Chapter 7: Nail Clippers and How to Use Them
Monday September 25, 1995
By Monday morning, almost every single student that was a part of the D.A. was freaking out, wondering how they would plan their meetings, as Umbridge would never let them continue.
As soon as he could, Harold gathered Susan, Hannah, Terry, Anthony, Hermione and Neville in the library, to explain what they would proceed to do moving forward.
"Alright, here is the plan. From this point out, the group meetings are cancelled," Harold explained.
Shouts of outrage came from everyone except Hermione, who had already known of the new plan beforehand.
"Shut up!" Harold barked, instantly silencing the other teenagers, "I didn't say that I would stop teaching you, I just said that we wouldn't have big meetings."
"But then how are we going to learn if we don't have our meetings?" Hannah inquired.
"I'm going to personally tutor each and every one of you. And then you're going to demonstrate what you learned to your housemates. We'll work on a two on one system. Why do you think that I asked you guys specifically for this job? It's not just because I trust you all the most. You are all well-known and liked within your houses. People will listen to you."
The others were silent as they tried to comprehend the work that they would have to do in the future.
"Alright, I'm in," Susan agreed.
After everyone confirmed their involvement, Harold started to explain to them the basics of a standard defense and what they had to watch for in an enemy. None of them noticed the redhead that watched them from the shadows.
Wednesday September 27, 1995
Harold decided to start his lessons with Susan and Hannah first, and dragged them to the Room of Requirement after classes were finished.
"Alright, we can start with some basic combinations to put enemies out of a fight. This is essential for defense, and might even be your 'bread and butter' so to speak. It's a blindness spell, body bind, and stunner combo," Harold informed.
After showing them the combination's effect on an enemy that the room created, he let them practice the spells, watching for any mistakes.
"No Hannah, you're flourishing your wand too much. Make sharper movements and you'll get it," he encouraged.
After watching Susan carefully, Harold began to notice that she was a bit more precise in her movements that Hannah was.
Seeing how impressed Harold was, she blushed a bit and explained, "My aunt is the Head of the DMLE. She has been tutoring me since I was 5 to defend myself. Although she isn't as good of a teacher as you are Harold."
"Why thank you Ms. Bones," he acknowledged, giving her a low and dramatic bow.
Susan gave Hannah a wink while Hannah gave her a suggestive eyebrow wiggle.
After an hour of practice, the trio decided that they would head downstairs to have dinner together. Susan walked much closer to Harold than Hannah did, questioning him about his day and what they would do for their next lesson.
Thursday September 28, 1995
Today, Harold decided to work with Terry and Anthony, much to the two boy's excitement.
"What're we gonna learn first? Stunners? Or how about cutting hexes? I found this spell in this book tha-" Anthony rambled.
"Stop," Harold interrupted, raising his hand for silence.
"We'll go over a basic combination for incapacitating an enemy. It's a blindness spell followed by a body bind and then a stunner. Watch how I do it."
Harold took out his "wand" and showed them the movements for each spell, performing them slowly so as to make sure that they knew each precise motion.
"Now, do you want to see what you could look like if you master it?"
At the two boy's nod, Harold summoned an enemy that looked suspiciously like a Death Eater. Using his "wand," Harold quickly had the enemy blinded, bound and stunned in a less than a second.
"That," Harold boasted, "Is what you could do if you practice hard."
Naturally, the two practiced as hard as they could.
Friday September 29, 1995
After hearing about his previous lessons, Hermione and Neville were unusually giddy the lunch before their first session.
"Did you really do what Anthony said? Blind, bind and stun a dummy in less than a second?" Neville questioned.
"Of course. I'll show you how to do it too. First we'll work on the actual spells themselves, then we'll work on speed and accuracy," Harold assured.
Later in the Room, Harold noticed that while Hermione's spellwork was both precise and accurate, it lacked in power. However, Neville was the exact opposite, having almost as much magical power as Harold did, but lacked the precision that Hermione had.
This is perfect, Harold commented, These two would be able to help each other immensely, as they complement one another brilliantly.
"Hermione, your precision and accuracy are great, but your power behind your spells is lacking a bit. Is there something wrong?"
"No… at least, I don't think so. I'm just trying to conserve as much energy as possible," she explained.
