Chapter 10 – Tickets
Dumbledore was currently in a meeting with Minister Fudge and Amelia Bones, the head of the DMLE. Dolores Umbridge was standing in the back, with a quill and clipboard. They had gone over all the necessary stuff and the meeting had needed.
Dumbledore was particularly looking forward to going back, he had to make last minute changes to the timetables and now most of the classes had all four houses attending at a time. It was hard work but it had to be done to deter Harry from the Slytherin's and show him that the Gryffindor's were better.
Dumbledore never expected Harry to be a Hufflepuff, a Gryffindor yes, but not a Hufflepuff. Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were neutral in the Slytherin and Gryffindor rivalry, they stayed out of it as much as possible. If Harry was a Ravenclaw then Dumbledore would be a bit more worried about him leaning towards Slytherin, but he was a Hufflepuff, disappointingly. And as everyone knows, Hufflepuffs aren't really that important.
"Now that we have all that out of the way, we can relax" Fudge sighed
"Indeed" Amelia Bones nodded "I plan to go home and start writing a letter to my niece, I miss her dreadfully, though I take comfort in knowing that Harry Potter will be there along with her friends to keep her safe"
"Ah yes" Dumbledore said "I've noticed that she is also friends with Neville Longbottom and Daphne Greengrass" Dumbledore spoke with the hope that he could lead the conversation in a way that would allow him to get more information about Harry.
"Ah yes" Amelia nodded "those four have been friends for the longest time, Henry Potter had decided to introduce them one by one to young Harry when he was younger, they all hit it off and now they are practically family."
"Ah yes, that reminds me" Fudge smiled "Harry Potter is at Hogwarts, perhaps I could arrange a meeting with him"
"A meeting?" Amelia asked
"Yes, imagine how good the ministry would look if we were to be seen with the boy-who-lived"
"An excellent idea Cornelius" Umbridge smiled that girly smile
"I disagree" Amelia said, Dumbledore was about to put his foot down but Amelia had beaten him to it "if I was you then I wouldn't bother Harry"
"Why not?" Fudge asked, a little put out
"Because if you bother him then you risk bothering Henry Potter" Amelia said with a hint of warning in her voice "and I don't think you'd want to do that"
"I'm sure Mr Potter won't mind too much" Fudge replied
"I know Mr Potter a lot better than you" Amelia reminded him "and the one thing that man does not appreciate is people bothering his family"
"Understandable but surely he wouldn't object to a simple meeting" Fudge argued
"I did my job and warned you" Amelia shrugged "if you wish to ignore it then do so at your own peril"
"Mr Potter is a ministry employee" Umbridge interrupted "he should be honoured if the minister choses to see his nephew. And if he doesn't then he'll simply need to be reminded whom he works for"
"Ha" Amelia laughed "good luck with that, from what I know about Henry Potter, the job is more of a hobby for him"
"Hobby?" Dumbledore repeated
"Yes, hobby" Amelia nodded "he doesn't need the money with how big the Potter fortune is, he's also the inventor of the werewolf cure and had set records with his newts tests. He could very easily work anywhere he wanted, I know that he has a standing offer to work for Gringotts. Besides, he's not in much risk of being fired."
"What is that supposed to mean?" A cross Umbridge asked
"Henry Potter is a man blessed by magic to do whatever he wants, he's powerful enough to make the rest of us look like kittens, he's unaffected by the unforgivables, he's also the head of multiple most ancient and noble houses. Crime has gone down since he joined us, he's set department records, in fact he is so skilled that he makes Moody of all people jealous.
Add that to the fact that he is the boy-who-lives uncle and best friends with Sirius Black who is the head of the most ancient and noble house of Black, an excellent auror and the man the ministry had unjustly imprisoned. Well, you see where I'm going with this, at least I hope you do. Getting rid of him harms us far more than it harms him and could very well be the worst decision of your careers."
"Where is Mr Potter?" Dumbledore asked curiously
"He's left work for the day" Amelia replied "said he wishes to visit his wife and nephew"
"What?!" Dumbledore blurted out in surprise "you mean he's at Hogwarts right now?!"
