A/N:My thanks to JohnyXD for pointing my mistake placing Riddle's manor in Little Whinging instead of Little Hangleton. It is now corrected.
CHAPTER 10 – Back at Hogwarts
Harry still had to return once more to the Greengrass mansion, taking advantage of another absence of the house owners, to deal with a matter raised by Daphne in a meeting of the group. Daphne herself led the two visitors into the living room where Harry waited, and introduced them before they all sat down.
"If you'll excuse me, I'll get right to the point." the still young and handsome Mrs Parkinson opened the conversation. Receiving an affirmative nod from Daphne and Harry, she went on: "My husband was not a good man, but he was a good father and husband. There was no love in our relationship, but neither was it a relationship of hatred, sadness, or disappointment. My daughter and I have always been treated with a minimum of dignity that many other women connected to the Death Eaters have never received. Primarily, we were never forced to take a stand on these issues of purity, power, and politics. But with Patrick's death this has all changed. He was the last man of his lineage, and he accumulated considerable wealth, expanding the family business."
"I presume the pressures have already begun, even so shortly after your husband's death," commented Daphne.
"Oh, yeah. The Parkinson family is available, with all its wealth and its hereditary seat in the Wizengamot. Just marry the widow to take possession of everything. And see, the widow has barely completed thirty-three years, is not so old, and is not so frightening to look at!" replied Belinda Parkinson with obvious sarcasm.
Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Daphne had asked him to listen to Mrs Parkinson's request carefully and unprejudiced, but that conversation about marriage made him worried.
"How could we help you, Mrs Parkinson?" he asked, wanting to discover as soon as possible what was expected of him.
"My residence is safe, and I have the means to live well for the rest of my life and many other lives. It's Pansy that worries me. Slytherin has never been an easy place to live, and with so many newly-orphaned boys who are still too young taking over the head of their families, I fear that some of them will try a move on my daughter."
Daphne and Harry exchanged a long look, and some thoughts, coming to a quick conclusion. Harry then addressed the hitherto silent Pansy: "Pansy, I can protect you at Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, provided you are willing to cooperate. It would be impossible to do it if it is against your will."
"How much of my freedom will I have to give up for this protection?" she asked in a neutral tone, which pleased her two classmates. Pansy was at least open to dialogue; otherwise she would be behaving with her usual superiority.
"If you can stay close to one of your roommates most of the time, and tell one of them where you will be when you need privacy, I think that would be enough," Harry replied.
"Do I have to put up with you or one of your Gryffindor friends following me everywhere?" Pansy asked again, amazed at how little the boy was asking.
"No, of course not. But if any danger arises, then one of my friends will intervene, for sure. In these, I hope rare, opportunities I will need you to cooperate with us."
Before Pansy could think of anything else, her mother returned to the conversation: "Under these conditions, Mr Potter, could you guarantee my daughter's safety? For the four years until her graduation?"
"I can do my best, and I think it will be enough. I am willing to take a magical oath in that regard."
"Such confidence!" commented Belinda before reaching the climax of the negotiation. "And what would be the price for that protection?"
"Unrestricted access to the library of the Parkinson family to make a copy for our collection," the boy replied immediately.
Mrs Parkinson was surprised by the answer. She expected to have to negotiate a high sum and perhaps some favours, such as temporarily lending their seat in Wizengamot. She did not value the books she had just inherited, and she would have given them to the boy if he asked. That he wanted only to copy them was something that would not affect her. It was like getting the protection she wanted for her daughter for free! She immediately agreed, and would wait for a contact from the Carrow twins for a future visit to the Parkinson's mansion.
-o0o-
Back on the island, the group received the news very well about the agreement with Mrs Parkinson. But not only Harry had news.
"The protection will be much easier with this," said Morag, giving the two newcomers a parchment for each.
Daphne looked curiously at the blank parchment she had received, but Harry immediately realized what it was all about: "Did you do it, then? Duplicated the Marauders' map?"
"Oh yeah! It was a very interesting challenge, and it will help us a lot in the castle. We create one for each member of the group and a few more as reserve. If something unusual happens this year, we'll be ready!"
"We also have a surprise!" Bridget said, bringing Trisha with her.