"Ahhh see that's it. In a long fight, it is indeed best to conserve one's energy and let the opponent waste all of theirs. But I think you already know how to do that, no?"
"Well of course," she said.
"But, this isn't a fight. You have to put more power into your spells now, so that if you ever come to the point where you need to handle your opponent quickly, you can do so by overpowering them. You need to find a balance."
"So what should I do?" Hermione asked.
"Spend half of the hour practicing the spells while conserving your energy as much as you can while still getting the job done, and then the other half on full power. Magic is like a muscle, so treat this almost like a magical workout," he suggested.
"Now, Neville. You have the exact opposite problem of Hermione. You have a lot of power. Almost as much as me in fact. But you need to learn control. I think that you both would work well as training partners. Hermione could teach you how to control your magic, while you can show her how to use more of it. It's perfect," Harold explained with a grin.
Neville looked at Harold in disbelief, There's no way that I have as much power as Harold… is there? But what about…
Neville was brought out of his thought process with a stinging hex from Harold.
"Think about all of the universe's problems later Boy-Wonder. Right now, I wanna see you practice the combo over and over until it's second nature."
The trio began to work again, going past the time that the other sessions had and decided to eat dinner together afterwards.
None of them noticed a certain redhead that lurked in the corner, forming a plan that would show the whole school how much better he was than Harold.
Tuesday October 31, 1995
Harold woke up with a groan, body aching as it desperately tried to adjust to his 'Lightning Step.' Choosing a name for the ability wasn't as difficult as he had thought, but the real difficulty was in mastering it. He could now do it twice for three seconds without any physical duress and three times if absolutely necessary, although, as he was discovering now, he was definitely going to feel the pain in the morning.
As he walked over to his bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror, he began to notice the changes that he had gone through since arriving at Hogwarts.
His body was still as slender as ever, proudly displaying a toned physique that was much like that of a lean runner. His hair, that which was usually straight and short, was now chin length and had started to look like his. Harold quickly adjusted this by putting his hair in a stylish ponytail, spelling the hair tie to be unbreakable so as to not create suspicion of being him.
Harold stroked the stubble that had grown on his chin, remembering the time that he decided to leave his old life behind.
Thursday October 31, 1985
Two figures sat by an old oak tree in a park filled with children.
One of the two, a small boy of 5 years, looked to have something on his mind, but was afraid to voice his concern.
The other, a man who looked to be in his late twenties, knew of the boy's conflict, but was unable to figure out how to help.
Suddenly, the boy gathered his courage and asked, "Why don't I look like you?"
Whatever the man was thinking that the child would ask, it was definitely not that.
The man sighed and wearily thought, This was going to happen one of these days.
"It's because you're not my biological son," he stated simply, as if talking about the weather.
The boy looked down in thought for several minutes, making the other figure fidget nervously in his spot, waiting for his response.
"But I want to be," he replied.
Darius looked at Harold in shock before clearing his throat, "You don't really know what that implies kid. I think that we should have this discussion when you're olde-"
"No," he demanded, "I want to be your son."
Darius simply nodded, not trusting his voice at the moment.
"Alright kid, I know a way to make you look like me. But it will take some time, okay?"
Back in the bathroom, Harold ran his fingers over his face, seemingly searching for something that only he knew.
"Now I truly do look like your son," he whispered, remembering the process that even now was still in effect, changing his features ever so slightly throughout the years. It would finally be done by next year. By that time, the only thing that he will have as a link to his past self will be his eyes. But those were never the same anyways.
The silver that once lined the edges was now a quarter of the way to completely taking over his eye. I wonder what will happen when it's done. Darius never truly explained it.
Stepping away from the mirror, he went into the shower to ease his aching body with the heat of the water.
As he absently washed himself, Harold thought about the past month and what it had brought. He had grown closer to all of his friends, but he mainly found that his friendship with Susan, Hermione, and surprisingly, Neville had the most development.
Who would have known that I would become best friends with the 'Boy-Who-Lived?' Harold mused.
After their initial fiasco, Harold and Hermione both decided that if they were ever going to date, it would be in the future, when they were both prepared to that step for their relationship.
