed to be walking in a bit of a daze, just following Harry along. Once they got to the common room door, Harry gave the password and headed inside. "Try to have a good night, Professor"
HPHPHP
Albus Dumbledore was having a bad morning. His head was still pounding, even after some mild pain potions. Now he had to find a new potions master, and he was seriously hacked off that Severus had gotten himself killed. Stupidly, to boot. It should have been obvious that Potter was just egging him on - he couldn't believe how easy it had been done.
He sighed again, rubbing one of his temples with an ancient finger. It didn't seem like Potter himself was making a particularly big deal about this business - other than to say he'd worked things out with the Headmaster and his head of house.
McGonagall entered the office and took a seat. "Albus, I don't know what to do about all of this"
"I'm going to make a public statement about Severus this evening at dinner. He's had a medical emergency that he simply must attend to, and we'll work to pick up the slack in his potions classes during his absence. Next term, when we replace him, we'll just make it clear the young man decided he had some more important work to take care of." slumping a little in his chair, he looked every one of his over one hundred and fifty years.
"The real killer, Minerva, is that there's nothing we can do. There is no kind of reciprocity we can bring to bear against Mister Potter. He never even drew his wand. Severus basically killed himself"
She looked downcast at this, "I understand, Albus. Honestly, I'm not sure why or how this got so far out of hand. He was in the right, asking to be pulled from Severus' class. I've asked a couple of the other students, and they confirmed Potter's story about Snape's attitude. Apparently, old childhood grudges die hard"
"Did you not understand what I was trying to do, Minerva? I needed that child weak and pliable. Severus' primary function was to continually bait Potter. He's not here to learn anything. He's only here so that we can watch him, and then throw him at Voldemort once he returns. That's it." Dumbledore continued, "That's why I left him with those muggles. There are no blood wards - there never were. I knew Lily's family, and Petunia Dursley was as anti-magic as you could be. Did you know that she'd written me a letter and begged Lily to send it with her owl? She pleaded with me to teach her magic too, just like her sister"
HPHPHP
Harry continued going to classes, including potions - since it was being administered by an appointed ministry employee. He wasn't having any difficulties now, since nobody wanted to antagonize him any more. There was a notice posted in the Gryffindor common room, giving the time and date of upcoming flying lessons for first year students. Harry was bouncing with joy. He'd never flown before, but was sure he'd be brilliant at it.
HPHPHP
People were giving Harry a wide berth. The particulars of Professor Snape's sudden departure weren't exactly known however it was plain to see that Harry Potter was somehow the cause of it. Draco Malfoy was taking it very personally that Snape had left, and had decided to go out of his way to start bothering Harry whenever the opportunity presented itself.
"Are you serious, Malfoy? You're pointing a wand at me, so I expect you're serious"
Harry and Draco were standing about ten feet apart, Draco's wand levelled at Harry's chest.
"That's right, Potter. I don't know what you did, but Professor Snape is gone and somehow it's your fault. What have you done? Precious Boy-what-lived was pants at potions and used his fame to get my Godfather sacked. Just wait until my father hears about this"
Harry just shrugged. "You might want to not point your wand at me, Malfoy. Last person who did didn't come off very well as a result." He just stood there, eyeing the blonde, waiting. "Besides. Wizards pointing wands is like muggles pointing guns at one another. Either get on with it, or put it away." Harry turned and walked in the opposite direction.
Draco yelled some curse or another that Harry couldn't be arsed to even pay attention to. He knew full well by this point that he seemed to be pretty much curse-proof, so there wasn't even any point in turning around to see what Malfoy had done to himself. He just wandered off to charms class and waited for things to get rolling.
HPHPHP
Flying lessons came on full speed. Harry found himself out on the pitch amongst his fellow first years standing along side a broom. Having basically been raised as a muggle, he found it difficult to reconcile his idea that this cleaning implement was actually going to be used for flying. In fact, even if they were going to all get on a broom and start flying around, Harry found this to be terribly anachronistic and quaint. There was no other word to describe it but quaint. As if the wizarding world was like some dotty old aunt that just couldn't stop collecting and putting out doilies under everything in her house, despite the fact that the practice had fallen from fashion fifty years previous.
