Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the Harry Potter books and/or movies is not mine.
A/N: Yay! Another chapter. Well, right now, I'm having a bit of fun writing I suppose -- I'm kind of working on a series of oneshots but I doubt that I'll publish them on this site. I'm not really good at Oneshots, but meh, neither am I great at other types of stories. So anyways, thank you guys for the reviews! I'm really looking forward to the feedback from you guys. I'd like to know what you think about my plot and whatnot -- and also, I'm curious to know whether you guys would like romance in this story or not.
So, here's a poll that'll go up --
Should there be romance in this story?
Harry/No one: 0
Harry/Ginny: 0
Harry/Hermione: 0
Harry/Luna: 0
Harry/Other (if you pick this one, please tell me who 'other' is): 0
I'd also like to note that I'm not a huge fan of SLASH but if the majority of you guys want it -- I can deal with it. BUT! If there will be romance, it wont come in for quite a while. Anyways, thank you for your opinions.
Thanks ILoveFlitwick,CrimsonReality, The Unknown Marauder, enchantedlight, Kersies, for the reviews!
…
Just for your information -- This fic WILL NOT follow the book or movie storylines. Harry's first year will have nothing to do with the sorcerers stone.
Where are the Children
By: xScenex
a.k.a. Min
Chapter Seven
It was August 24th and Harry was waiting in the sitting room with his trunk. Two weeks previous, Dumbledore had spoke with him about staying at Hogwarts for the year. Harry readily agreed, wanting to see the old, famous castle that he'd heard so much about.
He couldn't believe it though, he was actually going to get to stay at Hogwarts for a whole school year! It was more than he could have hoped for. And he was even going to get to stay with his Grandfather!
But there was one thing that he would miss -- the old building him and Ari had found months before.
Harry had grown rather fond of the old, ruined place. He had fixed it up until it was much cleaner and provided a much more inhabitable place. It was there, whenever he had time to himself, that he would practice minor magic and read over books that he found interesting or useful.
Even though his grandfather didn't allow him a wand yet, the magic residue located in the building seemed to allow him to cast wandless magic. Outside of place though, he wasn't able to cast a single spell without a wand. But nonetheless, he was glad that he was learning minor spells.
During the time that Harry was not at the building or sleeping, he was either spending time with his Grandfather, or with Remus Lupin.
The kind man had seemed to take a great liking to Harry, and he couldn't be any happier about it. He'd practically adopted the man as his uncle. Something that puzzled Harry though, was that sometimes, when the man addressed him, he'd almost say the wrong name. For a long time, he didn't know what Remus almost kept almost saying, but eventually, he heard the name 'Harry' escape the older mans mouth before he covered up his mistake.
Did any of it have to do with the weird dreams he would have?
After that night that he dreamt of the Potter family, he'd had other similar ones. They usually involved the same people, but the most recent ones seemed to have another child in it. He soon found out that the other, redheaded boy was known as Alexander Potter, the oldest of the Potter children, and the only living member of the family left.
Besides being around the two men, he had also found himself in the company of Minerva McGonagall and even Severus Snape. The potions professor wasn't fond of him, but he would tolerate the quiet boy. Minerva was ecstatic at the knowledge the boy had of transfiguration. Altogether, the adults didn't mind him.
"Nicholas, are you completely packed?" A voice drifted through the hall to the right.
"Yes, Grandfather! I'm all packed," Harry called back, cutting off his train of thought. As his mind was now back to the present, he could feel the excitement running through his body and he couldn't sit very still. Ari, who was wrapping firmly around Harry's waist from under his shirt, hissed quietly in annoyance.
'Sssit sstill young one! I'm beginning to get uncomfortable.'
'Sorry, Ari, but I'm anxious,' Harry whined quietly in parseltongue.
'Well, anxious or not, try to quit squirming,' was the only reply.
Harry grinned. Ari always amused him. They had grown into great friends, more so than what Remus and he was. He'd already adopted her as his official familiar. They seemed to understand each other better than most would. Harry figured that it was mostly because he could speak to her.
At first, the boy thought that it wasn't that rare to be able to speak parseltongue but after reading a few books about it, he was frightened to realize that the only other known parseltongue were descendants from Salazar Slytherin, and the last one alive had been the dark wizard known as Voldemort.
It scared Harry, knowing that he possessed a trait that people believed that only a dark wizard would retain. Since he found out, he hadn't told a soul -- not even his grandfather.
"Nicholas, it's time to go."
Harry looked up and grinned at the old wizard in front of him. He stood up and gathered up his trunk, which had a lightweight spell on it, then walked over to his Grandfather, who also held a large trunk.
