Hey guys, nice seeing you all! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope you all spent a good time these past weeks.
Here I present to you this week's chapter. I hope you like it because it proved me difficult to make it and it may reflect in itself. I look forward to see your reviews, they help me keep up with the story.
Now, my vacations are almost over and I'll have to go bak to college and work so I may take a little bit longer to publish the next chapters so please bear with me.
Regarding the story, please, give me suggestions about it, things you may like to see or not to, I can work it out. Even though I have a 'script' about what would like to see in this story, this doesn't mean it's perfect and all, so your input could help me make this story better.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter nor it's universe or characters.
UPDATE: Now, probably you received the update of one or two chapter, sorry about that, thing is that I rewrote the opening sequence of chapter one and to a more believable way and I changed the conversation of the Grangers because it was too similar too Seel'Vor's Quantum Leap (Thanks RobC for pointing that out. This time I did it totally unconsciously, however I won't deny that said story is one of my inspirations fo my story).}
Thanks again.
Harry found himself in the Headmaster's office along with Hermione, Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, the Weasley family and his own family, namely Sirius, Moony and Andromeda.
The air felt tense, never in his whole life Harry had been sent to the Headmaster's office until he got Hogwarts. This was the second occasion and the reason he was brought required the presence of his legal guardians.
"Now that we are all here, I would like to have some light of the events that occurred this morning, so, who would like to be first?" asked the aged Headmaster.
"Potter offended my family and I wanted retribution!" spat Percy arrogantly, believing his words were all that was needed to know to excuse his behavior. Ron was nodding in support of his brother, "That's right, he had beaten me before and he was never punished and he accused me of being the reason Granger was almost killed!" Ron explained.
The members of the Pack kept quiet, watching how Harry was going to handle this issue. They knew he could and they weren't actually needed there, but they were going to help their cub if needed.
'Let them speak all they want Harry, you need to keep calm and be the better man' Hermione told Harry through their mind link, to which Harry replied, 'I know… is just… can't things be easy for once, I never really wanted to fight but you know as well as I do that Dumb and Dumber weren't going to drop this'
'Yes, I know Harry, but still, it happened, let's just face it as it is and keep going forward, there's no use in thinking the could have or would have, so let's see what we can learn from this' Hermione told his boyfriend.
They were brought back to the issue by Dumbledore's voice, "Tell me Mr. Potter is it true that you physically assaulted young Mr. Weasley?"
Harry nodded, "Yes Headmaster, when we came to Hogwarts, we sat on the same compartment, Malfoy came wanting to meet me and one thing led to another, so in the end I revealed that Malfoy and I are related, a brief discussion happened after the albino left, Ron tried to hit me, I just twisted his arm and he left" Harry explained.
Mrs. Weasley was feeling indignant, "My baby!" she said as she held Ron in a motherly hug and then she glared at the Headmaster, "Albus, I will not tolerate the abuse that my son had been submitted" she turned to shot another glare to Harry, "I want him expelled for this!" she said.
Harry couldn't help but smile, 'Poor Ronnie boy can't defend himself so mommy has to come' he thought as he saw Ron's face, he looked like if HE had managed to expel Harry.
Hermione smiled at the comment but still she admonished Harry mentally, 'Be nice, the poor boy doesn't know how to handle grown-up issues' she said while trying to hide her smirk.
Dumbledore nodded at Molly Weasley's words in understanding and he turned to see Harry again, "What do you have to say about yesterday's actions when you assaulted Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter?"
Harry scowled, "We were going to the Great Hall after Charms, earlier in class, Hermione helped Ron to do a spell, however Mr. Weasley here, took it as something bad, as something annoying, and when we head out of class he started berating and insulting her thinking that nobody could hear him"
Harry said this and side glanced at Ron and spoke again, "Is a shame that Ronald has no knowledge of subtlety, so his rant was heard by Neville, Hermione and I. Of course, this made me mad, so I punched him in the ribs. When Hermione passed by crying, this made me angrier and hit him one more time and I warned him not to cause her to cry again or we would have words" the Boy-Who-Lived explained.
Hermione was angry that Harry seemed to fix everything with his fists, but she felt happy to know she could really count on Harry. Guilt was present too, but Harry's voice soothed her, 'Hermione I don't want you to feel guilty by my actions, I was the one who hit him, not you, and even though I did this because of you, I don't want you to feel bad about it. He has no right to judge you or insult you, remember the words he said, they weren't nice words, and besides… you are worth it Hermione' he told her mentally.
Hermione blushed at her boyfriend's comments and calmed down, 'Alright Harry, but please try to avoid this next time, I don't want you to have problems because of me' she told her best friend.
The green eyed wizard agreed with her, 'Hermione, I don't like fighting but I will if necessary, however I promise you this, I'll try to avoid confrontations and only respond if I receive the first hit' Hermione agreed to the term of his promise, 'Alright, that will do, however do try not to get hit, one thing is you fighting and avoid a fight, and another thing is you let yourself get hurt to protect someone or give someone a lesson' she told him.
During this mental conversation, Molly was ranting about Harry being a violent thug, a bully and a menace to society.
Sirius was holding his tongue barely; he wanted to shout at the plump woman. Moony and Andy were having a bad time trying to restrain themselves, they heard Harry's reasons and, while they weren't happy about his actions they agreed with his motives.
McGonagall was mad, 'This is not what Mr. Finnegan told me yesterday' she thought, 'And why Harry nor Mr. Longbottom didn't say this before?' she asked herself.
Albus again nodded in understanding, "Now, Mr. Potter, what is this that because of Mr. Weasley, you and Miss Granger were nearly killed by the troll that entered the school?" the bearded man asked.
The five guests gasped in horror of the revelation, even those of the Pack.
"If Ronald hadn't made Hermione run off, the troll would have never found her in the bathroom and I would have never had the need to go looking for her" Harry explained simply.
Dumbledore nodded again (Harry was becoming annoyed at his condescending attitude), "Lastly, could you explain why you faced Mr. and Mr. Weasley in a duel?"