Susan however, was another story. After weeks of skirting around one another, she had to ask him on a date to Hogsmeade, which they both enjoyed immensely.
I wonder if this makes us a couple… eh, I'll let her decide. I'm ready for whatever she has in store for us.
Another notable development was how people in the three 'good' houses were much friendlier to Harold, knowing that he was the true leader of the organization that let anyone who was willing learn defensive magic. Now, three-quarters of the school were practically in love with him.
Umbridge was beginning to get more and more desperate in finding out about the rumored study group. Unfortunately for her, the 'study group' wasn't even a group, so she didn't have it in her power to disband it in the first place. There was also the tiny fact that 2/3 of the school supported the 'group' and learned from it.
Last week, the Slytherin that he had met in Ancient Runes, Zabini as he liked to be called, had introduced him to two other Slytherins, Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis.
Although he had the feeling that Daphne didn't like him too much, Tracey and him had instantly connected and often talked in private whenever they could. Although, whenever they saw him in public, they completely ignored him. They did have an image to maintain after all.
Feeling refreshed and better than he did the night before, Harold decided that he had showered long enough, drying himself off as he went to his room to prepare for the day.
As he wiped the droplets of water off of his chest, he instantly felt as if something was wrong. Someone was in his room.
Acting as if he were about to pick up a pair of pants, he instantly used his 'Lightning Step' and summoned Higure, pressing the blade against the person's throat.
"Who the fuck are you and how did you get here!" he roared, eyes glowing silver, ripping the ridiculous hood that the figure foolishly thought could hide their identity.
As soon as he saw who it was, he instantly backed up and gave an irritated sigh, "You know better than to sneak up on me. What are you doing here?"
"Lily" was massaging her throat, thinking back to the almost primal fear that she felt at being at the end of that blade, I must be getting more human than I thought, she worried.
"I came to tell you that I found it."
Harold's irritated expression quickly turned to that of a kid in a candy store before asking, "Really? Where is it? And why did it take you this long?"
"Calm down," she lightly scolded, "It was right under our noses the whole time. As for why it took me so long, the magic that he used was so simple, I overlooked it entirely. I hate the bastard as much as you do, but you can't deny, Riddle was a smart one."
"Pff whatever, he'll be a dead one soon enough."
"Yeah yeah, let's just destroy the damn thing okay? You have quite the day ahead of you," "Lily" informed.
"Oh really? Are you a Seer now? Trelawney should be careful; her job might be taken right out from under her," Harold joked.
"Lily" swatted Harold's arm, and after he had finished changing, led him to the Room and to the diadem.
One more down, two more to go.
At breakfast, Harold sat with Hermione and Neville, as the trio talked about what they had planned for the day. As usual, on Halloween, all of the classes were canceled so that the children could enjoy their day. Well, most of them anyways.
Instead of enjoying the day like everyone else, Neville was busy sulking. Seeing this and instantly knowing why, Harold told all of his friends to meet him at the Room for the day, telling them that he had a very special surprise for them. I'm going to make this a Halloween that you'll never forget Neville, he promised, Just you wait and see.
When everyone but Harold was gathered at the entrance, a loud voice boomed, "Enter… if you dare."
What the group found inside was definitely not what they were expecting.
A huge haunted house, about the size of a manor, stood tall and foreboding, both inviting and discouraging them to come inside.
Susan and Hannah instantly squealed with delight and rushed up to it, hand in hand. Hermione went behind them, determined to show her Gryffindor bravery, but not wanting to be first in line. The boys on the other hand looked at the house with a mixture of fear and awe, both wanting to prove their manliness but also terrified of what lay inside.
After running from blood seeking vampires and terrifying ghouls and ghosts, the group ended the tour in what seemed to be another area entirely.
Trees upon trees stood proudly on tall hills in a forest filled with fog as thick as molasses. A full moon hung over the area, covering the environment in an eerie glow.
"Harold?" Hermione whispered. At least, it was meant to be a whisper, but it seemed to cut through the silence that they had found themselves in, reverberating around them in an echo.
Suddenly, a loud howl was heard, echoing over everything and filling the group with an unintentional feeling of dread.
"Holy shit!" Anthony shouted, pointing at a large grey wolf with silver eyes that almost pierced through one's very soul.
