Author's Note:
Just wanted to say that my time for writing doesn't look to be getting any better. Work has me traveling several times a month now and I move into my new house in a few weeks. But I did manage to write this chapter when my flight got delayed for several hours.
Anyways, I hope to have more dedicated time to write this and The Chamber's Secret soon.
Thanks for reading!
Here is my disclaimer that says I do not own anything Harry Potter related. Everything belongs to JK Rowling, except in universe 47837. Probably.
Hogwarts.
Harry had been waiting the entire summer to set his eyes on the castle again.
This place was his home and where he felt the strongest and most in tune with his magic. And not just because he had Neville and Justin next to him, his magic humming contently as it mingled with theirs.
Because just looking upon the tall, lighted turrets that rose high into the night sky made his mind calmer, which he was in need of after the incident on the train.
At least Harry was almost positive that something had happened on the train. It wasn't like experiencing that sensation - even if only for a matter of seconds - from Flourish and Blotts for the second time was an everyday occurrence. For Harry would never forget how every fiber of his being had been awakened in that bookstore to the knowledge that something else existed in this world that complemented him so spectacularly.
Never before had he felt like something else was equal to him; that made him feel like he wasn't alone.
Ever since Flourish and Blotts it had been difficult for Harry to not fixate on examining what that meant.
So there was still some doubt that lingered in his mind, since it wasn't like he could have fully explored the store or the train as he would have liked. Directing his magic outwards to search each and every compartment would have been ill-advised given all that he had done the previous year in keeping his prodigious abilities secret.
In fact, it was all he could do at the time to keep Neville and Justin seated after his companions briefly experienced that sensation of utter bliss for the second time as well. Both of them had been adamant that they be allowed to go and find whatever was the cause of that most unusual and otherworldly feeling. Based on their reaction it was clear that they longed to know what was happening just as badly as he was; if not more so because they wanted to make Harry happy.
Except that Harry had already been in a lot of situations in which he had needed to think quickly before acting, and so he was able to keep his wits about him.
Which was a good thing in that particular moment and his magic was all too ready to persuade both Neville and Justin to remain by his side in their compartment.
Of course, he also hadn't wanted to get into the habit of just using his magic with his boys. Something about that just hadn't sat right with him. Especially not with how delicate some of the issues before them were. Harry needed to trust that they would be able to control themselves in the future using their own volition when he wasn't there to supervise and rein them in
"If that is the same thing that we first felt at the bookstore," Harry had then said to them slowly, "then it is likely coming to Hogwarts with us and we will have plenty of time to tease apart everything about it that is worth knowing."
The urgency in their eyes for action began to lessen.
"Right now it is more important that we do not act in a rash and misguided manner."
That had been his final word on the topic, though in truth each of them had spent the rest of the trip on the Hogwarts Express thinking about why and how their magic was desperate to learn what was causing Harry to react to it in such a curious way.
And those internal thoughts continued until they were alone at the edge of Hogsmeade and waiting for the last carriage to take them to the castle.
"Do you really think that whatever is causing that feeling is coming to the castle?" Neville broke the long silence as their horseless ride began to lurch forward.
Justin's eyes, meanwhile, were focused on Harry. Even in the dimly lit carriage he knew exactly where Harry was seated.
For that was where Harry's magic was coming from and Justin was so firmly and completely under the thrall of Harry's magic now that he wanted nothing more than to bask in the increased ecstasy that Harry's magic had given off in the bookstore and again on the train.
He too desperately wanted to find whatever it was that they were looking for and never let it go.
And the sooner the better so that he could enjoy it longer.
"I was sure that I had felt it again on the train," Harry remarked in a quiet voice to the other two.
However, his thoughts were so focused on Neville's question that he didn't even question the obvious magic in play that brought the trio ever closer to the castle. His magic was being held too close to his body for him to notice the faint and cold pulse that lingered in the otherwise warm breeze.
Harry didn't want to admit it but a small bit of doubt was nagging at him. The feeling on the train had been slightly too brief for him to be one-hundred percent certain, and afterwards he had had a difficult time in being rational about the whole thing. However, the reactions that Neville and Justin had to it had made him feel like that entire thing most likely hadn't been imagined.