"Still can't believe this." Harry mumbled under his breath. "Bloody brooms. Who knew"
Madame Hooch had instructed everyone in the basics of gripping a broom once everyone had one in hand. As soon as she described how to kick off and began counting down for the students to begin, Harry watched Neville Longbottom start floating off the ground.
"Mister Longbottom!" called out Hooch, stopping her count. "Mister.."
Neville took off almost straight into the air. Harry could see right away that the podgy boy was going to be in a lot of trouble very quickly, and launched himself into the air to try and help without hardly a thought to what he was doing.
"Hold on, Neville! I'm coming!" yelled Harry. He wasn't sure Neville had heard, however. He'd canted sideways off his broom and was dangling there by a leg and one hand, screeching madly. Madame Hooch wasn't too far behind Harry but the raven haired boy pulled up along side Neville before he'd had a chance to completely fall off.
Neville chose that point to let go of his broom, and fell into Harry, grabbing him in a bear hug.
"Just hold onto me, Neville. I gotcha." Neville just whimpered into the back of Harry's robes and clung to him for dear life. "Madame Hooch?" Harry addressed the teacher as she pulled along side the two.
"Well done, Mister Potter. It looks like Mister Longbottom might be in need of a calming draught. Why don't you escort him to the infirmary to get checked over and I'll take care of his wayward broom. Off you go"
"Thank you ma'am." Harry flew the two of them into the castle, and carefully maneuvered through the empty halls until he reached the infirmary. Under normal circumstances, Harry wouldn't have been keen on flying on a broom through the halls, but Neville wasn't letting go of his death grip. He pulled the doors open, and floated the two of them gently inside. Not seeing any other way to dislodge Neville, Harry pulled along side a bed and fell off his broom sideways onto it. Neville squawked like he'd just fallen fifty feet which drew the attention of the matron.
"What can I do for you boys?" Pomfrey bustled over to see what she might do to help the two lads.
"Ma'am, Neville's had a terrible fright during the broom flying lessons. We were sent here to see about a calming draught and to make sure he wasn't hurt"
Neville was crying softly into the back of Harry's robes, squeezing them for all he was worth. Pomfrey gently worked him loose and sat him up, handing him a handkerchief for his tears. Harry sat on the bed next to him, trying to be supportive.
"I'm sure my Gran was right," Neville sniffled. "No better than a squib, I am. Can't even manage a ruddy broom"
Pomfrey waved her wand over Neville then wandered off to the rear of the infirmary, presumably to gather something she needed.
"I wouldn't even sweat it, Neville. We'll just get you back out there later on - get the professor to run things a little closer for you." Harry wrapped an arm around Neville's shoulders, and gave him a brotherly squeeze. "I'll make sure I'm there, just in case." Neville looked over at Harry as he winked. Neville gave a weak smile and scrubbed his face with the cloth to clean up the tear tracks.
Pomfrey returned with a vial of something that tasted sort of bland, but seemed to drive some color back into Neville's cheeks. "There you are young man. You aren't injured in any way, so one calming draught was all you needed. Mister Potter? Please escort your friend to the Great Hall. I expect lunch is under way"
Nodding, Harry stood up and turned around to face Neville. "Let's get some food, mate." He offered a hand.
Neville looked up at Harry, his eyes full of fear. "They're all going to make so much fun of me. I don't know if I'll be able to bear it"
Dropping his hand, Harry eyed Neville directly. "If they feel some serious need to make fun of you for something you can't control, I'll be sure to introduce them to my boot." he said with steel in his voice. "You heard the woman. We're friends - and nobody gets to harsh on my friends. Got it?" He stuck his hand out again, this time with more force. "Now let's go"
HPHPHP
Lunch after flying lessons went well enough. Anyone that thought they could harass Neville got the bad end of Harry's ire. Malfoy seemed determined to be a menace, as usual.
"Well, if it isn't the lump of Gryffindor." somehow Malfoy seemed graced with the ability to sneer with just his voice.