"Yes" Amelia said but before she could say anymore Dumbledore had left the room.
Dumbledore arrived at the castle, he had made his way towards the history of magic classroom. He stopped just outside and listened to the voices inside.
"Snape was alright" He heard a young boy's voice, he assumed it was Harry
"Of course he was" A female voice said with a hint of smugness, Dumbledore believed it to be Gwen Potter. "How was the rest of your day?"
"It was great" Harry replied "I enjoyed it, my favourite class was defiantly history" Harry said, looking directly at his history teacher and aunt.
"Such a charmer" A third voice laughed but then suddenly stopped "how long are you planning to listen to our conversation Dumbledore?" Dumbledore jumped back in surprise, he slowly opened the door when he found Harry, Henry and Gwen Potter sitting on the desk and looking at him.
"Hello" Dumbledore greeted, trying to make the best of the situation "I didn't mean to overhear…"
"of course not" Henry interrupted with levels of sarcasm too high to not be noticed "now may we help you?"
"Mr Potter" Dumbledore spoke
"Yes?" Both male Potters said at the same time
"Mr Henry Potter" Dumbledore amended "may I ask what you are doing here?"
"You may" Henry nodded, a silence filled the room until Dumbledore realised that he actually had to ask.
"What are you doing here?" Dumbledore asked
"Sitting, breathing, talking, blinking, etc." Henry replied
"I meant why you are in Hogwarts?"
"I came to visit my wife and my nephew" Henry replied, ruffling Harry's hair which was currently blue for some reason
"I would have preferred if you notified me before coming to my school" Dumbledore said
"I'm sorry but I had more important things on my mind than you" Henry stood up, he picked Harry up in his arms "now, why don't you show me around Harry?"
"If I say yes, will you put me down?" Harry joked
"Might as well, you're so heavy now, you're going to get fat soon" Henry popped Harry down
"I am not"
"Yes you are"
"Am not"
"Are too"
"Will the two of you just go?" Gwen interrupted
"You heard the lady" Henry nudged Harry who started walking, Henry followed right behind him and the two left the classroom.
"Mrs Potter" Dumbledore said to Gwen "I would prefer it if I am given prior warning before you invite your husband to my school"
"I didn't invite him" Gwen replied "besides, there are no rules preventing him from visiting as he is not a criminal. He is also Harry's uncle and my husband so he is allowed to visit."
"Mrs Potter, I am the headmaster"
"That doesn't matter" Gwen responded "it has nothing to do with the fact that no rules have been broken"
"I'm simply asking for warning" Dumbledore said, not liking the way that he was being addressed
"Ah yes, the next time my husband decides to surprise me then I will let you know" Gwen said sarcastically, even though Henry could never technically surprise her thanks to their mental connection through the soul bond, but there was no reason to let Dumbledore know that.
Harry and Henry made their way to the great hall, Henry looked around fondly. Memories of the hall filled his head, he remembered having a lot of fun here in his previous lives. He did a lot of things, embarrass Ron, embarrass Malfoy, and embarrass Dumbledore, just a lot of embarrassing prats. Well, when he wasn't snogging, eating, pranking or duelling.
"So, what do you think?" Harry asked "do you want to sit with me at the Hufflepuff table?"
"Sure thing kid" Henry nodded and the two made their way to the table, they had just sat down when Daphne, Susan and Neville came over and sat next to them. "Alright guys?" Henry asked, they all nodded in response.
"How are you doing?" Susan asked
"I'm doing good" Henry replied "but I'm just a boring adult, tell me about you guys. How's school going? How's the classes? You guys having fun?"
"Yeah, we're doing great" Harry said as he turned his hair yellow to match the Hufflepuff symbol "classes are alright, I like Professor Flitwick the best. McGonagall's great, Snape's alright."
"I like Flitwick the best too" Daphne smiled "he's so fun and his class is great"
"He told me that my mum was good at charms" Harry added
"She was" Henry smiled, remembering his life as Hadrius Black where he was in school alongside Lily "she was good at charms and potions, she was a natural in both"
"Hmm, I like herbology" Neville said
"My favourite is probably transfigurations so far" Susan said
"That's good" Henry replied "so Susan, have you been keeping these three out of trouble?"