Which was good because he had never wanted anything more in his short life; it was unnerving.
But Neville and Justin were simply not used to seeing Harry question himself or his abilities like this and it made them nervous.
They didn't like it one bit and as the carriage deposited them and their belongings, each boy silently pledged to do anything and everything in their power to get to the bottom of this.
For their Harry, there was nothing in this world that they wouldn't do – and in the years to come they would demonstrate that, time and time again.
The trio made no small talk while making the short journey to the Great Hall and took their places at the end of the Hufflepuff table, as far from Dumbledore and the other assembled professors as possible.
Because that was another thing that Harry would have to deal with, especially with the recent realization that a prophecy likely existed that connected him to a still-living Dark Lord. One that Dumbledore had probably known about since before Harry had even been born and had been using to inform all of his past and present decisions that involved the direction of his life. Most recently, that included using the Sorcerer's Stone as bait to prove that the Dark Lord hadn't died that Halloween night over a decade ago.
Quite frankly, Harry just wasn't up to thinking about all of that in the presence of the meddling Headmaster and his present group that included mostly confusing and inept teachers.
But even if he had it in him to contemplate everything that seemed to gravitate around him, he would not have had that long to think about it.
For at that moment, the massive doors to the Great Hall were opened and Professor McGonagall stepped through the ornate wooden frame with the first years in tow. The newest members of Hogwarts soon passed only a few feet away from where Harry and his friends were sitting since Hufflepuff sat at one of the two tables closet to the center of the hall.
And it was then that Harry felt that completeness to his magic once more, and his reaction to it had been stronger than either of the two previous times.
As certain as he could ever be about anything in this world, a growing pulse of something so delicious and wicked mingled with all of his senses. His own magic responded to it in kind and Neville and Justin were overwhelmed with the remnants of the power cascading through their bond with Harry.
It was intoxicating and for a brief moment both Neville and Justin's eyes were speckled with the same shade of emerald green that also flared within Harry's own eyes.
Again, the only thing that allowed Harry to remain where he sat on the other side of the table was that he needed to use every ounce of magic and control that he possessed to root Neville and Justin to the floor. Because from the moment that they had felt the mysterious force that harmonized with Harry's magic so perfectly, their bodies were slaves to the euphoric pulses that ebbed between Harry and the group of first years.
It had demanded action from Neville and Justin.
Their only thoughts were to follow the powerful ripples to the source while Harry couldn't even begin to contemplate what it all meant and why this was happening.
Despite his own, almost overwhelming reaction to this new connection, Harry wasn't exactly in a position to attempt to figure out what could possible be behind this sense of infinite power. Especially when he was soon forced to prevent his boys from drawing unwanted attention to what was happening.
If Harry hadn't of reacted so quickly then it was likely that Neville and Justin would have tackled and then searched each and every first year right then and there.
And Harry didn't want to create a scene like that, not in the Great Hall or anywhere inside the castle where someone could witness it. Particularly when he knew in the back of his mind that he would be able to get to the bottom of this as long as whatever or whoever it was remained in the castle, some how or another.
In truth it was a testament to the patience that he had developed during his early years at the Dursleys as to how he was able to smartly think about just how close he was to discovering what this unexplained turn of events was.
For as long it remained at Hogwarts then he would find it – and as the Welcoming Feast was just beginning, he would have an entire year in which to do so.
Which all in all made him feel better that he hadn't imagined what had happened on the train. It wasn't normal for him to doubt himself, but when confronted with something so tantalizing like this event was, well …
At any rate, it was enough to satisfy and even rid the small amount of doubt that had grown in his mind for the time being.
He just had to convince the other two of that.
"Neville, Justin, control yourselves!" Harry whispered harshly when the first years had passed and the feeling diminished.
For good measure he also increased the amount of magic that he had previously encircled around the pair to prevent them from tackling any of the first years.
Almost instantly he felt the change go through them as they calmed from the soothing qualities that his own magic supplied, and carefully, Harry's eyes darted to the right and down the length of the hall to see if anyone had noticed his rare but public uses of magic in corralling his friends.
Thankfully, all of the eyes in the hall – including those of the Headmaster and Snape – were fixated on the group who were now waiting to be sorted.
"Sorry," Justin said in a meek and ashamed manner.