"Malfoy, we started off the year on such good terms. Why do you feel the need to act such the prat?" Harry turned to stare at Draco. "Besides. You're interrupting our lunch, which is going to make me irritable. Getting me all cranky isn't a good idea"
"Psht. What are you going to do, Potter? Feeling brave, are you? Well, you Gryffindors might be known for bravery but certainly not for your intellect." Crabbe and Goyle both loomed menacingly at each side of Draco.
Neville was shaking in his seat as Harry decided enough was enough. Standing up, he faced all three boys right in the center of the great hall. There were no professors at the head table, so everyone present knew this was going to escalate fast. They were also stunned to see little Harry Potter standing face to face with three students - two of which were much larger than he was.
"I dunno, Malfoy. I'd say I'm pretty brave - I mean, there's three of you and one of me. Though I doubt you'd have come over here without your two goons. Here. I'll make this real easy. It seems like Slytherins won't actually attack me unless they can do it from behind." He turned around to face away.
Crabbe and Goyle looked at Draco for some sort of direction. The blonde just jerked his chin at Harry while looking at Crabbe. The larger boy reached out to grab Harry, got a full handful of robes and then just stopped. He started tugging and shoving but Harry didn't budge.
"Huh." Harry simply turned himself around to face the larger boy, throwing him off balance. "Is that all you've got? What? All three of you can't even move a little waif like myself?" He stared pointedly at Goyle. "Come on then. If you're going to hit me, then hit me. My lunch is waiting"
Goyle smashed Harry straight in the face, as hard as he could. Not actually registering that he'd shattered some of the bones in his hand he actually hit Harry again. This time he seemed to notice something was wrong. Pulling away, the other students could see that Goyle's right hand was a crushed mess of bones and bruises. He just sat down on the floor, staring stupidly at his hand. Crabbe was still wrenching on Harry's robes for all he was worth as Harry reached down to pick up his glasses since Goyle had knocked them off his face with his flailing about.
"Hmpf" was all Harry said as he reached over to a bowl with buns in it, dumping the buns. Whirling, he hit Crabbe with it in the face again and again. The larger boy went down on the third hit, but Harry dropped to a knee and continued to savage him, breaking his nose and really working him over. A few hits more, and Harry stood up from a whimpering Crabbe and turned to face Draco.
"Now that I've evened the odds some," Harry swung the bowl with all his might and caught Crabbe in the temple with it, putting him out cold. "You and I are going to have words, Draco." Harry lunged and caught a fistful of the front of the blonde boy's robes. "You'll notice nobody has come to save you. To stop this. That's because this is entertainment around here it seems. So, I'm going to cap this show off right. Also, I'm not going to get into any trouble at all - because nobody cares. There isn't a single person here that's going to raise an eyebrow because I've slapped you and your two bully friends in the face and put you where you belong"
Harry slapped Draco in the mouth with his free hand as Draco tried to fumble his wand out of his pocket. "Bah. Your stupid stick isn't going to help you now, boy." He drove Draco's head into the table, scattering his dishes around. Satisfied with the sound Draco's head was making, he decided to repeat the act a few more times as hard as he could. "I have to say, you're lucky we're not a little older, boy. If I were big and strong like your two friends here, you probably wouldn't see tomorrow." Harry helped introduce Draco's face to the table a couple more times. "As it stands, however, I'm just a little slip of an underfed, unloved, malnourished child. This has left me with little physical strength but plenty of anger to take out on bullies. This is what happens when I'm cranky, boy. I start acting out"
Draco was struggling in Harry's grip, but he wasn't faring very well as Harry was punctuating his dialogue with either the head to table action, or to kick one of Draco's two minions. "So here's how this is going to go. You. Are. Going. To. Leave. Gryffindors. Alone. Period." Draco was almost unconscious from the abuse Harry was heaping upon his person. Heaving the blonde boy to his feet face to face with Harry, he slapped him across the face to get his obviously lacking attention. "Do you understand? What you're seeing right now is me acting cranky. Imagine how painful this might have been if I'd actually gotten angry. Now. Sod off." Harry dumped Draco on the ground, on top of Crabbe.
"Whew!" Harry pushed his hair up off his sweat covered forehead. "Who knew manhandling people made you so hungry!" With that, he dug into some lunch completely ignoring the shocked looks he was getting from everyone around him.