"We found the Riddle's residence. It's in Little Hangleton," Bridget finished.
"The cemetery is nearby. It was easy to find the tomb of Voldemort's father and grandparents," Trisha explained. "They were the newest and most elaborate of the place. Now the three of them are resting in another, simpler place. We left a surprise if Voldemort wanted their bones for some nefarious ritual."
"Do not leave me in suspense, woman," Harry asked. "What did you do?"
"We used sheep bones that we took in a slaughterhouse nearby, properly transfigured to look like humans," Trisha replied. "Ever thought of a Voldemort covered in fluffy white wool? Maybe we could convince him to use a little bell tied around his neck?"
-o0o-
"Oh, Severus, thank you for coming. We need to talk a little. Sit down, please" Albus received his Potions Master in his Hogwarts' office.
"What can I do for you, Albus?"
"It's about your behaviour toward young Harry, Severus."
"This boy is already over-pampered by everyone here, Albus. I refuse to treat him like the prince he claims to be. I will not make any concessions in this point!"
"I do not want you to do it, my friend. In fact, I really think maybe a tougher treatment on your part is just what young Harry is needing right now. "
Snape looked intently at the old wizard, studying him closely. Of course he was interested in the opportunity to treat Potter as he deserved to be treated, but there was something hidden there that left him with one foot behind.
"Why such a sudden change, Albus?"
"Well, you certainly heard of the terrible tragedy in the Quidditch Cup and how, if the information published in The Quibbler is correct, it directly affects several of your students..."
"As far as I could check the information in The Quibbler is correct. Any news about potential culprits?"
"Nothing, except it was the work of a group of people, not a single super wizard as Rita Skeeter wanted. Because of the speed and efficiency of the attack on the Death Eaters, it was sure premeditated, which indicates that this group had time to plan measures to escape witness observation."
"It's going to be a difficult year in Slytherin. Using Potter to lighten a little the mood can help, but what exactly do you expect to achieve with it?"
"I need to gain the boy's attention and confidence. All these half-truths and misguided interpretations of facts in my past that came to the surface did much damage to my image. I lost my posts at the Wizengamot and the International Confederation, and I lost the trust of Harry and Sirius. I can spend some time without the first two, but it is crucial that I regain the last two as soon as possible."
"So your plan is for me to be the evil teacher so you can get close to the boy as the good headmaster who solves everything ... Trivial, but with Potter it should work without problems."
"So, my friend, can I count on your help?"
"Maybe I can be persuaded to help you. Exactly how far can I go against Potter?"
-o0o-
"Hey, what are all these guys doing in our compartment, Harry?" came in already questioning Ron Weasley, one of the last students to board the Express, as tradition dictates.
"Actually the compartment is Susan's and Hannah's. They invited Hermione and I to join them," Harry replied as calmly as he could.
"What happened to that mirror you gave me? It doesn't work!" complained the redhead.
"As I explained in my letter, I broke mine ..." began to explain Harry until interrupted again by Ron.
"Hey! What is this Slytherin doing next to you? Harry, you cannot trust them, they're all venomous snakes!" Ron said pointing at Astoria, sitting next to his friend.
"Didn't you read the newspaper during the holidays, Ronald? Astoria and Harry are engaged," asked Hermione this time, angry at the ex-friend's insensitivity.
"I read about it! But she is engaged to the heir of the Blacks, that's what the headline said..." explained the redhead until he stopped to think for a moment. "Hey, don't tell me that Harry is the Black's heir!" Already taken by jealousy, the redhead turned to Harry and said, "Don't tell me that besides being an heir to the Potters' fortune, you will inherit the fortune of the Blacks too? Aren't you ever going to be satisfied, Potter? Too bad you will not be able to enjoy all this much with a filthy snake as a bride! There's no room here for me, I'm going to look for the boys. Find me when you're ready to apologize for all these shenanigans, Potter!" he finished before marching off in annoyance.
Astoria summed up the situation with a question for Harry and Hermione: "Help me to remember. What was the reason you believed him to be a friend?"
-o0o-
Blaise Zabini prided himself on his power of observation, his attention to details and his logical reasoning ability, three important qualities in the magical world because of their rarity. Today, these three qualities were united giving him a simple message: "DANGER! ATTENTION!"