His cheeks were red and he struggled to meet Harry's eyes when his attention returned to his friends sitting on the other side of the table.
Both of the boys felt like they had failed Harry, so soon after being reunited with him after a very, very long summer of being without the support and encouragement of his powerful magic.
Though, Harry, seeing this as something that was inevitable given their novice magic skills, decided to use this event as a teachable moment.
He wanted, no, needed them to be better in the future.
It wasn't like he relished the idea of taking time away from his own studies, but their education was necessary if they were going to continue to be around him; especially with the peculiar information that he had pilfered from his Aunt's mind over the summer.
And if there was one thing that he was sure of – besides his unlimited potential – it was that his life was just full of surprises and that there was no indication that that was going to change anytime soon.
Therefore, it was crucial that Justin and Neville begin immediately under his tutelage; it wasn't just their minds that he needed to strengthen anymore.
Their reaction had almost drawn unwanted attention to himself, even more than he already had been forced to deal with in response to the front page picture of Lockhart and himself that had appeared in the Daily Prophet forever capturing the moment of their ill-fated meeting in Flourish and Blotts.
If it weren't for his inhuman self-control, his patience would have worn out on the train ride over as small groups of people had passed by his compartment to interrupt and ask how he had been so lucky as to find himself on Lockhart's arm.
Many of them just couldn't believe how fortunate he was and it was the sort of notoriety that he had spent a great deal of his first year trying to discourage.
"Don't worry: we'll deal with it," Harry replied a voice that he used just with them.
It was calm and collected and as honest as Harry could ever be with someone not on his level.
"So much has happened that controlling oneself is difficult; however, we do need to address both it and other things as well."
The boys' faces had softened considerably with Harry's encouraging words and demeanor, and with the hall so focused on the sorting of the first years Harry continued in a low voice without fear of being overheard.
"In fact, how about we start tonight. We can wait in the common room as the new Hufflepuffs join us. Perhaps we will even get lucky and whatever or whoever is causing those mysterious feelings will be sorted into Hufflepuff."
An understanding of what Harry was getting at passed through both Justin and Neville's faces and a smile graced their lips.
"And if we don't feel it again, then only three houses remain."
One way or another they would at least learn something about the possible cause of what was calling to them so fiercely.
"In the meantime," Harry encouraged with just the smallest of licks of his own magic at the pair, "let's not stand out in any way for the rest of the meal."
The other boys nodded their heads in solemn unison and the trio turned their heads to watch the rest of the sorting. Although Harry was focusing on the hat, his mind was in overdrive trying to anticipate his next step. If there was one thing that he didn't want to have happen, it was the involvement of Albus Dumbledore during this delicate time.
Because he and his unknown machinations were something that Harry couldn't completely figure out and he didn't want them anywhere near what he clearly saw as belonging to him.
While the hiding of his parents and the prophecy seemed straightforward, and he supposed that included the luring of Voldemort out of hiding using the Stone as bait, too many unknown variables remained. In the end there was still too much that Harry was positive was being withheld from him to make any sort of appropriate conclusions.
Like the man giving him his Invisibility Cloak and constant behind-the-scene maneuvers, including directing him to a mirror to see what Harry's true desire was. Something about that troubled him, but Harry was faced with the more pressing and troublesome concerns over the old man's reprehensible choices for faculty.
It defied logic and made him question even the simplest of deductions.
As the sorting finished and the feast began, Harry concluded for the umpteenth time that he simply needed more information before he could answer anything.
In the meantime, Harry took up the mask that had become second nature for himself within the confines of the castle's walls. His efforts of maintaining the reserved but approachable air about him would be essential for the next few weeks to undo the damage done by Gilderoy Lockhart bringing the Boy Who Lived back into the conversation. And so he wasted no time as slowly but surely some of the other student's attention turned back to him throughout the meal.
Except that this time Harry didn't have to go about this by himself. Neville and Justin may not have known all of the reasons for why Harry acted liked he did, but their part in the conversations with the curious students only enhanced Harry's efforts at making him seem uninteresting.
It was so effective that by the time dinner was over hardly anyone was asking him how he had managed to get himself on Lockhart's arm for a photo. It also helped that Gilderoy was at Hogwarts now in the flesh and preening over all of the attention that the student's were giving him from where he sat at the teacher's table.