"Well, Percy was demanding to do so, so told him no; I even used my title as Head of House to make him go away since I didn't wanted to make this issue something bigger. I did a comment of not wanting to make this a Blood Feud, but he used that comment to made me accept; he said, and I quote: 'Then as Head of House you should know that you are compelled to acknowledge every challenge of honor, for it helps, as you wisely said, to avoid a Blood Feud' end quote" Harry explained relaxed and he then added, "If I didn't knew better, this would be considered blackmail, or at least in the muggle world it would"
'Are you sure you're a Gryffindor, because to me you sounded like a Slytherin' Hermione joked. Harry blew her a mentally raspberry.
The older Weasleys were shocked to hear what Harry had said about Percy. They knew that Harry, as head of his House, could just ask for Percy's live as a compensation for his rude behavior and actions. They knew that if Harry had killed him or Ron, no one would have been able to protest since it would have been his right. Molly Weasley decided to backpedal her aggressiveness.
It was a funny scene to look at the elder Weasleys apologizing for their sons' behavior. Harry just laughed, "Mr. And Ms. Weasley, I have no ill feeling against your family at all. The only thing I could ask for is that Ron stop acting like a git against Hermione and that Percy get his priorities straight and not take others words for granted, that he investigates when an accusation is made. That's all I ask"
Arthur Weasley nodded, "Alright Lord Potter, we'll see that your demands are accomplished" the man said seriously.
Molly was fuming, 'Who does that boy thinks he is?' she thought, but kept her tongue after her husband sent her a glare.
McGonagall escorted the Weasley family to her office where they would wait for her to arrive and deal the situation of her redheaded lions.
Back in the office Professor Dumbledore was looking at the members of the Pack while his head was berating, 'Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter should have been best friends and not enemies, I have to fix this' he thought.
"Mr. Potter, I know you are aware of the rules of the school so I'll have to remove fifty points from Gryffindor for your wrongdoing, and as your punishment, you'll have to spend detention with young Mr. Weasley as this could have been prevented if you had a better relation with your housemates" the Headmaster said sternly.
He then addressed to Sirius, "Sirius, I expected more from you, I believe this was the reason I sent Harry to the Dursleys in the first place. If Harry had stayed in their house, this conversation should have never occurred"
Sirius finally couldn't hold his tongue, "And if he had stayed in that house the conversation right now would be about identifying is corpse in the morgue!" he shouted at the old man.
Dumbledore snorted, "My boy, I believe that exaggerating things lead to nowhere"
Harry was the one who exploded this time, "EXAGGERATING! You think Sirius is exaggerating! Let me show you" Harry said as he removed his robes and his shirt, he turned his to show the Headmaster the treatment received by his relatives.
"Is this exaggerating?!" Harry said as he motioned his scarred back.
Hermione had a few tears running down her cheeks, it was, after all, just yesterday that she had seen Harry's scars, so the shock was still present. Her gaze however, had fierce determination and loyalty towards the raven haired wizard, she was determined to protect him and to stand by his side.
The Pack had already seen the scars before on different occasions, but no matter the times they had, it was still hard to be objective and it was hard to resist the temptation to go and rip the Dursleys to pieces.
"Harry, what did you do to deserve this?" Dumbledore asked concerned, thinking Harry had to be indeed a miscreant to have received this kind of punishment, since his reports from the Dursleys mentioned that Harry used to misbehave in a daily basis.
Hermione jumped on her boyfriend's defense, "He did NOTHING to deserve this! This was his fifth birthday gift from those animals!"
Dumbledore acted shocked when in reality he was angry, 'If he had stayed like planned this would have made him in the perfect puppet!' he thought.
"Harry… I'm sorry, I-I didn't know…" Dumbledore said in shame (that was false obviously).
"Of course you didn't! You never cared for him as far as we know! If you had taken the time to go and look how he was you would have noticed that he had been abused!" Sirius shouted.
Dumbledore knew that this was a lost fight, so he would have to think in other ways to regain control of the Boy-Who-Lived, 'Is for the Greater Good' he thought to himself. He excused everyone from his office.
The Pack decided to have some quality time with their pups so they asked Professor McGonagall permission to stay in the grounds for a few hours. It was after this that the Pack was sitting in one of the guests' quarters.
"So Harry, won't you introduce us to your friend?" Sirius asked with a grin on his face. Hermione had been with them since they were taken to the Headmaster's office and she had been given permission to stay with Harry and the Pack at their request.
Harry turned to Hermione and smiled 'You realize that we're in for merciless teasing?' he told her mentally, 'I don't mind to endure it for you' she answered him, 'I don't deserve you' Harry told her lovingly causing her smile to broaden, 'Plus, this will be training for when you meet my parents' she said shyly, Harry's smile grew as well as she said those words, since he knew that that meant that she wanted this to be serious just like he did.
Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and he finally spoke, "Sirius, this is the girl I've been talking about in these previous weeks" he said and he turned to see Hermione, "Hermione, this is my family; my godfather, Sirius Black; my aunt Andy, and my uncle Remus" while he introduced everyone, Hermione shook hands with them, when he finished, he was beamed and he added the most important introduction, "Everyone, this lovely lady standing with me is my girlfriend, Hermione Granger"
Sirius and Remus' grins were predatory, while Andromeda had a nicer smile. The group of people started talking among themselves, trying to get to know Hermione and asking about their classes. Dora and Susan arrived a few minutes later.
Susan told them adults about the troll and Andy caught the glances between Harry and Hermione, and she asked them if they knew anything about it.
Harry decided to confide in them what had happened. The whole group was amazed to know that Harry and Hermione had defeated the troll. After a couple of hours of talking the adults had to leave. The four students returned to their respective dorms and called it a night.
-oOo-
The days kept going fast with and Harry found himself in the compartment back from Hogwarts with Neville, Hermione, Susan, Dora and Daphne Greengrass while talking and Harry was thinking about all the past events in the term.
-oOo-
The days prior to the match, Oliver had given the Lions gruesome training. Harry had been nervous all morning trying to grab a bite of food. Hermione's unconditional support was what had kept him going since he couldn't eat out of nervousness. Hermione by the other hand had been reading 'Quidditch Through the Ages' trying to know the sport her boyfriend practiced as well as coming with him to the practices.
The time came and Harry found himself flying around the pitch while looking for the snitch when suddenly his broom started moving erratically, 'HARRY! Hang on!' Hermione told him mentally.