"Hey!" Harry, Neville and Daphne objected
"Nah" Susan shook her head "I decided it was pointless to try and have opted to just stay out of the blast zone"
"Smart girl" Henry said approvingly, he then turned to Harry "so, tell me Prongslet, done any pranks yet?"
"Not yet" Harry admitted
"What?!" Henry said in mock shock and terror "Not even a single one?"
"We're working on it" Harry assured his dramatic uncle "we wanted to make the first one a good one, we're going to prank the whole school net week."
"Awesome" Henry grinned "Padfoot and Moony will be proud"
"Thanks, don't tell Aunt Gwen" Harry requested
"Please" Henry scoffed "she knows you're already planning one, just try not to leave any evidence behind so she isn't forced to punish you"
"Yes sir" Harry grinned
"You know, you're the best role model a child could ask for" Daphne smirked
"High praise" Henry responded "now, have you guys made any new friends? Just to clarify I mean have you met people that have become your friends, not actually physically making new friends"
"Not yet" Harry answered honestly "we've met some people but I don't think we know them well enough to call them friends yet"
"Though we have met a few annoying people that we will definitely not be calling friends" Daphne said
"Ah" Neville said in understanding "Malfoy, Granger and Ron Weasley"
"Would you care to tell me more?" Henry said, he found it slightly amusing that those three would always cause problems for him in one way or another, in this case it was this world's version of him.
"Well" Daphne started "Draco Malfoy is an arrogant jerk, he walks and talks like he's better than everyone and that we should worship the ground we work on because of his father"
"Please" Henry snorted "his father's just rich, the Potter fortune alone makes his money look like chump change. He's also a member of the school board but me and Sirius have multiple seats on the board. We also rank higher than him in the government and in blood status seeing as his family is just a noble one while ours is in the most ancient and noble category."
"He still acts like a prat" Neville shrugged "oh and then we have Hermione Granger"
"Oh her" Susan sighed "I've seen her in class, she always glares at anyone who answers any of the questions before her. She glares at Harry all the time"
"Just ignore her" Henry advised "she's probably insecure or whatever excuse you want to give and feels the need to be the smartest person in the room. Intelligence is good but the truly intelligent appreciate intelligence all around instead of trying to be the sole owner of it.
She wants to be better than you, let her try, you guys just focus on being the best you can be. She may see it as a competition of sorts, I want you guys to just see it as something you should do your best at. Now, tell me about the third prat you guys mentioned"
"Ron Weasley" Harry spoke in a tired voice "he keeps trying to be my friend"
"Probably because you're the boy-who-lived" Daphne guessed
"Probably" Harry agreed "anyway, he insults Neville and calls him a squib and he insults Daphne and calls her dark and evil because she's a Slytherin. He also keeps trying to get me to go to Gryffindor, even though I don't want to, not that I have anything against Gryffindor. It's just that I am a Hufflepuff and I'm proud, I'm a Potter in Hufflepuff"
"A Potterpuff" Daphne grinned
"Yeah, sadly you'll have to deal with a lot of people like that" Henry said sympathetically "but at least you can tell why he wants to be your friend, stick with your true friends and you'll be fine."
"Thanks Uncle Henry" Harry replied "oh, I haven't told you about potions class"
Harry walked into potions class, he took a seat next to Daphne. Ron Weasley saw them and approached them.
"Harry" Ron said with a concerned voice "why are you sitting with her? She's a Slytherin!"
"Daphne!" Harry turned to Daphne dramatically and looked at her with a fake hurt look "You didn't tell me you were a Slytherin!"
"Must of have slipped my mind" Daphne played along "is that a problem?"
"Hmm" Harry adopted a thoughtful look "I might be able to get over it"
"How kin of you" She said dryly
"Harry" Ron interrupted, but before he could say anymore Snape had walked into the room and Ron ran back to his seat by the Gryffindor's.