From the window of his compartment, where he was already installed in the company of Millicent Bulstrode and Lilith Moon, he saw when the two other people he hoped to join them arrived: Tracy Davies and Daphne Greengrass. That Daphne's younger sister was not with them was a surprise; that Pansy Parkinson was, a much larger one.
The three entered the compartment greeting those already present more amicably than usual, which was another warning signal in Pansy's case. She had always been courteous to her colleagues, but never friendly.
The way the girls finally settled in also made the boy curious. He usually occupied a space near the window with Tracy at his side and Daphne beside her. Millicent and Lilith would occupy the other bench, each at one end. Today, for some reason, these two were on his bench, while Pansy was surrounded by Tracy and Daphne in the other.
Everyone knows girls always go to the bathroom in groups... except today with his companions. Half the trip had passed, and Pansy had not gotten up once, while the others seemed to be taking turns outside the cabin, one at a time, and taking a long time outside.
In fact, this was another point that did not escape Zabini's observations. There was an endless procession of girls passing through their compartment all the time. Some movement was expected at the beginning and near the end of the trip, but little during it. Today the movement was above normal during the whole trip.
"Okay, how about somebody tell me what's going on?" He finally asked as Daphne returned from another walk, her third in less than an hour.
The hand that Daphne lifted prevented the other girls from starting a round of denials and dissimulations. The blonde studied him for a few moments before asking, "Are you really interested to know, Zabini? Interested to the point of taking a magical oath of secrecy?"
"Really?" he said as he thought of a more appropriate response. "If only I knew that it was really something important ..."
"Just the future of the whole magical world," answered Daphne, enjoying the shock her response had caused to the boy.
-o0o-
"Alastor Moody sent his greetings to the group for the idea of how to neutralize the most dangerous prisoners of Azkaban. The idea was successfully implemented, and only Moody, Aunt Amelia, and the person in charge of the prison, who is an old friend of the family, know the secret" Susan explained to Harry during the trip.
"With this tournament taking place at Hogwarts this year, it will be a pleasure to have Moody around, although I'm afraid how much he'll require of us in his classes," commented Harry.
"Harry, you should be glad we have a demanding teacher!" interrupted Hermione. "We should strive to learn as much as we can!"
"Hermione, you do not know Moody. You will discover that there are more and less painful means of learning, and that our new teacher favours the most painful ones," replied Harry.
"It's true, Hermione. I've known Moody since childhood. We will discover all our limits because he will be constantly demanding more than we can do," explained Susan. "I feel sorry for whoever tries to take his classes without dedication."
-o0o-
"What do we have here?" asked a voice at the door of Harry's compartment. "Oh, Merlin, it's Scarhead and his bunch of fans. That's nasty!"
"I pity those who cannot appreciate the female company, Malfoy. But even for those who prefer to play on the other team, Crabbe and Goyle, Dragirl? Seriously? Even you could do better than that, don't you?"
-o0o-
"I never thought anyone as pale as Malfoy could blush so fast!" Harry commented to the group.
"I never thought I'd see the day that Harry Potter kept his cool to beat the platinum boy at his own game instead of going for physical aggression," Hermione smiled at her friend.
"Living and learning. The new Harry will not be a push-over, but neither will he fall like a duckling in any childish provocation."
-o0o-
"No, Dumbledore, there is no reason why my godson should have to be in your presence alone. You have my floo address if you need it, and Minerva can take care of all the simpler cases," Sirius told the old wizard.
"Be reasonable, Sirius. There is no reason for me to be deprived of contact with my students..."
"Dumbledore, you've always been away from the students. If it were not for the pranks, the marauders would not have had so much contact with you. Most of the other students have never been to your office or exchanged a word with you personally! There's no reason to be different with Harry."
"Sirius, there's plenty of reason to be different with young Harry..."
"Reasons you refuse to disclose!"
"I have my reasons to keep it a secret! You should trust me..."
"And let Harry serve as a slave to whom now, after the Dursleys? Frankly, Albus, what an abysmal decision!"
"It was the best for young Harry at that moment! I do not see how you cannot understand the situation we were in..."