"What's going on?" Neville asked to Hermione, "Somebody messed with the broom!" Tonks answered. Hermione instinctively turned to see the teachers and saw Snape muttering something while looking at Harry without blinking. "It's Snape! He's doing something to Harry's broom!" Hermione shouted.
Hermione started walking to the stairs to head to the Professors area when Tonks stopped her, "Hermione, let me handle this, I can get there faster than you" she said while Hermione nodded in hesitation. Tonks started running towards her target.
'Harry, hang in there! Tonks is taking care of this and I'm trying to stabilize the broom' Hermione told Harry mentally, directing her wand at Harry using the Levitation spell to counter the violent trashes of the broom.
Tonks ran as fast as she could dodging students. When she got to the stands, she had a sudden stroke of genius she lit Snape's robe on fire making him jump startled, pushing Professor Quirrel to the floor.
Harry's broom stopped trashing and the emerald eyes wizard took control of his broom again. Harry quickly spotted the snitch and dived to the ground in his effort to catch the shiny little ball. A few feet from crashing to the ground, he used his feet to change his broom's direction and started flying parallel to the floor, standing on the broom and getting the snitch.
A huge wave of applause could be heard through the stadium, the Gryffindors were cheering Harry and the team for winning and the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws did the same but for managing to defeat the Slytherins.
Harry flew to where Hermione was standing and hovered in front of her. He did a quick Scourgify to clean his shirt and a small odor removal charm and he removed it and gave Hermione his shirt. Hermione was wide-eyed. She had read in the Quidditch book that players gave their shirts only to their girlfriends. She was blushing madly because of Harry's way to declare that she was his girlfriend. He closed the deal giving her a peek on the lips. A massive 'Aaww' could be heard from the girls of the school.
Harry smiled at Hermione who was beaming in happiness.
After the match, Hagrid invited him to his hut where he congratulated Harry for his performance on the match.
"Ye know 'Arry, ye did a fin' job gett'n tha snitch" Hagrid told the first year. Hagrid seemed somber, "'Arry, I been want'n to meet ya, I was friend of yer folks, ye know, I miss tha' pair… Yer mum was alwa's kind to me, and yer pop's always treat'd me like a friend, both good people" Hagrid told Harry with tears on his face.
Hagrid told him a little bit about him and his school year. Harry found himself liking the big man more and more and they spent a couple of hours talking about Harry's parents and the conversation turned to their likings, were Harry found about Hagrid's fondness of big animals.
"Hey Hagrid, did you know that there's a Cerberus looked in the school?" Harry asked the half-giant, to which the man narrowed his eyes, "Who told you about Fluffy?" he asked.
"That dog has a name? And it's Fluffy?!" Harry asked astonished, "Of course it has a name! e's mine; I lend it to Dumbledore to protect tha…" Hagrid trailed off.
"You lend it to him to protect what?" Harry asked innocently while he tilted his head to a side in curiosity, "I'm sorry 'Arry but can't tell ya, wha's hidd'n in tha castle is business of Profess'r Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel" he said then he gasped wide-eyed "I shouldn' have said tha'…" he mussed to himself.
Harry grinned at the slip and he decided to return to the castle to avoid getting the big man in trouble, 'Although, if I stayed here I'm pretty sure I could make him reveal what's going on here but that would be wrong' he thought as he left Hagrid's hut.
When he arrived to the tower he confided in Hermione and Neville about his findings with Hagrid, however neither of the students knew who Nicholas Flamel was so they decided Harry would ask when he went to his house for Christmas Holidays.
The next day Hermione and Neville were annoyed at Harry, he was still hyper because of the Quidditch match and he was thinking what to do to eliminate all the adrenaline excess. Harry then smiled as he remembered something he wanted to do since he got Hogwarts.
Harry dashed to his room leaving a confused Neville and an amused Hermione as she had listened Harry's thoughts. When the Boy-Who-Lived returned, he had with him his beloved BMX mountain bike while Hedwig left hurriedly out the tower.
"Harry, absolutely not! You're going to get in trouble again" Hermione scolded him, "Hermione, pleaseeeee! I need to do something to calm myself, if I get caught I will say it was the spur of the moment, that I'm still excited about winning the match, you know I wouldn't be lying" Harry begged.
"You do realize that you only want to live up to the name of the Marauders and cause as much mischief as you can possibly manage?" she teased him.
Harry answered with a big grin. Hermione just exhaled deeply, "Just don't come to me whining when McGonagall gives you detention… and I won't visit you in the Infirmary if you get hurt" she said sternly, Harry got close to her and kissed her, "Yes I will" he kissed her again, "And yes you will" he said to the smiling Hermione. Neville was laughing at the couple's antics.
Harry headed to the portrait and turned to his friends, "Want to come and take a look? If McGonagall says something you can answer that you were trying to stop me" he said cheekily.
Neville laughed, "Sure, why not? I'll get to see what that thing is for" he said while pointing at the bike. "Honestly" was Hermione's answer but she followed Harry anyway, when they were outside of the tower, Harry started checking his bike. Tonks and Susan got there when he was inspecting the bike. Hermione frowned when she saw that Tonks had a camera (obviously charmed by Moony to avoid the magical interference).
"Wotcher Harry, ready to do this?" she said to his cousin happily, "Tonks! Don't encourage him!" Hermione scolded the sixth year girl.
"Hermione, relax, he won't get hurt… badly… if he messes this up, and about getting detention, you can just say that you were trying to stop us" Dora said cheekily while she waved her hand dismissing Hermione. 'No wonder they are cousins' Hermione thought to which Harry just smiled. Harry directed to Susan, "You can say that you were trying to stop us as well" Susan nodded.
Once ready Harry climbed on his bike Dora looked at him, "Ready cousin?" Tonks asked him, "You bet I am" Harry said. After his words, Harry set through the corridors of the castle moving his bike with mastery, doing rail tricks on the windows lower borders, jumping all around till getting to the Grand Staircase.
Harry smiled at the prospect of climbing down to the ground floor with his bike. Adding the fact that the staircases had minds of their own made it even better.
Harry turned to his family and with his wand he charmed them along with himself, "Harry, what did you do?" Hermione asked with a mix of concern and curiosity. Harry grinned, "Notice-Me-Not charms keyed towards everyone but us" Harry explained.