Everyone gave a gasp as the wolf began to race towards them, looking as if it could tear them to pieces.
"Run!" Neville needlessly shouted, grabbing Hannah's arm and racing away from the oncoming wolf.
The group ran through the forest aimlessly, trying desperately to get away from the large predator.
A loud scream could be heard as the wolf latched itself onto Neville and pinned him to the ground, growling at the boy and warning him to not make any movement. The group stilled as they waited to see what would become of their friend who seemed to fear for his very life.
It was as if a switch had been flipped, when the wolf's threatening expression suddenly turned to an almost humorous one as he licked Neville's face.
Everyone was deeply confused until suddenly, the wolf had quickly morphed into a familiar raven haired boy.
"Ugh, Harold!" Neville shouted, irritated and feeling very foolish for thinking that his friend has sent a wolf on him, "What the hell man?!"
Harold was too busy laughing his ass off as the others in the group chuckled nervously, thankful that they were not about to get eaten alive, but also extremely pissed off at their friend.
The only one who wasn't laughing was Hermione, who had an excited look on her face before blurting, "When were you going to tell us you're an Animagus?"
By this point, Harold had gained some control over himself, grinning roguishly before he replied, "Uhhh now?"
After everyone had calmed down from their latest near death experience, Harold asked the Room to change to an area that looked suspiciously like the place that Hermione and him had had their first date.
This time however, Harold opened the picnic basket and found it to be filled with food, as they had missed lunch for the haunted house experience.
"I thought you said that the room couldn't create food," Hermione asked, irritated that it could all of a sudden.
"It can't," Harold reassured, "I asked a house elf to bring it. I finally found the kitchens last week and spent 20 minutes thanking them for all of the food that they prepare us with. Now I'm like their god or something."
"I guess it's alright if you thanked them for the food…" Hermione pondered, thinking much too hard on the subject.
"Anyways, I brought you all here for a reason other than scaring you senseless, and I think it's time we get to it."
Instantly, everyone perked up at this news, wondering if he was going to show them some cool new spell or teach them how to become Animagi.
Harold turned to Neville and softly said, "I'm sorry Neville. I know what this day means for you and I'm sorry that the Dark Bastard took them away from you."
Wait… where did that come from, most of them thought, while Hermione looked at Harold with understanding slowly appearing on her face.
Neville was silent for a while, with a dark expression on his face before whispering, "Thank you."
Satisfied with himself, Harold carefully explained what today meant for his friend, knowing full well what it felt like as he had felt the same for many a year.
In the end, everyone understood and silently praised their friend for his bravery, as while everyone else saw this day as a holiday, celebrating the end of the war and Voldemort; he saw it as the day he lost his family.
Later at dinner, the group decided to sit together in support of their friend, filling the Gryffindor table with their laughter and show of companionship.
No one seemed to protest, as everyone knew how close the seven were. That would no longer be the case when Ronald walked in and saw the group, laughing uproariously at a joke that Harold had hear in Rome when he had visited.
It's finally time, Ronald thought, All those weeks of planning will finally come to fruition, and Neville will be my friend again.
Taking out his brand new wand that he spent hours convincing his mother to get him, he shouted, "Harold!"
Everyone in the hall turned to see the redhead, who before this year looked to be lean and a bit muscular, was now a ghost of his former self with pale skin and sunken eyes that had a slightly glazed look in them.
"I'm going to show everyone that I am the better wizard and am the only one to deserve to call the Boy-Who-Lived his best friend!" Ronald maniacally cackled, swishing his wand as he detonated dozens of traps that he had set earlier.
Dozens of random sharp things, ranging from swords to pieces of torn armor flew at the unsuspecting boy, threatening to maim him in a very disturbing fashion.
Are those… nail clippers? Harold thought, before he was impaled from all sides.
Blood splattered everywhere, as all of the projectiles found their mark. Susan and Hermione were flung back and away from harm by Dumbledore, who had a furious expression on his face.
Ronald's shout of triumph cut through the silence that filled the hall at the thought of ending the boy who had been a thorn in his side for two months.
Susan and Hermione sat there, shocked beyond belief at the thought of losing the young man who meant so much to them in such a fashion. Everyone's eyes switched from Ronald to Harold's dead body, minds incapable of processing what just happened.