"What"
HPHPHP
As Harry and Neville walked back to the Gryffindor common room, Harry found himself whistling a jaunty tune. Neville hadn't said a word the whole time, but gave the password as they got to the opening. As the painting came open, a roaring noise came pouring out into the hall and the weasley twins lunged out to scoop Harry up one under each arm. Or they would have if they could have budged him. As it stood, they hooked him under the arms, went to move, and found themselves both hanging off of Harry's side.
"Sorry lads, I don't move unless I'm doing the moving." He gave them a kind of lopsided smile, helped them up and all four boys climbed into the common room to raucous applause and cheering. Harry just stood there and looked around. Almost every single Gryffindor at Hogwart's was stuffed into the common room or on the stairs, cheering and yelling for Harry.
Harry lowered his head bashfully. About thirty seconds more passed, and the twins held up their hands for silence. Harry looked up and around. Every eye was on him, obviously wanting to know what happened. The Boy-who-lived had demonstrated that he was indeed worthy of being the saviour of the wizarding world once again, and they wanted to hear the story straight from him.
"I gather you lot want to know what happened out there today? Why I just handed out the unholy beat down to three most deserving Slytherin bullies?" The assembled students went wild at this, hooting and yelling again. Harry just smiled and waited. They all quieted down more quickly. Too quickly, Harry thought. He turned as the common room door opened to allow Professor McGonagall entrance. Every single person froze.
"Yes, Mister Potter. I would very much like to know exactly what brought on such a savage display in the Great Hall during lunch"
Harry nodded both to her, and to all assembled. "Very simply, here's what happened. I just put an end to three Slytherin bullies. Period. For all time." He paused to draw in a breath, for he was speaking very loudly now. "If I hadn't stomped those three something fierce, they might have felt it was somehow ok for them to continue their evil ways. Nipping this problem NOW solves it LATER. Now they've been taught that it hurts when you do something stupid"
"Professor, you said on my first day here that my house was my family. Well, I took that message very much to heart. So when Malfoy and his cronies decided they had a problem with a Gryffindor, they were taking aim at my FAMILY. I am a Gryffindor and I tell you right now, I'd have done the same to anyone that dared to threaten me and mine. Understand? ANYONE. I don't care if the saintly POPE himself comes in here trying to hit someone with his Pope Staff, I'm going to fight him. Him and his pointy hat." This caused a few snickers to break out amongst the students. In fact, it seemed that McGonagall was having trouble keeping a smile off of her face as well.
She opened her mouth to say something but Harry cut her off before she could start. "Professor, there's just one more thing. You can't possible say anything about going and getting a professor or an adult. I've seen how that goes already. In primary school, my own cousin made sure I was bruised and battered as often as he could catch me - and going to an adult never accomplished ANYTHING except making the beatings worse later when he caught me when there wasn't an adult. You have to deal with this sort of thing yourself - and here, it's compounded something major by one simple fact. Every single student here has a lethal weapon at their disposal. For the record, Draco tried to bring his wand to bear - and I never bothered to draw mine. Didn't need to. So, nothing I did was potentially lethal, but he was willing to up the stakes right away. I'm not going to tolerate bullying in any form if I catch it, and I CERTAINLY won't turn my back on my housemates. I'm a Gryffindor, and WE. LEAVE. NOBODY. BEHIND." Harry was punching his hand with a fist to accent what he was saying.
The room exploded into cheers and applause again. Harry turned to face his housemates. "The last thing I've got to say is that I'm not happy with how this went. I didn't want to have to hurt someone; however he refused to see reason and has pushed me and mine every chance he gets. So, I had to deal with it in a way that made it clear that there was going to be no more discussion on the subject. Please understand. I had no choice. If I'd have let it go today, it would have been worse later. Better to get it over with now than to put it off." People were nodding in agreement. "We stand together in this house - but don't become bullies yourselves. I'd probably get pretty cranky about it." He chucked along with his housemates at this and plopped down on one of the couches to take a breather.
Professor McGonagall sat down beside him, not saying anything. The students began to disperse, some taking the time to clap Harry on the shoulder or fire him the thumbs up.
HPHPHP