Hermione smiled in relief, considering the fact that they were less likely to be discovered.
Harry gained some impulse by running down the corridor until he managed to get to the first step and he jumped to the veranda. He started climbing down the stairs by jumping on the verandas and grinding down through them. He did some tricks, including 360's, grind tailed whips, he even managed to do a 'Decade' on one of the rests.
During Harry's activity, Tonks raced down with him while recording his jumps and rails, "A memory worthy of remembering" she mussed to herself.
After seven, at least for Hermione, torturous minutes, Harry had reached the Entrance Hall with a small Superman. Tonks was grinning madly and jumped on his arms, "Harry that was incredible!" she said while Hermione couldn't help but feel a little of jealousy towards Harry's cousin proximity to him (seeing a girl embrace your boyfriend with arms and legs could do that to any girl).
Harry sensed this and he stepped aside from Dora and reached Hermione who was climbing down the final steps. He hugged firmly, 'There's nothing to be jealous Mai, I'm sorry if we made you uncomfortable' he told her mentally, 'I'm sorry Harry, is just that you are really close to Tonks and, she's beautiful and all… I couldn't help myself' she explained then a thought came to her, 'Mai?' she told him mentally with a frown on her face.
Harry grinned, 'Sorry, diminutive of Mione, which is diminutive of Hermione, it just came to my head; I won't call you any other way than your name if you don't want me to' he replied to her one worded question.
Hermione smiled sweetly at him and shook her head, "No, that's alright, actually I like it, coming from you it feels nice" she said shyly, "Is way better than Herms" she said as a side comment. Harry laughed at her words and embrace her warmly, "Yeah, Herms doesn't sound nice" he said as he received a hug from his girlfriend.
They were lucky and weren't caught, so they spend the rest of the term without any detention or punishment other than the one Dumbledore assigned Harry with Ron. Those were quiet hours since none of the first years made an effort to make peace among themselves. Harry thought that Ron was a jealous, immature, spoiled brat, while Ron thought that Harry was an arrogant pampered prince.
After the Quidditch match, the Slytherin students started bullying the rest of the houses in many ways. Some of the fifth, sixth and seventh years snakes intimidated the third years and below, calling them names, shoving them to the sides when they were passing through, locking them in broom closets. The third and fourth years messed with the other's student's works in their classes and mob attacked them, threatening them with detentions with Professor Snape (who obviously was eager to help his snakes), and the first and second years limited themselves to ruin the others potion in their classes with Snape who would defend them in case that the wronged student dared to talk.
Dumbledore in all his might and wisdom forgo the few complaints given to him by the other Heads (since few students were brave enough to talk) claiming 'They were just kids being kids' and his dismissals gave opportunity to the Slytherins to have retribution on those few who talked, shutting completely every resistance from the rest of the students.
Harry got to a breaking point when Snape gave took from him fifty points for spilling potion in the classroom and giving Malfoy thirty points for sabotaging his potion in plain sight by shoving his cauldron to the floor making a mess.
Hermione managed to calm Harry before he made the situation any worse. However Harry decided to do as his girlfriend said days before and 'Live up to the name of the Marauders'.
Harry decided retribution was needed and with the help of the Wonder Twins (a.k.a. Fred and George Weasley) and his fellow Marauder Cam (a.k.a. Tonks), he initiated a full out prank siege on the silver and green snakes.
He knew he needed to eliminate the Snape menace on themselves so they decided to include themselves on the pranks along with a few other random members of other houses.
The four 'avengers' made several one on one pranks to the Slytherins like removing Malfoy's robe, charmed Crabbe and Goyle to see only Malfoys en every student face, they turned Parkinson in a cow including the bell; they even made Marcus Flint's front teeth to grow until they reached the floor.
Harry did the same to Hermione under the excuse of Slytherin's payback after he saw that Madam Pomfrey reduced Marcus' teeth to a normal size and gave her the perfect excuse to reduce hers to a nicer esthetic since Hermione always complained about having beaver teeth. Hermione rewarded him by attacking him with a chain of kisses that left Harry dazed for several minutes.
They decided to make even larger pranks. The first, second and third years Slytherins found themselves wearing hot pink robes one morning; the pranksters along with Ron, Seamus and a couple of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs (Tonks and some other random guy) wore those hot pink robes too. Harry and the Twins decided to laugh along and made some fashion show poses to the rest of the student's amusement.
The third, fourth and fifth years along with several other students were suddenly attacked by their food. It was funny to see the Slytherin boys being attacked by charmed peas and the girls running from the roasted pig throwing them gravy and it was even funnier to see Ron struggling to reach a leg from a roasted chicken that decided it didn't want to be eaten. Actually the chicken managed to give him a black eye with his leg after Ron grabbed it's breast.
For the finale, they decided to put laxatives in the food of the sixth and seventh years and charmed the students of the House of Snakes with the same charm they put on Crabbe and Goyle, only this time they couldn't see the toilet paper. Harry even managed to extend the prank to Dumbledore and Snape. It was funny to see Dumbledore and Snape running top speed to their offices before the ending of their meal. And in order to avoid suspicion, the four pranksters plus Neville, Hermione and Susan acted like if they were pranked too.
-oOo-
"Think you're so smart Greengrass?" Harry listened Malfoy told the girl with an impassive face
Harry, Hermione, Neville and Susan were heading to Hufflepuff's common room to get something Susan had forgotten when they found Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson, Zabini, Nott and Bulstrode cornering one of their own housemates while walking in the dungeons (since Slytherin and Hufflepuff's common room were both in the dungeons).
Harry heard Malfoy speak again, "Tell, me little whore, who is the one who has been pranking us these past weeks?" Malfoy hissed at the blonde girl.
The Slytherin loner looked at him with a face devoid of emotion, "I have no idea of what you're talking about" she told him in a calm voice.
This time Parkinson and Bulstrode pushed their classmate towards the wall, and Parkinson said in a cruel laughing, "Come on Daphne, don't you think we wouldn't realize that you were the only one who wasn't pranked individually? That must mean that the responsible of our shame must know you… Maybe you are the one who is telling him who to prank…" Parkinson said in a whisper.