The Boy Who Lived just couldn't compete with the famed author of Magical Me.
Which suited Harry perfectly and with his friends in tow they quickly headed down to Hufflepuff once the feast was over.
In fact, they were the first of the returning students to enter and they had their choice of seating options. Harry naturally wanted to be in the corner where he could watch the new students enter unobserved.
Over the next few minutes there was a constant trickle of older years entering. Most either headed to their rooms for the night or just wanted to drop something off before heading back out with their friends in tow to take advantage of the castle without having had any significant amount of homework assigned yet.
Of course, a few students took advantage of the open chairs by the fire and sat near them, but the sudden arrival of Cedric Diggory soon captured Harry's attention.
The newly-minted fourth year had grown even more handsome over the summer and as Harry had been going through some changes himself now that he was twelve, he suddenly found himself with a very dry throat.
"Hi, Harry!" the good-natured and seemingly perfect voice of Cedric sounded.
"And your Neville, and J-justin, right?" he finished standing right in from of them.
The boys nodded while Harry returned pleasantries. Cedric may not have been on the same intellectual level as Harry but he sure was pretty, and Harry needed to focus on not allowing his voice to crack in response to his presence.
"Cedric, a pleasure as always. I trust that your summer was enjoyable?"
Cedric smiled and nodded, impressed with how mature and engaging the younger Potter was.
"It was great! Dad took us to Greece for two weeks while he had to work. I could swim in those clear blue waters all day."
"Wow, I wish my parents took me to Greece. Most exotic place we got to was Paris for my cousin's wedding," Justin lamented as his eyes searched for Cedric's lingering tan.
Harry wasn't the only person that thought that Cedric was attractive.
"Still, Paris sounds like fun." Cedric flashed his winning smile towards the group.
"Well, I just wanted to stop by and say hi. I think I'm meeting some friends in the courtyard – enjoy the last few nights with no homework, you know?"
The boys all nodded, but Cedric apparently remembered that he had more to say and focused on Harry.
"Oh, I almost forgot. I know it's a ways away but I'm in charge of the Buddy System this year. Part of that means planning for the following year, and I was wondering if you had given it any thought?"
"Oh," Harry mouthed quietly, somewhat caught off-guard by the request.
"I hadn't really thought about it until now."
"Of course you hadn't," Cedric shook his head and smiled while Harry contemplated things.
"But still, think about it, will you? I just know you would be great at it."
"All right, I will," Harry agreed and smiled at then he smiled at Cedric warmly with his eyes.
It wasn't like the idea of chaperoning some idiot child thrilled him, but something about the way Cedric had said it intrigued him. He would have to think about it more.
Though, Cedric lingered for a moment, something about the color of Harry's eyes drawing him in. In fact, Cedric was positive that Harry's eyes were practically shinning with the most brilliant emerald color that he had ever seen.
What was most interesting to Cedric though was that in that moment he had never felt so calm. It was like being next to Harry was good for him and something that he should do more often. Only he didn't know what it meant and why it was happening to him now; it wasn't like this was the first time that he had been in his presence.
Except to be honest, he didn't really care about the whys and the hows of it all; the feeling of calmness and wholeness was more important and overrode those unnecessary concerns.
Neville and Justin picked up on what was happening almost immediately, having recently gone through a similar experience if they were reading the look on Cedric's face correctly. They looked to each other and wondered how long it would take before Cedric became a more permanent part of their group. Since neither of them could imagine being away from Harry for a considerable length of time, they didn't think that it would be long.
Harry, however, was oblivious to what was going on. Ever since he had seriously considered the potential benefits of the Buddy System and what it could do for him he had been lost in thought and barely noticed the longing that was clearly in Cedric's gray eyes.
Suddenly, one of Cedric's friends had just come back from the dorms and called to Cedric, shaking him out of his reverie.
Cedric's eyes flicked about the room and settled on Harry once more, his smile falling slightly as he waved and then turned to head out the room.
The motion of Cedric's departure caused Harry to come back to the present and his eyes followed Cedric out of Hufflepuff just as the first years entered.