"There will be no foolish wand waving or misbehaving in this class" Snape made his way to the front, he stopped at the front and began to take the register, he slightly paused at Harry's name. His original reaction to Harry was told to bugger off out of a fear of an angry Mrs Potter and an extremely healthy desire to live.
"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making. As there is little wand waving many of you will find it hard to believe that it is magic. I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even put a stopper on death. Providing you all aren't as big of dunderheads as I usually have to teach" Snape at that point noticed that Harry was taking notes, as was Daphne Greengrass, Neville Longbottom and Susan Bones.
"Pop quiz" Snape said, Hermione sat straighter, Ron's shoulders slumped whilst Harry and friends sat with a neutral look on their face. "Mr Potter" Snape turned to Harry, who's hair unconsciously turned silver and his eyes green, Snape held back a smile at that reaction "tell me, what would I get if I added powdered rood of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Hermione Granger, despite not being asked and Harry not having enough time to answer, raised her hand,
"The draught of living death sir" Harry answered, his Uncle Henry and Aunt Gwen were always good at potions, that combined with the fact that his mother was brilliant at them had made them a point of interest for Harry and he found that he quite enjoyed them.
"Where would you look if I asked you to find a bezoar?"
"If I remember correctly then they would be located in the stomach of a goat"
"What's the difference between monkshood and Wolfsbane?" Snape asked his last question, curious to see if Harry could get this. Hermione Granger was standing up with her hand in the air "sit down you silly girl!" Snape snapped, a little tired of seeing the girl bounce up and down
"There is no difference sir" Harry answered "they're the same plant and go by the name of aconite"
"Hmm, that is correct" Snape was beginning to see Mrs Potters point, perhaps she was right and Potter was more like his mother after all. "Well, why aren't the rest of you writing this down?"
The lesson continued, Snape had set them on to making their potions. He walked around, observing each student, he noticed Granger glaring at Potter and not focusing on her work. This out Snape in a dilemma, should he tell her off or should he let her go about it and ruin her potion then tell her of? Naturally he went with the second option and continued moving around the class. He noticed that Potter and his friends were making excellent potions, that was when he heard an explosion from behind him.
The entire class looked at the general direction of the explosion and found the cause to be Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger.
"Wow" Henry said "I'm guessing Snape took off a lot of points for that"
"Oh yeah" Neville nodded in confirmation "Ron then tried arguing with him and lost more points"
"Hey guys" A voice called, Ron Weasley was walking up to them
"Speak of the devil" Susan commented
"Hi Harry" Ron smiled at his supposed best friend
"Ron" Harry did his best not to sigh, Ronald Weasley was slowly but surely chipping away at Harry's ability to remain polite "can I help you?"
"Who's this?" Ron gestured to Henry
"That's my Uncle Henry"
"You know, you're supposed to introduce yourself first" Henry pointed out, Ron's face turned red slightly
"Oh…uh yeah, I'm Ron, Ron Weasley" Ron replied "hold on…I've heard me dad talking about you"
"Oh yeah" Henry said curiously "what did he say?"
"Well sir" Fred answered as he and George walked over "he says you're one of the few decent blokes in the ministry"
"And we'd be inclined to agree" George smiled "how are we sir?"
"Brilliant boys, just came by to visit the new marauders" Henry gestured to Harry and friends
"The new marauders?" The twins both asked as they both raised eyebrows at that
"Are they any good at pranking?" George asked
"They better be after all the effort me, Moony and Padfoot put into them" Henry replied
"They've been trained by legends!" Fred whispered to George, the two then fell to their knees and began bowing at Harry and his friends
"We're not worthy!" The two chanted "We're not worthy!"
"That's right" Daphne said in her most pompous voice "be gone with you"
"Yes my lady" The twins laughed and run away
"Uncle Henry?!" Tonks called as she saw them, Henry got to her feet and Tonks ran up to Henry and pulled him into a tight hug. Since Tonks was twelve she had begun calling Henry 'Uncle Henry' just like Harry did, Tonks had a lovely relationship with the two adult Potters. With Gwen Potter she saw her as an awesome and fun role model, Henry was sort of like the father she had always wanted.