The girl, who the non-attackers found out was named Daphne, answered coldly, "What makes you believe that I told him or them… I think is quite clearly why you've all been pranked and why I haven't"
"And why is that Greengrass?" Malfoy asked in a menacing tone.
"It's obvious that the ones who had been pranked are the ones who have been responsible of bulling the rest of the students" Daphne said simply, "Is easy to figure out, this probably is work of students of one of the other houses since is the only way they can get even with you guys without being submitted to Professor Snape's punishment" she added.
Zabini and Nott nodded to her words. Unlike the rest of the first year Slytherins, these two were actually clever. Blaise Zabini came from a pureblood Italian family with the same ideals of the Malfoy family, hence the good relation between both Scions, and was cunning as hell. Nott was son of one of Voldemort's Inner Circle Death Eaters, raised by his father to be a Death Eater as soon as he had an opportunity, vicious and remorseless. Contrary to the upbringing of Draco who had been raised as a pampered prince, Theodore Nott grew up to be a smart and ferocious person.
"She may be right Malfoy, is quite obvious that we're the ones scaring the first years, she's probably innocent so let's leave her alone… for now" Nott instructed to Draco who nodded at his housemate's words.
Malfoy turned his head to Daphne, "I believe is better for you to join us, you never know when you'll need the support of the pureblood families" the first year said to her.
Greengrass just looked at him with the same impassive face as he and the rest of the Slytherins left her alone. As soon as she was by herself she sighed deeply.
Hermione took that as their cue and told the guys to approach the girl. She realized when she saw her attitude that his girl was none other than Slytherin's First Year 'Ice Queen', Daphne Greengrass.
"Hey, are you alright?" Hermione's voice sounded in the walls of the dungeon's corridor, startling the blonde girl.
She turned around to see The Brightest Witch of her Age, the Boy-Who-Lived and the Scions of Houses Bones and Longbottom.
"Yes, I'm fine, why shouldn't I be alright?" she asked defensively. Hermione smiled. She had been bullied when she was small and she somehow felt identified with the Slytherin, "Because we saw your 'talk' with your classmates, and because I know that your 'Ice Queen' persona is just a self defense act" Hermione said bluntly.
Harry had reached the same conclusions as his girlfriend but he was surprised at her directness, but after considering for a few seconds he thought it would be for the best to be up straight with this issue.
Daphne looked at Hermione and the rest of the group and felt she could trust them but she wasn't going to bring down her defenses that easily, "Seems that your title is not misplaced, however, if you saw the whole deal why didn't you acted upon it?" she asked defiantly.
She needed to know their reasons to be friendly with her. You are not a Slytherin if your mind doesn't have several variables predicted on your mind ready to act. Even in a discussion.
Susan smiled warmly at Daphne, "Actually, these guys" she said and pointed at Neville, Hermione and Harry, "Had their wands in their hands ready to sprint into action if things came out of hand" she said, "We are glad to see it wasn't necessary and you handle it quite well… I imagine this isn't the first time you deal with the whole group of mindless inbreeds" the redhead said smiley.
Daphne couldn't help but smirk at the Hufflepuff's comment. "Yeah, it isn't" she said simply, removing her Ice Queen persona.
The group smiled at this and Harry spoke, "Daphne, we'd like to apologize, your words were true when you spoke to your housemates, the ones responsible for the pranks had been us all along, we didn't realized this had been occasioning problems to you" Harry said sincerely.
Daphne nodded, "Don't fret yourselves guys, you're doing the right thing, is not okay to mistreat the rest of the students because of petty rivalries and grudges, plus, this whole 'Purebloods are Better' stuff is just wrong. They can't see that -like you said Susan- marrying with purebloods exclusively leads to inbreeding and a decrease in the magical abilities of their spawns" Daphne said in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone.
The rest of the first years present nodded in agreement. "Say, would you'd like to come and have lunch with us? We were heading to Hufflepuff's common room before heading to the Great Hall?" Neville asked politely.
Daphne gave him and annoyed look, "Don't you think that that would 'confirm' their beliefs?" she asked a red faced Neville.
"Eh, uh… yeah… uh" Neville started stuttering. Daphne started laughing, "I'm sorry Longbottom but I couldn't resist" she said after she calmed down, and then she started thinking in the possible outcomes of taking a decision. She then looked at the students that were in front of her and she saw persons who apparently shared some of her ideals.
She had been deprived of friend in her own house because of their beliefs and this could be an opportunity to have someone to relate with. Plus, the fact that one of them was titled as one of the most smart witches since Dumbledore's time, three of them were Scions of Ancient and Noble houses and one of them was none other than the Boy-Who-Lived meant that she could gain some political power and influence if she were to become their friend.
"You know what, I think I'll come with you guys, I think I can handle those guys if the situation required, I'm not a Slytherin just in name, I can get some leverage on them if needed" she said decisively.
The four students smiled, "If that's the case you'll have to call us by our first names" Harry said. While the other three nodded.
"I'd like that" Daphne said as the five headed to get Susan's stuff.
-oOo-
The days after meeting Daphne were days of work and fun. Harry and Hermione kept training with Professor Flitwick, increasing their control in their spells, repertoire, technique and form. They in turn, passed this knowledge to Neville in their personal training.
Neville found himself being better using an axe than a sword so he started training harder with variants of axes, tomahawks, battle axes, long axes. He also realized that he wasn't using his Occlumency in his full potential. After a talk with Harry, Neville was explained that Harry's skill with the art not only reached mental defenses but also increased his mental efficiency and efficacy, making him think faster, helping him memorize and categorize his thoughts and even increase his understanding in magic and spells.
Neville saw the advantages of using Occlumency fully and devoted himself to the practice to become a better student and wizard.
Hermione's skills with a bow and a lance were getting better and better every day and on top of that her training with Harry to become an animagus started a couple of days after the Troll Incident. Animagus training was easier when one had mental discipline, so her Occlumency training was a big help for her.
She first had to reach a state of mental peace and clear her thoughts to be able to study herself, her characteristics and her strengths and weaknesses to understand herself. After that she had to find her center, her anchor to start looking inside her animal self and not be overcome by her primal instincts.
Harry had explained her that her animagus form just was another side of her own person, one that expressed her characteristics in a primal level.