"Now, just touch his portkey here," he held out a silver fork, "and count down from three."
Harry touched the fork with his left hand, "But why count?"
"To activate it, my dear boy."
The boy smiled again, pleased at being allowed to say the activation, "Three, two, one!"
He felt a jerk around his stomach before he was jerked off of the ground. All around him were blurred colors, but soon, it was all over and he found himself tumbling backwards onto his bottom. He looked around himself, and realized that he was sitting on soft, green grass.
He took the outstretched hand that was offered to him from his grandfather and stood up. He brushed the grass and dirt off of his pants and then took the time to look around.
What he saw amazed him.
The grounds of Hogwarts were huge. There was a large area of grass that stretched out for a long time, until it met a dark forest on once side, a huge lake on another, and then there were the gates leading to the small village that he recalled was Hogsmeade.
The most amazing part though, was the castle itself.
It stood majestically, the noon sun shining against the stone exterior and windows. Harry couldn't help but gape at it.
"Like it?" Asked Dumbledore.
"Like it? I love it! I mean, it's -- wow!"
The old man chuckled, "Come on, Nicholas. You can admire it later. Right now, I believe we should take our things inside and head to lunch. I'll introduce you to the rest of the professor's as well."
Harry nodded eagerly and picked up his trunk again. They walked to the entrance doors, and when they entered, the boy let out a loud gasp.
The Great Hall was extraordinary! He goggled at the large ceiling that reflected the outside weather, and the candles that floated over the five long tables located there. Because of this, he wasn't aware of the many eyes that were locked onto him from the teachers table.
"Nicholas, you may hand your trunks to Tawny here and he'll take them up to our rooms."
Harry blinked rapidly and finally realized that there was a small house elf standing beside of him with a beaming face.
"Young Master Dumbledore, I is Tawny!" It squeaked and bowed deeply before taking hold of his trunk, "If you is in need of anything, just ask Tawny!" With those last words, the elf disappeared.
"Come along, Nicholas, come meet the other professors," Dumbledore smiled and led the boy towards the table at the front.
Harry finally noticed that there were people sitting in the room. Most of them were regarding him with curiosity, except for the three that had already met him.
Remus was sitting next to Minerva, and Severus sat two chairs away. The seats that were between them were empty, and Harry guessed that they were reserved for them.
But instead of sitting down first, Harry was introduced to the others. Next to Severus, sat a short little man that reminded him strongly of a goblin, though with more human features. The man was named Filius Flitwick, the charms professor. Beside him was a large man who took up a lot of space. He had a kind face behind his unruly mane of hair and his black eyes shined with kindness. He was soon introduced as Rubeus Hagrid, the grounds keeper.
Before long, he was acquainted with Professor Vector, Kettleburn, Sinistra, Madam Hooch and Pomfrey, and a few others.
All of them, of course, greeted him cheerfully. Harry had smiled shyly at them and said his greetings. He still hadn't grown out of the shy stage.
Soon, Harry was seated between Minerva and Dumbledore with a plate full of food. The boy tucked in and was quite happy to find that the food was fantastic. He was still aware of the glances he got through.
As the meal passed, there was a lot of talk about upcoming classes and what would happen once the students arrived from their summer holidays. A few times, the professors or madam's would try to talk to him, but he was still nervous around them. The only people he really addressed were Remus and his grandfather.
When the dessert disappeared from the long table, the chatter quietly faded and the adults stood up. They bided their farewells and went off to their office's to begin working on their class schedules and planners.
"Where are we going to go, Grandfather?" Harry asked.
"I believe you'd like to see my office and our living quarters?"
"Yeah!"
Both smiled at one another and Harry followed his grandfather to the office. He was amazed at the sheer size of the castle, and was even more astonished at the moving pictures and staircases.
"I didn't know anything like this existed," he voiced out loud.
His grandfather chuckled heartily, "It is amazing. Ah, here we are."
Harry looked at the stone gargoyle in front of them confused, "What are we doing in front of this statue?"
"This statue, my dear boy, is the entrance to my office. All you have to do is say the password and you'll be granted entrance. My password is usually something that involves a sweet -- as I'm rather fond of them. But never tell anyone the password unless it is an emergency," he told the boy who nodded enthusiastically.
"So what's the password?"
"Sherbet Lemon."
The boy gaped when the statue jumped aside, revealing a large staircase. He stepped forward with his grandfather, now curious of what it would lead them to. Instead of having to walk, the staircase began moving, taking them upwards; much to Harry's pleasure.
"Sometimes, an old man can get tired of walking," was the man's explained after seeing the look on Harry's face.
"This is brilliant!"