Sadly for her, her father had died during the last war, so Henry was the closest thing she had to a father. He was funny, and kind and patient with her. The one time she tripped and broke one of his things he just laughed and repaired it, he also helped her learn more about her own metamorphmagus powers.
There were many more things he did for her, Tonks remembered him threatening her first boyfriend and implied that if she wasn't treated right then dementors may come visiting. He also taught her a ton of spells and helped her a lot with her school work, the list of things he did went on and on.
Andromeda Tonks was still her mother and she loved her dearly, but Harry was her little brother, and she loved him just as much as she loved Henry and Gwen.
"Alright Tonks?" Henry hugged her back, they let go and Henry began looking over Tonks "damn look at you, you're all grown up. Little Tonksie is becoming a man….or woman in your case"
"Thanks for noticing" Tonks laughed "what are you doing here?"
"Oh, I see how it is, Uncle Henry can't just come by and visit" Henry said with a mock hurt look on his face
"Yes" Harry and Tonks answered at the same time
"Well, I am hurt" Henry declared "I come here with gifts and find out that I'm not wanted"
"Gifts?" Harry repeated as he and Tonks perked up
"Yes, gifts" Henry nodded
"Well, now that we think about it, we like having you here" Harry grinned
"Oh, definitely" Tonks nodded "now give us our prezzies"
"Fine" Henry sighed "sit down Tonks" Tonks did as told and sat next to Harry "now, my gift is not just for you two. It's also for Daphne, Susan and Neville"
"What is it?" A curious Daphne asked
"Well" Henry smiled proudly "I've only gone and got us all tickets to the next 'weird sisters' concert"
"You what?!" The group exclaimed
"Yep" Henry nodded "now Daphne, Neville and Susan, I've talked with your parents, grandma and aunt. You three can come if you want, would you like to come?"
"Yeah!" Neville and Susan nodded
"Hell yeah!" Daphne exclaimed
"Great, now Tonks" Henry turned "I've asked your mum, she says that you can go"
"What? Really?!" A surprised Tonks asked
"Well…I had to promise to keep any non-approved boys away from you but yes, you can go. Do you want to come?"
"I'd love to…but I have my newt exams" She sighed sadly
"Tonks, those exams are at the end of the year" Henry reminded her "I don't think that you will jeopardise your entire life by taking a single weekend off at the start of the year. But if you go and are still worried then you can study with me when we have time"
"Thank you! Thank you!" Tonks jumped up and pulled Henry into another hug, she kissed him on the cheek before she let him go
"You're welcome" Henry chuckled before looking at Harry "now, your aunt won't be able to come with us. I doubt that she's going to be allowed to leave just to spend her weekend at a concert" It didn't really matter to Gwen as she could just view the whole thing through Henry's mind "but Padfoot and Moony will be there as well. Now, I have an extra ticket if you want to invite anyone else"
"Hmm" Harry thought about who he could invite, it was hard not to notice the look that Ron was giving him. Apparently the boy thought it was obvious that Harry was going to choose him, obviously there was no chance in that happening but Harry still thought it was weird how the boy immediately thought that. Harry looked around, wondering if there was anyone else he wanted to take, when suddenly it hit him.
"Harry" Henry said "anyone else or what?"
"Give me a sec" Harry got up to his feet and ran up to Theo Nott at the Slytherin table, he whispered into the boys ears. Nott's face went from surprised to confused to disbelieving but slowly he nodded. He got up and followed Harry back to the Hufflepuff table "this is Theodore Nott, can he come?" Harry said, ignoring the gaping Ron
"Sure" Henry shrugged and turned to Theo "nice to meet you, I'm Henry Potter"
"Uh…nice to meet you…I…are you sure you want me to come?" Nott asked nervously
"If you want to come then I have no problem with bringing you" Henry replied
"But…but didn't my dad try and kill you?"
"Yeah, and?" Henry asked "Kid, trust me when I say stronger and better wizards than your dad have tried to kill me."
"But…but you…"
"Hey kid" Henry interrupted "I'm not going to judge you on what your father has done, I'm going to treat you in a way worthy of how you act, understand?"