Instantly Harry's eyes narrowed in on the group that trailed behind the new fifth-year Prefects.
His magic was waiting with baited breath as the last student entered, waiting patiently for the feeling to return so that it could be examined more closely.
Justin and Neville were instantly on either side of his chair, and they were hoping beyond hope that the feeling of ecstasy would overwhelm them again. If for no other reason, they would remain with Harry for the rest of their lives just to experience the sheer delight and elation one last time.
But soon the minutes began to tick by and nothing out of the ordinary was felt.
Harry hid his brief disappointment behind the knowledge that at least whatever or whoever that was causing it was at Hogwarts and most likely had been sorted to a different house.
"Come on," Harry said quietly to his dismayed but loyal supporters.
Neville and Justin followed Harry's lead outside of the common room and into the darker halls of the castle.
"I really had hoped that it would have been that easy, that it would have come to us," Justin said as Harry continued to direct where they were going.
"Yes, that would have been easier," Harry agreed.
They soon passed by where most of the Hufflepuffs usually turned on their way to class or towards the Great Hall and headed down a far less trodden corridor. At that moment Harry stopped and turned to face the slightly bemused expressions of Justin and Neville.
"But sometimes it is a good thing that circumstances give us a challenge."
The flickering torch that was behind Harry only added to how his friends saw him, one that his magic took advantage of. But it wasn't because Neville and Justin needed to be persuaded to follow Harry anymore.
In fact, since Harry had been denied the use of his wand over the summer, it had only been in his interest – and was far more natural to him anyways – to hone his prodigious ability with wandless magic.
In this case, Harry wanted to be sure that what he said to them while in Hogwarts would stay between them and not be overheard by others within the castle.
"I discovered this part of the castle last year. I have been using one unused room in particular that I plan on showing you guys now. I think it would be in our best interest to really hone up on our magic skills this year. I, for one, never want to be in the situation that we found ourselves in at the end of last year."
"I completely agree, Harry," Neville said instantly.
Harry blinked his eyes and gave a small nod forward in response before turning to Justin.
"You know I'm in. It terrified me to think that Quirrell almost…"
But he wasn't able to finish and looked off to the side.
Harry watched with interest as Neville turned to look at Justin and put his arm around the other boy's back. Justin turned his head to look at Neville.
"Don't worry, Justin, we won't let that happen again."
The whole thing was quite interesting to Harry, who had never tried to win over someone's, let alone two people's loyalty like this.
But here they were, standing in an isolated and basically unknown part of the castle and with Neville's support Justin was able to face Harry again.
This time his eyes didn't shy away and he finished what he wanted to say.
"Let's go learn some magic!" he said with confidence.
Harry eyed them both once over, acknowledging each with a slight but significant forward incline of his head.
"Yes," Harry finally said with a slight smirk.
"Let's go learn some magic."
A few days later the term officially started and Harry and his friends were sitting in their usual seats at the end of the Hufflepuff table. Normally breakfast was not the most animated of times, but today was an exception with the heads of houses handing out timetables.
A quick check of the ones that Professor Sprout gave them indicated that they would start their second year off with a back-to-back helping of Herbology. From there they would have History of Magic and then lunch before embarking on Transfiguration and then ending with double Potions.
At least they would be getting Potions out of the way sooner rather than later in the week.
When they finished eating, they gathered their bags and quickly headed to their common room to collect the books that they would need for the day. From there they headed to the greenhouses, and were pleasantly surprised to learn that they would be starting the year off in greenhouse three.
It wasn't like working on more interesting plants would suddenly make Herbology more exciting to Harry but it certainly made it less boring. Neville, however, was over the moon with their good fortune and they spent their double block potting and repotting Mandrakes.
The double period actually moved quicker than Harry had thought it would and the second-year Hufflepuffs soon found themselves in History of Magic.
It was a good thing that they had this class before lunch and not after it, because Harry was sure that even he would have fallen asleep against the monotonous droning on by Professor Binns.
He then briefly wondered if Binns even noticed that students left for the summer. It wouldn't have surprised him if the ghost had kept giving lectures to empty classrooms.
After a quick lunch and then an interesting beginning to Transfiguration the trio headed down into the dungeons to begin their double hell of Potions.