"Enough! I will not waste time arguing with you. It's useless! Here is the official DMLE document. If you want to speak to my godson personally, you can only do it in my presence! You're warned, Albus. If you disobey this official order I will use all the rigor of the law against you! Take care!"
-o0o-
Blaise watched in fascination the hustle and bustle in the Great Hall before the great school-opening party, amazed that his Slytherin companions not included in the great secret didn't notice anything strange. Harry and his Know-It-All friend, for example, were not in their usual spot at the centre of the Gryffindor table, but at the end near the teachers' table. It was obvious that the golden trio no longer included the red-headed glutton, and that the two were prepared to co-opt the entrants as soon as they were selected in the house of red and gold.
Looking at the other tables, it was clear that the same would occur in all of them. Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott in Hufflepuff, Morag Mac-Some-Thing, and the Chinese girl in Ravenclaw and Lilith, Daphne, Tracy, and Pansy in Slytherin itself were in a similar position.
At least the unusual position of the Slytherin girls and the presence of Pansy between them had caught the attention of some of his companions, though not for the right reasons. From the comments of the older students Blaise was able to hear, the reason for Pansy's presence with her roommates was clear: protection.
Those fools were thinking that Pansy's protection was limited to those girls! They were going to suffer a rude and painful surprise when they discovered that Potter and apparently half of the school were also involved.
-o0o-
The party ran with some surprises, as was always the case at Hogwarts. Ron Weasley surprised everyone by screaming against the cancellation of Quidditch games. And yet, this time he had a reason: why cancel the games if a single Hogwarts student would be involved in the competition and in just three days of the year?
To show how well the government was able to keep secrets, few students were surprised by the announcement of the Triwizard Tournament, and most of them were Muggle-born.
But what really surprised the group was the behaviour of Alastor Moody, the new Defence teacher, arriving late and ignoring the students that knew him, except for Harry, whom he looked at as if seeing him for the first time.
It was good that teachers liked to keep some distance from the students so they could exercise their authority, but Alastor acting like that was a surprise. And arriving late? He would always arrive hours before anyone at any meeting, to make sure to the exhaustion that no trap or ambush awaited him.
-o0o-
Early the next morning, Harry had to intervene against five sixth-year students of Slytherin, who thought it would be easy to ambush the fourth-year girls of their house on the way to breakfast. Daphne had discovered about the ambush through her copy of the Marauders' map and contacted Harry telepathically. With help from Hermione, Neville, Fay and Katy, Harry disarm the attackers and, complying with Hermione's request, was gentle this first first time as a warning. The five just suffered the embarrassment of entering the Great Hall naked and screaming about the plan to attack the girls in the busy peak of breakfast. As expected, a public confession of attempted rape and attack against minors was punished with the utmost rigor of ten points and a night of detention for each. Yes, sure, extreme rigor. But the signal was given to the other students that Pansy would not be an easy target.
-o0o-
That same night the group's nucleus gathered in an abandoned fifth-floor classroom for an urgent discussion.
"The map showed the name of Alastor Moody all day in the teacher's bedroom. The one who taught at his place was Alastor-like in appearance, but was shown on the map as 'Barty Crouch,'" explained Hermione.
"Bartemius Crouch is a high-ranking official in the magical government, currently leading the Department of International Cooperation," explained Susan. "I checked with Aunt Amelia, and he was at the Ministry all day."
"I researched the Crouch family. Bartemius Crouch had a single son, whom he named Junior. He was arrested in 1981 for being one of the Death Eaters who attacked Neville's parents." Lisa told the others then looked at poor Neville, who was visibly altered.
"Barty Crouch Junior allegedly died in prison in 1986. If he somehow forged his death to escape the prison and is actually teaching here at Hogwarts at Moody's place, I want a chance at revenge for what he did to my parents" declared the usually quiet and peaceful boy.
"Then you'll train with me," said Harry. "We have to think about how we will make the confrontation. Susan, it would be good if your aunt brought some aurors with her during one of the meals. It may be a bit dangerous to face the fake Moody with so many students around, but close to half of them will be on our side, and the teachers will help contain him. We need to make his capture a public fact, so we make sure the facts are not hidden behind tips and lies."