Finally she had to collect a single token. Usually the token was something related to the animal she was going to become. In Harry's case his token was a hair that he found in the Forest. Since nobody knew what animal was from it was a total mystery until Remus identified the hair as of a canine. Then again, they all thought he could be a dog, a grim, a wolf, a dingo even. Nobody imagined he would be a Dire Wolf.
Hermione understood the process and by the end of term she was already looking for her anchor.
Harry tried to explain her speed in the process and he could only came with the explanation of her maturity mentally and magically. 'Is not the same for a seven year old kid to try and clear his thoughts when he only wants to play than a twelve year old girl who acts like a sixteen year old young woman' Harry explained only to receive a slap on his head from his girlfriend.
As a way to help, Harry helped Hermione through the process by repeating the steps of becoming an animagus. He was surprised to discover he had a second form when he entered into his meditative state.
Harry was lying down in a meadow with Fenrir when he felt something looking at him. He recognized the feeling to what it felt like when he found Fenrir and he started looking until he saw a couple of eyes observing him in one of the trees.
Harry opened his eyes to the real world astonished and excited about his discovery. "What is it Harry?" Hermione asked when she felt her boyfriend's movement in the room.
Harry looked at her intensely, "I have a second form" he said simply.
"What do you mean you have a second form?" the female Gryffindor asked. Harry explained his discovery and she felt excited for him. Harry vowed himself to achieve his second transformation along with Hermione.
About a week before vacations, the first week of December, Harry was thinking about his vacations. He was delighted to be out the castle and was excited to be with all his family together for the holidays. However, he knew there was something that could make his Christmas memorable, and that would be to spend the day with Hermione.
So he decided to act. He found Hermione seated in the sofa in front of the fireplace of the common room reading 'Hogwarts, a History'.
"Hey sweetie" Harry greeted his girlfriend with a chaste kiss.
"Hey Harry" she greeted back with a smile on her face.
"Hey Hermione… I was wondering, do you have any plans for this Christmas?" Harry asked expectantly.
Hermione pondered about it for a minute, "Not that I'm aware, my parents wanted to spend the holidays on our house, why do you ask?" she answered sincerely.
Harry smiled at her response and surrounded her with his arms in a warm embrace, "I was just wondering… if… you and your family would like to spend the holidays with us… Celebrate Christmas together, plus I can meet your family and you can meet mine" Harry said cautiously.
Hermione beamed at Harry's idea, "That would be great Harry" she said as she returned the embrace with a hug on her own.
"Won't be any problems with your family though?" Hermione asked worriedly.
Harry smiled, "Na, they'll be happy to spend the Holiday's with more people. Sirius in particular likes big parties" he said while Hermione nodded.
Harry suddenly thought about something important, "Hermione, have you told your parents about us?" he asked warily, fearing the possible reaction of her girlfriend's family.
Hermione smiled sweetly at Harry, "Of course, remember what I told you when you introduced me to your godfather and your aunt and uncle, we're in for some serious teasing, in my family's case me more than you" she said with a side glance.
Harry smiled at his best friend's words, "And what did your parents said?"
"Mum was ecstatic to know that I finally have made friends and the fact that I have a boyfriend is the cherry on the cake" Hermione answered happily and she turned to her book.
Harry noticed she didn't mention her father so he made the necessary question, "And what does your father think? I mean, I need to know in case I have to go with a bulletproof vest, helmet and a squad of bodyguards" Harry asked mockingly.
"Prat" Hermione said while glaring at him.
Softening her gaze she said, "Dad is as excited as Mum to know that I have made some good friends, however, like every father who has a daughter, he is feeling jealous to know some bloke is after her little girl"
Harry paled to know that things could be bad with Hermione's dad, however Hermione read his thoughts and turned around to face him face to face, "Harry, is going to be alright, by now Mum probably has threatened him to be nice to you since they both know you are my best friend, and he wouldn't risk to have his baby girl and the love of his life angry at him"
Harry smiled and relaxed at her words, "Harry could you call Hedwig? I'd like to send a letter to my Mum to see what she thinks" Hermione told Harry while she wrote the letter to which he nodded.
'Hedwig dear, could you please come to the common room, I have a letter to send' Harry asked sweetly to his beloved familiar, 'Sure thing Harry, I'll be there in a minute… however, how come you're not coming here, huh?' she answered indignantly.
'Come on Hedwig, I visit you every day and give you those owl treats you like so much, you are supposed to be my familiar owl post, all I'm asking is to save me today's trip to the Owlery' Harry pouted to his familiar.
Hedwig sighed, 'I can't deny you anything Harry, I love you too much to not help you' she said defeated, to which Harry laughed, 'I know you do, but you don't fool me, you just want me to keep giving you treats, don't you' he replied cheekily.
Hedwig was nonresponsive, 'Silence is the language of the guilty' Harry told his familiar.
Hedwig's response was a peck on his head since she had arrived the common room, 'Shut up and give me the letter' she said to her master.
Hermione laughed at the pair's antics, "Here it is Hedwig, please take it to my parents and wait for their response" she instructed to the snowy owl. Hedwig hooted in agreement and took off to deliver the letter.
Harry smiled. "Is really incredible to hear you talk to Hedwig, it remembers me to you and Tonks, only that Hedwig usually is more maternal than Tonks sisterly" Hermione told his boyfriend.
Harry had an astonished face, "You can listen to me talking with Hedwig?" Harry asked.
"Well… yeah, after the Troll, I started hearing Hedwig too, I listened her voice for the first time when you dueled the Ron and Percy back in November" Hermione answered while she thought of this particular event.
When she had met Harry, she was told that Harry could speak with Hedwig mentally like Hermione and Harry did. When she thought about the morning of November 1st, she realized that she started listening to Hedwig the same day she started listening Harry's thoughts.
Harry seemed to get to the same revelation. "Mai, there are a few of things I need to discuss with Sirius" he told the brunette in a serious tone.
Hermione nodded, "Yeah I know, Nicholas Flamel, Fluffy, our telepathy, training, Snape" she said while making a mental list.
