Disclaimer: All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Pokémon universe/worlds/characters are the property of The Pokémon Company, Nintendo, Creatures Inc., and GAME FREAK Inc. This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.
AN: This story has just been edited and updated and it is now self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.
Chapter 10: Adjusting to Castle Life
September 1991 to October 1991
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Scotland
The rest of September passed by uneventfully, unless one counted the periodical encounter with annoying classmates. Harry slowly settled into his new routine during this time, though he'd experience hiccups here and there. The first such hiccup occurred during double potions one morning, when the bushy haired snob (whose name he eventually recalled was Hermione Granger) accidentally (and he suspected at least half on purpose) knocked his cauldron over while helping her fellow Gryffindor (a timid boy named Neville Longbottom) try to fix the mess he'd made of his potion.
He received a zero for that potion but felt vindicated when both Gryffindors had also been given zeros for the lesson as well, had points docked for disrupting the class, and were instructed to clean up the entire mess they had created (which included Harry's spilt potion). Granger was indignant over the entire thing but Harry (and everyone else except Longbottom) ignored the girl as she had quickly gained the reputation of being an annoying know-it-all due to her behavior in and out of classes.
In fact, Harry had an on going rivalry with the Granger girl in pretty much all of their classes (the exception was the flying lessons they were required to attend and that was only because the girl was terrified of heights). Both of them were exceptional students but Granger went about it in a rude and infantile manner; alienating more than ninety percent of her classmates. Harry on the other hand tried not to flaunt his knowledge and at the same time never hesitated to answer any questions directed at him. He also passed both written and practical exams with apparent ease; one of the benefits of being older and more mature then his prepubescent classmates.
Unfortunately, Harry's seemingly effortless ability to do well in classes (without killing himself with an ungodly amount of studying) offended the Granger girl to no end (not to mention more than a few Ravenclaws). Harry suspected that she was used to being the top of every class and felt threatened and frustrated because she finally had competition (even though Harry was sort of cheating since he was six years older than her).
Another (ongoing) hiccup in Harry's solidifying routine was the growing animosity of his fellow first year Ravenclaws. The five girls were not so bad; they just tended to ignore or avoid him, something not unexpected of eleven year old girls in general. The boys on the other hand went out of their way to insult Harry any time he out performed them or unintentionally made them look like slackers. Such as every morning when Harry was consistently the first boy up and ready before six thirty while the other four boys still needed to be prodded awake by a prefect just before seven. Lately, the boys had taken to trying to prank him during their free periods or in between classes. He only managed to thwart them by sheer luck as he was hypersensitive to his surroundings (especially in crowds and the less than roomy hallways of the castle) and could always spot them the moment they got close enough to do any harm (intentional or not).
The biggest problem though, was the continued efforts of Madam Pomfrey to have him ingest various standard healing potions any time she happened to see him, even long after the bruise on his face had faded out of existence. She was insistent that unless he actually consumed an assortment of the common potions she administered (such as a pain relieving potion, pepper-up potion, the stomach soothing solution, and a few unnamed others) they would never know which ones would affect his condition. The only way to avoid those confrontations was to avoid the school matron; a near impossible feat during meal times when she purposely sought him out while he was eating.
He supposed he could give in and allow her to use him as a lab rat in order to determine which potions affected him but he had no desire to suffer through the experiments she wished to put him through. Not when he could conduct his own experiments at home without putting his life on the line by running tests on the individual potions and conducting a series of blood tests during the summer months. The fact that he knew the healer would be unable to treat him if his body went into shock and begun to shut down (magic couldn't fix everything after all and Harry knew there were no spells to restart the heart because he'd checked) also made him leery of giving in to Madam Pomfrey's demands.
Harry's letters home only hinted at the issues he was experiencing, with the noticeable exception of the incidents involving the healer. The only reason for that though, was because as Harry's 'legal' guardian, Ash was the only one with the authority to make the Healer stand down. (Not that she was any more willing to listen to him than she was to Harry, he was just a 'muggle' after all and magicals were obviously superior; if only in their own minds.) Unless he wished to reveal his status as a legal adult, which he didn't because then his real identity would come out and that could complicate matters because of the imposter.
The imposter himself was another bone of contention that Harry was dealing with. The boy, whoever he really was, was dense as a rock and about as magically capable. Harry covertly monitored the fraud during classes and was appalled at how horribly the boy performed. He rarely ever correctly performed the spells, turned in shoddy essays, and never seemed to have the correct answers to any of the questions he was asked. The way he spoke was odd too, sounding more mechanical than human. The only thing the kid had going for him was the apparent adoration of at least seventy percent of the school, including most of the teachers.