"Oh, Daddy will love it! Another thing to blame Dumbledore for. Not enough one Death Eater as a teacher, but two!" said Luna, already planning the article that she would write for The Quibbler.
"Well, it's another wrong thing at Hogwarts that Dumbledore should have noticed and corrected quickly, but he didn't," commented Harry dismayed.
"Do you think Crouch Junior is the servant mentioned in the second prophecy?" Astoria asked.
"Yes, and we know where Voldemort is," Harry replied. "Maebh confirmed yesterday in the mirror that the runic ward of activity detection that she set up around the Riddle mansion was activated when we was on the Express, and has been showing continuous activity ever since."
"Are you planning on attacking the mansion, Harry?" Daphne asked, apprehensive of the danger that such action would place any participants.
"Not for now. We need more information, watch the place for a few days maybe ..." Harry replied.
"I had an idea!" Astoria exclaimed suddenly, surprising the group. "Why we do not use some communication mirrors around the Riddle mansion? Dobby could install the mirrors for us. House elves are excellent when it comes to being unnoticed."
"Great idea, Tori! I'm going to talk to Dobby. Meanwhile, get in touch with the girls on the Island and ask them to prepare the mirrors. I think we have some spares," Harry confirmed.
"We will have to warn every one of the danger, and for anyone to avoid act suspiciously, so that Crouch Junior does not discover that his secret has been discovered," concluded Daphne.
-o0o-
"Hey, Harry, look at this here!" Susan called as she saw the boy enter the Great Hall for breakfast.
"What is interesting about the Prophet today, Susan?" asked Harry curiously as he walked to Hufflepuff's table.
"It seems that the protections that Dumbledore placed in your relatives' house ceased to function, and a true pilgrimage was formed to visit them," Susan replied, handing Harry her copy of the newspaper.
The photo on the front page showed the Dursleys' house with an angry Vernon trying to scare the wizards and witches with a cricket bat while Petunia, with a startled expression, was embarrassed by the scene and what the neighbours would think.
-o0o-
Harry had not expected anything good from his first Potions class, but even in his worst nightmares he could not imagine Snape attacking him with such vehemence and fury.
"... if you want an example of what not to do, just look at Potter ..."
"Potter, if you want to finish this potion you still have to work with some efficiency ..."
"I said indigo blue, Potter, this is almost a cobalt blue. Have not you learned colours yet?"
"Like the father, unable to obey even the simplest instructions ..."
"Fame and pride will not help you complete the potion, Potter ..."
"With that lack of ability, you should not have left first year, Potter!"
"Do you call this garbage a potion, Potter? It would poison anyone who tried it!"
One hour! An entire hour of continuous verbal abuse! Snape had never been so mean before, what would have happened?
The girls really tried to help. Daphne and Tracy alerted the whole group as soon as they realized what was happening. The teacher's intention was clear: to take Harry to the point of retaliating, so that he could punish him even more. Maybe detentions? It would be a way to have Harry at his mercy without witnesses. They had to avoid it at all costs, and they were bombarding the boy with stimulating words, images to distract him, everything they could use ... Harry could not help but admire the image Susan had sent him from the bath that the little redhead had taken that morning. The boy had never imagined that such sizes and shapes could be hidden under so little cloth!
But it was not enough. An entire hour! And they still had another hour ahead of them! Damn double class!
Daphne realized Harry could not stand it. Merlin, she could not bear it herself! It was then that an idea occurred to the blonde, and she immediately suggested Harry to try.
The boy-who-lived waited for the next offense. It did not take too long.
"You need to understand that the easy days are gone, Potter. If you want to progress to your fifth year, you'll have to do for deserving it. This attempt..."
As soon as Snape started talking, Harry looked him straight in the eye, something he had avoided doing so far so as not to increase the tension between them. A second later he began to feel the gold blade embedded in the middle of his forehead vibrating gently, indicating an on-going legilimency attack. Leaving his hands in plain sight, Harry concentrated as if casting a spell, only that he sent his magic to the blade, not to his right hand. The effect was immediate, and much better than he expected. There was a sharp but rapid pain in his forehead, like a sting, and Snape fell to the ground, unconscious, like a suddenly abandoned puppet.