However, as they rounded the final corner and caught the familiar draft of cold they ran into a most unusual sight and stopped in their tracks.
All of the other Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws that had also been heading to Potions came to a standstill as well to observe the anomaly of Professors Lockhart and Snape talking.
And judging by the thin outline of Snape's mouth, it was not going well.
However, the growing body of students soon ended the adult's conversation and Lockhart turned with an excessive amount of white teeth showing.
Unfortunately, Harry was right in the man's path and Lockhart clearly couldn't help himself.
"Oh, look who it is! The lucky, little boy that graced the cover of the Daily Prophet with me."
The showy man walked towards him and patted him on the head as he walked by before addressing the group.
"Just having a scholarly debate with Severus about the use of certain Potions that I have used in my travels. I think it will make him a better teacher to know of novel ways that they can be used."
Gilderoy then preened once more to make sure the other students had heard what he had said, causing a few of the Ravenclaw girls to sigh with a dreamy expression. Almost no one was looking at the deathly glare coming off of Severus.
But Harry was and even he was taken aback with the severity of that look. Not even he had managed to elicit that kind of a response from Professor Snape, and in his opinion that was saying something.
Though, Harry wasn't exactly pleased that the man had made special mention of him after obviously putting the already testy Potions Professor on edge; especially considering that the man really had it out for him on the best of days.
"In-side. Now," Severus intoned slowly, causing more than a few gulps.
The students followed Severus into the classroom that suddenly seemed a lot darker than it ever had.
Harry took a seat towards the back and mentally prepared himself for the uncomfortableness that was to come.
And he didn't have to wait very long for it.
"Quiet!" Snape said to the already quiet classroom while flicking his wand to slam the door to the dungeon.
"I suppose that many of you think that you learned something considering that you are in second-year Potions, but I must say that I was rather disappointed with how many of you did on your end-of-year examinations. Trust me when I say that many of you," and Snape said this while looking directly at Harry, "are completely hopeless."
Another flick of Severus' wand caused their lesson to appear on the board but his obsidian eyes remained locked on Harry's green ones.
"I almost forgot," Snape uttered as his mouth curled.
"It would seem that our little celebrity from last year has only risen in his fame. But don't think that having your picture on the front page of the Daily Prophet will earn you anything in this classroom, Mr. Potter."
"You passed last year by the barest of measurements, and no doubt spent the summer forgetting the few things that you accidentally managed to learn."
With that biting insult, Harry felt a surge of both Neville's and Justin's magic beside him and he clamped down on both of their knees with his hands to steady them while Snape continued to lay into Harry.
The other Hufflepuffs just sat there, considering this as business as usual and the Ravenclaws were so focused on running through what they had learned over the summer that no one except Harry and his friends were paying any serious attention to Snape's unhealthy interest with criticizing Harry for merely daring to exist.
"As I was saying, Mr. Potter. I would put in a little more effort this year. Of course, I'm sure that other teachers will no doubt overlook your shortcomings."
With that, Snape turned to the board and began the lesson.
"How is that man allowed to teach!" Neville seethed under his breath.
"Don't worry about him," Harry soothed from behind his most patient and forgiving mask.
In his mind nothing that Snape could do onwards would ever make him forget having to suffer through his own intelligence being belittled. That was unforgivable and with each subsequent encounter, the man only shortened the time that Harry would be able to wait before having a private, one-on-one conversation with the man.
"He's probably just upset that he had to pretend to help save my life at the end of last year," Harry whispered.
Not that he needed to worry about the loyalty of the boys that sat on either side of him, and Snape was only increasing the number of people that were planning on seeking retribution from him.
Once everyone had calmed down, nothing else of note happened as they worked through their repeat of last year's practical examination. That was until the end of class when they moved to hand in their assignments.
Snape had wanted to change things up this year and see just how much everyone had forgotten, and Harry couldn't help himself with making sure that his Potions were perfect. It wasn't like Snape would notice.
Perhaps it was foolish but it didn't matter as Harry turned only to hear the sound of glass shattering seconds after he had begun to walk away from handing in his day's work.
"Tsk, Tsk, Mr. Potter," Snape smiled.
"Nothing to show for today. I think that will be a zero and a detention for your laziness. Perhaps you will show up to class prepared to work next time."