McGonagall babied the boy along in class, Flitwick encouraged him for the most pathetic attempts during practical lessons, and Professor Sprout praised the boy's only talent to death in Herbology. On the other hand, Professor Snape berated the boy (and by extension Harry himself) constantly during Potions. It was getting so bad that Harry was dreading attending the class because of the caustic insults Snape rained down upon his head. It was all Harry could do to ignore the taunts unknowingly directed towards him. The charlatan also currently held the record for most detentions assigned (all by Snape) to a first year for the year and they hadn't been in school for all that long.
Worse yet, his unwanted double had made friends with a red-headed family of bullies. The oldest boy, whom he learned was a prefect by the name of Percy Weasley, was worse than the former seventh year prefect who'd belted Harry in the face that first day. The kid was a total snob, a brown-nosing sycophant, and a thief to boot. Harry had witnessed the guy nicking toys, candies, or other 'banned' objects (and some not banned items) from first and second years.
He'd even seen him take money from a third year from a different house. The two middle children, twins whose names Harry hadn't bothered to learn, enjoyed humiliating any student not in Gryffindor. They especially loved to pick on the younger Slytherins with all manner of cruel and humiliating 'pranks' for no real reason other than that they could. Those two also took pleasure in picking on any one foolish enough to bad mouth their youngest brother.
And while those three were bad enough, the worst of the group was the youngest who happened to be a first year like Harry. Ronald, or Ron as the boy preferred, was a bully ten times worse than his older brother Percy. The kid insulted everyone, including his housemates, stole from his dorm mates (according to the castle scuttlebutt), picked fights with anyone not in his house, and took perverse pleasure in touting how much of a friend he was to 'Thee Harry Potter'.
He was also quite demeaning in regards to the way he treated girls (even the ones older then him) and he could be quite crude when describing their physical assets. Harry often silently thanked the sorting hat for not putting him in the same house as that lot and looked forward to the day when the Weasleys learned that their 'golden' friend Potter was nothing more than a fraud. Sadly, all four of the redheads only got worse the longer the staff allowed them to get away with (or in some cases even encouraged) their blatant bullying.
In fact, there was a huge bullying problem school wide that was ignored and supported by the staff; if only by the lack of repercussions on those caught bullying other students. The two worst houses were Gryffindor and Slytherin, though Ravenclaw wasn't too far behind (though the eagles tended to be smart enough not to get caught most of the time). Hufflepuff gave as good as they got as well, though if there was bullying between members of their own house it was not readily apparent – not like it was in the other three houses. That kind of behavior sickened Harry to no end and made him wish he didn't have to be here. It also made him draw even further away from his peers. This, of course, made him a target for the worst of the bullies as they wrongly assumed he would be an easy target.
If not for Lucy Carmichael, Harry wouldn't have anyone he would consider a possible a friend. The fifteen year old fifth year went out of her way to make sure he wasn't bullied, at least as far as the Ravenclaw common room went. She couldn't follow him everywhere though, and truthfully there was no need for her to protect him as he could easily take care of himself. She persisted in watching over him though and for that reason alone Harry considered her as a potential friend (he was still getting to know her, after all).
In October, things took a sharp downhill turn. The number of students taking perceived slight on Harry's account for one reason or another doubled after he cunningly got one of the Weasley twin's pranks to backfire on them with the help of the two eevee. That particular incident had earned the male eevee the name Spy Cat, as the clever little Pokémon been the key player during the turnabout. That scheme had actually earned Harry his first ever detention from Professor McGonagall after she'd taken offense to Harry outwitting her precious pranksters. He hadn't minded though because the twins had ended up with a week's worth of detentions from Filch for making a huge mess on the fourth floor.
Only the unintentional discovery of a fringe benefit of the charmed collars saved Harry from falling victim to the increased number of students out for his blood after that incident. He'd been chasing Dilemma, who'd snuck out of his room just before curfew, down the stairs to the common room. When he finally caught up with her, he'd scooped her up in his arms when a group of the sixth year Ravenclaws that didn't like Harry had entered the room from the passageway leading to the outside corridor. Being unexpectedly caught alone by a group of better trained students, with most of the other students ensconced up in their rooms, had Harry concerned that there would be another incident involving a black out period and new injuries as there were four of them and only one of him.