"Uh…yes…yes sir" Nott nodded quickly "but my father won't let me and…"
"I'll talk to your father" Henry reassured him "actually, while I'm at it, I'd like to have a talk with you sometime later. Perhaps this weekend, that alright with you?"
"Y…yes sir" Nott nodded
"Stand up straight" Henry instructed, Nott instantly obeyed "head up and shoulders out. Don't ever be ashamed of who you are, definitely don't join the death eaters but don't be ashamed. You're not a death eater, you are Theodore Nott. A Slytherin, a student and the boy that I'm taking to the weird sisters concert. You are no more than who you want to be, understand?"
"Yes" Nott nodded, his eyes a bit teary
"That's good" Henry smiled "I have to go now but I'll see you all later" Henry gave Tonks and Harry one last hug and left.
"Thanks Harry" Theo said appreciatively to Harry
"No problem" Harry waved him off "see you later mate"
"Yeah, see ya" Theo nodded and walked off, wiping his eyes on his sleeve.
"Harry! Are you mad?!" Ron demanded, reminding the group that he was still there "He's a Slytherin! You can't trust him! His dad's a death eater!"
"So?" Harry shrugged "What does it matter to me what his dad is? I think Theo is an alright guy"
"Harry" Tonks said before Ron could reply "can you come with me to the common room? I need to talk about some things with you"
"Sure, let's go" Harry picked up his stuff and followed Tonks out of the hall "What did you want to talk about?"
"I didn't, just thought I'd spare you from the noisy redhead" Tonks replied
"My hero" Harry said dramatically "looking forward to this weekend?"
"Yeah, it'd be nice to relax a little. Newts are killers, way worse than owls"
"Just to clarify, we're talking about the exams and not the animals, right?"
Gwen was called to McGonagall's office, not sure why that was but she went anyway. She hoped that Dumbledore wasn't in there, she was not in the mood for the old goat. When she entered she found Hermione Granger standing there with Professor McGonagall sitting at her desk.
"Hello Gwen" McGonagall greeted Gwen "it appears that the young student before me has some issues about Mr Potter that she wanted to discuss"
Meanwhile, in another part of the castle, Quirrell sat in his office. Planning and thinking of ideas to get the stone for his master, and get rid of the Potter brat. He hoped to do it soon, he was tired of all the damn stuttering and children.
A knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts, he stood up, made sure his turban was on properly and made his way towards the door. He opened it when he was greeted with the smiling face of Henry Potter.
"Hello" Henry Potter pushed Quirrell back in and closed the door "let's talk"
A.N: Hey guys, hope you enjoyed the chapter. I just wanted to let you know that while I will still be making more chapters for this story, I will be focusing more on my 'I'm not a hero' story. All this means is that the chapters will come out quicker and more frequently for the other story. As for this story, I don't know exactly how quickly I am able to release new chapters, combining the multiple stories I'm writing with my job, studying and all that means that the updates for this story will definitely be slower. I'm just saying this so that I don't have people wondering why I'm not uploading more chapters for the story while doing so for the other story. Not really wanting to write a chapter for the other story then have someone post a question and ask me why I've not updated this story, because if that happens then I will just panic and rush up a chapter. Just to sum up:
1) I will be focusing on 'I'm not a hero'
2) I will still be updating this story, just at a slower pace
3) I will also be occasionally updating my 'Chaos' story but at a slower pace, much like this one
4) Expect another chapter for 'I'm not a hero' soon.
Back to the actual story, I hope you all enjoyed it so far. I was hoping you guys could give me suggestions for what you want in this story. There are quite a few different ideas I have for how to go about it, and I'd like to hear your suggestions. Feel free to leave suggestions to the following:
* What would you guys like Henry to do to Quirrell?
* Scenarios for Tonks
* How much Theodore Nott do you guys want?
* Any scenarios involving Henry and Umbridge and/or Fudge.
*Ways for Harry (Harry, not Henry) to piss off Dumbledore
I can come up with ideas on my own but sometimes it's nice to hear what you guys want. Feel free to leave suggestions, or don't, it's up to you. Thanks again for reading and feel free to leave reviews.