Harry's eyes narrowed slightly and he held his magic closely to his chest.
'Yes,' he thought to himself as he urged Neville and Justin to leave with him by tugging at their arms, 'Snape is only making it worse on himself.'
Later that night Harry arrived in the dungeon to repeat the day's assignments, but it was in many ways better than the actual class seeing as Severus was no where to be seen.
Anyways, it wasn't like the night was a total waste. Before he had arrived he had left Neville and Justin in their new study place with explicit instructions on learning Occlumency effectively. Harry had decided that before anything else, he needed to protect their minds so that they could protect what Harry would eventually share with him.
It helped that Justin and Neville had actually gone through the exercises over the summer that he had suggested they perform to begin the process of clearing their minds.
And with Severus gone, Harry actually got to fully immense himself in what he was doing. He truly and thoroughly enjoyed Potions and the subtle way in which everything came together, and with Severus gone he was allowed to remove his masks and let his magic interact with the ingredients freely.
It was a different experience altogether as he could literally feel the changes happening in real time.
All in all Harry wasn't even that mad at having to serve his first detention of the year and met up with Neville and Justin just as they were heading back to Hufflepuff themselves.
They entered the dorm shortly before curfew and headed up to their room. Luckily, Wayne Hopkins and Zacharias Smith were nowhere to be found and the trio soon closed their eyes and fell asleep shortly thereafter.
The next day dawned early and after a spot of breakfast Harry and the boys found themselves in a most singularly odd situation.
After the first day of classes, those few class years who had been lucky enough to have their first Defense Against The Dark Arts class with Gilderoy Lockhart could hardly contain themselves at getting to meet such a famed and extraordinary wizard.
Harry, however, was skeptical about the man's capabilities as a teacher – or person - after reading only the first chapter of Travels with Trolls, since it was abundantly clear that the man could not have possibly done what he had said that he had done.
For one thing the timeline just didn't add up, but what Harry just couldn't get past was the magic that he had used. Magic didn't work like the man had described and Harry was at a loss for why this man was allowed to teach. Surely the other teachers had to be aware of just how much of a fraud Gilderoy Lockhart was.
Though, now that Harry thought about it, that probably described why Snape had had such an unusually large stick up his ass the previous day.
Anyways, the class began with Lockhart preening on – to the squeals of delight from the majority of the female population, though a few males were also smitten – about all of his achievements.
Harry didn't need another reason to doubt the man but for someone who wrote an awful lot about being such a seemingly badass wizard, he sure spent an awful lot of time mentioning how he had won a smiling competition for the fifth time.
And then he tried making a lame joke about how he didn't get rid of banshees by smiling at them – and it worked.
Seriously? Was this real life?
But the man didn't stop there.
Gilderoy then promptly handed out what he called a little quiz to see how much they knew about him.
Harry didn't even need his senses to know that Neville and Justin were feeling the exact same thing that he was; for he just knew that they had the same dumbfounded expression that he had on his face.
Which in fact caused him to sit up a bit straighter and come out of his daze. Gilderoy Lockhart or not, Harry had an image to project.
And with a quick word under his breath, Neville and Justin quickly followed suit.
There were several times during the quiz, namely what an ideal gift would be for Professor Lockhart to receive on his birthday, that Harry had needed to refocus himself and at least try and take this whole thing seriously.
Even if no one else in the castle was.
The longer that Harry sat there, again the more he wondered why this was allowed to go on. And not just in letting Lockhart teach but some of the other professors as well.
Binns was a ghost and put everyone to sleep.
Quirrell had literally tried to kill him, but that specific case also involved Dumbledore and other things that Harry would have rather not thought about at the moment.
And then there was Severus, who while extremely proficient in his subject, did not have the temperament to be around anyone, much less children.
"Can you believe this?" Neville asked when Gilderoy called time and began to eagerly grab at parchments all about him.
"I think I just lost brain cells," Justin uttered.
Which Harry understood given his muggle background but Neville just nodded along with scrunched up eyebrows.
"It looks like we will be doing a lot of independent study this year," Harry confirmed.
But their torture wasn't over with just yet since Lockhart felt the need to recap the results of the quiz – and was visibly disappointed that not one person had achieved one-hundred percent.