"Yeah, I really want to know who Nicholas Flamel is and why is it that we can communicate mentally" he said with a scowl on his face and he turned to Hermione, "Not that I mind to share my head and thoughts with my girlfriend but these kind of happenings are not be taken lightly" Harry said the Brightest Witch of her Age.
Hermione smiled to know the special relation she had with Harry and felt contentment with her life. For a twelve year old girl, everything was perfect.
-oOo-
Dan and Emma Granger was a happy, prosperous and open-minded couple. Both came from a normal middle-class family, both were studious and hard-workers, understanding persons. Their private dentistry let them have a good income in their home and was enough to supply her witch daughter's supplies for school, including the instruction itself.
They knew their daughter was special since the day she was born. It's like this to all parents with their first born child, however they realized that this was truer than they ever expected.
Since Hermione was three, strange stuff happened around her, especially when she was experiencing a strong emotion. One time, Hermione was mad because she couldn't reach a book her father had taken from her for eating some recently baked cookies when they told her not to, she was small and couldn't move the only piece of furniture she could use to reach it. Her annoyance was reaching top levels when the book suddenly 'flew' to her hands.
Another time, she was being bullied by kids from her school, the little seven year old girl was really scared because they had cornered her against a wall and in her desperation she screamed for help and the bullies were knocked out for reasons unknown.
The couple took Hermione to specialists to see why these things kept occurring around her to no avail. None of the doctors could find anything different in the brunette. So, when Hermione received her Hogwarts' Letter when she turned eleven they were somewhat more apt to believe the possibility of her daughter to be a witch. Of course, at first they were afraid and felt some resistance to the idea but to them, that was the only 'reasonable' explanation about all the weird stuff happening in their house. The visit of Professor McGonagall helped them accept fully the existence of magic and the fact that Hermione was a witch.
In the end, they decided to trust in Hermione's judgment and when she decided to go to Hogwarts, they supported her fully.
The letters they had received had cheered them up immensely. Their daughter, always alone because she scared the other children with her frightening intelligence, had immediately made friends with a couple of cousins on the train, who had stuck with her through thick and thin. More incredibly, these two boys helped her connect with their own family and friends and now Hermione had several friends she could relate with.
When the letter came from Hermione's Head of House about the Halloween incident, their first instinct was to pull her out of the school, due to the danger. Hermione and her friend Harry sent them letters individually explaining them that the presence of the beast was something rare, like one lights went out in the classroom or when a bird manage to enter the room.
A week later after the incident, Emma received a letter from her daughter dedicated exclusively to her. This made her suspicious since usually her letters were for both her and Dan to read. She had quite a surprise when she read that the same Harry that had saved her from the troll and that had written the Grangers to stop them from pulling Hermione out of school had asked her to be her girlfriend.
Emma Granger was an open-minded person. She knew who her daughter was, knew she was more mature tan most kids of her age and she trusted that she was going to be responsible, and she knew enough of Harry from her kid's letters to know he was like her in many ways, studious, hard-worker, responsible and mature.
She decided that Hermione's happiness was more important than everything so she decided to support their relationship until they met Harry officially. Once that happened she would have a definite decision.
Emma told Dan since she knew he didn't liked things be kept from him. As she imagined, his first reaction was to get mad at the boy, 'Stealing a man's daughter' he hissed. After a few drinks and hid wife's soothing words, he decided to trust in his daughter as well but he claimed in no-negotiable terms that he was going to act his part and intimidate the lad.
"Honey, you really believe you can intimidate a boy -no scratch that- a young man who defended our baby from a twelve feet troll?" Emma asked her husband curiously.
Dan seemed offended, "Emma, I'm a former SAS sniper and team doctor, I have weapons license and a shotgun under the bed, you think I won't be able to intimidate an eleven year old boy?" he replied.
Emma rolled her eyes as she left her husband in their studio.
That was about a month ago, now, she had on her hand a letter from Hermione that they never expected. Her boyfriend had invited all three of them to his house over Christmas.
"Dan, what do you think?" Emma asked.
Dan didn't reply straight away, just leaned back in his recliner and thought. A minute later, he answered.
"I don't know Em… we know nothing of this kid, or his family, where he lives, he may be a serial killer and we could be going straight to a trap" Dan said seriously.
Emma just looked at him in disbelief, "Please tell me you are joking…" she said sternly at his husband but didn't wait for him to answer.
"Honey, that's the most ridiculous thing you've ever said, I mean come on! Serial Killer?! I think you've been seeing too much television" she said.
Dan sighed, "Okay, I admit I'm exaggerating, but I can't help it, I feel that this bloke is taking our daughter away from us" he explained.
Emma smiled at her husband's concern as she sometimes felt that way too, "Dan, you knew since the day Hermione was born that there would be a day when she would start dating, it only came sooner than we thought" Emma explained.
"Now, this is a golden opportunity, think about it, we'll get to know the lad our daughter is head over heels –don't give me that look mister, you know I'm right" the woman exclaimed at her husband's indignation.
"Besides, we'll get to know more of the magical world and this will help us connect with our daughter and finally, we'll see our daughter happy, isn't that enough for you?" the dentist asked to her companion.
Dan couldn't help but nod at her reasons since he knew they were correct, "Yeah, you're right as always… Okay, send Hermione a letter to let her know we agree" he said sadly.
Emma smiled, "Plus, you won't have to clean after the carnage" she added playfully.
The two nodded to each other. It was decided. They would be spending Christmas in the Wizarding world for their first time in their lives. They would find out in later years that it wouldn't be the last time.
-oOo-
Hermione rushed through the corridors, intent on getting to the Great Hall, and finding Harry. She saw him engrossed in a book at the Gryffindor table, working his way through an immense pile of bacon sandwiches.
She plopped onto the bench next to him, waving the note excitedly "Harry, they said yes!" she said as she hugged her boyfriend with the Female Granger Hug TM.
Harry grinned at the news, "Excellent" Harry said as he finished munching the bite of sandwich he had on his mouth when Hermione attacked him.
"Do you think they could come for us and drive us to Potter Manor? This way they will be able to go there whenever they want by car in case we don't have a portkey or someone to side-aparate them" Harry asked his girlfriend.
Hermione thought about it for a moment, "I don't think there'll be any problem, just please lend me Hedwig again to let them know, by the way, where is your house located? I'd like them to know where are we heading" Hermione told Harry.