Surprisingly, the four boys had breezed right passed Harry as if he wasn't there. And there had been no way they couldn't have seen him; he'd been standing out in the center of the room when they entered the room. A smug mew from his arms reminded him of the function of the special collars the Pokémon wore and gave him the answer to why he hadn't been beaten to a pulp while temporarily scared out of his mind. Apparently, the wards on the collar extended far enough out that anyone in direct contact with the wearer would also be protected by the enchantments.
That startling and much appreciated discovery led to Harry carrying around one of the eevee on his shoulder whenever he was not in class or eating in the Great Hall. All he had to do was slip the Pokémon into his expanded book bag right after he took his seat before class and let him or her out right as the bell rang; unless he was required to stay behind and speak with one of his professors. Another plus was that his virtual ability to disappear when not in class or at a meal was that it frustrated those who wished to confront him to no end and allowed him to witness their aggravated rants over their inability to corner him.
By the time Halloween arrived, the ability to slip through the halls unnoticed earned him the nickname of Ghost Boy. Some of the second and third years even began speculating that he was an actual ghost that just arrived at Hogwarts and hadn't yet realized he was dead; hence the reason he was only seen during classes and meals.
At the end of the month, Halloween brought its own set of additional problems. Since the night before all Hallows Eve, all anyone could talk about was Harry Potter this and Harry Potter that as they practically fawned over the identity thief. To top it off, Harry finally learned that his parents were murdered on Halloween night back in nineteen eighty-one. He'd never bothered reading all of the various magical books told of their deaths since he was skeptical of their accuracy.
So when he overheard the youngest Weasley loudly commiserating with his unauthorized stunt double, he was blindsided with the news that the next day was the tenth anniversary of his parents' death and that the wizarding world treated the day as a victory celebration instead of the tragedy it really was. Though he could see why they wished to celebrate the downfall of Voldemort it still hurt to know that no one seemed to spare a thought to James and Lily Potter's death (or any of the other people that had fallen to Voldemort's wand).
If not for the fact that there were classes to attend on Halloween day; Harry would have holed himself up in his room all day to avoid the growing excitement. As it was, he knew he had no good reason to skip class and telling anyone the truth would reveal his hidden identity. That meant he would also be forced to attend the feast that was being given that night so as not to draw attention to himself.
The day started out bad and only got worse right after his first class, Charms, as he witnessed the Witless Wonder Weasley, also known as Ron, demeaning the Granger snob for trying to help him (albeit with her usual superior attitude) with their practical lesson that morning. Sure, Granger was annoying but that wasn't any reason to bully and humiliate her to the point of tears. Harry was half tempted to confront the red-headed menace over the issue but refrained due to the presence of the fraud. Harry hadn't seen the Granger girl for the rest of the day.
Potions class later that day was even more horrible than usual. Snape was in fine form as he hovered around the fake Potter's table spouting demeaning insults against James Potter with every breath he took. Each insult from the overgrown bully wormed its way through Harry's control and added to his anger and disgust as he listened to the greasy haired man spout his diatribe. Only the fact that Harry sat several rows away from his counterpart and wasn't the perceived direct target of the man's ire saved said man from what Harry and Ash had taken to calling his 'Blackout Incidents'. Though it had been a close thing as several times Harry felt something deep inside of him stirring each time the caustic wizard opened his mouth.
After that class period ended, Harry spent lunch time hiding in the kitchens with the elves so he didn't have to deal with the other students right then; though the poor things were more than a little distraught over Harry's lack of appetite (unwittingly blaming themselves for not making the food tempting enough). His last three classes of the day, Herbology, History, and Flying, dragged on endlessly as he wished for the day to be over. Flying class was exceptionally horrid as all anyone could talk about was the approaching feast. Even Professor Hooch must have gotten tired of listening to the excited students as she released them from class a full twenty minutes early, much to Harry's relief. Of course, that only gave the first year students license to more freely express their growing excitement.
And if the long day wasn't bad enough, the feast that night was nothing but one long disaster. First, the house elves apparently forgot about providing Harry with his specialized diet (possibly because he'd unintentionally upset them during lunch). Everything on the table was practically drenched in sugars and high carb starches and most of the dishes offered were more along the lines of desserts then they were entrees. The elves even left out his personal self refilling pitcher of water they had been providing for him ever since his second day at Hogwarts. And unlike those first few meals he suffered through, there weren't even any dishes available that night for him to make a meal out of.