"Pity," Lockhart announced.
"I think we will have to try better over the course of the year," he said with partially saddened eyes.
"However!" he rebounded with renewed vigor, "we have much to learn over the next year about using defensive magic and braving the unknown!"
And because Lockhart was Lockhart, his statement had been accompanied by what could only be described as a striking pose.
At this the class became visibly more interested, and, if Harry hadn't witness it he wouldn't have believed it, because some of them had been so thoroughly ashamed with themselves that they had not gotten a perfect score.
"Now, don't be alarmed. You are here to learn from the very best, and I must emphasize that though you might feel inadequate in my presence… ," Lockhart paused to flash his winning smile.
"You need not worry because I will not judge you harshly. I have years of experience on you and I am here to impart at least some of that on you. So don't be scared about what you may face in this classroom."
Harry just closed his eyes as he saw those in front of him buy what the man had said; hook, line, and sinker.
It was frightening how gullible so many of the children were to be honest.
"And with that," the man continued as if giving a dramatic dialogue, "prepare yourselves."
Everyone except Harry, Neville, and Justin were wide-eyed as Lockhart brought out what had to be a covered cage of some sort.
"It would be best not to scream; it might provoke them," he said while looking at them in a way that encouraged them to do just that.
"Witness the terror!" he said while the excitement that had been on the tongue of the majority in the room fizzled as they took in a dozen or so Cornish Pixies.
Even Muggleborns knew how innocuous they were, having heard enough stories from those raised in the wizarding world that Cornish Pixies were not even remotely terrifying.
They were annoying. At best.
Still, for some reason Lockhart didn't pick up on the decreased interest and opened the cage while rambling on about the appropriate counter curse to use.
Peskipiksi Pesternomi or something ridiculous like that.
From the second that the first Pixie crossed the threshold of the confinement, however, people's opinion of Cornish Pixies as a whole being practically harmless was forever altered.
Almost instantly, the freed Pixies caused chaos, leaving a bumbling Lockhart trying to say his obviously made-up counter spell coherently.
Students tripped over each other as the electric blue hellions went for their books or hair, or in Ron's case, his ears. Harry just had to chuckle from where he sat, protected by his magic, at the sight of Ron being raised to the ceiling to rest on the hook of the removed chandelier.
The Pixies had decided that the chandelier was best used elsewhere, which apparently was to shatter the window.
Of course, Ron's threadbare robes couldn't support his weight and he soon fell to the ground where he became unconscious.
By this time, Lockhart had cowardly retreated into his study and the rest of the students had made a hasty exit.
Therefore, only Neville and Justin were left dealing with the unruly pests. And while they had much room to improve, Harry was pleased to see them on either side of himself and holding their own.
But Harry soon tired of the noise that they caused and unleashed his magic to every corner of the room.
At once, the Cornish Pixies fell under his control, and in the background Harry heard the distinct sighs of his potent effect on Neville and Justin. He looked at their faces and saw the perfect contentment that they held.
Harry rose from his chair and concentrated on the tendrils of his magic that were wrapped around each and every Pixie. He could tell that each of them were independently sentient but yet had a small amount of interconnectedness. It reminded him briefly of ants or bees, and what one would call a hive mind.
However, he had little use for them at the moment and before he released them he left them with specific instructions that under no circumstance should they ever take up any of their natural instincts on him and his boys.
Although, just as Harry was about to send the little imps on their way, he shared a glance with Neville and Justin, who tilted their heads in the exact same manner, reminding him that while it was far beneath his skills and time, that he would have been foolish to pass up such an opportunity.
And given what he had been forced to deal with recently by two of Hogwarts' esteemed faculty, it presented him with a unique opportunity for some entertainment.
Therefore, the Cornish Pixies were given some of Harry's brand of special encouragement to spend more time in and around the dungeon and Potion labs. Of course, he imparted on them the importance of doing their work unseen.
And with that Harry headed out of the near-empty classroom, leaving Neville and Justin scurrying behind him intrigued at the smirk that had found its way to their leader's face.
Since this is the year where the story really develops, I want to take my time with some of the action and introduce each element properly. I still wish I had more time to write, but wanted to thank you for your patience.
Let me know how you thought this chapter went.