Harry smiled, "Oh, right, I need to tell them since the house is under a Fidelius, here" he said as he wrote the direction in a piece of parchment but then he stopped, "Actually this won't work since they won't be able to read the paper… mmm… tell them we I live in Kingston, near Surrey, that I'll tell them the address once we get there" Harry told Hermione.
She nodded and wrote the small letter for her parents, Hedwig arrived and took off to the Grangers in Kent.
"Harry, what is a Fidelius and why my parents wouldn't be able to see the note?" Hermione asked curiously.
Harry explained to her the aspects of the Fidelius Charm and how it worked, he told her he was the Secret Keeper and only he could divulge the secret. Hermione nodded in understanding, now anxious to see the day where they would finally leave for their holidays.
Things were alright until the day before departure. Harry was called by the Headmaster to see him in his office. Hermione assumed that this was related to Harry's stay in vacations to which Harry agreed with her so he asked Professor McGonagall to come with him to avoid problems with the Headmaster.
As student and Head entered the Headmaster's office, they were greeted by a smiling Professor Dumbledore. 'Remember to keep your cool Harry' Hermione told him mentally.
Weeks prior, Harry and Hermione made the distance test Harry used with Hedwig to measure their mental communication. Hermione was in her room while Harry turned into Fenrir and raced towards the Forbidden Forest. They discovered that their mental communication didn't diminish regarding the distance. Harry arrived to Wolf's Den, which was miles away from Hogwarts, and he could still talk to Hermione. Deciding it was enough, Harry returned to the castle.
The couple decided to keep their connection open so Hermione could listen what Harry was listening.
Dumbledore invited the Gryffindor to take a seat while he did the same to his Deputy Headmistress, "Harry, I asked you here, because I saw your name on the list of students who were going home for Christmas"
"Well… Yeah, I'm going back with Sirius and my family" Harry replied confused.
"Harry, you must return to the Dursleys, it's not safe for you to live anywhere else, including with Sirius" Dumbledore replied, in his usual grandfatherly tone. "Harry, you were placed with the Dursleys ten years ago for your own protection, there are special wards available to you, but only if you live there" Dumbledore continued
"Protection from what, Headmaster? Voldemort is dead; his Death Eaters had been staying low the last ten years. In my book, the Dursley's are by far the only persons I ever needed protection sir, which I gained when Sirius rescued me, so, in that case, why will I want to go back to Durzkaban?" Harry asked defiantly.
Dumbledore was shocked for a few seconds at the revelation of Harry's knowledge of Voldemort and his people.
"Harry, may I ask what do you know of Voldemort and his people?" Dumbledore asked trying to find out how much he knew.
Harry just had an emotionless face, "Just that they pursued the pureblood bigotry, that Voldemort was a heartless son of a bitch who killed and tortured muggles and muggleborns because they were poisoning the status quo and he was interested in my parents since they refused to join him and he killed them personally, that he was the one who gave me my scar" Harry said plainly, "That's all I know" he added.
Dumbledore just nodded to Harry's words. It was what everyone knew or assumed about the Potters. He was tempted to probe his mind but with Minerva there he knew it wasn't viable.
The Headmaster sighed, "Yeah, that's all there is to know, but you have to understand, just because the Death Eaters are being acting within the law, that doesn't mean that they won't retaliate at some point, Harry" he said warily.
"Professor Dumbledore, I'm going to spend my holidays with my real family no matter what you say or do, so, if you excuse me, I'm heading to my room to pack my stuff" Harry said defiantly as he headed to the exit.
Dumbledore shook his head defeated, "I hope, Mr. Potter, that this attitude of yours doesn't turn against you… or your care about" the aged Headmaster said.
Harry froze in front of the door and without turning to see the headmaster he hissed, "Is that a threat, Headmaster?"
Dumbledore spoke in a low voice, "No Mr. Potter, just a matter-of-fact" Albus finished the conversation.
Minerva was feeling indignant at the Headmaster's antagonism to the boy since his arrival.
"Harry, head to the tower, I have some words to tell our beloved Headmaster" she told her cub.
Harry nodded and went to the common room thinking in the Headmaster's words. He thought in those he cared about and starting making a list of ways he could affect them.
He knew that most of his friends were protected by their magical guardians and they couldn't be forced to do anything they didn't want to do, they couldn't be expelled unjustly since they could move the case to the Board of Governors. Then he thought of the person he cared the most. Hermione was his weak spot and she was the most vulnerable since she was a muggleborn. It was in that moment when inspiration came to his mind, Dumbledore could act against him through Hermione since she didn't have a Magical Guardian, and because of that Professor Dumb and Dumb was automatically her magical guardian; actually he was guardian of every muggleborn.
Harry realized that to protect her he needed to get her a guardian who could answer for her in the magical world.
His smile turned feral as he thought of a good guardian for Hermione.
He and Hermione talked about the conversation that happened in the Headmaster's office and his finding. He told Hermione that she needed a magical guardian and he knew who could be a perfect guardian for her. When she asked who, Harry refused to tell her until he knew for a fact that it was possible. Hermione agreed reluctantly.
-oOo-
The sound of the train's whistle brought Harry from his memories and he turned to see Hermione.
"Are we there yet?" he asked in a good humor.
"Yeah, we've just arrived, come on, let's head outside and meet our families" Hermione said as she grabbed her stuff.
Harry set Hedwig free since he knew she would like to fly to the Manor. He turned to see his friends and family. He knew that Dora and Susan would see him later in the Manor, first they were going to their families. Neville and Daphne agreed to exchange letters while they were away and Hermione was coming to the Manor. For now, everything was perfect. He took Hermione's hand he used his wand to reduce their stuff to the size of a box of matches.
Hermione looked at him curious, "When did you learnt that spell?"
Harry smiled at the memory of his bet with Dora, "Sirius taught me before coming to Hogwarts to avoid carrying my stuff around" he said while he grabbed both his and hers reduced trunks. Hermione beamed at him and started laughing, "Is easy to be a gentleman while carrying just a couple of miniature boxes, huh?"
Harry, in a show of evident maturity, blew her a raspberry.
"Come on, let's meet your parents" Harry said as he took her through the corridors of the train.