Harry considered getting up and approaching his Head of House about the matter but the diminutive wizard was currently engaged in a conversation with the Headmaster and Harry was loath to draw that much attention to himself by interrupting. Worse still Lucy, ever looking out for his well being, kept trying to talk him into sampling some of the dishes (he didn't blame her for that since he had just been telling her how hungry he was). He was just preparing to try and explain why he wasn't eating anything when the bumbling Defense professor (whom Harry didn't particularly care for because the man was borderline incompetent and hard to understand) crashed through the double doors at the entrance of the hall and squealed like a little girl as he delivered the terrible news that a troll had been found in the dungeon.
Panic ensued until Headmaster Dumbledore firing off a series of loud spells that immediately caught everyone's attention. Harry was sure the purported greatest wizard of the age would tell the students to calmly remain where they were while the teachers handled the rogue troll. Only to be shocked to his core as the man instead sent hundreds of students out into the very halls where the troll was lurking. Harry was still trying to comprehend the senselessness of sending the students to their common rooms when there was an apparently dangerous beast loose in the castle when Lucy prodded him to get in line with the other students as all of the Ravenclaw prefects were leading their house back to the tower.
Because he'd been slow to respond, Harry and Lucy ended up being at the tail end of the long line of about seventy students; a placement that turned out to be a godsend for one Hermione Granger, snob extraordinaire. Halfway on the track back to their common room, the line of Ravenclaws stumbled across the vilest of stenches filling the hallways. The older students, who'd been lucky enough to have competent professors in Defense Against the Dark Arts during previous years, immediately recognized the smell for what it was and promptly led the younger and more vulnerable students through a nearby shortcut that would drop them down a floor to safety (the older students not wasting any time in following them). Harry and Lucy, the two of them lagging at the end of the line and the last to reach the passage, were therefore the only ones to hear the sound of terrified screams coming from the girl's bathroom just down the hall.
"We can't just leave that girl on her own while we try to find a professor," Lucy whispered fearfully as the two of them shared a nervous look. "The troll could kill her, whoever she is, before they could get here."
"Can we distract the troll long enough for her to escape?"
"Maybe, but there's a chance we could end up getting hurt ourselves, or worse," Lucy speculated as they began jogging towards the piercing screams.
"So, we stay out of arm's reach," Harry quipped back logically as they opened the door and found the huge troll cornering the long absent Granger. "And well out of reach of its club…" he added nervously once he'd seen the huge tree branch in the creature's hand.
"Right, I'll distract the brute, you rescue the girl," Lucy instructed as she began firing petrification hexes and slowing charms at the monstrous troll.
Harry didn't need to be told twice. The moment the troll turned its attention to the older girl, Harry dove around it and grabbed Granger's arm in an effort to get her out of the room. Unfortunately, the girl was too caught up in her panic over her encounter with the troll and she immediately began fighting him.
"Ow, damn it, ouch, stop that!" Harry hissed as she bit and clawed at his hands and face. "I'm, ow, trying to, for crying out loud… I'm trying to save you!" Behind him, the troll roared angrily, causing both Harry and the girl to cover their ears from the sound. Harry glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Lucy get clipped on the knee by the trolls club; her wand flying across the room as she lost hold of it as she fell. "Oh shit, we are so dead…" Harry barked as he worriedly watched the fifth year hit the ground hard enough to knock her out.
By a stroke of luck, exceedingly bad luck, Harry's comment drew the attention of the now fuming troll; apparently trolls had better hearing than he would have guessed. Beside him, Granger let off another piercing scream which only served to annoy the troll further and make Harry's ears ring.
"Cut that out! You're just aggravating the damn thing!" Harry hissed as he searched desperately for a place to hide in the destroyed bathroom or something to use as a weapon.
At that moment the door leading into the bathroom opened and for one brief second he felt hope, thinking that reinforcements had arrived. Tragically, while help had arrived, it was not a teacher or an older student with the knowledge of how to defeat or subdue the mountain troll. Harry's two eevee, who'd been hiding under the tables eating scraps during the feast (and accidentally left behind in the furor of leaving the Great Hall), had apparently decided to come looking for their trainer. Harry's heart froze in fear as he caught sight of the two tiny fox-cats and he whispered a single horrified 'no' as the two Pokémon immediately launched themselves at the troll without any hesitation.
02-05-13: This chapter has just been edited to correct a few minor punctuation errors, a grammatical error or two, clean up of a few sentences in order to smooth out a few awkward areas, break a few paragraphs down so as to improve readability, and had the date and place stamps added to the top of each section to allow for easier tracking of the timeline.