"I'm glad you think so. I hope you find the living arrangements to your liking as well."
Harry cocked his head slightly to the left, wondering exactly what awaited him behind the large doors leading into what he knew was his grandfather's office.
When the old wizard opened the doors, Harry once more gaped at what he saw. The room was absolutely astonishing! He immediately walked forward and started prodding certain instruments and examining objects that lay about. The funny little noises coming from some of them caused curiosity to get the better of him.
"Now, now Nicholas. Be careful with those things -- you never know what they can do."
Harry had the decency to look sheepish, "Sorry Grandfather."
"Come, lets see our rooms."
"Okay."
And so, the man led the boy to his room. Harry was quite surprised to find it looking almost exactly like his beloved room back at Dumbledore Manor.
"But -- this is my room back home! How --?"
"I didn't want you to feel too uncomfortable here, so I thought that something that reminded you of home would suffice to keep you happy for a while."
A grin spread across the boys face and he lunged forward, wrapping his arms around the wizards waist. At first, Dumbledore was surprised by the sudden affection, but nonetheless, he smiled and hugged the child back.
"Thank you so much, Grandfather! I love it!"
He grinned up at the Headmaster who smiled gently and said, "Well child, I believe I shall leave you for a while to unpack and get settled in. If you need anything, you may either call upon Tawny, or you may come downstairs to my office."
Harry nodded and the man ruffled the boys hair before he swept out of the room, his blue robes billowing out behind him.
Harry vaguely wondered if his grandfather had a thing for the dramatics, but just shrugged it off. This was about a man who loved muggle sweets, adored music above most thigns, and thought that socks were the best present to receive during a special occasion.
He shook his head amusedly and walked over to his trunk that was placed neatly next to his bed.
Opening it and rummaging about, Harry dug out all of his clothing and placed it inside the wardrobe in the corner, then put his broomstick on it's stand in another. He put his baby blanket on his bed, along with a stuffed snitch toy he got from Remus on his birthday not too long ago. Soon enough, his room looked exactly like it had at Dumbledore Manor, and Harry was quite pleased with himself.
After all of that was done, the boy took a seat on his bed and told Ari that she was allowed to come out. The snake unwound herself from around the boys waist and coiled up on his bed contentedly.
'Finally.'
'Sorry, but you know that you can't be seen, Ari.'
'I know massster, but it doesss get sstuffy while hiding underneath a human sshirt.'
'I'll keep that in mind,' Harry responded dryly.
'Besst you do that, then, young sspeaker.'
Harry snorted loudly, 'I'll never understand your ignorance.'
'As I'll never understand yourss.'
'You're the only one that knows about it,' The boy retorted amusedly.
Ari gave him a look that he figured was of exasperation before she turned her head away and he figured she had decided to go to bed.
The boy sighed and flopped backwards on the bed. He was beginning to feel bored. The excitement of moving somewhere else for almost a year was beginning to leave him. He didn't know what to do -- he knew that his grandfather wouldn't allow him to just wonder off, and the others seemed like they were busy with the upcoming school year.
He also knew he wouldn't be allowed to go outside or even play Quidditch, because of the dangers of the forest. Not to mention he was a child, and most would disapprove of him being out there alone.
His grandfather had often told him, 'Dark times lie ahead' and would always warn the boy about going places by himself. Harry knew that there were bad wizards around, and he knew he was in danger of being hurt because of who he was.
Albus Dumbledore was a wizard of the light, and Voldemort's followers were still around and would attempt to hurt him to show that the dark hadn't lost yet.
The whole thought unsettled Harry.
Were there really people out in the world willing to hurt a child just to get revenge on someone? Was the world so corrupted that they would go to such standards for redemption?
With those thoughts in mind, Harry drifted off into a light sleep where he dreamt once again of a boy named Harry Potter. It wouldn't be the last time that he did so, either. As the year would progress, he would find out more and more about the Potter family -- more than he would have liked to know.
A/N: Alright, there it is. Chapter seven. Uhm, it's kind of short and remarkably boring, just like the other chapter before this. I'll try to make the next few chapters longerand more interesting-- but at least I'm updating, no? Okay, the next chapter is going to come a year after what this was -- but I'm going to put flashbacks and stuff in it. I don't want this story to drag out pointlessly for a long time, so it's going to go strait to when Alex goes to Hogwarts and meets Nicholas (Harry). (I actually want this story to progress, so I hope you guys don't mind me skipping a year in the story. x: ) If this chapter seemed to jump around a bit, I'm sorry. I was kind of out of it when I typed it.
Well, anyways, I hope you guys respond to my poll and whatnot, but if you don't, oh well. So… anywho, take care! - Min