Suddenly, Hannah cried out and everyone's minds clicked into place at what just winessed.
No.. no… no,no,no,no,no, Hermione repeatedly thought, not believing that Harold could truly be gone.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Neville shouted, with an intense look of hatred on his face.
Dumbledore strode over to Ronald, wearing that same furious expression, with thoughts of giving him a stern talking to and taking away house points for murdering another student, when Harold decided to make his presence known by rushing forward with his 'Lightning Step' and decapitating Ronald.
Once again, blood was spilled in the hall.
If one had just walked in, they would see a boy with a large sharp katana coated and dripping with blood. Looking further, they would see a room filled with shocked faces, not knowing what was happening.
Their silence was a testament to the fact that they had just witnessed an attempted murder and a boy being killed for it.
Those who had not already lost their dinner were now stooped to side, throwing up everything that they had in their stomachs.
Harold wore a blank expression on his face, holding Higure threateningly before shouting, "Who the fuck did this?!"
Everyone's eyes widened in shock as they shrunk away in fear, not trusting their voices to work.
Harold's gaze swept the hall, searching for any signs of guilt before returning to Dumbledore and whispering, "Someone cast the Imperious curse on this foolish boy. It must have been going on for weeks now. Although it's sad to say, he is better off now than he was before."
"How could you say that!" Dumbledore roared, "You just murdered an innocent boy in cold blood!"
"I do not take lives lightly Albus Dumbledore!" Harold spat, furious at the man's short sightedness, "And he was hardly innocent. You know just as well as I do that the Imperious curse cannot work properly if the target has never wanted to do the action that he is commanded to do!"
"Be that as it may, you still killed him! You could have easily incapacitated him with the powers that you just displayed. I will have no choice but to hand you over to the authorities!"
"Are you blind old man? That was self-defense! I have hundreds of witnesses who would gladly report what actually happened, instead of some crack pot old fool's allegations based on his foolish ideals. I'll be glad to tell the authorities that you saved the lives of my two best friends without even caring for my own! You could have easily saved us all, or are you not the great wizard that everyone thinks you are?" Harold raged, questioning Dumbledore's actions in front of everyone.
Although most of the students were still in shock, many of them voiced their support for Harold, seeing with their own eyes exactly what happened, starting from Ronald's glazed look, to Dumbledore's inaction in Harold's safety.
Seeing that he was not going to win this fight, Dumbledore growled, actually growled, at Harold and swept from the hall.
Hermione and Susan ran up to Harold, quickly enveloping him in a fierce hug, holding him for all he was worth. Both sobbed into his robes, thankful that he was still alive.
"While I do not agree with your methods Harold, I do think that they were, however unfortunate it might sound, necessary," McGonagall observed, both furious that one of her lions could think of the possibility of murdering another, and saddened by the need for his end.
Could you find whoever did this and tell me immediately? Harold asked "Lily."
After a few seconds of nothing, a warm feeling flooded his senses in confirmation of his request.
Thanks.
Nobody noticed Umbridge watching from the corner, who was planning use this incident against Dumbledore and the brat. It was just matter of when and how. Maybe she should get into contact with those Death Eaters that approached her earlier in the year. Their cause, after all, was a necessary one.
Author's Note:
Whhaaaaattt? Yeah that segment was originally going to be a joke and I laughed at that scene for literally a good ten minutes before deciding, you know what? Fuck it, I'm going to do it.
So, Harold and Susan. Bet you didn't see that coming! :) I wanted most of this chapter to be like a slap to the face, and I had actually originally wanted this to be a HP/SB story, but then said no and made the pairings optional as romance is just not my thing, but now I'm like Harold needs someone who isn't Hermione right now as I had mentioned before, they are still not ready for one another quite yet.
Ronald's scene was made to be sudden and out of the blue, as I tried to make the reader feel like those in the story, having no idea what was going on until the end. Hopefully you understand now, and if you don't, ask!
I also now have 50 followers! Yessssss. With a goal of getting 100 and already being halfway there. That is amazing. Thank you guys so much!
Also, sorry for this not being longer. Some things came up and you know. Life happens. Expect regular updates this week and none on Sundays.